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Outside, I find Jimmy leaning against the side of his truck, which is parked in front of the building, engine running.
I stop in front of him. “My answer is yes.”
Jimmy lifts an eyebrow. “That so?”
“Yep. Got nothin’ to do tonight. My parents don’t do anything for the holiday, my sister is at a friend’s house, and my buddies are just blowing up crap in G-Man’s backyard, and that doesn’t appeal much to me right now. So I’m on my own, and my answer is yes.”
He gives me a nod. “Well, then. As soon as Bobby finishes up, sounds like the three of us are headin’ on over to the ranch.” He pulls open the door. “Your chariot awaits, buddy.”
I grin, then hop right in.
Sitting in the back seat of Jimmy’s truck makes me miss my own. I throw my arms over the whole back seat feeling like king of the castle as Jimmy drives us out of downtown Spruce and into the countryside. The whole way, Bobby worries about leaving the gym to their management staff, then keeps wondering whether he got finished with his work for the day or if he forgot something. What amazes me is that no matter how strung out Bobby seems, Jimmy just calmly steers the truck with one hand while using the other to stroke his fiancé’s hair, assuring him that everything’s going to be alright. I’m touched by the show of affection, the way they’ve got each other’s backs, their unquestionable support for one another.
I can’t wait until their big wedding this Christmas when they finally make it official. You know my ass is gonna be there, you can bet your bottom dollar.
Thinking of that makes me even more determined to go to the thing tonight.
Because I know he’ll be there.
Sooner than I realize, the Strong ranch looms in the distance. He drives down the long dirt road leading to the front of the main house, then parks along the side. The front of the Strong house is beautiful and impressive, with a wraparound porch, lush bushes and flowers, and a pretty cobblestone pathway leading around to a swimming pool and seating area on the side. The pathway also cuts across the field, lined by a pretty white fence, and disappears into a thicket of trees, beyond which I believe Tanner and Billy live in a small house by a large pond, also on the property. After Jimmy kills the engine, we get out of the truck and start our trek down the fence-lined path toward the trees.
The moment you pass the threshold of trees, the world is at once changed. Like the trees themselves are a wall between you and the rest of the world, they encapsulate the grove in which the Tucker-Strongs live, creating some kind of ethereal, blue-green canopy. The house doesn’t look as small as I imagined it. Truth be told, all of the parties I ever attended here took place at the main house. I don’t think I’ve ever been here to Tanner’s private abode. The path leads to a deck, which wraps only one side of the house and the front in an uneven L, with a short length of deck that juts out into the large pond like a dock. Through the windows, a warm, golden glow of light shows through, and the sound of happy chatter and laughter is heard. “Guess we’re not the first ones,” Jimmy says as the three of us approach the door.
Of course, Jimmy doesn’t need to knock; he lets himself right in. The house is a little bigger and homier than Harrison’s, but has a similar open-room concept, with the living room, dining area, and kitchen visible and undivided by walls. Jimmy and Bobby instantly head on to mingle with the others who are here already, most of whom I know. Tyrone and Omar King, Kelsey’s dads, look busy chatting with Billy about his spread, which fills a table along the wall. Tyrone is a tall man with deep, chestnut skin, kind eyes, and a tightly-shaped beard interrupted only by a scar running down his cheek. He left the force a while ago. His husband Omar, a bald, stout man with a russet complexion that reddens at his cheeks whenever he lets out one of his cheery straight-from-the-belly laughs, is the town veterinarian and knows everything about everyone’s pets. I wonder if he knows about that stray dog that took my truck from me. In the living room stands Reverend Trey with his husband Cody, who is an intimidating, straight-faced Army vet with sandy, weathered skin and a sea of stubble across his cheeks.
Also present are a few others I know are friends of Tanner and Billy from their high school days, including a guy who visited the school pretty often named Robby with his girlfriend Vanessa. Near them are Kirk and his wife Bonnie. Kirk’s a former football player himself, now sporting a massive beard and a dad belly. His pretty wife is chirping away with Lance, who I just now noticed.
