He was just going down the stairs when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Others had tried to call or text him while he was working, but he’d been too engrossed to even look at his screen. He was tempted to ignore this, too, but he had to take his phone from his pocket to charge it when he went to bed, anyway, so he glanced down to see what he’d missed.

There was nothing from Tia.

He’d sort of expected that.

His mother had tried to reach him a couple of times. Eli had invited him over for dinner. Gavin had sent him a message saying they needed someone to dress up as Santa for his kids, which was more of a joke, since Gavin knew that was something he would never do. Maybe he’d pay for a Santa, but he wouldn’t pretend to be a Santa.

Then there was the text that’d just come in. It was from his mother-in-law.

I’m making Shiloh’s favorite dinner. Would you like to join us?

He cursed as he came to an abrupt stop. Of course they would reach out to him tonight. He didn’t want to go over to their house; he wanted to sleep. But if he didn’t accept the invitation, especially after being late to notify them that he was in town, they’d be offended again.

They were giving him the chance to smooth over that small gaffe and were probably testing him to see if he still loved their daughter enough to make tonight a priority, no matter the late notice.

That there always had to be more to it rankled. He wished he could say no without feeling any remorse later. But maybe he should accept and get it over with. It would go a long way toward keeping the peace while he was in town, and he knew it.

So, with a sigh, he leaned against the railing and typed his response. What time?

Fourteen

If Aiyana was surprised that she’d stopped by, Tia couldn’t tell. Seth’s mother was that gracious.

“I’d love to introduce you to my husband, Cal,” she said as she met Tia on the porch after hurrying over from the school. “But I’m afraid no one’s home at the moment.”

“Is he working, or out of town, or...”

Aiyana unlocked the house and ushered her inside. “He owns a cattle ranch about ten miles from here. That’s how we met. For years, he’s provided the beef for this school at rock-bottom prices. When I first moved here, it would’ve been so much harder for me to get a start without his support in that and so many other ways, including his pull with the city council.”

“Sounds like a great guy.”