Page 128 of The Cowboy's Unlikely Love

Tanner shrugged. “She didn’t.”

“Jesus, Tanner! You might not need that ring if she finds out that you’re shirking your duties. She didn’t want Zeke picking him up because she was worried, right?”

Tanner met Ty’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “I’m not shirking my duties. Yeah, she’s worried. But she has no reason to be. There’s no one stalking Zeke – Cash made sure of that. And by the way, yes, she does know. I wouldn’t set it up behind her back. Ashton and Zeke wanted some grandson-grandpa time so bad that I suggested Zeke could pick him up, and I’d tail them. Just to put Everly’s mind at ease.”

He turned into the side street that led to the school. “So, keep an eye out for his truck. I don’t want to follow too closely – I don’t want them to spot us. I told Everly that I’d follow them, butI didn’t want Zeke to feel bad. We’ll just follow along, back to the ranch, to make sure that they get there safely.”

Luke grinned at him. “And this way everyone wins.”

Tanner nodded happily. That had been his plan. From what Cash had told him, whatever threat there had been to Zeke had been eliminated. At the same time, he knew that Everly would find it hard not to worry. This way, she didn’t need to.

“Is that him?” Luke asked when a big, black pickup truck pulled out of the school lot.

“Yeah, that’s him,” said Ty. “Let’s go!”

Tanner chuckled. “We’re not in pursuit, Ty. We’re just tailing them, remember?”

Ty laughed with him. “Right, sorry. I guess I still miss it sometimes.”

“Don’t we all?” asked Kolby.

Tanner didn’t comment. He wasn’t sure that he did miss their old life on the teams anymore. He was happy with his new life. Being a Navy SEAL had been an important part of his identity. Becoming a husband and a father was even more important to him now.

“Was Zeke coming by himself?” Luke asked as he peered through the windshield.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I see three heads in that truck besides Zeke’s. And not a one of them is short enough to be Ashton.”

Tanner’s heart started to pound, and he put his foot down. This couldn’t be happening! No damn way was this happening.

“Hang back,” Ty growled from behind him. He leaned forward between the front seats, bringing a pair of binoculars to his eyes. “No. You’re going to have to get closer.”

“They’ll hit the highway in a minute,” said Luke. “We can run them off the road.”

Tanner remained tight-lipped. He couldn’t fucking believe this was happening. What was Ashton thinking? He had to be in the middle of the back seat, between two big men who were both wearing cowboy hats – whoever this outfit was, they were professional enough to know that they’d need to blend in.

Once they were out on the open highway, Zeke sped up, and Tanner put his foot down to stay close.

“Ram him,” urged Ty.

“No fucking way! Ashton’s in there.” Tanner could hear his heart pounding, feel the blood rushing through his head. No way would he let anything happen to that little boy.

“Give me those glasses, Ty,” said Luke.

Ty handed them over, and Luke leaned forward in his seat, using the binoculars to get a better look.

There was a fishing access coming up. Tanner was trying to calculate if he’d be able to pull alongside Zeke’s truck and force him to pull off the highway when he heard Luke laugh.

“What?” he growled. He couldn’t understand why his best friend was laughing in a moment when he felt likehemight never laugh again.

Luke sat back and handed the binoculars back to Ty. “Relax, it’s all okay. We may have overreacted slightly.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Luke reached over and grasped his shoulder. “Breathe, would you? It’s all okay. They haven’t been hijacked by a bunch ofbad guys.I didn’t want to say it until I was sure, but I thought I recognized one of those hats. That’s Travis and Ace in the back seat, and Deacon’s in the passenger seat.”

A huge wave of relief washed over Tanner. “Thank fuck for that! Jesus, I feel like a fool, now.”

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