Forever With His Boss

by Rheland Richmond

  Gavin grinned. He covered his mouth. When he lifted it away he was wearing a large grin. “Picturing everyone in their underwear.”

  Everyone laughed. Gavin turned to Ford’s parents. “Grandma, Grandpa, you came.” Gavin hugged them, bouncing in their arms.

  “I’d say we should go out and celebrate,” Sawyer said. “How does pizza sound?”

  “Great!” Gavin said.

  Ford looked over to Owen and saw Dean and his daughter Kennedy standing next to him now. He must have snuck in during the play with. “Want to go with us to get pizza?”

  Owen glanced over at Dean, and they seemed to communicate without words like he did with Ford more and more. Then Owen smiled at Ford, nodding. “Sure. We’d love to.” They all left the auditorium and headed back to their cars.

  They formed a train, driving to the pizza place that was just down the street from the school. Gavin was eagerly talking in the backseat about the play. Apparently, he couldn’t wait until the next one.

  Sawyer pulled into the parking lot, and they got out and headed into the restaurant, waiting inside for everyone else to join them. Once they had all arrived, they moved forward to the hostess.

  “How many?” she asked.

  Sawyer counted them up, then turned to her. “Eleven. And we’ll need a high chair please.”

  The waitress grabbed the menus and motioned with her head. “Come with me.”

  They followed her to the tables that were pushed together, then took their seats and were each handed a menu each. After they placed their orders for drinks, she left and conversation sparked around the table.

  “I’m starved,” Gavin said. “Can I have a small pizza to myself?”

  Sawyer laughed. “Okay, I think we can make that happen. And I think Ford has a surprise for you.”

  “For me?” Gavin asked with wide eyes as he sat bouncing in his seat, looking to Ford.

  “That’s right, buddy.” Ford picked the paper bag that he’d carried in off his lap and passed to Gavin. “Sawyer and I decided that we would give this to you when you made us—”

  Gavin’s squeal cut him off as he pulled out the ‘57 Chevy he’d found at the Bel Air Diner.

  “Thank you, Ford. Thank you, Sawyer.” Gavin sat talking excited to Archer, showing him the car.

  They all looked back at the menus until their waitress returned and then placed their orders. After scribbling it all down on her pad, she took their menus back and left once again. Gavin and Asher were talking in hushed tones and then turned to Ford and Sawyer.

  “Can I go with the boys to play video games?” Gavin pointed. “It’s right over there.”

  There was a game room at the end of the aisle, but you couldn’t see beyond the entrance. Ford looked at Sawyer and Ford shook his head. Sawyer nodded in agreement. “I’m sorry, bud. The food will be here soon,” he said. “Plus, we can’t even see in there.”

  “Please…” he pleaded.

  “Come on, Sawyer,” Owen argued. “They’ll be fine. Archer is a good kid.”

  Sawyer turned to Owen. “It’s not that I don’t trust the boys,” he said. “But we really don’t feel comfortable with it…” he gesticulated. “You know, because of everything that’s happened.”

  “It’s just right there,” Owen pointed out.

  “Leave it alone Owen,” Dean said his voice low, but Sawyer heard him.

  “I do agree with Sawyer, Owen.” Ford looked like he was trying to gently tell his friend to let it go and listen to his… Dean. Sawyer got what Ford meant when he said he was worried about Owen.

  “You guys are gonna need to let up a little at some point.” Owen leaned back in his seat. “You have to relearn to trust that everything will be okay. You can’t keep the kids in bubble wrap forever.”

  Deep down Sawyer knew that Owen was right, but that rational part of his brain was buried under the anxieties of all they’d recently dealt with. He opened his mouth to tell Owen to back off it for now, but stopped when Dean placed a hand over Owen’s, causing him to look up at his employer, and then shook his head.

  “I can go with them,” Savanna chimed in.

  “Me too,” Kennedy spoke up.

  The girls weren’t much older, but it did make Sawyer feel a tad more comfortable about it. Sawyer held Ford’s gaze for a moment, raising his brow, and when Ford gave a small nod, Sawyer said, “Just until the pizza gets here.”

  “Thank you!” Gavin was out of his seat in a flash with Asher following behind him. Savie got up and followed, but at a much slower pace, and Sawyer watched them go. He knew they needed to worry a little less, but it was easier said than done.

  The kids ran back a minute or so later. “We forgot to get money.”

  That managed to break the tension, getting a laugh out of everyone.

  Sawyer peeked his head in on Gavin and found him asleep. He watched him for a while before he finally shut the door and walked back to his own room. When he got inside, he saw Ford lying back in bed, tablet in hand.

  Sawyer pulled back his robe and slid it off his shoulders, then allowed it to fall to the floor before he crawled onto the bed and moved up to the head. He leaned in and kissed Ford, interrupting his leisurely read. Ford laughed and then dropped the tablet on the bedside table before pulling Sawyer into another kiss.

  “He’s right, you know?” Ford whispered against Sawyer’s lips.

  “Who’s right?” Sawyer asked. He deepened the kiss, pressing his chest against Ford’s, as he held him up against the bed.

  “Owen,” Ford simply said. He placed his hand against Sawyer’s shoulder, slightly pushing him back. Sawyer groaned and pulled back. He fell back onto his side and arched a brow.

  “Right about what?” Sawyer pretended not to know what Ford was on about.

  “We need to let up on the reins, just a little bit.”

  Sawyer looked away from Ford’s loving eyes. He thought they were on the same page at the pizza parlor, but now it seemed like Ford was forgetting why they needed to be more protective. “Have you forgotten about… about, everything? The ordeal with Callum?”

  Ford shook his head, violently. “How could I forget?” Ford closed his eyes “I relive that moment continuously… over and over and over again. It’s like a bad movie that just won’t quit. But, babe…” Ford seemed to hesitate. “I thought about what Owen said, and it’s true. We can’t be with them all the time, and we can’t raise them to live in fear. Eventually, they may become resentful of us for doing that, and that’s the last thing I want to see happen”

  Sawyer covered his eyes with his arms and heaved a sigh. As much as he hated to admit it, everyone had a point. “Fine,” he mumbled. “I’ll try, but it might take me a minute.”

  “Me, too, love,” Ford took his hand in his and brought their joined hands to his lips, “Me too.” He moved in, getting another kiss in before Sawyer slowly pulled back.

  “Don’t make any plans for tomorrow night.” Sawyer whispered.

  Ford arched his brow. “Why?”

  “I have something special planned for our six month anniversary.” He tried to hide his grin, but failed.

  Ford’s eyes lit up. “Come on, babe… what is it?” His smile was tempting, but Sawyer wouldn’t break. As much as Ford tried to guess or even beg him, he wasn’t about to share details.

  “I’m not saying. But, I promise you… you won’t be disappointed.”

  Sawyer left it at that. He kissed Ford, claiming his lips and feeling that tingling sensation course through his body. It happened every time he kissed Ford.

  Ford was right. He wouldn’t let one bad situation ruin the life they were building, and he didn’t want to raise the kids to be afraid of… well, everything. So he would deal with his fears and anxieties for them… for his family.

  33

  Ford

  Ford stared at his screensaver. A flashing swirl of color played across the darkness, and he just watched it, following the moving light with his eyes. Aft
er several minutes of staring, he shook his head.

  “What’s wrong with you?” he grumbled, then moved his mouse to get away from the blank screen. Ford stared at the guest list he’d started for the opening, but it might as well have been in Swahili. He could barely focus.

  His eyes went to the notepad beside his laptop, it had the number he’d copied a couple of hours ago—the number of the deputy district attorney handling their case. A growl escaped Ford’s throat as he exhaled. Ford was thinking long and hard of the reasons he shouldn’t pick up his phone and dial the lawyer.

  God, he really wanted to believe that everything would work out. Sawyer had dealt with the lawyers and police so far so Ford didn’t have to worry about it. But Ford didn’t want him handling this alone, and he knew that if he tried to ask Sawyer what he needed from him, the man would just tell Ford to sit back and relax, take care of the resort because he had it all under control. That didn’t work for Ford. They were partners and would handle this together. Ford just needed to show Sawyer what that meant.

  Ford wasn’t sure if it was Sawyer’s behavior the night before, but his dreams had been plagued with nightmares, especially the one where they got another call that Cynthia and Larry were free. Or walking into the kids’ rooms and finding them empty like they’d never been there.

  Last night had sucked in the sleep department. After waking up in a cold sweat, he’d spent half the night in Callum’s room in the rocker. He may have peeked in on Gavin and Savie a number of times too.

  He was doing his best to wave off any fears Sawyer might have. Trying to convince him there was nothing to worry about. Sawyer tried to hide it from him, but he was a ball of stress over everything.

  But how am I supposed to stop him from panicking? Ford was like a pot of boiling rice about to overflow and make a mess. Just call already, Ford.

  He picked up the phone and dialed the lawyer’s number. Almost immediately, a woman answered. He waited as she went through her opening greeting before he calmed his nerves enough and spoke. “Hello. My name is Ford Erickson. I’m calling regarding Cynthia Mayhew and Larry Banks.”

  “Just a minute, sir. Do you know the name of the lawyer handling the case?”

  Ford’s eyes went to the notepad again, not that he needed it. “Devon Ripley, please.”

  “Hold please.” She put on some dry music. Elevator music he called it, but it gave Ford a moment to focus and put his thoughts together. It wasn’t long before the woman came back on the line.

  “I’m sorry, but he’s not available at the moment. Would you like me to have him call you back?”

  Ford hesitated. He looked at the clock on his laptop. The last thing he wanted was getting caught up with curiosity, wondering when the lawyer would call him back. Still, he’d come this far…

  “That’d be great.” He shrugged and muttered, might as well. “Ford Erickson. Please have him call my office phone.” He rattled off the number. “I’ll be here until five today and then back at eight tomorrow.”

  “Sure thing, Mr. Erickson. He’ll be out of his meeting soon, and I’ll give him the message. Have a good day.”

  “Thank you, you too.” Ford disconnected the call, then focused back on his laptop.

  There was a knock on the door distracting him from the screen. “Come in,” Ford called out.

  He checked the time to see about two hours had passed since he’d hung up the phone and started working in earnest. When Ford looked up, he smiled when he saw Sawyer.

  “Knocking, are we?” Ford leaned back in his chair and asked.

  Sawyer shut the door behind him and took a step into his office. “I heard the guy in this office is sleeping with the boss. I wouldn’t want to walk in on anything.”

  Ford shook his head while rolling his eyes. “I think you mean the boss is sleeping with the guy in this office.”

  A thought flashed in his head, whether or not he should tell Sawyer about the call he’d made, but then Ford didn’t want Sawyer to think he didn’t trust him to deal with all of this.

  He knew technically the kids were Sawyer’s, but Ford felt like they were his too. He was so attached to them that it hurt his heart thinking that something could happen to any one of them.

  He got up and went to Sawyer, meeting him in the middle. They shared a quick kiss before Ford pulled back and put his hands on Sawyer’s chest. “What brings you here? This nice surprise. Did you finally decide to tell me what we have planned tonight?”

  “Not even close.” Sawyer traced Ford’s lips with his thumb. “Ever heard the saying patience is a virtue?”

  Ford groaned. “You’re mean.” He stuck his tongue out, making Sawyer throw his head back in laughter. “But, as you wish. If you’re not here to share, then what brings you by?”

  “Business, actually.”

  Ford looked up at Sawyer, “What’s up?”

  “Mark and I have been talking about investing more in Amber Falls, and I just had a meeting with a guy that is interested in buying the B&B, but he needs a silent partner.”

  “And let me guess. You’re going to be his partner?” Ford wasn’t surprised since Sawyer was becoming very involved in quite a few of the new Amber Falls business ventures. Most that had been around when Ford was a child closed due to the increasing popularity of places such as Vail, Aspen, and Telluride. But with their resort opening and the buzz it was creating, Amber Falls was coming to life again.

  Ford leaned back so he was looking at Sawyer. “Thank you for loving Amber Falls as much as I do.”

  The corners of Sawyer’s lips quirked up. “Babe, I love you. Amber Falls could be Outer Timbuktu, and I’d love it cos you were there.”

  Ford snorted at the Outer Timbuktu comment, but he didn’t let Sawyer play it down.

  “I’m serious, Sawyer. Most people that left here, well, they didn’t come back, or they drove over an hour to get to the other towns, but you’re bringing Amber Falls back to life, and that just makes me love you more.”

  Heat suffused Sawyer’s cheeks, and Ford grinned. He couldn’t help it. He found his very hot boyfriend’s blushes adorable.

  Ford leaned in and kissed Sawyer. In the background, he heard the business phone ringing. Ford considered letting it go to voicemail, especially because he didn’t want Sawyer feeling like he was going behind his back to call the lawyers. He just continued the kiss, snaking his fingers up into Sawyer’s hair, but the stupid phone kept ringing.

  “I should take that?” Ford groaned.

  “It could be important,” Sawyer didn’t let him go.

  He groaned, placing his palm against Sawyer’s chest and pushing him away with one hand. As he began to move to pick up the phone, Sawyer’s cell dinged from an incoming message. He reached into his pocket and pulled the phone out, looked at the screen, then looked back up at Ford.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “Mark just sent me a message, and it just says, ‘Urgent… call me immediately.’ I have to take this,” Sawyer joined their foreheads and sighed.

  Ford shook his head to squelch Sawyer’s worries that he would be mad. “I understand,” he said. “You should call him back. We have later tonight.”

  Sawyer smirked and nodded. “We sure do.” He grabbed Ford’s hand and pulled him in for another kiss.

  “I’ll be there,” Ford said. “I love you!”

  “I love you,” Sawyer said, before he left Ford’s office.

  Ford walked to the door and peeked out into the hallway, just double-checking that Sawyer was gone, before he went back in his office shutting the door behind him. Ford went back to his desk, and indeed, the phone was flashing with a message. He picked it up and pushed the button to listen to the message.

  “Hello, this is Devon Ripley. I just got your message to call you regarding Cynthia Mayhew and Larry Banks. I’m glad that you called because I was going to reach out to Sawyer, Mr. Lancaster, later in the week. Some new information has come up since I talked to him yesterday. Please return my cal
l at your earliest convenience. I’ll be in the office until 4:30 today. Have a good day.”

  Ford looked at the clock as the message finished up. It was only a couple minutes before 4:30. He was anxious to find out what new developments there were.

  He dialed the number. Again, the same woman answered that he’d spoken with earlier. “Hello,” Ford said. “I missed a call from Devon Ripley, so just returning his call.”

  “Um…I believe he just left for the day.”

  Shit! Ford felt his stomach drop. “Will you please just check? It’s important that I talk to him today, if at all possible.”

  “Give me a minute,” she said.

  Ford leaned back in his chair and aimlessly swiveled back and forth as he waited for someone to get back on the line. To his relief, when the phone was picked up again, it was Devon on the line.

  “This is Devon,” he said.

  “Hello. This is Ford Erickson. I’m sorry I missed your call.”

  “Oh yes… Mr. Erickson.”

  “Please… call me Ford. You said there’s some new developments? What’s up?” He didn’t want to sound nervous, but his heart was beating loudly in his chest and he felt his palms sweating. He needed to get some answers because the anticipation was killing him.

  34

  Sawyer

  Sawyer exited through the framework that would soon hold an actual door. He looked at the blanket that was laid out. In just a few hours, it would be beneath the thousands of stars that would fill the sky.

  A few steps from the blanket, there was a table all set up. He heard movement behind him and turned to see a man entering the same area. When he noticed Sawyer, he came forward.

  “The food will be ready to serve in thirty minutes, Sir,” the man said.

  Sawyer looked at his watch. That was perfect timing.

  “Thank you, Jacques.”

  The man nodded and then left again. Sawyer had planned out this evening down to a tee, starting with a catered meal that he hoped whet Ford’s appetite and then concluding with the night under the stars.