His brows shot up. “No shit?”
“Yeah, no shit.”
“We need to have a beer and catch up.”
“Or six.”
Ty nodded. “After Christmas, me, you, and Brock, let’s head up to the lake house if the weather is good. Just to hang out.”
I smiled. “I like the sound of that. It’s been awhile.”
“Since Beck.”
We both looked out toward the mountains and stared at it in silence. The two of us searched for something, or someone.
I dropped my gaze. “I feel like my world is about to turn upside down and I have no fucking control over anything, Ty.”
When I looked up and turned to face my oldest brother, he smiled. “Sometimes the only way to get your control back is to let it go.”
I frowned. “That makes no sense at all. You start on the eggnog a bit early, man?”
With a deep laugh, he hit me on the side of the arm and started toward his truck. “I’ll meet ya up at the house, Tanner.”
I shook my head and made my way over to the trailer. Suddenly, I was more than ready to get up to the house and see my folks.
Chapter Four
TANNER
The moment I stepped through the back door, my mama wrapped her arms around me and hugged me like she hadn’t seen me in years. “Tanner, sweetheart! You came home early!”
I looked past her at Ty, who grinned. My father stood next to him, with an equally big smile on his face.
Mama pushed me out at arm’s length and gave me a once-over. “Nothing is broken this time, right?”
I laughed. “No, just in need of some R and R.”
She beamed with happiness. “Then you came to the right place.”
My father stepped up and gave me a quick hug with a hard back slap. “It’s good to see you, son. Ty and Brock can use the extra hands to help out around the ranch.”
With a hard glare, my mother pointed at my dad. “Ty Senior, did you not hear the boy say he needed some rest and relaxation?”
Dad laughed and shook his head. “If the boy wanted to relax, then he ought to have known better than to come home.”
Mama rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh before she faced me. She cupped my face and smiled up at me once more. I could see the happiness dance in her eyes, and it made my heart swell. “I’m so happy to have you back home. How long are you staying, sweetheart?”
“A month or so.”
She nearly shouted as she pulled me in for another hug.
I caught sight of Brock as he walked into the kitchen. Blayze, his six-year-old son, was right on his heels. “Well, look what the cat dragged in.”
“Uncle Tanner!” Blayze cried out.
I bent down and caught him as he ran and jumped into my arms. “Holy cow, boy, you need to stop growing!” I said while I gave him a quick look over.
“Tell me about it,” Lincoln said as she entered the room.
I smiled as I looked at Lincoln. She was carrying a sleeping Morgan and had a glow about her that screamed she was expecting another baby. Of course, the small baby bump was another clue.
“Lincoln, how are you?” I asked as she made her way over to me. I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “You look beautiful, as always.”
Brock quickly took Morgan from his wife’s arms like a man who handled a baby all the time.
“I’m doing wonderful. I’m so glad you made it home early!” she replied as we hugged.
“So am I.” I looked down at her stomach. “When are you due again?”
She laughed. “Tanner, please, mark it in your phone! You keep asking. May fifteenth!”
I pulled out my phone and did exactly what she asked me to do. After a quick glance around the room, I looked back at Ty. “Where’s Kaylee?”
“She should be here…”
“Hello!”
The sound of Kaylee’s voice came from the front of the house. When she walked into the kitchen, she stopped and looked at me, then broke out into a brilliant smile. “Well, holy shi…”
“Kaylee!” Lincoln warned.
Kaylee rolled her eyes and made her way over to me. “Fiddlesticks. The youngest Shaw brother is back in town. Ladies, hold onto your panties!”
I laughed and hugged her. She turned her face and whispered into my ear, “I’ve got a Christmas surprise for you.”
When I pulled back, I replied in a hushed tone, “Oh, yeah? Am I going to like this surprise?”
She chewed on her lip for a moment and then answered, “I think so, if what I saw at the wedding was any indication.”
I frowned, confused by what she meant. “The wedding? Your wedding?”
Ty and Kaylee had gotten married last September and were still in the honeymoon phase of their marriage judging by the way my brother was currently staring at his wife.
I turned my gaze away from Ty and Kaylee, only to have it locked onto her. Those hazel eyes that from my memory reminded me of the colors of fall.
Timberlynn Holden.
Her face brightened from across the room as she took in the sight before her. Everyone followed my gaze and my mother gasped. “Timberlynn! Oh, my goodness, another surprise!”
I looked over at Ty, who simply stood there with a stupid-ass grin on his face. It would have been nice if he had given me a heads up that Kaylee’s cousin was going to be here. The last time I saw her was at the wedding, when Dirk, my brother Brock’s best friend, and I had both made it our mission to get to know her better. She was beautiful. No, that wasn’t even the right word for her.
Stunning.
Breathtaking.
Those words didn’t even begin to describe Timberlynn. She was all of them plus. Her blonde hair was down and fell in soft ringlets around her face, making her look younger than she was. Her eyes
