“How did your parents feel about this deal?” Grant asked.
Ty remembered the bitter argument that had ensued when he told his parents about the deal he’d made with his father-in-law. They were dead-set against the idea, but the alternative was equally unthinkable. Without that money, they would have lost everything they’d spent a lifetime building. Ty’s solution was their only option. “They weren’t happy about it. They wanted me to divorce Abby and put the whole mess behind me so I could move on with my life.”
“You said earlier that your parents were selling the ranch and planning to retire?” Anna asked.
Ty smiled. She must be a stellar therapist; it seemed she didn’t miss a single detail. “That’s right. They wanted to hold on to the ranch, hoping one of their boys might want to take over one day, but it seems we’re all following our own path.”
“So that’s why you’ve decided to file for divorce now?” Grant asked.
“Yes, sir, that and the fact that your daughter came into my life. Had it not been for her, I probably would have maintained the status quo until the ten-year term was up.”
“How does Avery feel about all of this?” Grant asked.
Ty chuckled, recalling their heated argument when she found out the truth. “She wasn’t too thrilled about it, but I think she understands why I felt I had to do it to help my family.”
Anna regarded Ty carefully. “In my line of work, we often have to make swift judgements about people and situations. Like you, I’ve learned to trust my gut instinct and I have to say, I have a sense that you’re a good man.”
Ty grinned, feeling absurdly pleased with her assessment. He’d come here to win them over by being himself and it seemed he was succeeding. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Grant crossed his legs, setting his hand on his knee. “I have to agree with my wife on this, Ty. Based on what I know of you so far, I’m pleasantly surprised.”
Ty laughed, feeling infinitely more comfortable than he had when he arrived. “Thank you, I think.”
Grant laughed. “Let’s just say my daughter’s taste in men has been questionable, to say the least. I honestly didn’t expect her to find an honest, decent, hardworking young man such as yourself.”
Anna slapped her husband’s forearm. “Grant, hush, don’t start make disparaging comments about our daughter’s boyfriends.”
Now Ty felt like they were finally getting somewhere. He’d broken the ice, come clean about himself and his intentions, and it seemed they were finally ready to open up about Avery’s past. “Did she bring very many men home to meet you?”
Grant scoffed. “No, in fact she went to great lengths to avoid it. The few we did meet were obviously not in it for the long haul. Or should I say, Avery wasn’t in it for the long haul. I don’t know how you managed it, but if you’ve gotten our daughter to even consider the possibility of marriage in the foreseeable future, you should be commended.”
Ty had a sinking feeling in his stomach that led him to believe they were about to reveal information he may not be ready to hear. “You’re saying Avery doesn’t want to get married?”
Anna sighed. “Not as far as we can tell. Two of her previous boyfriends proposed and she promptly broke up with him, claiming she wasn’t ready for a commitment. Quite frankly, we were beginning to wonder if we’d ever be blessed with grandchildren.”
Maybe Ty had been deluding himself in believing he and Avery had a future together, as much as it pained him to admit it. “I’m surprised to hear you say that,” he said quietly. “I want to marry your daughter, but that obviously doesn’t mean she feels the same way about me.”
Grant sighed. “You’ve never actually asked her if she would consider marrying you?”
“She knows how I feel. I can’t imagine my future without her.”
Anna leaned forward. “Has she ever expressed an interest in a future with you, Ty?”
He wished he could say she had. “No.”
“Look, if you came here to ask for our approval, you have it. But I have a feeling it’s my daughter you’re going to have to convince,” Grant said quietly.
Chapter Thirteen
Avery was sitting in her apartment, surfing the Internet, reading what fans and critics had to say about Ty’s performances in California, when a knock on the door broke her concentration. She was a little wary, given the fact that she didn’t associate with her neighbors, except for Marisa, and guests were required to call up to a resident’s suite to gain access to the building.
She set her laptop on the coffee table and padded to the door, barefoot. One look in the hall mirror confirmed her suspicions. She was not fit for company. Ty was due home tonight and despite her lingering resentment over the incident in her office, she couldn’t help but miss him. The man had definitely broken down her defenses and found his way into her heart, whether she was willing to admit it to him or not.
She stood on tiptoe to peer through the door’s peephole. An attractive red-haired woman stood on the other side, glancing up and down the hall as she waited for a response. Feeling confident she didn’t pose a threat, Avery opened the door. “Can I help you?” she asked, pulling her black hoodie around her mid-section.
The woman looked her up and down, smirking. “You’re Avery Collins?”
Avery bristled at her demeaning tone as she stood straighter, squaring her shoulders. “And you would be?”
The woman flattened her palm against the door, forcing it open as she pushed past Avery. “I’m your lover’s wife.”
Avery stood in the doorway, her mouth hanging open as she tried to process the woman’s announcement.
Abby set her purse down on a stool at the breakfast bar before turning back to Avery. “You may want to close the door and your mouth, honey.”
Avery snapped her mouth shut as she slammed the door. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here so you can get the hell out, Abby.”
The woman smiled, revealing teeth too perfect to be real. “Ty’s mentioned me? I’m flattered.”
In the face of this woman’s plastic perfection, Avery wished she had the time to run to the bathroom and make herself look presentable. “Don’t be flattered. I can assure you he didn’t have anything nice to say about you.”
Her green eyes shrank to slits as she glared at Avery. “You have the nerve to act all high and mighty when you’re the one who got knocked up with my husband’s kid?”
The blood drained from Avery’s face as she reached behind her to grip the door handle for support. “What are you talking about?”
Abby reached into her oversized designer handbag and withdrew a paper bag. “I have proof.” She extracted the plastic stick Avery had disposed of in the restroom at her office. “Does this look familiar?”
Avery knew thousands of those test sticks were sold every day, but she had little doubt the one Abby wielded belonged to her. “Where did you get that?”
She smiled, slipping the stick bag into the bag. “From your assistant, Lisa.”
“How could she have known? Why...”
“She didn’t know. She was paid to snoop around your office, but I never expected this.” She shoved the bag back into her purse.
“You paid Lisa to...”
“Break up you and Ty?” She started walking around Avery’s apartment, picking up framed photographs and knick-knacks as she went. “Yeah, I did. Can you blame me? The man is my husband.”
Avery ground her teeth as the woman studied her college graduation photo. “Ty told me the two of you haven’t had a real marriage in years, if ever.”
She set the photo down and moved on to the next one lined up on the mantle. “Regardless of what he says, we’re still married according to the law. That’s good enough for me and I’m sure it’d be good enough for your friends in the press.”
Avery felt her stomach turn and she was afraid she might have a repeat of her earlier bout with morning sickness. “You plan to go public with the fact that I’m carryin
g Ty’s baby? Why would you do that?”
She set the photograph down and propped an elbow on the mantle as she turned toward Avery. “I didn’t say I wanted to go public with your sordid little affair. In fact, I’d rather keep it between us.”
Avery had met enough opportunists in her life to know this woman was angling for a payoff. “What do you want?”
She smiled as she walked toward Avery. “It’s simple. I want you to stay the hell away from my husband.”
Avery felt her pulse pounding against her neck and feared her blood pressure must be through the roof. She knew that couldn’t be good for the baby. “Why now? You didn’t have any interest in reconciling with him before. ”
“Maybe not, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he hit the big time. Why do you think I wasted all these years in this pathetic excuse for a marriage?”
Avery couldn’t believe this woman’s audacity. Ty’s description didn’t even scratch the surface of her shallow veneer. “You only want Ty because of his record deal?”
She sat on the arm of an upholstered armchair. “Let’s face it, honey, Ty’s a catch, with or without the record deal.”
Avery felt her blood begin to boil. This woman didn’t appreciate Ty when she had him. She sure as hell didn’t deserve a second chance to hurt him. Of course, the same could be said for her. Ty had been honest with her about Lisa and instead of believing him, she’d crucified him. “If that’s the way you feel, why did you cheat on him when you were together?”
She shrugged. “I was young and stupid. A lot of time has passed since then and I realize I made mistakes, with Ty and our daughter.”
Avery couldn’t remember the last time she’d hated someone with such intensity. It took everything in her not to throw the woman out on her tight ass. “We both know Ty doesn’t want you. He wants to be rid of you, which is why he’s filing for divorce.”
Abby studied her French manicure. “Ah yes, I did receive the divorce papers he’d filed.” She looked Avery in the eye and smirked. “Not gonna happen, honey.”
Avery crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her. “Oh, it’s gonna happen, whether you like it or not.”
She shook her head slowly. “I don’t think so. Ty has too much to lose if I go to the press with my sad story about how my husband cheated on me and knocked up his mistress. You’re just trying to build his image as one of the good guys. You want people to like him enough to go out and buy his records. Imagine what kind of effect that story would have on him and you.”
Avery knew the bitch was right. True or not, the story would destroy his career before it even got started.
“Not to mention Melanie,” Abby said quietly, looking at her beneath the veil of enhanced lashes.
Avery had a sinking feeling things were quickly going from bad to worse. “What about Melanie?”
“If you know Ty as well as you think you do, you must know how much he loves that little girl.”
“What’s your point?”
“Melanie is my daughter. My parents may be raising her, but I decide what’s best for her.”
“Meaning?”
“Ty can choose to live with me and be a full-time dad to Melanie with a brilliant music career. Or he can choose to be with you, no Melanie, no career, just resentment because of all you took from him.”
Avery couldn’t believe Ty would resent her or their baby, but he still didn’t know about her pregnancy. A pregnancy she hadn’t given him the opportunity to weigh in about, a pregnancy she’d kept from him. Who was she kidding? She had given him every reason to resent her and their baby.
“So it’s up to you, Avery. What’s it gonna be? Are you gonna back off so Ty can have the career he’s always dreamed about and the family he’s always wanted, or are you going to be selfish and force him to give up everything just to be with you?”
Avery walked over to the mantle and picked up the photo of herself and her parents on her graduation day. She didn’t want to be the kind of parents hers had been: selfish and self-absorbed. She wanted to give her baby a better life. Ideally, she wanted him or her to have a daddy they could count on, but she knew if she had to, she could be a single parent. Obviously, she didn’t have a choice.
“I’ll keep my distance,” she said quietly.
“You won’t tell Ty about the baby?”
“He’s going to find out sooner or later,” she said, stroking the glass of the framed photograph before setting it back on the mantle. “He’s not stupid, Abby. He’ll figure out the baby is his, whether I tell him or not.”
“I’ve thought about that. I think you should tell him the baby belongs to Jeffery.”
Avery spun around, stunned by her suggestion. “How do you know about him?”
Abby smiled, looking pleased with herself. “Lisa told me. It’s amazing how much information a few thousand dollars will buy.”
Avery couldn’t believe she’d put her faith in that little traitor. “I’ve never slept with Jeffery. Ty knows that.”
Abby laughed. “Oh please, like he wouldn’t believe you’d lied to him? If he demands answers, you’ll tell him the baby is Jeffery’s.”
“What if he demands a paternity test or he goes to Jeffery and asks him point blank whether we slept together?”
Abby licked her lips suggestively. “Jeffery has already agreed to co-operate and I have a friend who works at the hospital lab, just in case it comes to that.”
Avery couldn’t believe the lengths this woman had gone to in order to prevent Ty from being a father to his own baby.
“Everyone’s on board, Avery. The question is, are you?”
Avery sank into the chair across from her nemesis. “It’s not like you’ve given me a choice.”
Abby smiled. “I knew you’d see it my way.”
Ty sat in the parking lot of Avery’s building, staring up at the dim light shining in her bedroom window.
It was late, probably too late to entertain an uninvited guest, but ever since his plane touched down two hours ago, he’d been fighting the urge to see her. He’d grown tired of cordial phone calls and brief emails. He needed more. He needed to hold her in his arms, tell her he loved her, and beg her for another chance.
He saw his opportunity when a lady pushing a baby stroller entered the building. He jumped out of his truck, prepared to turn on the charm to avoid ringing up to Avery’s suite. He suspected the element of surprise may work in his favor tonight. It was late and she was probably tired. Her defenses would be down, which meant she would be more apt to listen to reason.
He smiled as he held the door open for the harried woman. “Evenin’, ma’am.” He peeked in the stroller to see a blond-haired, blue-eyed angel with bright red cheeks staring back at him. When she clenched her tiny hands and started kicking her little feet, it hit him like a fist to the gut. “Wow, she sure is a pretty little thang, ain’t she?”
Her mother beamed. “Thank you.” She offered the baby a colorful stuffed toy with a hard plastic ring on the end. “I’m afraid she’s teething right now, so she’s not a very happy camper.” The young woman swiped her key card over the sensor and the door opened.
Ty slipped through behind her, his eyes still fixed on the baby.
The woman smiled as she pushed the button for the elevator. “I think she likes you. Do you have any kids?”
The innocent question always triggered a storm of conflicting emotions. Bitterness and anger at Abby for lying to him, but more than anything, intense gratitude that Melanie had come into his life. “Yeah, she’s eight.” He chuckled. “She’s practically all grown up.” He winked as he reached over to push the button for Avery’s floor. “At least she likes to think so.”
The lady smiled and shook her head. “I know what you mean. My son’s turning seven tomorrow. It’s amazing how fast they grow up, isn’t it?”
His mind flashed back to the day he and Abby brought Mel home from the hospital. She stirred a protective instinct in him that
he didn’t even know he possessed until he held her in his arms for the first time. “I guess it’s true what they say, we’ve got to enjoy every minute with them, right?”
The woman laughed and rolled her eyes. “Do you think they forgot about all those sleepless nights when they said that?”
Those sleepless nights were some of Ty’s best memories with Melanie. Abby refused to wake up at night and she swore off breastfeeding after her first botched attempt so Ty assumed responsibility for the night-time feedings from the very beginning. It was a time he always looked forward to, just he and Mel, in her dark and cozy nursery. He’d rock her in the glider as he gave her a bottle and sang her the songs he remembered from his own childhood. Once she was satiated, he’d rest her head on his shoulder and rub her back while he buried his nose in her curls, reveling in the sweet scent of her baby shampoo.
The woman touched his arm. “Hey, are you okay?”
He’d been so caught up in his memories he’d neglected to acknowledge her question. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry about that. I guess my mind drifted there for a minute.”
The elevator dinged to announce their arrival at her floor. “Don’t worry. It happens to me all the time. I call it the curse of the sleep-deprived. My husband’s come to expect it. Sometimes I drift off when he’s right in the middle of a sentence.” She pushed the stroller out into the hallway as Ty held the doors open for her. She raised her hand in a brief wave. “Have a good night.”
“Yeah, you too.” He stole one last look at the baby and wished he hadn’t. Seeing her stirred a deep longing for days he could never get back. He propped his shoulder against the wall and closed his eyes as the elevator doors slid closed.
After talking with Avery’s parents, he had more questions than answers. It seemed they were two different people, moving in opposite directions, yet he couldn’t suppress the urge to follow her wherever she went. The need to be with her was even stronger than his desire to be a musician. As a performer, he’d had to develop a thick skin and deal with the inevitable rejection, but he didn’t think he could cope with Avery’s rejection, not tonight. He was feeling too raw.
Reckless (Nashville Nights) Page 16