Page 24 of Fall Over You

Tyler cranes his neck to look at the stove. “You didn’t make yourself something?”

I dust off my hands. “No, I think I’m gonna take off.”

Tyler’s gaze cuts to the window, chewing the inside of his lip. “It’s mighty chilly out this morning.”

I force a smile. “It’ll wake me up.”

“Somebody might—” he starts, but I shoot him a warning glance.

“I’ll be fine.”

He sighs, exasperated. “You have those shorts on.”

“Oh, do I?” I look down at my mostly bare legs. “I hadn’t noticed.”

Now he’s mad. He snorts a huff. “Painter Creek Road’s a state route now and all kinds of good-for-nothings pass through here and somebody could⁠—”

“What? Kidnap me? Like you have here? Imprison me?”

“I did it to help you,” Tyler bites out before his eyes stop on the oven clock. “Ellie, we need to leave for school in ten minutes. Finish up and go get dressed. I’ll take Miss Becca home after I drop you off. For now,” a small smile graces Tyler’s lips, “Miss Becca needs to eat.”

I did not eat anything for breakfast, and Tyler keeps huffing while we drive Ellie to school.

“Seven in the morning’s awful early to have to start learning,” I say. “You must be an early bird, Ellie.”

“She gets the worm every day,” Tyler muses. His eyes flick to his little sunshine in the backseat and I fight a chill at his ensuing single-dimpled smile. Tyler’s a handsome guy when he’s not busy being Grumpy McGrumperson. That dark blonde hair with a handful of tousled curls, stubble on his cheeks and neck, those dark-as-a-coal-mine brown eyes. He’s got all those manly features, and I can still see traces of that boy I grew up with. The boy who I’d catch peeking into my room, who gave a soft “hey” if I caught him in the act. The guy who saved my ass and never mentioned it to my brother.

But he doesn’t want me. I’m too wild, too unpredictable, too dangerous. I get that he had to settle down, and that he associates me with the life he left behind. It’s probably a pipe dream to imagine he could think any different of me after all these years.

I’ll always feel like someone knocked the wind out of me whenever I revisit the time CJ asked if I wanted to share him, and his answer was a firm no. He’s not into me. But then, he looked at me that one time while he came. And that . . . was something.

That I need to stop thinking about. Now.

“What time does she get out of school?” I ask.

“Ten,” Tyler grumbles, cutting the wheel to turn into a parking spot. I whirl around in my seat to look at Ellie.

“You have a good day, sweetheart. Be good for your daddy later.”

Ellie looks at me with tears in her eyes. “I want you to walk me in.”

“Oh, sure!” I’m so shocked I don’t know what to say. “If your dad doesn’t mind.”

His jaw pops. “Nope. Let’s go.”

He helps Ellie out of her car seat while I wait in front of the truck on the sidewalk. A small hand slips into mine and Ellie starts to babble away as we walk toward the school doors.

“Wait.” Booted footsteps sound behind me and a breath gusts against the back of my neck. “Here.”

I’m blanketed in warmth as Tyler slides his flannel jacket over my shoulders.

“Put it on,” he insists.

“You’ll be cold,” I argue.

He leans in close and drops his voice down to a gravelly rumble, making my breath catch and my stomach dip. “And you’re in last night’s clothes. Wear the jacket, Reba.”

I whip around to argue, but the look in his eyes gives me pause. I slide my arms into the jacket and he squeezes my shoulders before jamming his hands into his coverall pockets.