On the Sidelines

Chapter 36 Tanner

Heaven's, Evie's mom, plane landed five minutes ago. She should be almost through to baggage claim where I'm waiting. Sean and Oli's plane just landed, five minutes early but they have started unboarding yet. Dillan and Collins's plane shows it's about twenty minutes out which mean that they might land early as well.

If they all land early enough we'd be able to grab something to eat before sitting in a crowded stadium for three or so hours.

I hide away in the corner, doing my best to stay hidden from any prying eyes. I've already been approached twice and I'm trying to keep that to a minimum. Today's not about me, it's about Evie and she deserves to hog all the attention. She's worked so hard for this moment, overcome so many obstacles.

I couldn't be prouder.

Someone catches my attention as they enter the baggage claim area. A shorter, older version of Evie, looking around until she spots me in the corner and laughs.

I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I met Heaven. Five foot two, medium length thick black hair, big brown eyes, pale as the moon. Evie in twenty-five years.

She approaches me at a speed that makes you second guess how tall she really is. I've never known someone short who can keep pace with me easily, then I met Heaven.

"Tanner, darling." She grabs my covered face in her hands, forcing me to bend down and kisses both my cheeks. "It's been far too long. I must thank you for all the help you've been. I hardly leave my house but I don't feel so lonely when the deliveries show up."

My brows crinkle as I try to understand where this accent came from. "Heaven?"

She hums in response, her hold on my face finally relenting.

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Talking like what, darling?" She peered up at me from under thick lashes, the definition of innocent.

"You gave yourself an accent, like those from high society snobs." Her laugh is low and quiet as her brown eyes soften, finally fully taking me in.

"I've been watching a lot of nineteenth-century adaptations, I guess they're rubbing off on me." Her eyes rack up and down my body, settling on the hickey that's barely visible above the collar of my shirt. "Well, you and my daughter have been busy I see."

I feel the flush crawling up my neck to cover my face. I clear my throat to no avail A sneaky smile graces Heaven's lips but she says nothing further on the subject.

"Have the others landed yet?" I blink, trying to go along with the subject change instead of fantasizing about her daughter tying me down, or me tying her down, both some great right now.

"Sean and Oli should be coming this way soon, they're plane landed not long after yours. Collins and Dillan's plane keeps updating." I look over her shoulder to where the screen reads their flight is now expected five minutes sooner than last time. "When I got here it said it might be late due to the weather but now it's saying it will be twenty-five minutes early, so we'll see I guess."

"I wasn't aware of any weather conditions. Is it supposed to rain?" I shake my head, returning my attention to her. She's a lot like Evie in more ways than her looks. When in a group setting, she prefers to blend in, but when alone with someone, she better be your main focus. Quiet but somehow also loud when need be. Sweet and kind, but fierce and loyal. I don't know how Evie's fucked up father landed Heaven is mind-boggling to me.

Met Heaven during his trial. I watched the whole thing live from the audience, the entire time wanting to strangle him and watch the life seep from his useless body. The world doesn't need him anyway, no one would miss him. The only reason I didn't was because Evelyn said he wasn't worth my breath, which is true, he isn't. He got the longest sentence of everyone involved since he was a grown man raping a fourteen-year-old while the others were all under eighteen. Last I heard he wasn't the most popular guy in the prison.

"Not here, there's a storm going through Kentucky that the airline was worried about, but they must have missed it. The path didn't change so maybe there was a lull in the storm or something." I shrug nonchalantly, keeping an eye out for two guys dressed 'discretely' like me. A few flights just landed so a hoard of people just started through the door to the baggage claim and I'm hoping they're in the hoard. Heaven has turned her back to me and stared scanning the crowd for the guys as well.

I hesitate to ask but I want her permission before I go through with my plans for tonight. I know Heaven is really important to Evie and her mother and protector and I also know this is typically asked to the father but fuck that, I hope he dies in prison.

"Heaven?"

She turns around to look at me. "Yes, darling?"

"I was hoping to get your blessing." Before I even finished my sentence her arms are encasing my neck and squeezing me so tight it's hard to breathe. She squeals, drawing a few looks from other people passing by.

"I thought you would never ask." She leans back just enough to look me in the eyes. "The day Evie met you was the luckiest day of her life. And those aren't my words, she tells me almost every day. I would be honored to be your mother-in-law. I see the way you look at my daughter. I never doubted you were the one for her after I learned about you. The way my daughter always talked about you made me know. A mother's intuition and all of that."

My smile stretches across my face so tight it almost hurts. "Thanks, Heaven."

"Now where's the ring, I want to see it." I chuckle as I fish it out of my pants pocket and open the box for her to see. "Oh, it's beautiful." It is, I saw it two months ago and knew it was perfect. A diamond in the shape of a snowflake is surrounded by smaller diamonds that rest on a rose gold band.

"I asked Alyssa and Sasha to bring up the idea of looking at rings and Evie apparently gravitated to this style so when I saw this in the store, I knew it was perfect." Heaven sighs dreamily as she stares at the ring in my palm.

"Damn dude, that looks great. She's gonna love it." My eyes fly up to meet Sean's gaze. Oli stands a foot or so behind him, also looking at the ring.

"Thanks, man." I snap the lid closed and tuck it back into the safety of my pocket. I grasp his hand and pull him into a hug, doing the same to Oli when we pull apart.

"When are you proposing?" Oli pipes in.

"Tonight, Jensen should be arriving at the house any minute to get the backyard set up."

"Oh," Heaven mumbles, "he's not coming to the ceremony?"

"He's watching the live feed instead. He was going to come but when I expressed my worry about how I would set up without Evie finding out, he offered to do it for me."

We fall into easy chatter while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Heaven met the guys last year when we flew her to Ohio for the summer. Announcements sound over the intercom saying which flights have landed at this small West Virginia airport. Eventually, Collins joins us, and Dillan a few minutes later. No one checked any bags since none of them can stay very long so as soon as everyone is here, we head out to where my truck is waiting. It's a tight fit, Heaven in the middle of the front seat squished between Sean and I. While the other three get to cram themselves into the back.

"Anyone hungry?" A chorus of yeses fills the car so I queue up the nearest fast food chain into my GPS and start that way. We have just over an hour before the ceremony starts so we have some time. However my nerves for tonight don't seem to care that it's still hours away.