Chapter Sixteen
Kelsi
“Another date with Tyler? This seems to be getting serious,” Hannah said casually as we were closing up the barn.
“I’m sorry if I’m asking too much of you with watching Clyde. I can ask my parents, but he just really likes having you around. They don’t have the energy for running after him like you do.”
“Kelsi, I don’t mind watching him at all. I just think it’s interesting how close you and Tyler are getting.”
“Interesting?”
“You know, because he’s going to be leaving and I always thought you were waiting for the perfect guy.”
I understood what Hannah was getting at. I had pushed away all her ideas for just having fun and sleeping with Tyler, yet that was exactly what I was doing. It was a bit of a mess, and I knew it. I liked him; there was no denying it. We talked on the phone every night; we text messaged throughout the day. He told me all about his visits with his father and I told him all about my work on the ranch. We weren’t acting like two people who were just sleeping together; there was much more going on, and I couldn’t stop it.
“You guys said I should have some fun.” I shrugged my shoulders and sat down on the porch.
“Oh, I think you should have fun. Absolutely. I’m just worried that you don’t know what you’re getting into. Having some fun is different than actually dating the guy. And it looks like the two of you are officially dating.”
“No, we aren’t dating. No, it’s not like that.”
“Where are you going tonight?”
“The Mic; he thinks it would be fun to sing karaoke, but I don’t think I’ll get up and sing. I haven’t done anything like that since the last musical we did at school.”
“Yep, that sounds like a date,” Hannah said.
“Okay, well it is a date in the technical term, but we both know what we are doing. He’s only in town until his family is through this hard time. I’m helping him by distracting him from all those emotions. When it’s time for him to leave, I’ll step back to my life and he will step back to his life. Easy as pie.”
Hannah was shaking her head in agreement with me, but her facial expression was saying something totally different. She scowled at me and scrunched up her face as if it was a pain to listen to what I was saying.
“Okay, Kelsi, I don’t want to argue. I just really want you to be careful. It took you years to mend from your last broken heart, and you weren’t nearly as in love with him as you are with Tyler.”
“I’m not in love with Tyler,” I protested.
“You’re not?” Hannah asked.
“No, we are just friends. It is possible for two people to see each other and enjoy each other and not be in love,” I continued. “I’m a modern woman. I’m doing just fine.”
“Here he comes,” she said as we looked up and saw Tyler’s car coming.
“Crap, I need to shower and change. Keep him busy,” I said as I ran inside. “But don’t tell him I love him.”
I hurried through my shower and back downstairs as quickly as possible. I could only imagine what Hannah and Tyler were talking about. When I walked out onto the porch, the two of them were hilariously laughing and stopped right away when they saw me.
“What were you two talking about?” I asked curiously.
“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Hannah said as she hugged me. “You two have fun on your date. Clyde and I are going to go play in the mud.”
“What did you tell her?” I asked urgently.
Tyler walked toward his car and held the door open for me as he waited for me to come down the stairs. He was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a button up shirt with blue checkers on it. His sleeves were rolled up in an effort to make him look more casual, but he still looked like a billionaire trying to look casual.
“I just happened to mention how we got muddy the other day and she wanted to hear the rest of how we got clean.” He smiled and then shut the door behind me.
When he climbed into the driver’s side of the car, Tyler had a huge smile and leaned over and kissed me right away. The warmth of his kiss shot through my body like electricity, and I felt a surge of desire. Really, every time I was around Tyler I had a surge of desire. He was clearly the best aphrodisiac on the planet.
“You told her I got naked?”
“I said we jumped into the freezing cold river and had to let our clothes dry. She thought it was funny.”
“I’m sure she did.” I rolled my eyes. “What else did you tell her?”
“Oh, stop, it’s not like we have secrets. Everyone knows I’m boning you now.” He laughed.
“Oh…my… God! You didn’t tell her that, did you?” I said, mortified.
“Please, you think she doesn’t know we are having sex? I bought my condoms from her husband Martin at the grocery store,” Tyler said as he laughed and drove us down my driveway.
“Shit, I totally hate small town gossip. There’s no way to have a life without everyone in town being part of it.”
“Maybe that’s all right. At least it’s an honest life. There’s no keeping secrets around here. Even if you wanted to keep a secret, someone in town would accidently tell someone else and sooner or later it would come out. I kind of like the simplicity of all that. Back in Birmingham, everyone just lies all the time. It’s like telling the truth is the exception to the rule. I can only imagine what it would be like in New York or Los Angeles.”
“I bet it’s beautiful in Los Angeles,” I said at the mention of that beautiful sunny city.
“Have you wanted to go there? I could take you there this weekend, if you’d like?” Tyler offered.
“I think we should stick close to home. How’s your father doing?”
I shouldn’t have mentioned his father though because it instantly turned our upbeat mood sour. There was no way not to be sad when we thought about his father and how little time he had left.
“He’s doing good, not opening his eyes as much, but I still went over there today and read to him. He used to say that Shakespeare was the best author he knew; I used to tease him that I thought it was possible one of the other authors in the last several hundred years were all right too. So, I started reading him Harry Potter.”
“Harry Potter is better than Shakespeare?” I asked in total confusion.
“No, I just thought it would get him worked up enough that he might say something to me or wake up,” Tyler said sadly.
It broke my heart to think about Mr. Pace and what the whole family was going through. I was happy to be a little distraction for Tyler during this horrible time. If it weren’t for all that he was going through, I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to go to a karaoke bar.
“That’s funny and a good idea.”
“Okay, so rule number one is going into effect right now. No family talk for the rest of the night. Tonight is about you and I taking some time for ourselves, deal?”
“Deal. Except…” I started to say and then stopped myself.
“Except what?”
“I might mention Clyde; it’s impossible for me to have a conversation without occasionally mentioning him. I really can’t believe I haven’t said something already.”
Tyler smiled and grabbed my hand softly. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he wouldn’t mind if I talked about Clyde. Tyler didn’t seem intimidated at all by my history or the fact that I had a son. But then again, we weren’t talking about a real relationship between the two of us; we were just together for fun while he was home.
“Did you practice your singing? Are you ready to knock the socks off of this crowd tonight?”
“Tyler, I’m not singing. I just agreed to come to have drinks and listen to everyone else. I can’t get up in front of everyone and sing. I’m really not that good.”
“I seem to remember a certain someone getting a standing ovation after our senior year musical. And just a hint, it wasn’t me,” he said as we pulled into the parking lot. “Make me a deal, if you get just a little courage up, you’ll give it a try? I’d really love to hear you.”
“If I can get the courage up, I’ll do it. But don’t hold your breath, I’m deathly afraid of getting on stage now. All that went away after high school. I’m older and wiser now. I know what it would feel like to be embarrassed and I don’t want to have any part of it.”
“But do you know what it would feel like to have the crowd love you? Because that’s what I think would happen,” Tyler said confidently, although he hadn’t heard me sing in a decade and a half.
“Let’s just get our drinks and enjoy the other singers for a little bit,” I suggested. “You are more than welcome to get on stage and sing, though. I’ll make sure and give you a standing ovation.” I winked.
The bar was already packed full of people and there were a dozen people waiting to sing according to the digital waiting list. I felt an instant sense of relief knowing that at least I’d be able to get through the first hour or so without worrying about Tyler trying to get me to sing.
We sat down at a table and ordered some food and drinks while we cuddled next to each other and listened to the singers. Not everyone was good, but everyone was having a blast, and it was fun to watch them. There were men, women, and groups of people who got up to sing. At first, almost everyone seemed a little embarrassed, but the crowd was amazing and cheered people on. By the end of their songs, people were confident and having so much fun that they didn’t want to get off the stage.
“Four more songs, then it’s our turn,” Tyler said about an hour after we arrived.
“What?” I asked in a panic.
I glanced at the digital wait list, and sure enough, there was Tyler’s name, and then my name right after him. I could hardly swallow my own saliva as the panic took over. The room got smaller, and I felt my breathing as it became harder and harder to feel like I had taken in a full breath.
“You’ll be all right. I will go first, and then you’ll see it’s going to be just fine.”
“No, I can’t go. I’m panicking. I can’t get on stage in front of everyone. I just can’t do it. There’s no way I can. I can hardly see right now I’m so scared. Tyler, I can’t.”
I babbled on for what seemed like an eternity about all the reasons I couldn’t possibly get up on the stage. But when they finally called Tyler’s name, he just smiled, kissed me on the cheek, and walked up to the stage. It was as if he didn’t have a fear in the world.
“I’m going to sing one of my favorite songs for one of my favorite girls. This is going out to Kelsi,” Tyler said as he confidently held the microphone and the song started to play.
It was AC/DC You Shook me all Night Long, and I instantly started to laugh and cry as he sang. It was our song. It was the song he used to sing when we were together in high school.
“She was a fast machine, she kept her motor clean, she was the best damn woman I had ever seen. She had the sightless eyes, telling me no lies, knockin’ me out with those American thighs. Taking more than her share, had me fighting for air, she told me to come but I was already there,” he sang.
His words weren’t always right because he kept looking at me and not at the screen. But he was doing damn good.
“She shook me all night long,” he screamed into the microphone and pointed to me as the crowd erupted in applause.
I instantly turned bright red. Tyler was really good. He wasn’t necessarily good because of his singing, but he had a level of confidence that made his performance exciting and had everyone in the room watching him. I certainly couldn’t sing like that.
By the time Tyler had finished his song, the crowd was screaming as he ran off the stage, grabbed me, and swung me down to kiss me. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me up with him on the stage.
“What do you want to sing?” he asked as we stood there.
“I don’t.”
“Everyone’s waiting, just pick something fun. I’ll do it with you.”
I froze, totally and utterly unable to move or think of any song that I knew the words to. Or any song whatsoever. I looked at Tyler and shrugged my shoulders, and he punched a song number into the machine.
“Hi, Barbie. Want to go for a ride?” Tyler started to say into the microphone.
I looked at him and then at the screen in confusion as I tried to figure out what song he had picked. Then the words for my part came across the screen and I couldn’t help but smile. It was an old song that had been on the radio when we were in high school.
“Hi, Ken. Sure, Ken,” I said.
“Jump in,” Tyler said as he pretended to open a car door.
“I’m a Barbie girl in the Barbie world, Life in plastic, it’s fantastic,” I said playfully. “You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere, imagination, life is your creation,” I continued on as I followed the words to the song and got more and more into it.
“Come on, Barbie, let’s go party,” Tyler sang.
We continued back and forth having tons of fun with the song, and the crowd continued to cheer us on. It was the perfect choice for a song. I didn’t have to actually sing along, it was fun and upbeat, and Tyler was on the stage with me. I wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but I was actually having a blast singing with Tyler.
When the song was over, the crowd cheered, and Tyler helped me off of the stage and back to our seats. I couldn’t stop smiling and giggling from the excitement.
“That was so much fun!” I yelled. “Put our names on the list again.”
Tyler didn’t hesitate and quickly added us to the list again. I couldn’t believe I had just told him to do that. It was crazy; I felt electrified and full of excitement, though. Tyler had been right; I was having fun.
“It’s going to be another hour or so, I ordered some more food and drinks,” Tyler said as he slid back into our table.
“Man, that was amazing. Thanks for dragging me up there. I felt like I was going to pass out, but then I realized no one really cared if I was singing well or not and it was fun.”
“Stick with me, kid, I won’t steer you wrong,” Tyler joked.
“I wish I could have done more singing and stuff like this in high school. It sucked that we only had one show a year. How is a kid supposed to gain confidence if they are only doing it once a year?”
“Maybe you should start teaching musical theater with all your art classes,” Tyler teased.
“Maybe I should.”
“Really? Are you still thinking about being a teacher?” Tyler didn’t look surprised by the idea, but intrigued that I was thinking about it.
“I don’t know. I guess what I’d really like to do is have a camp where kids could do all that theater stuff. Maybe a Broadway show kind of camp where they learned dancing, singing, and theater. But of course, they also had horses to ride and all that other outdoor stuff. Wouldn’t that be amazing?”
I was just sort of talking to myself as the idea came to my mind, but it was an exciting one. I’d never really taken the time to think about what I would have wanted to do with the ranch. Most of the time when I thought about taking it over, I just thought about keeping it running like my parents had been doing it. Sometimes the idea of offering more back trail riding would pop up, but I had never considered a full-on arts summer camp.
“You should do it!” Tyler said excitedly.
“Oh, you think so? Just like that, I should start a summer camp?”
“No, of course there’s more work that needs to go into it. But it seems like something you would really be good at. Maybe you could talk to the bank about switching the ranch into something like that. I could help you develop the business plan if you’d like.”
“Would it really be feasible? Do those types of camps even make money?”
“I don’t know. You’d have to do some investigating, but wouldn’t that be something exciting if you could combine all your passions into one business? I think that would be a success right away.”
“But I have to make enough money to pay the bills. There’s no use doing it if I can’t pay the bills,” I said.
“Let me tell you a little story. When I started my company, it was by accident. I had offered to help someone and I had no idea how to really go about it. But when the opportunity presented itself I didn’t walk away, I figured out how to make it work. You might have to figure out a way to monetize your business. Maybe you’ll buy the neighbor’s land that they weren’t using and raise cattle or something like that to help with the finances. But I’m confident if you find your passion, the money will follow.”
He was confident in the way he spoke, and it made me think for a minute that he was right and I could build this dream company of mine. But then the reality of my life set in. I wasn’t a billionaire; I was a single mom with a busy life and hardly enough time to shower. I couldn’t build this huge business there just wasn’t time for it.
“Thank you, Tyler,” I said as I leaned in and kissed him. “It’s amazing to have someone in my corner like you are. Even if it never comes true, I’m so grateful you believe I could do it.”
“Hey now, it could come true. Don’t say that.”
“Tyler, I’m a 33-year-old single mother who is still living with my parents. Running a huge business like that isn’t really in my wheelhouse. I’m okay with it; I like having a fantasy. It’s just not going to be my reality.”
“Have you talked with the bank yet? Maybe there is something they can do? I bet you could get a business loan. Let me help you with your business plan, and we can go in together. I could even co-sign for you if that would help.”
“Oh, no! I’m not having my high school boyfriend co-sign a million-dollar ranch loan for me. That sounds like trouble waiting to happen.”
I knew Tyler was just trying to be nice, but there was no way I could imagine getting a loan so big, and I certainly wasn’t going to let him co-sign anything for me.
“But you’ll let me help you with a business plan?” he said with a grin.
“I guess. But don’t get your hopes up. I’m pretty sure they would want someone with a business background and a little knowledge before they just handed over a million dollars.”
“Kelsi, stop selling yourself short. You have been involved in running that ranch since you were a teenager. You’re amazing with the animals, and you know every single aspect of what needs to be done. You aren’t just some lady off the street who wants to run a ranch; you understand what’s involved in it. You are a valuable asset to that ranch, and don’t you forget it.”
“Can I just keep you around for my daily motivational speeches? You could get me up in the morning, build up my self-esteem and boost my morale while I showered. I could take on the world with that kind of speech behind me.”
“Hey, even after I go home, you call me anytime and I’ll give you all the uplifting motivation you can handle. Speaking up uplifting…” Tyler winked and motioned to his lap with his eyes.
“You seriously have an erection right now?” I couldn’t help but laugh. “We weren’t even talking about sex.”
“Big Tyler has a mind of his own.” He laughed.
We didn’t stick around long enough to sing another song and instead ended up in the back seat of his car and parked at Lookout Point. It was still the high school hang out for kids who wanted to make out without their family finding out. It was a good thing all the windows were so steamed up because we were definitely the oldest couple at the Point.
“You know, technically we could be some of these kids’ parents.” I laughed as we watched a young couple climb into the back of their beaten up old truck.
“No way. I’m not going to believe that. Now, where was I?” he said as his lips went back to kissing my neck.
“I love the way your lips feel on my skin,” I said softly as his fingers pulled my t-shirt up and over my head.
“I do, too.”
“I love the way your hands feel on my skin, too.”
“Me too,” he said with a sly smile as he looked up at me and kissed down my naked chest. “I also like the way my lips feel when I kiss every inch of you.”
“Oh, every inch?”
“Yes, every single inch.”
“Are you sure we should be doing this in your car out here?” I laughed. “It feels a little silly.”
“We aren’t old,” he playfully demanded. “This is what people do when they both live at home with their parents and know the motel manager by name.”
“Very true, I guess old man Henry would have quite the story to tell everyone if we showed up at the motel for a couple of hours of fun.”
“I’m fine with him telling any story at all. Do you want to go?” Tyler said full of anticipation.
“No, ew, that place is disgusting.” I laughed. “I’d rather stay here in your BMW.”
“Yeah, my leather needs some breaking in.”
“It actually does,” I said as my hands slid up and down the pristine material. “Is this new?”
“Yep, I got it when I arrived in town. I didn’t want to drive a rental the whole time, and I’ll give this to my sister when I leave.”
“After a good cleaning,” I teased as he pulled my pants down and threw them toward the front of the car.
“I’m going to rock your world,” Tyler said as he sunk down between my thighs and started to lick me.
For a moment, I was afraid someone would see what was going on in our car, but then I realized they were all just as busy as we were and couldn’t have cared less if our car was rocking. Which it did start rocking soon enough when I climbed onto Tyler’s lap and he thrust inside of me.
My hands held onto the back of the car, and I could see out the back window as two cars left the Point and one more pulled in. I didn’t know if they could see me or not, but the pleasure that I felt made me not care. I tucked my mouth near Tyler’s neck as we moved together in totally harmony until we both burst with excitement.
It was as if we had been making love for years and years. Our bodies both knew what made the other happy and we hardly had to talk at all throughout the process. I moved one way, and he followed. He pressed hard, and I pressed against him. There was a real connection between the two of us. Stronger than anything I had had with him while we were in high school.