Resilience

by Tymber Dalton

  Perhaps when Thomas drew away from them after his motorcycle accident, they wouldn’t have been able to figure out a solution to coax him back.

  All this and more swam through his thoughts as he pulled out his wallet and confirmed the flights with his credit card.

  Once he had them booked, he called Goossens back and gave him the information.

  “This is good. May I tell him you are coming?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “This will make him happy.” The attorney paused. “Marcus did not specify what your relationship to him is, but indicated he wished to make amends in person. I am glad that, whatever it is, it can be resolved.”

  “We had a very brief, and yet very complex relationship,” Tyler finally said. “No contact for many years. We actually reconnected briefly in Seattle over a decade ago. My husband is flying in with me. I have to return to Atlanta to get my passport and meet up with him, or I’d fly directly from New York.”

  “That is excellent, actually. Marcus indicated he would be interested in seeing him as well, if possible. And…your wife?”

  “I’m going to need a hideout in Brussels when she gets hold of me, that’s for sure.”

  “Pardon?”

  “She won’t be happy about this. But no, she can’t come. Her passport expired a couple of months ago, and she forgot to renew it.”

  “Ah. I shall let you go. I am sure you need to prepare.”

  “I do. Thank you.”

  “I wish this were better circumstances, but yes, I shall meet you at the airport and take you straight to see him first. Time is short.”

  “I understand.”

  Once Tyler ended the call, he sat back in his chair and studied the room. He wasn’t looking forward to the early morning wake-up to make his flight out of Kennedy.

  And he was looking even less forward to how upset he knew Nevvie would rightfully feel.

  Chapter Five

  Tyler finished packing everything except what he’d be wearing tomorrow and would need for his shower, set up a wake-up call with the front desk, set his alarm on his phone as a backup, laid down, and then closed his eyes.

  His phone rang.

  He didn’t even look at the display when he answered. “Hello, angel.”

  There was a hesitation. “Um, Mr. Paulson?”

  Bollocks! “Crystal, I’m terribly sorry. I’m expecting a call from my wife and didn’t look at the phone before I answered.” He did not have the energy to deal with her tonight.

  “Oh. Oh, that’s all right. I wanted to know if I could come by in the morning and ride to the airport with you so we could discuss numbers, and—”

  “I’m sorry, no. Absolutely not. I have a lot on my plate at this moment, and I will be moving too quickly and be in no mood to talk.”

  Not to mention he didn’t want to deal with her. He gave the girl points for tenacity and dedication, but this was ridiculous. “I really need to go, my wife is calling this time. Thank you for everything you did to arrange this trip. Very admirable. Good-bye.” He hung up, not feeling bad about the lie.

  His phone rang almost immediately. He looked at the screen this time before answering. “Hello, angel.”

  Nevvie sighed. “Don’t you ‘hello, angel’ me, buster.” But she didn’t sound…enraged.

  That was encouraging.

  “I have to do this.”

  “Why? He’s not a part of our lives.”

  “Because he’s dying. What is our mantra?”

  She made a grumbling noise. “Don’t spit in the face of good fortune,” she mumbled.

  “And who was the one running off to Wyoming to sit at the bedside of a dying woman she claimed she hated? When pregnant with twins, no less?”

  “We didn’t know I was pregnant then, much less with twins, so that doesn’t count.”

  “Well?”

  “You weren’t happy about it.”

  “I was worried about you, but once you declined my offer to fly in, did I not give you space to do what you felt you needed to?”

  “Yes,” she muttered.

  “Didn’t Thomas and I prove to be supportive and loving, because we knew you needed the closure?”

  She sighed. “Yes.”

  “Thomas will be with me. I shall be fine, love. Marcus is an old man. I cannot in good conscience not go talk with him.”

  “Why can’t I go?”

  “Because someone didn’t renew their passport like I told them to, or else someone would have been booked on the flights with us.”

  “Fuck.” Her tone sounded darker by the moment. “You want to tell me you told me so now, or later?”

  “I’d rather not say it at all. I’m sorry to be popping off like this, and taking Thomas with me. I owe you, angel. Don’t think I don’t know how lucky we are to have you.”

  She blew out a long breath. “Yeah, well, I expect the pampered sex-pet treatment from you when you get home.”

  “I believe Thomas has already called dibs on putting me in slave mode, so you will hear no arguments from me.”

  “Okay. Get some sleep, sweetie. Love you.”

  “Love you, too. Are the children upset?”

  “No, but all they heard is ‘dying guy Dad used to know,’ and that pretty much threw the vote to them supporting you going to deal with this.”

  “We’re blessed. They are amazing.”

  “Yeah. Please be careful, all right?”

  “I’m guessing you aren’t meaning specifically with Marcus.”

  “No. I’m not insecure. Duh. I…are you feeling all right?”

  “Yes, love. I dare say I’ll be in better shape than Thomas. Make sure he brings his pain meds, right?”

  “Oh, good point. Let me go help him pack if you want him wearing clothes that match.”

  Finally, something to chuckle about. “Thank you, love. Good night.”

  “Night, sweetie.”

  Closing his eyes, he tried to go to sleep and not think about that night so many years ago, or an Ybor City nightclub.

  The night his mind was truly opened, and there had been no turning back.

  Not for him, leastways.

  * * * *

  Tyler had several moments of panic the next morning, between traffic snarls and a long airport check-in line, before he finally settled into his first-class seat on the airplane, buckled his seat belt, and closed his eyes.

  He’d already texted Thomas that he was boarded and would soon be underway. Normally when on a flight, he’d pull out a notebook and pen to jot down ideas, or work on his laptop. Or even his tablet, to play sudoku or watch a movie to keep himself calm.

  Today he couldn’t. And when the flight attendant came through for drink orders, he didn’t give a shit what anyone thought when he ordered a cranberry juice and vodka at that time of the morning. Let them think the famous writer was a lush. He’d grabbed two bagels in the terminal once he’d cleared security, so he had a little food in his stomach.

  For now, he needed time to process everything he was going to face. Therefore, he wasn’t too proud to admit he needed a little liquid courage for what he was about to do.

  It wasn’t only because of the mixed emotional bag of topics to deal with regarding Marcus, but it was uncomfortably close to a preview of what he might soon be enduring with his own father. Losing Peggy Kinsey, Thomas’ mother—both his mother-in-law and his father’s wife, as well as a sort of adopted mother to him—had shredded his soul in ways he had not anticipated. He’d been very blessed not to lose many people he was close to through death.

  It would have been easy to tell the attorney no, thank you, have Marcus Skype me and FedEx me the paperwork.

  Except…he couldn’t bring himself to act that coldly.

  To turn his back and simply walk away from the man, even if that was what Marcus had done to him.

  I have the resources and ability to fly there. I refuse to spit in the eye of good fortune. I know I will regret it if I do not go, and I
cannot accept that.

  Maybe he took that to an excessive and borderline obsessive degree, but that was his decision to make. He’d worked bloody hard to get to where they were—all three of them had—and what was the point if not being able to set a good example for their children?

  Although their children would never, of course, know the full extent of his relationship with Marcus.

  Or how Tyler had creatively taken revenge on him over the years, in his books, before the Seattle confrontation and resolution.

  He had a second drink, and after that limited himself to soda water to avoid getting sick. When he deplaned in Atlanta just after ten, he felt more than weary on not only a physical level, but at a soul level, too.

  And perhaps that’s why he didn’t understand what he was seeing at first when, after texting with Thomas to confirm where he was waiting for Tyler, he spotted not just Tom, but Nevvie as well.

  He immediately set down his carry-on and engulfed her in a long, strong hug.

  “My sweet, sweet angel,” he whispered. “What are you doing here?”

  “I drove him over last night and we spent the night. Dad stayed at the house for us and made sure the kids got off to school all right. I stuck him in our bedroom because I didn’t have time to move the crap off the guest bed.” She reached up and played with his goatee. “You didn’t shave it. You threatened to.”

  “I know you love it.”

  She smiled. “Thank you. I really do like it.”

  He stared down into her face. “You are a blessed sight.”

  Tom playfully cleared his throat.

  “As are you, love, but I’m going to be seeing a lot of you shortly.”

  Tom leaned in for a kiss before he reached for Tyler’s carry-on. “Let’s grab your checked bags and get back to the room.”

  “Room?”

  “I booked it for two nights so we wouldn’t have to worry about checking out early,” Nevvie said. “It’s right here at the airport. I figured you’d need some decompression time and would want to grab a shower and some food before you hop a transatlantic flight.”

  He kissed her again. “Bloody brilliant woman, that’s what you are.”

  “Just remember that next time I want retail therapy, Ty.”

  He smiled. “Anytime, angel. Anytime.”

  * * * *

  Nevvie took the carry-on from Tommy, not wanting Tyler to see how badly he was limping, wanting to keep Ty’s focus on her. Tyler would feel pretty damned guilty when he realized Tom hadn’t exactly been truthful to Tyler about his pain levels.

  Something she’d ripped into Tom over when she found out he’d fibbed to Ty, but hey, Tommy was an adult.

  As they made their way down to baggage claim, Nevvie kept her arm hooked through Tyler’s, feeling peaceful and knowing this was one more brief melancholy separation that would soon be over.

  The personal appearances couldn’t be avoided. It was what Ty did for a living. What he earned kept them in a comfortable lifestyle, able to take care of their family.

  Able to do stuff like this.

  She wasn’t happy about the fact that it was Marcus Tyler was going to see, and she never would be, but Tyler was right.

  This was the right thing to do—the adult thing to do—her personal feelings notwithstanding.

  Didn’t mean she’d like them doing it.

  “So who’s this Crystal chick?” Nevvie asked, trying to lighten the mood as they walked. “Do I need to take her one-way skeet shooting or something?”

  Tyler chuckled. “I know you better than that, love.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Tommy said. “Frankly, I think I’m jealous of her. She got to hog you the past two weeks.”

  “Elliot certainly did pick a girl with…energy,” Tyler said. “Was I that frisky at that age, love?”

  He smirked. “Yeah, pretty much. Although you were a little older than that when you caught my ass.”

  “And still you haven’t tired of me yet, sweet?”

  “Not yet.” He snagged Tyler’s other arm and laid his head over on Ty’s shoulder as they walked. “You sick of me yet?”

  “Never, love.”

  Tom didn’t fool Nevvie. He wanted Tyler to slow down a little. As it was, he was having a damned hard time not revealing how badly he was limping. He’d left his cane back in the room because while it was plausible he’d bring it on the trip, just in case, if he brought it when they picked up Tyler, it would tip Ty off.

  Nevvie kept scanning the crowd as they walked. Nervous old habit. In the months after Tyler killed Alex, it seemed Tyler couldn’t leave the house without a damn photographer jumping out at him. It took the better part of six months for the worst of that publicity to die down. Sixteen years later, they usually didn’t have a problem because of that, but invariably, in airports or shopping malls, someone would recognize Tyler, and there would go the end of what little privacy they had.

  She loved her husband to death, but he never knew when to say no to fans. And he’d stand there for hours taking pictures and signing autographs if someone didn’t say sorry, time’s up.

  That someone was usually her or Tommy.

  She got it, he was grateful to readers for their support, but sometimes she just wanted Tyler, her one-of-two husbands, not Tyler Paulson, bestselling author.

  Like right now.

  They grabbed his two large suitcases off the carousel and made it to the car a few minutes later without being waylaid by fans. Once they were safely in their hotel room, Tyler sank onto the king-sized bed and flopped onto his back.

  “Thank you, loves. Truly. This is…heavenly.”

  Tommy sat next to him. “Don’t get too comfy, buddy. We don’t want to fall asleep.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  “I’ll stay awake,” Nevvie said. “If you two want to take a nap, go ahead. Neither of you will sleep well on the plane tonight.”

  “I don’t suppose they have room service here, do they?”

  “They sure do,” Nevvie said. “What do you want?”

  “A salad or something, please.” He kicked off his shoes without sitting up and left them where they fell. “I need to repack.”

  “I’ll do that for you,” Nevvie said as she perused the room service menu. “You just lie there and look pretty.”

  Tyler snorted. “Pretty?”

  “That’s what I said, that’s what I meant.”

  “And I even remembered the power converters,” Tom said.

  Tyler groaned. “I totally forgot about those, thank you. See? What would I do without the two of you?”

  Tom stretched out next to Tyler, an arm draped over him, his head tucked against Tyler’s shoulder. “That Crystal chick tries to take you away from us again for that long, I’m liable to call Elliot myself and get her fired.”

  “I already discussed that with her and Elliot, love.”

  “Good,” Nevvie said. “I’m not going to tolerate you getting run ragged.”

  Once Nevvie put in the food order for all of them, she set about unpacking and repacking Tyler’s luggage so he could get by with one suitcase and she could take the stuff he wouldn’t need home with her. By the time Nevvie had finished repacking for him, their food had arrived. They spread out on the bed with the TV on, eating without talking, a comfortable quiet.

  She loved her men, her sweet love gods, as she’d always called them. They didn’t need to talk, any of them, to just be together.

  Once they finished eating, she collected their trays and set them in the hall outside. Securely locked in their room again, she straddled Tyler on the bed and started unbuttoning his shirt.

  “How about a shower, stranger.”

  He smiled. “Are you trying to molest me, madam?”

  “Maybe. Are you in a being molested kind of mood?”

  “I believe I could be persuaded, love.” He looked over at Tommy, who lay stretched out next to him. “How about you?”

  Tommy smiled. “Nah, I’m good.
Like you said, I’ll get you to myself for a few days. Go have some shower fun, and then let’s cuddle for a little while. I took a shower before we picked you up.”

  Nevvie climbed off Tyler and held out her hand. “Come on, sweetie.”

  “How can I resist my angel?”

  They got nekkid, as Tommy liked to say, and headed into the bathroom. In the shower, Tyler pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She loved the goatee and mustache, the way it felt against her flesh. He’d only had it for six months, started more as a playful dare when she remarked how she’d never seen him with facial hair.

  Once it’d grown in, she’d discovered it had pleasant…benefits.

  Especially when he went down on her. The feel of it caressing her flesh as his tongue and lips did delicious things to her clit and pussy felt amazing.

  Under the hot spray, he kissed his way down her jaw, to her neck, lower. He cupped her breasts in his hands and started working back and forth, licking and sucking her nipples, driving her crazy in all the good ways.

  Tangling her fingers in his short hair, she stroked his head. “Not fair Tommy gets to hog you,” she teased. “Worse, leaving me alone with the twin beasties. I might not survive.”

  “I shall make it up to you, angel. I promise.”

  “You’d better.” She tugged him up for another kiss, feeling his cock harden against her body. She reached down with one hand and wrapped her fingers around his member, slowly stroking him.

  “You can still control me so easily, sweet.”

  “I hope so, buster.”

  To be honest, Nevvie thought there wouldn’t be any way he’d feel in the mood to fool around, between his exhaustion and the circumstances.

  I should have had more faith in our evil genius.

  Tyler and Tommy both had a magic way with her body. Just looking into his blue eyes, she felt her cunt grow wet, her clit already throbbing in anticipation of feeling his mouth on her, the gentle scratch of his whiskers on tender flesh.