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“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know how she sees it and I don’t know how you would feel about it.”

“She’s the one who gets to decide.”

“I know, but what you think matters, too.”

Ashton was quiet for a moment. “Are you a real cowboy?”

“I live on a ranch – grew up on a ranch. We raise cattle, although I do more with horses these days. And yeah… I’m a real cowboy.”

“Then I’m okay with you being her boyfriend.”

Tanner smiled to himself. “Mind if I ask why?”

“Because I read the cowboy code in a book – so I know, if you’re a real cowboy, then you have to be good to her.”

A dozen thoughts raced through Tanner’s mind. He wanted to ask what exactly this code said – he was aware of at least half a dozen versions of a cowboy code. But he knew that right now, it was more important to answer Ashton’s questions than his own.

“I give you my word, if she lets me be her boyfriend, I’ll be good to her – and to you.”

“Okay.”

“Does she know that you called me?”

Ashton’s little chuckle made Tanner grin like an idiot. He had a feeling that the two of them would get along just fine. “No. She went back in the house with Grady and Hannah to get something. When I got in the car, I saw her phone. I know you talk to her at night; I wanted to talk to you, too.”

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you as well. Your mom told me that you’re curious about cowboys. She said that maybe we could talk tonight.”

“She’s coming back out now. I’ve got to go. You should ask her if you can talk to me later.”

“You should tell her that you called me, bud.”

Ashton laughed again, and the sound of it made Tanner laugh with him. “Maybe. Bye.”

The call ended, and Tanner sat there grinning at his phone. He’d wanted to talk to the kid, been looking forward to it, even if he’d felt a bit nervous. Ashton had caught him off guard, but he reckoned that their first conversation had gone pretty well. Now, his only problem was not knowing if Ashton would come clean with his mom, or not.

Chapter Eighteen

“What are you up to, young man?” Everly asked.

“Nothing.”

She could tell from Ashton’s sly little smile that he was most definitely up to something. “Come on, please tell me. We had a great time at Ava’s this evening, let’s not spoil it by keeping secrets.”

They were almost back to her mom’s house. When they got there, it’d be time for him to get ready for bed. She wanted him to come clean about whatever it was as quickly as possible.

“It’s nothing bad.”

She glanced over at him. “So why not tell me?”

He shrugged. “Because you might be mad.”

“Why would I be mad if it’s nothing bad?”

“Because you’re a poet?”

She made a face at him. “If you really don’t want to tell me, and you promise that it’s nothing bad, I’ll let it go.”