“I’m going to make you guys a nice picnic lunch to take with you,” she announced, and I decided it was for the best to not try to object.
“And I’ll be eternally grateful,” I said instead.
“Good man. I like that you know how to pick your battles.”
I had another mug of coffee and we chatted about Payton and his daycare adventures until it was time for me to get back to work.
With how both Crew and I worked and lived on the ranch, it made settling into a relationship tricky in some ways and easy in others.
Technically, we were never far from each other, especially at the beginning and the end of the day. But we both also worked hard as hell, and then there was Payton and the Harringtons and… yeah. There wasn’t that much time to be just us, together.
We had help, of course. If we needed a babysitter for Payton for some alone time, there was almost always more than one person who would gladly spend time with him. The decision to not spend nights together was tricky, because I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and wake up next to Crew now that I knew, hoped, he was my person.
It felt like Crew was waiting for me to tell him it was okay to show Payton we were together to that extent, which I appreciated. Unbeknownst to him, I was waiting, too. For what? I wasn’t sure. I hoped there’d be a definite moment where everything would click into place and I’d justknow.
Either way, on Monday night, Payton and I went to bed early. To my surprise, Payton’s excitement didn’t keep him from falling asleep easily, but that might’ve just been that it was a daycare day, and he was always a bit more tired in the evenings after he’d needed to leave the ranch.
It would get better over time, I was sure, but the tiredness was enough for me to see how clearly he’d needed this new routine.He would’ve been a wreck at school if I’d kept him at home until it started without a transitional period.
I texted Crew once I was under the covers.
Have you figured out what your mom wants tomorrow?
I smiled as I waited for him to reply. So far, Crew had no idea.
No, but it could be anything. She’s a woman who doesn’t always feel like explanations are necessary. I’m just glad I got a head’s up this time.
I laughed. He wasn’t wrong. I was pretty sure that all of her kids had gotten the same summons at some point. Hell, my own mother had done it to me a few times while we still had the farm. Whether it was something like helping her with the trellises for the vines she loved, or just going on a mother and son date in town because we hadn’t caught up in a while without disruptions.
I felt like it was always a good thing in life to remember: if you have a good relationship with your mother, if she calls, you come running. It was different for everyone, of course. I knew very well not all people had great relationships with their parents. Vera had been one such person. She’d told me it was a big part of the reason for her not to want to parent Payton in the end.
For one, she hadn’t been raised with love and respect and was unsure she knew how to do it herself, but she also didn’t want her parents to have anything to do with Payton. If she was in his life, she’d have too many fears, and she wanted something different for herself and for us.
I wished Crew good night and set my alarm. Payton and I would have an early breakfast at home, get ready for our day,and then go surprise Crew at the house where he’d hopefully be finishing up his own breakfast.
With our bellies full of omelet, toast, and fruit, we pulled our hiking boots on.
“Okay, Daddy. Do we have everything we need?” Payton asked, Mr. Raven tucked under his arm.
“Yes. I double-checked.” I patted the backpack where I had our regular hiking kit, including a First Aid kit and some clothes if we got wet despite the rain ponchos—with one extra for Crew—I’d packed.
“And Mrs. Jenn has the snacks and the food?” He pulled on his hoodie while Mr. Raven fought for his life between Payton’s skinny knees.
I put my own hoodie over my slightly-nicer-than-work jeans. “Yes, she wanted to handle everything.”
“And we’re taking Crew’s truck?”
“Yes, unless he doesn’t want that. But it’s nicer and it has a car seat for you.”
“Yeah. It’s so nice he got me one.” Payton came to hug me from the side. “I think I love Crew a bit. Is that okay?”
Swallowing hard, I replied, “Yeah, bud. It’s completely okay.”
He let go, then looked up. “Okay! Can we go now?”
I checked my phone for the time. “Yep, let’s go!”
If possible, my son was even bouncier this morning. We had a decent plan, one I was pretty certain Crew would like, and my weather app was looking promising, too.
