Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Delaney
Over the last several days since he brought me home with him after I called him about the fire, I’ve learned quite a bit about the man and his family. So many questions have popped into my head, but I’ve kept most of them to myself. I didn’t want to look like a nosy busybody.
Sure, my cleaning his house the way I have could have been viewed as me snooping, but I did my best not to do that. I avoided anything that looked to be of importance, like the file folder he’d been rifling through when I came out from his room.
I also knew that he’d slept in bed with me the past two nights.
I felt him climb in next to me. It freaked me out at first, however, he never tried anything.
Besides, he was nice enough to let me sleep there so I wasn’t going to tell him he couldn’t get in his own bed.
I probably should have moved to the couch myself, but by the time he climbed in, I was too tired to move from the comfort of his bed.
Not to mention, Tyler typically left for the barn before I would even get up for the day.
Usually, he didn’t come back until he had to get Dash, and even then he went back out for a few more hours.
Coming in right at dinner time or a little after.
One thing I noticed was he always made sure he was home to put Dash to bed every night and read him a story.
This didn’t mean he didn’t check in with me via text throughout the day to make sure I was okay. He would text or call several times. It was a routine of sorts. Even when I left the ranch to finally get myself some clothes instead of borrowing more from Lexy.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" I ask Tyler as he makes his way up the porch steps my eyes on the deputy car heading down the lane for the road. Once it's out of sight, I focus on the man I’ve become more than a little curious about.
Having been sitting here the entire time, I can’t help but ask my question. I barely know anything about this man, and yet in however many months, we’ll both be parents together.
Tyler had been down by the deputy’s car for a little while.
His eyes would sometimes come to me, like he needed to keep an eye on where I was.
He didn’t have anything to worry about. I didn’t leave the swing the entire time he spoke with the deputy.
He and the deputy spent a lot of time talking.
During that time, Tyler made a call to someone and the deputy also spoke to whoever was on the phone.
I couldn't hear their words. They were too far away for me to listen in, not that I would.
If it's something Tyler wants to share, I'll be his listening ear. Otherwise, I didn't have a right to demand answers. No matter how much I want them. However, I’m more than a little curious as to what’s going on.
Tyler sighs and sits next to me, one arm stretching along the back of the swing, curling around my shoulders.
He gives a gentle tug, and I give in, leaning into his side.
I don’t fight him on this. I think a part of him needs the connection, though neither of us has broached the topic of what happened or what we’re doing.
It’s like everything between us seems to be happening naturally without us trying.
His long legs start up an easy pace of movement as he takes a breath and answers my question, "My ex showed up at the gate. Maddox called me, and I met him there. She was refusing to leave without seeing me."
His ex? Dash’s mom? Someone else?
“Are you talking about Dash’s mom?’ I ask softly.
“That woman might have birthed him, but she’s not his mother,” he bites out, harshly.
I nod, more questions flow through my head, but only one really pops to mind. “Why does her showing up here warrant you having a sheriff's deputy out?"
The first night I stayed here, I heard him and Lexy arguing.
She was pissed at him for having me here.
She’d been quite clear she didn’t appreciate me being here and that he allowed me there because of the situation we were in.
She also asked him if he didn’t learn his lesson the first time around.
That part I figured she was talking about Dash’s mom.
Lexy ended up apologizing to me, knowing that I heard her the other night when she got into it with Tyler. I hadn’t understood her need to apologize when all she was doing was being a protective sister and aunt. To her, I was a stranger to them all.
I thought about leaving, but I didn’t have anywhere to go, and I looked. There wasn’t a rental in my price range available in town. I definitely didn’t want to stay at the clubhouse with Mammon.
Tyler takes a deep breath and lets it out haggardly, bringing me out of my thoughts. "My ex tried to kill Dash when he was a baby. Barely a month old."
"What?" I gasp. Jerking back to look at him with such force I make myself dizzy for a second. Why would anyone do that to their child? “Barely a month old?” I whisper, tears for what he had to have felt at the time sting my eyes.
Tyler looks at me, twisting so he's facing me, which is good. To hear this, I need to see his face. The anger in his eyes speaks volumes for how gently he keeps his voice. "We got pregnant by accident. It was supposed to be all fun, nothing more than a scratch being itched. Only she ended up knocked up, took a test with me right there. As soon as she saw those two lines on the stick, she freaked the hell out. Wanted to get rid of it. Said it was my duty to pay for her to abort our kid. I told her if she didn’t go through with the abortion, I'd marry her and take care of her and the baby. I didn’t want her to get the abortion. I don’t believe in them.
She jumped on the chance to marry me and agreed not to go through with it. ”
I could understand his reasoning. I hadn't taken the Plan B preventative because I had my own beliefs for myself. I would never look down on a woman who needed to do it. I think each person should do what's best for them and not what others want them to do.
The fact she jumped on the chance to marry him at his offer screams vindictiveness. That she used the abortion route to manipulate Tyler into marrying her.
"Why did she try to kill Dash?" I ask, flinching as the question leaves my lips.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." It was beyond my comprehension how a mother could inflict such harm on her child. Just as I couldn’t understand a parent abandoning their children when they need said parent to help guide them through way in life.
"Sweetheart, you ask whatever the hell you want. You've got a right to know what you've got yourself into." It's nice that he thinks that, but there’s no missing that this is a sensitive subject for him.
“I . . .”
“I don’t know what’s happening between us. However, we share a connection. One that can’t be changed. I told you what my ex did to my son. You can understand now why I flipped the way I did when you told me you were pregnant. I’m always cautious, and that night I fucked up.”
“It wasn’t just on you, Tyler,” I tell him. “It takes two. We both made decisions that affected us both.
“Maybe so, but I still fucked up.” He shrugs.
“So did I. I should have found a better time and place to tell you.”
“It wouldn’t change my reaction.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” I whisper, holding his gaze.
Tyler stays quiet for a few moments, his fingers toying with my hair before he asks, “What’s it about you that seems to calm something in me? You make me want things I haven’t wanted in a long damn time.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, my lips parting on a breath.
“Just what I said, Delaney.”
“I still don’t understand. Are you saying you want to be together?” One part of me wants that, but the other is scared.
“I don’t know. Told you I don’t know what’s happening between us, but I can’t tell you what the future holds. Doesn’t mean we can’t explore it.”
“I want to tell him he’s crazy. I highly doubt either of us is completely ready for a relationship of any sort. Still, I find myself nodding in agreement.
“We’ll take it slow,” Tyler announces. “Get to know each other better first.”
“That sounds like a plan.” I lick my lips nervously. “And you don’t have to talk about what your ex did if you're not ready. But I’m here whenever . . .” I trail off, not able to finish what I intended to tell him.
Tyler lets out a breath and tucks me back to his side and answers my earlier question.
"Megan tried to drown him. She would have succeeded if I hadn't gotten home when I did.
She never outright said why, but I know that it's because the attention switched from her to Dash after he was born.
He became my focus point. I thought he was hers too, but I'd been wrong. So damn wrong."
I reach out and take his hand in mine. "She showed up here for what reason today?"
"Claims she wants her family back.”
“What?’ I jerk back at his answer.
Tyler lets out a not-so-joyful snort and shakes his head.
“Trust me, Delaney, that’s never going to happen.
I know her wanting her family back is no more than a lie.
She's sent plenty of veiled threat letters over the past few years for me to know the truth.
What she did today was about proving a protective order won't keep her away. "
Tyler lets out a harsh breath and tilts his head back, staring at the ceiling of the porch. After a moment, he brings his gaze back to mine. "She's not right in the head. Totally crazy. I don't want to see her get her hands Dash. Who the hell knows what she will do to him if she does."
"Won't she go back to prison for violating probation?" I ask. I wasn't completely knowledgeable about the judicial system or how it works. “I mean, isn’t the protective order a part of her stipulations?”