by Dover, L. P.
“Hey, Nana,” I greeted warmly. “Did you sleep okay? I’m about to make us some breakfast.”
Just a few weeks ago, we were told her chemo had stopped working. Needless to say, we stopped treatments and ever since then, her health had rapidly decreased in a short amount of time. She was pale and sickly skinny, with no hair whatsoever. When she was younger, she had the most beautiful, thick blonde hair I’d ever seen. She was happy that I had inherited my hair from her.
“It was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time, sweetheart,” she replied. “I got to see my, Matthew.”
“You did?” I asked nervously. “What did he say?”
My grandfather had died twelve years ago from a heart attack. She’d been heartbroken after that and we all thought she wouldn’t live through it, but she had my father who needed her. She lived for him.
My grandmother looked to me and smiled. “He said he was going to see me soon, and he missed me. Oh, honey, I would give anything to be with him again.”
Blinking quickly, I tried to keep the tears from falling down my face. “I know, Nana.”
It won’t be long now.
About that time, the doorbell rang. “Good heavens, who’s coming by this early in the morning?” my grandmother asked.
“Nana, he’s a friend of mine. He wanted to eat breakfast with me. Try not to tell him embarrassing stories about me, okay?”
Slowly, she got to her feet and followed me into the kitchen where she took her seat in the corner. She always sat there while I cooked breakfast, so she could talk to me.
Taking a deep breath, I licked my dry lips and opened the door. With a sly grin on his face, Tyler stood there wearing a navy baseball cap with a fitted white T-shirt and khaki shorts. His tattoos went down both arms, but they weren’t full sleeves like I’d seen on some of the other fighters. They actually looked really good on his tanned skin and bulging muscles.
“Tyler,” I greeted. “Would you like to come in? I’m about to start breakfast.” I didn’t realize my grandmother was right behind me, until I stepped back into her. “Oh, Nana, I’m sorry I didn’t know you were behind me.”
Her expression was surprised as she looked at Tyler with tears in her eyes.
“Nana, are you okay?” I asked, taking her hand.
“Yes, child,” she whispered. “I think I just got something in my eye. I’m okay now.”
Tyler held out his hand and she took it, never taking her eyes off his. “I’m Tyler. I’m a friend of your granddaughter’s.”
Not letting him go, my grandmother held his hand and led him to the chair beside hers in the kitchen. “Well, Tyler, thank you for coming over. Be prepared though. My little angel cooks the best food I’ve ever tasted. You get kind of spoiled after a while.”
Tyler sat down and winked at me. “I think I could get used to that.”
“You wish,” I teased.
While my grandmother talked nonstop to Tyler, I pulled out everything I needed to get breakfast started. The eggs, bacon, and French toast were easy to whip up. After I was done, I made my grandmother and Tyler a plate and set them down in front of them, along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
Tyler looked down with wide eyes. “This looks amazing, Kacey.”
“Well, it should,” my grandmother stated. “She had the best teacher around. Not to mention, she went to the top culinary school in the United States.”
“And by the best teacher around you know she meant herself, right?” I remarked, winking at my grandmother.
To be on her death bed, Nana still had a sense of humor. I was glad that through all of her suffering, she was still able to hold onto that part of herself.
“So that’s what you went to school for?” Tyler asked. “Why aren’t you utilizing your talents?”
Shrugging, I sat down at the table and took a sip of my juice. “I plan to someday, when I earn the money. Bree and I want to open up our own restaurant. Working at the bar is just a means to an end. One day, I’ll be out of there and doing my own thing.”
“How much do you need to save up?” he asked.
Sarcastically, I laughed. “A lot. Bree and I have about half. When my father died, I saved the money he left me and ever since then, I’ve been working my ass off. We’re hoping to earn the rest in the next five years or so. Until then, I’ll keep working long hours.”
My grandmother finished eating, and yawned, gazing sleepily at me. She spent most of her time sleeping these days.
“Nana, do you want to go lie down?” I asked as I took her empty plate.
“I do, child. I can barely hold my eyes open.”
“All right, let me put our plates in the sink and I’ll help you to your room.”
Tyler stood and put a hand on my shoulder, halting me. “I’ll take her, if that’s okay.”
Before I could say anything, my grandmother smiled and grabbed his hand. “Why that would be very kind of you, young man. I think I’d enjoy that.”
Chuckling, I rolled my eyes and cleaned off the table while Tyler helped my grandmother to her feet. “Ah, I see what you’re doing now. You’re trying to flirt with my friend.”
On her way by, she placed her hand on the side of my face and kissed my cheek. “He only has eyes for you, my child. Be good to him.”
Tyler winked at me and disappeared around the corner with my grandmother at his side. I never would’ve thought that a hard-core, muscular fighter like him would ever have a soft side. I’d never seen it with any of the others, but then again it was my brother and his friends we were talking about.
When Tyler came back, his odd countenance caught my attention.
“Is everything okay? Does she need me?”
Shaking his head, he came over to the sink to help me, so I passed him a clean dish and a towel. “No, she closed her eyes as soon as she laid down.”
“Then why do you look like that?” I asked, passing him another dish.
He dried the towel and looked down at me. “Who’s Matthew?”
I turned away and sighed. “He’s my grandfather. Nana claims she’s been talking to him in her dreams. What did she tell you?”
“She said that Matthew had told her I was coming to take care of you and that everything would be all right.”
Oh hell, she’s really losing it. I tried to keep my voice from shaking, but I failed. “Tyler, I’m so sorry. I know you didn’t come here to deal with all of this. She’s never said anything like that before. I know it has to be weird.”
Taking my soapy hands, he pulled them around his waist and held me tight with his hand on the back of my neck. Instantly, I relaxed and held my head to his chest, listening to his heart beat as I breathed him in.
“It’s okay, Kacey. I know it’s not easy to witness her health failing. I saw a picture of her in her room. She was a beautiful woman . . . much like you.”
For a split second, I smiled and enjoyed the feel of him touching me, but then reality hit and I realized my feelings were changing toward him. It made me uncomfortable, and I needed to get away. Pulling back, I went to the sink. “I’m sorry, I need a moment.”
After drying off with a towel, I walked out of the kitchen to my room. It was the largest one in the house, with soft green walls, almost pistachio colored. I had an antique dark cherry headboard for my queen sized bed, covered with my favorite cream wool comforter. I sat on it and couldn’t deny that I wondered what it would be like to have Tyler in this bed with me.
I heard a knock on the door frame and looked up to see him standing there.
“Can I come in?” he inquired.
I didn’t know how to answer him, but I knew I didn’t want him to go, so I nodded.
“What just happened?” he asked, shutting the bedroom door lightly behind him. “Are you still worried about me pretending just to get in your pants? Because, let me remind you, what you see is what you get. We may not know much about each other, but I’m hoping to change that. I can’t do anythin
g about it if you keep pushing me away.”
Slowly, he approached me, his gaze guarded.
“I’m about to lose the only family I have. My heart can’t take anymore. I don’t know if I can take this leap of faith you’re asking of me,” I whispered sadly.
Kneeling in front of me and taking my face in his hands, Tyler gently rubbed his thumbs under my eyes to wipe away the tears. “Pushing people away only adds loneliness to the pain. I’ve been hurt a lot, Kacey, but you know what?” He tilted my face up higher. “I keep on going. Sometimes you have to let the bad in with the good. There’s no other way. It’s what makes us stronger.”
“I’m just tired,” I murmured. “Sometimes I feel like all I get are the bad things.”
Gently, Tyler brushed his thumb across my lips before placing his on mine. He waited on me to respond, and when I kissed him back, he opened my lips further with his tongue, slowly and deeply. It felt like it’d been forever since a man truly kissed me, but I knew not to move fast with him.
Reluctantly, I pulled away and placed my fingers to his lips. “I need you to be honest with me, Tyler. You said you would tell me the truth so I want to know . . . why me? What makes me so different from the other girls?”
Tilting his head to the side, he smirked and stared at my lips for a few seconds before meeting my eyes. “Honestly, it was your mouth,” he confessed. “I have never had a girl talk to me the way you did. It was startling, and refreshing.”
Laughing, I playfully smacked him on the arm. “So, basically calling you names and telling you to go to hell, turned you on?”
Biting his lip, he grabbed my wrist and placed a gentle kiss on my palm. “Maybe. You were fucking sexy in the gym the other day. I can’t promise you that I don’t come with any problems, because I’m sure as hell not perfect. I can promise you this though. . . what I want is not the same type of girl I’m used to being with. I want something real and I didn’t even know it until I saw it in you. All I’m asking for is a chance to see what happens.”
If he only knew that my problems were bigger than any of his combined. Would he still believe I was something real?
“Tyler, I’m not perfect either. Being with me will only cause you more problems.”
Standing up, he leaned into me, guiding me back on my bed, covering me with his body. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Spreading my legs with his knee, he slid his hand along my bare leg up to my thigh. “Before you stop me, I already know you’re not ready for this. I know you don’t want to move too fast.”
“You would actually wait for me?” I asked.
He held his body above mine, with his arms on either side of my head. “For you . . . yes. It’ll be a new challenge.”
Wrapping my legs around his, I smiled and bit my lip. “Well, in that case I think I need to make it a little more challenging.” I rocked my hips against his, and then my phone rang in my back pocket.
Groaning, Tyler bent down to kiss my neck, trailing his lips down to my collarbone while keeping hold of my wrists. “Do you want to answer it?”
“No, but I need to,” I told him.
Reaching underneath my ass, he grabbed the phone out of my back pocket and handed it to me. I didn’t recognize the number.
“Hello,” I answered, trying not to sound breathless.
“Kacey, hey it’s Liam.”
“Oh, hey, how are you?” Tyler’s stubble tickled my skin as he kissed my neck, and it took all I had not to giggle.
“I’m doing well. I wanted to call and make sure we were still on for dinner. You haven’t changed your mind have you?”
“No, but if I go I want to make something clear. I’m not . . .”
Liam chuckled and finished my sentence, “Not ready for something serious. I get it, Kacey. We can go as friends. All I want is to go out to dinner with you and get to know you.”
“Okay, great. Friends it is.”
“Do you want me to pick you up at your house?” he asked. “I can be there by six.”
“That’ll be great.” I gave him the address to my house and said my goodbyes.
Tyler lifted up on his elbows and stared down at me. “I know you already told this guy you’d go out with him, but I have to say I’m not liking it.”
“He knows we’re going out as friends,” I reiterated. “And besides, I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed to go out with other people. It’s a little too soon to be exclusive, don’t you think?”
Furrowing his brows, he pursed his lips. “Kacey, don’t get me wrong. You can do whatever you want. It’s just the thought of sharing you with other men gets my blood boiling.”
“What about you?” I challenged. “I know your reputation. If I were to invest time in whatever we have going on here, I have to tell you, I don’t like to share either. You’re not exactly a one woman kind of guy.”
His face was a stony mask. “There’s only one way to find out isn’t there? You will just have to trust me.”
“We’ll see,” I whispered.
He nodded his understanding and glared over at the clock on my bedside table. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me to the fight tonight?” Sliding off of me, he pulled me up to my feet.
“I can’t, Tyler. I’m sorry. You can call me afterward and let me know if you won.”
He tapped my chin with his finger. “Are you sure you’re not going to be too busy with your date?”
Rolling my eyes, I pushed him out of my bedroom and chuckled. “No, I can promise you I’m not that kind of girl.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Opening the front door, I walked Tyler out to his truck in silence, my mind a jumbled mess. What was I doing getting involved with him? It was the stupidest thing I’d ever done. Yet, it was the one thing I wanted more than anything at this moment.
If my brother found out about this, he would make it his life’s mission to keep Tyler away from me. He would ruin everything.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked, pulling me closer. “Are you having second thoughts?”
I shrugged. “Kind of. It’s just, there’s a lot you don’t know about me. If you knew what my life was like, you’d run as far away from me as possible.”
He chuckled. “The same could be said about me, but you seem like a tough girl. I have no doubt that whatever it is we’ll be okay.”
“Do you honestly believe that? What if it’s something really bad?”
“Trust me,” he murmured, bending down to kiss my lips. “Whatever skeletons you have in your closet probably don’t come close to the ones I have. Have a little bit of faith in me, okay? I’d rather not divulge our deepest, darkest secrets on only our second date.”
“Okay, but as long as you have faith in me . . . wait, did you just call this our second date?”
He kissed me one more time. “Just think, the next time we get together will be our third date,” he wiggled his eyebrows and slapped my ass.
I giggled as he walked around his truck. “In your dreams, buddy,” I called out.
Laughing, he said, “Just don’t forget me tonight.”
That wouldn’t be possible. I really wanted to go to his fight, but there was a huge possibility my brother or his friends would be there. I couldn’t take that chance . . . at least, not yet.
Not until I tell Tyler who I really am.
ONCE INSIDE, I quietly opened the door to my grandmother’s room and noticed her queen-sized bed was empty. Her white, quilted comforter was folded down perfectly on her bed like it was every day after she got up from a nap.
“Nana?” I called, opening her door the rest of the way. I found her sitting at the desk, scribbling away on a piece of paper. She hadn’t sat at that desk in months.
“Nana, what are you doing?” I gasped, strolling into the room. “I thought you were asleep?”
She slid her papers to the side and turned around, her warm chuckle making me smile. “Oh, dear child, no. I was never slee
py to begin with. I pretended to be so you and your friend could have some alone time.”
“Nana,” I shrieked. “It’s not like that with him. I only met him a couple of days ago.”
“That doesn’t matter. I met your grandfather one day, and then the next—”
I held up my hands, stopping her. “Okay, I don’t need to hear about your escapades with Granddaddy.”
She was trying to get up out of her chair, so I helped her by quickly grabbing her arm and leading her over to the bed. With as weak as she’s been, I’m thankful she hadn’t fallen and broken any bones.
“I’m just saying, honey, that you can’t put a timetable on love. Some people fall in love after one day, and for others it doesn’t happen for months or even years. Once you get over your fears, it’ll happen.”
“You don’t understand, Nana. Tyler knows who Kyle is . . . they don’t get along at all. Once Tyler finds out who I am, he’s not going to want me anymore.”
My grandmother reached over and patted my cheek. “You have to have faith, Kacey. You’re not like your brother. Good things happen to good people. Tyler will see it in you and it won’t matter. He’ll still love you.”
“It’s a little too soon for love, Nana,” I teased. “Besides, other than you and daddy, no one’s ever loved me. I wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”
Smiling, my grandmother laid back in her bed and I covered her up. This time she wasn’t pretending. She took my hand and held it over her heart. “It comes naturally, sweetheart. There’s no handbook telling you how to love someone. Soon, you’re going to have your own life and I need to know that you’ll be okay. Let him in, Kacey. Can you do that for me?”
My eyes burned but I refused to cry. I always tried to stay strong for her. “I promise,” I whispered. “I’ll be okay. Now get some rest. I’m going to finish cleaning the kitchen.”
Tugging on me, she placed her cold, frail hands on my cheeks and gently kissed my forehead. “I’m so proud of you and the woman you’ve become. I love you so much.”
I smoothed my hand over her dry skin and let the tears fall; I couldn’t hold them back anymore. “I love you too, Nana.”