by Anna Martin
“Remember, I close the studio on Monday and Tuesday,” Max said with a shrug. “So I can watch her. If you want. We can go hang out with John at the activity center, or I can keep her here.”
“Max. You don’t have to do that.”
“I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t want to,” he said. “You don’t have to decide right away. But think about it.”
“I will.” Tyler crossed the room and kissed him soundly. “You’re a very wonderful person.”
“I’ve had coffee,” Max said sincerely. “That explains it.”
As Tyler laughed, Max wrapped his free hand around Tyler’s bare hip and tugged him closer, turning Tyler’s kiss into something slow and sure.
“You know, Juniper absolutely adores you.”
The implications of that had been bugging Tyler. June’s relationship with Max was special, anyone could see that, and Tyler was worried about causing his daughter’s first heartbreak if his relationship with Max went south.
“The feeling’s mutual,” Max said easily.
“I don’t want….”
“Her to get hurt,” Max finished for him. “I know. I won’t hurt her, Tyler. I promise.”
“Okay.”
Tyler had to believe him, had to put that trust in Max. He sealed Max’s promise with a kiss.
Later, when they were clean, after getting dirty with soap suds, and dressed in Tyler’s clothes—both of them, since all of Max’s clothes were at his apartment—Tyler checked his phone to find two texts from his mother asking when Tyler was going to pick June up. Not because she wasn’t happy to watch her granddaughter, of course, but there was still a lot of cleaning up to do from yesterday, Tyler.
“Do you want a ride home?” Tyler asked. “I need to go pick my daughter up from her beleaguered grandmother.”
“Ooh, long word. That would be good, actually. I have work to do.”
Tyler was not going to admit how good Max looked in his clothes. He’d picked Tyler’s denim button-down and rolled it up to the elbows, even though it was way too loose on him, and stolen Tyler’s boxer-briefs that he was wearing under his shorts from yesterday. On Tyler, the outfit made him look like a middle-aged dad. Max turned it into something from an aspirational men’s magazine… the kind Tyler was always finding at Josh’s house.
Because he could, Tyler pulled him in for another long, lazy kiss.
After he dropped Max off at the studio, Tyler cut across town to his parents’ house. As soon as he parked outside, he understood why his mom had been badgering him to come pick June up. The house looked like a bomb had hit it, with none of the cleaning up from yesterday yet done and four very excitable children running around screaming.
Tyler found his mom in the kitchen with a mimosa.
“I don’t normally drink at lunchtime,” she said. “But right now I need it. Don’t judge me.”
Tyler kissed her on the head. “Mom, it’s not even eleven.”
She pushed her sunglasses down her nose and glared at him.
“I’m going to get them playing the cleaning-up game,” Tyler said quickly.
“Trash bags are in the cleaning cupboard.”
“Yes, ma’am. On it.”
Feeling guilty, Tyler rounded up the kids and handed them each a trash bag with the promise of a Popsicle for whoever collected the most. He put Casey and June in charge of finding recyclables, since that would earn him brownie points with his mom, and decided he was going to have to scrub the grill himself.
Tyler didn’t own a grill for this very reason. Cleaning it was hell.
By the time the kids were done cleaning the house and the yard, and Tyler had run the dishwasher three times to clean everything that wasn’t disposable, his mom looked slightly less murderous.
Dana arrived just as the last of the cleaning was completed.
“Great timing,” Tyler told her.
Dana just smiled sweetly. “Where are my kids?”
“Outside being awful. I gave them a bag of Skittles and a Popsicle each, so good luck with them this afternoon.”
“Are you shittin’ me? Tyler, you know Brady is sensitive to sugar!” she yelled and punched him in the arm. “I’m telling Mom.”
Tyler just laughed.
He kept a few changes of clothes for June in his old bedroom here for when she slept over, and she’d picked something that was at least weather-appropriate for today. Tyler grabbed yesterday’s clothes and her bathing suit and stuffed them in his backpack, making a mental note to bring more things over the next time he visited.
“Come on, June Bug,” Tyler yelled from the back porch. “Time to go.”
She wasn’t happy with that, and dragged her feet saying goodbye to everyone. Tyler just let her. They weren’t in a rush.
“What do you want to do today, kiddo?” he asked once she was bundled into the car and strapped in. “The world is our lobster.”
“You’re so silly, Daddy. Where’s Mr. Max?”
“He has to work. Sorry, you’re stuck with me.”
“Can we go look at the horses?”
Tyler considered it. He thought the ranch would probably be open. “I’m not sure, but we could swing by and check?”
“Okay.”
The ranch wasn’t far off their route home, so if everything was closed up, Tyler would try to convince June to go for a walk instead. It seemed like she needed to burn off some energy.
He was pretty sure Max’s mom wouldn’t be working, but went over to the office to check anyway. A young girl sat at the main reception desk where Tyler was used to seeing Mrs. Beckett.
“Hey,” she said, smiling at them. “Can I help?”
“We just wanted to make sure it was okay to go and look at the horses,” Tyler said. “Juniper has lessons here on Saturdays.”
“Of course. John just got back with the six big horses yesterday morning, so you can go visit them if you like.”
“Thank you,” June said.
“No problem.”
The day was much cloudier than it had been yesterday, with a cooler breeze too. Tyler was grateful for that. He liked the sun, but he was definitely fighting the remains of a hangover. He pulled his sunglasses down as they walked around to the stables.
Well, he walked. Juniper skipped.
They found John in the stables, carefully brushing down one of the “big” horses. Tyler didn’t know much about horses, but they certainly looked huge to him.
“Hey, Mr. John,” June called.
John stopped, then smiled when he saw them walking over.
“Hey, Juniper. Tyler.”
Tyler accepted his quick handshake. “We came to see the horses,” Tyler explained. “I didn’t realize you were out here.”
“Ginger is meeting a few of her friends for lunch. I decided to make myself useful.”
June hung back, sticking close to Tyler’s leg. She wasn’t used to these horses. All her lessons were on the smaller ponies. Tyler picked her up so she was at a better height to smooth her hand over the horse’s nose.
“This is Storm,” John said. “She’s very gentle.”
“She’s very big,” June countered.
John laughed. “She is. Would you like to feed her a carrot? There’s some in my bag over there.”
June nodded enthusiastically, and Tyler set her down so she could go find Storm’s treat.
“Everything okay?” John asked.
Tyler nodded. “I just picked June up from my mom’s. She said she didn’t mind having June and Dana’s kids for the night, but I think she was regretting that this morning.”
“I can only imagine.”
“Mr. John, is this one okay?” June called, holding up a carrot.
“Perfect,” John told her.
Storm snorted softly and shook her head.
Tyler stepped back and let John show June how to hold her hand flat and let Storm take the carrot for herself. John had a good nature for kids. He was calm and patient; nothing ever seeme
d to be too much trouble.
“Can I ride Storm one day?” June asked.
Tyler bit back the instinctive “no” that was on the tip of his tongue. Jeez. His little girl was not ready to be riding horses that big just yet.
“When you’re taller,” John said.
She sighed wearily. “Okay. Mr. John?”
“Yes, June?”
“Are you Max’s dad?”
“I’m his stepdad.”
June looked over to Tyler, frowning.
“John is married to Ms. Ginger. She’s Max’s mom.”
“So you’re married to Ms. Ginger but not Max’s dad.”
“That’s right,” John told her. “That’s what stepdad means.”
She nodded, taking it in. Tyler thought there might be more questions later. They’d always been open with June about the different types of families, especially since she’d grown up with a gay uncle who was married to another man. But apparently Tyler had missed stepfamilies off his list.
He made a mental note to find the book about different families for bedtime reading again soon.
It was maybe unsurprising when the subject came up again in the car on their way home.
“Daddy, if you got married, would I have a stepdad?”
“If I got married to a man, you would,” Tyler said. “If I got married to a lady, you’d have a stepmom.”
She nodded, like this made sense. “Do Eli and Lucie have a stepdad?”
“No, hon. Josh and Toby are both their dads. They made their family together. It’s only when a mommy or a daddy already have a child and then they marry someone else that you get a stepparent.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“You get it now?”
“Yeah. Thank you.”
“No problem, kiddo. Is there anything else you want to know?”
“I don’t think so.”
He stopped at a red light and reached back to ruffle her hair. “Those were some good questions.”
“Thanks. Can we get a snack when we get home?”
Tyler laughed. “Sure. But we need to think about making something for dinner as well.”
“Can I have—”
“Grape jelly and cucumber with no crusts?”
June giggled the rest of the way home.
Chapter 17
On Monday, Max forced himself to get out of bed early and clean the apartment. Tyler’s shift rotations had changed, and he was going to be working nights again, so they were going to make the most of the time they had together.
News had spread about Sweetwater Ink, and Max’s appointment book was starting to fill up. The interview had helped, as had his efforts on social media. It meant he’d at least be kept busy at work until Tyler moved back onto day shifts again.
Max didn’t want to make any plans with Tyler over the next few days, knowing how important it was to him to keep life as steady as possible for June. Even though he really wanted to be selfish. He’d already accepted that June came first, every time, and he was really okay with that.
Sharing a relationship with another person was strange.
Even if that person was six years old.
Max finished his chores and rewarded himself with a long, cool shower to wash away the sweat, and a really big bowl of Cocoa Krispies. He’d slightly misjudged the time, though, so when Tyler knocked on his door, Max was still only wearing his underwear.
Which just so happened to be very tight, electric-pink boxer-briefs.
“Good morn—oh wow.”
Max laughed and rose up onto his toes to kiss Tyler on the cheek. Tyler wasn’t that much taller than him, but plenty broader. Max happened to think it was super hot.
“Morning,” Max said. “Sorry. Didn’t realize the time. Give me five minutes and I can be dressed.”
“Give me five seconds and you can be undressed.”
Max kissed him on the nose. “Later.”
“This is new,” Tyler said, tapping Max’s cheek.
Max twitched his nose. It still stung from when Hallie had pierced it through his right nostril. Despite her warnings, he’d immediately asked her to swap out the straight stud for a thin silver hoop.
“I’m not sure if I’m keeping it,” Max said.
“It looks good. Suits you.”
“Thanks.” Max grinned. “She said it would be good promotion for her business, and I don’t have any other piercings, so I figured what the hell.”
He tugged Tyler’s hand, leading him through to the bedroom so they could keep talking while he got dressed.
“Sit down,” he said, giving Tyler a little push in the chest.
“Can I just say, your ass looks fantastic in those shorts. I didn’t know pink was your color.”
“You’re such a goober,” Max said with a laugh.
“I’m deadly serious.”
“That’s why I called you a goober.”
Max pulled open his drawers, quickly finding a loose, threadbare T-shirt and denim shorts.
“What are we doing today? Do I need sneakers or will flip-flops work?”
“What do you want to do?”
Max turned back, the shorts now covering his pink ass but the T-shirt tossed over his shoulder.
“I want to get outside and enjoy the sun for maybe an hour or two, then get the fuck out of the heat and do something inside.”
“I’m sure we can come up with some creative indoor activities.”
Max threw the shirt at him. “When did you turn into such a horndog, huh?”
“I’m joking. Kind of. I have to pick June up from school at three, so we have until then.”
“What time do you start work?”
“Seven.”
Max took his shirt back and pulled it on. “Is that too early to get dinner?”
“No, I usually make something for June, then leave while she’s eating. It’s less emotional for her that way. She doesn’t like it when I work nights because I’m not there to tuck her in.” Tyler shrugged. “I don’t like it either, to be honest, but it’s part of the job.”
“Does she stay with your family, or….”
“My dad usually sleeps over at my place so June can stay in her own bed. We figured out that she settles much quicker if she’s at home.”
“I would too.” Max spread his arms. “How do I look?”
“Good enough to eat.”
That made him laugh. “So if you don’t have any particular plans, there’s something I want to show you.”
“I’m up for anything.”
“Good to know,” Max said with a wink. That made Tyler laugh, and Max was stupidly pleased they could have this easy back-and-forth without either of them making a big deal of it.
They got in Tyler’s car and Max gave him directions until they ended up at John’s ranch. After Tyler had pulled into a parking space, he punched Max lightly on the arm.
“I know how to get here.”
“It was more fun this way,” Max said. “Come on.”
He didn’t bother checking them in, since all the staff who worked here knew Max anyway and wouldn’t be bothered by him wandering around.
The ranch had started off as just the stables, which John’s uncle had owned. When he’d retired, John had taken over and expanded to include the camping trips on horseback, since that was what he was interested in. Now they had dozens of staff with different skills, who taught all sorts of activities.
Max led them around the side of the main barn, where they held parties and weddings and movie nights, to where the basketball hoops had been set up.
“Did you have anything to do with this?” Tyler asked, nudging his shoulder against Max’s.
“Nope. These are actually the old ones from Sweetwater High. They just replaced theirs, and John got them for a good price. We built everything last weekend and the rest of the equipment just arrived.”
He went over to the small shed next to the cages and unlocked the combination padlock. The shed still smelled l
ike new wood. Max took a deep breath of it.
“This is some nice gear you have,” Tyler said approvingly.
“Well, we didn’t need much, so we thought we’d get better stuff so it lasts longer.”
“That’s a good plan.”
“Yeah. We’re going to be moving the archery range to along here before the summer rush starts too. So all the archery equipment will be stored in here as well.”
Max could see it already, how the long archery range would stretch out next to the practice hoops. He’d already helped John draw out plans for a shelter, so people could rest out of the sun when they were waiting their turn.
“So, you want to play a little one-on-one?” Max asked.
“Sure. Haven’t done this in a long time, though. I could be terrible.”
“You’re going to be better than me. I don’t even know which side of the ball is up.”
Tyler laughed and picked a ball from the rack. “Come on.”
John hadn’t opted for a full-size court, partly because they didn’t have space for one, and partly because he didn’t want to host any competition games. By keeping it small, he could use the space just for coaching and let the high school take care of the games.
Max watched as Tyler stretched his neck from side to side, then took off into a run, dribbling the ball and leaping from what looked like miles away to slam it into the net in a way Max found very satisfactory.
“Don’t mind me,” Max said, crossing his arms over his chest and grinning. “I’m quite happy to watch.”
Tyler laughed and passed him the ball.
“Come on, tattoo boy. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
“Oh, it’s on.”
After Tyler was done kicking Max’s ass, they grabbed sandwiches from a deli on their way home, stopping to eat them at a popular lookout spot over the lake and the mountains.
“You know how often I bust up teenagers trying to get it on in the back of their parents’ Volvos out here?” Tyler said.
Max almost choked on his sub. “Is that why you brought me out here?”
“No,” Tyler said mildly. “I thought you might appreciate the view.”
“Oh, I do.” Max checked Tyler out as blatantly as he could. Tyler just rolled his eyes.
The streets of Sweetwater were unnaturally quiet as they made their way back to Tyler’s house. At least, it seemed that way to Max, who was still adjusting to living in a small town after spending the past decade in bigger cities.