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As I hoped, the group laughed at my joke. There was a lightness to everyone now that the news had been shared. I wondered what they could’ve possibly thought would happen since they were all so tense.
“We are here to help in any way we can, Ashley. If it’s more time off to go to the doctor or adjusting how we handle things, then that’s what we’ll do. You’re a part of this family. We want you to feel welcome.” Sean, who was tucked into Atticus's side, made me tear up. His sweet words would be on repeat in my head for days, maybe longer.
“Thank you. I appreciate all of you. The support you’ve shown me is… well, it’s a lot. I may not always handle it the best way, but I’m trying. Hopefully, all goes well, and I’ll be able to hear all the whispered secrets and dirty jokes I’ve been missing.”
Laughter came, then Atticus surprised me with his next words. “Now then, since you’re back, can we finally make a decision on what movie to watch?”
“Movie?" I turned to Daddy. His expression didn’t give anything away, though I could sense something was up.
Beau was the one to answer. “Your Daddy decided to surprise you with a movie night. He set it all up, and we're excited to watch something, but no one could agree on anything. Do you have a favorite movie?”
I thought about it for a moment. “I don’t really watch a lot of movies now. When I was a kid, I did. It’s been ages though.”
“We’re getting somewhere. What was your favorite movie as a kid?” Beau leaned forward in his chair, his eyes intent on me.
A blush came to my cheeks as I remembered what the movie was. I had watched it repeatedly on VHS. My parents thought it was hilarious how often I could go through the film in a single week. Back then, it wasn’t embarrassing. Now that I was surrounded by others and had to admit what my obsession had been with, well, it was different.
“Free Willy,” I said.
“Is that the one about the whale?” Bobby Allen asked.
Elton giggled at his question, meanwhile, Holt grunted out “yeah” to confirm. The rest of the group seemed surprised by my choice, though they were less vocal.
“Anyone against my boy watching his movie tonight? We can always take this up to a vote.” Daddy stood and stared at the group. His face was neutral, though I could tell he was ready to rebuttal what anyone would have to say. He wanted my movie night to be perfect. I wasn’t quite sure how that would work since my hearing wasn’t all that great, but maybe he had a solution.
An hour and an adventure in laying out blankets later, I found out that he did have a solution. Subtitles. The man had arranged for subtitles to play on the movie.
“This is amazing. I can’t thank you enough.” I whispered to him as we snuggled on our own twelve-by-twelve-foot blanket in the field.
Everyone was spaced out, our positions facing the side of the barn. The projector shined in the dark of the night, casting a glow against the wood. Speakers placed on the grass around us echoed the words of the movie. It was hands-down the best movie experience I’d ever had.
“I told you I’d take care of you. Even the smallest things are mine to handle.” Daddy tucked me into his side, then held a piece of popcorn up to my lips. I accepted it with glee as I soaked in the feeling of happiness.
Chapter Thirteen
Corey
A knockon the door of the bunkhouse had us all staring around confused one morning a couple of weeks after my boy’s appointment. We never had anyone knock on the bunkhouse door. Everyone either just came in or had a key. Hell, the thing was never really locked. It was more for show because no one ever came to the ranch uninvited.
Opening the door, I realized that line of thinking was a lie. Mostly because some people had open invitations. That meant that they didn’t have to announce their arrival. They could show up whenever and however they wanted to.
Given that Ean, our friend and the former Hollywood movie star, was standing at the door in a pink jumpsuit with a balloon animal hat on his head, proved my point. He smiled wide as he dove in for a hug.
Even though I wasn’t looking in his direction, I knew my boy was watching with a scrutinizing gaze. I pulled back from the hug, holding Ean at his shoulders as I spoke loudly. “Ean! What are you doing here? And where is that fun husband of yours?”
“He’s up at the house talking to Atticus. He told me I could come say hi to my friends first.” Two sentences in, and I already knew that Ean was deep in his little mode. The hat should’vebeen a dead giveaway, but if given a balloon hat, I would also wear one, and I wasn’t a little.
Ushering him inside, I told the crowd of men that we had a visitor. “Look who came to see us!”
As soon as the first person approached him, I shifted away quickly to get to Ashley. He watched my every move, then pulled me close to his side once I was within reach.
“So that’s Ean?”
I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he wasn’t bothered by the awkward moment before. “That's Ean. He and Rhett decided to make a surprise visit, so here we are. That means we won't get much done today. He's already in his little mindset too. The others will likely follow suit."
A blush came to his cheeks. “Is it ok that I’m not?”
“That you’re not what? Little?” He gave a nod as I shook my head. “It’s fine. There are all types of people in our friend group. I don’t expect everyone to act the same and neither should you. You’ve already seen these guys and little mode. Adding Ean is just ramping that up times a thousand.”
