I start to mentally calculate in my head, coming to the only conclusion possible. Lucy has been just fine since I left to make a better life for both of us. I grip my chest over my heart, praying to keep the pain from crossing my features.
“It’s not what you think…” Lucy’s voice trails off, unable to find the words to soothe my aching soul.
“No, Lu. It’s exactly what I think,” I growl in response before spinning on my heels and leaving the garage.
“Tyler, wait,” Rylee shouts after me, but I can’t bring myself to stop.
What I thought would be a beautiful reunion with Lucy has turned my heart to ash. I believed that Lucy was mine, that she would have waited for me to get better. I believed she loved me the way I loved her, but man was I wrong.
Chapter Four
Lucy
Tyler fucking Davenport is here. Back from God only knows where, but still always ready to jump to conclusions. I didn’t even have a chance to explain exactly who Colt was, but now I’m not even sure I want to. I know he said he loved me in his last voicemail, but what did he expect to happen when he left without a trace for four years. A lot of things can happen in that time. People change, but more importantly, their feelings change too.
I don’t know who I’m kidding. One look at those hazel colored eyes and I was transported back to the days of partying with no responsibilities. I look down at Colt, not regretting my little boy for anything but realizing for the first time there is someone else that he needs in his life besides me, a father.
“That isn’t how I expected your reunion to go,” Rylee says sheepishly as she bends down and picks up Colt. “Hey, little man! I’ve missed you.”
“I issed you too, Rweey!” Colt shouts, throwing his arms around her neck and pulling her in for a big hug. All the anger I felt toward her a few moments ago has melted away.
“You are so lucky he is here with me,” I grumble at my friend, torn between chasing after Tyler to explain and letting him run away like he always does.
“Go,” Rylee whispers before addressing Colt. “Want to go see Colton do some laps around the track? He just started his practice runs. I think he would go even faster if we cheered him on.” Rylee gives me a wink over my son’s head before heading out of the garage toward the track.
I take a deep breath and attempt to process the last five minutes. Tyler is back in town and working for the team. To make matters worse, he’s quick to jump to conclusions.
“Get it together, Lucy. No one is asking you to jump into bed with him. All you have to do is work with him until after the fundraiser.” I chastise myself before heading in the direction Tyler went.
I only get a few paces out of the garage bay before I smack into a hard chest. A pair of arms wrap around my waist pulling me in closer. “So you don’t want to jump into bed with me. From what I remember we were good together, Lu.”
I can’t resist burying my nose into his chest. A smell that can only be described as Tyler fills my nostrils. A mixture of gasoline and just man. If I could bottle up his scent, I would bathe in it for the rest of eternity.
“Well things change, Ty,” I mumble into his chest as I raise my hand and push back. Thankfully he lets me step out of his embrace. “How have you been?” I ask, unable to meet his eyes.
“Are you asking me or one of the guys you were flirting with on your way to our meeting?” He leans back against the wall, looking like sex on a stick. His body has hardened over the years, his arms more muscular and his skin is a nice golden brown. However, his eyes are clouded with something I can’t place. Jealousy maybe, but I can’t fathom a reason for him to be jealous. He is the one that left me, after all.
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous? What I do and with whom is no longer your concern. You made it perfectly clear when you left me with nothing but a voicemail.”
“Lu, I would have stayed if I had any other choice. I did this all for us.” Tyler takes a step toward me, stopping just short of touching me. “It seems that while I was making plans for our future, you jumped into bed with the first man you could find,” he growls before storming past me toward the track.
Before he can get too far, I grab his arm, digging my nails into his skin, wanting to make him feel just a small amount of pain for what I’ve gone through. “You don’t get to accuse me of anything, Tyler Davenport. You. Left. Me. Not the other way around. What did you expect me to do, wait for you to grace me with your presence?”
Tyler opens his mouth to respond, but I smack him across the face. Gasping in shock from what I just did, I can’t say I regret it. “You have no right to make me feel bad about the choices I made while you were gone.”
I bite my bottom lip, willing my tears to stay hidden until I can get somewhere safe. I stand up straighter and hold my head up high, meeting his stare. “We have to work together for the sake of our jobs, but besides that, there is no other reason for us to be in contact. If you have a problem, bring it up with your boss. I worked damn hard to get my life back after you left. I’ll be damned if I let you come back here and ruin everything.”
I stalk past him toward the track, not even bothering
