Meeting The Unpredictable (16 page)

“Maybe one day soon...sooner than either of us are ready for, we’ll see each other again.” Lennie wipes her eyes and instantly I take a step back before she sees me because suddenly I know I’m intruding.

***

MY DOOR FLIES OPEN AS
Lennie storms in. “Carla told me you came down to the shelter. Why did you leave without seeing me?”

“I saw you. You were spending time with a dog, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Her eyes narrow. “That’s the whole purpose of going to the animal shelter. To spend time with the animals. You knew that when you went down there so tell me the real reason you left.”

She taps her foot on the floor, waiting for an answer. “You looked peaceful and I didn’t want to ruin the moment.” Her shoulders sag.

“Are you mad at me?”

“What? Why?”

She frowns. “For last night at your parents.”

I take a deep breath. “No.” Lennie arches a brow. “I should be, but I know your heart was in the right place.”

Her lip twitches. “Good. I thought my family was awful, but yours trumps mine.”

I shrug. “I get along well with my dad and my other brothers. I can’t hold anything against them. They were victims of a bad situation.” Our eyes latch and I want to press her for more information about her past, but my nerves won’t let me. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that if I push she’ll run.

“I understand. I sometimes think the same thing about Jodi. There are times when I blamed her for a lot of shit that’s happened, but deep down I know she’s just a victim of a bad circumstance.” A wrinkle forms on her forehead. “But that’s not the case with Brandon. He stole something that belonged to you.”

I raise my chin. “I don’t think Amber ever really belonged to me. I decided I should be thankful. He saved me from living a miserable life.”

A look of wonder crosses her eyes. “You’re an incredible person, Tyler Brooker.”

“Lennie.” Her name came out as a plea. “Stay with me.” I’m unable to keep the desperation out of my voice, and I think we both know I’m asking her to stay more than just tonight.

Lennie closes the distance between us before she places her hands on my face. “I’ll stay for as long as I can.” Her voice is serious, something that doesn’t often happen.

For now, I have to accept whatever she’s offering. I can only hope when the time comes for her to leave that I might have given her a reason to stay.

“THAT MAN IS FALLING FOR
you.” I look over my coffee mug at Jodi.

“No he’s not.” I fail to sound convincing but it doesn’t matter. We both know I’m lying.

“Have you told him anything about your past?” My body coils tight with tension as I shake my head no.

Last night I felt my relationship with Tyler shift. We didn’t just have sex, we shared a part of ourselves, and for the first time in ten years, I wished I had more to offer someone.

Since returning to Dallas, something in me has changed, and Tyler is the only possible cause, no matter how much I want to deny it.

“Lennie, your past doesn’t have to predict your future, but the things you went through could impact the person you choose to spend your life with. If you think that person could end up being Tyler, then he deserves to know.”

Tears fill my eyes. “Maybe I should take off for a while. I still have almost three weeks left.”

“Don’t you dare.” Her sharp tone causes me to pause. “I know what you’re doing. I’ve always known. That’s why I don’t take anything you do to heart.” Her eyes become glassy. I don’t ever remember seeing my sister cry, and she’s doing her best to make sure that doesn’t happen now.

“Do you think for one minute that the ending will hurt less because you avoid me? Because you deprived me of time I can’t get back? Deprived all of us time with you?”

Tears flood my cheeks. “Stop running, Lennie. Stop depriving yourself of the life you deserve and give this guy a chance.”

My eyes drift shut with regret because I haven’t been honest with my sister. My hand starts shaking when I force myself to look at her. “A future with me isn’t something I can offer anyone. You know that.”

“No, Lennie, I don’t. That’s your fear talking. Your life can be anything you want it to be. You just have to stop running.”

If Hank hadn’t pushed me for more, I’d still be in New Orleans for at least another week. Instead, I’m crashing in my sister’s apartment. And still, weeks later, I’m not being honest. When the truth finally comes out, I can only hope she can forgive me.

“I need to get going.” Jodi’s face falls, but once again, she doesn’t push the issue.

***

“WHERE ARE WE GOING?”

Tyler smiles. “I’m taking you out for dinner.”

My nose scrunches. “Really? The last time you asked me out for dinner I ended up starting a family war between you and your brother.”

Tyler chuckles. “No, you didn’t. You only placed a spotlight on a problem that existed long before you came into my life. My mom would love nothing more than to attack someone else for Brandon’s actions, but I’m not about to let you take the blame.”

My face turns up in a smile. “Okay. Where are we going to dinner?”

“I figured I would be wasting my money if I took you to a fancy restaurant so I decided not to bother and take you to the only place I knew for a fact that you’d love.”

I arch a brow. “You’re not going to tell me?”

A deep grumble comes from his chest. “Nope. You’re just going to have to wait.” I hate surprises, and the closer we get to downtown, the more I’m at a loss.

Tyler parks his vehicle and walks around to my door. Once he laces his hand with mine, he gives it a tug. “This way.” After we walk a few blocks, he points to a sign.

“The Barking Café”

“Yep, it’s a restaurant that not only allows you to bring your dog with you, they encourage it.”

My mouth drops open. “How is that even possible?”

Tyler laughs again. “I don’t know but it is.”

“But I don’t have a dog.” The corner of Tyler’s mouth turns up as he points back towards the restaurant. When I follow his stare, I see Carla standing with the dog that I’ve fallen in love with.

“Have you named him?” My eyes water.

“No,” I squeak, trying my best to avoid crying.

“Why not?” I shrug instead of answering him. For starters, the dog isn’t mine and never will be, but it’s more than that. I’m doing the same thing with him that I do with everyone. I’m safeguarding my heart for the day that he’s either adopted or put down.

“Well, tonight he’s all yours.” I somehow force my feet to move until I’m standing in front of Carla.

“Thank you.”

“Oh, sweetie, no thanks needed. This little guy was more than happy to get out of his pen for the night.”

“I know but you didn’t have to bring him down here.”

“Anything for you.” Carla squeezes my hand and hands me the leash. “Enjoy your beefcake.” She giggles in my ear.

“I will.” I look over my shoulder at Tyler, who’s smiling at me in a way that I can feel all the way down to my toes.

“Let’s get this little guy inside. I think they have some fancy choices for him to pick from.” We step inside and instantly I feel a peace take over.

“Welcome to The Barking Café. How many tonight?”

“Umm, three?”

“This way.” The hostess—who has her own dog on a leash—shows us to our table.

“I can only imagine how many dog fights break out in here.” I laugh.

“I’m sure it happens. I was told when I made our reservation that if our guest wasn’t on his best behavior we’d need to take our meal out to the park.” I look around the restaurant at all the different dogs with their owners and I can’t help the smile that breaks out on my face. I look over at the fur ball next to me and kiss him on his ear.

“I remember Brandon telling our parents one year that we all wanted to chip in at Christmas and get a family dog, but my mom wouldn’t even consider the idea. She told me that dogs take too much time and work and we were already too busy.”

I nod my head. “My parents said the same thing, but we traveled a lot when I was little. I don’t usually give my parents much credit but I think having a dog would have been difficult.”

“So you’ve always been a traveler?” He smirks, causing me to laugh.

“My dad inherited his father’s company. A couple of years later, he figured out a way to take the company to the next level, but he needed investors. Since we were little, my parents thought it was a good idea to pack us up and drag us everywhere they went.”

“Wow, what did you say your dad does?”

I clear my throat. “I didn’t.” His eyes narrow. I don’t want to keep this from him but I don’t necessarily like talking about it. “My dad is the primary owner of Capital Energy.”

His eyes widen. “Wow,” he breathlessly says.

“My father’s side of the family has owned hundreds of miles of pipeline in Texas since the beginning of time, but my father figured out a way to become even richer by capitalizing on a company that was already making money.”

“And everyone is looking for safer ways to provide energy.”

I nod. “Yes, but this was almost twenty years ago. People in general weren’t as worried about the environment back then. Being a smart businessman, my father was able to see the bigger picture.”

The waitress returns with a bowl of food for my friend.

“Thank you.”

“That’s...impressive,” Tyler says with a look of wonder in his eyes. And he’s not wrong. While most pipeline owners were worried about making their millions, my father was spending millions to ensure he was the first in line to offer a cleaner, safer way to provide fuel.

“My father has very good business skills.”

“But?” he immediately questions.

“But...he’s not necessarily the best at personal relationships.”

“Ah. Maybe we should introduce him to my mom.”

“No way. Those two would spend hours talking about how I’ve tainted my body with ink and how I’m not capable of holding a job.”

“Maybe if you stick around this time and find something you love doing you can prove him wrong.”

“My dad made his mind up about me the second I told him I wasn’t going to college. As far as he’s concerned, if I’m not like Jodi, then I’m a failure.” I shrug. “I’ve come to terms with it.”

“Why didn’t you want to go to college?”

I breathe out a long sigh. “Because it wasn’t for me. I had a hard enough time paying attention in high school that I knew college wasn’t in the cards. My grandparents left me a sizeable trust fund that I had access to when I turned eighteen, so I left town.”

“You haven’t lived in Dallas for seven years?”

“Nope, I left town about the same time Brandon screwed you over.” His eyes darken in that way that turns me on. “I come back about this time every year.”

“Why?”

I glance over at the dog. “I just do.”

I look back at Tyler but he gives in. I think he knows I’ve had enough show and tell for one day.

“Are we ready to order?” the waitress says.

“Yeah, I think we are.” Tyler and I both order a burger, and I order another bowl of whatever crap they already brought out for my fur friend.

“I think you should name him. It seems weird calling him dog,” Tyler drawls.

“His owner should name him.”

“His next owner can rename him if they don’t like the one you picked out,” he challenges.

“I haven’t been responsible for naming anything in my life.”

“Look at him. What does he look like to you?” I watch as the dog continues to lick at his second bowl of food. I rub my hand down his back when a name I think about more than a hundred times a day pops out of my mouth.

“Maddy.”

Tyler’s eyes narrow. “Isn’t that a girl’s name?”

“I don’t care. He’s Maddy until someone else gives him what I can’t: a home.”

Tyler gives me a grim smile. “We better finish up. I promised Carla we’d be back at a reasonable time so she could lock the shelter up.”

“Thank you,” I say as Tyler smiles. “Thank you for giving me the perfect night.”

I’ve known for years I can’t fix myself, so I’ve somehow set out to fix everyone else, but tonight Tyler gave me something I’ve never had before...He gave me my very first pet, even if I wasn’t able to keep him in the end.