Page 39 of Wanting You

“Ashlynn…” she whined.

Huffing with annoyance, Ashlynn relented. “Tomorrow. But only because I’m probably going to be in a sugar coma and I plan to jump Reid when he gets home. Sex and brownies! It’s gonna be a great night!”

Tanner walked in and spotted her, smiling. Chloe waved before moving in close to Ashlynn’s ear, “If you say one thing to embarrass me, I’ll tell Reid all about how you’re afraid of the Muppets.”

“What is a Snuffleupagus, Chloe?! And why is he just living on Sesame Street?” her sister whispered anxiously.

“I will call Reid right now, so help me!” Pulling back, she smiled brightly.

“Tanner! Hey!” Ashlynn said when he joined them. “How’s teaching going?”

“Better than I expected,” he told her. “There are days the kids are a little overwhelming, but I think we’re all getting used to each other.”

“Here’s your brownies, Ashlynn!” Cora said, handing her the box. “And congratulations again!”

“Ooh…what are you celebrating?” Tanner asked.

“I’ll let Chloe tell you. Apparently, I need to go,” Ash said with a frown in her sister’s direction. “I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Then she smiled at Tanner. “Have a great weekend!”

“Um, yeah. You too,” he said. Once she walked out the door, he looked at Chloe. “Did I interrupt something? I kind of got the impression she didn’t really want to leave.”

“Really? I didn’t get that from her at all,” Chloe lied. “I was just getting ready to order. What would you like?”

“Oh, um…I think just a regular coffee with cream and sugar and a slice of the pound cake. But…I got it. You don’t have to…I mean, you weren’t offering to…”

It took her a second to realize what he was saying, and she laughed softly. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind treating you to coffee and cake. After all, I was the one who invited you.”

He was shaking his head. “Absolutely not. I’ve got this.”

“I still owe you for all you did that day at the hospital…”

“We’ve been over this. You don’t owe me anything.”

“Are you two ready to order?” Cora asked.

Tanner repeated his order and then Chloe ordered a hot tea and a sugar cookie. Tonight, she was making herself a little Mexican feast just because, and she didn’t want to fill up too much. When they had their orders and turned to find a place to sit, it was the first time she noticed just how crowded the shop was. She’d been so distracted by her sister and then Tanner that she hadn’t been paying attention.

“I hope we can find someplace to sit,” she said.

“Follow me,” he told her, and she did. It took longer than she thought it would to find a table, but ultimately they did. It was in the corner of the non-fiction section, but at least it was clean and had two chairs.

“Whew! I wasn’t sure we’d find anything. At least we didn’t have to stand around and stare at people until they left!”

He chuckled. “Luckily it didn’t come to that.” They got situated and he stirred his coffee while she did the same with her tea. “So, how was the rest of your day?”

“Pretty uneventful. The kids were a little hyped up after PE, but…”

“Hey, you guys!” Billie said as she walked over. “Cora told me you were here! And how did I manage to miss seeing Ashlynn?”

Chloe inwardly groaned. “She was in a hurry. She was going home to celebrate with brownies because she booked a bridal party today.”

“That’s amazing! I’ll call her when I get home. I mean, I was going to anyway—you too—to give you an update on Mom. I talked to her care team today and they’ve made arrangements with the rehab facility. They’re going to move her next week.”

“Oh, wow…and that’s better than sending her home with a full-time nurse?” Chloe asked.

“Definitely. She needs way more specialized care still. The plan is for her to be there for a couple of weeks and then she can come home with a full-time caretaker. I know we can all help some, but we all work. Levi said he could work from home at her house, but it’s not ideal.” She then talked about all the possibilities and ways they could divvy up some of the responsibilities, and it was more than Chloe was prepared to deal with right now.

“There you are!” Jade said as she came closer. “Hey, Chloe! Hey, Tanner! Mom just told me you guys were here!”

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