Tending Tyler

by Jodi Payne

  Sophia leaned in first. “Are you feeling better? Are you going to watch Frozen 2 with us?”

  “I am feeling better, and I said we were having a jammie night together, didn’t I? I live for this stuff.” Matthew hugged Sophia tight. “This is Tyler’s first jammie night with us!”

  “Uncle Tyler doesn’t even have jammies. He wears shorts.” Sophia sounded stunned. “We have to get Uncle Tyler some jammies for next time.”

  “It’s true. I don’t own pajamas.” Not since he was Emma’s age.

  “Olaf jammies!” Emma suggested.

  “Yeah?” Tyler laughed happily. “I could rock some Olaf pa-jammies.” Jammies. Pjs. Whatever.

  “Olaf jammies would be cool. Or Cookie Monster. He looks good in blue.”

  Tyler loved that—that Matthew would compliment him in front of his kids.

  “Cookie Monster is actually pretty accurate.” He took a big bite of his pie, grinning. Then he got up. “Who wants popcorn?”

  “Me!” Emma squealed. “Can I help? Can there be butter? Can we throw it at the TV?”

  “Is there such a thing as popcorn without butter? That’s called cardboard where I come from. No throwing it at the TV. Or Daddy. You find the popcorn. I’ll get the pot.”

  He caught Matt watching him and smiled. “Are you feeling okay?”

  Matt’s smile was like the Texas sun. “I have my lover and my girls with me, and we’re fixin’ to have jammie night. I’m feeling amazing.”

  “All right. Let’s get this party started.” He pulled out a big pot and found the oil in the cabinet. Then he lifted Emma up so she could pour the popcorn in herself. “And…stop. Perfect.”

  He put her down and put the lid on the pot. “Sophia can you please put that carton of milk on the table back in the fridge for me?”

  “Yes, sir.” She bebopped over, bumping him gently. “Hey, goat-man.”

  “Hey, Princess Mud.” He smiled at her. “I like your singing, you know. You sounded good.”

  Sophia turned a dark, deep red. “Y-yeah? Thank you. Daddy says I should try out for choir.”

  “Daddy knows what he’s talking about. But you knew that already, right?”

  “It’s popping!” Emma tugged on him. “Uncle Tyler!”

  “Try out.” He gave Sophia a wink. “Okay, Em, I hear it. Popcorn soon!”

  “Popcorn!” Emma’s eyes were lit up as she bounced. “We’re going to have a jammie night!”

  “Em! Sophia! Go get your jammies on!” Oh, Matt was good at that making himself heard thing.

  And the girls disappeared, just like that. “You’re a pro.” He gave the popcorn pot a shake and glanced over at Matt. “Do you know how beautiful you are, cowboy?”

  Matt blinked over at him, obviously surprised. “Me? Now? Lord, I’m going to blow your mind when I’m dressed up fancy.”

  “It’s not about how you dress. It’s your eyes. Your smile. It’s the way you look at me.” A little wonder, a little heat, it was sexy as hell.

  “Oh honey, there’s nothing hotter on earth to me. You—you do it for me, all the way.”

  He gave the popcorn another shake and shut it off, leaving the lid on the counter. “I’m coming over there to kiss you. Can you handle it?” He squinted at Matt. “I’m not actually giving you a choice.” He perched carefully on Matt’s knees and rubbed Matt’s beard with one hand.

  “I’m glad you’re here, honey. I—I know that it’s been a fucked-up couple of days, but I swear to God, I will take care of you, love you.”

  He believed that. With his whole heart. “It has been a fucked-up couple of days. That’s true. But somehow, not as fucked up as my last couple of months in New York. If I had to pick, I’d redo these two days over those two months in a heartbeat. No question. So… I guess I’m gonna learn how to be a cowboy.”

  Maybe he should first learn how to drive.

  Epilogue

  “Come on, Daddy! We’re fixin’ to be late!” Emma tugged on his arm, and Matthew rolled his eyes.

  “Girl, I am getting my boots on. If you want to go, go on with your Uncle Jonas.” The bastard was napping in the front room, last he checked. Of course he was napping while the rest of the family was running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

  She sighed and ran off. “Uncle Jonas!”

  “She only thinks we’re late because your parents are always early.” Tyler’s fingers trailed over his shoulder. “It’s like your mom thinks she is going to miss something. Do I look okay? This button-down thing doesn’t look weird on me?”

  They’d been shopping, and Tyler had on his new jeans and boots too.

  “You’re the hottest motherfucker on earth.” He tugged Tyler close and took a deep, hard kiss.

  Tyler’s squeak of surprise was gratifying, and so was the way Tyler molded right into him. “I’ll take it.” Tyler flushed, though it was getting harder to see now that his lover had started to tan. As it turned out, Tyler wasn’t as permanently pale as he’d seemed. “You ready?”

  “I can’t wait, honey.” He held Tyler for a minute, then headed out front. Folks were already starting to come from all over.

  “I’m excited.” Tyler tangled their fingers.

  He’d seen bits of the restored folly, but it was Tyler’s pet project, and he hadn’t been allowed inside yet. School was starting up next week and the party they were hosting was sort of an end of summer celebration as well as an excuse to show off. And it wasn’t small, even by his standards.

  They’d laughed and swam, driven all over, gone to Austin for a long weekend, taken the girls to Houston for school clothes. No one had shot anyone.

  “Here they are.” Momma came right to them but stopped a few feet shy. “My goodness you both look so nice. Tyler, you clean up handsome.”

  Tyler blushed again. “Thanks, Peg.”

  “I want to thank you again, for fixing up the folly, Tyler. It’s amazing. You’re quite the restorer. Aunt Kathy wants you to dig through her big old storage building and see what you can make right again.” Momma winked at him, her eyes dancing. “That thing is like a Tardis.”

  Tyler laughed. He loved how relaxed it sounded, more proof that he’d won the city mouse over. “Like a—I hadn’t pegged you for a Dr. Who fan. We really need to have that tea you keep threatening me with.”

  “Maybe next week when we’ve got the girls in school, huh?” Of course they needed to unpack the rest of Tyler’s things, make Tyler his own office and work space, have nooners like mad things.

  “Next week. I’ll make sure to call so I can get on your busy calendar.” Momma rolled her eyes, playing.

  “Daddy! Come see!” Emma was bouncing and waving.

  “He really hasn’t seen it?”

  “Well, not officially.” Tyler leaned closer to Momma. “I asked him to wait.”

  “My romantic boys. At least I have one set of romantics. Rachel and Jonas are just as practical as stone.” Momma’s eyes rolled like dice. “Come on, Emma. Let’s party!”

  “Another summer gone!” Emma’s laugh filled the air.

  Matthew leaned in, lips brushing Tyler’s temple. “Our first summer.”

  Tyler leaned against him for a second, then tugged him toward Emma, who was waiting even more impatiently than he was. “I wonder what project I’ll take on next summer?”

  “Redoing my office? Learning to ride bulls? Champion goat herder?” Tyler had become the goat guy—milking, feeding, hell, even helping birth the kids.

  “Me on a bull? I’ve only just learned to keep my ass on a horse. Can I get a belt for goats?” Tyler laughed. “Your office would be an indoor winter project. It does need a facelift.” Tyler steered him over. “So you have the jail, the saloon, the little hotel…this part restored pretty well. Better than I thought it would. Sophia had to help me puzzle this one out. We made it a General Store.”

  “Oh, how clever. I love how y’all kept some age on it, but it looks loved.” The old folly looked like
a happy place now—somewhere to have a dance or a party, maybe a wedding. Somewhere his great-granny was beaming down. “I bet Texas Monthly sends someone to interview you about it.”

  Especially since he fully intended to make a couple of calls.

  “What? Interview me? It’s not even mine. They can talk to you.” Tyler linked arms with him. “Come see inside. Soph says she wants to have her birthday party in here. It’s pretty festive. All we’d need to do is rent this tent and some tables again.”

  There were already people milling about inside. There was a bar set up at one end, cocktail tables around the outside, and a hard floor in the center.

  “It would make a great place for the Girl Scout Halloween party, or any of the dozens of get togethers these hooligans have.” It was perfect, and Tyler seemed to just have a knack for it.

  “You’re a hooligan, Daddy.” Emma stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Uncle Tyler! You put rocking chairs on the saloon!” Sophia came running over. “For me?”

  “For you, just like you asked. And the jail door works too, like you suggested.” Tyler looked at him. “Soph was very helpful.”

  “Was she?” That didn’t surprise him. Sophia had a little crush on Tyler, and that made her very careful, almost detail oriented. She was growing up, too, and this was like playing house, but with a budget.

  Krissy and Lisa strolled over, arm in arm. Lisa was grinning and Krissy looked…perplexed. She pinned him with a strange look.

  “I’m going to blame your Tyler for this.”

  Tyler blinked. “Me? Oh, man. What happened?”

  Lisa beamed at him. “Wouldn’t this be the best place for a wedding, Matt?”

  Matthew stopped and blinked. “You’re serious. You asked her?”

  He wasn’t sure who he was asking, but it didn’t matter.

  “She’s asked me four times this week.” Krissy sighed. “Four times.”

  Tyler laughed. “Jesus, Krissy. Answer her already.”

  Lisa poked Krissy in the arm. “She’s a pain in the ass. I know what the answer is. I just want her to say it.”

  “Dammit, woman! Fine. Yes. Happy?”

  “Yes!” Matthew hollered and whooped as Lisa grabbed Krissy up and spun her around. “Y’all! She said yes!”

  He got a loud, cheering response for Lisa and Krissy, and as Lisa set Krissy back down, she looked right at him. “You should make it a double, cowboy.”

  “Whenever Tyler’s ready. He’s already got a place at my side.” He knew he moved fast, and Tyler might never want to marry him, but the option was open.

  Krissy snorted, admiring the new ring on her finger. “Whenever he’s ready? He hasn’t been ready for a single thing—not one goddamn thing—since he set foot on this ranch, and that hasn’t stopped you.”

  Before Tyler could fuss, Matthew stepped in. “I don’t know. He was helping with the girls in a second, along with other things.”

  Those other things were important, dammit. Vital.

  Tyler laughed. “She’s right, you know. Stepping up doesn’t mean I was ready. Maybe I don’t know what ‘ready’ feels like.” His lover moved in close.

  “So you’re going to wait for Tyler to tell you when to propose.” Lisa shook her head. “So romantic.”

  “Leave him alone, ladies.” Tyler gave him a wink. “Go on. Go bask in your engagement glow.”

  “Show me more of your project, love.” He didn’t want Tyler to feel pressured, that was all. The man’s life had changed a ton in a short period of time.

  “Okay.” Tyler pulled him back outside, giving him a more detailed tour of the town. “Did you see the welcome sign?” Tyler pulled him over. The sign was painted to look weathered and bore his family name. “Welcome to the town of Whitehead. Also, you’re the sheriff. Your name is on the sign at the jail.”

  He chuckled softly, then leaned down to whisper low. “Does that mean I get to come to you and say stick ’em up?”

  He heard the soft inhale, and then Tyler replied playfully. “Of course, Sheriff.”

  “Mmm…” He liked that little breath, yessir. “I’ll remember that.”

  “Doesn’t seem like you forget much.” Tyler took his hand. “Quit being naughty and come see Sophia’s rockers.” There were two of them on the hotel porch, with a little table between them. “Cute, right? She and Emma can have tea.”

  “That’s adorable. Man, I’m going to have to watch this thing when they get a little older…” This was altogether too much alone area for frisky teenagers.

  “Oh. I’ll install one of those motion sensor floodlights. You’ll be able to see them from the moon.” Tyler grinned wide.

  “You’re a good man. Lights and cameras and a bullhorn.” He loved that idea. “Have I mentioned I love having you here with me?”

  “Once or twice.” Tyler drew a circle on his chest, flirting. “You were convincing enough that I moved in.”

  “I’ll keep convincing, keep making sure you stay.” Because his heart had said, right from the get-go, that this was his man.

  Tyler pulled him down and touched soft lips to his ear. “I’d say yes, you know. If you asked. I’d say yes, too.”

  “I have a ring for you at the house,” he whispered back. “I want to marry you, Tyler. I want you to be mine, all legal and everything.”

  Tyler flushed, cheeks turning pink. “Well, you can ask me later. I won’t make you ask four times. I won’t have to think very hard.”

  Feeling daring as hell, Matthew hummed softly. “Fair enough. You’ll have me on my knee tonight, when we can lock the door.”

  “And close the windows,” Tyler suggested, coyly. “So the whole ranch doesn’t hear me screaming yes!”

  Either that or they could send the girls with Momma and he could ask on their porch. It wasn’t like Lisa and Krissy would be listening this time, and if they were?

  Well then, the ladies would be the first to know.

  The end

  Keeping Promises

  By Jodi Payne and BA Tortuga

  Jeremy M. Dunn III has the single dad thing down, so the last thing he wants to do is call his ex-husband to ask for help with their two kids. They didn’t part on good terms, and they’ve barely spoken since the divorce. But with a cast on his arm that goes up past his elbow, Jeremy has no choice. He needs a few days to figure out how to bathe their daughter, make school lunches and parent their son one-armed, and there isn’t anyone else he can ask for help.

  Former rodeo cowboy West Belen was already on his way back to his kids, and to Trey (“the third”, his nickname for Jeremy). He made a promise to try again, and he means to keep it, so when he sees his chance to move back into his family’s life, he grabs it like the brass ring he knows it is. He’s determined to be more than an “every other weekend” dad to his children, and he doesn’t want to keep on living with regret about how he and Trey ended.

  Jeremy still desires West, but he isn’t sure he can trust West to be responsible and available. West still thinks Trey is the hottest thing he’s ever seen, but he has no idea how to convince the man he’s ready to settle down. The two of them have never had trouble butting heads, but now they need to learn to work together to make a home for themselves and their kids where they both belong.

  Buy it now or read in KU!

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  About Jodi

  JODI takes herself way too seriously and has been known to randomly break out in song. Her men are imperfect but genuine, stubborn but likable, often kinky, and frequently their own worst enemies. They are characters you can’t help but fall in love with while they stumble along the path to their happily ever after. For those looking to get on her good side, Jodi’s addi
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  About BA

  Texan to the bone and an unrepentant Daddy's Girl, BA Tortuga spends her days with her basset hounds, getting tattooed, texting her grandbabies, and eating Mexican food. When she's not doing that, she's writing. She spends her days off watching rodeo, knitting and surfing Pinterest in the name of research. BA's personal saviors include her wife, Julia Talbot, her best friends, and coffee. Lots of coffee. Really good coffee.

  Having written everything from fist-fighting rednecks to hard-core cowboys to werewolves, BA does her damnedest to tell the stories of her heart, which was raised in Northeast Texas, but has heard the call of the high desert and lives in the Sandias. With books ranging from hard-hitting GLBT romance, to fiery ménages, to the most traditional of love stories, BA refuses to be pigeon-holed by anyone but the voices in her head.

  BA loves to talk to her readers and can be found at http://batortuga.com/ and her newsletter signup link is http://bit.ly/BAJulianews

  Available from Jodi & BA

  East Meets Westerns

  (single titles)

  Heart of a Redneck

  Wrecked

  Land of Enchantment

  Window Dressing

  Flying Blind

  Special Delivery, A Wrecked Holiday Novel

  Keeping Promises

  The Cowboy and the Dom Trilogy

  First Rodeo, Book One

  Razor’s Edge, Book Two

  No Ghosts, Book Three

  The Soldier and the Angel, a Cowboy and Dom Novel

  The Triskelion Series