Splitting the Defense

by Amber Lynn

  “You’re going to stay with us, right? Maybe you won’t have to sleep on the couch. I think you’d fit in Mom’s bed. Then your feet wouldn’t hang off.”

  “I think we could maybe work something like that out. Hey, your mom said something about you needing a haircut. How about if you and me go take care of that and get you something nice to wear tonight? We can handle that, don’t you think.”

  Meredith looked at Toby skeptically. It wasn’t like he didn’t spend plenty of time with Caleb. She just felt she was missing something from the request.

  “I don’t think you answered the question about going home early. I know the business side of things is taken care of, but there’s still a ton you probably have to do here if you want to make our mountain your home. That is what you still want, right?”

  Toby leaned over and kissed Meredith. Caleb made an odd noise that sounded like he wasn’t in full agreement of sharing germs. After not reacting to the kiss earlier, it surprised Meredith.

  “Wherever you are, is home. So, if you want to head back, I’m ready to go whenever you are. And if it’s okay with you, I’m going to take your son out for a little while and give you girls some time to do whatever crazy stuff you girls do when we’re not around.”

  “They try on clothes and put on makeup. I seen it all yesterday.”

  Caleb could’ve probably used some guy time then, which Meredith felt a little sorry about. Toby had been busy hanging out with Jimmy, and she hadn’t thought about asking whether Caleb could tag along.

  “I do have some of those very activities planned for the day, so if you guys want to hang out, I approve. You have to promise to keep out of trouble though.”

  Meredith wasn’t sure who to get that promise from. They could both be mischievous when they wanted to.

  “We’ll be on our best behaviors. You said we have to show up by three, right? Since it’s a little after eight, that means we better get going. Caleb, I’ll get my shirt on and meet you in your room, okay? No matter how hot it is outside, you can’t go around wearing only underwear.”

  Caleb didn’t need to be told twice as he scrambled out of the bed. He barely gave Meredith and Grace quick kisses before he was out of the room. Meredith wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him move that fast.

  “Not too many sweets, okay? He hasn’t even had breakfast, and you have him jumping off the walls.”

  “I’ll make sure he eats nothing but fruits and vegetables. Is there anything you need us to pick you up?”

  “Nope,” Meredith said, shaking her head. “I was actually hoping you’d have some time to stick around and talk about last night, but it sounds like boys’ day out isn’t going to allow that.”

  Toby leaned down and kissed Grace’s head and then turned Meredith’s head to make sure she was looking at him. It was the first time she really thought about how horrible she probably looked. The amount of glue they’d used in her hair the day before was bound to have made it stick out in fifty different directions.

  “We’ll have plenty of time to talk about it later. The most important part to remember is that I love you. I’m going to finish getting dressed and go see about Caleb’s attire for the day. We’ve already seen what a bad influence I can be as far as that goes.”

  Meredith couldn’t help scoffing at the idea. She was almost scared to see what Caleb would come up with on his own. Toby jumped off the bed, just about as fast as Caleb had and walked back into his closet.

  “Hey,” Meredith said to try to get his attention. When he peeked his head out the door, she smiled at him. “I love you too, Toby.”

  “I’m going to be counting on that.”

  He put a tee with his team’s logo on it over his head and grabbed a pair of shoes from beside the door. With nothing more than a kiss blown in her direction, he was gone.

  Meredith stared after him for a few minutes. She’d expected a little more of a goodbye, but he didn’t come back.

  “You should probably learn this now, Gracie,” she said, looking down at her daughter as she cradled her in her arms. “Men are confusing as hell sometimes.”

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  “You’re sure you can get it all set up, for tonight?”

  Toby had been working through the details with Charlie for twenty minutes. The idea of throwing Meredith a surprise wedding had sounded like a brilliant idea that morning when she and her kids were all tucked in his bed, but the reality of planning one wasn’t as easy as he thought. Getting a license that would be good for less than a day’s notice involved some special waiver.

  Apparently, Charlie thought he could get that done, but he didn’t sound as confident as Toby wanted him to. Charlie still hadn’t met Meredith, so he’d flat out told Toby he thought the idea was crazy. Toby should’ve probably got them together before his wedding, but it sort of felt like time was of the essence. Plus, Meredith had called and at least spoken to Charlie on the phone, so they weren’t complete strangers.

  “Only if you let me be your best man. I’d offer to officiate, but the judge I’m going to ask to sign off on the quickie license will probably want to be in on this. He likes seeing his name in the paper, and I imagine anyone involved with this craziness can assume that possibility.”

  “Great. Call me if there’s any bumps in the plans, and make sure you let Mom know. Caleb and I have to work on getting everything else ready.”

  Toby hung up before Charlie could try to talk him out of his plan. Putting his phone in a cup holder, he looked to his copilot in the backseat.

  “Mom doesn’t like surprises.”

  Caleb’s voice was sing-songy. As soon as they got in the SUV, Toby had asked if it would be okay if Toby and Meredith got married. Caleb apparently thought Toby was already his new dad, and had only been sleeping at his cabin because he didn’t fit on the couch. How the minds of five-year-olds worked, Toby had no idea. All that mattered to him was that Caleb was cool with it.

  “How do you know? Have you ever surprised her?”

  “Sure. Lots of times. I made her breakfast in bed once and she wasn’t too happy about it. That was before you came around. Grace didn’t let her sleep much when she was in her belly and Mom was always tired, so I made her eggs.”

  Even if they had a microwave, that sounded dangerous for someone Caleb’s age. Since they were working with a fireplace or a stove to heat things, Toby understood why Meredith didn’t like that particular surprise.

  He didn’t kid himself into thinking she would run to him with open arms when she figured out what was going on. He was working on a speech he hoped would smooth things over and end with her saying yes.

  Toby pulled the vehicle into their first stop of the day. He had at least five stops planned, but that first one had some time limitations. It wasn’t nine yet, so they had probably about an hour before they missed their window.

  “Well, maybe when we get back home we can try again and she won’t be as mad. I’ve got to call your grandma and see if she’s going to be mad that I’m taking over her party.”

  “Good luck.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence, buddy.”

  Hitting the buttons on his phone, he took a breath and got out of the SUV. Layla seemed to not hate him, but they hadn’t spent enough time together for him to try to win her over.

  He only had her number because Meredith had given it to him. After he’d gotten a phone that would work back in the mountains, he’d shared some different numbers he thought she should have. She already had Charlie’s, but he wanted her to have all his family and closes friends, just in case he was with one of them and his phone was dead.

  She only had a few numbers on her phone, so she’d provided Layla’s in exchange. It was a little lopsided, but Toby was sure she’d pick up plenty of numbers eventually.

  The phone rang three times before there was an answer. While he waited, Toby extracted Caleb from his booster seat and started them walking towards their destination. Caleb’s hand had i
nstantly reached for his as soon as they started moving.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Layla. It’s Toby. I was hoping to have a quick conversation about tonight’s little party.”

  The other side of the phone was silent. Toby moved the phone away from his ear to verify the phone was still connected. The seconds were ticking, so he assumed his side of the call was still live.

  “Layla?”

  “Sorry, Toby. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. Is everything okay with Meredith and the kids?”

  Toby tilted his head so he could prop the phone on his shoulder as he opened a door for Caleb. They were going in a back entrance, so he had to speak to security to get in. Thankfully, the guy knew him and didn’t require him to stop, instead waving them through.

  “Everyone’s great. Me and Caleb are running some errands and are planning something for tonight, so I wanted to call and ask if it could happen in conjunction with the party.”

  “Hey, don’t drag me into it. It’s your idea.”

  Caleb’s giggles were infectious, but Toby managed to only scoff. The kid’s sense of humor was kind of hilarious.

  “Okay, fine. Caleb claims he has nothing to do with it, even though I asked him and he said he was on board. Anyway,” Toby said as he rolled his eyes. “I’m asking Meredith to marry me tonight, and if she says yes, I’m bringing the paperwork and someone to perform the ceremony.”

  “What?”

  “I said,” Toby started before Layla interrupted him.

  He wasn’t sure how to take her tone. He didn’t need her approval, but he hoped he’d get some help with the surprise.

  “I heard what you said. I’m just trying to figure how in the world we can pull off a wedding in mere hours. Obviously, we have a venue that will work, and thankfully I have catering already in the works, but we need a cake, flowers, decorations. What kind of wedding party are you planning?”

  “I think I’ll get my brother to stand up with me and maybe ask Jen to stand on Meredith’s side. They seem to be getting along fine.”

  “Perfect. Keep it small. I’ll swing by and pick up some dresses, decorations, cake and flowers. I’ve got to make sure it’s all somewhat lowkey so it doesn’t scream wedding until she’s walking down the aisle. I should be able to pull that off. I trust you can find a tux.”

  Layla’s breath was slightly winded. Toby could picture her running around because it sounded like she was on a treadmill.

  Toby stopped Caleb from walking through a door in front of them so he could finish his conversation. Once the door was open, the noise would make talking impossible.

  “I’ll take care of clothes for Caleb and myself. I do have one other request.”

  A car starting on the other side of the phone told Toby Layla wasn’t messing around. He wasn’t giving her much time, but if anyone could pull off a wedding in a matter of hours, Layla McLarson was the person for the job.

  “I’m not making any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I don’t think it’s something that’s going to mess with the schedule. I know things aren’t perfect between you guys, but I was hoping you’d make sure Michael’s on board with walking her down whatever aisle you can come up with.”

  The phone got quiet again, other than the sound of the engine running. It let him know he didn’t need to check his phone again.

  “Thank you for finding my daughter, Toby. If you hadn’t, I don’t know if she ever would’ve found her way back to us.”

  Layla’s voice had changed. Without seeing her face, he couldn’t be sure what emotion was driving the words. If she was an teary woman, he suspected she was crying.

  “I’m trying not to take any credit for that, because she still hasn’t yelled at me for getting involved. I suspect that will be coming once the shock of everything wears off. Anyway, Layla, I need to let you go. Caleb’s been waiting patiently, but I’m still gauging how long that usually lasts.”

  Caleb stuck his tongue out to prove Toby’s point. He hadn’t let go of his hand and showed no indication he was about to start running up and down the halls from boredom.

  “Okay, but just to verify, you’re inviting people not on the original guest list, right? How many?”

  “I’m getting ready to walk into my old locker room and was thinking about issuing an open invite. Plus, I’m pretty sure my immediate family is going to make an appearance.”

  “Invite as many as you want. I’ll make sure we have enough food for at least fifty extra. See you later.”

  The number was about right, and Toby was sure some people wouldn’t make it with the short notice. After doing the math quickly, he decided not to worry about calling Layla back. The silence on the phone finally indicated the line was dead.

  “Well, your grandma’s on board. As long as we can convince your mom to say yes, we’re in business.”

  “What’s a locker room?”

  Toby put his phone in his pocket and leaned down to scoop Caleb up. The kid had done a decent job of dressing himself. He had a pair of jeans, a green shirt and even got matching shoes on. The socks Toby found when he had to help tie said shoes weren’t quite so matching. The stripes on the one were the same color as the polka dots on the other, but that was all they had in common.

  “It’s a place where people my age act like they’re your age. After all that sass you’ve been dishing out today, you’ll get along great.”

  After Jimmy’s suggestion that Toby bring Meredith to watch practice, he thought it would be a fun thing for Caleb to see. He wanted to bring Meredith along at some point to show her what he used to do, but he didn’t think the taunts from the guys would help him out later that afternoon.

  “What’s sass?”

  “I’ll tell you later.”

  Toby pushed open the door with the emblem of the team he’d played with his whole career. It wasn’t to the point that there was a lot of nostalgia entering the locker room. Even after missing games because of his injury, it felt like he was just walking in as one of the guys.

  “Whoa, anyone hear about the police looking for Mattie’s ugly mug in connection to kidnapping a kid?”

  It wasn’t surprising that the first voice Toby heard belonged to Jake Gustofson, or Gus as everyone who knew him called him. The Swede was known for having the biggest mouth in the locker room.

  “Hey, Caleb. Toby bring you in so you can put us all to shame with your mad skills?”

  Jimmy got off his bench to come over and fist bump Caleb. The kid wasted no time holding out his fist. Jimmy was in his pads, without a jersey, and there wasn’t a drop of sweat on him.

  “Nope. Him and my mom are getting married tonight.”

  The little chatter in the locker room died immediately. Since Jimmy was right in front of him, his was the only expression Toby saw. Flabbergasted was probably the closet definition he could think of.

  Toby shrugged. It wasn’t like he hid the fact he loved Meredith. The timing was probably a little rushed, but neither one of them were getting any younger.

  “I thought Caleb could catch a few minutes of practice before heading out to run some errands.”

  “We have to get tuxes and the rings.” Caleb was quick to add.

  “And someone needs a haircut. Anyway, aren’t you lazy bums supposed to be out running drills.”

  With an hour left of the usual ice time, the guys should’ve been on the ice begging for the drills to end. It was one part he wouldn’t miss about not being on the team.

  “Guys trying to make the team got some special attention this morning,” Jimmy explained. “The rest of us are just heading out. I think the more pressing issue is this wedding talk. Did you find a killer third-date gift after you dropped me off yesterday?”

  “Not really. We’re going to be heading home in a couple days, and I thought it’d be a good idea to get the wedding out of the way.”

  “And you got Meredith to agree? I knew the woman was crazy for dating you, but I
didn’t think she was nuts enough to marry you.”

  “Mom doesn’t know. It’s a surprise.”

  Caleb responded to Jimmy before Toby could. For some reason, the kid couldn’t say the words without snickering. Toby found himself rolling his eyes as Jimmy’s jaw dropped open slightly.

  “You’re throwing Meredith a surprise wedding? Dude, when I told you she wanted something from you, it wasn’t a ring.”

  A bustle of noise halted the conversation as the players Jimmy mentioned poured into the room. Toby didn’t see a single face that wasn’t bright red from exertion.

  “Good job, guys. Let’s get the rest of you out there to see if you can impress me.”

  Coach Bryant walked into the room with this voice leading the way. Hearing the man yelling was another thing Toby wouldn’t miss. Rumors around the locker room always said that his yelling put hair on chests. Toby had always been a somewhat hairy guy, so he didn’t see much proof in the claim.

  “Who in the world did you steal that kid from, Matthews?”

  Jimmy had moved out of the way to grab his jersey, making it easy for the coach to see Toby and Caleb. The man had a smile on his face, which was sort of rare for him.

  “My mom. He’s my new dad.”

  It was interesting that Caleb understood people were talking about Toby, even when they used Mattie or Matthews. It was pretty obvious that he was the only kid around, but Toby thought it illustrated just how smart he was.

  “Evidently everyone thinks I’ve kidnapped you, buddy. Maybe we shouldn’t invite these knuckleheads to the wedding.”

  “You’re getting married.”

  The coach’s words were not a question. There seemed to be doubt in the words, but no clear questioning the fact. It was a little sad that even the coach thought Toby getting married was a miracle. Toby had always been private, but clearly his lack of a constant relationship was well known.

  “Potentially. She has to say yes first, but Caleb and I are getting things together for a surprise wedding tonight. If you guys don’t have plans, you’re all invited. Just try not to eat all the food and piss my mother-in-law off.”