“Hello, Brian. How is everything?”
“Everything is really good, Tyler. In fact Jack and I have been working with a surrogate to try to have another baby.”
“Brian, that’s wonderful. You and Jack are great parents to Bella and Tina. Another baby is awesome.” Tyler meant it, too.
“Tyler, I need a favor.”
“What do you need, Brian?” Tyler was cautious. He heard the hesitation in Brian’s voice and knew that whatever he needed, it was something big.
“I need you to fly out here and sign some papers.”
Dead silence followed. Tyler had stopped and was standing outside the truck, wishing a big sinkhole would open up and swallow him down.
“Please, Tyler. If something happened to Jack and me, I need to know that the children are cared for. Cade and Bret would take them and raise them if you didn’t want to. But you’re the only one of the family I would let take care of the financial end. We just got word that the surrogate is pregnant and I need everything to be in order before the baby is born. Tyler, I’m the biological father of this baby.”
Tyler wanted to say no with every ounce of his being. But he couldn’t.
“Okay, Brian, I’ll come. But I’m in a relationship now and Graham would have to come with me.” It was a deal-breaker. Tyler really wanted to go to Brian’s without telling Graham where he was going. He never wanted Graham anywhere within a hundred miles of Tony and the stupidity of his actions. But he loved Graham with his heart and soul, and it was time to tell him everything and let him decide if Tyler deserved his mercy or if Graham would kick him out of his life for being the piece of shit he was.
“Is it serious, Tyler?”
“Yeah, Brian, I’m totally in love with him and would fight with everything I have to keep him.”
“All right then, let me know when your plane is scheduled to arrive here.”
With that, the brothers said their good-byes and ended the call. With a heavy heart, Tyler drove back to the ranch.
Chapter Eleven
Graham knew something was bothering Tyler the minute he got home. He received a kiss in greeting and, during supper, a clearly excited Tyler described working with the high school baseball team. But Tyler never once looked him in the eye and even now, his napkin was a shredded mess next to his plate. Finally, dinner was over and the rest of the guys went into the family room to watch television, play pool, or something for a few hours before heading back to the farmhouse.
Graham reached over and lifted Tyler’s hand that was drawing circles on the table. “What’s the matter, honey?”
Tyler looked up at him with such misery in his tear-filled blue eyes, it broke his heart. “Graham, can we go into the bedroom? I have something I have to tell you.”
Graham knew the time had come for Tyler to finally tell him whatever he had been holding back since they had met. He didn’t hesitate in taking a firm hold of Tyler’s hand and pulling him from the table, not stopping until they were standing in the middle of the bedroom.
“Graham, can you sit on the bed and not say anything until I’ve told you everything? Please, this is one of the hardest things I have ever done.”
“Okay, honey.” Graham didn’t let go of Tyler’s hand as he walked over and sat on the bed.
Tyler looked at Graham and said, “I love you.” Then he gently tugged his hand free and took a few steps back way from Graham.
Graham watched as Tyler stood in front of him, just out of reach and looked deeply into his eyes. Then he started speaking. “Up until the moment I met you, my whole life was baseball. I ate, drank, slept, and played baseball. My parents did everything in their power to see to it that I made it to the pros. And when I did become a professional baseball player, they did everything in their power to make sure my career was untarnished the whole way. Except I fell in love with a man named Tony.”
Graham watched Tyler’s face as he described his affair with Tony Grayson. How they had to sneak around and look over their shoulders, worrying that the press would get wind of their love for each other. He listened as Tyler told of his mother’s constant warnings and telling Tyler what he needed to do to keep his career successful. He talked of the deep guilt he felt toward his family, for all they had gone through so he could play ball.
Then Tyler went on to describe how his mother introduced him to a top model named Vanessa and how they both convinced him that he had to be seen with her in public so the press wouldn’t find out about Tony. And with tears running down his cheeks, Tyler told Graham how he took Vanessa into his bed and looked up to see Tony standing in the doorway of the bedroom.
Tyler kept talking, telling Graham that after Brian’s partner had an accident, for some reason his mother backed off on all her nagging at him about his image. He got this idea that if he went and saw Tony, he could convince him that they could be together again, although still in secret. But Tony had seen through Tyler’s bullshit and told him to take a hike. Tyler had watched as Tony had left the table at the restaurant they had been at and walked right into the arms of the biggest, most dangerous man Tyler had ever seen.
Graham watched as the most terrible look of shame overtook Tyler’s face as he went on to say that, after that, he had kept up the charade of being seen with Vanessa. He kept sleeping with her and letting his mother lead him around like a bull with a ring through his nose. And every day he wanted to die, just a little more, until the night of the MVP announcement. That night he knew if he didn’t change things, he was going to go back to his apartment after the party and end his life.
Tyler raised his head that had been hanging in shame and looked at Graham. “I told my mother that she was done running my life. I ended things with Vanessa and literally took my life back right then. And I walked out of that hotel ready to start the next chapter, and the next second it was taken away again. For the next three months, I felt nothing inside, just going through the motions until I saw you in the hospital hallway. A tiny bit of the numbness melted a little more every time I managed to see you.”
Graham took a moment to process what Tyler had told him and what he hadn’t said. He knew the man ultimately took the blame for everything that happened, but Graham was smart enough to know Janice Hayward and the model had their scheming hands in the whole smelly affair.
“Why tell me now?”
“I was so afraid if you found out what a terrible person I was, you would leave me. But my brother Brian called me today and asked me to fly in and sign some papers. He’s going to be a father again and wants the children taken care of if something were to happen to him and Jack.”
“What did you tell him, when he asked you to go there?”
“I said that you would have to come with me or I wouldn’t go.”
“It sounds like you were pretty sure I would agree to go there with you.”
“Graham.” Tyler took a step closer and then stopped. His eyes were pleading with Graham to still love him. “Please, Graham.”
Graham reached for Tyler and pulled him onto the bed and rolled on top of him. Graham kissed Tyler until they both had to come up for air. Then he looked into his beautiful, red-rimmed blue eyes and said, “I love you. Of course I’ll be at your side when we go to your brother’s house. You forgot something big, honey, and for that I may have to redden that sweet ass of yours.”
“What did I forget?”
“You forgot our promise, love, through thick and thin.”
“I love you, Graham.”
“I know you do, honey.” Graham spent the rest of the night proving to Tyler that they were a united team, over and over again.
* * * *
So far, things had been going pretty well at his brother’s house. There had been a few tense moments when they had first arrived. Brian, of course, was his usual sweet self. Jack, on the other hand, was politely cool.
They had taken care of the paperwork right away and then relaxed in the living room, talking and watching Jack and Bria
n’s two little girls toddling around, their baby-soft curls bouncing with every step.
Bella was the more dominating of the twins. She knew what she wanted and when she wanted it. She had latched on to Uncle Tyler, having decided he had to hold all of the toys she brought to him. Tina was happy sitting on Graham’s lap, showing him her special teddy bear and telling him, in mixture of baby talk with a few actual words thrown in, all about it.
“Tyler, how is your arm, really?” Brian asked.
Tyler looked at his brother. Brian had always been the one in the family that was left behind. Born premature with lungs that never fully developed, the words that came to mind to describe him were “small, delicate, and fragile.” With their driven parents and siblings busy striving to live up to expectations, it meant that Brian was usually ignored and spent a lot of time alone. For all of the mistakes of the past, Brian was still looking at Tyler with love and acceptance in his eyes.
“I think it has been healing and getting stronger every day. I’ve been using it to brush the horses on the ranch, and the other day I even managed to pick up a shovel and clean half of one of the horse’s stalls until someone stopped me.” Tyler looked over at Graham with a smile.
“You shouldn’t be pushing it, honey. You ended up having to take a pain pill as it was.”
“It was fine,” Tyler said.
“Hmm.”
Tyler looked over at his brother to find him grinning at him with approval. He smiled back, glad nothing was broken between them.
“I’m glad it’s getting stronger, but is it going to be good enough for you to go back to playing baseball?” Jack asked.
He knew he wasn’t high on the man’s list of favorite people, so Tyler was grateful Jack was at least trying, for Brian’s sake. For that, Tyler was going to give him the honest truth.
“I think, with time, the shoulder would be fine. The elbow is iffy and would need a lot more rehabilitation and maybe another surgery to be at pro-level.” Tyler lifted his misshaped and heavily scarred hand, turning it this way and that. “My hand, as you can see, will never be normal. The biggest question that would need to be answered is, can I compensate enough to play baseball at a professional level?” Looking at Graham first, then Brian, and finally at Jack, he said, “I truly feel the answer is no.”
Brian was out of his chair and across the room in seconds, hugging Tyler tight. “I’m so sorry, Tyler.”
Tyler hugged his brother back. He had come to terms with a lot of things in the last few months. He felt he had grown as a person and was ready to face the future. Of course, he intended to face that future with a certain handsome cowboy that had a few kinks that sometimes rattled his brain.
Leaning back, Tyler looked at his brother. “It’s okay, really. The doctors could tell me next week that they feel, with work, I would be back on the ball field. But if they don’t, I’ve invested wisely and I have time to explore my options. I also have found someone I want to spend as much time with as I can.”
Brian pulled Tyler into another hug and then chuckled. “Does that mean you might have time to find that dog you always wanted?”
Tyler blinked in surprise and looked at Graham, while Brian went over and sat on Jack’s lap.
“Graham, I just realized you have plenty of cats on the ranch, but no dogs. Don’t you like dogs?”
“I like dogs just fine. The last dog we had died of old age about two years ago. We just never replaced him.”
“So, dogs are okay?”
“Yes, dogs are okay.”
Yep, Tyler thought to himself. No matter what happened in the next few weeks, things were going to be okay.
Later that evening the two couples had just finished eating dinner when Graham heard the front door open and a voice call out. “Hey, Jack, I brought those papers you needed from the boss. Are you around?”
Graham watched as Brian turned white and then a little green. Jack looked worried but called back, “We’re in the dining room.”
Graham felt Tyler tense up next to him and saw that his eyes were riveted to the doorway of the dining room. A gorgeous Italian man walked through the doorway, followed by a huge, dangerous-looking man, sporting a military haircut.
When the Italian man saw Tyler, he stopped and stood there, staring at him. “Tyler, what happened to your face?”
When Tyler’s name was spoken, the big man pushed around the Italian, heading toward Tyler with a look of menace in his eyes. At that moment Graham knew he was going to die. Because he would be taking his last breath of life before he let that man get to Tyler.
Tyler stood up from the table with a look of acceptance on his face. Graham didn’t hesitate as he stood and pushed Tyler behind him. Little Brian practically flew around the table and stood in front the big man, putting both hands on his chest stopping him. Graham could see that he hadn’t stopped from any form of strength on Brian’s part, but because it was Brian in front of him.
“This is my house, Shane, and that’s my brother. I know you don’t like that he hurt Tony, but you need to back off.”
“Pip, he needs to be shown the error of his ways.” Graham heard a small sound of distress come from Tyler behind him. Graham was glad his life insurance was up to date. Shane was huge, angry, and scary as hell, and Graham was going to die.
By this time, Jack was at Brian’s side, ready to protect him. Graham watched as the one who must be Tony stepped in between Brian and Shane, running his hands soothingly up and down the big man’s chest. Immediately, arms the size of hams came around Tony and pulled him close, although laser-blue eyes still bore into Tyler.
“You need to back down, big guy. The past is the past, you and I are the future, remember?”
“Let’s all go into the living room and act like adults,” Jack said.
Graham followed Tyler into the living room with Brian and Jack behind him. Tony and Shane were last. Graham had every intention of keeping himself between Tyler and the rest of the group.
Tyler sat down on one of the sofas in the living room, absently touching the slicing scar under his right eye. Since the accident, he had never really thought about it. No one had really made a big deal out of it. Certainly, Graham didn’t seem bothered by it. Actually, he did run a thumb over it or even on occasion his tongue when he was kissing his face. But that had always been out of love. Now he wondered if people didn’t say anything because they didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
“Don’t even go there, honey. The scar is minor and you’re still the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” Graham kissed his cheek right next to the scar. Tyler noticed Graham still looked like he was ready to defend him if necessary. The big guy sitting next to Tony on a sofa across from them had calmed down but was still intimidating as hell just sitting there.
“I’m sorry, Tyler, I was just surprised to see you here,” Tony said.
“No, if anyone in this room is sorry, it’s me. I have a lot to apologize for.” Tyler wished he could tell Tony everything he needed to.
“Damn right you should be sorry.”
“Shane Miller, that’s it. It’s obvious Tyler and I need to talk. Would it be okay if all of you leave the room and let us have five minutes to say what needs to be said?”
“No way in hell.”
“Shane, please.” Tony kissed his lover on the mouth and looked into his eyes for a moment. Tyler could see the second Shane gave in. With a sigh of resignation, he stood up and walked out of the room. Brian and Jack, too, got up and followed.
Graham turned to Tyler and kissed him. “If you need me, just call. You don’t have to be alone anymore. Okay?”
Tyler leaned up and gave Graham one more kiss. “I’ll be fine. I have to do this.”
With a smile and a small brush of his hand on Tyler’s cheek, Graham left the room.
Now the two former lovers sat across from each other, neither knowing how to start.
Taking a deep breath, Tyler said what was in his heart. “Tony, I could
excuse my actions and blame the league, my mother, and all the pressures I was under. But the bottom line is that I treated you very wrongly, and I betrayed you.” Tyler straightened his spine, sitting up straight, fighting the urge to cry with everything he had. At the very least, he owed Tony the words.
“I am deeply sorry. I can’t change the past. All I can do is hope that someday you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”
“I won’t lie, Tyler. What you did hurt me, and it took me a long time just to feel like living again.” With those words, Tyler lost the battle and tears of shame started running down his face.
“But, do you know what happened? Life went on, and eventually I did, too. Then Shane came into my life like a bulldozer and I have never been happier. I can’t say I forgive you, Tyler. But I will say I am on my way to forgiving you.”
“Thank you, Tony.” Tyler meant that with all his heart. It was more than he deserved.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, you can ask me anything.”
“The rumors at first said you were out of baseball, and now some are saying you’re coming back. If you do return, how are you going to handle the cowboy? Even I can see he would never stand being a secret.”
“He wouldn’t be. I’ve made a lot of changes in my life. One of the biggest is that I say what happens in it from now on. Graham is my lover, my partner, and most of all, my everything. Whatever happens from now on, there will be no secrets or hiding.”
“Good for you. I guess we’ve both found what we really needed.” Tony smiled, a look of understanding shining in his eyes.
That was when Tyler noticed the outline of a ring in Tony’s left nipple through his thin T-shirt. He couldn’t help the laughter that burst out of him.
“What?” Tony looked surprised and perplexed for a moment. Then Tyler looked down at his own chest, outlined by a thin T-shirt. Tony’s brown eyes widened when he realized what Tyler was laughing at and his own laughter joined in.
Tyler's Transformation [The Men of the Crazy Angle Ranch 1] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) Page 8