Page 58 of Pull
Plus, she tried bringing home a boy her own age before, and we all remember how that played out.Forever LOLing.
I think Ben got over his aversion to Professor Morrison last night, during the party. According to him, they talked, shared a drink, and did some guy bonding or whatever, very different from the bonding Ben did with Ryan last Thanksgiving.The jokes are there, guys. I can’t not make them.
Whatever they talked about, I’m glad they seemed to work things out. All we really want is for Hailey to be happy. And even if this thing with Oliver ends up fizzling out, she’s twenty years old. Now is the time when she’ll experience life, date guys, make mistakes. It’s part of the process, the part of growing up that Ben and I never quite reached, until we met Ryan.
He gave us a renewed happily ever after.
Ryan is in the garage with Alec, who’s helping him get the new seats into the Mustang. Ben’s showing Kayla the garden while Hailey and Oliver traipse around the yard with Ethan, making him laugh like the happy baby he is.
And I’m just…breathing.
All this love, all this family… It’ll never go away. I’m more content than I’ve ever been in my life, and I have all these people to thank, but most importantly… My husbands. Both so different in their own ways, and yet the other pieces of my heart.
The smile refuses to leave my face, even as the doorbell rings and I go to answer it.
I pull open the door to find a large man with blonde hair gazing down at me. He looks concerned, which is odd because I’ve never been happier.I figured it’d be contagious.
“Hi, can I help you?” I ask, peering to the left at Ryan and Alec, laughing in the driveway.
“Um… I’m sorry,” the man says, and now that I’m taking a deeper look at him, he appears stressed and tired. “This is really weird, but… I’m looking for Tate Eckhart.”
I blink a few times up at the man who’s easily a foot taller than me. “And uh… who are you?”
“Lance?” Ryan walks up behind the guy with Alec at his side.
“Ohhh…you’reLance?” It’s all making sense.
This is Tate’s college crush.
But why is he here?
“Yea, um, hi,” Lance addresses Ryan, still a bit stiff and apparently uncomfortable. “I’ve been trying to reach Tate, but haven’t been able to get a hold of him. His assistant said he was coming to Tularosa for the weekend, and I know you guys are his friends…”
“Stalker,” Alec coughs, and Ryan elbows him.
“What’s going on over here?” Ben wanders in from the backyard, Kayla, Hailey, Oliver and Ethan in tow. “Oh, hey. Lance, right?”
“Yea, uh… this is super awkward,” Lance shakes his head, turning away from me. “I should just go.”
“Whoa whoa, don’t leave,” I call to him. “Tate was here last night. Usually he stays at my in-laws when he comes to Tularosa.” I look to Ben. “Is Tate at Jake’s?”
Ben looks a little skeptical. “I’m not sure if we should be telling him these things. I mean, if you want to see Tate, couldn’t you just call him?”
“He’s ignoring my calls,” Lance says with pain in his voice. “But I really need to speak with him.”
“Well, if he’s ignoring you then I’m sure he doesn’t want to speak with you,” Ben murmurs.
“Uh, hate to interject here,” Alec steps forward, “But weren’t you doing this exact thing at my house in ABQ last New Years?”
“Alec,” Kayla gasps, then squeezes Ben’s arm, rolling her eyes to him. “Oh my God, he’s so embarrassing.”
I let a giggle slip. “He’s right, Ben. What about when this was you looking for Ryan?”
“Awww,” Ryan pouts. “So sweet.”
“It was really sweet,” Hailey says, poking Ethan’s nose.
“Alright alright, Jesus,” Ben grunts. “Don’t you people forget anything?” He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.” He presses a button and brings the phone to his ear, all of us staring at him in silence. “Tate? Hey, man. How’s it going?”
