Getting Over It: Sapphire Falls Book Six (31 page)

That was what he wanted. Hearing it out loud from Bryan made a resounding
yes
shoot through him.

He focused on his friend again. “If you come to Sapphire Falls with me, I promise to be the best friend you’ve ever had.”

Bryan chuckled. “Glad to hear it. The movers are coming next week.”

Ty shook his head. “You were supposed to say that I’m
already
the best friend you’ve ever had.”

Bryan rolled his eyes.

“Wait,” Ty said. “You were already planning the move?”

“Yeah. It’s time to go home. And,” he said, “it would be tough running the Come Again from here.”

“You’re going to work at the Come Again?” Ty asked.

“I’m buying it. Tex and Mary are retiring.”

Ty’s eyes widened. “But—”

Bryan laughed. “Mary’s still going to make Booze and sell it. They’ll still run the liquor store. They don’t want the hours and headaches of the bar anymore.”

Ty shook his head again. “You really don’t talk to me about stuff in your life.”

“I didn’t have much of a life outside of your life,” Bryan said with a shrug. “I realized that while I was lying in that hospital bed. My life was revolving around you. I was going through all of that testing and rehab and everything to get back a life that wasn’t even really mine. So I’m getting a life. I’m going home, I’m going to run the Come Again and I’m going to find some thrills that don’t involve throwing myself into the air—or off a mountain.”

He gave Ty a grin that was almost sheepish. If Ty didn’t know Bryan better.

An hour later, Bryan was going through his rehab workout—the first one Ty had seen—and flirting shamelessly with his therapist, and Ty was feeling good. About his friend’s situation, his prognosis and their friendship, as well as the future in Sapphire Falls.

Ty would have gone back without Bryan, but the idea that his friend would be in town, making a life, his
own
life but with the support of family and friends, felt good.

There was just one more puzzle piece. Hailey.

Ty opened an internet window on his phone and typed in
ADHD in adults
.

Almost forty minutes later, Bryan rolled to a stop in front of Ty’s chair. “Hey, I’m done.”

Ty looked up. “Oh, good. Sorry. Got caught up in something.”

Bryan waved that off. “No big deal. I’m glad you came with me.”

“You were doing great.”

“It’s getting better,” Bryan agreed. “It might be a while before I can do a full work shift on my feet, but I can modify behind the bar so I can reach everything from my chair.”

“Tucker’s girl, Delaney, could probably come up with something amazing for you,” Ty said, stretching to his feet.

“I’ll have to talk to her,” Bryan agreed. They started down the hall but got about halfway to the doors when Bryan stopped.

“What’s up?” Ty asked.

“She worked the piss out of my arms,” Bryan said, shaking both arms out. “Would you mind pushing me out the rest of the way?”

Ty froze.

Bryan had never asked Ty for help with anything that he could recall. Nothing major, anyway. A lift to or from football practice in high school. Maybe a few bucks at the Stop for pizza. Maybe to be his wingman at the bar in college. But never for real
help
.

“You put your hands on those things sticking out of the back of the chair and push,” Bryan said after a moment.

Ty took a breath, nodded, forced a grin and stepped behind the chair.

Pushing Bryan out to the car in his wheelchair did something to Ty. Something unexpected. It felt good to help. Even when he ran the footrests into the car door and tangled his feet with Bryan’s when he helped him into the car. He didn’t know what he was doing, really, but it felt good to do
something
.

Ty was lost in thought as they drove back to Bryan’s house. He hadn’t realized how humbling it could be, being asked for help. Especially from someone who didn’t often need it and who could have pushed through on his own or could have covered up the need by flirting one of the women into helping him.

But Ty completely admired Bryan for being able to ask for help. Being strong didn’t always mean doing it on your own, pushing when you wanted to quit or not letting people see your need. Being strong could also mean being humble, putting your pride aside and letting someone do something for you because it mattered to
them.

Hailey had been doing that. For him. He’d thought of her as strong, and it turned out she absolutely was. She’d been strong enough to put him and what she thought he needed ahead of
her
needs. She’d been his dream girl and let him have his way because he mattered to her. She’d wanted him to be happy. And she’d let him make her happy—at least in some ways—because that also made
him
happy.

She’d understood him and given him what he needed.

And now he wanted to do the same for her.

He didn’t need any more unicorns. He needed the real stuff. With her.

“Did you know that adults with ADHD have a hard time with relationships because people think their inability to focus and pay attention is them being self-centered and not caring about what the other person is saying?” Ty asked Bryan.

Bryan looked up from what he’d been texting. “Uh, no, Ty, I don’t think that’s
your
problem, if that’s what you’re asking. You
are
self-centered.”

Yeah, he was. “I’m talking about Hailey.”

“You did some reading, I see.”

“Yeah, and you know what? I noticed a lot of these things about her over the years even though she was trying to cover them up.”

“Things like what?”

“She doesn’t sit still very well. She constantly has to be doing something with her hands. Even if we’re watching a movie or something, she’ll be flipping through a magazine or playing games on her phone. It’s like she can’t
not
multitask.”

“That comes from the ADHD?” Bryan asked.

“Yeah. Guess so. So does the thrill-seeking,” Ty said. “I thought she was like us and liked the adrenaline, and I felt lucky to have a girlfriend who liked zip-lining and stuff. Turns out, that kind of high-energy activity is really good for her. Lots of adults with ADHD turn to other stimulating activities like drugs and gambling.”

“You sound like you memorized that webpage,” Bryan said with a grin.

“It all makes so much sense now,” Ty said. “She loses things all the time. And she loves when I say I’ll take care of stuff. That’s like this aphrodisiac, I swear. I thought it was the high demand of her job and that she liked kicking back when she came here to visit, but turns out that ADHD makes it hard for her to focus on details and finish all the little things. That’s why her assistant is so important to her. She said the other day that she’s been good at surrounding herself with good people.”

“Tessa’s still her assistant, right?” Bryan asked.

His tone was casual, but Bryan asked Ty about Tessa after every visit Ty made to Sapphire Falls.

“She is,” Ty said. “And she looks really good. And is still single.”

Bryan grinned at that.

“Anyway,” Ty said, not feeling bad about making
this
conversation about him. Because it was also about Hailey. “I’ve noticed all these things over the years, and they don’t bother me.”

“Why would they bother you?” Bryan asked.

“Exactly. Hailey thinks she’s hard to live with and that a goal-oriented planner like me would go crazy with her. But those things don’t bother me, and besides, the article said she
needs
someone like me around to keep her on track and help with those details she hates.”

“Well, then you need to convince her of that.”

Ty thought about that. “I should probably head back to Sapphire Falls for the election. Maybe I’ll make a big public speech about how she should be mayor and that I love her or something.”

Bryan chuckled. “Dude—big public speech, stage, spotlight…no. Stop already. Do something nice and quiet and private and meaningful that puts all the attention on her and shows her that you’ve been really thinking about this.”

Quiet and private and meaningful.

Not words Ty was all that familiar with.

“I, um, might need some help with that.”

Bryan laughed. “You got it.”

Not that quiet or private were really Bryan’s forte either.

They pulled into Bryan’s drive and Ty got out to pull the wheelchair out of the trunk. His phone rang just as he’d set it down.

It was Hailey.

He answered immediately. “Hails.”

“Hi.”

God, the sound of her voice actually made his knees weak. Not just the banged-up one either. He’d never tell his brothers or Bryan, but he had a suspicion that his brothers might know what he was talking about. And he hoped Bryan would someday.

He and Hailey never talked on the phone for more than a few minutes when they were making plans, and now he realized why.

He’d missed her when they’d been apart, but they’d both compartmentalized their relationship. It was a once-in-a while thing and they both had a lot going on when they weren’t together. Phone calls made it more like a relationship.

And with one simple word from her, Ty missed her with an ache that stunned him with its intensity.

“I miss you,” he said. They needed to get better about communicating and honesty.

That seemed to surprise her, if the moment of silence was anything to go by. “I miss you too,” she finally said.

Ty let out a long breath. He felt like he was back in high school, unsure about what to say to the girl he liked now that he had her on the phone. But with Hailey, he’d never felt that way even when he’d been
in
high school. His blatant flirtations had been over-the-top but had kept them both smiling and hadn’t left room for nerves. That and the fact that he hadn’t
actually
thought he’d ever have a real chance with her. He’d never gotten too anxious because it had been one big game.

It was no longer a game. This was as real as it got.

“I’m coming home,” he said. “Tonight.”

Bryan shot him a grin from where he was maneuvering out of the car with his crutches.

Okay, so Ty had just decided he was going back to Sapphire Falls tonight. But as soon as he’d heard her voice, he’d mentally left Denver anyway.

“No!”

And that was
not
the reaction he’d been expecting. Or wanting. “No?”

“I mean, I’m not in Sapphire Falls,” she said quickly. “I was hoping you’d meet me partway.”

He held on to the wheelchair while Bryan settled into it, but Ty’s attention was definitely not on Bryan. “Partway? You mean between here and there?”

“Yes. I’m on the road already. I really want to see you, and if we both start driving toward one another, it will be sooner rather than later.”

Bryan rolled into the house but Ty was riveted where he was. “You’re already on your way?”

“Yeah.” Her voice got quieter. “Is that okay?” She sounded worried.

Was it okay? Was it okay that she wanted to see him? That she already wanted to see him after only three days apart?

“Hell yeah, it’s okay,” he said sincerely. “Always, Hailey. I
always
want to see you.”

She laughed softly, sounding relieved. “Ditto. Will you meet me? Ogallala is about halfway.”

“Of course.” He mentally calculated that it would be about three hours from there. “How close are you?”

“I’ll be there first. I’ll get a room and text you the details,” she said.

“Great.” He was still stunned by this, but it actually seemed perfect. Neutral territory to say all the things he needed to say and to convince her that he was in this for good. Forever. “I’ll get on the road right away.”

“Thank you.”

“For what? Wanting to see you so badly I’m wondering if I should tell you to stop driving and I’ll
fly
to wherever you are?” he asked with a grin, heading for the house to pack up his stuff.

“For that,” she said. “I knew when I called that you’d do this. It’s an amazing feeling knowing for sure that all I have to do is ask and you’ll be there.”

He stopped halfway up the stairs. “Always,” he said again, his voice gruff. “
Always
.”

He pictured her face and knew that she was smiling with tears in her eyes.

“I don’t want you to move back to Colorado. At least not without me,” she said. “I was going to wait and tell you that in person, but…I really want you to know that.”

“You can’t move to Colorado,” he said lightly, continuing on to the guest room for his bag. “You can’t be mayor of Sapphire Falls and live in Denver.”

“I don’t care about being mayor.”

He could hear the sincerity in her voice even as he shook his head. “Yes, you do.”

“No. Not if it means not having you. You’re more important than being mayor, Ty. There, I said it. Finally, after all these years, I’m admitting that you are the most important thing to me.”