Page 20 of All This Time

“Isn’t Joanne there?” I ask.

“Yes, but I have tomorrow off, so I’ll be the one to get up with Ellis. Joanne is the single best thing that ever happened to us, and I’m not about to take her for granted.”

I nod in understanding. “Fair enough.”

“Besides, she’s old enough to be my mom and scares me a little bit.”

Elliot snorts behind his beer bottle. “Aren’t you her boss?”

“Technically. But I can’t survive without her, so we’re a team.”

Rhonan hired Joanne as a full-time nanny shortly after Ellis was born and his wife died. With the crazy hours he works as a sheriff, he needed someone who could be in his life day and night. We allremember how difficult that first year was for him, and he’s correct—he wouldn’t have survived without Joanne’s help.

“That’s how I feel about Tori,” Elliot interjects, a dreamy smile on his face.

“Seriously, Fletcher. You should see this guy now.” Henley juts his thumb toward Elliot, who’s sitting on his right. “He shits rainbows most days. It’s scary how much Tori has changed him.”

Elliot shrugs but doesn’t refute what Henley says. “Yeah… Before Tori and I reconnected, I probably wouldn’t have settled down just to spite my mother.”

Henley chuckles as he turns to me. “Momma Thorne was putting pressure on him to find a wife.”

Elliot rolls his eyes. “I swear, if she tried to set me up one more time, I was going to sue her for emotional distress.”

I laugh. “Damn, she must have upped her game since I’ve seen her last.”

“She had, but luckily, that’s not a problem anymore.” Elliot slaps the table in front of him, knocking over the piles of chips. “I’m getting married, fuckers.”

“Yes, we know,” Henley says flatly. “Better you than me.”

“You’re not looking to settle down anytime soon, Clark?” Rhonan interjects.

Henley scoffs. “Ha, no. I’ll stick to one-night-only deals, gentlemen. They get what they want, I get what I want, and everyone leaves satisfied. I don’t believe one person for the rest of your life can make youthathappy.” Henley visibly shudders as he begins stacking back the fallen chips. “I think I’ll just stick to my freedom, thank you very much.”

Rhonan clears his throat as he tosses a look at Elliot and begins dealing the cards. “Elliot, it is a little surprising that you’re willing togive up your single status so quickly, especially given how short of a time you’ve been with Tori...”

Elliot’s smile falls as he locks eyes with Rhonan. “Don’t start.”

“Start what?” I ask, glancing around the table. Henley darts his gaze to the other side of the room as Rhonan turns his attention to me.

“I offered to do a background check on her—”

“And I said no,” Elliot cuts in. “Look, I know her, okay? We went to high school with her, so she’s not a complete stranger. And we want the same things—she understands my life and she has goals herself.”

Henley clears his throat. “Can we not get into this tonight, boys? We’re supposed to be having fun, and I’m supposed to be kicking all your asses in blackjack.”

“Am I missing something?” I say as I pick up my cards and check to see if I got dealt anything worthwhile.

“I just…” Rhonan blows out a breath. “Never mind. I guess I should just be grateful he’s not marrying Laney, huh?”

Elliot tips his beer toward him. “Exactly. But we all know that wouldn’t happen anyway thanks to our pact, right boys?”

“Ah, the pact,” Henley says wistfully, dredging up memories for me as I fiddle with my cards.

There’s nothing like four fourteen-year-old boys making a pact to solidify their friendship. The rules were simple: one, always have each other’s backs, two, don’t let anything come between us, and three, sisters are off-limits.

As an only child, the third rule didn’t affect me, but only one short year later, I realized I was stupid to ever agree to such a stipulation when Laney became more to me thanjustRhonan’s little sister.

“Good. Now that that’s over, I’ll take a card, please.” Elliot taps the table where his cards total twelve, pulling me back to our game. Rhonan flips over a ten, causing him to bust. “Shit.” He lifts his beer tohis lips and drains the rest of it. We aren’t playing for money tonight, which is probably for the best, given the tension in the room.