Natalie nodded, looking down at the calendar on her phone. “Of course. What should we bring?”
“Did you hear her?” I asked.
“I did. She has such a lovely voice. And you don’t have to bring anything. I’m making your favorite—ribs with potato salad and corn on the cob.”
My stomach grumbled. “You know I love your barbecue sauce.”
“Because I make the best. We’ll see you tomorrow. Around six?”
I looked over at Natalie, and she nodded. “That’ll work.”
“Okay, I can’t wait to see you, baby boy.”
“You, too. Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, Tanner.”
She hung up, and I looked down at my phone. “It seems we’re having dinner with my mother.”
“That’s good. Because our baby will need at least one sane grandparent, and we both know mine aren’t it.”
I leaned forward and kissed her again. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. I knew my parents would react badly. I just didn’t know it would be that bad. Still, it’s fine. They’ll come around, or they won’t. I went to college, and I’m getting my degree and trying to get a job to be self-sufficient and figure out my life. I don’t need to lean on them anymore. Am I upset? Yes. Will I get over it? I’ll find a way, because it’s not about me anymore. It’s about the baby we’re bringing into this world. And they don’t need to be raised in hate. They need to be brought up with hope, and lo—” She cut herself off and grimaced.
“And love,” I whispered.
“Yes. And love.”
I met her gaze, the words I couldn’t say on the tip of my tongue. Her phone rang, breaking us apart, and she sighed, looking down at it. “It’s the new job.”
“Answer. I’ll get back to work.”
One day, we would actually finish this conversation. At least, I hoped to hell we would.
We pulled up to the small home I had lived in for the last few years with my mother. They tried not to look at how shabby and run-down it was. It was nothing like the mansion that Natalie had grown up in, but it was still home—or at least it had been until Jared pretty much kicked me out.
I tried not to be self-conscious, but it was kind of difficult when comparing the two. This is where I was from. It was utterly different from where Natalie had grown up.
“I love the little flower boxes on the windows. Mom never let us do any gardening. Apparently, we weren’t good at it,” she said dryly as she held the flowers on her lap. “I think your mom will like these since they are the same color.”
“That was just luck, not going to lie,” I said softly.
“We need all the good luck.”
“Yes, we do. Now, let’s go eat some ribs.”
“I think I could eat a whole rack by myself. I didn’t realize pregnancy cravings would be this bad. I expected pickles and peanut butter. Not everything in the existence of food.”
“I like you full and happy.”
“You’re not going to like it much when I’m asking you to go out and get ice cream at two o’clock in the morning.”
“If that’s what I have to do, that’s what I’ll do.”
“You are too good to be true sometimes.” She leaned over as I tangled my fingers with hers.
“We’ll see.”
The front door opened, and my mother stood there, a bright smile on her face. She walked out, Cody following her, and I pulled Natalie towards them, my heart fuller than it had been in a while. This was the family I wanted. The closeness that I had missed. If Jared was gone, things would make sense. Only I knew that wasn’t feasible. I could hope, though.
“Mom.”
“Tanner, honey. You look so good. Now why don’t you reintroduce me to your girl here.”
“I’m Natalie. Tanner’s, um, girlfriend.” I heard the um. I knew we all did, but girlfriend worked. At least it was better than co-parent.
Mom grinned, shielding the sun from her eyes with her hand. “It’s so good to see you. Look at my baby boy.” She rose on tiptoe and kissed me on the cheek, and then moved towards Natalie. “Hello, Natalie, I’m Isabella. It’s so good to meet you officially. I’m sorry for how we met the first time.”
“Let’s count this as the first time. It’s good to meet you, as well.”
“Do you mind?” Mom asked, her hands in front of her. Natalie shook her head and reached out for my mom’s hand.
“Of course, not. Here. The baby was active earlier, but they’ve been a little quiet now. You might be able to feel a kick, though.”
“I do. Oh, wow. I’m going to be a grandma.” She blinked away tears. “How am I going to be a grandma, Tanner Hagen?”
“Do you want me to explain that?” I asked dryly, and Natalie blushed.
“Tanner.”
“Hey, I know how babies are born,” Cody said, and I groaned.
“Sorry, kid.” I shook my head, holding back a smile. “By the way, Natalie, this is my kid brother, Cody. The bane of my existence, but he’s kind of cool.”
“Of course, I am. It’s good genes.”
Natalie beamed. “It’s nice to meet you both. We brought flowers,” she said, handing them over as my mother blushed. “You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you. I don’t know what we’d do these days without Tanner helping us, but he’s so much like his father. A good man.”
I didn’t get that familiar pang I usually did when it came to my dad, but to be compared to him? No, I wasn’t like my father. I wasn’t that good of a man, but I tried. I always tried.
“I’d love to hear more about him when you have time. From either of you. Stories to tell this little one about their grandfather would be nice. You know?”
Mom gave us a watery smile. “He would have been an amazing granddad.”
“Yes,” I said, letting out a harsh breath. “He would have. Come on, let’s get inside before a chill comes.”
“It’s not chilly. It’s quite nice,” Natalie teased. She looked over at my mom. “He’s forever trying to get me to sit down and put my feet up and get out of the cold. It doesn’t matter if I’ve been sitting for hours and just want to walk around campus or something. He has to have his way.”
“That sounds about right. However, take it while you can. Soon, it’s going to be all about the baby, and you may never get another foot rub.”
Natalie raised her brows. “There are foot rubs involved?” She looked at Tanner. “You’ve been slacking.”
“Apparently.” I raised my hands in a what’re-you-going-to-do gesture.
“Come in inside. Dinner is just about ready. I was so excited. I might have gone a little overboard.”
We piled into the house, and I inhaled the sweet scent of ribs. “It smells great. Do you need me to get them off the grill?”
“No, I already did that. I didn’t want to leave them on the grill while I was outside. If you want to start dividing them up, though, you can.”
“I’ve got that. Let me wash my hands.”