9. Tyler
NINE
TYLER
I’m up with the sun as usual.
No matter what time I go to bed, I’m always up early.
I roll out of bed and go on a quick jog around the neighborhood. I won’t let myself go like my father did. After he quit football, he stopped doing anything and fell into a deep depression. It was tough watching him go through that, and the last thing I want is for Kylie to have to see me like that.
After my run, I shower and make a cup of coffee. I take it to the back porch and stare at the morning sky like I usually do on the weekends when I have a minute to breathe.
Nebraska was never high on my list of places to live. Actually, I’d never even considered it until they reached out for an interview, but I can’t deny that this part of the state is beautiful. Having a large piece of land helps, too. I’ve got enough privacy that I know my neighbors aren’t snooping on my business. Not that I have much business for them to know. It was just me, myself, and I until Kylie came to live with me. I never dated anyone long enough for it to really matter.
Something moves behind me, and I turn to see McKenzie in the kitchen. I’m surprised to see her up this early. It’s after eight at this point, but I figure college kids slept all day if they could, especially if they were out late like she was. Whenever I didn’t have football, I’d sleep until at least noon unless I had a class.
I left the sliding back door open, so she walks out.
“Morning.” Her voice is still gravelly from sleep. “Do you mind if I grab a cup of coffee?”
“Help yourself.”
She’s dressed in the same clothes as yesterday, which I guess makes sense, considering she didn’t have a bag with her when she brought Kylie home. I guess I assumed she would’ve grabbed some pajamas from Kylie, but maybe I should’ve offered her a T-shirt.
Although offering a student one of my shirts to sleep in probably goes against some sort of ethics code at La Vista. I don’t know for sure, though, because I never thought I’d need to worry about that.
But now here I am, wondering what McKenzie would look like in one of my shirts.
Fuck.
No.
I gulp down the last of my coffee before I head back inside. McKenzie is standing at the counter.
“Didn’t expect you to be up this early,” I say, trying to keep a friendly tone. I hope to God I’m not sending her any weird creeper vibes because I feel creepy as fuck.
She shrugs. “It seems I’ve lost the ability to sleep in. I don’t mind it, though. I like getting up early. Makes me feel like I’m actually doing something with my day.”
That’s not what I was expecting her to say. It sounds awfully mature for a girl her age.
“You hungry? I can whip up some breakfast,” I offer. I can tell she’s going to say no before anything even comes out of her mouth. “Don’t lie to me this time. If you’re hungry, just say so.”
She smiles before nodding. “Yeah, I’m hungry.”
“Ok. Go wake Kylie up while I start breakfast.”
“Thanks, Tyler.”
Maybe telling her to call me Tyler wasn’t my best idea. I like it a little too much. I guess it’s too late to take it back now.
Once McKenzie is gone, I get breakfast ready. I’m certainly not the world’s greatest cook or anything, but breakfast, I can do.
I mix up some pancake batter and scramble some eggs. By the time McKenzie finally drags Kylie downstairs, I’m putting everything on the kitchen table next to a carton of pineapple mango juice, Kylie’s favorite.
“Morning, sunshine.” Kylie winces at my voice.
“She just took the ibuprofen. Give it a few minutes to kick in,” McKenzie explains.
I chuckle and take a seat next to Kylie.
McKenzie sits on the other side of the table from Kylie giving me the perfect view to see her smile when she looks at the breakfast spread.
“You made pancakes?” she asks. She sounds surprised.
“Is that alright?” I figured pancakes were safe. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t like them.
“Yeah. It’s just my mom used to make us pancakes every Sunday morning. Just makes me a little homesick, I guess. Sunday was one of the only mornings we were usually all in the same place.”
That’s right. She said she has four brothers. Pancakes were probably the easiest option for that many people.
“Where’d you grow up?” I ask.
“A really small town called Aurora, about two hours from here.”
I’ve been in Nebraska for a few years now, but I’ve never ventured out of this area. It’s safe to say I’ve never been to or even heard of Aurora.
I grab a pancake, pour some syrup over it, and ask, “What’s it like there?”
“Well, it’s pretty boring. It’s one of those places where everyone knows everyone. The whole town revolved around high school sports, and the only place for teenagers to hang out was the county fairgrounds. When the fairs weren’t happening, we’d hang out in the big field. Play flag football. Shoot off fireworks. There was definitely some drinking. Just stupid stuff teenagers do.”
I keep my eyes focused on my food. “Hmm. Do you miss it?”
“Not really. I miss my family, of course. But the town. . . I’d be happy if I never had to go back there again. There’s nothing there. We had to drive like half an hour just to get to a Wal-Mart.”
I chuckle because I know the feeling. I grew up just outside of Atlanta. Besides my parents, there’s no reason for me to go back there. Especially now that Kylie’s here with me.
Speaking of Kylie, she rubs her temples after taking several big gulps of her juice.
“Do you guys have to talk so loud?” she whispers. I look at McKenzie, smiling and holding back a laugh. We know we were speaking in our normal tones.
“Yeah. I like to yell in the mornings,” I tease. “Warms up my coaching voice.”
Kylie groans. She picks up her pancake and takes a bite like it’s toast. I guess that’s one way to eat it.
“Kenz, next time we go out, do not let me drink that much.”
McKenzie chuckles. “Noted.”
“How do you look so fresh and awake right now? Like, you don’t even have any makeup on, and you look amazing. It’s not fair.” I shake my head at Kylie. I hate that she’s comparing herself to someone else. Yes, McKenzie is beautiful (even though I’m trying my hardest not to notice that), but Kylie is also beautiful.
I know that she’s probably not looking for her dad to tell her that she’s beautiful, so I keep my attention focused on my breakfast while they continue their conversation.
“Oh, please. You’re just as gorgeous. Didn’t you see all the guys checking you out last night?”
The hand not holding my fork clenches into a fist. Kylie is certainly old enough to date, but that doesn’t mean I want her dating any of my players. They aren’t good enough for her. Well, no one is, but especially not them.
Kylie scoffs. “None of them will come close to me. They’re all too scared of Dad.”
Good.
“But Hayes was certainly interested in you last night,” Kylie says slyly. “Are you gonna go for it?”
Yeah, I don’t really like that very much either. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can say.
I don’t know McKenzie all that well, but I know my players. Not a single one of them is at the point in their life where they’re prepared to treat a woman how she should be treated.
“Not interested. He knows that now. Plus, he’s not my type,” Mckenzie says, and some of the tension in my shoulders releases.
“What is your type?” Kylie asks the question we’re both wondering.
McKenzie shrugs. “Not football players. I grew up around them because my brothers played and heard enough of their conversations to never want to be involved with one. I made it very clear to Hayes that I’m not interested. I’m with the football team this semester for work, so I don’t want to mess anything up by getting involved with someone I shouldn’t. It’ll only be a distraction. But Hayes and I did have some good chats last night. He’s a really nice guy.”
Yeah, I like that answer a lot. Staying friends is fine.
“I think that’s enough boy talk for this morning,” I say. The last thing I want is for Kylie to start explaining what her type is.
Both girls laugh and then McKenzie checks the time on her phone. “I hate to ask this, but is it ok if I take a quick shower before I head to work? I don’t have time to go anywhere else before I need to be there.”
“Of course. There should be clean towels in the cabinet in Kylie’s bathroom.”
“Thank you.” She stands and takes her empty plate to the sink.
“Leave that there. I’ll get it.”
“Thank you again for breakfast and for letting me stay here last night.”
I give her a quick nod. “Any time.”
Once she’s back upstairs, Kylie says, “Thanks for letting her stay last night, Dad. I tried to tell her she could, but she didn’t want to be a burden.”
“Your friends are always allowed to stay here. This is your house, too.” I want Kylie to feel as comfortable as possible in our home. I know I wasn’t around much when she was growing up, but this is my second chance.
She smiles. “I really like McKenzie.”
“Good. She seems like a nice girl.”
I definitely was not thinking about her being nice last night when I finally crawled into bed. But that thought will remain locked in my mind until the day I die.