He reached for her, wanting to shake some sense into her stubborn head. She easily sidestepped him, putting the car between them as a barrier.
“You might be bigger, but I’m fast. Fast.” She savored the word. “Isn’t that what they call a woman who gives it up easily? I certainly was fast with you. How long did it take you to get into my pants? I was an eager little virgin, ripe for the picking. Well, you might have been the first but there have been plenty since.”
“Is this what you need? Will it make you feel better to throw the names of your lovers in my face?” He yelled the words hoping sheer volume would relieve some of the pressure building in him. Not even close.
“Lovers? Who said anything about love? I liked some of them, a lot of them. Others were just convenient. For instance, Niall. The Scots do have a way about them. And then there was Forrest. Do you know he was an actual lumberjack? How funny is that?”
“That’s it.”
It would have been fruitless to chase her around the car so instead he went over. It happened so quickly Tyler didn’t have time to do more than gasp. One second, there was almost three tons of steel between them; next, she had over two hundred pounds of angry male in her face. He might have been intimidating. Even though she topped off at five-nine in her bare feet, Drew took her by another five inches. That wasn’t going to make her back down. She had just made him angry; she’d been nursing her bad mood for ten years.
“What are you going to do? Hit me? Shake me until my teeth rattle? You outweigh me by almost a hundred pounds. Go on and show me what a big man you are. I dare you.”
He would never physically hurt her. She knew it. There really was no intimidation factor when the threat of violence was off the table. There was something he could do.
Tyler was prepared for more words, not being flung over his shoulder. Before she could protest, Drew threw open her car door and dumped her inside.
“Go home. I’m not going to fuck you so there’s nothing for you here.”
He slammed the door before heading back towards the house.
The hell if she was going to let him have the last word. Tyler fumbled with her keys, finally getting them into the ignition giving her power to lower her window.
“I didn’t even make a dent in that list.”
Tyler felt a sick kind of satisfaction when Drew stopped. From where she sat, she could see the muscles in his back bunch. He didn’t turn, she wanted him to turn, so she gave another dig.
“I could start ranking them for you. Aren’t you curious if you made the top ten?”
This time it was his fist that clenched. Still, he stayed facing the house.
“You know—”
“Goddamn it. Go. Now. And don’t come back. I mean it, Ty.”
Stunned, she silently watched him enter the house, closing the door with a click, not a slam.
She tried once, twice to start the car. It took a third try before she realized her hand was shaking. His words hadn’t upset her. She welcomed his fury. It was what he called her that had her barely able to get the car moving in the direction of town.
Ty. No one ever called her that, not if he wanted to live. Her name was Tyler, no nicknames. She let Drew get away with it because when he said, Ty, it always sounded like a caress. Or that was what she used to tell herself. Silly, teenage fancy.
How dare he use it now? He had no right, not anymore. It took her back to the first time. Tyler hated remembering and yet the memories came. It wasn’t after their first kiss. The one she initiated. No, he first called her Ty after their second kiss. Dazzling, breathtaking. The moment Tyler Jones fell in love the Drew Harper.
CHAPTER SIX
ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER
TYLER FOUND BIRTHDAYS to be odd occasions. At least hers were. Mom always made a fuss. Cake, presents. When Tyler was younger, neighborhood kids would be invited.
It was the only day out of the year she could count on her father to make an effort. Pleasant and friendly, somehow he pulled both things off without it seeming fake or forced. This was the father she longed for. When she was six or ten or even thirteen, she looked forward to the man he became every twenty-third of July.
Now, at the ripe old age of sixteen, she hated it. It was cruel. In her darker moments, she wondered if he did it deliberately. Like he was taunting, giving her a brief glimpse of what she would never have.
This morning she didn’t have to worry about that. Her father was out of town on business. Even better, M.J. and Kyle had bummed a ride with friends to The Gorge.
Considered one of the most scenic concert destinations in the world, it was located almost halfway between Spokane and Seattle. Boasting views of the Columbia River on one side and the Cascades on the other, people flocked there every summer, drawn by a variety of musical acts, both current and classic. Tyler couldn’t imagine how her brothers could afford tickets to see Steely Dan, but she didn’t complain. Any time she had a few days sibling-free, she was happy.
She spent the morning with her mother. Birthday pancakes were a tradition. She opened her presents. A lavender-colored blouse and art supplies. High-end art supplies.
“Mom.”
Tyler was giddy with excitement. A sketchbook, oil paints. The charcoal alone must have cost a pretty penny. She looked at her mother. The love and pride shining from her eyes made Tyler bite back the protest she had planned on making.
Anita Jones enjoyed giving her daughter the tools that would help her live out her dreams. She only wished it were possible to do more. As it was, it had taken almost a year to save up for these few items. She started saving right after Tyler’s last birthday.
Sweet sixteen. How was it possible her baby was almost a woman? She looked again. No, she was a woman. In the blink of an eye, the little girl had grown into someone any mother would be proud of. Beautiful inside and out.
Anita choked back the tears knowing Tyler wouldn’t appreciate an emotional scene. How could she explain to her daughter the combination of feelings she had swirling inside. Happiness warred with sorrow knowing Tyler would soon be gone.
They never spoke of the future after high school, but Tyler’s yearning for something outside of Harper Falls was almost palpable. When the time came, she would see her girl off with blessings and no regrets. For now, she would savor the time they had left.
“Thanks.”
Tyler hugged her mother. They were both slender, all the women on her maternal side ran towards thin. Anita was borderline gaunt. In the long run, she knew it wouldn’t make a difference, but for one morning, Tyler was determined to try and fatten her mother up.
“Sit and eat with me.”
“Oh, honey, I have so much to do. The church bazaar is in a few weeks and I have a whole basket of mending to catch up on.”
“It’s my birthday. I get one wish, remember? Mine is to have you share my special breakfast.”
“When you put it that way.”
Tyler smiled. It turned out to be the best birthday morning ever.
She spent the next six hours weeding Mrs. Bradshaw’s garden, mowing Mr. Eastman’s yard, and washing the Cyprus twins’ windows. Tomorrow morning, Dani and Rose would be with her for a bigger job down on Swan Lane; today she was on her own. Her get-out-of-town fund was growing bit by bit. If one of the scholarships she planned on applying for came through, in two years she would be out of Harper Falls, no looking back.
“Tyler Jones.”
Lottie Cyprus waved at her from the porch. Sweaty, her once clean fuchsia colored t-shirt streaked with dirt, Tyler waved back. She was just finishing the last window. Twenty in all, they sparkled like diamonds giving her pride for a job well done. Be on time, do it right the first time, and stick by the motto the customer is always right meant return business. And big tips.
“Morning, Ms. Lottie.” Tyler glanced at her old Timex. “Afternoon. Wow, the day is really flying by.”
Only two hours until Drew. Today it would have to be an abbreviated visit.
That evening, Dani and Rose were taking her out for dinner followed by a sleepover at Dani’s house. Mrs. Wilde always made some outrageously delicious cake, then the three friends would hunker down for a marathon of Indiana Jones. They almost never made it to the fourth one. Just as well, it sucked.
Then, groggy from too much sugar and too little sleep, they would stagger to Dani’s room where they had spent so many nights together. It was silly to get choked up over bunk beds, yet Tyler felt a little teary. Two more years, she reminded herself. Not tomorrow.
She couldn’t deny things were changing. Soon, she would tell her friends about Drew. Almost a month since that first meeting on the bridge. Was it wrong to want to keep it to herself a bit longer? The secrecy made it all the more exciting.
“Tyler? I’ve called out three times, dear. Is the heat getting to you?”
“Sorry, Ms. Lottie.”
She put down the bucket of dirty water and sprinted over to the porch.
“How are you today? I hope you’ve stayed off your ankle like Dr. Romoray told you.”
Lottie Cyprus was all of five-foot-nothing though Tyler suspected when push came to shove, she fudged and added a few inches. Tiny but tough, that’s what she called herself.
She and her identical twin sister, Dottie had lived in the same house in Harper Falls their entire lives. It was a huge, rambling two-story building. No particular style, it was located in what was called no man’s land. Not north with the mansions, not in Harper Falls proper. The Cyprus family had money with a small m, not a capital one.
With no boys to inherit and carry on the family name, the twins made a pact. They would only marry if the man agreed to change his name to theirs and live in the ancestral home. Born there, married there, gave birth in one of the downstairs bedrooms. Each had buried two husbands. Now in their nineties and blessed with vitality and good health, they enjoyed visits from a combined seven children and nineteen grandchildren. Great-grandchild number seven was due next month. Great-great-grandchild number three a few months after that.
“You are so sweet, always asking after my and Dottie’s health. Your mother raised you right.”
“She sure tried.”
Lottie laughed, showing a set of strong, white teeth. They weren’t the ones God gave her, but they were hers, bought, and paid for.
“You have a fire in you, Tyler Jones. That’s a good thing; don’t you dare let anyone tell you different.”
“They tell me all the time. I just don’t listen.”
“That a girl. Here, take this glass of lemonade. Made fresh this morning.”
Tyler drank every drop, the cold, tart liquid sweetened to perfection. There was nothing better on a hot day. At the moment, Tyler felt like she could have guzzled a gallon of it. But like Ms. Lottie said, her mother raised her right. One glass was polite; she didn’t ask for more.
“Thank you.”
Instead of handing back the glass, Tyler escorted the old lady through the front door, waving at Ms. Dottie, who was knitting and watching The Price Is Right, and into the kitchen. It was like stepping through time. Original everything kept in pristine condition. Not her style. Tyler liked things more modern. She admired it though. As an artist, she found beauty in the past as well as the present.
“Now you be on your way.”
Ms. Lottie settled herself at the kitchen table and started shucking peas picked right out of her own garden. Her slightly gnarled hands fast and sure.
“I imagine you have a young man waiting for you.”
“What makes you say that?” Was Ms. Lottie hinting at something? No. She couldn’t know anything. Could she?
“A pretty young woman like you? It would be a crime if you didn’t have a string of boys clamoring for your attention.”
“No time. You take care. I’ll be back next week to deadhead your rose garden.”
Sighing with relief, Tyler waved goodbye, exiting out the back door. She put the bucket and cleaning supplies away before grabbing her bike and heading home for a quick shower and something to eat. Fifteen minutes later, her clothes were in a heap by her bed and cool water was running in a blissful stream over her body.
So far her birthday had been pitch perfect. Great breakfast, productive and lucrative morning. Talking with Ms. Lottie was always a kick. And now a refreshing shower followed by the turkey sandwich her mother left in the fridge.
So why wasn’t she smiling? Because of that one moment of panic she felt when she thought someone knew about her and Drew. One innocent comment from a friendly old lady had cast a tiny little shadow over her bright sunny day.
If she were a girl from Harper Academy, there would be no need to hide their friendship. If he were just a boy from Harper High, no one would blink an eye. Just last fall, she went on a date with a boy whose parents had money. They hadn’t seemed to mind. Why were she and Drew such a bad combination?
She didn’t have to think very long or hard about the answer. She was a nobody and Drew wasn’t just rich. He was the crown prince. Heir to the Harper empire, he would carry on the family line. Someone like that did not dally with someone like her. What if, God forbid, the unthinkable happened? The mixing of their bloodlines would irrevocably sully the Harper name.
Tyler reached for a towel, fashioning it into a twisted turban for her wet hair. She grabbed another towel and dried off. When she caught a glimpse of herself in the foggy mirror, she stopped. This is the freaking twenty-first century, she wanted to scream. Hadn’t the lines between the haves and have-nots blurred enough to let a couple of teenagers be friends? Maybe more? Hell, Prince William had dated a commoner. Why couldn’t a Harper date a Jones?
Because, Regina Harper would spontaneously combust and burn down the whole town with her.
The whole thing was ridiculous and a bit exhausting. Tyler didn’t care if they needed to keep their meetings a secret. As long as Drew wasn’t ashamed of their friendship, she didn’t care about anything else. She was ninety-nine percent certain he would agree with her assessment.
She pulled on a pair of clean shorts and a t-shirt tie-dyed in orange and blue. For her peace of mind, she needed to be one hundred percent positive. But how?
The answer was a simple one. She would ask him.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TYLER”
Tyler gasped, spinning to find Drew sitting on the group of rocks just inside their little cove. He never got there before her. Today he was waiting, so handsome in his khaki board shorts and clean white t-shirt. His skin sported a golden summer tan making his brown eyes appear even richer than usual. Tousled, as always, his dark hair was streaked with bits of blond, naturally achieved by the hours he worked in the blazing July sun.
Drew found a summer job just outside of town at a local farm. He called himself an odds and ends guy. Any little thing that needed doing, from moving irrigation pipe to washing the dog, he did it. Because of the heat, his boss rarely required him to work past one or two in the afternoon.
“You’re early.”
And he knew it was her birthday. For some reason, the two events combined to make her a little nervous. Then there was that third thing. The question she needed to ask.
“Busted water line and a broken finger.”
“You’re hurt?”
Tyler’s gaze quickly searched out his hand, looking for any injury.
“Not me.” He held up his hands, wiggling ten digits, all in perfect working order. “Dave Stern, owner of the farm. He managed to pretty much crush the index finger on his left hand while trying to fix the broken pipe. His wife rushed him to the hospital and gave me the rest of the day off.”
He hopped from his seat to take her into his arms. It was still so new. There was an intimacy between them now. One kiss and everything had changed. Tyler liked it — a lot. She’d never known a boy before who could make her feel this way, all tingly; so aware of her body. The closest she came was reading a steamy romance novel. Hot sex scenes stirred up her body and fueled her imagination.
This was the first time she had experienced those feelings because of another person.
She felt hot and cold at the same time. Her heart raced; her mouth suddenly dry.
Tyler was sixteen years old. She was growing up during the computer age where curiosity was easily satisfied. With a website for everything under the sun, teens no longer had to wait for their parents to fill them in or rely on sketchy information from their peers. Any kid with a laptop knew what was what. Sex was no mystery to Tyler, at least not the mechanics of it. She knew how things worked, what went where. The biology of why her body reacted the way it did; she knew that too.
She quickly discovered that there was a world of difference between knowing and feeling. She had the body of a young woman. Her experience lagged way behind.
Tyler gazed up into Drew’s eyes and like always, her nerves melted away. Sweet. He had the sweetest expression. How could she have any doubts when he looked at her that way?
“I repeat. Happy Birthday, Tyler.”
“How did you know?”
“I told you. I’m good with computers. Your school records contain your date of birth.”
Tyler’s gray eyes widened. “You hacked into Harper High’s computer system?”
“Hacked is such an ugly word.” Drew shrugged, a half-smile on his lips. “It shouldn’t apply when the interested party means no harm. I wasn’t changing grades or messing with anything important. I just needed a teeny bit of information.”
“You could have asked me.”
“Then I would have missed that look on your face.”
“What look?” Tyler demanded, teasing right back. “I have a look?”
“Mmm.” Drew traced a finger along her hairline, trailing across her cheek. “Wide-eyed surprise. Then a touch of embarrassment, followed by cautious delight.”
“Wow, I had no idea I was such an open book.”
“Not open, never that. I’ve made a point of studying you. Don’t worry.” Drew chuckled. “I’m not even close to knowing all your secrets. I know how ladies like to be mysterious.”
If You Only Knew (Harper Falls #3) Page 9