AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He was working too hard, which, frankly, was not something I ever thought I’d say about him.
“These are great,” he said, finishing off his third muffin.
“I’ll be sure to tell Cindy down at The Sunrise.” I picked the last blueberry out of mine and handed the rest of it to Tyler. Suddenly, I wanted to take care of him. Make sure he slept. Was fed. The boy needed a keeper. “You want to tell me about your father?”
“Not really.”
“Please, Ty. No more secrets.”
He glanced heavenward and then brushed off his hands and sat up against the headboard, the sheet pooling low on his hips.
I kept my eyes on his face, refusing to be distracted by the muscles ribbing his stomach. The bite mark on his neck.
“Why’d you kick him out, Ty?”
“Don’t get mad,” he said.
“Uh-oh.”
“Friday night, I came home from your house and found Miguel here. Richard was teaching him how to play cards.”
“What?”
“From what I gathered, Miguel left his backpack here one night when I was gone, and when he came here to pick it up he found Dad, bored and willing to teach him how to play cards.”
Tyler told me about how Miguel had first approached Tyler to teach him, but how instead, he’d put Miguel to work cleaning up the house.
“That little sneak,” I said.
“Right, well. It was time for Dad to go, and that just gave me an excuse to make it happen.”
“Was your father here looking for the gems?” I asked, and Tyler’s eyes sharpened.
“Why would you think that?”
I blinked. “Why wouldn’t I? Your mother broke into the house twice because she was convinced they were here.”
“Dad didn’t find any gems,” he finally said, pulling the sheet up higher on his lap.
“I don’t hold your parents’ sins against you,” I said, wondering why he looked so uncomfortable.
“That’s a relief,” he said, his voice snide. “I’ve got enough of my own.”
This was not going the way I had hoped. I was just trying to get some answers and he was acting as if he was hiding something.
“Did you know your parents were involved in the gem theft seven years ago?”
“Are you interrogating me?” he asked, and I sat back, wounded by his tone.
“No,” I said, but inwardly I winced. Maybe I was. A little. “Why would you—”
“Because you’re the police chief,” he said. “And my parents are crooks.”
“I’m just trying to figure out why everyone thinks the gems are here.”
“I didn’t know. I was living in Vegas at the time but…I was occupied.”
“With what?”
“A performer with Cirque du Soleil.”
Oh. I tried not to be jealous, but I couldn’t help it, and his attitude wasn’t helping.
I’d come here, damn it, to show him I was serious. That I was ready to put aside the past and our differences and try to make it work. And he was treating me as though I was the bad guy.
Angry, I stood, dropping the quilt and pulling on my skirt and tank top. “You know, I’m your sister’s best friend,” I snapped. “And I was looking after this house before you came along as a favor to Margot, who is like family to me.”
“I know,” he muttered, reaching out for my hand, but I slapped it away.
“I just want to help, Tyler, that’s all. I’m not the enemy. And I won’t be treated like I am.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I am.”
I shook back my hair, watching him carefully, the difference between us suddenly seeming bigger than ever.
TYLER
God. Damn it. God. Fucking. Damn it.
My heart was pounding right out of my chest. “Please,” I said. “Talking about my parents isn’t…isn’t something I enjoy. And I hate that Margot and Savannah and Katie—” and now me, I thought “—are all caught up in this gem nightmare. I’m sorry. I am.”
She appeared to be wavering, so I did what any desperate, hot-blooded man hiding a fortune in gems from his police chief lover would do—I pulled ever so slowly on her arm, trying to get her back in bed.
“I’m not a fish,” she snapped. “You can’t reel me in.” But she didn’t pull her hand away and she took one step and then another closer to the bed.
“I’ve been alone a long time, Jules,” I said. “The only people who held me accountable to anything had lower standards than I did. It’s going to take me a while to get used to being a good guy.”
“Don’t make a fool of me, Tyler,” she said, and then without any more resistance, she put one knee on the bed and leaned over to kiss me.
She spent the rest of the day at The Manor, much to my delight. I made her eggs and after the sun set I tried to convince her to stay for pizza, but she resisted.
“I have to go,” she said at the door, a totally different woman than the one who’d arrived that morning. Chief Tremblant, without all the starch. “I need to get ready for work tomorrow.”
