Page 44 of Wanting You

“It looks like there are some great hills around here for it.”

Nodding, she agreed. “I think you’re going to enjoy winter here in Sweetbriar.”

Looking up at her, he smiled. “I believe you’re right.”

And it had nothing to do with the weather.

“Okay, so Billie loves to bake, you love to cook. What about Levi and Ashlynn?”

The bark of laughter was unexpected. “Oh my goodness. Ash doesn’t cook at all. I mean…she can do some basic stuff, but Reid is definitely in charge of their kitchen. But she does hair and makeup like no one else and has a flair for decorating. And Levi…well…he tries.” She grinned. “And we weren’t going to talk about my family anymore, remember?”

“You’re right, you’re right. I just like figuring out the dynamics of a big family. Mine is small, so…”

“Tell me about them,” she softly prompted, and Tanner didn’t even hesitate.

“I swear I won the parent lottery. They are…they’re amazing and probably the strongest and most supportive people I’ve ever known.”

Chloe picked up her wine and shifted in her seat. “How did they feel about you leaving skiing behind to become a teacher?”

He chuckled. “They wondered why I waited so long to look for a teaching position.” Then he shook his head. “No, they always wanted me to chase after my dreams. And from the time I was in middle school, I knew I wanted to teach. But I was heavily involved with skiing, even at that age, and it was always a rule that I had to go to college and get a degree. I couldn’t simply rely on competing. There were times when school and competition schedules made things difficult, and sometimes my folks hired a tutor to travel with us to keep me from falling behind.”

“That’s very impressive.”

“Education is important. I always knew that,” he said solemnly. “They wanted to give me every opportunity to succeed. Especially after my brother passed away. Believe me when I tell you, I’ve been to more doctors and had more scans of my body than you can ever imagine.”

“They just wanted to make sure you were healthy,” she commented. “And I’m pretty sure any parent in their situation would do the same thing.”

He nodded. “I always understood, but…I hated it. Like…” Sitting back a bit, he raked both hands through his hair. “As an adult, I look back and wonder how they even carried on. We’ve talked about it some, and all they say is that they had to keep going because they had me. So naturally, I wanted to do everything I could to make them proud and give them joy.” He took a sip of his wine. “That’s not to say that I think I saved them or anything, but…we banded together and made a life that my brother is hopefully looking down and smiling at.”

Tanner saw the unshed tears shining in Chloe’s eyes and knew he needed to change the vibe fast.

“Where do you get tiny pumpkins for the kids to paint?” he asked before taking the last bite of his enchilada.

The question flustered her for a moment, but she quickly recovered. “Um…the grocery store gets them for me if I let them know in advance.”

“And did you?”

“I did. And for you too. I’m sorry, I know that was presumptuous, but…”

“Are you kidding? I’m thankful! Like I said, I haven’t been reading too far ahead in the binder, so…”

She stood and picked up her plate. “Let me just clean this up and we can go inside and look at everything. I’ll just…”

But Tanner was on his feet instantly. “I can help!” Then he realized he sounded a little overzealous and had to laugh at himself. “What I meant is that you don’t have to do it all yourself. I’m happy to help.”

“Thanks, Tanner.”

Together, they had everything cleaned up in minutes, all the while chatting about tiny pumpkins.

“They’re actually called Jack-Be-Littles,” she told him. “And they’re the perfect size for tiny hands. You’ll be amazed at how creative they can be at decorating them.”

“I’m amazed at a lot of things they do and how eager most of them are to learn new things. I thought for sure they’d be easily distracted and hard to keep their attention, but other than a few stragglers, they’ve been great.”

“Would you like another glass of wine before we go inside?”

“Sure!” Chloe topped off their glasses before they went into the living room. Tanner brought his binder with him and saw Chloe’s was already out on the coffee table. “You know, from the outside our houses look kind of similar, but your floor plan’s a little different from mine. Do you have rooms upstairs?”

“It’s unfinished up there. If I buy the house, I think I’d like to get an estimate on maybe making that a master suite.”

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