Chapter 17 #2
“All right. Who’s ready to have fun?” Leo called.
The kids all cheered and jumped in excitement. Scarlett listened as the dads took over the wiener cooking. The women brought out fruit and assorted sides. Chase started the grill to make food for the adults. Kassie sat beside Scarlett and Ty with a baby in her arms.
“Help yourselves to the food. Sophie takes her time eating, and I don’t want her waking Jon quite yet. Tori has another tooth coming in, and she’s a bear if she doesn’t get a full nap,” she exclaimed.
“May I fix your plate, Scarlett?” Ty asked. “If you’ll come with me, you can tell me what you like,” he suggested.
Scarlett signaled for Ice to stay while she stood and waited for Ty to lead the way. Feeling confident on his arm, she allowed him to take her toward the food table.
“We have grilled chicken, steaks, burgers and Debbie brought a veggie pasta salad,” he informed her as he took two plates, napkins and silverware.
“May I have a burger and pasta salad?”
“Of course, do you want any fruit?” he asked, piercing a piece of chicken for himself.
“No. I’m saving room for dessert,” she grinned.
“I see you’re insatiable,” he whispered. “I’ll have to think of something else to tempt you.”
Scarlett swallowed as her mind went to carnal places. His arms felt firm and defined. When the outside of her arm rubbed against his side, she felt the bulging muscles underneath his clothes. For a chef, he seemed in great shape.
“Besides cooking, do you have other skills?” she asked, before she slapped her hand against her mouth and moaned. “What I meant was, do you have any hobbies?”
Chuckling, Ty led her back to Ice and her chair and sat beside her.
Kassie must’ve left to put the baby down because Ty spoke freely.
“I own the ranch. When I’m not at the restaurant, I enjoy gardening, raising cattle, and having a few chickens and goats.
My property has a lake and I enjoy fishing and hunting, too. What do you enjoy doing?”
Scarlett frowned. “I haven’t done much since the accident. I really miss reading books,” she admitted softly.
“What do you like to read? In the winter, I catch up on my Tbr,” Ty said, passing her a napkin.
“I’m a thriller junkie. I like to guess who did it before the end. Sometimes I read romantic suspense or drama. What about you?”
“Thrillers, sometimes westerns, and history,” he said. “Have you checked out the library here in town? They have a large selection.”
Scarlett lost her appetite. She set her fork on the plate and held it on her lap. “No.”
“I’ll take you sometime,” he promised, not noticing her disappointment. “Have you visited Seattle?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s my first time on the West Coast.”
“We’ll have to remedy that. Seattle’s a fun city to visit. There are some great restaurants, and tourist attractions. The aquarium has a touch tank,” he said, listing off the possibilities.
She swallowed, fighting back the tears. Ty forgot she couldn’t see.
He wanted to take her to the library and ‘see’ Seattle.
Part of her felt thrilled about him forgetting, while the other part reminded her she’d always be a burden.
As much as she liked the man, she refused to allow herself to fall for him, only to discover he felt sorry for her.
Ty kept her company while the others celebrated the two young men’s departures.
She searched for her cane, gripped the plate, and reached for Ice. “Excuse me, Ty. I’m getting a headache.”
He took her plate. “Do you want me to ask Kassie for acetaminophen?”
“No, thank you. It’s best if I return to the hospital and lie down. They’ve grown worse since the accident,” she explained, trying hard not to hurt his feelings.
She pulled her phone from her jacket and called Sledge.
“Hey, Sassy P. You having a good time?” he asked.
“I’m sorry to bother you and Kim. Can you pick me up from Kassie’s? I’m afraid I’m getting a migraine.” She asked, her voice trembling.
“I’m on my way,” he said with no hesitation.
Scarlett entered the kitchen and overheard Leo speaking to a woman and a little girl. “Daddy, how did my goldfish get a black spot under his eye? Did he get hurt? Because his fancy tail seems shorter. Usually, when I tap the glass, Fred swims over to me. He didn’t when I got home.”
“Melody. Why don’t you find Emma and Nugget? I need to speak to your Dad,” his wife said sternly.
Scarlett heard the little girl run off.
“Leo,” his wife warned. “What did you do?”
“Fuck. I’m gonna strangle Patch. I came home this morning to find the damn fish floating. I sent Patch to find an identical one,” he admitted. “How hard can it be to match a goldfish. He’s getting extra PT for this,” he growled.
“Why didn’t you tell her it died? The fish lived long past his age,” she exclaimed.
“Because she’ll want a puppy again. With me working nights, you breastfeeding and handling Grace at all hours, and working in the morning, it’s the last thing we need,” he explained.
“Then you’ll tell her the truth when we get home. She may cry, but it’s part of life and we can’t shield her from it,” she told him gently.
Scarlett reached for the garage door she had entered earlier with Kassie and overheard Catherine’s conversation with her husband.
Leo’s wife hit the nail on the head. Like his little girl, Scarlett couldn’t remain shielded from the truth.
Ice gave her independence, but she would always remain in the dark.
Ty watched Scarlett, wondering what he said.
She seemed fine while they chatted and discussed the food.
He must’ve said something to her during their discussion of hobbies that made her uncomfortable.
Going over the conversation in his head, Ty didn’t detect anything offensive to make her want to leave abruptly.
“Hey, Ty.” Patch sat in the chair Scarlett vacated while Knight sat on the sofa.
“Hi. How do José and Lucas feel about leaving on Monday?” Ty asked, trying to remain sociable while his mind stayed on Scarlett.
“They’re ready,” Patch said, taking a bite out of his burger. “It seems like we’ve seen you around here a bit more often these days.”
“Every time I’ve seen you, you’re with Scarlett,” Knight informed him.
Recognizing their plan to interrogate him, Ty played it cool. “She’s very interesting.”
“Yeah, “ Patch agreed. “From the way you stared at her ass, we kinda figured she caught your attention.”
“Hey. She’s very intelligent and has a sense of humor,” Ty defended her.
“Yeah, buddy. Did her ass talk to you? Because you seem mighty focused on it,” Patch said, grinning slyly.
Ty narrowed his eyes. “I watched her to make sure she navigated the house with Ice all right. She’s not visited enough to know the layout.”
“Knight, did Scarlett have a GPS signal on her ass? I didn’t see one,” Patch continued, harassing him.
“I didn’t see anything, but I’m not stupid enough to keep staring at another woman’s bum, especially with my wife nearby,” Knight answered.
“I followed his line of sight, not her ass,” Patch goaded.
“Uncle Patch, you owe me fifteen dollars,” Melody said, holding out her hand.
“For what? I swear, you’re your father’s daughter. You sneak up on people like Leo. Did you finish roasting marshmallows?” he asked.
Melody’s hands went to her hips. “Daddy sent me up to get him more hot dogs. You said a bad word three times.”
Patch grunted, pulled out his wallet, and handed her a twenty. “You got me. What do you plan to spend it on?”
“It goes in Aunt Claire’s swear jar. Maybe she can buy the stuff she told my Mama about,” Melody explained.
Patch sat up. “What kinds of things did she talk about?”
Melody shrugged. “I don’t know. Aunt Kassie, Mama, and she whispered. Aunt Claire said she didn’t want you to know, so even if I knew, girl code comes first.”
Patch pulled out another twenty. “Here. You might as well keep it. I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”
Ty chuckled as Leo’s daughter squealed and ran to the group of kids, forgetting all about the hot dogs. “Gee, I wonder what two nurses and your fiancée might want to keep as a secret,” he gloated.
Patch turned pale. “Knight, keep ribbing him till I return. I gotta talk to Claire.”
Knight watched his best friend stalk toward the group of women. “Nice, play,” he complimented Ty. “Sledge has talked about Scarlett with the team. We’re only giving you grief. Everyone at the hospital seems to like her.”
“Yeah. Allie says she’s a fast learner. It’s the reason they allowed her to take Ice this soon,” Ty informed him.
“Why did she leave?” Knight asked.
“I don’t know. She claimed to have a headache, but I’m not sure if she told the truth,” Ty admitted.
“I’m speaking from experience. Don’t let her go without talking to her. If you’re interested, let her know,” Knight advised.
Ty frowned. “Excuse me.” He rose and walked through the house, searching for the woman in question. When he didn’t see her, he went outside to the front porch to see Sledge pulling into the driveway and Scarlett climbing into his car.
Watching them leave, Ty sighed. What made Scarlett run away from him? He thought he made his interest clear. Deciding not to push his luck any further, Ty hoped to run into her the following day and clear up their misunderstanding.