by Desiree Holt
“Let’s not get confrontational before we have to.” Rafe’s voice smoothed out the wrinkles in the air. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told your father. We have important things to discuss, so let’s try to approach everything like the reasonable adults we are.”
“I’m reasonable,” she told him. “I’m a very reasonable person.” Not. She pointed a finger at Kurt. “Much more than he is.”
“Why don’t we just wait until we all have our coffee,” Rafe said in a mild tone. “Okay?”
Tyler drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Fine,” she spat out.
“Fine,” her father said.
An uncomfortable silence wrapped itself around them as Tyler rinsed her mug and set out two others then stood aside so the men could choose their poison from the carousel of single-serving cups.
“Help yourselves.” She waved a hand at the setup.
Filled mugs in hand, they waited for her to seat herself before taking their places at the table.
“Okay,” she said. “You came here to talk? Talk away.”
“I thought,” Rafe began, “that—”
But Kurt interrupted him. “Let me take the lead here, Rafe. I’ve put you in a difficult enough situation as it is.”
Tyler frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean? And yes, by the way, you have.”
Her father gave her a direct look. “It means Rafe came to me with his concerns, and based on that I’m the one who insisted on this visit.” He cleared his throat then looked down at his coffee mug. “I think we can all agree that I leave a lot to be desired in the parent department,” he began.
Wow! That was a shock. A big one.
Tyler snorted. She tightened the cloak of snarkiness. That was her only defense, the only way she could get through this. “No shit.”
Rafe put his hand on her arm, as if to settle her down. She yanked it away, but not before his touch scorched her and made her nipples swell like gumdrops.
“Hear him out,” he said. “Please.”
Too late, she wanted to say. Way too late. But they were here, they were drinking coffee, so she might as well listen. At least her curiosity about the visit would be satisfied.
Kurt took a healthy slug of his coffee. “Like I said, I won’t ever win parent of the year. I made a lot of mistakes, Tyler, when you were little and again when you were growing up. I know that.” He rubbed his jaw. “The reasons don’t matter. Let’s just leave it that I’ve been a lousy parent.”
“True enough,” she agreed, unable to keep the tinge of bitterness from her voice.
“But here’s the thing,” he went on, as if she hadn’t spoken. “Lately I’ve realized just how badly I screwed up.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, as if he could wash away the past years. “I know you probably won’t believe me, but I worry about you, Tyler. I see all the stories in the media. I hear stuff.”
“Oh?” she interrupted. “From who? Your country club cronies? Is that what this is all about? You’ve finally decided I’ve embarrassed you too much to ignore?”
“Tyler,” Rafe said in a placating tone.
“It’s okay,” Kurt interrupted him. “I deserve it. Let’s just get to the point. I worry that you’re putting yourself in danger. That stuff gets out of hand. Now this new thing.” He rubbed his face again. “Rafe came to me this morning and told me—”
“What gave you the right so go to my father?” Now her anger came surging to the surface and she practically shouted the words at Rafe, outraged. “After I specifically asked you—no, told you—not to do it?”
“Who else would he go to?” Kurt demanded. “You’re in trouble, so he came to me.”
“Maybe if you acted like a father it would make sense.” She glared at Rafe. “Are you nuts? That is a total violation of my privacy.”
“You don’t seem to worry about privacy much with your hijinks,” Kurt snapped, his face turning red.
Rafe gave him a hard look. “That attitude is not going to help things.”
“That’s the truth.” Tyler pushed her chair back and stood up. “And that right there,” she told Rafe, “is why I don’t talk to him and why I don’t want him here. Or you. So you can just leave right now.”
“No.” He shook his head, his voice calm and steady, despite the tension that rolled through the room in heavy waves. “Kurt, we discussed this. You wanted to be able to reach out to your daughter. You won’t do it that way, so let me handle things the way we agreed.”
Kurt took a deep breath, visibly pulling himself together. Tyler was torn between wanting to throw him out and curious as to why, after all this time, he suddenly wanted to reach out to her. It had to be more than this problem. He could have just sent someone to talk to her. Like Rafe.
“We’re going to discuss this because there is a serious problem.” Rafe looked at Kurt. “You told me you’re worried about your daughter. That’s why you wanted to come here. I’m worried, too. Tyler.” He looked at her, his warm fingers still curled over her arm. “You’re not stupid. You know this situation is nothing to laugh about, so we’re going to figure out what to do about it.”
“But—”
“No buts. I mean it. This is nothing to fool around with.” His tone of voice said he meant it. “Now. First things first. Like I said, I told your father about the phone calls and the tire incident. I’m going to assume those flowers are from whoever this is. Has he done this before?”
She thought about lying but then who was she hurting except herself? In point of fact, the reason she was even sitting here listening to this discussion was because the text earlier had rattled her.
“Yes.” She swallowed a sigh. “Several times.” She lifted a shoulder and let it drop. “I thought it was Nate. He was bombarding me when we first split up.”
“That jackass.” Kurt spat the words. “I don’t know why you ever—”
“Kurt.” Rafe snapped the word out like a gunshot. “We agreed, remember?”
“Yeah,” the older man grumbled. “Okay. Keep doing your thing.”
“Any more calls or texts?” Rafe asked Tyler.
“A text. Today.” She looked down at her lap.
“What?” Her father barked the question. “You should have told us the minute we walked in. You should—”
“Remember what you agreed,” Rafe reminded him again. His voice was still calm when he spoke to Kurt but there was an underlying core of steel to it that said he meant business.
Kurt blew out a breath, then took a hefty gulp of his coffee.
“Let me see the phone,” Rafe told Tyler.
She handed it to him, hoping he wouldn’t notice the faint trembling of her hand. He brought up the text and read it wordlessly.
“Well?” Kurt asked, barely tamping down his impatience.
“Just as I thought. This is a good sign that he’s escalating. The fact that he actually came here, to this town house, to wreck the tires means he’s not afraid to get close.”
“Then we need to take precautions,” Kurt said. “Put safeguards in place.” He looked at Tyler. “You need protection. A bodyguard.”
Her automatic reaction was to object although with the latest text message, an indication that whoever this was seemed to be following her around, even she could see that she needed something. But the idea of a bodyguard turned her off, the same way it had when Rafe brought it up. Someone in her space all the time? And with her father, the absentee parent involved? She didn’t know which choice was worse. Still, she wasn’t giving in that easily.
“No,” she insisted. “I told you that the first time you brought it up. That won’t work. Find another solution.”
“Tyler, I—” Kurt stopped, cleared his throat and looked at her across the table. “I don’t scare easily, but when Rafe came to me this morning and told me what’s going on, I was afraid for you. I’m not ashamed to say the thought of someone stalking you makes my skin crawl.”
“So you thought after all this time you’d pop into my life, wave your magic wand, and wipe your hands of me again?” God, he was so insufferable. She’d be angrier if all this didn’t just bring up the hurt she’d nurtured for so many years.
“So I have a solution. We have a solution,” he corrected himself.
She looked at Rafe and saw him nodding. So the two of them had figured this all out without her?
“And the solution is the bodyguard,” he went on.
Rafe nodded. “I agree.”
“And Rafe?” Kurt looked at him. “That should be you.”
“What?” Tyler shouted the word at the same time Rafe did.
Rafe recovered first. “Now wait just a minute, Kurt. You need someone who specializes in this, not me. The agency has a lot of good men it can provide.”
“You’re the only person I’d trust to do this,” the older man said. “Whatever needs to be done, I have confidence you can figure it out.”
“And what about my other responsibilities?” he protested. “The team and the stadium? I can’t just walk away from them.” He glanced at the man next to him. “This is a really bad idea, Kurt.”
“But you agreed she needs a bodyguard.”
Rafe nodded. “Just not me.”
Kurt shrugged. “There are ways to work it out.”
“Like what?” Rafe and Tyler demanded, again as with one voice.
“I refuse to have anyone from the team involved with me.” Tyler spoke each word distinctly and clearly. “I want you to understand that.”
“You can do some rearranging in your staff setup,” Kurt told Rafe as if Tyler hadn’t even spoken. “Figure out how often you really have to be on site. What you need your stadium office for and what can be done from a remote location. Right?”
“Not right.” Tyler slammed her hands on the table. “That will just not work. Did you even hear what I said? No one from the Hawks. Especially not one of your precious football players.”
Rafe gave her a half smile. “I retired three years ago.”
“I don’t care.” She stuck out her jaw. “It’s not happening. It’s my life.”
But again her father went right on as if neither of them had said a word. “Rafe, you can set up a temporary office here in the town house, right?”
Tyler felt the indignation bubbling up inside her. An office here? In her home? How dare they?
“Move in here?” Tyler wanted to scream in frustration. Wasn’t anyone listening to her? “No. No one from the team and no one moving in with me.”
“I asked because if you’re going to move in here,” Kurt continued, still ignoring her words, “you need to have an office to work from.”
“I keep saying it’s not happening,” she snapped. “Forget it. I mean it, both of you. I’ll take care of things myself. I don’t need anyone moving into this place with me. No. The answer is no. And may I just say a big fat no.”
“And exactly how will you do that?” Rafe asked, his voice the calm in the storm of anger surging in the air. “Take care of yourself, that is.”
“I-I’ll—” She waved a hand in the air. Yes, what would she do? But she wasn’t going to admit to them she had no idea.
“Exactly.”
At that precise moment, as if to remind her that the problem was very real, her phone blasted the now too familiar drumbeat. Tyler took it out of her pocket to answer, but Rafe grabbed it from her hand.
“Not so fast. I need to check it first.” He looked at the readout. “Who’s Betsy?”
“Oh, for the love of God. She’s my best friend. And harmless. Give me the phone.” She pressed Answer. “Hi, Bets. I’m a little tied up right now. Let me call you back, okay?” She slammed the phone down on the table and glared at the two men.
“Tyler.” Kurt leaned across the table toward her. “Curse me all you want. I probably deserve it. But no matter how terrible a parent I’ve been, I can’t stand the thought of something bad happening to you. Maybe it—” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s a chance for me to try and make up to you for all the other years.”
She looked at him with curiosity. What the hell? “Really? Can I just ask you why now, all of a sudden?”
He drained his coffee mug, taking his time as if gathering his thoughts. “Maybe when all this is over for you and we can sit down and talk, I can tell you. Right now, I don’t want to take the time confessing my sins. It’s important to me to make sure my daughter is protected from some maniac.”
It was pathetic how badly she wanted to believe him, to accept that fact that maybe he was changing. That he wasn’t resenting her as a daughter rather than a son any more. That maybe, after all this time, they could have a relationship.
Don’t be a fool. He just doesn’t want the bad publicity if something happens and he could have stopped it.
“I hear you, but you have to listen to me. I don’t need or want a babysitter twenty-four/seven. Period.”
“Tyler.” Rafe put his hand on her arm again.
Oh, Lord. Having this man staying in her house, if she agreed to it, was going to be a temptation she might not be able to resist. Or it just might be the opportunity to convince him they should get naked together. A chance for her to see if this thing that simmered between them was more than pure lust. Hmm. Maybe she should rethink this whole thing.
She looked from one man to the other. “Okay. I have a question.”
“What?” Kurt asked.
“What is it?” Rafe asked at the same time.
“What happens on the days Rafe has to be at the stadium, like on game days?” She shifted her gaze to Kurt. “I can’t see you letting someone else oversee that.”
“No problem. You’ll just come with him.”
Tyler jerked upright in her chair. “To the stadium? To a football game?”
Rafe actually laughed. “In case you hadn’t heard, that’s where the games are played. You might actually enjoy it.”
“Not for one second.” She blinked. “Wait. Are you saying you’re actually going for this? You’re moving into my house for…for…who knows how long?”
“I didn’t say that. Yet.” He looked at Kurt. “I still think this is a really bad idea. A full-time bodyguard from Lone Star would be a better bet.”
“I want someone I know personally,” Kurt told him, “not just some muscle-bound idiot. You want me to pull rank? Okay, if you don’t do this, I’ll pull the whole contract with Lone Star.”
Tyler’s jaw dropped. “Don’t be ridiculous. That’s idiotic. And I won’t let you put Rafe in that position.” She scowled. “You can throw your weight around with your players but not with me. And I won’t let you do it with Rafe.”
“Okay, stop.” Rafe held up a hand. “Is this an ideal situation? No. Is it critical? Tyler, you have to agree that it is. So, Kurt, if you’re willing to cut me some slack in some areas, I think we can work this out.”
Kurt smiled and leaned back in his chair. “I love it when a plan comes together.” Then he looked from Rafe to Tyler and back again. “Tyler, you do everything he tells you, exactly as he tells you. Your safety comes first.”
“But—”
“She will,” Rafe broke in. “She knows this guy can be dangerous.” He slid a glance at her. “Right, Tyler?”
She slumped in her chair, all the fight suddenly drained from her, replaced by the fear that had niggled at her since this started. He was right, that she had to admit. “Right.” She spat the word out grudgingly.
“Good.” Kurt rubbed his hands together. “Excellent.” He gave Tyler a smile. “Maybe I can make up a little for the past.”
She wanted to tell him he’d have a boatload of making up to do, but she was already tired of this conversation. She didn’t even have any idea what had brought all this on, and she wasn’t even sure she trusted it. If there was one bright spot, it was the fact that Rafe would be here, with her, in her home. And maybe s
he could finally fulfill her secret fantasies.
Before she could get over the shock of his words, her cell phone chimed, signaling another text incoming. She reached to pick it up, but Rafe put a hand on her wrist and shook his head.
“Let me.”
He brought the message up on the screen, scowling as he read it.
“What does it say?” Tyler craned her neck trying to see. Her stomach knotted when she got a look at it.
“u don’t need them. u need me.”
“Oh my God.” Fear was a bitter taste in her mouth. “Is he watching me?” She swiveled her head as if he were right there in the room. “Where is he?” She jumped up, knocking her chair over. “Maybe he’s out front.”
Rafe stood up and closed his fingers over her upper arms, holding her in place. As it always did, his touch sent heat coursing through her. How on earth could one man do this to her? And why was she even thinking about that when all this was going on?
“Do not go look outside. If he is there, he’ll see you peering out at him.”
Her pulse thumped at the hollow of her throat. This was more than just heavy-breathing phone calls. Whoever this person was, he was right here. Just as he’d been right here when he’d slashed her tires.
“I can’t believe he could be just sitting there in broad daylight.” She looked up at Rafe. “Could he?”
“I don’t think he’d be parked there.” He gave her arms a light squeeze and stepped away. “That would be too suspicious. You live in a very upscale neighborhood, and I’m guessing anyone home during the day would call the cops on a strange car just hanging around. But he could be cruising the block, pretending to look for an address.”
“I’m stunned no one saw him the other night.”
“It was dark,” he reminded her. “You told me you had your outside lights off. If he’s smart, he could have done this without detection.”
“Okay, we need to move forward.” Kurt Gillette rose from the table. “Rafe, how soon can you get yourself moved in here?”
Rafe blew out a breath. “Let’s see what’s needed. Tyler, do you have a room I can use as an office?”