Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Delaney
This day is one for the books. It simply refused to be a good one.
In truth, it has to have been the worst one I’ve had in a while.
Throughout the entire day, I’ve endured the stares and whispers of my coworkers.
I caught snippets here and there of what they were gossiping about.
I can only imagine the rumor mill they’re putting together.
Rumors. God, I hate the gossip that people speak of just to run their mouths.
I truly wish I could kick the person in the shin for starting it in the first place.
I have my suspicions of who is behind it.
However, without confronting her, it’s impossible, but I’m sure Lily’s behind it.
Her desk has a direct view of the parking lot.
She could’ve witnessed the whole ordeal of me facing off with Tyler and my encounter with Philip.
I’m just glad it’s over with for the day, and I can go home. Though I doubt I’ll be able to relax. Throughout the day, I’ve replayed my standoff with Tyler. I’ve never felt more hurt than I did when he demanded to know if the twins were even his.
I’m not a liar. I’d surely never lie about something so important.
I’m so mad at him for daring to accuse me of something so malicious and vindictive. If I didn’t know who the father was, I’d never have told him in the first place. That, or I would have had the very uncomfortable conversation, explained the situation to him, and asked him to do a DNA test.
However, I don’t have to do any of that because I know the truth.
Sighing, I hop into the driver's seat of my truck and head home.
The drive doesn’t take me long, but when I pull down the street, I find it blocked off by fire trucks and police cars.
“What the hell?” I park on the side of the road and get out to be able to get a better look at what’s going on.
The smell of smoke is strong, and my heart hammers in my chest as I look around the fire engine. The hammering intensifies as I see my childhood home engulfed in flames.
“Ma’am, you need to back up,” a police officer says, arms stretched out to keep me at a safe distance.
“But that’s my house!” I cry out, my voice cracking as I watch the flames consume everything I’ve ever known. The roof collapses inward with a deafening crash, sending sparks spiraling into the evening sky.
“I understand, ma’am, but you need to stay back for your own safety,” the officer says, his tone softening.
“Oh, God.” Tears stream down my face. “How did this happen?” I know I didn’t leave anything on inside that could start a fire. I didn’t even used the stove this morning.
“Do you need me to call anyone for you?” the officer asks, eyes full of concern.
I shake my head and turn away, moving toward my truck. I open the passenger side door and reach for my phone. I don’t pay attention as I open the call list and press a name.
I don’t realize I dialed the wrong number until Tyler answers.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
Silence strikes me that I called him.
“Delaney?” he calls out my name when I don’t answer him.
I clear my throat and stare ahead at the burning house.
“What’s wrong, Delaney?” Tyler demands, his tone harsh and clipped. “Where are you?”
“My house is on fire,” I barely manage to say.
“What?” There’s no missing the growl in his voice, even through the phone.
“I’m sorry. I meant to call Dustin. I need to go . . .”
“Where are you?” he snaps.
“I . . . ugh . . . I need to call Dustin.”
“Delaney, I won’t ask again. Where are you?” The frustration in his voice comes off in waves, even through the phone, I can feel it.
“It’s not your problem,” I mutter weakly. But still, I give him my location.
“I’ll be there soon. Don’t go anywhere,” he grunts and hangs up.
I pull the phone from my ear and shake my head. Calling him was a mistake, I should’ve been paying attention to who I was calling. Granted, with Dustin out of town, he wouldn’t be able to help me as it is. He told me just last night he was heading out of town with a few of his brothers.
Still, I should call him and let him know.
Finding Dustin’s number, I hit the call icon, lift the phone to my ear, and wait for him to answer.
My heart breaks when it goes to voicemail.
Instead of leaving him a message, I pull the phone away and end the call.
He warned me when he called last night that he probably wouldn’t be able to answer over the next several days, club business and all.
Dustin aid if I needed him and he didn’t answer, just leave a voicemail or text for him.
I don’t know what I’m going to do now. Dustin’s unreachable at the moment, and I need to figure out somewhere to stay. I can’t stay at the clubhouse, it’s not my scene. I guess I could stay at one of the few hotels in town, but that will eat through my savings.
I’m not sure how long I stand there watching the firefighters fighting the flames roaring in the sky when arms wrap around me.
“I’ve got you, Delaney,” Tyler says, tucking me into him. I was unaware of his approach. When did he get here? “We need to get you out of here. You don’t need to be inhaling all this smoke.”
“I have nowhere to go.” I gave up the lease on the rental when Dustin moved me to our childhood home. Now that’s gone, and I didn’t know where I could go from here.
“Come on, you’re coming to my place.” Tyler ushers me away from my truck toward his.
I let him guide without a fight because I don’t know what else to do.
Tyler opens the passenger door of his truck and lifts me into the seat.
I’m numb, unable to process everything that’s happening.
The leather seat feels foreign beneath me as I watch the flames continue to consume what’s left of the home I grew up in.
The very same fire that destroys the last remnants of my childhood memories with it.
Tears stream down my cheeks as Tyler reaches up and wipes them away. “I’ll get one of the ranch hands to come back and grab your truck for you.”
I nod my agreement. I’m not sure what else I could or should say. Maybe thank you?
Tyler closes the door and rounds the hood, climbing in behind the wheel.
“You didn’t have to come,” I finally manage to croak out.
“Could tell something was wrong the minute you called me, sweetheart,” he says, gently.
Tyler starts the truck, puts it in reverse before checking his rearview, one hand on the back of the passenger seat as he looks behind him. Once he has enough space to make a U-turn, he throws the gear in drive and moves his hand away. It wasn’t touching me, but it was very close to doing so.
The first five minutes of the drive are filled with an uncomfortable silence between us. Finally, I can’t take it and blurt out a question that has bothered me since I left the hospital. “How did you get to my room at the ER?”
“Told them I was the baby daddy.”
“What?” I gasp, staring at him wide-eyed at his admission. We live in a small town. Regardless of HIPAA, news would spread like wildfire if anyone in the waiting room overheard him. That's the second time I’ve heard he’s said that to anyone. How many people has he told?
I mean, it’s not like I want to keep it a secret, but we barely know a thing about each other.
“You heard me.” Tyler nods, glancing in my direction briefly before focusing on the road. “I wasn’t going to let you be back there without me. Not after hearing of your attack.”
“But—”
“No buts about it,” he grunts, interrupting me.
“You know it’s rude to interrupt someone when they’re speaking, right?” I ask, using the tone I reserve for the children in my class who act up. “It’s not nice and sets a precedent over others to think it’s okay to do.”
“Sweetheart, it might be rude, but it’s a necessity at times. We’re not in a classroom, and if I’ve got something to say that needs to saying over something that doesn’t matter, I’m gonna say it.”
“You should always let whoever is talking finish what they are going to say,” I point out.
“Maybe, but I think right now you’ve got enough going on in that head of yours to be worrying about me interrupting you.
I understand you’re scared and probably trying to pick a fight with me, but I’m not going to be baited into it.
So here you go, yes, I got back to your room.
We might not be together, but you were still pregnant and scared.
I wasn’t letting you handle that shit on your own. ”
Okay, so that was kind of sweet of him. Still . . . “Where are you taking me?”
“We’re going to my place, like I said,” he answers, taking a turn outside of town. “This might be good for us. You and I seem to have some things we need to get straight.”
“We don’t have anything to get straight,” I grumble and look out the side window.
“We got a hell of a lot to get straight, Delaney. However, that’s gonna wait until after I get you to my place and you have time to process what happened today. Once you’ve had some rest and gotten something to eat, then we’ll talk.”
Again, I find myself speechless when I should speak my mind.
“We’re gonna need to take some time to get to know each other. I’ll put you up in my room and sleep on the couch,” he grunts, glancing in my direction before adding, “We’ll also be talking about what happened this morning.”
“I’m not talking about what happened.” My heart races at the thought of speaking about it. This morning was humiliating enough, topping it off with the fire this evening, it’s too much for me to deal with right now.
“Sweetheart, we’ll be talking about it, along with everything else. You can count on our conversation being a rough one, but we’ll get through it and figure things out.”
Figure what out? There’s nothing for us to work out. It’s not like we’re together. We’re just two people who ended up in a situation neither of us wanted. The only connection we share is the two children I carry in my body.
“There’s nothing to figure out between us. At least not for now,” I mutter more to myself than him.