Giving me a dirty look, my father replied, “He said I needed to step down and give you the ranch. I’ll have you know, I’m not too happy about that. Matter of fact . . .”
Mom opened the door and came out smiling. “Peter Williams. Stop complaining right now. You know you are over the moon to know that Tristan will be moving down here fulltime.”
Walking up the stairs, Dad started talking. “Tristan, you know we could hire someone and you wouldn’t have to give your life in Austin up. I know how much you love it there.”
“I love it here more, Dad. Stop worrying. Please just try and relax. You, Lark and I will talk shop later tomorrow. For now, you don’t worry about anything.”
After getting my father into the house and settled, I walked into the kitchen. My mother and Azurdee were cutting up fruit and smiled as I made my way over to them.
“Where is Ryn?” I asked. Looking over her shoulder, my mother motioned outside. Heading to the door, she cleared her throat.
“Tristan?”
Glancing back, I asked, “Yeah?”
“Thank you, for everything you are doing for your father and the ranch.”
Giving my mother a smile, I winked at her and headed outside. Ryn was sitting down in a swing that had been up for years. Debating if I should tell her how old that swing was, I walked over and bent down in front of her. “Hey.”
Smiling, she looked into my eyes. “Why did you tell me that your mother wanted me to stay for Christmas?”
Smiling, I gave her wink. “I wanted you to stay. Besides, Mom really did want you to stay.”
“Is your dad settled?”
Letting out a chuckle, I said, “As best as he can be.”
“It’s been a long day.”
Taking her hand in mine, I nodded my head. “Are you tired, Ryn?”
“I am but . . .”
Lifting my eyebrow, I asked, “But?”
“I want . . .”
The back door opened and mother called out. “Dinner is ready, Tristan and Ryn. Come and get it.”
Ryn and I stood. Reaching for her hands, I pulled her to me as I cupped the sides of her face. Bringing my lips up against her lips I asked, “What do you want, Ryn?”
Closing her eyes, she barely spoke. “You.”
Turning, I pulled her away from the house. “Tristan, where are we going? Your mom just said it was dinner time and she is gonna wonder where we went.”
Walking up to a tree, I stopped. The treehouse Lark and I had built was gone. “Motherfucker, he took it down.”
“Who took what down?”
Walking off into the trees, Ryn spoke. "Um … Tristan, it's dark and …"
Coming to an abrupt halt when I saw the shop, Ryn ran into my back.
Peeking around me, she said, "Hey I didn't know that barn was back here."
“It’s Lark’s and mine. My father and mother stay out of it.”
“You have your own barn?” Ryn asked as she laughed.
Dropping her hand as I fished my keys out of my pocket, I glanced over at her. “It’s not a barn, it’s a shop. You’ll see why they aren’t allowed in there in a second.”
Walking in, the lights automatically came on and Ryn let out a gasp.
Two sports cars sat parked in the middle of the shop. Smiling, I looked over at my baby. Blue Thunder. Blue Thunder was my cobalt-blue nineteen sixty-eight Camaro that Lark and I had spent almost two years restoring.
“Wow. Look at those cars.”
Smiling, I nodded my head and looked at Lark’s nineteen-seventy Chevy Nova SS. Both cars had the same paint theme, cobalt blue with white racing strips down the middle of the entire car.
I watched as Ryn walked up to my Camaro. “What a beautiful car.” Turning she smiled. “Is this why you won’t let your parents in here? Afraid they might take the toys out for a spin?”
Throwing my head back, I laughed. “Not these toys, baby.” Motioning to the back of the shop, Ryn turned and looked.
“What’s behind the doors?”
“Lark and I had two bedrooms put in when we had the shop built. With as much time as we spent visiting our parents, we had wanted a place to get away. Maybe bring back dates if we were lucky.”
Raising an eyebrow, Ryn gave me a wicked smile. “Why didn’t we visit this bedroom last year? It would have made it a lot easier.”
My smile faded briefly before I grabbed her hand and began walking toward the back. Unlocking my door, I pushed it open.
My room was a little different from Lark’s. His pretty much had a bed and a bathroom in there. Mine had a bed, another bathroom . . . and a few of my other toys.