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Ty walked to the island and leaned on the counter where a cup from the local coffee shop sat. He picked it up and handed it to me. “Your coffee.” He winked.
I took it tentatively, the sweet scent of cinnamon dolce hit my nose. My favorite. I gazed around the space. There wasn’t much furniture other than a large bed and a couple of bar stools at the island.
“I—I don’t know what to say.”
Ty chuckled, and it was like the soundtrack of my childhood. My chest ached. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed that sound. “It all happened fast. Apparently, they’ve been trying to sell this place for years. I got it for a steal with immediate possession. I paid a crew to clean up this apartment space so I could move in right away.”
I blinked. He’d just…bought a building and moved? In the last few days? I shook my head, finding it all hard to comprehend. “What about downstairs?”
He propped an elbow on the counter and rested his chin on his palm. “That will take a bit longer to get going. But, I have plans for that too.”
I tightened my fingers around my warm coffee cup. “What kind of plans?”
His eyes roamed my face, and then he pulled out one of the bar stools and sat down. He gestured to the one beside him. “Do you want to sit?”
I shook my head. Being that close to him right now sounded like a bad idea when I already felt overwhelmed.
A small crease formed between his brows, but he nodded. “I’m not sure what you know about the things I’ve been doing for the last few years, but I did some competitive fighting. MMA, mostly.”
I took a step closer to the counter, setting my coffee down and nodding. I knew what Knox had told me, but I hadn’t been interested in details.
“I’ve been so used to training and pushing my body to be stronger. It’s been…hard living here and being…injured. I’m healing well and all, but my knee isn’t the same. Probably won’t ever be. And I’ve had a lot of head injuries that were also cause for concern…” He trailed off, that line between his brows deepened. “I guess in saying all that, it’s likely I’ll never fight competitively again.”
He looked away, pain flashing in his expression. His jaw tightened. Competitive fighting wasn’t something I knew much about. And I wasn’t exactly upset he wouldn’t be able to do it again, considering how hurt he’d gotten. But from that look, he really cared about it. I didn’t know his story, but I could tell it crushed him.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly.
His eyes cut to mine. “You don’t mean that.” His voice was cold.
I sighed, staring down at my coffee that was getting cold. “I’m sorry it makes you sad.”
As much as I still hated him, I would always care for him. Always.
He paused. Then, nodded. “Anyway, I’ve been pretty lost since I got back. I thought I’d found the thing I was meant to do, thought I’d made something of myself, only to have it all taken away.”
My throat tightened. I didn’t know what it felt like to be somebody; to find the thing that you were born to do. I’d only ever just existed. Drifted through life simply surviving. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to find the thing that brought you meaning—only to lose it.
“That…must’ve been hard.” A stab of guilt hit me. I’d been so concerned with my own feelings I hadn’t once thought about what Ty might be going through coming back here.
He shrugged. “I saw this place days ago and something clicked. I needed somewhere to live and I needed a purpose and here it was.”
I finally sipped my coffee, the burst of sweetness and warmth calming me. “Purpose?”
“I’m going to start a gym downstairs. I want to help people get stronger. I can offer training for those who want it.” He shrugged. “It’s not what I expected to do, but I think it will be good for me.”
It did sound good for him. Thinking of Ty fighting never sat right with me. I didn’t doubt he was good at it, but it didn’t fit who I knew him to be.
I took another sip of coffee. “Why are you showing me all of this?”
His gaze held mine. “Because I wanted to show you that I have no plans of leaving again anytime soon.”
“Oh.” I looked away. I took in his new apartment and mulled over his new dreams. Dreams that were rooted right here in Cypress Falls. It should’ve made me feel better, but it didn’t. “You didn’t seem to have any plans to go when you left before.”
I said it quietly, but he flinched. “I know.”
Biting my lip, I pushed the coffee away. It didn’t feel right to take it with me, and I needed to leave. Right now. “Thank you for the coffee.”
He frowned. “You barely touched it.”
