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As if he sensed her watching them, Tanner looked up at the window and smiled when he spotted her. He waggled his fingers in that cute little wave of his, making her laugh. Ashton spotted her and waved, too. She waved back, loving seeing them happy together like that.

Since that conversation on Friday afternoon, Ashton had taken to calling TannerDadas easily and naturally as if it had always been true. Looking at them, both dressed the same in jeans and black denim shirts, topped by black cowboy hats, she could only hope that it would always be true.

“Come on, Mom!” Ashton yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

“Coming,” she called back. There was still a lot to do in here, but she needed to make sure that Ashton was ready for school tomorrow. She had a feeling that there was still some homework that might have slipped through the net.

She wanted to talk to Tanner after Ash had gone to bed, too. She was still concerned about what was going on with those two bigger boys, and just as concerned about what Tanner planned to do about them.

Tanner appeared at the top of the stairs. “Are you ready? Do you want me to do anything before we head up to the house?”

“I’m good,” she told him as she took off the rubber gloves she’d been wearing. “I’ll get some more done when we get home tomorrow.”

“You can stay at work later if you want to – if Corinne needs you to. Don’t forget that I’m going to pick him up from school.”

“Are you going to tell me what you’re planning?”

He gave her a wry smile. “I’ll tell you as soon I know. For now, all I can tell you is that I don’t plan to let anyone get away with bullying our boy.”

She went to him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “Thanks, Tanner.”

He kissed the top of her head. “There’s no need to thank me, darlin’. It’s not like I’m doing you a favor – it’s as important to me as it is to you.”

“Come on, guys! I’m going up to the house.”

They smiled at each other, and Tanner took her hand as they followed him.

By the time Everly made it back downstairs after her shower, the table was set ready for dinner.

Ashton made a face at her from his seat at the smaller table in the nook. “Homework’s almost done,” he told her grudgingly.

She laughed. “I’m glad to hear it – and glad that I didn’t need to remind you.”

Ashton wrinkled his nose. “You didn’t need to remind me because Dad did.”

She wondered how long it would take before hearing him call Tanner dad didn’t make her breath catch in her chest – or if that day would ever come. She loved it, but she didn’t want to ever take it for granted.

She felt rather than saw Tanner approach and leaned back against him when he slid his arms around her waist.

“Are you ready to eat?” he asked.

“I am.”

“It’s about time,” said Ashton as he closed his book. “You took ages, Mom.”

She exchanged a smile with Tanner. He’d joined her in the shower and left her to recover from a mind-blowing orgasm while he dressed quickly and came downstairs to deal with Ashton and dinner.

“Hey, Uncle Ford! It’s dinner time,” Ashton called when he spotted Ford coming in through the back door.

“Hey, Ash. I’ll just…”

“Oh no, you won’t,” said Tanner. “Don’t think that we haven’t noticed the way you keep slinking off. We want to have dinner with you – unless you don’t want to eat with us.”

Ford shrugged. “I don’t like to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding! If anyone’s intruding, we are,” said Everly.

“No one’s intruding,” said Tanner. “We’re all just trying to figure things out and be respectful of each other, right, Ford?”