Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

“ H ey, what’s going on?” Kyler navigated a snowbank at the crosswalk, the plows having done a number on them during the night. He felt as if he were climbing Denali to get to the coffee shop, his hands full of last-minute shopping bags, and Henley on the damn phone. Finally. She’d been out of touch for three days, ever since she’d called to tell him she would be late.

“Shit, Ky, what hasn’t been going on.” She sounded exhausted; he knew her well enough to know her tells there. “About the time I was ready to leave, Blaze got into something in the boarding stable and came down with a case of colic. Not bad enough to really hurt her, but I had to walk her every hour for ten minutes for a day, then find another place for them to stay.”

“You could bring them with you, Henley.” He almost ran into a guy who came charging out of a jewelry shop, face like a thundercloud.

“I am, but I needed Blaze to be road-ready first.” She sighed. “And then Momma fell and broke her wrist.”

“Jesus. Well, that explains why you didn’t come straight from Vegas. Is she going to be okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, Bentley is with her now, but it was a big mess. I’m sorry. I mean, I meant to be there days ago. But I’m half a day out now, and I’ll be there tonight.”

“Okay, cool.” Not that he would tell Paige until Henley was there. Paige was pretty peeved at her mom. “Did you bring something nice to wear? We got a big party to go to tomorrow night.”

“What kind of party? Like, do I have to wear a dress, because I’m not wearing a dress.”

“It’s at a ranch. I can’t see that a dress would be necessary.” AJ had said that a couple of his friends owned a dude ranch outside of town a ways, and they were having a kid-friendly party. But he’d also said that it could get a little fancy up in there, so Kyler was going to have to wear his good jacket. He wasn’t sure yet what Paige was going to wear.

“Oh, I totally have something sparkly for a Christmas party. No worries. I got Paige a bunch of presents, by the way. Clothes and some toys and all. She says she’s excited to introduce me to her friend.”

“Yeah, about that…” He was going to have to tell her that he and AJ were sleeping together. He imagined Austin would be fine sleeping on the couch when he spent the night or just not spending the night at all.

But that was a long time. She was going to be at the house for two weeks.

“Are they fighting? Paige didn’t say so when I talked to her this morning. She was with him, in fact, and his dad.”

“She is. They’re at some kind of party for the gymnastics place. I drew the long straw so I could finish up my shopping.”

She laughed, that throaty sound so familiar. “So domestic.”

“Screw you, Hen. Anyway, I should warn you, uh—” He glanced around, trying to find the damn coffee shop. Another half a block. “I’m dating Paige’s friend’s dad.”

There. Woo. He’d said it.

“No shit. I was wondering if you were ever gonna come out of the closet.”

“There really wasn’t a closet to come out of.”

“Oh, honey, I’m not accusing you of anything. I saw how you looked at the cowboys. And the cowgirls. I always figured one day we’d have a threesome. Your new guy bi?”

“I don’t think so.” He couldn’t help his laugh there. AJ seemed to be the absolute queerest person he knew. Possibly was the queerest man alive.

Although that probably wasn’t fair. They had a whole gay ski week here in Aspen. In a couple of months, he would totally be excited to see what that was like.

“That’s a shame. I also am not bi. I like dick. But then again, so do you.”

“Henley…”

“Wasn’t it you started it? I’m not the one sleeping with my daughter’s best friend’s father.”

He nodded. And tried to figure out what the hell he was going to get AJ for Christmas. “Oh, even better. I’m the cover model for his romance novels.”

There was a long pause. “You have got to be shitting me.”

“No. You know, I had to pay for some things at the house—” And he explained the whole sordid story, which was not particularly sordid, but all he could do was kind of shrug and blush and stammer.

“I think that’s adorable. I mean, seriously. You’re a Fabio. Does Paige know?”

She had never mentioned it, so he didn’t think so. The kids weren’t really allowed in AJ’s office, as a rule. Not because it was pervy or anything, but because the room was literally a walk-in space with a foldout chair, and the chances of Dallas and Paige breaking something were right at one hundred percent.

“Well, anyway, that makes me want to meet him more. I’ll see you, hopefully at dinner if that’s okay.”

“We’ll be at the house. Be careful.”

“You got it, honey. Bye.”

She hung up, and Kyler ducked into the coffee shop, damn near frozen to death. Shit it was cold out there.

“Hey, Kyler. The usual?”

Lord, he was getting to where the baristas knew his name and his order. “Please. Cold as a witch’s tit out there.”

“Coming right up.”

He hunted a table, but didn’t see one, so he moved off to one side so he could put his damn bags down. They were dragging at his arms.

“Well, Kyler Hale! How are you?” One of the moms from 4-H—Kayla? Kyla? Katia?—came up, all fuzzy hood and fake eyelashes. “How’s it going?”

“Good. Good. How are you doing?” He tried for a smile, even if he was running down the list of all the things he had to do still today before Henley showed up.

“Excellent. I’ve been doing my last-minute shopping while my mom has Mikala. Where’s Paige?”

“With her bestie and his dad.” He was grateful too. Austin was a trouper.

“Oh? Mikala says that she’s friends with that little autistic boy. So sweet of her.”

Autistic? Dallas?

No.

Antisocial? A little. Shy? Yep. So smart he was scary? God yes. But Dallas just needed a bit of encouragement to trust that someone wasn’t going to come after him.

“He’s not autistic.” He kept his voice even, adding in a hint of surprise. These folks might think he was rodeo trash, but he knew how to be Western and make someone eat their words and think it was their idea. “But he sure needed a friend who believed in him.”

“Good for her!” She put her hand on his arm. “She’s a little sweetheart. So brave and caring. She must get that from her daddy.”

“Uh, thanks.” Was she batting her eyelashes at him? And man, she had some amazing false eyelashes going on. And those eyebrows. Henley called them lacquered.

“Here’s your coffee, Mr. Kyler.” The barista handed him his cup and a smile. “Enjoy.”

“What are you drinking, Kyler? Something strong or sweet?”

“Strong today. Thanks, Hannah.” He raised his cup to…Kayla. It was Kayla. “Well, I should…”

“Did you want to sit? I have a table over here.”

His brain said no, but his frozen feet said yes. He needed thicker socks, dammit. And longies to wear under his jeans. Cotton was the damn death fabric, after all. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem! Come bring your packages. You need someone to make sure you don’t freeze.”

“It is pretty raw out there.” He was pretty sure she was flirting with him, but then, a lot of the moms involved in Paige’s activities seemed that way, and they were just being nice. It was like, a thing here. He wasn’t sure how to read people.

Not only that, but…hell, he was very busy dealing with AJ and Henley, with the kids. With all these changes.

He didn’t need any bonus drama from random women.

“So what do you do for fun?” she asked when he was settled across from her.

“I hang out with my kid. I’m good friends with Dallas’s dad, as well.” That felt… dishonest, though it was true. But he hadn’t discussed his relationship status with Austin yet as far as telling random mostly strangers. So he wasn’t going to feel guilty. AJ had a right to decide who knew for himself.

“Ah. He writes romance novels—gay ones. How brave, don’t you think?”

“I guess? He’s gay, after all.” He grinned, thinking what AJ would have to say about this whole thing.

“Yes, that’s the rumor.” She chuckled, and the sound wasn’t cruel. “Are you two…I mean, I don’t want to be barking up the wrong tree.”

“I’m not in the market.” That was the best way to put it, right? He had an ex he co-parented with and a new boyfriend who was becoming a live-in. He was as taken as it got.

“Oh.” Her face fell, but she didn’t get pissy. “Well, good to know. We’ll just have to be friends. What did you get Paige for Christmas? Mine wanted a dollhouse.”

“Oh, Lord, my girl wanted all sorts of stuff for her horse, some books so she could catch up with Dallas on her reading, a new pair of boots, and chickens.” Not necessarily in that order. He was happy to be friends. Hell, he could use a few.

“Chickens? Oh, how fun! What kind? We have silkies and Plymouth Rocks at the house. I want some that lay colored eggs.”

“What do you recommend for first-timers?” he asked, grabbing his coffee to take a sip. “We’ve never had a place we could have them.”

“Rhode Island Reds. No question. They’re good egg producers, they’re exceptional with kids, and they’re hardy.” She rolled her eyes, the drama evident. “Just winterize your coop or wait for spring? They can die of hypothermia quick.”

“I’ll give her the coop for Christmas, and an IOU for spring chickens.” That tickled him. “Spring chickens.”

She giggled, slapping the table. “Nice.”

“Thanks. I’m here all week. ”

“Let her research her chickens, and she can use it for her 4-H project.”

“Mmm.” He tried for noncommittal.

“What? What is that mmm?” She frowned slightly. “It sounds ominous.”

“She’s not sure she wants to stay in 4-H.”

“Oh? It seems like such a good fit for her.”

Kyler shrugged, his neck a little hot. “A couple of the kids have been kind of mean about her being a rodeo kid. Really hurt her feelings.”

“What? Have you talked to Ron and Maria? That’s not cool. That’s not what 4-H is about.”

“I haven’t yet, no. Paige is still trying to decide if she wants me to, and I’m trying to walk the line between letting her make decisions and encouraging her to stand up for herself.” He gave her a wry smile. “I loved 4-H.”

“Oh, man. She’s six. Six still needs a parent to step in. Ten? Twelve? Sure.” Kayla shook her head, eyebrows drawing together. “But she’s still just a little girl, you know? Don’t let her grow up too fast.”

“You think?” He was flying blind a lot of the time, and Henley was a huge proponent of letting Paige choose stuff.

“Yes. She wants structure at this age. Wants you to have her back.”

“Okay, cool, then. I’ll talk to Ron and Maria.” They seemed like good folks.

“I think that’s a great idea. They can’t help, if they don’t know. Paige deserves better.”

“Thanks.” He really appreciated her thoughts. AJ tended to lean toward the super protective, because Dallas was so damn bullied, so he’d told Kyler Paige should leave if she was uncomfortable, but Kyler thought she could benefit from 4-H and needed to stick it out.

“Sure, and if you find out that it was my girl being evil, you let me know.” Kayla shook her head, her lips pursed. “Mikala wasn’t raised to be evil, and we’ll have a discussion about acting like a human being. She’s still recovering from losing her father.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ask…”

“It was an accident.” She sighed. “And I miss him like a sore tooth. So does my girl.”

“I bet. That sucks.” She was a much better egg than he’d given her credit for, and Kyler was a little ashamed of himself.

“Yeah. You were my first flirt.” Her lips tightened, and she blinked quick a couple three times before she held his gaze. “How’d I do?”

“Good. Really good, hon. I promise.” He chuckled. “I’m on uneven ground myself. I’ve never dated a guy before.” So much for not blurting it out.

“No? Well, I have. It’s tough.” She tilted her head. “But I can tell you, they like it when you’re yourself. Guys get a ton of bad press, but…if you’re you, and he likes that? It’s best.”

“Yeah. I think I get what you mean.” He actually thought being with AJ was way easier than Henley had been as far as just… everyday stuff. And God knew, they were compatible in bed.

“So, are you ready for Christmas now? I keep thinking I am, and I keep finding more things.”

They started chatting then about nothing, and Kyler thought he’d found himself a friend.

And honestly, by the time he headed back out into the cold, he figured he might be ready to take on Henley and Christmas and the whole nine yards.