by Arlene James
“You’re mean, and I hate you!” Tyler bawled, tearing off toward the door.
Tina sighed. “I’m so sorry, Ann. He’s overtired and...” Her words faded away.
Wyatt stepped in. He couldn’t help himself. “We appreciate the invitation, and we’ll make sure the boys get together again soon.”
“And that Tyler is rested and better behaved,” Tina added.
Grateful that she didn’t appear ready to take him to task for overstepping his bounds, Wyatt blindly reached for her hand and found it, giving it a comforting squeeze. To his everlasting delight, she held on even after he relaxed his fingers.
“Think nothing of it,” Ann was saying. “We look forward to hearing from you.”
Wyatt smiled, slipped his hand free and lifted it to the small of Tina’s back. Together they walked calmly across the foyer and out the door, which hadn’t fully closed when Wyatt softly spoke.
“Do you mind if I have another word with Ty?”
“He listens to you a lot better than he does me these days,” she answered wryly.
“He’s confused by all the changes. Any boy would be,” Wyatt said softly as they moved toward the car. Jake already stood beside the truck with Frankie and Tyler, keys in hand.
“That’s what I keep telling myself.”
He patted her back consolingly, and she sent him a wan smile.
Wyatt asked Jake to move Tyler’s safety seat back to Tina’s car. Ty folded his arms and stuck out his bottom lip, pouting angrily, but he didn’t argue with Wyatt, who stared at the boy in silence while Jake worked and Ryder quietly buckled Frankie into his seat in Wyatt’s truck. After securing Tyler’s seat, Jake offered the truck keys to Wyatt, but Wyatt shook his head.
“I’m riding with Tina and Tyler.”
Nodding, Jake shot Tyler a sympathetic glance. Wyatt took the boy by the arm and walked him around the car. Rather than wait for him to climb up into his seat, Wyatt lifted him into it. Then he got into the back with Tyler. Wyatt caught a glimpse of Tina biting her lip as she slid behind the steering wheel. Without a word, she started the engine and headed home. Tyler started to cry before they got out of the parking lot.
“Sorry, dude. That’s not going to work,” Wyatt said evenly. “We’ve already had this discussion. You are not allowed to speak to your mother with such rudeness and disrespect. Everything she does, she does for you, and everyone knows how hard she works. No Christian man would ever dare speak to his mother the way you did just now, not in private and certainly not in public. Do you realize that Mrs. Pryor thinks you’re a brat now? Donovan would never be so disrespectful to his mother. If he did, his father would put an immediate stop to it.”
“He would?” Tyler queried, tears dripping off his chin.
“Trust me. I know Dean Pryor, and he’s a very nice guy, a great dad who loves his kids, and he would never put up with Donovan back talking his mom.”
Tyler’s brow furrowed as he thought about that. Wyatt hoped that the boy was comparing Dean’s parenting with his own father’s, but how sophisticated Tyler’s reasoning powers were no one could say. Wyatt’s hopes rose when Tyler bowed his head and apologized to his mother without prompting.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“Thank you, honey,” Tina said softly. Wyatt suspected that she was crying, too, but he resisted the urge to reach forward and clasp her shoulder. Instead, he kept his focus on Ty.
“Here’s the thing,” he said firmly. “If you’d just been patient and polite, I would have offered to take you to Donovan’s tomorrow, but I will not reward your rude behavior, so you’ll just have to miss this playdate.”
Stunned, Tyler reacted with anger. Obviously, being so close to getting the playdate and missing out on it anyway infuriated him. “You’re not my dad! You can’t tell me what to do!”
Wyatt locked eyes with Tina in the rearview mirror. “I may not be your father, but I am the boss on Loco Man Ranch, and that gives me certain authority. I make the rules.” He dropped his gaze to Tyler again. “Do we understand each other?”
Tyler nodded. Wyatt could almost see the wheels turning in his little head as he tried to reconcile this new reality with what he’d known up to this point, but Wyatt couldn’t let himself soften. Yet.
“You’ll have to earn that next playdate, Ty.”
“What does that mean?” Tyler practically wailed, dashing away tears.
“If you behave yourself, treat your mother with respect, speak politely and do as you’re told, then we’ll set up the playdate. The better behaved you are, the sooner it will happen. Got it?”
“That starts right now,” Tina told the boy. “And there’s just one way to reply, son.”
Tyler flattened his lips, but after a moment he muttered, “Yes, ma’am.”
Wyatt smiled to himself when she said, “There are two adults in this car.”
Tyler slid a look at Wyatt from the corner of his eye, straightened his shoulders and said, “Yes, sir.”
Wyatt patted him on the knee. “You might be surprised how much more often you get your way when you go about it respectfully. Pleasant behavior yields better results. I guarantee it.”
Tyler nodded mutely. Wyatt let it rest there. All in all, he was very pleased with how it had gone. He wondered if Tina realized that the two of them had operated as a unit in this. They’d presented Tyler with a united front, and while he might not like it, he had to respect it. They’d given him no other choice.
When they reached the house, Tina went around and opened the back door for Tyler, who didn’t make a move until she did so. Wyatt got out on his side and waited while Tina instructed Tyler to go in and get ready for his bath. Then she turned to Wyatt, a soft smile on her face. He had to shove his hands into the pockets of his jeans to keep from reaching for her.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I know he’s not your responsibility, but he looks up to you and your brothers. He has behaved better lately.”
“I’ve noticed. All the more reason to hold firm. Look, I hope you don’t think I’m overstepping or that I’m criticizing you. I see that you’re doing your best with him and everything else, but it’s obvious he needs masculine guidance.”
She ducked her head. “I know I’ve let him get away with behavior that I shouldn’t.” She looked up then, admitting, “I’ve just been so afraid that he’d choose his father over me, given the chance.”
“I can understand that,” Wyatt told her, “but I’ve learned that kids always respect the better parent and instinctively feel safer when adults maintain control and expect proper behavior. It takes time and effort to make children behave and conform to standards. Kids may not like it, but deep down they realize that parents who don’t do the hard work of parenting just don’t care as they should.”
“In my case,” Tina mused, tilting her pretty head, “I put my own emotional needs ahead of my son’s. I’ve been so afraid he won’t love me as much as he loves his father that I haven’t been the disciplinarian that Tyler needs me to be. Thank you for helping me see that.”
Wyatt shook his head. “I care about Ty. We all do, and we see that you fear for your son’s future. That’s perfectly natural.”
“It is,” she agreed, “but it’s more than that, and you know it. Tyler and I both change now. So. Again. Thank you.”
“I just want what’s best for you and Tyler. I want that above all else.” With a shock, Wyatt realized how deeply he meant those words. When had Tina and Tyler Kemp become more important to him than even his brothers or the ranch?
Tina smiled and stepped close, her gaze moving over his face. Then she went up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek just at the corner of his lips. He held his breath as she turned and went into the house. Only then did he remove his hands from his pockets and suck in a deep breath. And all the while he smiled.
* * *
Tyler behaved well the next couple of days, but Tina thanked God when Ann called to invite everyone to a picnic that weekend. She couldn’t accept for the Smith family, and she didn’t want to undercut Wyatt’s authority in Tyler’s eyes by accepting for Tyler and herself until she’d discussed the matter with Wyatt. She felt a deep gratitude and comfort in partnering with Wyatt on this. He was so much like Dodd in so many ways. She wondered if he knew that.
When she relayed the invitation to Wyatt, she made sure to do so in front of everyone else, so they could all have their say. That meant broaching the subject on Friday at lunch.
Wyatt looked to Jake first, who shrugged and nodded. At the same time, Ryder said, “We’ve all been working hard. A picnic would be a nice break.”
Wyatt caught Tina’s gaze and held it for several seconds. Smiling as she dished out the meal, she glanced at Tyler before speaking. “The boys have certainly been on their best behavior.”
Wyatt smiled at Tyler. “So I’ve noticed.” Tyler brightened and sat up a little straighter. “Ask Ann what we can contribute and what time they want to meet tomorrow.”
Tyler almost shot out of his seat in delight when Tina revealed that Dean wanted to meet early so he could take the boys fishing at War Bonnet Lake.
“I think I can find a tackle box and a couple of fishing poles somewhere around here,” Wyatt said.
“I hab fishies in my room,” Frankie insisted. Everyone laughed.
“We’re not talking about goldfish, son,” Jake told him. “The kind of fish you find in a lake is the kind you eat.”
“Fish sticks!” Frankie crowed happily.
They all laughed again, though Tyler looked uncertain.
“Obviously, I should make fish for supper more often,” Tina quipped.
“You wouldn’t hear any of us complain,” Wyatt told her. “We’re from the Gulf Coast, remember?”
“You don’t complain anyway,” Tina replied softly. Wyatt just smiled.
He smiled again the next morning when Tina walked into the kitchen in a sundress. The soft, sleeveless black-and-white-checked dress with a full skirt and a skinny red belt fell to midcalf. Combined with red flip-flops and a broad-brimmed white straw hat, the dress felt pretty and summery.
Sadly, it wasn’t quite warm enough to swim in such a large body of water yet. Only Ryder wore shorts. Jake wore a baseball cap with his T-shirt, jeans and boots, but Wyatt stood there in a natural straw cowboy hat. His brothers had teased him about his new wardrobe, but he took Tina’s breath away in his pale yellow T-shirt, dark jeans and brown boots. He had shaved, but already the dark shadow of his heavy beard skimmed his jaws, chin and upper lip.
She plopped her white hat onto her head and dipped a knee in a mock curtsy. His smile widened.
“I didn’t know a picnic could look that good.”
She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not too much?”
“Uh-uh.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “Perfect.”
She wanted to throw herself into his arms, and that very impulse made her step back and break eye contact.
Tyler moved between them then, politely asking, “Is it okay if I ride with the guys again? Please.”
“Works for me,” Wyatt said, looking to Tina.
She knew that he was asking if he could ride with her again, and she couldn’t keep a smile off her face. “I have no problem with it.”
Wyatt handed his keys to Jake, and picked up the small cooler containing the strawberry shortcake and lemonade that were the Loco Man Ranch’s contribution to the picnic. Tina reached for the old, faded quilt that she had left folded atop the kitchen table, and they all followed Wyatt outside, where he secured the cooler on the back floorboard of Tina’s car. She dropped the quilt on top of the cooler while Wyatt moved Tyler’s safety seat to his truck. As he buckled the safety seat into place, he muttered, “We really need to get another one of these.”
“And a vehicle big enough for all of us,” Ryder chimed in, folding his arms.
“Yeah? What would that be?”
“Minivan. Or an SUV with three rows of seats,” Ryder supplied.
“And who would drive it?”
“Tina. Or Jake. In fact, I’ll buy Jake’s truck myself if he wants to go the SUV route.”
“Something to think about,” Jake said, lifting Frankie into his car seat.
Wyatt looked at Tina, but she kept her expression bland and noncommittal. In truth, she’d felt a little thrill of delight when Ryder had suggested that they needed a vehicle big enough to carry everyone. In a strange way, they’d become a family. Almost.
The Pryors arrived just then. Dean rolled down the window of an SUV exactly as Ryder had described. Wyatt and Tina looked at each other and grinned.
“Y’all want to ride with us?” Dean asked, meaning her and Wyatt. Not even a full-sized SUV could accommodate six adults and four children in safety seats.
Tina waved toward her car. “Our cooler’s already loaded.”
“We’ll follow you,” Wyatt said.
Nodding, Dean rolled up the window and swung his vehicle around in a wide U-turn. Wyatt waved at Jake, who slid behind the wheel of Wyatt’s truck as Ryder climbed onto the passenger seat. Then Wyatt lifted a hand, gesturing for Tina to get into her car. She thought about it for a few seconds while Jake started the truck and backed around to follow Dean. Reaching into one of the deep pockets of her dress, she pulled out her keys and pressed them into Wyatt’s hand.
“Why don’t you drive?”
He tilted his head, smiling. “Okay.”
She dropped down onto the passenger seat with a deep sigh. The car was warm from the morning sun, but the air felt just right. The relaxation started now.
Wyatt had to slide back the driver’s seat and hand her his hat before he could even get in. Dean and Jake were already turning onto the two-lane highway when he started the car. Tina rolled down her window, leaving the air conditioner off, and Wyatt followed suit. He caught up with the others soon enough. When they turned off onto a tree-lined dirt road, the temperature immediately dropped several degrees, but the vehicles in front of them kicked up so much dust that they had to roll up the windows and turn on the air. The red-orange dirt of south central Oklahoma coated all three vehicles by the time Dean brought their little convoy to a halt in a small park beside the lake.
It was a perfect spot with recently mown, fresh green grass and spreading shade trees. A concrete picnic table flanked by benches stood next to a small grill fixed in place atop a metal pole set into the ground. Jake and Ryder let the kids out and started unloading lawn chairs and fishing gear from the bed of Wyatt’s truck, while Ann and Dean pulled boxes and coolers from the back of their vehicle. Ann wore jeans and sandals with a pretty ruffled blouse, making Tina feel that she had overdressed.
Plucking at her skirt, she told herself it was too late to worry about that now. To her surprise, Wyatt reached over and covered her hand with his. When she looked at him, he shook his head.
“Don’t ever worry about how you look. Every time I think you can’t possibly get any more beautiful, you prove me wrong.”
In that moment, she knew she was falling in love with him.
It wasn’t part of her plan. It could only complicate matters. But how could she not fall in love with such a man?
How could any woman not fall in love with a man like Wyatt Smith?
Chapter Twelve
“Can I go fishing now? Pleeease.”
Tyler twisted his fingers together anxiously. Impressed that he hadn’t just run off after Dean and Donovan, Tina smiled.
“Of course you may.”
“A well-behaved boy is entitled to have some fun, I think,” Wyatt said, winking at him.
“Just be sure to do everything Dean tells you to do.”
“I will!” Tyler vowed
, grinning broadly as he ran off toward the lakeshore.
With baby Glory on her hip, Ann wandered by the blanket where Tina and Wyatt sat. “Don’t worry about him. I’m going to take this one down to see what all the excitement is about.”
“Should I go with you?” Tina asked, slipping on her skimpy shoes.
“No, no. Just sit and relax.”
“Can I do anything while you’re gone?”
Ann waved that away. “Plenty of time to lay out lunch when we get back.” She leaned forward slightly, repeating her previous advice, “Relax.”
Tina smiled. As Ann turned away, however, Wyatt unfolded his long legs and got to his feet. “How about a walk? There’s a path over there beneath the trees. Want to see where it goes?”
Nodding, Tina pulled her feet up beneath her. Wyatt reached down a hand. Leaving her hat on the quilt, she caught his hand and let him pull her to her feet. He kept her hand in his as they strolled the narrow pathway. Tina clasped his hand loosely. For some time, they walked in silence, listening to the others chatter in the distance, before Wyatt chuckled.
“I’ll be surprised if there’s a fish on this side of the lake, considering how much noise they’re making.”
“I’d just as soon not have to clean any fish myself,” Tina replied dryly, and he grinned at her. She got lost for a moment in his dark gaze. More to cover her reaction to him than anything else, she dredged up more words. “Thank you for recognizing Tyler’s good behavior.”
He squeezed her hand. “Good behavior should be recognized. But maybe I was more interested in walking out with his pretty mama alone than his behavior.”
A little frightened by the thrill that his compliments gave her, she scoffed. “Flattery isn’t necessary.”
“It’s not flattery.” He sounded a little offended. “It’s fact.”
“Oh, please.”
“Don’t you realize how lovely you are?”
Shaking her head, she answered with determined candor. “I’m well aware that I’m overweight.”