At some point Eliza supplanted Ollie at his elbow, because Ollie was off playing hero to someone else now. He might not like the word, but Ty knew one when he saw one.
“How did he pull this off?” he asked Peggy as the lineup of people began to subside.
“Me, mostly.” She smiled sunnily. “Never underestimate the power of a phone tree.”
“Hey, I helped,” Jason butted in.
“Jason got the buttons printed.”
Ugh, Ty hated crying in public. “Thank you.”
But the parade had not yet finished. At the outside doors, Theo was waiting with Mel, Cassie, and Ollie’s parents.
Theo had added a button to his baseball jersey. Cassie’s shirt read SOMEONE I LOVE LOVES TYLER MORRIS.
Oh God, their mom was wearing one too. Even Ollie’s dad had a button.
“Ty!” Theo broke forward into a hug. “Grandma says you showed that asshat.”
Ty could not have stopped the laugh if his life depended on it, so he hoped Mrs. Kent didn’t take offense. “I’m so glad I’m not your teacher anymore, bud.”
When Theo released him, Mrs. Kent stepped in and tried to squeeze the life out of him. “I haven’t seen my son so animated in years,” she whispered fiercely. Then she kissed his cheek and released him. “Thank you.”
Ty shook his head. “I didn’t do anything.”
“You loved my son.” She pursed her lips. “That’s enough.”
Ollie’s dad didn’t say anything about the meeting, but he shook Ty’s hand firmly, his right hand clasped on top, as if to echo his wife’s words. “That window holding up okay?”
“It’s perfect,” Ty said. “Thank you again.”
The rest of the weekend went by all too quickly. The assembled crowd descended on the local diner for pie and coffee. After an hour Ty begged off to go home, because he needed to have a good cry and then sleep for three hours.
Theo went home with Cassie and Mel for a sleepover. At this point Ty and Ollie probably owed Cassie and her husband about a hundred free babysitting nights.
He cleaned off the blood, faceplanted in his bed, and didn’t wake up until almost sunset, when Ollie slipped into the bed with him.
“Hmm,” Ty hummed, turning over to face him. “Oh, are we celebrating a victory?”
“Well,” Ollie hedged.
He kissed Ollie’s chin and then crawled down his body. “Let me thank you properly.”
Afterward, when they were lazing in bed, Ty running his fingers through Ollie’s hair, he said, “So.”
Ollie tilted his head up just enough to meet Ty’s eyes without dislodging his hand. “So?”
Ty tugged gently in reproof. “Seems like you found something fulfilling to do.” He’d never seen Ollie so animated as he was at the town hall meeting earlier.
With exaggerated patience, Ollie said, “I am not going to be your kept man.”
This time Ty’s tug was less gentle. “I meant your scheming.” He shook his head despairingly. “I can love you for more than your hot body, you know.”
Ollie pinched the fat over Ty’s hip.
“Ow!”
“Deserved it.”
