CHAPTER 28 TESSA

“We have some news,” I say to my mom later in the afternoon. Tristan’s arm is around me and we’re snuggling on the couch when my mom walks in from her day at the church.

She looks between us, and her lips widen into a smile before her eyes dart down to my left hand. “I knew it!”

I can’t help my smile, too, as I stand. “We’re getting married.”

She throws her arms around me. “I’m so happy for you. Congratulations.”

She hugs Tristan next. “You’re just so perfect for her, and I was always rooting for you two to end up together.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Taylor,” he says.

“Stop it, Tristan. It’s Janet, or Jan, or Mom. Even Mil if you want.”

“Mil?” Tristan repeats.

“Mother-in-law,” she clarifies, and we all laugh.

“Mil it is,” he says.

“Tell me everything. How’d he do it?”

I glance at Tristan as she slides onto the recliner angled beside the couch, and he nods almost imperceptibly. It’s a silent form of communication that I’ve always had with him, like we can have an entire conversation without a single word.

“Oh, gosh, we have so much to tell you, Mom. He did it last night during the fireworks,” I begin.

“Oh, man! I was walking back home with Sue and Russ. Wait, do they know?”

Tristan shakes his head.

“Not yet,” I say. “Last night when we got in, I went to take a shower, and there was…I mean, I was…bleeding.” She gasps. “Everything’s totally fine,” I assure her, “but Tristan rushed me to the emergency room to get me checked. I have what’s called a low-lying placenta and there’s like a ten percent chance it could turn into something else but the doctor recommended pelvic rest and general rest. We’ll be okay.”

She puts her hand on her chest like my words are an actual relief. “Oh my goodness, Tessi-cat. You should’ve woken me up. I could’ve been there too…” Her words trail off at the end as it seems like some realization plows into her. “But Tristan was there. Just as he should have been.” Her eyes meet his, and she smiles a little sadly. “Thank you for being there for my girl—my girls.”

“I wouldn’t have been anywhere else,” he says.

My mom glances between us, and I feel like she has something she wants to say.

I nod. “It’s okay, Mom. We’re ready to answer the tough questions, and I can tell you have one.”

She hesitates, and then she lets it fly as her eyes lock on mine. “Will you be moving to Vegas with him for the season, then?”

I clear my throat and glance at him, and my eyes are locked on his when I answer, “Yes.”

He squeezes my hand.

“Oh,” she says softly.

“I have some good friends who’ve invited us to stay with them,” Tristan says. “A husband and wife. She’s my publicist, actually, and they have two small children and childcare. She works from home and has already offered Tessa a job.”

My mom’s brows shoot up. “Wow. You’ve already got it all figured out.”

“We’re working on it,” I say. “And there will always be a place for you to come visit. We have our house here when we’re in the off-season. We’ll be sort of like snowbirds, right? Except we’ll be coming back at the end of winter.”

“Snowbirds,” my mom echoes.

I glance at Tristan, and he nods again. “Come with us,” I say softly.

“You know I can’t,” she says. “I’ve got my job at the church, and Bingo, and the Ladies’ Auxiliary. I can’t just leave.”

Tristan reaches over and grabs my mom’s hand. “It’ll be okay,” he says softly. “They’ll be okay. My mom has been ducking in and out for the last few years so she can come to my games in Vegas. They commute back and forth, and there’s always a ticket available for you if you’d ever like to join.”

She brushes away a tear. “I just—I just—” She puts a hand over her mouth as she lets out a little sob.

I stand, walk over, and kneel beside her. “What is it, Mama?”

“What if there’s a problem and he’s out of town for the weekend?” she asks. “He says there’s no other place he would have been last night, but what if something like that happened in-season?” She bites her lip to keep the tears at bay.

“Trust me, it’s something I’ve thought about, too,” I say. “Be ready for anything, right? But Ellie will be there. I’ll be living with someone who’s a mother to two young children, and Tristan’s entire team will be there standing by us, ready to support us if we need anything at all.”

“But that’s not a replacement for your mother,” my mom says quietly, and I press my lips together.

“You’re right. That’s why I want you to come with us, and if you can’t or won’t, that’s okay. You come visit all the time,” I say.

She shakes her head. “I can’t just come visit and stay in somebody else’s home.”

“My parents love staying on the Strip when they come visit,” Tristan says. “Their favorite place is the Flamingo. Something about how it always smells like coconuts there. You pick the place, and I’ll book you the room.”

“You don’t have to do all that,” she protests weakly.

Tristan chuckles as he stands. He walks over and kneels next to her, mirroring me, but then he tosses his arm around her shoulder. “You’re about to be my Mil. You’re family, Janet, and it’s my way of thanking you for your daughter.”

Well, that starts the waterworks again—only this time it’s both my mother and me.

My mom invites Tristan’s parents over for dinner so we can tell them, too, and they both have knowing smiles before we open our mouths to make our confession.

“I asked Tessa to marry me,” Tristan announces as soon as they walk in the front door, and hugs and kisses are issued all around.

I even hear my mom say, “We’re going to be family!” to Sue.

My mom orders in pizza and salads from the Pizza Joint and we all sit around the table chatting as we wait for it to arrive.

They ask all the same questions, and Russ says at one point to my mom, “We should look into buying a place we can share when we’re out there visiting our kids and grandchild.”

I’m not crying, I swear.

Okay, I’m crying just a little.

He just called the baby their grandchild . They look at this baby that Tristan has taken on as his own as theirs, too, and the thought melts my heart.

“I have about a million questions,” Sue says, but then she looks over at me. “But let’s start with this one. Are you sure you’re okay with the life he leads? It’s a lot different there in Vegas than here in Fallon Ridge.”

I smile and nod as he grabs my hand in his. “I’m sure,” I say softly.

I say the word on the outside…but on the inside, I’m nervous. I still don’t know what, exactly, his life is like now, and I don’t know what it’ll be like when we just want to pop over to the market or go try on shoes at the mall or head to the movie theater. Will paparazzi follow us everywhere? Will they be camped outside to snap pics of the happy family walking out of their home? Or have I way over-glamorized this in my head?

Time will tell, I guess, but even though I say I’m sure about this new lifestyle…there’s only one thing I’m certain about, and that’s Tristan.

The rest I’m actually not so sure about.