by C. D. Taylor
I laid there searching the foreign room for some sign of safety, and I could hear voices in the distance. My brain felt like it could explode at any moment, and I remembered hitting my head on the steering wheel of my rental car. Dammit. How long had I been here? And where exactly was here?
I rose from the bed and crept around the room, hoping to find an escape route if possible. All the horror movies I’d watched in the past flashed through my mind and I was mortified. Maybe I was in the lair of some freak that wanted to keep me as a trophy.
I looked out the window in the room, and it seemed I was in a normal home. Weird. I then heard a shrill cry from what I thought was downstairs, a baby. Relief washed over me.
When I turned around from the window, my heart jumped in my chest. There was a man standing in the doorway, and his body literally filled the space. His hair was cut into a short military style, and muscles bulged out from under his tight black t-shirt. I should have been terrified but this man made me hot in all the right places. His eyes were a dreamy blue that I could have gotten lost in for days, and his face was chiseled like it was cut from the perfect stone. He was perfection.
“Hey, you’re awake.” He spoke.
“Yeah, where am I?”
“I brought you to my brother’s house; you banged your head pretty hard.”
“Wouldn’t it have been wise to take me to a hospital then?” I smirked.
“I suppose so, but it was an hour drive. I figured you needed to sleep it off.” He shrugged.
“And what if I had a concussion? What if I would have died in my sleep?” I bit out.
“Well then I would have buried you somewhere in the middle of nowhere.” He chuckled.
I watched him cross the room toward me, and my heart rate skyrocketed. This man oozed sex, and damn if my body wasn’t picking up on that fact. He stood mere inches from me and I could smell him. Clean male, and hormones. He reached his hand forward and I jumped back.
“I was just gonna check on your head, calm down.” He warned.
“Sorry, I’m…jumpy.”
“Obviously, now let me look at it.”
He swept my hair from my face and placed his hand on the side of my head. I felt a burn, more like a damn lightning strike jolt through my entire body, and land in the most sensual of areas. Oh God.
“Looks good, how do you feel?” He said in a low voice.
“Good. Fine. I really need to get going.”
“Not happening today sweetheart.”
“And why not?”
“Because in case you do have a concussion, you don’t need to be driving. You will stay here for the night, and finish whatever you need to in the morning.”
“Um excuse me but you do not get to give me orders. I don’t know you.”
“Tyler Bradford and you are?”
“Margaret Wells, my friends call me Maggie.” I held out my hand to shake his.
“Nice to meet you Maggie. Now come downstairs, my sister in law has dinner ready.”
“Not hungry.”
“Let me guess, afraid you’ll pack on a few pounds to that perfect body?” He smiled.
“First of all its far from perfect, and second of all…okay I don’t have a second of all.”
“Good. Then to the dinner table it is.”
I followed him down the stairs and into the living room of the home. There were baby toys and gadgets scattered everywhere, and the place felt lived in. Unlike my condo, Haley often told me it looked like a museum, but it was the order and organization that I needed in my life. I heard a female voice from the kitchen area.
“Hey Ty, can you hold Maisy for me, I need to get stuff from the oven.”
He went into the other room and returned with a tiny little girl in his arms. She was so beautiful, blonde hair, blue eyes; she looked like she belonged in a Gerber commercial.
“This is my niece Maisy.” He introduced me.
I felt so uncomfortable around kids; they just weren’t my cup of tea. The spitting up, the changing diapers…no thank you. Richard had decided we would forgo that step in our marriage. I had thought about it a time or two, but he convinced me it should just be the two of us. I agreed it would make things simpler.
“Do you wanna hold her?” Tyler asked.
“Uh no. Babies and I do not mix.”
“Afraid you’ll get something all over your designer clothes?”
“No it has nothing to do with that. By the way, where is my phone? I need to check in with some people.”
He pointed toward the front door. “All your stuff is over there.”
I walked over to find my heap of luggage, and my purse. I fished out my phone and saw I had several missed calls. Richard was one of them.
“I’m just going to step outside and make a call.” I called over my shoulder.
I dialed Richards’s number and he answered on the second ring.
“Maggie, what the hell happened? I’ve been trying to call you for the last few hours!”
“I wrecked my rental car.”
“You what?”
“I’m fine, just a little banged up.”
“Please tell me you had insurance on the rental car…”
Really? I had just told my fiancée I was banged up and he wanted to know about rental car insurance? What the fuck?
“Of course I did, I’m not a complete idiot.”
“Sometimes I wonder.”
“Thanks, that makes me feel so much better. How’s Bermuda?”
“It would be better if you were here.”
“I’m sure.”
“Oh hey, my mom and dad are waiting for me to order, we are at dinner.”
I didn’t have a chance to reply, he hung up. “Ugh bastard!”
“Problems?”
I spun around to find Tyler standing behind me. “Eavesdrop much?”
“Force of habit comes with the job.”
“What are you some secret spy or something? Double O Texan?”
“Nope, Marines.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“Don’t worry about it, wouldn’t have mattered if you knew in the beginning anyway.” He turned toward the front door.
“Why would you say that?” I snapped.
I watched him slowly turn his body toward me, and step so close I could feel his hot breath on my neck.
“Because, you are the type of person that makes their judgment before they know the whole story. I get it. But trust me, you may think you have it all figured out, but you are dead wrong.”
His words sent shockwaves through me, and I was speechless. What was I supposed to say to that? This man was so intimidating, and scared the hell out of me in more ways than one.
Four
Tyler realized that he had brought a snobby city girl to his brother’s house and that just wouldn’t fly. This woman was something else, she obviously thought her shit didn’t stink and portrayed something of an evil witch. She was stunned that he would speak to her like he did; you would have thought she was royalty. He felt bad for Emily, after all this was her home, and she shouldn’t have to be faced with someone like Maggie.
After his blowup at her on the front porch, Tyler went back inside the house to cool down. He didn’t lose his temper often but when he did it was best to leave him alone.
“Everything okay Ty?” Emily asked.
“Yeah just peachy.” He stated flatly.
“Maybe if you sounded more convincing I might believe you.”
“Emily I’m sorry I brought her here, I know you don’t need someone like that around.”
“It’s okay she was hurt, and needed help. She’s really pretty.”
“Yeah whatever.” Tyler spat out.
“Where is she now?” Emily questioned.
“I left her on the porch, I needed to get away from her, she makes my blood boil and I sort of want to rip her head off.”
“Oh calm down Ty, she’s not that bad.”
“
Excuse me.” Maggie interrupted.
Tyler turned to see her in the kitchen doorway. “What?”
Her eyes were filled with what looked like tears. “Never mind.” She turned to walk out of the room.
Tyler quickly stood from the chair he occupied and followed her. She was heading out of the house, and made it to the yard before he caught her. Tyler grabbed her arm and swung her around until her chest collided with his.
“Let go!”
He looked into her eyes and saw some strange vulnerability. “Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”
“I don’t have to tell you anything!” She shouted.
“Then I guess I won’t let you go.” He laughed.
Before he knew what was coming, Maggie swung her arm and connected her palm with his face. The slap stung but he held fast to her other arm. He was livid, no woman had ever struck him and this woman was treading very thin ice already. He held onto her with more ferociousness and looked into her weepy eyes.
“That’s you one free pass, do it again and you will be eating through a straw for the rest of your life.” He glared.
Just then he felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him away from the infuriating woman in front of him.
“Hey bro, you need to cool it.” Jake warned.
Tyler spun around and glared at his brother. “Fuck you!”
“Look, either calm the hell down or get the hell out of here. I don’t want you upsetting Emily or Maisy.”
Tyler was seeing red, and he knew Jake was just trying to help. He would never hit a woman but in that instant he was thinking about going against his better judgment. Maggie had taken the opportunity with him talking to his brother to get the hell out of the situation. She started walking, and Tyler knew she didn’t know where she was going. He started to take off after her.
“Ty, just leave her alone okay?”
“Look Jake she doesn’t know where she is, and its several miles to any place around here.”
“Fine, I’m going inside to see my family, do what you want, you always do anyway.” Jake rolled his eyes.
Tyler took the opportunity to hop in his truck and go after Maggie. She had already made it about a mile up the road when he came to her. Tyler rolled down the window.
“Get in.”
“No!”
“Just get in the truck.”
“I said no, what about that do you not understand?”
Tyler hopped out of the truck and stood in front of her. “Maybe both parts. I’m sorry I overreacted, I’ve never been physically assaulted by a female.”
“Physically assaulted? Grow up.”
“You first.”
“Fuck off. I don’t need this shit, I have a wonderful life back in Chicago, and the less time I have to spend in this God awful state around you the better.”
“Then by all means, take off walking, don’t let me stop you from your important life.”
Tyler went back to his vehicle and climbed into the driver seat. He stared out the window at the woman in front of him; she was a mystery to him in many ways. She had a major chip in her shoulder about something, and for some reason he wanted to get to the bottom of it. He waited for a few minutes, and finally she got in the truck.
“Don’t take this as a sign that I like you, because I don’t. I need to get my stuff and continue what I came her for that’s it. And since my rental car is in someone’s pasture, I need a ride.”
“Where do you need to go?”
Tyler watched her face darken, and it seemed that she had trouble getting the information out.
“Do you know where the old Wells ranch is?”
“Yeah sure do, it’s been abandoned since Mrs. Wells died six months ago.”
“That’s where I need to go.” She whispered.
“You’re Phillip Wells’ daughter?”
“Unfortunately so.”
“Okay I’ll take you back to my brother’s house to get your stuff and I’ll drive you out there.”
“Thank you.”
“So that’s a pretty big rock on your finger…engaged?” He said.
“Yes, getting married in a few months.”
“You don’t seem happy about it.”
“I am, I just…”
“Are not happy?”
“Whatever…”
“Well if someone is happy about getting married they usually glow or beam…some shit like that.”
“I don’t have time for all of that; besides what do you know about getting married.”
“I was married.”
“Oh. Are you divorced now?”
“Nope. I went overseas, and got the call that my wife and unborn child were killed in a car accident.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be, it’s been a long time ago.”
“But you still miss her?” Maggie asked softly.
“Honestly I did, until I found out she was cheating on me when I was overseas. Not even sure the baby was mine.”
“Wow. That’s rough.”
“I guess it could have been rougher.” He smirked.
“Not sure how…” Maggie stated.
“Yeah well I could have been oblivious to the whole situation and raised a child that wasn’t mine. That would have sucked major ass.”
“Yeah I guess so…”
Why was he telling this stranger all of his secrets? Things that he buried in the past were coming to the surface, and he couldn’t figure out why.
“So, what’s your story Maggie?”
She turned her head and looked out the passenger window of the truck. “Not much to tell I suppose. I grew up here, and moved to Chicago when I graduated high school. I went to college there and work as a magazine editor now.”
“Not really a story, more like a bio…”
“Isn’t that what a story is? Just a brief bio of one’s life?”
“If you say so.”
This woman was infuriating, Tyler wanted so bad to push her out of the vehicle but thought against it. Something was up with her, she didn’t tell anything about herself that he wouldn’t have been able to find on Google, and she refused to look at him the entire time she talked.
“So, what is your fiancée like?” Tyler asked.
“Richard? He’s great. We have the same goals in life, and we fit well.”
“You fit?”
“Of course, you know, we mesh well together.”
“Sounds like a match made in heaven then…” He rolled his eyes.
“You know….I am smart enough to know when someone is being sarcastic.”
“Then I apologize for my sarcasm. Just seems to me that when two people are getting ready to spend their life together that there needs to be more than meshing involved.”
“Yeah…like what?” She questioned.
“Like passion, love… the willingness to do anything and everything to make the other person happy.”
“I think you read too many romance novels, or watch the Lifetime channel to damn much. Real life isn’t like that at all!”
“And what do you know about real life?”
“Probably a lot more than you do.” She smirked.
“Then we will agree to disagree…”
What sort of life did this woman lead? She was diluted in the fact that a happy marriage and life was just as simple as finding someone with common interests. Tyler knew it was more than that by a long shot. Even when he was married to Tammy there was more than just coexisting. He loved Tammy in his own ways, but in the end it just wasn’t enough to make her happy.
Tyler drove through town and headed east. The remainder of the ride was fairly silent, much to his liking. Maggie sat quietly in her seat and stared forward, looking nervous as hell.
“Something wrong?” Tyler spoke up.
“Why would there be something wrong?”
“You keep wringing your hands. Nervous about something?”
“Of course not. I’m fine.”