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“GREAT NEWS.” Bering checked the brakes on one of the two ATVs in front of them. “Jack said your list of endorsements is already a mile long.”
“That is good news.” Tag wiggled the seat on the other ATV to make sure it was snug. His cousin Janie’s six-year-old twins, Gabe and Finn, were going to be riding the matching vehicles. “Dr. Boyd has already reached out, too. He’s setting up a meeting with some colleagues.”
“That’s awesome. Between my connections with wildlife organizations and your involvement in all the pilot and paramedic associations over the years, we seem to have made a lot of friends. Are you ready for our trip next weekend?”
“I will be. My biggest challenge is to find a tux before then. Senator Marsh’s assistant emailed me a list of stuff to bring, and I guess I need one for that party we’re going to. I haven’t worn a tux since our senior prom. She said I should go ahead and buy one because I’ll need it a few times in the next year. What a pain.”
“I’ve got two,” Bering said. Tag wasn’t surprised. Bering and Emily sometimes attended formal affairs in the lower forty-eight with Emily’s wealthy family. “Too bad we’re not the same size. Juneau should be nice, though. Are you going to see Kendall? You should ask her to the party. You two always looked good together. And she probably knows a ton of people.”
Tag’s last, and only, serious girlfriend, Kendall, lived in Juneau. They might have looked good, but they hadn’t been a good match. Besides the age-old issue of the city girl and country boy who can’t meet in the middle, there hadn’t been much of a spark.
Unlike with Ally. That strong pulse of electricity seemed to vibrate between them without any effort whatsoever. Kendall had managed to find that with someone else. The fact that she’d done so while they were still dating had also been a problem.
“Her fiancé might not appreciate that.”
“She’s engaged? Already?”
“That’s what I heard. And we broke up a year ago. But since we’re talking about women, can I ask you a question?”
“A year? Really? That seems unbelievable. Time goes by so fast now that we’re oldies, huh? And, yes, you can ask me anything, you know that. But if it’s about women I highly doubt I’ll be able to help. Emily vexes me on a daily basis.”
Tag forced out a laugh. His cousin just had to make a crack about age. “Your lack of confidence on this subject is disheartening, considering the fact you’ve been married for years now. But lucky for you, this isn’t about their behavior in general. I’m just asking for an opinion.”
“You know I’m always up for giving one of those.”
“Do you think I’m too old to date a twenty-two-year-old?”
Bering’s head snapped up. He looked at Tag, curiosity stamped all over his face. “My gut reaction to that question is probably yes, that seems young. But, since I’m guessing this is a personal concern, I will follow it up with a firm I think it would depend on the twenty-two-year-old.”
Tag nodded. Ally was most definitely not a typical twenty-two-year-old.
“And what you’re looking to get out of the relationship. If you’re just wanting someone to hang out with and…wait, are we talking about Ally? Is she only twenty-two?”
“How did you know?”
“Dang. Dude, you could have given me a heads-up. I just lost the next three date-night choices to my wife. Emily said after the basketball game that you two were into each other.”
“That sounds like a real hardship. And Emily is too perceptive for her own good.”
Bering chuckled. “Fair enough. And tell me about it, she reads me like a book. But if this means I’m watching the cooking channel for the next three weeks in a row, I will never forgive you.”
“If date night includes watching the cooking channel, you have more serious problems than not forgiving me.”
“Just wait until you have kids. Trust me—an hour together of uninterrupted TV is a date.”
This time the jab to his chest was even sharper than normal. With the election bearing down on him, it felt like he might never know. Dating Ally wasn’t going to get him any closer to a family, either, and yet he was beginning to feel like he couldn’t not spend time with her. He couldn’t even be in the same room with her and keep his hands to himself. And they’d agreed to keep it casual. How he was going to manage that he had no idea.
