That Friday, Tyler circled around the punching bag analyzing his student’s combination. “Okay that’s a lot better but next time try it like this. Watch my shoulder.”

He gave the bag a punch to the body, before stepping back. “Did you see the difference? Don’t tense your muscles when you pull back. You want it loose.” He punched the bag one more time. “And then snap. See that? Like letting go of a rubber band.”

As soon as he stepped off the mat, he saw Lia standing in the doorway to the training room. His chest constricted at the sight of her. She smiled, and his muscles relaxed. He turned to Ray, his student. “Hey, let’s call it good for today.”

Ray snickered. “I feel you, man. I’d do the same thing.”

Tyler glared and playfully smacked him on the back before walking over to Lia.

“I’ve never seen you teaching before,” she said, eyes wide.

“You might not want to.” He wondered if it was a trigger for her.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. It was kind of hot.”

Well then. He grinned at her. “Come to my office.”

Leading her through the gym, he tried not to let himself think that this necessarily meant what he wanted it to mean. They hadn’t spoken much in the days since they’d picked up Caleb, and honestly, he wasn’t sure where her head was at, but he’d decided that after offering himself up like that, the ball was in her court.

He closed the door to his office and sat down beside her on the sofa. The minute they were close enough, she leaned over and kissed him. With a shocked grunt, Tyler steadied his body and lifted his hands to hold her. He kissed her back, loving the feel of her lips and tongue, and the sounds of contentment she made in her throat.

“God, I missed you,” he said when she finally pulled away. He wasn’t going to tell her this now, but he had begun to think that he was incapable of living without her no matter what she did to make a living. He’d just have to convince her harder to rely on him if she needed. Yeah, he was a sucker.

“I missed you too.” She kissed him once more and then sat up.

“It’s been six days,” he said.

She smiled. “You’ve been counting.”

“I’ve been forcing myself not to show up on your doorstep. So, tell me what happened with Caleb.”

Tyler had called her Monday evening to see how things had gone at the Juvenile Detention Center, and she’d filled him in briefly. That had been the majority of their short conversation. Now she told him a few more details. When she was finished, he only had one question.

“So, has the school contacted you?”

“No, but I called them and told them I didn’t want Caleb in classes with this guy or anything. I also called that teacher back and let her know what happened.”

Tyler ran his fingers back and forth over her arm as she spoke. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you. In a weird way, this whole thing made Caleb and me closer. We’ve been talking a lot. He’s even been sharing, which is nice.” She pushed her hair behind her ear, thinking. “There was actually this time . . . with his dad. . . . well, let’s just say he’d always been violent but one time he tried to be a little too nice.”

“Aw, babe.” He touched her face. “Caleb told me about it too.”

Her mouth dropped open. “He did? Why didn’t you tell me? Oh God . . .” She began to pull away.

“Hold on . . . don’t you get up. First of all, I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to know. We weren’t even together at the time, it was in California. And second, it was an intense moment between him and me. He shared it in confidence and I wasn’t going to betray him.”

“Wow.” Lia sighed, obviously trying to come to terms with this news. “I think . . .”

Tyler braced himself . . . dreading what might come from her mouth. Would she see this as another reason not to trust him? God, he hoped not.

“Please don’t let this be another thing between us, Lia. Eventually I would have brought it up if Caleb didn’t. And I was so proud of you when he told me how you’d defended yourself. I’m always so impressed with you. Amazed at your strength.”

Finally, she spoke. “I was going to say . . . I think you and I are going to have to sit down and spill every detail of our life stories.”

Tyler blew out his breath, his body sagging in relief. “I think that sounds like a good idea.”

“I do like to hear how impressed you are with me though,” she said. They smiled at each other. “I also came here to share some good news. Four amazing things happened to me this week.” She wiggled four fingers in his face.

“Four?” He grinned. “How did you manage to have such a great week without me?”

Lia laughed as Tyler began to drag her into his lap. She helped him, and when she was settled, her arm around his neck, she looked down into his eyes. “Number one is obviously no charges for Caleb.”

“Yes. That is a good thing.” Tyler placed a kiss on her nose.

“Number two might be the best. Well . . . maybe not.” She was practically vibrating with excitement. She began to explain to him what happened with her mother at the nursing home.

Tyler’s eyes went wide, realization dawning. Before he could speak, Lia placed a finger on his mouth, and he instantly grabbed it with his lips and bit down as she spoke. When she was finished, he had a thought.

“That’s really good news. But how old is this old lady? What if she kicks the bucket next week?”

Lia swatted playfully at his chest. “Tyler, that’s horrible! And I can’t think about that right now. The point is, Mom is happy and I don’t have to continue paying an arm and a leg for her room. The one payment I made nearly killed me. We’ll deal with Mrs. Butler’s death when it happens.”

“Yes, we will,” Tyler said. “Okay. So, that’s two.”

“Oh, okay, so three is that I officially have one month left of school until I graduate.”

“Very good news. And four?”

Lia leaned forward and rested her forehead on his. She ran a fingernail over his jaw. “Four is actually the best one.”

“Tell me,” he said, nipping at her lips.

“I quit.”

Tyler let his eye’s pinch shut as he sucked in a deep breath. He repeated the words back in his mind as she rested her hands on his cheeks.

“I want you to know,” she went on, “that I’d decided to quit before I found out about my mother.”

He opened his eyes. “How were you going to manage?”

“Well, my plan had been to maybe find another serving job in town and just work my ass off. But I’d also had a backup plan.

“And what was that?” he whispered.

“To move in with you.”

He grazed her cheek with the tip of his nose. “That sounds like a really good plan.”

She nodded. “A really, really good plan. I figure I may as well still stick with it. Just because.”

The corner of his lip quirked. “So, what are you saying, Lia Hanson?”

“I’m saying . . . I love you.”

He felt his chest expand at her words. He felt like he might burst. “You’re certain.”

“Very. I’ve loved you for a while. I was just afraid to trust it.”

“I still love you, just so we’re clear.”

Lia laughed. “Well, I was hoping so. And it’s a good thing, because living with a woman and a teenager isn’t always going to be easy.”

“Easier than living without you.”

She chuckled. “Damn, you’re good.”