Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Delaney
"Can you tell me what's going on?" I ask as Tyler flies down the road, hands fisting on the steering wheel.
"Megan tried to take Dash out of school," he clips out, his tone harsh.
"She did what?" I gasp, staring at him with wide eyes. "They didn't let her get him, did they?"
The thought of his ex getting that sweet little boy terrifies me.
"No," Tyler answers tersely. "Holloway came out since the school couldn't get me on the phone."
That makes me wonder if they actually tried hard enough to call him or any of his emergency contacts.
Every student is required to have paperwork filed in the front office each year that has parents' contacts and at least two emergency contacts, along with those who are allowed to pick them up.
Security in schools has tightened down over the years, but that doesn't mean things don't slide through the cracks every once in a while.
"Did the Sheriff say anything else?"
"Just that they're issuing an arrest warrant for her. She's going back to prison, but they have to find her first." Tyler takes the turn to the school.
How could she get away so quickly and have been able to stay under the radar as she has? It's baffling. I don't get it. Then again, I'm not a crazy bitch either.
Reaching over, I place my hand on Tyler's denim-clad thigh. "It's going to be okay. You'll see for yourself that Dash is safe."
"I'm thinking the school right now isn't the place for him to be," he grunts, slowing to the speed limit, which feels like a crawl.
"I intended to talk to you about it after doing some research first, but what do you think about homeschooling him?
With all the shit they're putting you through for no good reason, and now this, I want you to teach him at home. At least there, I know he's safe."
"You want to put him in homeschool?" I ask, making sure I heard him right.
"Yeah, I think he'd benefit from it."
There are a lot of pros and cons to homeschooling, but if you do it right, it can work out great for the student.
The main thing is not letting them become so isolated they don't know how to socialize with others.
That's one of the perks of schools, they get social interaction with kids their age.
With homeschooling, you also don't have to worry about bullies either, though in my class I never tolerated it.
"If that's something you want to do, I would be willing to teach him.
I was already questioning if I want to even go back.
Maybe there are a few other families that need someone to help their children who are being homeschooled.
I know there are programs around for kids to do to get them out into the community," I say, speaking out my thoughts.
Tyler takes my hand off his thigh, squeezes it briefly before letting go. He parks his truck and climbs out. "Come on, let's go get him," he says before closing his door.
I follow his movements as he rounds the hood and barely have my door open when he gets to it. Tyler easily lifts me out of the passenger seat and takes my hand in his.
I look at the school, then back to him. "Maybe I should stay out here."
Tyler takes my hand and gives it a tug. "I'm not hiding us. They have a problem with it, they'll have to get over it."
I nod and swallow nervously. "Okay."
Hand in hand, we walk into the school and straight to the office.
Lily looks up from her computer and frowns when she sees us together, though she quickly wipes the look away and gives Tyler one of concern. "Mr. Henderson,” she calls sweetly, “I've been trying to contact you."
"I'm taking my son home. Can you call him down?" he demands, ignoring her false concern, especially with the way his jaw ticks.
"Of course." Lily nods curtly and does as she's asked.
Without letting Tyler's hand go, I glance around the office, taking it in from a new perspective and not a place of work.
It's not colorful like the last school I worked at.
There are no works of art from the students on the walls, no words of inspiration.
The more I think about it, the more I believe Dash could definitely do a lot better with homeschooling than here.
Mostly I think about the school's credentials.
Each school in the state usually has to perform to a certain standard, and though Saddle Ridge Elementary is good, it's not among the best. I could help Dash do better than being here.
I'll hate not having a full class of students, but if they want to shun me for things that have nothing to do with them, then I'm better off without being here.
Five minutes or so pass before Dash is escorted into the office with a bright smile on his face.
"Daddy," he shouts, running into his dad's arms.
"Hey, kiddo," Tyler greets, letting my hand go to scoop his son up with such ease it brings a smile to my lips. There's no denying this man loves his son more than anything in this world. It's a comfort because I know he'll do the same for the two I carry within my body.
Dash turns his attention to me, that beautiful, innocent smile of his somehow grows even bigger. "Laney!"
"Hey, sweet boy," I say softly, reaching up to ruffle his dark hair.
I love that he calls me Laney whenever he sees me.
He heard Lexy and his dad call me that a few times at the house, and he took to doing it as well instead of calling me Miss Delaney, which was also fine since that's what I told my class to call me. Since we’re no longer in a classroom setting, Dash could drop the Miss all he wants.
Tyler sets him down, and Dash immediately grabs one of my hands, swinging it back and forth like we've done this a hundred times.
Like it's the most natural thing in the world.
Maybe to him it is. Kids are funny that way.
They don't carry the same weight of judgment that adults do.
They just feel what they feel and act on it without all the noise getting in the way.
"Are we going home?" Dash asks, looking up at his dad.
"Yeah, Dash. We're going home."
Dash seems perfectly content with the answer and doesn't ask any of the questions that are swirling around in my own head. He doesn't know what almost happened today. If he did, I've spent enough time around him to know he'd riddle his dad with questions right away.
"You still need to sign him out, Mr. Henderson," Lily remarks, still watching us closely, pointing out the notebook for him to sign.
Tyler makes a grunt sound and quickly does as he needs.
Once done, he retakes my free hand in his while I keep my other in Dash's. My heart refuses to allow me to release it. Not even if Tyler wanted to take his son's hand. I need to know myself that he’s safe. He might not be mine, but none of it matters to me. Just as his father has, he’s wormed his way into my heart.
Between the two of them, they've broken through the cement walls I've kept in place for so long, barely even letting Dustin through it.
I don't get how they've managed it, maybe it’s just the natural way of things. The way they are with each other. How Dash has always been sweet and innocent around me. How his dad did simple things like set out ginger tea for me without me even asking. Better yet, how the man holding my hand makes me feel. It might be a week we’ve agreed to try this out, but he’s done nothing but show me the real him and that it’s me he wants, not because I’m pregnant either.
A small part of me still fears they’ll both be taken from me as everyone else has. The dreadful curse I’ve spoken to Tyler about lingers inside my mind. What would I do if I lost either of these two?
"Ready?" Tyler asks, his voice pulling me from my spiraling down the rabbit hole.
I nod, tightening my grip on Dash's small hand. "More than ready."
As we walk out of the school, I can feel Lily's eyes burning holes into our backs. The judgment in this town never seems to stop, but right now, I don't care. All that matters is getting Dash safely home.
"Can we have mac and cheese with brocowee tonight?" Dash asks as Tyler buckles him into his car seat.
Tyler glances at me over his shoulder, surprise clear as day in his eyes. "You want to eat broccoli?" he asks, turning his attention back to Dash.
"It's yummy with my mac and cheese." Dash nods, smiling brightly, kicking his feet out in front of him. If he were a little bit taller, his legs would hit the back of the seat.
"If that's what you want, then sure," Tyler tells him and ruffles his hair.
I step back so Tyler can close Dash's door and open mine.
I've learned that Tyler isn't one for letting me open my own door.
It's become one of those small things that means more than it probably should.
He's not doing it because he has to, he's doing it because he wants to. Because that's who he is.
"Thank you," I murmur and let him lift me into my seat.
I could do it myself, but again, he seems to like helping me into the truck.
Soon I won't even be able to attempt it if I wanted to.
It'll even be a struggle to get into my own truck.
I'm going to need to figure something out when it comes to what to drive.
No way will I be able to put two infants in mine. It wouldn't work.
"Always welcome to help you in, sweetheart," he remarks, giving me that panty-melting smirk of his.
He closes the door gently before rounding the truck and hopping into the driver's seat. The engine turns over and Diamond Rio’s “One More Day” fills the cab at a low volume.
My heart aches listening to the vocals, it does anytime I hear them.
I close my eyes and lean back, listening to the lyrics as Tyler starts the drive back to the ranch.
"Did you have a good time in class, kiddo?" Tyler asks, talking to his son at the same time as he places a hand on my thigh.
I open my eyes and glance back at Dash as he answers, seeing him looking out the window, pointing at a dog walking along the sidewalk with the kind of quiet wonder only little kids have.
Like everything outside that window is put there just for him to discover.
I don't pay attention to the words themselves.
I'm taken by the pure wonder of joy in his eyes.
The tightness in my chest loosens a little at the sight of him like this.
He doesn't know how close he came to losing something today.
How close we all did. And maybe that's a blessing.
Let him point at dogs, kick his feet, and ask for mac and cheese with broccoli.
Let him be six years old and untouched by it all.
Him just as he is, sweet and innocent. Finding all the pure love and joy in the world.
Tyler squeezes my thigh gently, like he knows where my thoughts have drifted even without me saying a word. Maybe that's what happens when someone pays close enough attention to you. They start to read the silence as easily as the words.
With him, it comes so easily. So much so it frightens me. I don't want to lose this—none of it.
I turn back to face the windshield and watch the town pass by.
The fire station. The feed store. The little coffee shop that opened recently where half the population probably already knows I walked into the elementary school hand in hand with the man at my side.
It’s as Tyler said, we aren’t hiding anything.
The small park where a couple of children are chasing each other around a jungle gym without a care in the world.
I place a hand over my stomach and wonder how Dash will take the news. We've yet to tell him. He might not like the fact that he's no longer the only one who gets his dad’s attention.
"We should tell him soon," I whisper, more to myself than to Tyler.
Tyler glances at me, his hand still warm on my thigh. "Tell him what?" he asks, taking the turn that leads us to the ranch.
"That he's going to be a big brother. That he’ll have two siblings soon." I keep my voice low, even though Dash seems completely absorbed in watching the world go by outside his window. Tyler's fingers tighten slightly on my leg. Panic threatens to sink in, and I utter, "Unless you don't want to."
Tyler stays silent, not uttering a word that could ease the ache that starts to seep into my chest. Pulling in front of the house, he parks, turns the truck off, moves his hand away, and gets out.
Normally, I'd follow his approach every step of the way, but I don't. Not when rejection is flowing through me. Maybe it's for the best. Knowing now how he feels about it, and not later on when things are deeper for both of us.
I'm already in the deep end when it comes to him. Any deeper and I'll drown in heartache. More than the hurt flowing through me at the moment.