“No. She’s going to want us to stay for the weekend. I know her. If it’s more than a twenty-minute drive, she acts like you survived the Oregon Trail just to get there.”
Tate lets out a snort before pulling me into his arms and kissing the top of my head. Instantly, my nerves relax, and I nearly forget I just agreed to bring Tate home to meet my family. My relationship with my parents is complicated, so Aunt Sophia’s opinion is really the only one that I’m worried about.
“That’s fine. We can go there Saturday afternoon and come back Sunday morning if she asks us to stay.” He kisses my forehead. “Just fix one of your amazing breakfasts and she’ll forgive us for not staying the entire day. Between Hayden and Grayson, along with the ranch hands who come and go, I’m sure they can keep things over here covered. I’m sure Hayden will be fine coming here unless he has travel plans I don’t know about. And I’m hoping Gray will be okay to take care of Boulder Ranch for a day or two.”
He's like my personal bubble. When his arms are around me, the idea of bringing him to meet my family isn’t terrifying. He gives me a tight squeeze before stepping back and holding me at arm’s length while he studies me. Apparently satisfied with what he sees, he pulls me back into his arms without another word.
“Do you even want to meet my family?”
“If you’re okay with it, I’d love to meet your aunt and whoever else ends up there.”
I laugh because he has no idea how accurate that statement is. My aunt doesn’t care that I don’t really get along with most of my family. She’ll invite them all anyway. Tate doesn’t think it’s a big deal, but he doesn’t know how dysfunctional my family is. I’m not sure if I’m more nervous or excited. I’m only excited because I know my aunt is going to love him, and I have some tiny bit of hope that the rest of my family will be too busy to show up.
“I guess that makes this real, huh? Meeting my family?”
“Darlin’, this has been real since the first time you stepped onto my ranch.”
Chapter 35
Tate
“Areyousureyouwant to do this?” Joy asks as I pull my truck onto the road, following the directions on my phone.
Instead of responding, I roll my eyes and laugh. She’s asked that question at least seventy times since her aunt invited us. I would have thought after spending nearly the entire week together she would be feeling better about it. Especially since things finally seem to be falling into place. Gray is pretty self-sufficient, so I was able to get ahead on my end before we left. And my hours haven’t been as long.
“You’re right,” she says with a sigh, causing me to chuckle again. “It’s fine.”
She’s sitting up in her seat clasping and unclasping her hands. Anxiety radiates from her as she stares straight ahead. I’m surprisingly calm, considering I never thought I’d be here. In a relationship. Meeting family. I never imagined this was something I’d want or something I deserve. But as I drive toward Joy’s hometown, the warmth in my chest is proof that this has been my missing piece.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, I cover her hands with my larger one. She begins to relax under my touch as I make slow circles with my thumb. Once she finally relaxes in her seat, I move my hand to her thigh and give it a squeeze.
“It’s going to be fine. And if you decide you want to leave, we’ll leave. I’ll follow your lead. Do we need a safe word?”
She snorts out a laugh and whips around to face me. “Tate!”
I shrug innocently. “What?”
Her laughter fills the truck, and I feel the air surrounding us get a bit lighter. I understand why she’s nervous. It makes perfect sense. We haven’t been seeing each other for long. I’m technically her boss. And Joy’s aunt only found out about me a week ago.
The two-hour drive did not feel like two hours. When I glance at the map and it says we’re only ten minutes away, I can’t believe it. It was a comfortable drive once Joy began to relax. We talked and listened to music. Joy sang along to her favorite songs. We are just leaving the suburbs and entering a more rural section of town when Joy tells me to slow down.
“Turn right just past these trees. If you follow the directions navigation tells you, you’ll miss the driveway.”
As promised, as soon as I pass the trees, a long driveway comes into view. I turn off into the section in front of a large white farmhouse. It’s larger than mine, but about the same age if I had to guess. A large fenced-in area can be seen at the end of the curved driveway. Beside the fenced area sits a large barn and stables. It’s impressive. I wouldn’t have guessed the size of the facility just looking at the driveway and the part of the house that’s visible from the road.
“You ready?” I ask.
She shrugs her shoulders and moves to exit the truck, but I raise my hand signaling for her to stop as I reach for my own door handle. She knows I hate it when she opens her own door. And I’m definitely not going to have her do it when I know her aunt is watching, just hoping for a reason to dislike me. I open her door and take her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze before helping her step out.
“Hey, Aunt Sophia,” Joy greets as we approach the porch steps.
The older woman was on the porch waiting before Joy had both feet on the ground. Her brown skin is smooth aside from a few faint smile lines and creases around her eyes when she smiles warmly at her niece. Her salt and pepper hair is styled in long braids and piled on top of her head. She’s casual in a long flowy top paired with jeans and cowboy boots. She somehow reminds me of Martha, even though she’s quite a bit older.
Sophia pulls Joy into a hug, and I wait at the bottom of the steps to give them some space to say hello. Swallowing hard, I'm unable to tear my gaze from the way they look at each other lovingly. I’m reminded that I don’t really have this. The closest I have to extended family is the Eglestons, and I’m grateful to have them… but it’s not the same.
“You must be the one Joy was talking about,” Sophia says with her hands on her hips.
I remove my hat and reach out a hand. “Tate. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs.—”
