Love Me (Coopers Creek #1)

by Bronwen Evans

  Heavy breathing met his ear along with Chase’s laughter.

  “Did you call me during sex again?” Tyler yelled. The man had no boundaries.

  More laughter and heavy breathing. Just as he was about to hang up, Chase’s voice came on the line.

  “No, I’m not calling you while I’m getting busy,” Chase said. “I could teach you a thing or two, though.”

  This is not the time for this conversation! “What is it? What do you want?”

  “You’re cranky this morning. That was just Lola saying hello to you,” Chase said.

  Tyler put himself back together as he laughed. “I still can’t believe you have a Bernese Mountain dog in LA. It’s far too hot for Lola.”

  “Are you kidding me? She’s a hottie magnet. When I take her to the beach, I’m surrounded by pretty girls just dying to take a swim with her. They hold onto her coat and she drags them along,” Chase said. “And then later, they want to pet me.”

  Tyler wondered how Chase always seemed to know when he needed a good laugh. “Well, tell Lola I said hello back. Now, what do you want? I’m late getting to work.”

  “I just called to see if Hayley got off to school okay,” Chase said.

  Any remaining excitement in Tyler’s body fled at the mention of his niece’s name. “Yeah. She did. She looked so little going off all by herself. It suddenly seems wrong that they go to school so young.”

  A snort of laughter came through the phone. “You’re so cute.”

  “Shut up. That’s what Emily said. You’ll feel the same way when you have your own kids someday,” Tyler said. “I wasn’t prepared for how much it would bother me.”

  Chase chuckled. “Now you’re just plain ole adorable. Now, listen to me. About the Masterson people...”

  Their conversation ran in that vein until Tyler finally cut him off and went downstairs. In the kitchen, Emily sat at the table with Brooke, Emily’s best friend. She wore her hair very short, which emphasized her high cheekbones, and luminous dark eyes stood out against her coffee colored skin. Long limbed and graceful, she was an arresting woman, who drew many men’s eyes.

  “Hi, Brooke,” Tyler said. “How are you?”

  Brooke gave him a baleful look. “Mmm hmm. Don’t act all innocent after giving my girl a bunch of shit.”

  Tyler lifted a brow and looked at Emily, who just gave him a helpless look. She’d obviously hidden what had been occurring between them when Brooke had knocked, by telling her that he’d been acting like an ass. It was as good a cover as any, he supposed.

  He gave Brooke a disapproving frown. “There are two sides to every story. I really don’t have time to argue. I’m staying in Denver tonight since I have a late meeting, but I’ll call Hayley to say goodnight, okay?”

  Emily hid her disappointment. She wanted to talk to Tyler about what had transpired between them, but it would have to wait. “Okay. Safe travels.”

  “Thanks. Brooke, good to see you. Have a nice day, ladies,” Tyler said before going out the door.

  Chapter Eight

  Sitting down on the couch in Ric’s apartment that night, Tyler opened a beer and dialed Hayley’s phone number. He’d gotten used to the fact that his niece had a phone. It only had five phone numbers in it and no one else had her number, so he figured that it was safe. He took a swig of beer as he waited for her to answer.

  “Hi, Uncle Ty.”

  “Hey, honey. How was your day?”

  “It was good. We had a lot of fun today,” Hayley said.

  “You did? Tell me about it.”

  Tyler listened to his niece, wishing he was there to help tuck her into bed and kiss her goodnight. He remembered how terrified he’d been when he’d first started raising Hayley. If that’s what you could call it. He’d primarily left her care to Allison while he’d pretty much carried on like normal.

  But this past month had shown him that he loved being an active part of Hayley’s life. He was coming to love her more every day. He had a long way to go before he was a great uncle, but he was trying his best. He’d failed with Lizzie and he was petrified of failing Hayley.

  Saying no to Hayley was hard because she was so sweet and knew how to manipulate his affections. He’d started taking his cues from Emily, who stood firm about certain things. Emily. The past month had also shown him that he still had strong feelings for her. She was kind, generous and still the sexiest woman he knew and living with her was getting to him.

  The situation was like living inside of a powder keg that could go off at any time. What had happened that morning was proof of that. He didn’t know how much more he could take, how much longer he could fight his need for Emily.

  Did he want to fight it? No. Should he fight it? Yes. Did he have the strength? He didn’t know. When things had started out, he’d been confident that he could handle the living arrangement, but after almost screwing Emily on the counter that morning, he knew that he’d been wrong.

  He didn’t feel guilty, necessarily. After all, she’d wanted him just as badly. Did she still have feelings for him? It didn’t matter. He thought of Lizzie. Thought of her lying in the snow, alone, hurt…dying. Emily was to blame for Lizzie’s death. Emily had let Lizzie run away with Hayley’s father, Simon, and now his sister was dead.

  He tuned back to what Hayley was saying.

  “That sounds like quite a day. I think it’s time for you to go to bed so you’re ready for tomorrow,” he said.

  “Okay,” she said reluctantly. “I miss you.”

  His heart warmed at her words. “I miss you, too. Sleep well.”

  “Okay. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  “Aunt Emily says she’ll call you in a bit,” Hayley said.

  Tyler closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “All right. Goodnight, honey.”

  “Night.”

  Tyler hung up and sat his phone next to him on the couch. He drank more beer and put the TV on while he waited for Emily to call him. What was he going to say to her? He groaned. “Why the hell did I say that to her? I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

  His phone rang and Emily’s face appeared on the screen. Why can I annihilate business opponents in the boardroom without fear, but dealing with Emily turns me inside out?

  Angry with himself, he hit the answer button. “Hi. What’s up? Did Hayley go to sleep?”

  “Yeah. She was out before I finished her story.”

  “What did you read her?” he asked to stall for time.

  “My Fuzzy Wuzzy Speckled Puppy,” Emily said, chuckling. “She loves that one.”

  “I know. I think I have the damn thing memorized. I can’t wait until she’s old enough and I can read her comic books,” Tyler said.

  “Comic books? I don’t think so,” Emily said. “Besides, by then, she won’t want to be read to.”

  Tyler said, “Yeah. I guess so.” He blew out a breath. “So, I want to apologize for sort of attacking you this morning.”

  Her giggle made him smile. “I think the attacking went both ways, Tyler. I wasn’t complaining any, if you noticed.”

  “Oh, I noticed. I noticed everything about you.”

  “Did you mean those things you said?”

  Tyler looked at the ceiling and wanted to smack his forehead repeatedly in punishment for running off at the mouth that morning. “Yeah, I did.”

  “Really? There’s been no women in Denver?”

  “No. I don’t want any other woman. Truly.”

  “Thank God.”

  Tyler frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  “Because I’ve wanted to jump you as much as you wanted to jump me. I remember how intense things were between us,” she said. “But I don’t know what to do about it.”

  Tyler grinned. “I have some ideas.”

  She laughed. “I’m sure you do. You know what I mean.”

  Leaning forward, Tyler braced his elbows on his knees. “I do know and I don’t have an answer.”

/>   “Why don’t we try talking about this when you come home?” Emily suggested. “There’s still a lot that’s unresolved between us.”

  Facing the situation head on the way Emily was, Tyler said, “You’re right. We do have a lot to discuss. I’d rather do it face-to-face, too.”

  “Right. So…what are you wearing?”

  Her playfulness made him burst out laughing. It also brought back times to mind when they’d engaged in phone sex when he was away in college. It wasn’t nearly as good as when they were together, of course, but it had taken the edge off until they had been.

  “Silk black pajamas and a smoking jacket,” Tyler said.

  Emily laughed. “So sexy, Mr. Jeffries. Which means that you’re probably wearing your Broncos sweatpants and T-shirt of some sort.”

  “No, I’m not. I’m wearing my Giants sweatpants. My Broncos ones are at home,” he said. Home. He knew that he wasn’t talking about New York. No, home in his heart would always be Cooper’s Creek, it seemed. “What are you wearing?”

  “A pearl necklace and black high heels.”

  His eyebrows drew together. “Are you going out?” Jealousy burned in his chest.

  “No, because those are the only things I’m wearing.”

  A sharp jolt of heat went right to his groin. “Jesus, Emily.”

  She let out a wicked laugh. “Well, I have some work to do before I go to bed. Are you coming home tomorrow night?”

  Tyler wasn’t sure if he was relieved or annoyed that she was getting off the phone after teasing him like that. “Yeah, I’ll be home tomorrow night,” he said.

  “Okay. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.”

  He hung up with her and texted Chase. You busy?

  Chase: Give me a sec.

  Tyler’s Skype notification went off and he hit the answer button. Chase appeared on the screen.

  “How’s Denver tonight?” Chase asked.

  “Fine. Boring.”

  Chase laughed, his warm brown eyes shining in the sunlight that illuminated his face. “Which explains why your sorry ass is calling mine. Not that my ass is sorry. No, I get a lot of compliments on that part of my anatomy, and others.”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Tyler said. “You’re such a horn dog.”

  “Me? You’re one to talk,” Chase shot back.

  Tyler smiled. “Touché. What are you doing?”

  “I’m catching some last rays for the day. Then I’m going to have a nap and go out later for drinks. We worked up on the Roof Top today since I didn’t have any meetings.” This was what Chase called the outdoor room he’d had built on the top of the L.A. headquarters. “It was Creative Day, so we had some mojitos and other refreshments while we brainstormed,” Chase replied.

  Tyler shook his head. “I don’t know how you guys get any work done like that.”

  “You should try it. It’s very freeing. Great for tapping into creativity.”

  “Well, unlike you, we don’t have a rooftop boardroom here or a rooftop suitable for laying down AstroTurf and making a tropical setting,” Tyler said.

  “That’s why I picked L.A. I’ve purposely entertained some very sexy set designers who were only too happy to help me out with my project,” Chase said. “Anyway, I don’t think you called about that. Is it about your meeting tonight?”

  “No. That went fine. Masterson is completely on board with your commercial. He agrees it will help bring in the kind of investors they need. He liked the concept of making their company a little more family friendly,” Tyler said. “Good job.”

  “Thanks. It’s fun thinking of creative ways to entice investors. Who would have thought I’d be happy marketing money.”

  “Yeah.”

  Chase ran a hand through his long, brown hair. “I’m glad he liked it, but that look on your face tells me that there’s more on your mind.”

  “Emily and I came very close to having sex this morning.”

  Chase pursed his lips together and Tyler pointed at him.

  “Don’t you laugh.”

  Chase tried to contain it, but his mouth wobbled its way into a grin. “No wonder you didn’t call Ric. Can’t talk to him about that kind of thing.”

  “Not hardly. You were right. I still have feelings for her. Damn it!” Tyler said.

  Chase said, “I don’t understand what happened between you two. Yeah, yeah, you guys said you didn’t want a long-distance relationship, but I know that’s a bunch of bullshit. So does Ric, but it was clear that neither of you were going to talk about it, so we stopped asking.”

  Tyler’s jaw clenched.

  Chase sighed. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me, Ty. I know how closed-mouthed you are about your feelings, ever since your dad…, but it’s better to get this out. My Dad’s a schmuck too. I know that the word father doesn’t automatically equate to respect. C’mon.”

  Tyler decided to just jump right in. “The night Lizzie and Simon were in that wreck, they were going to run away together.”

  “Run away? Like just up and leave?”

  “Yeah. Mom told me that she and Lizzie had fought earlier that day because she wasn’t home enough with Hayley. Lizzie said that she was tired of being a mother. So that night, she packed a couple of suitcases and was going to run off with Simon,” Tyler said.

  Chase’s eyes grew huge. “She was gonna abandon Hayley?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Shit. Why is this the first time I’m hearing this?”

  Tyler leaned back against the couch. “Because Mom didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t want anyone to think badly about Lizzie.”

  “Damn. I’m sorry, Ty, but Lizzie was a wild thing. Lots of people knew that.”

  “Being wild and running out on your daughter are two different things,” Tyler said.

  “I can see that. What’s this got to do with Emily?” Chase asked.

  “She knew about Lizzie’s plans and she didn’t tell me about them. If she had, I would’ve been able to make Lizzie see reason. I could’ve talked her out of it. Lizzie listened to me,” Tyler said. “She’d still be alive if Emily hadn’t kept Lizzie’s plans secret from me.”

  Suddenly, Chase went off screen. The picture jumped around for a few moments and then stilled again. Tyler figured that Chase must have been on his laptop and had now sat it down somewhere. This was confirmed when he saw Chase’s bare torso move back and forth across his cellphone screen. At least he was wearing swimwear, albeit very skimpy swimwear.

  Chase came to the computer and tilted the screen back so that his face appeared again. “That’s why you broke up? Because you were such an asshole that you blamed Emily for something that wasn’t her fault at all? What’s the matter with you?”

  Tyler winced a little at Chase’s shouting and his censure. “If I’d had a warning, I could have convinced her not to do it. Emily should’ve told me. Or at least told Mom. She didn’t tell either of us until after Lizzie was dead. It was too late then. Why the hell didn’t she tell me?” Grief rose up in Tyler’s chest, both for his sister and his mother.

  Chase rubbed his chin. “I hate to tell you this, but if Emily couldn’t convince her, then no one could. They were like sisters, Ty. I know how much you loved Lizzie, how close you two were, but everyone knew how much you hated Simon. Hell, you guys got in more than one fist fight. Lizzie wouldn’t have listened to you. I know you don’t want to hear this, but that girl was a wrecking ball just looking for a building to knock down.”

  Chase was right. Tyler didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to hear how he’d let Lizzie down.. “I didn’t keep her safe, Chase. When Dad did the dirty, and left us high and dry, I promised Mum I’d look after her and Lizzie. But I didn’t. God knows I tried. Simon was such a bad influence on her. I tried to tell Lizzie, but that only made her want him more.”

  Chase nodded. “I know. You weren’t the only one who tried to make her see reason. Lots of people did, Ric used to talk to her all the time. But Lizz
ie was a grown woman. What happened wasn’t your fault any more than it was Emily’s. I can’t believe you’ve been blaming her all this time.”

  Shame and grief made Tyler’s chest ache. “It seemed to make sense at the time, Chase. Emily was the only one who knew what Lizzie was planning. At least I could’ve found her before she died alone in the snow. She bloody survived the crash. I could’ve tried, Chase. At least—”

  “Tyler, you can’t go back and change it and you can’t keep blaming Emily. Look at it through that great objectivity of yours. Be honest with yourself. Use that minor in psychology you have,” Chase interjected.

  Tyler forced himself to see the situation through the lens of an outsider looking in, the same way he did in business dealings. It was painful, but it was necessary.

  “What are you trying to say, Chase? That I’m at fault?”

  “No, dumbass, I’m trying to get you to look at the situation. Emily didn’t know they would be stupid enough to go out in that storm.”

  Shit, Chase was right. There was no way Emily would have let anyone go out in that storm. Shit. She really hadn’t known Lizzie was running that night. His insides clenched in regret, pain at what might have been if he’d only just listened to Emily’s side of the story. He’d been so consumed with grief, he’d let the rage and anger of Lizzie’s senseless death consume him.

  He rubbed his chin as Chase took a swig of what he assumed was a mojito. “I’ve been taking my anger and grief out on Emily. Emily could not have known how stupid her best friend would be or that they’d crash. I’ve been transferring my feelings of inadequacy and guilt onto her. It’s been easier to blame her than blame myself.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “God, I royally fucked up, Chase.”

  “Mmm hmm. It’s not your fault either. It was an accident for goodness sake. That’s pretty much what it boils down to,” Chase agreed. “The question is: what are you going to do about it? Do you love her?”

  “Yes. I don’t know what the hell I’m feeling anymore. I’m so confused.”

  “Does she still love you?”

  “I’m not sure. We’re going to talk tomorrow night when I get home,” Tyler replied.