Tackling Tobias (Big Sky Universe)

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry. My parents were proud of me. They pushed us to our dreams. Hell, they didn’t even give Landon too much shit about stealing away Lara because they knew she wanted to be with him.”

“They sound amazing.”

“They were. That’s why I take so much pride in my family home and keeping the ranch in our family.” I wonder if she knows how much I want her to be the mother of my kids to help keep it in our family.

“You should. It’s an amazing place with a great history.”

“Thanks, babe.” We drink our wine and spend time talking less about us and more on movies.

“What’s your favorite movie?”

“Rudy. You?”

“Pride and Prejudice. The Keira Knightly version. Although I’ve never seen Rudy before. I’ve heard of it, though.”

“Well, I know what we’re doing tomorrow night.”

“Sounds good to me. If you watch Pride and Prejudice with me.”

“That’s a deal.” I’d watch any romantic movie she wants as long as that means I can hold her all night.

“Favorite genre of music?” she asks.

“Classic Rock. You?”

“Almost something from every decade since the sixties.”

“Anything else I can get you?” the server asks.

“No, just the check. Thank you. Everything has been wonderful.”

She nods and takes our plates. “Tonight has been great. This food is fantastic. Thank you.”

She comes back with the bill and I slip my card inside. Suddenly the memory of the ranch pops back into my head. I hope the guys have it cleared out before we get there. I’d hate for her to be upset.

“I can’t wait to get home.”

“Me either,” I sigh, taking the card from the server and signing the receipt.

“It’s pretty late.”

“It’s not that bad, but we do have to get up early in the morning.” She stands and I join her, helping to put her coat on. “You are so beautiful.” I kiss her cheek and take her hand. I could spend a lifetime doing this. Her little hand fits so perfectly in mine.

Once we’re outside, I see a small crowd has gathered near a squad car and my truck. I click the unlock button on it just to get them out of my way. When they move out of the way, I see my windshield has been bricked. A police officer approaches us. A different one from back in September. I’ve known him since we were kids. “Is this your vehicle, Tobias?”

“It is.” We shake hands, but I keep my other hand on Ava’s waist. I don’t want to introduce her or let her out of my reach. I’ve never had any trouble like this before which unnerves me.

“Sorry, Tobias. We’re not sure who did it, but we’re going to get to the bottom of it. We’re checking to see if anyone’s cameras caught the person. Do you have any ideas who could have done this?”

I ignore his question because my mind goes immediately to my belongings in the truck—one in particular. “Did they steal anything from inside?”

“No, but after the call about the stolen truck by your house this evening and the property damage, we don’t think this is a simple attempted burglary.” This is turning out to be one hell of a fucked up night. I don’t have the patience for this. All I wanted to do was take my woman on a nice date, make love to her until we passed out, but some asshole had to ruin everything.

“I agree. I have to get this truck towed to someplace to service it.”

“We’ve already called the local tow company.”

“Great. Thanks. It’s not drivable, but let me get something out of the glove box,” I say. There’s no way I can let them take it without snagging one thing. If someone found it there would be talk all over town before Ava even knows about.

“Be careful not to touch too much.” I nod, rushing to the passenger door. I pop open the door and pull the lever to the glove compartment and it’s still sitting there. I close my eyes and breathe a sigh of relief as I stuff it into an inside coat pocket. This was most certainly not a theft. Who did this?

“Thank you,” I tell the officer, shaking his hand before returning to Ava’s side.

“How are we getting home?” I’m sure I can ask the officers, but I’m betting they’re not done with their work and I don’t want to wait around.

“Wait right here, babe. Don’t move from this spot. I’ll call for a ride.” I stare into her eyes which I hope are glossy from the cold. I’d hate to see her cry.

I walk away from Ava, excusing myself to call John, who’s at the ranch with a few of the guys dealing with the broken gate and the abandoned vehicle there. “I need someone to pick us up. We’re at Ciao.”