Waiting for Ty by Samantha Ann King

gratefully relinquished the receiver and plopped down on a barstool, exhausted.
    “Nikki? It’s Ty.” He paused, and Nikki must have gained control of her excitement because her voice was no longer bouncing off the walls. “Yes, you can tell them.” Silence broken only by the hum of the refrigerator. “I appreciate the invitation, but I have plans with my family.”
    Landon lifted his brows, and Ty mouthed, “Easter.”
    “Yes, the following weekend is good for me,” Ty said. “I’ll ask Landon, and we’ll get back to you.” Another pause. “Hang on. Let me tell him.” He lowered the phone. “She says she’ll let you out of Easter if you want to go to with me.”
    Oh, shit. He’d hoped to accustom himself to the idea of meeting Ty’s family before he actually had to do it.
    Ty chuckled and raised the phone again. “He’s got that deer-in-the-headlights look.” He nodded at something she was saying. He was so good with her, better than Landon was. He seemed to take everything she said in stride. “Thanks, Nikki. Your support is important to both of us.” Silence. Landon lifted a finger and traced one of Ty’s dimples. Ty’s eyes darkened, and he licked his lips. Landon craved the taste, the texture of those lips. His sister’s timing sucked. “Yeah, I’ll talk to you later.” He extended the receiver to Landon. “She wants to talk to you.”
    He doubted she wanted to talk to him. More like lecture him on the importance of meeting Ty’s family, and the sooner the better, and how it wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined. If only he’d been born with a nanoshred of his sister’s social ease.
    Sure enough, Nikki spent the next five minutes trying to convince him that meeting Ty’s family wouldn’t be as bad as he thought. Landon paced the room impatiently as he half listened, his attention more on Ty than his sister. Finally, he agreed with whatever she was saying just to shut her down. When he hung up, Ty slid his arms beneath Landon’s and around his back, pulling him close. Landon’s knees went a little weak, and he let out a long breath, feeling like he’d been holding it forever, not two months.
    Ty murmured against Landon’s throat, “Well, I’m glad your sister is on board. It’s a good start.”
    As far as Landon was concerned it was the icing on the cake, the cream gravy on the chicken-fried steak. His life was fucking wonderful.
    Ty pulled back and flashed the dimples Landon loved. “So yeah, in answer to your earlier question, I could use a place to crash tonight.”
    When Landon didn’t say anything, Ty tilted his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”
    He stared at Ty in wonder. “I’m just having trouble believing this.”
    “Give it time,” Ty said, his voice rough with emotion.
    Landon didn’t see it coming, couldn’t have said how it happened, but their lips touched. Tentatively at first, then gently, softly as they found their way home. Gradually, he gained strength from Ty’s strength, and his incredulity melted under the sweet, warmth of Ty’s mouth.

Chapter Fourteen
    Landon tried some self-hypnosis to calm his nerves as Ty’s pickup bounced, splashed and slid along the muddy road. It wasn’t working. Neither was Ty’s attempt to engage him in conversation. They weren’t going to tell Ty’s family about their relationship. It was just a friendly visit so they could get to know Landon. That should have relieved his terror somewhat. And maybe it did. Hard to know at this level of panic. Didn’t help that it was raining. They’d be stuck inside. Sitting in the living room. Staring uncomfortably at each other. Throat clearing. Forced joviality. Serious discussions about the weather. On the bright side, at least there was some weather to discuss.
    “Just talk about sports. Football would be best,” Ty said. “No questions about how many head of cattle he runs or how many acres of land he owns.”
    “So no talk about the ranch?” Landon clarified.
    Ty