Chapter 18
“Ty’s here!” Lock cried, throwing himself out of the car the second I pulled into our driveway.
I’d barely turned it off before he was bursting through the front door.
Looking at my house, I sighed. God, what a hellacious few days.
After Saturday night, when Alex and I had gone out and met up with our friends, only to crawl back to her condo and pass out on the couch after too many drinks, things had…gone to hell.
Sunday at my parents’ had always been trying, but that was ridiculous.
My good ol’ Southern-valued parents weren’t too thrilled with the fact I refused to give up my writing when I could be a full-time baker at Maple Mornings, which they considered respectable work.
Mother had seen online that I’d announced a new series.
She thought what I wrote was akin to porn, and that stained the family image.
Ugh. If that wasn’t enough, Alex had gone postal and called my agent and the publisher, telling them about the threats, and now they wanted to publicly identify me.
The final icing on the hell-cake I was forced to swallow was the showdown in court I’d had with Jeremy. He’d played the daddy-heartbreak card, professing he’d done everything he could to see Lock over the last couple of weeks, and I’d been the big bad witch, denying him.
It didn’t matter that Jeremy was with Layla every time he’d come to pick up Lock.
Fortunately, I’d been smart enough to take pictures, at Wade’s suggestion, every time Jeremy had shown up. Layla was there or in the car in every one.
When the judge dismissed Jeremy’s claim, deciding that, if he couldn’t follow a basic court order, court-supervised visits were now a better option, I wanted to weep. It meant I wouldn’t have to see Jeremy and Lock wouldn’t have to see Layla. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but for now it worked.
I should have known that wasn’t the end of it when, instead of earning an Oscar for the most heartbroken performance by a dad, Jeremy got quiet. Too quiet.
Closing my eyes, I rested my head on the steering wheel.
Why couldn’t this just be easy? Hell, I was at the point I was willing to give Jeremy half of everything just to make him leave me alone.
He wanted more, but I drew the line at giving him a dime of money I earned after I left him.
That was mine. When I found the person who told him about the potential Netflix deal, I was going to unleash Alex on them.
Seriously, what could happen next?
I was in the middle of my pity party when an unexpected knock at my window startled me. With a cry of surprise, I jerked back in my seat so hard I bashed my head off the headrest. News flash, those suckers weren’t as soft as you’d think.
“Ow!” I automatically reached up, rubbing the spot.
The car door was yanked open and then Ty was there. “Shit, I’m sorry.” His hand sank into my hair, moving my hand aside to cradle where I’d smacked it. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
The feel of his large hand, warm and steady on my head, chased the lingering ache away. The tension in my temples eased, a sense of comfort washing over me.
“I’m okay.”
The way his fingers rubbed the back of my head, sifting through my hair, felt good. Too good.
Ty scrutinized my face, noting the signs of stress.
“Rough trip?” His hand slid out of my hair, cupping my face, his thumb rubbing my cheek in a soothing pattern of swirls.
An attack of the nerves hit when I realized just how he was touching me.
It was like before, but so much worse. I wanted to lean into his touch, to close the distance between us and feel his lips on mine, making me forget every shitty thing that had happened in the last four days.
My phone beeped and I cringed. “You have no idea.”
Turning, I pulled the noise-making device from hell out of the middle console and switched the sound off, needing a break from the constant notifications as my publisher and Alex fought it out over my identity.
As much as I wanted to sit there, letting Ty’s hand keep the horrible memories at bay, I was all too conscious of being out front of my house, cars and people on the street, life continuing around us. And eyes that could be on us.
Helping me out of the car (again, there was something so sexy about the way he did that), he grabbed my bags from the trunk, ignoring my objections. The tightness in my chest eased at the way he did simple things like that for me. It wasn’t his job, and still…
“How’d it go?” he asked as we made our way up to the front steps.
Maybe it was because I was exhausted. Maybe it was because he had me so mixed up over my feelings for him. Maybe it was because I just needed to let it out. I didn’t know the why; I just told him. All of it, skipping over the publishing part, of course.
“So he wants half the royalties from your books even though they haven’t been published yet?” Ty’s question was delivered in such a nonchalant way I didn’t think anything of it.
“Yeah, he thinks he’s entitled—” Wait. What?
I froze at the bottom of the porch.
Ty gave me a long look. And I knew. I just knew. He knew.
“Don’t freak out,” he pleaded, putting my suitcase down. “We need to talk.”
Yes, yes, we did.
“Sit down?” He gestured to the steps.
I crossed my arms, needing to do something with my hands. “I’m good.” I wasn’t. I wasn’t good at all.
Ty put a hand on my shoulder, and I didn’t even feel it. “Please, Phoebe. Just hear me out.”
There was such openness in his eyes, a look of hope and even fear, that I found myself on the step, my knees pulled tightly against my chest.
Ty sat down heavily beside me, facing me.
I hugged my middle, leaning forward, trying to curl up as much as possible. I realized I wasn’t hyperventilating the way I usually would. It was a bizarre thing to notice in a moment like this.
“I’m listening,” I prompted him, proud I could even speak. He knew.
“Your bathroom flooded this weekend,” he began.
I nodded. I remembered the message he’d left me at the time; he’d said that he—“Oh.”
Ty cursed, running a hand down his face. “This was not how I wanted to do this.”
I felt the immediate need to reach out and take his hand. To comfort him. Instead, I waited silently, my body locked in place.
He went over the details of what happened when he’d arrived on Sunday, telling me he thought the leak had been going since Saturday and why he hadn’t been here then. When he said it was bad, I raised an eyebrow at him. I was pretty sure that was not how he’d described it in his message.
“I’ve seen way worse,” he swore.
I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew he’d downplayed the severity of the flood for me. Even if he was telling me the exact truth. He probably had seen worse.
“The water managed to get to your office door, and I had to go in.”
I knew all of this. He’d said it in his message. I’d just been dealing with the hell storm my parents were sweeping me up in, so it hadn’t registered.
“We weren’t intentionally going through your papers—”
I could see it all as he described it. The water soaking everything, including the boxes I hadn’t unpacked. Cardboard and water didn’t mix. I couldn’t blame Ty for that or for the fact I hadn’t been more responsible and put those papers in the safe I’d had delivered earlier in the week.
Across the street there was a lone tree whose leaves were still green, and I stared at it. I watched as the green leaves swayed in the gentle breeze, not really hearing the rest of what Ty said.
“You need to know I won’t tell anyone, sweetheart. I wouldn’t betray you like that.” Sweetheart. It was the endearment that pulled me out of the place I’d gone, not really listening, and yet hearing everything.
It wasn’t the first time he’d used an endearment like that with me, and despite the numbness fogging my brain, I couldn’t stop the small smile that tugged at my lips.
Was I worried about him telling people? Yes. No. Maybe? The threats popped into my mind, but just as quickly I dismissed Ty as the source. Everything inside me told me I could trust him.
“I’m not worried about that.” I sounded unsure, and he raised an eyebrow at me.
“Okay, so I’m…I’m just not used to people knowing, even if I know I can trust you. And I do.” This was so weird now. I didn’t know how I felt.
Ty reached out, taking my hand in his, making me aware I was clenching my hand into a fist so tight I’d lost feeling in my fingers.
“It’s not just me,” he said slowly, his face a mask of confusion. “Wade and Jesse know, too. They’ll keep your secret, I swear.”
They knew? How did…? This was what happened when I spaced out. I missed things. My clothes felt like they were shrink-wrapping themselves to me, making me feel closed in.
“Hey,” he said gently, his hand going to my back when I shivered. “Baby, they’re not going to say anything.”
How was I going to handle this? Now, Wade and Jesse knew. I needed to call my agent, Alex, and maybe my lawyer; I needed—did he just call me “baby”?
Ty cleared his throat, saying the one thing that wiped out any warm and fuzzies the nickname and its implications caused. “There’s one more thing.”
Could I take more? Did I have a choice?
“Tell me,” I urged, bracing to rip the Band-Aid off.
“There were some papers from your desk that had spilled onto the floor.” The slash of color on Ty’s cheekbones said it all.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Mortified, I tried to pull my hand free. He held on tightly, not letting me turn completely inward.
“It’s okay. They were…I didn’t read a lot. Just the top page—”
“It’s for a book,” I blurted out. “I started working on it a while ago.” A while was subjective, right? I mean, a while could mean a year, a month, or the day after Ty touched my face and fed me his sandwich.
“I see.”
Not really ready for this to get worse, and knowing it could, I ripped the Band-Aid right off. “So what does this mean now?”
“It means whatever you want it to mean. I’ll sign anything you need to feel assured of my silence; so will Wade and Jesse. Now, I can just also add being an incredible writer to the list of amazing talents you have. I do, however, understand if this changes things for you.”
He was keeping a list? Why did that make my heart feel like a warm blanket wrapped around it?
Did this change things?
Yes, it did. Was it bad? Okay, Jesse and Wade knowing…
I didn’t know yet. Ty knowing? I thought about that for a minute.
Putting my feet on the ground, I unfolded.
“I’m not thrilled with Wade and Jesse knowing.
” I was honest. “It’s not because I don’t trust them.
Or you. It’s just a lot. However, it’s not like it’s anyone’s fault either, you know? ”
Except for the Murder Manor who decided it wanted to try drowning as its next method of execution.
A look of such profound relief washed over him that I couldn’t fight the need to comfort.
I covered his hand with mine. “I don’t want anyone else knowing,” I said slowly. There were other people involved, and the part of me that’s a mom had to weigh in. “If Cady-Jo asks Jesse directly, I don’t want him to lie to her in order to keep my secret. And you—”
“No. I was here as your contractor. Jesse was here working for me. You are amazing for being so considerate, even though it isn’t necessary. Confidentiality is part of the job. Jesse not talking, or even me, isn’t us doing anything other than honoring that trust.”
That didn’t sit well with me. I needed time to think about it. To think about all of this.
“Will the kitchen be done in time for me to start baking for the café?” I changed the subject, hoping Ty wouldn’t question it.
“You still want me to work on your house?”
The question dumbfounded me. “Why wouldn’t I?” I gaped at him.
Ty searched my face, the tension in his relaxing. “The double ovens are due on Thursday, so you should be ready. However, I do have to ban you from the kitchen until it’s done.”
“Why?” We’d never discussed that.
“With some of the water damage, it needs to be handled carefully and there can be some dangerous areas. Also, I—” He grabbed the back of his neck.
“Are you one of those guys who like to do the big reveal?” We’d talked about some of the renovation shows we’d both watched and I’d teased him about doing a big reveal with the Murder Manor.
“Maybe.” He fought the smile I could see playing at the corner of his lips.
Just like that, the equilibrium that existed between us returned only with a new element. Ty knew who I was, and he was still treating me the same. Still looking at me the same.
“Fine.” I did my best to sound put out. “You can have your big reveal.”
His laugh made my heart thud and the lingering anxiety fade.
We sat there for a couple more minutes talking. The awkwardness I’d always expected and the judgment I was used to were nowhere to be seen.
The slamming of a front door had to go and ruin the moment.
Ty didn’t comment on my sudden withdrawal, the need to not be outside. He helped me up, grabbing my suitcase.
“Phoebe?”
“Yeah?” I looked at him.
“For that kitchen scene?” He looked at me over his shoulder. “He would have had her completely naked. He wouldn’t have let a pair of panties come between them.” He delivered this with a wink, walking away as if what he’d said was perfectly normal.
Standing just outside my door, I stared at his retreating back. My thighs tightened at the image that popped into my head. When my finger started to twitch in that familiar way, I knew it was because I was in need of my pen or my vibrator. Probably both.
By the time I got to my office, though, reality rushed in. Opening the door and seeing the evidence that someone else had been in there…
Quietly, I closed the door, sank down against it, and cried.