He looked into my eyes, and I saw the pain there. “I loved you, Mia. You hurt me so bad when you walked away. I never wanted to feel like that again. I guess being with Chrissi meant that I wouldn’t have to. She was uncomplicated when we first started out. I kept telling myself it was wrong, and if her father ever found out about us, it would be the end of my career. Chrissi always assured me that we were being careful though.” Ty rolled his eyes and shook his head in what appeared to be anger and disgust.
“The more I was with her, the less I thought about you. It soon became a drug for me. I’d go out, women would hit on me, and it gave me a rush. I could choose who I wanted in my bed, and I didn’t ever have to worry about being alone. If I didn’t bring someone home, I could call her and she’d come over.” He swallowed as he shifted in his seat. “I guess in some sick way I felt like I was getting back at you for leaving.” He peered up at me as he forced himself to go on. “When I saw you at the charity ball I had to know if you still cared. I couldn’t understand how you could just walk away after all the things we’d said to each other. You’d told me so many times that you loved me and wanted a forever with me. When Chrissi came walking up, and your face morphed right in front of me, I knew you still cared. I saw it plain as day written all over you. You still loved me, and seeing me with her hurt you. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t feel good to know that you were feeling just a little bit of what I’d had to deal with for those two years we were apart.” I tried to pull my hand from his grasp but he held tight.
“That moment though was the one that told me I still had a chance if I wanted it. You still felt something, and as long as I worked hard enough, I could probably get you back in my life. I wanted you there Mia, I still do.” He smiled before he lifted our joined hands in front of him and kissed the back of mine. “It wasn’t long after all of this that Chrissi showed up in my office to tell me she was pregnant. I didn’t believe her at first. Chrissi is used to getting what she wants, and I’d told her about my history with you. I figured the pregnancy was just her way of holding on, only it wasn’t. Then I thought maybe the baby was somebody else’s. I wanted it to be, and I guess in the back of mind, I thought if I didn’t talk about it, it would go away.”
Ty blew out a deep breath as he turned and reached to pull me closer to his side. We weren’t facing each other anymore, and instead looking out into the coffee shop. We were pressed together from shoulder to thigh, and I let my head fall onto his shoulder as I slumped against him. “I promise, it was never my intention to not tell you about all this, but I was afraid you’d run. I’d finally gotten what I’d wanted since you’d left. You were back, and you were letting me in again. I knew you’d push me away and never believe that I really wanted you if I told you about her.”
“So where does this leave us now?” I lifted my head to peer up at him.
“Well,” he chuckled. “I moved back home. That’s why we’ve been missing each other’s calls and stuff. I’m here for the night, but I don’t live here anymore.”
“What?” I gasped as I sat up straighter and turned to face him once again.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I told you I quit last week. Well, Chrissi told her father about the baby, and he all but insisted that I marry her. I don’t love her. I don’t want to marry her, so instead of letting him fire me, I quit.” He shrugged as if it was no big deal. “Trev called me a while back, remember Mr. Dewy? He’s selling his practice. I bought it.” Ty smiled as he stared at me. “I’m gonna run it from Cherryville. He’s moving south to live with one of his sons, so I’m taking over the practice and buying the space above him for living quarters.”
“You’re what?” I blinked a few times trying to let it all sink in. This was more than I was prepared for, and I wasn’t sure how I should be reacting.
“I’ve got a room here, but yeah… I gave up city life. I came back to see you, and hand over the keys for my place to my realtor. It’s all been happening so fast that I really just haven’t had time to stop and breathe; that’s why you haven’t heard from me,” he chuckled as if he had lifted a weight off his shoulders.
“So what does this mean for us?” I whispered as I chewed this inside of my cheek.
“It means… I love you, too. I always have. It means I’m gonna do the right thing and sign those papers Chrissi sent me. I’ll be there for my child, but I’m not gonna be with her. We’ll figure it out. Cherryville is close enough to the city that I can spend weekends here. We can make this work. As for my son, I’ll see him when I’m here and he can spend summers with me or something. There are lots of adults that raise kids this way. It may not be ideal, but it’s what I have, and I plan to make it work. Being with Chrissi just for the sake of a baby wouldn’t be right. I want my son to get the best of me, and that’s only gonna happen if I’m with you. You bring out my best. You Mia. No one else makes me feel the way I feel when I’m around you. I know it may take some time, but I’m willing to wait. I’ll wait for as long as it takes, but please don’t make me wait forever.”
As the words died in the air, I couldn’t help but let the tears I’d been fighting through his entire confession fall freely down my cheeks. I’d been waiting for this moment, the moment where he was finally open and honest. We’d skated around the truth so much over the last several months that this was like our do over. “I love you, Mia,” he said the words again as he cupped both sides of my face in his hands. “I’ll always love you for as long as I’m breathing. Please tell me you want this as badly as I do.”
I nodded my head vigorously. “I do. I do, so much. I love you too Tyler. I love you too.” I rose up and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, causing his hands to slip down around my middle and hold me to him. His lips pressed against mine, and I as crawled onto his lap he slanted his head to take the kiss deeper.
All the anger, worry, and fear we’d held onto melted away as we finally gave into the second chance we’d been fighting so hard for. “Let’s take this somewhere a little more private,” Ty panted as he pulled back. “I’ve got some more making up to do, and I think my king-sized bed might be a better option than here,” he chuckled as he pecked my nose while I rolled my eyes.
“You do, huh?” I dragged a finger slowly down his chest stopping right at his belt.
He sucked in his stomach as a groan bubbled up, “Oh yeah.” He pushed me off his lap as he stood, grabbed my hand, and began dragging me behind him.
“Slow down!” I giggled as we weaved through the crowd before pushing out onto the street.
“Not a chance,” he shouted over his shoulder. “I’m never slowing down again.” He tugged me even with him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as he grinned at me. “You, Miss Callahan, are stuck with me, and I plan to spend all night showing you why that’s a good thing… starting…right…now,” Tyler spun sideways, and before I knew what he was doing, he had me in his arms. I laughed as I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. I’d been in many men’s arms before as they spun me around a stage or dance floor, but none felt like this. This was a feeling I’d never tire of…ever.
5 Years Later…
“WHAT DO YOU think?” I smiled as ruffled my son’s hair. We were right smack in the middle of Tiffany’s, and I was finally getting ready to do what I’d wait most of my life for. I don’t know why it took me so long. After moving back to Cherryville, Mia followed soon after. I don’t know why she decided to retire after working so hard to get back, but when the regular season ended, she hung up her toe shoes.
I’d been in Cherryville for a little over six months when one night she knocked on my door. She’d seemed so unsure of herself, but within weeks, we were slowly finding our way back. Things had been good for quite a while, but within the last month or so, she’s been leaving me hints. I’ve found jewelry magazines randomly placed around my apartment in places that she knows I’ll find them. She hasn’t said anything to me verbally, but I can tell she’s getting anxious
. I’ve been too afraid ask her though. Things have been so great that I don’t want take a chance at something ruining it.
“It wooks great!” Greyson, my son, grasped the glass counter as he peered over at the sales lady that was helping me. It was just before summer, and I’d come into the city to pick him up from Christina. It was my turn for him to spend the summer with me, and I wanted him to feel like he was a part of this too.
Things were tough at first. I didn’t know the first thing about being a parent, and Chrissi worked ungodly hours. As I struggled to do things on my own in Cherryville, Chrissi had nannies and tutors taking care of Greyson. The first few years I wondered if it would ever get easier, and Sharron and Morgan, my sisters-in-law assured me that it would. They were right too. As Greyson began to grow into toddlerhood, things did get a little easier, but a new kinda hard emerged. He liked spending time with me, and whenever I would take him back to Chrissi’s, he would beg me to stay longer.
This was the first time I was going to get him for the entire summer, and knowing that time started today had me smiling like crazy. I couldn’t believe how much I’d dreaded this when I looked back at the way I’d felt when I found out about him. The fact that Mia has taken to him as if he were hers had helped tremendously. I thought there might be resentment or jealousy because he was a constant reminder that I’d been with Christina, but Mia took it in stride. Today, however, Greyson was going to help me give her the surprise of her life.
“You know you have to keep this a secret, right, buddy?” I glanced down at where he was dancing around my legs, and I couldn’t help but smile. Greyson might not have been Mia’s child biologically, but she sure had put her stamp on him.
“I know,” he chimed before pausing. “Does this mean Mama Mia is gonna be my real momma now?” He touched his index finger to his bottom lip in thought. I chuckled as the lady behind the counter smiled at us. Greyson had been calling Mia ‘Momma Mia’ since he was two. Chrissi didn’t want him calling anyone other than her, Momma, but she compromised when she heard him talk about Mia that way the first time. I don’t know why it bothered her so much, she was never home. His nanny, Susan, was more of mother than Chrissi.
“It sure does,” I grinned as I reached for his hand. The sales lady handed me the small bag containing my purchase, and Greyson and I strode out of the store. As we walked along the sidewalk toward the parking garage I’d parked in, Greyson skipped and hummed.
“I’m glad I get to spend three whole months with you.” He looked up at me.
“Me too,” I laughed. “What do you want to do this summer?”
“Can you teach me to ride a bike?” His feet faltered, causing me to trip slightly.
“Sure,” I wrinkled my forehead.
“Good,” his head jerked in a quick nod. “Momma says she doesn’t have time. What about swimming?” He beamed up at me. “Can we go swimming?”
“Yep,” I grinned. “Anything else?”
“I wanna climb trees, and get dirty, ooh, and play in the mud.” He was bouncing up in down in excitement as we reached my car.
“We can do all that,” I laughed as I opened the back door and watched him climb in.
“I can do it myself.” He brushed my hands away as he worked the buckle of his booster.
“All right big guy,” I chuckled. “You’re very independent.”
“Momma says I need to be. She says I can’t be a baby forever. She wants me to learn to do stuff by myself.” His voice was a little wistful, and I cursed Chrissi under my breath. He needed to be a kid as long as possible.
As I drove out of the city and began heading north toward Cherryville, Greyson filled the car with laughter and more stories about his momma. I listened and nodded at the right times, but in the back of my mind, I was plotting a way to revise this custody agreement. From what Greyson was telling me, it sounded like Chrissi didn’t really want him around. I’d love to have him come live with me full time, but I knew Chrissi would fight me on that. I think she thought if I had to come see her in order to get Greyson, I’d somehow decide I wanted her too. Little did she know that if the night went the way I wanted it to, I’d be off the market in a few hours.
“FINALLY,” I SIGHED as I stepped back and surveyed the room. I’d been working in my new studio for a month now trying to get it ready to open. When I first moved back to Cherryville, I’d taught classes at the same place I’d learn to dance. The building was small though and in desperate need of repair. Tyler had helped me secure a loan to buy the space next to him, and after a month of constant renovations, it was finally time to open.
He’d left this morning to go pick up Greyson and promised to be back in time to have dinner as a family. Now, I just wanted to show off all my hard work. Taylor and Morgan had stopped by this afternoon with their five year old daughter, Eva. I wasn’t sure where CJ was off to. Now that he’d become a teenager, it wasn’t cool to hang out with your parents. Trevor had stopped in to help hang some of the mirrors, but when Sharron called him saying she didn’t feel well, he rushed home.
He didn’t tell me what was going on with them, but after all the times I’d seen this with them I had an idea. They’d been trying to have a baby for years now. Their other two kids were grown. Ken was coming home from college soon, and Mikey was getting ready to go off to summer baseball camp. Trevor had promised Sharron they could have another baby, but they just weren’t having any luck. After four miscarriages and months of depression in between, I prayed that this last round of hormone treatment worked. Based on the look Trevor had on his face when he left, they hadn’t though.
“Anyone in here?” Tyler’s voice called from around the corner. The sun was beginning to set, and a soft orange light filtered through the windows.
“I’m in the last room,” I called as I turned to survey the room one last time. I knew things were about to get crazy as I heard Greyson’s thundering feet.
“We’re here!” he squealed as he came sliding into the room in his socks. I’d been on Ty’s case for over a week about wearing shoes in the studio. It appeared that he finally remembered. “Whatcha doin?” His little head tipped to the side as he stared up at me.
“I was waiting for you,” I smiled down at him before lowering myself so I was eye level. “You see the stereo over there?” I pointed to the sound system in the corner. He nodded after looking in the direction. “Go press the red button. We’re having a dance party.”
Greyson squealed as he ran over and clicked the music on. I would never tire of hearing his laughter and when I saw the look on Ty’s face as he watched us, I knew he wouldn’t either. “You’re so good with him,” he murmured as he sauntered over to me. “You’d never know that he wasn’t ours.” I couldn’t help the pang of jealously that rushed through me, but I buried it without saying a word. “I love you, Mia.” Tyler wrapped his arms around my waist and started to sway us to the music as The Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” came through the speakers. “I can’t imagine being here without you.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“Yuck,” Greyson made a gagging noise from beside us before his eyes started darting between us and a giant grin spread across his face.
“What are smiling about?” I looked from Greyson to Ty and back to Greyson.
“Nothing,” he shrugged before he started skipping around the room in circles like all little kids dance.
“He knows you’re special Mia, just like I do.” Ty leaned back to look in my eyes. “I love you and I love him. I love the way you love him.”
“Ty,” I started to speak, but he lifted one of his hands and pressed a finger to my lips stopping me.
“Let me finish,” he teased. “I’ve realized over the years that sometimes things happen that you can’t control. Sometimes they hurt, but the hurt teaches us that they’re important. If it didn’t hurt to lose it, then we didn’t really need it in the first place. When I lost you, my world ended. I did a lot of things I wasn’t proud of, but in the long run
, I ended up with him.” His head tipped toward Greyson. “I didn’t even realize how much I loved him until I held him the first time. I’ve watched you with him, and it’s made me want things, things that I can’t have unless you’re in my life for good.” Tyler released his hold on me as he stepped back and lowered himself to the ground. Greyson stopped in the background and began jumping up and down as he clutched his hands in tight fists in front of his chest. His teeth were clenched in excitement as he watched it all unfold right in front of him.
“Mia,” he swallowed. “Make a forever with me. Be my wife.”
I stood there not really grasping that the moment was real until Greyson paused before shouting, “Say yes! Please say yes!”
I looked at him before looking back at Tyler, and then finally noticing the princess cut diamond he was holding in his hands. “Yes, yes I’ll marry you,” I nodded as the tears came. Tyler stood up before sliding the ring on my finger and then cupping my cheeks with both hands.
“I love you.” His voice was strangled with emotion. “I don’t think you truly know how much.” Before I could correct him and tell him I knew exactly how much because I loved him the same, his head slanted as his lips crushed down on mine. My arms entwined around his neck as he lifted me and spun us right there in the middle of the studio.
Greyson giggled before bringing Tyler out of the moment. “Now that the surpwise is finished, can I go play?” he looked up at us with pleading eyes.
Beyond the Cherry Trees: The Cook Brothers Series Page 18