“I PROMISE YOU it’s just off the road about a quarter of a mile,” Tyler laughs, pointing straight ahead.
I smirk and give him a side eye as my car travels slowly over the dips of the uneven road. I’m sure the front end will need an alignment after this trip.
“What’s that look for?”
“That’s my side eye!” I quip. “I reserve it for special occasions.”
Minutes later, Tyler directs me to park in a secluded area before he maneuvers his crutches and gets himself out with little assistance.
“Hang on! I’ll help you.” I race around the car, but I’m too late.
“Karrie, my leg is broken, but the rest of my body works just fine.”
I’m left speechless, remembering how hard he felt last night as his erection pressed into my belly. It was supposed to be a quick kiss goodnight, but our hands had other plans.
“C’mon this way,” he motions with his head and my legs take strides behind him, following along closely.
“Are you sure we’re supposed to be here? I don’t know about this.”
Tyler continues trudging on through the overgrown grass until he reaches a dilapidated fence. My eyes scan the view before me. The city cloaked in evening twilight glows a shade of purple with a hint of faded orange.
“It’s beautiful.”
Never in my life have I seen the place I’ve always lived from this perspective.
My arm brushes against his as I place my forearms on the fence, mirroring his actions.
Down in the distance, cars rush by and streetlights illuminate, marking the end of another day. Moments slip by as we relish the peace and quiet.
“Why’d you bring me here?”
Tyler ignores my question and leans over, pointing to something far away.
“I don’t know what you’re pointing to.” I squint, trying to see clearly.
“That right there.” With one arm, he pulls me close and lines his finger up with my line of sight.
“The clock tower?” I ask, wondering what’s so special about it. I’ve seen it a million times.
“It’s been repainted. See how the light reflects off the windows facing west?”
My eyebrows cock upwards. “And?”
“Did you notice it before right now?” he challenges.
My hands rise and twist. “I don’t know. I guess not.”
“You’re that for me.”
I palm his forehead, checking for the presence of a fever.
“Sometimes you don’t see the beauty in something until you step back and look at it from a distance.”
I smile softly as my heart swells. “From a distance,” I whisper, repeating his words.
“You’re my clock tower.”
I bury my face in his chest, inhaling deeply, and wrap my arms around his waist. His hold on me tightens, his lips press a kiss on my hair.
“How are we going to do this?” I ask, wiping the moisture from my eyes.
“One day at a time.” He tips my chin and kisses me chastely before adding, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Thank you for this.”
***
TYLER AND I fall into a routine relatively quickly over the next few weeks. After sleeping in the guest room the nights I work, he greets me in the morning with a light breakfast before I sleep for a few hours.
I wake to the sound of voices. Grabbing my robe, I head downstairs into the kitchen and find Tyler sitting across from Roger. Both men’s eyes flash in my direction and the papers on the table are immediately slid back into a manila folder.
My suspicion and curiosity are awakened, replacing my desire to kiss Tyler good morning.
“What’s going on?”
I breeze into the room, neglecting to greet Roger as I take a seat at the table. I have a niggling feeling this conversation is about me.
“How are you, Karrie?”
Roger leans over to offer a kiss, but stops shy when my body tenses. My eyes snap in Tyler’s direction by way of habit.
“I’m fine.” My tone is softer.
Tyler and Roger speak at the same time.
“It’s nothing—”
“We’re going over—”
I finish the sentence as I reach for the folder. “Alex’s will.”
With a quick motion, Tyler’s hand covers mine and he looks down, confirming what I know to be true. His touch feels different; it’s one of sympathy mingled with pity. I slide my hand out from beneath his and sigh heavily.
The weight of Alex’s betrayal feels like a boulder sitting on my chest. Not only is the document a painful reminder of what Alex did, but for Tyler and Roger to review it here, in my own house, is completely wrong, downright rude and disrespectful.
“When do I have to leave by?” I ask, my voice completely devoid of emotion.
“What?” Tyler gasps. “What are you talking about?” His eyes round into balls of disbelief.
My heart cracks at the idea that he’s played me for a fool. He never wanted me; he didn’t want me to contest the will. I said I wouldn’t and I won’t. I don’t want Alex’s money.
“Karrie, nobody said anything about you leaving,” Roger intervenes as a look of sincerity spreads across his face. “In fact—”
“Roger, could you give us a minute?” Tyler asks, clenching his jaw tightly, staring at me intensely. I try to decipher what I see, but I can’t. My eyes aren’t working properly; they’re blurred and tainted by the ugly color of lies and betrayal.
When I flatten my palms to push myself up and away from the table, Tyler grabs my wrist firmly.
“Sit down.”
I narrow my eyes, slightly offended by his tone.
“Please,” he adds, although he’s glaring at me in complete anger.
I huff, surrendering the fight and sit down.
“I told you I wouldn’t challenge his will.”
Leaning closer, bringing his face inches from mine, he growls, “And I told you I don’t want anything of his…except you.”
I swallow nervously and ask, “Then why is Roger here?”
He blows a puff of air through flared nostrils as his chest rises and falls.
“I contested the will, stating that I do not believe Alex was of sound mind and body when he made these changes.”
“What?” I shriek. “Can you do that?”
“I don’t know, but I did.”
I continue in astonishment. “Why would you do that?”
Determination alters his face and his eyes gleam with intensity. “You still don’t get it. You’re keeping the house, the business, the bikes. Everything. I don’t want it…I only want you.”
With his hand around the nape of my neck, he pulls me forward, kissing me slowly… perfectly.
Never have I met someone so selfless, so giving, so thoughtful. Never have I loved someone more. My chin quivers as tears of gratitude flood my eyes.
“There is one thing though,” he says, wiping his thumb across my cheek, preventing the tear from falling further.
I meet his eyes, assuring him I trust him with whatever he decides.
“I’ve asked Roger to set aside some money for a college fund.”
My forehead wrinkles in confusion and then smooths out, thinking about his nephew Tre.
“I think that’s a great idea.” I smile, thinking about how much he loves that little boy as I reach for his hand and lace my fingers with his.
“I didn’t hear any pots and pans being thrown around so I’m assuming it’s safe to come back in.” Roger walks in and sits down. His eyes flash to our joined hands before he stares at me, offering a subtle nod and the hint of a smile.
Roger turns his attention to Tyler. “So we’re all set?”
“We are,” he confirms decisively.
“I’ll be in touch,” Roger calls from the door as he opens it wide and calls my name. “Hey Karrie?”
My feet stop dead in their tracks and I turn around to face him.
“Take care of each other.”
I glance at Tyler and smile.
“Always.”
“I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be down in a bit,” I announce, spinning on my heels and heading for the door before I utter the words and ask him to join me. I know it’s an impossibility with his cast and the fact that we’ve not defined any specific terms to our unexpected relationship, but God I’m desperate for him.
“Don’t be too long.”
I duck my head with embarrassment, thinking about his comments a few days ago when he teased about how flushed my face was. I’m sure he realized why I took such a long shower after our kissing escalated to touching.
I climb the stairs quietly, suppressing a smile, trying desperately to contain my excitement that he might be able to join me in the shower sooner rather than later.
Hot water rains down on me as I stand there, thinking about Alex as I lather myself with soap. As my hand glides over my breasts, the image of Tyler’s hands come to mind. I quietly moan as I pleasure myself. When my heartbeat slows and my breathing returns to normal, I step out of the shower and dry off. I pat my face dry and meet my reflection in the mirror. With each swipe of my hand, I erase the steam and realize that each day Alex is becoming a distant memory. Someone from my past.
“You good?” Tyler asks after he finds me by the front window. It’s at this same window where I stood so many times watching him as he waited for Alex.
I sweep a glance at him, freshly showered and looking scrumptious with a hooded sweatshirt and his sweatpants cut above the knee to accommodate the binding.
“How’d you manage to take a shower? I mean,” I drag my eyes lower away from his face and motion to his leg, “with that cast and all.”
He grins wickedly, piercing me with a meaningful stare. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Don’t let the door hit you in the ass!” I adjust the oversized bag on my shoulder and walk through the front door, leaving him behind.
Even though I don’t turn around, I know he’s laughing when he claims he can’t close the door.
The drive through the city is fine, but we’re faced with incredible traffic due to construction once we hit the highway. Tyler changes the radio station often until he stops and turns the dial.
“You like country music?”
He pretends to tip his hat and feigns a southern accent.
“Yes, ma’am, I do.”
I roll my eyes in disbelief.
“Oh yeah, who’s this?” I nod my chin toward the radio.
“Sam Hunt.”
I giggle and hum, storing this little nugget of information.
I park the car and turn off the engine. My fingers comb through my hair and massage my temples.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know why you made me suffer through that!”
We walk into the building discussing the pros and cons of country music.
After waiting for almost an hour from the time we arrived at the orthopedic surgeon’s office, we head over to radiology for Tyler’s x-rays.
We wait and wait and then we wait some more until Tyler eventually stands, adjusting his crutches when his name is called by a young medical assistant who’s wearing fitted zebra printed scrubs.
“Hey Ty,” she draws his name out slowly, smiling seductively. Her red smeared lips pull back into a sly Cheshire cat smile. I suddenly want to gouge her eyeballs out and smack that smile off her face. I might just kill her cat, too.
After acknowledging her quickly, he turns to me. “Come on.”
“You want me to go in with you?” I close the magazine in my hand. It’s not something I’ve done before. I usually sit here waiting while I catch up on the Hollywood gossip that fills the pages of People or In Touch weekly.
“It’s okay. She doesn’t have to come if she doesn’t want to,” Zebra Girl interjects.
She huffs quietly when Tyler ignores her.
“Do I really have to ask again?” An eyebrow lifts in question.
I suppress a smile as I set the magazine down and proceed to walk alongside him.
“Excuse me,” I say, breezing past Zebra Girl who simply smirks at me.
Tyler hops onto the stiff exam table and the crinkling of the paper is deafening. There’s an underlying tension in the small room and I don’t like it.
“I’m just going to check your vitals real quick.”
He nods as she secures the cuff around his bicep.
“Would you mind taking off your sweatshirt?” She giggles nervously then continues, “I need to get a good reading.”
Reaching from behind, Tyler pulls the thick material over his head and drops it into his lap. He watches me as I watch her as she removes the stethoscope from around her neck and places it on his chest.
“Good strong heart.”
Tyler glances at her.
“I bet you can go for hours.”
My eyes widen and my jaw drops open.
“What?” I gasp loudly while Ty exclaims, “Excuse me?”
Zebra Girl glows bright red, almost matching the color of her hair.
“I thought...you’re a runner, aren’t you?” she stutters, tying to claw her way out of the hole she’s dug herself into.
His face transforms into one of disgust. “No! I hate running!”
“Oh, sorry! I must have you confused with someone else.” She turns away and types into the small computer sitting on the counter. “What is it that you do again?”
“I race. I’m a drag racer.”
“Yes! That’s right!” She spins around quickly, facing him with wild excitement on her face.
Bike bitch. That’s what this one is. A total and complete bike bitch. Women like her were the reason I stopped going to the track in the first place. I hated the way they all gathered at the trailers, waiting and hoping to get an ounce of attention from the guys. Especially the guys who always won. Like Alex.
“I’m going to have to come see you race. I’d love to cheer you on.”
I want to wave my hand and remind her that I’m still in the room.
“Nah,” he shakes his head, “that’s okay. I’ve got my number one cheerleader right here.” He smiles at me and my heart soars.
Finally, she receives the message.
He’s taken.
He’s off the market.
He’s mine.
“The doctor will be in to see you soon,” she replies, ignoring the fact that he’s just rejected her offer. She closes the door behind her and I blow out a deep breath.
“Can you believe her? My God, I thought she was going to throw herself on top of you.”
A light chuckle floats in the air. “Yeah, she was a little much.”
“A little?”
“You should see the ones at the tr—”
My countenance falls.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me for what you guys did.”
“You guys?”
“You don’t have to lie to me. I know all about your girls in the trailer.” I chuck dryly. “Believe me, Alex didn’t spare any details.”
Tyler inhales sharply, his chest puffing out before he blows the hot air out as his fists clench tightly. “Son of a bitch,” he mumbles. “That son of a bitch.”
I’m surprised by the ferocity of his voice. I don’t understand why he’s so upset and angry that Alex told me how he screwed all those women. It didn’t matter to me then.
A light knock on the door is followed by the entry of Dr. McLeod, a petite woman with short black hair. Her smile is warm and friendly as she introduces herself to me and then proceeds to wash her hands, turning over her shoulder to ask Tyler how he’s feeling. The results of the x-rays reveal the fracture is now healed. She’s happy with the progress and results.
“So are you ready to get this thing off?” She balls her small hand into a fist and knocks on the plaster covering.
“Yes,” he hisses, failing miserably to disguise irritation in his voice.
Dr. McLeod peeks up at him.
“Everything okay?”
“It will be.”
He turns his eyes on me and suddenly I feel as though I’m the perpetrator.
Using some sort of drill, the doctor carefully cuts through the cast, slicing right through the names written colorfully in Sharpie marker. Friends and colleagues, nurses and hospital staff all took a few minutes to decorate the solid mold. I see Penny’s name and internally cringe.
The angry expression fades from Tyler’s face the moment the cast falls away, setting his bare leg free. The skin is moist and pale, the hair on his leg is matted down. Using his hand, he massages his leg, bringing sensation back.
“How does it feel?”
“Like pizza dough.”
The doctor laughs lightly. “Well… that’s one I’ve never heard before.”
Tyler grins.
She offers careful assistance, helping him to stand as he applies his full weight. My eyes never stray from his leg; for some reason, I think it might snap in half carrying the mass of muscle that covers his bones.
Cautiously, Tyler bounces up and down, putting more pressure on that side. I anticipate a hiss of pain or a look of distress, but his face simply beams with sheer joy.
“Feels great.”
“Are you sure? It was a pretty severe fracture.”
Nodding adamantly, he reassures her.
“Well, then. You’re good to go. Just take it easy for a few days.”
The words fly out of his mouth. “When can I start racing again?”
Dr. McLeod glances at me with raised brows before she addresses him. “That’s completely up to you.”
She extends her hand and says it was nice to meet me. Her eyes meet his as she offers a warning. “You—please be careful.”
Moments later, Tyler and I stand alone in the room. He can’t seem to control his elation; he’s like a kid in a candy store who’s just swallowed tubes and tubes of pure sugar.
I wait for him to speak first.
“Thank you for coming with me today. I’m glad you were here.”
I smile and bite my bottom lip, replying, “Me, too” just as my phone buzzes in my purse.
“Aw, damn!”
My eyes snap up, fearing his leg is snapped in half or something. “What’s wrong?”
Tyler looks down at his sweatpants. “I can’t go outside like this.”
Laughter erupts when we realize one pant leg is cut short above the knee while the other one is still long.
“I didn’t really think about this.”
I unzip my bag and reach in. With my hand extended, I offer the rolled-up jeans.
“I did.”
I pray silently they fit. It’s been so long since he’s worn jeans, but I remember seeing him in jeans and my God, he looked so good.
The look of surprise and disbelief on his face is priceless.
“What the— how did you know?”
“I’m a nurse. Very rarely do patients go home in the same clothes they arrived in.”
Looking at me with grateful eyes, Tyler takes them and toes off his boots.
Then he drops his sweatpants.
Only wearing a T-shirt and fitted black boxers, Tyler stands before me, tempting me, teasing me, daring me not to look. His thighs are thick and muscular, not long and lean like a runner’s. I slide my tongue across my bottom lip at the sight of his stiffness.
“Do you want to touch it?” he asks huskily.
Yes! Yes! God, yes!
Taking a small step back, Tyler widens his stance, giving me a perfect view of his erection.
“You have to run your hand up and down then go over it a few times.” Grinning, he encourages me further. “I don’t mind it.”
Given the green light, I raise my hand slowly, moving closer to his body. My fingers graze the material of his cotton shirt on my downward journey into unknown, forbidden until now, territory.
A huge hand clamps down over mine and drags it away from its intended target.
“See! Feels like pizza dough.”
My eyes attempt to hide my embarrassment as he massages his leg with my hand. Slowly, I draw my eyes open and meet his playful expression.
“You’re a jerk!” I grunt, snatching my hand away.
In all the years I’ve known Tyler, I don’t think I’ve hated him as much as I do right now. That’s not true. I don’t hate him. In fact, I kind of love him, but after that stunt, it’ll be years before I reveal that.
“Me? What did I do?” He raises his hands defensively as laughter pours out of him.
I narrow my eyes, already plotting my revenge.
“Why Karrie…did you want to touch something else?” He steps forward, closing the gap between our bodies, looking down at me with a sexy smirk.
“Hah! You wish! I wouldn’t touch that thing with a ten-foot pole!” I turn my head and lift my chin in defiance.
“Okay,” he deadpans and steps back, sliding one leg and then the other into his worn jeans. He does a quick bounce, making sure he has a proper fit.
I try not to peek, but I can’t help myself. When he turns to grab his hoodie, I take full advantage and check out his backside.
Oh. Dear. God.
My core tightens with arousal and I force myself to swallow.
“Ready to go?” he asks, opening the door and gesturing that I walk through.
“After you.” I smile.
The office staff says their goodbyes and wish him well. Zebra Girl is nowhere in sight.
“Come on, Loverboy. Time to get you home.”
“Loverboy?” he inquires, coming to a quick stop, pinning me with a serious look.
“We all know how much you love the ladies and how much they love you.”
“Listen, do me a favor. Stop staying that. I’m not that guy.” The sharp tone in his voice reveals his frustration and annoyance. “I never was.”
I spin around and come face to face with him. I feel badly that I keep bringing up the past. His past.
“I’m sorry,” I sigh, my face slipping into a frown. “I was just teasing you. I won’t do it again.”
“Understand this…you are the only thing I want. You are the only thing I wanted for the past five years. Five years! And now…now that I have the chance to have you, if you’ll let me, I don’t want anyone or anything screwing that up. Got it?”
I nod.
“Got it!”
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I squeeze him hard and inhale the fresh scent. Together with his arm draped over my shoulder and my hand still around his waist, we walk out in the late autumn air.