talking about him, though, since Lincoln and Kaylee had come into our lives. In a way, it was almost like Beck sent these two women to us to help us ease the pain.
Ty cleared his throat and gave me another slap on the back. “I’ll meet you at the house. Let me call Brock and let him know you’re home. You might be the only reason he’ll drag himself away from Lincoln.”
“They still acting like a newly married couple?”
Ty rolled his eyes. “I swear the two of them are sickening with the way they love on each other.” He acted as if he was going to gag.
“Please, like you don’t act the same way when Kaylee comes around.”
My brother smiled, and I couldn’t help but notice how his eyes seemed to dance with happiness. The same happiness I saw in Brock’s eyes. Hell, even in my own parents’ eyes. A sharp pain hit me in the middle of my chest, and I rubbed my hand over it, willing it to go away.
“Let me get this trailer off and put up and I’ll meet everyone up at the house,” I said as I tried to shake the feeling.
Before he turned to walk to his own truck, Ty placed his hand on my shoulder. “Is everything really okay, Tanner?”
I let out a deep breath. “I think so. I’m feeling a bit…lost right now. I think being home is going to help me sort a lot of things out.”
“It’s that time of year. I used to feel the same way when I was on the road. The holidays are hard on each of us. I miss him too.”
I nodded. “That’s just it, I wish it was just Beck…but it’s something more.”
His brows drew closer together as he regarded me with a concerned look. “What’s going on, Tanner?”
With a scoff, I shook my head. “I don’t know for sure, but I think Chance might want to walk away from roping.”
His brows shot up. “No shit?”
“Yeah, no shit.”
“We need to have a beer and catch up.”
“Or six.”
Ty nodded. “After Christmas, me, you, and Brock, let’s head up to the lake house if the weather is good. Just to hang out.”
I smiled. “I like the sound of that. It’s been awhile.”
“Since Beck.”
We both looked out toward the mountains and stared at it in silence. The two of us searched for something, or someone.
I dropped my gaze. “I feel like my world is about to turn upside down and I have no fucking control over anything, Ty.”
When I looked up and turned to face my oldest brother, he smiled. “Sometimes the only way to get your control back is to let it go.”
I frowned. “That makes no sense at all. You start on the eggnog a bit early, man?”
With a deep laugh, he hit me on the side of the arm and started toward his truck. “I’ll meet ya up at the house, Tanner.”
I shook my head and made my way over to the trailer. Suddenly, I was more than ready to get up to the house and see my folks.
Chapter Four
TANNER
The moment I stepped through the back door, my mama wrapped her arms around me and hugged me like she hadn’t seen me in years. “Tanner, sweetheart! You came home early!”
I looked past her at Ty, who grinned. My father stood next to him, with an equally big smile on his face.
Mama pushed me out at arm’s length and gave me a once-over. “Nothing is broken this time, right?”
I laughed. “No, just in need of some R and R.”
She beamed with happiness. “Then you came to the right place.”
My father stepped up and gave me a quick hug with a hard back slap. “It’s good to see you, son. Ty and Brock can use the extra hands to help out around the ranch.”
With a hard glare, my mother pointed at my dad. “Ty Senior, did you not hear the boy say he needed some rest and relaxation?”
Dad laughed and shook his head. “If the boy wanted to relax, then he ought to have known better than to come home.”
Mama rolled her eyes and let out a long sigh before she faced me. She cupped my face and smiled up at me once more. I could see the happiness dance in her eyes, and it made my heart swell. “I’m so happy to have you back home. How long are you staying, sweetheart?”
“A month or so.”
She nearly shouted as she pulled me in for another hug.
I caught