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Tyler stared at Junior for a minute, trying to wrap his head around the fact that Ellie hadn’t called to tell him her father was in the hospital. Not for support, a ride, a shoulder to cry on—nothing.
“Hey Tyler, hold up,” a voice called from behind him. He turned to see Roger crossing the street.
Fucking perfect, Tyler thought and felt sweat roll down his spine.
Junior squirmed out of his jacket, yanked his tie loose and wiped a forearm across his forehead. “Whew, I could use a sweet tea. I’m gonna run on over to Jiffy Java and get me one. You want one?”
“Yeah,” Tyler managed. “I’ll be right over.”
Junior jogged across the square while Roger closed in.
“Hi, Tyler. I was hoping to run into you. Got a minute?”
He made a show of looking at his watch. “About a minute.”
The blond man offered him a smile—one Tyler dearly wanted to knock off his face.
“Did Ellie explain what you saw last night?”
Tyler started walking to avoid giving in to a troublemaking impulse right in front of the bank. “I haven’t spoken to her, but what I saw last night doesn’t need any explanation.”
Roger fell into step beside him. “Well, shoot. Yes it does.” He clamped a hand on Tyler’s arm. “Wait up.”
His temper spiked. “Trust me Roger, you want to move that hand. I’m not in a ‘Congratulations, the best man won’ kind of mood right now.”
Roger lifted his hand and held it up. “Fine. Not a problem, ’cause I didn’t. Win, I mean.” He ran his hand through his hair and puffed out a breath. “I’m saying this wrong. Look, Tyler, Ellie and I are friends.”
“You looked real friendly last night.” He tightened his jaw to bite off the rest of his words. She was free to pick her friends. He hadn’t made her any promises beyond five playdates and hadn’t asked any from her. It was on him to change that.
“Last night you caught a moment of silliness, not passion. I’d just told her…” Roger broke off and glanced around, then lowered his voice. “I’d just told Ellie I’m gay.”
Okay, so the words confirmed his suspicion, but they didn’t erase the lip-lock. “And she reacted by trying to show you what you were missing?”
Roger laughed. “Sort of, but not the way you think. Believe me, Tyler, what you saw wasn’t her attempting to change my mind. It was more a good-bye and good-luck kind of thing.”
Tyler took a deep breath and released it slowly. “So, you and Ellie aren’t—?”
“Nope,” Roger said, shaking his head.
“And she’s not attracted to you?”
“Thanks for rubbing it in, but no, she’s not. She’d talked herself into believing she ought to want me, but she doesn’t. And she reached that conclusion before I told her the truth about myself. I could be the straightest guy in town and it wouldn’t change the way she feels. I’m not the one for her. If you want my opinion, I’d say her heart is already spoken for, but she’s afraid to trust what it’s telling her.” He smiled and backed up a step. “I think if someone grew a pair of balls to replace the set Junior shot off, and told her how he felt—”
“You know, I’m getting tired of folks around here speculating about my equipment.”
Roger grinned and took another step away. “Maybe you ought to make a bold move and prove us all wrong.”
“Yeah, right.” Tyler stared across the square at Ellie’s office, then turned to Roger and added, “Thanks for clarifying what went down last night.”
“No problem. Thanks for not decking me.” With a quick wave, he walked away.
Tyler took out his phone and dialed Ellie’s office. When Melody picked up, he asked, “What’s the word on Frank?”
“Hey, Tyler. He’s okay. Ellie’s going to see him up this afternoon. I’m relieved you’re in the loop. I wasn’t sure she’d told anyone. You know how contained she can be.”
“I do know,” he said drily. “How’s she doing?”
“Tired and stressed. I wish I could tell you more, but we’ve been dealing with patients since first thing this morning. We haven’t had much chance to talk. I’d let you speak to her, but she’s in with someone right now and if she doesn’t finish soon she’s not going to get ten lousy minutes to sit down and eat lunch. Want me to leave her a message you called?”
