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Tanner followed her gaze and chuckled when he saw what she was talking about. “I think Ashton’s less enamored with Cash than the rest of us, Laney. It’s not Cash he’s waiting for – he’s waiting for Zeke, his grandpa.”

Everly turned to see what was going on. He loved the way she smiled when she saw her son sitting close to Zeke and Cash while they talked. He knew that she was still concerned that Zeke might let Ashton down, but since she’d made the decision to take the risk, she was wise enough not to try to micromanage however their relationship might develop.

He rested his hand on her shoulder. “I think they’re going to be fine, you know.”

She smiled up at him. “I think so, too.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Corinne checked her watch. “We can leave it at that for today. You don’t want to be late getting to school. How’s he settling in?”

Everly smiled. “He’s loving it so far. I know it’s only been a couple of days, but he’s much happier here than he was at the school in Napa. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Mateo and Ruby are in his class.”

Corinne laughed. “You know what Ruby’s like; she’s all protective, wanting to look out for him.”

“I think he’s a little bit in awe of her.”

“I don’t blame him, I feel that way myself sometimes, she’s a lot to take,” said Corinne.

“She’s awesome. And Mateo’s a sweetheart, too. He seems so serious, the way he and Ashton giggle together might do him some good.”

“It will, no doubt about it. We should get them all together outside of school one day soon.”

“We should. We’ll figure it out. And I know I keep saying it but thanks, Corinne. I love the way this worked out, and if it weren’t for you…”

Corinne laughed. “I love the way it’s worked out, too. And I hate to say it, but you can’t say, if it weren’t for me. We have to be honest and say, if it weren’t for Cash.”

Everly shook her head. “That man!”

“Yep, but you know for all the engineering – I don’t want to call it interfering – that he does, it’s all for the good. I think he’s intervened in every one of his siblings’ love lives, there’s no reason that Tanner would be the exception.”

“I get that, but I feel like he interfered in your life on my behalf, and I’m not sure how I feel about that.”

“Then I’ll tell you how to feel – you should be happy. I am. Beau and I had gone around and around about when I should start maternity leave – and more importantly, about whether I’d come back to work afterward. After my little chat with Cash, it all seemed so easy, and so obvious. As soon as we get you trained up to take over, I’ll go part-time until the baby comes. Then, I’ll be happy to be a stay-at-home mom for a while.”

“Will you? Will you be happy to do that?”

“I will. I never thought that it’d be an option for me, but it is now. And Cash made me see that I’d be a fool not to take that option. Not to mention that it helps you out, too.”

Everly hugged her old friend. “It does, thank you.”

Corinne leaned in briefly before stepping back. “You’re welcome, you know that. But go on, you’d better scoot and get to school. I hope he’s had a good day.”

“Thanks, I do, too.”

As she sat in the pickup line at school, Everly adjusted the cushion that she was sitting on. She was going to have to do something about getting a vehicle of her own. She liked driving Tanner’s truck, but it was too big for her.

She and Ashton were settling in well, but whenever she got a moment alone to herself like this, little details started to creepin around the edges – details that she still needed to take care of. Her car was still sitting outside the townhouse – she needed to figure out whether she should accept Grady’s kind offer to get it sold for her, or whether she’d need to go back and collect it. Ashton wanted her to get a pickup truck of her own – there were smaller ones, and she quite liked that idea. She wasn’t ready to start wearing a cowboy hat just yet, but having her own mid-sized truck seemed like a practical step in adjusting to life here.

She pulled forward a little as the line moved up. She could see Shayna in one of the ranch trucks a couple of vehicles behind her. The plan was that she would pick Ashton up next week with Mateo and Maya, but Everly had wanted to come for him herself to start with.

She scanned the line of kids who were waiting and frowned when she spotted Ashton. He was standing with Mateo, and two bigger kids were talking to them. It looked to her like the big kids were taunting them. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, hoping that she was just being paranoid. She’d been worried about how he would settle in. He’d had trouble with bullies in the past, and she could only hope that he wasn’t going to have problems here. That was the last thing they needed.

She watched closely as she crawled forward until it was her turn. One of the bigger boys pushed Ashton, and he stumbled forward. The teacher who was supervising pickup called Ashton forward when she spotted Everly.

When she pulled the door open for him to get in, Everly called, “Did you see that? Those boys?”

The teacher gave her a puzzled smile. “You’re Ashton’s mom, aren’t you? It’s nice to meet you.”