If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) (14 page)

Drew shifted, his eyes finding hers. He was nervous, Tyler
realized. This time when she smiled, it was completely genuine. Knowing he
cared so much about her reaction to his gift made all the butterflies that had
hatched in her stomach fly away.

Tyler removed the paper, gasping when she saw the beautiful
hand-painted wooden box. The colors were muted shades of green and gold done in
a swirling pattern that seemed to have no beginning or end. It wasn’t
expensive; it was priceless.

“It’s beautiful, Drew. Where did you find it?”

“Last week when I was in Spokane, I walked downtown.
There’s this little shop. I almost didn’t notice it. That was in the
window.”

“Thank you.”

Tyler kissed his cheek, then went back to admiring her gift.

“Open the lid.”

Intrigued, she did as he instructed. Inside was a long
silver chain with a key dangling from the end.

“It’s the spare to my Thunderbird.”

His classic, bright red, nineteen-fifty-five baby? Tyler had
seen it around town. It had been a gift from his father for his sixteenth
birthday. Drew was car crazy, always had been. He explained that he saw this
car as the first of many. He planned on restoring them whenever possible.
Finding diamonds in the rough and bringing them back to their former glory.

The Thunderbird was pristine. Rarely driven, practically
showroom new. As much as he loved the car, he thought the former owner was
crazy. Cars were meant to be driven. If you didn’t take them out on the open
road now and then, what was the point?

“I hope you’ll consider that my version of giving you
my class ring.”

Tyler swallowed. Holy cow.

“You want to go steady? Do people even do that
anymore?”

“I don’t care what other people do.” He took the
chain and put it around her neck. “Will you be my girl?”

She was in love. The realization hit her like a bolt from
the sky. Tyler Jones loved Drew Harper. Now, didn’t that sound like a recipe
for disaster? Ignoring that cheery thought, Tyler threw her arms around him and
shouted her answer.

“Yes.”

FOR ONCE, TYLER drank orange juice for breakfast, not coffee.
And for once, she didn’t mind.

Dani and Rose pulled her from her studio where she had spent
the night attaching the last large piece of the sculpture, finishing in the
early hours of the morning. It was such a major accomplishment Tyler forgot the
time and called her best friends to share the news.

Dani was already up. Alex had an early training session to
lead, so she went out with her camera to capture the guys being put through
their paces on the H&W obstacle course. She considered putting together a
promotional brochure to advertise the expanding personal security business.
Every one of their bodyguards was already in high demand, but it never hurt to
spread the word in different directions.

Rose didn’t answer her phone. It seemed engaged couples
liked to use the early hours before dawn to catch up on more than their sleep.
Not that they had fallen behind. Jack had no problem keeping her satisfied
morning, noon, and night. That morning, while Dani snapped pictures and Tyler
performed a happy dance over her nearly completed statue, Jack was being
particularly inventive.

Rose had a glow about her that said she had been well loved.
Tyler was happy for her friend. It was hard, though, not to think about her own
empty bed and the loving she wasn’t getting. It had been too long and that
little tussle with Drew yesterday had done nothing to tamp down her libido.

“When do we get to see the finished masterpiece?”

“In exactly one month, three weeks, four days,
and,” she glanced at her watch, “seven hours. Just like everyone
else.”

“As your oldest and dearest friends, you’d think we
could have an advance viewing.”

“As my oldest and dearest friends, that can probably be
arranged. Now pass the salsa; my eggs are naked.”

None of them cooked. Rose tried, her successes finally
starting to outweigh her failures. Since she and Jack had become homebodies,
preferring to eat in, the couple alternated playing chef. Rose admitted they
were both happier with the outcome on Jack’s nights in the kitchen.

Dani and Alex had dinner with her parents when they wanted a
home cooked meal; they enjoyed the food and the company. Otherwise, they were
systematically making their way through the menus of their favorite Harper
Falls restaurants.

Tyler didn’t even own a traditional oven. Her microwave was
there to heat things up — mostly bagels and yesterday’s coffee. She liked to eat;
she just had no desire to be the one who prepared what went into her mouth. Why
cook when so many tasty alternatives were available?

Rose passed around a bowl of scrambled eggs. The toast was
lightly buttered and browned. No burned spots in sight. Crispy bacon and a bowl
of fresh strawberries rounded out the meal.

“These are really good, Rose. Fluffy and not an
eggshell to be found. I’m impressed.”

“Me too,” Rose said. “I’m impressed that Jack
fixed all this before he left this morning and put it in the oven to keep
warm.”

“Gorgeous, rich, a God in bed, and he cooks breakfast
for you and your friends? You hit the motherlode.” Tyler reached for more
bacon. She had yet to exceed her daily allowance of pig fat.

“And he loves you.” Dani smothered her toast with
blackberry jam. The label read
From The Kitchen of Bobbie Wilde
. Since
she had several jars in her cupboard at home, she already knew how good it was.

“He does love me.” Rose still couldn’t quite
believe her luck. Who could have guessed that when she hit him up for a
one-night stand, she propositioned the love of her life?

“Dani scored a winner too. Alex looks at you like you
hung the moon. And his butt looks amazing in a pair of jeans.”

“It looks even better out of them.” Dani gave
Tyler a speculative look. “I think I can speak for Rose when I ask you,
what the hell is going on?”

Tyler shook her head. “Rose has given up using that
kind of language, so if you spoke for her, you’d have to wash your mouth out
with soap.”

“Something is up,” Rose said to Dani.

“I agree. What do you think is going on?”

“Drew?”

“Oh, definitely, Drew.”

“Aren’t you two clever. Yes, it has to do with
Drew.”

“Well, don’t keep us waiting. What happened?”

“I don’t think I hate him anymore.”

“Oh, honey,” Rose reached for her hand. “I’m
so glad. It’s exhausting, hating someone. Especially when you have to see them
so often. What brought it about?”

Tyler told her friends everything. She started with her trip
to Drew’s house.

“Did you really mention ex-lovers?” Dani wanted to
know. “And by name?”

“Not my finest hour.” Tyler pushed her plate back,
no longer very hungry.

“Hey, he deserved a kick in the ass, pardon my French.
He’s waited this long to talk and he decides to do it after he just had his
tongue down your throat? Not cool.”

“How was the kiss?” Dani wiggled her eyebrows.

“Even better than I remembered.” Way better.

“Well, sure. He wasn’t playing monk. I’ll bet he could
have slung around a few names of his own.”

“More than a few,” Rose chimed in. “To hear
Jack tell it — and you know what, I’m just going to shut up now.”

“I’m fine,” Tyler assured her. “How strange
would it be if he’d given up on sex for ten years?”

“I’ve heard that if a woman abstains long enough, she
sometimes re-virginizes.”

Rose laughed. “Dani, you need to stop reading those
rags when you’re in the checkout line at the grocery store. More eggs
anyone?”

Both Tyler and Dani shook their heads.

“I’ll admit it’s been awhile,” Tyler said.
“Not long enough for anything to grow over down there. Besides, Drew did the
deed when I was sixteen. How horrifying would it be if he found out it didn’t
take?”

“Does that mean you still plan on getting naked with
him?”

“Yes, please. That kiss almost blew the top off my
head.”

“Are you going to let him explain? Before the sex? Or
even after?” Rose asked.

“I want to know. He’s hinted that there’s more to it
than simply the end of our teenage romance. It’s time he spilled the whole
story.”

“We all know you had more than a teen fling,” Rose
said with a firm conviction. Dani nodded vigorously in agreement.

“I’d forgotten,” Tyler said, shrugging. “Or
more accurately, I didn’t let myself remember. Lately, I’ve had these vivid
flashbacks.”

“Like dreams?”

“Sort of. Sometimes it happens when I’m asleep. Most of
the time I just remember. I’ve been hurt and angry for so long, I thought those
feelings were lost forever.” Tyler looked at Rose, then Dani. “He was
so sweet, so careful. It couldn’t have been an act.”

“He loved you, Tyler,” Dani assured her.

“Dani’s right. It doesn’t matter how old you were.
Where is it written that love isn’t real when you’re sixteen? Or seventeen?
Where’s the cut-off point?”

“It was so intense.” Tyler’s eyes turned almost
black with emotion. “I want that back — the good memories. I lived it. I
deserve not to have my gut cramp up when I think back on them.”

“It sounds like you’re well on your way.”

“I’m going to see Drew again. This time I’ll listen
before I jump his bones. I hope I still want to after I hear what he has to
say.”

“Either way, at least you’ll finally know,” Rose
said with an encouraging smile. “Then you can — sorry, that’s Jack’s
ringtone.”

Rose walked to the coffee table and picked up her phone.

“Hey, miss me already?”

“Does Alex call you every hour?” Tyler teased.

“No. He texts between playing drill sergeant. Yesterday
he—”

“Are you kidding? What the hell, Jack?”

Tyler and Dani exchanged concerned looks. Whatever was going
on, Rose wasn’t happy about it.

“Do you know where he is? Last night? Well, his timing
really sucks. Can you get the details? Right. No, this time I have to tell her.
I love you too. Bye.”

“Damn idiot man,” Rose muttered as she turned back
to her friends. Her eyes briefly met Dani’s before she turned to Tyler.

“There’s something we didn’t tell you.” She
hesitated, looking at Dani again.

“Oh, come on.” Dani groaned in disgust. “I
thought he was over that crap.”

“It would seem he was just taking a break.”

“Who, what, and where, ladies?” Tyler felt like
she was listening to some kind of secret code. “If you have something to
tell me, spit it out.”

“Go on,” Dani urged.

Taking a deep breath, Rose let it all out, not pausing, or
breathing until she said it all.

“A few months ago, we found out that Drew participates in
underground races that are really, really dangerous and we didn’t tell you
because we didn’t want you to have one more thing to worry about and Jack
thought he was done with it, but now he’s taken off again and one of these
times his luck might not hold and he could get seriously injured or
worse.”

Tyler sat, unmoving.

“Did you hear me?”

“Of course she heard you,” Dani said, frowning.
“It’s a lot to take in all at once. We’re sorry we didn’t tell you last
time, Tyler. We thought we were doing the right thing.”

“We’ll talk about that later.” The fact that her
two best friends broke their honesty pact was the least of Tyler’s worries. She
would get pissed at them later.

“Does Jack know where Drew is?”

“Yes. He said somewhere in Mexico.”

Tyler stood, grabbing her purse and heading towards the
door.

“Call him back. It’s a big country. I need to know
Drew’s exact location.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Apparently, I’m not over my mad.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means when I find him, I’m going to kick some Harper
ass.”

“I REALLY APPRECIATE you doing this, Jack.”

“What good is having an international pilot’s license
and half a dozen planes if I can’t use one of them in an emergency?”

“Is this an emergency?”

It felt like one. She planned on getting to Spokane, finding
the first flight to Mexico, and worrying about connections once she was on the
ground. Jack took that worry away in an instant. Almost before she could blink,
they were on a private jet and in the air.

“Semi-emergency. Drew has raced off and on for ten
years. One time, he came back with a black eye and that wasn’t from the race.
Some guy blindsided him at a bar the night before.”

“Are you saying it isn’t as dangerous as Dani and Rose
led me to believe?”

Jack hesitated.

“The truth, Jack. I need to go into this knowing
everything I can.”

“It’s dangerous,” he finally admitted.
“People die, Tyler. As good as Drew is, and he’s the best driver I’ve ever
personally seen, things happen. Other drivers happen.”

“How many races has he participated in?

“Rose told me you’d ask. Around seventy,
seventy-five.” Jack shook his head in amazement. “You really know
each other, don’t you?”

“You know her, Jack.”

“I don’t want you to misunderstand. I’m not jealous of
what you three have; I’m damn grateful she had you. Rose told me she never
would have gotten through what happened with her aunt if it hadn’t been for you
and Dani.”

It wasn’t something Tyler liked to think about. She could
still see Rose, in that hospital bed, wasted away to almost nothing.

“She’s tough. She would have made it back without us.
I’m just glad she didn’t have to.”

“Play it down if you want. I know Rose wouldn’t be the
woman I love if it weren’t for her friends. For that reason alone, I would fly
you to hell and make damn sure you got back safely. It helps that I like you.
Rose, or no Rose.”