Chapter 76
He stepped under the water and let his thoughts fill with Lance instead. Yeah, there were things going on at home that marred the happiness he felt with his new husband, but he sensed that he and Lance could get through anything together.
There was that weird connection thing again, making him feel as strong as a superhero. Funny how love seemed to give him confidence.
* * * *
They pulled into the ranch earlier than planned due to an almost-too-good-to-be-true drive where they never got caught in any traffic on the way home from the airport. At times they sailed down the highway like they were the only humans left on the planet, which was a little eerie sometimes.
They’d been quiet on the drive, each lost in their thoughts, but when Lance took his hand, just casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, Wade had shaken his head to make sure he was awake. Was this really his life now?
Landon saw them pull in and ran to greet them. He smiled at them, but the smile didn’t meet his eyes, which had dark circles under them.
Wade pulled him in for a hug. “How you doing?”
Landon sniffled a little before pulling himself together. “It’s okay. Just…just don’t understand why he’s doing this. He’s meaner than Dad, Wade. Like he’s even more evil. Jake thinks he could kill us and not feel bad about it.”
Jesus Christ. “He’s a bad guy, I agree. But you let Jake know that’s not going to happen. You tell him the adults have things under control. The sheriff is watching him, we’re putting up cameras, plus Casey and Charlie are setting up patrol shifts to keep an eye on things. Milton isn’t going to be able to keep getting away with things.”
Lance rounded the truck and ruffled Landon’s hair. “Seriously, we’ve got this. Your big brother has been my best friend most of my life and running this ranch is what he was born for. He’s going to make sure we’re all covered. No way will he let anything happen to this ranch or anyone on it.”
Landon nodded, but still looked wary. Wade knew how hard it was to be that age—almost an adult, but in many ways, still a child. It was a constant struggle. Add on losing your dad and having a psycho neighbor, and he was probably barely holding it together.
“So, when do you play next? Wade talked about us getting out to see you soon.”
Wade smiled at Lance. Great way to take Landon’s mind off things.
This time the smile on Landon’s face was genuine. “I’m playing Thursday night.”
Lance glanced at Wade. “Thursday work for you?”
Wade nodded. “Thursday sounds perfect.”
“Great. Jake’s already coming. Maybe Casey and Allyson could come, too. Make it a big family thing.” He paused at the sound of a dog barking and turned to see Scooter running toward them. Landon loved that dog. “I’ll go ask them,” he added before heading off to meet Scooter.
By the time they’d unpacked and tossed their dirty clothes in the laundry, the scent of Lorna’s stew filled the house and they hurried to join the family at dinner. Nobody ever passed up Lorna’s stew.
As he ate, Wade’s gaze went from person to person as he took a moment to admire his family. They were good people, always wanting to do the right thing. Jake seemed to be fitting in well and had apparently moved into the room by Landon’s yesterday.
Allyson filled them in on the progress of their new room. She wasn’t supposed to be around paint fumes, so Casey had been doing most of the work…until he spilled half a pail of paint on the tarp. So now they were hiring someone to finish it—and the nursery.
“We’ve decided to go with a soft buttery yellow. I know we have a lot of time, but since we’re already painting our room, we may as well have the nursery done at the same time.”
“Don’t let her fool you, guys,” Casey piped up. “She’s already picked out a theme. Elephants.”
Allyson slapped him playfully. “They’re cute little blue elephants. There’s a monkey, too. But I’m not ordering until I’ve passed my first trimester.”
Talk moved on to Milton for a while before they got around to asking about Wade and Lance’s trip.
“So, you gonna tell me where you really went? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t really a honeymoon, was it?” Casey always was a little blunt.
Lance and Wade exchanged glances and Lance nodded, silently urging Wade to tell them.
“No, it wasn’t a honeymoon. We…we went to visit my friend Mike’s Christmas Tree Farm.” Wade breathed in deeply and held it for a second. Why was sharing his dream so hard? Was it because he’d known his father would have made fun of him and squashed it immediately? He didn’t know. But he pushed forward and locked eyes with his older brother. “I’d like to open one here.”
Casey’s eyes widened. Lance squeezed Wade’s leg as they waited for his response. They all owned the ranch now—at least for the next year—but Casey really was the one in charge.