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A few minutes later, Dad comes in towing Tyler and Blake behind him. The guys take turns washing their hands and when it’s Tyler’s turn, he sets his phone down on the counter in front of Blake as he heads into the small bathroom that’s off the kitchen.
Blake leans in and reads Tyler’s phone screen and raises an eyebrow. “Who the hell is Crowbar?”
Both Tyler and I burst out laughing at the same time, and I find it endearing that he already has nicknamed me in his phone.
“That’s Avery,” Tyler replies while still chuckling. “You’ll have to ask her about the nickname. It’s all has to do with the way we first met.”
Blake’s eyes grow wide. “Oh, shit, bro. Avery is the crowbar-wielding chick? I didn’t think Avery was the same girl as the crazy one that you told me about meeting. I thought they were two totally different people.”
Tyler wraps his arm around my shoulders and tucks me close to his side. “Nope. She’s one and the same.”
“Avery, you never mentioned that you knew Tyler,” Dad chimes in, overhearing our conversation in front of the bathroom door.
Obviously, I never wanted to have to explain to my dad about the time I nearly lost my mind and damaged Chance’s car, but I can see the questions lingering in Dad’s eyes as he waits for my answer.
“It’s no big deal, really, Mr. Jenson. Avery and I met when I was playing music at one of the frat houses,” Tyler says, stepping in and saving me the embarrassment of having to relive the Chance situation with Dad.
Dad tilts his head. “How does this explain the part where Avery had a crowbar?”
I lick my suddenly dry lips “I, um . . .”
“She found a crowbar to help me fix my friend’s flat tire,” Tyler jumps in and saves me yet again.
“That’s not what you—” Tyler slaps Blake’s chest openhanded, causing Blake to grunt. “Umph. What the hell, dude?”
“Let’s eat.” Tyler abruptly changes the subject and I’m grateful for it.
Tyler glances over at me from across the table as we make our way to take our seats and I mouth the words “Thank you” to him, letting him know that I appreciate him covering for me.
We all quickly eat our lunch. Blake never says a word during the entire meal because he seems so focused on shoveling down as much food as quick as he can. Granny only smiles as she notices this, and judging by the satisfied expression on her face, I would say she’s loving that Blake can’t seem to get enough of her cooking fast enough.
Tyler, on the other hand, keeps a light conversation going with Dad about the way the room is turning out and how their visions for the place are all coming together. It’s nice to see Tyler get along with the one person who means a ton to me. Dad likes Tyler. He’s never had anything but good words to say about Tyler and the type of man he is. He’s earned Dad’s respect—and mine.
I wish he weren’t leaving because I can see myself really falling for Tyler if he were a permanent fixture in this town.
TYLER
My cell chirps again, and I laugh when I see Avery’s latest message with a picture attachment.
Avery: We miss you.
Below it is a picture of her with one of the horses in the stalls.
Tyler: I miss you too. Can’t wait to see you tonight.
It’s amazing how easy our relationship has become over the two weeks since we made our no-sex pact. We’ve fallen into a routine. Through the week, when I work at the lumberyard, I don’t see her much, so we stay connected via texting and simply talking on the phone into the wee hours of the morning. I’ve really gotten to know her by doing that.
She told me all about her mother, and how she left when the news broke about what happened at her father’s job. We’ve talked about everything from our favorite colors to our favorite movies, but I can tell she’s still holding back from me a bit about something in her past.
“Put your fucking phone down. We have to get this wood loaded up,” Blake complains as he grabs a stack of two-by-fours and loads them onto the forklift. “I’ve never seen you this distractible before. Crowbar has you so sprung.”
“Distractible? I don’t think that’s even a word.” I roll my eyes and stuff my phone into my back pocket.
“You know what I meant, didn’t you?” The wood bangs against the other boards when he lays down another stack. “So what’s up with that? Are you in love or what, bro?”
I grab as many boards as I can carry and head for the forklift. “I don’t know.”
“How can you not know? Either you are, or you aren’t. It’s not that hard.”
