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His pretty brown eyes hit mine, then narrowed. "What's that mean?"
"Means she still cares," I said. "Ty, she's hurt because she still cares. She's pissed because she does. Cody likes you a whole lot, and you fucked up. You gave her no other option! The way you were walking all over her? She could've become your buckle bunny, or she could've given up her dreams. The only way she could keep herself?"
"Was to dump my dumb ass," he muttered. "Yeah. Kinda figured that out about the time J.D. put his fist in my face."
"And you didn't hit back," I said. "Don't mean he's not hurt too, though."
"J.D.?" Ty asked, sounding confused.
"The man with one real friend in the world," I replied. "Yeah. The one who'd just given you a shot to become number two and you fucked it up."
"Goddammit," Ty groaned. "Ok, yeah. I can see that."
"And you're not calling bullshit?" Isaac asked.
Ty just lifted his hands again, looking like he was proving himself harmless. "I'm not. See, when a woman like Cody Jennings walks away from a man, it hurts. It hurts real bad. Hurts enough to make him stop and think a little, if you know what I mean."
"I do," Isaac said. "Kinda why I'm still single."
"She's not going to forgive you, though." I jerked my chin his way. "She's not going to make the same mistake with you she did with the guys from her hometown."
"Go ahead, make it hurt a little more," Ty joked weakly.
"Just making sure you know."
"Trust me," he said, taking a half step back. "I know. I spent a couple days thinking about it. I just thought I had it figured out, you know? You're her boyfriend. J.D.'s her mentor. I could be her protector. That meant I could finally have a reason to be chasing her around."
"So you," I said, "could have a reason. So you could save your pride. So you, Ty, could look good."
"Take, take, take," he muttered. "Yep. I made it all about me and forgot she's not that kind of girl."
"You never once stopped long enough to think how she might get embarrassed by being seen as weak," I said, making sure to rub this salt right in his wounds while he was actually listening. "You didn't once consider what she was giving up to give you a chance. You didn't ask about her goals, about her needs, or about her fucking pride. You just thought about yours, and Cody doesn't fucking need you - or me, or J.D."
"Yeah," he agreed softly.
So I kept going. "You walked all over her, all but waving your dick around to prove what a man you were, never thinking that Cody's working to prove she's a real man too!"
"But she's not!" he snapped.
I just canted my head a bit. "No?"
"She's..." His words trailed off.
"She's a woman who doesn't want to be babied," I pointed out. "She's a damned tough lady. She's also in a sport made for men, so she has to prove she's just as good - and most of you cowboys don't agree. Girls are for fucking. Women are for making babies and dinner, right? Ladies? Well, they sit their asses down, shut the fuck up, and stay the hell out of your way. Now what part about that sounds like Cody?"
"None of it."
"Exactly," I said. "She's fighting to be just like all the other men she's competing against. So don't you dare try to drag her down, make her look weak, or turn her into a fucking object to makeyoufucking happy. If anything, you're supposed to be the one breaking your back to make her that way."
"Yeah," he breathed again. "So how do I fix this, Tanner?"
"Fuck if I know," I admitted. "I just know she's hurt. I don't think she hates you yet, but she's real fucking hurt. The kind that comes with tears, Ty."
"Fuck," he groaned. "She don't cry, though."
"Yeah," I countered, "she does. She cries when it hurts bad enough."
He pulled in a breath, nodded, and stepped back again. "Heard loud and clear. If you got any more advice, well, I'm willing to listen."
