Page 64 of All Night with the Cowboy
“Tanner? Aren’t you supposed to be riding a bull?”
He laughed. “I rode him already.”
“And instead of having a night out you decided to come back home? How did you even get back here so fast?”
Tanner poured them both a drink, whiskey on ice, and passed one glass to his father as he sat on the chair opposite him. His father took it and reached for the remote, turning the TV off and facing him. He’d been single-minded about getting home as fast as he could, and now he was here, exhaustion was starting to gnaw at him and his ankle and wrist were killing him, so it was a relief to be sitting with his legs stretched out. He was also hoping the drink would numb the pain and discomfort a little.
Tanner held up his glass and leaned in to clink it against his father’s, before taking a small sip. The familiar burn in his throat put him at ease as he sat back.
“What are we drinking to, son?”
“My retirement,” Tanner replied, not missing a beat and surprising himself how quickly the words came out.
“Yourretirement?” Walter repeated.
“I’ve been thinking about it a lot, ever since your diagnosis, and the timing feels right. It’s been a long time coming and it’s taken me awhile to get my head around it, but I’m ready.”
He watched as his father took another sip, shaking his head as a smile slowly spread across his lips. “You know my treatment was successful, don’t you? I might not be around as long as I’d like to be, but I’m not dying. You’re not getting rid of me that fast!”
Tanner held up his drink again. “To your health,” he said. “And you’d better stick around for a while yet, because I’m planning on doing my MBA first before joining the family business. Thought I’d better add some letters to my name to make me sound more legit.”
Walter grinned. “Well, damn, I’ll drink to that!”
Tanner slowly sipped his drink, feeling like a weight had lifted from his shoulders that’d been pushing him down for weeks. He’d made the right decision, and it had never been so clear as right now.
“What’re you watching?” he asked.
Walter picked up the remote again and tossed it to him. “Nothing much. Find us a movie or something decent to watch, would you?”
Tanner couldn’t remember ever sitting in his father’s den and watching a movie with him, hell, he couldn’t remember spending a Saturday night in with him period, but it was nice. He laughed to himself as he flicked channels. Maybe he was finally growing the hell up.
***
Lauren sat at her parents’ dinner table, smiling as her father finished pouring the champagne for his girls, and lifted her glass high. She loved nights like these. Her sister’s family, her mom and dad, all gathered togethereating great food and drinking something equally as good—it was her perfect kind of night.
“When does work start to get busy for you?” her father asked. “Do you have time for a game of golf with your old man?”
Lauren and Hannah exchanged glances, like they had when they were girls and their father had suggested something deadly boring or had forgotten what they liked and didn’t like to do.
“Sure thing, Dad,” she said. “But how about we just go for a hike instead?”
“Patience, my love, patience,” he said in his dad voice. “Once you stop rushing and start enjoying the game, you’ll learn to love it.”
“Seriously, being a mom doesn’t give you an automatic card to get out of golfing,” Lauren hissed to her sister.
“Oh, Lauren was just telling me the other day that she was starting to love the games with you. Perhaps you should do a few extra holes next time?” Hannah said.
Lauren kicked her sister under the table, ready to kill her. She loved spending time with her dad, she did, but golf? She took a gulp of champagne to commiserate.
“What courses are you enjoying?” Fred, Hannah’s husband, asked.
Lauren turned to Hannah and was about to chastise her when there was a knock at the door. Her mother looked as surprised as she was that someone had come by to visit.
“You expecting anyone?” she asked her mom.
“No, not tonight. Would you mind seeing who it is?”
“If it’s someone wanting money or selling something, tell them to take a hike!” her father said. “Unless it’s aneighborhood kid. I always give them a few dollars if they’re fundraising.”
