Torn (33 page)

For a full minute, Tyler just stood there in the middle of the room and gaped at her. This had to be a joke. “Are you
kidding
me?” he rasped against his sore, bruised throat.

“What?” Chelsea’s eyes narrowed even more. “You’re obviously fine. Battered, but fine. But Jake isn’t here and that surprises me. He would be here to talk to me about all of this… Unless he was gravely hurt.”

If anything, Tyler’s jaw dropped even lower, his eyes widened even further as he gawked at the woman he loved. This time, he did roar. “Are you
serious
?” His long legs paced the small room. “The man
chopped
my throat! My career will be on hold for
weeks
until these ––“ he gestured wildly at the bruises and cuts on his face, “clear up, and you’re asking if
I
hurt Jake?”

“Look! I’ve cared about this man for years! It’s not something I can just turn on and off, you know! You’ll appreciate it when I’m
your
wife!” Her shout ricocheted across the room, stopped Tyler in his tracks. Slowly, he turned to face her.

“What did you say?” he whispered.

“I said,” Chelsea cleared her throat, her slender mocha fingers twisted the white blanket at her hips. “I’ve cared about Jake for years ––“

Tyler crossed the room, leaned over the bed so that Chelsea had to tip her head back to look into his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was thick, husky. “Say it again.”

Chelsea stopped smiling, cupped his jaw in one hand, cradled it as her eyes glowed with a tender light. Her voice was a mere thread of sound. “You’ll appreciate it when I am
your
–“

His mouth claimed hers.

~*~

Jake felt Laurel recoil even before she physically acted on it and, as she bunched her muscles to stand, he placed a hand on her thigh, stopping her. “We’re getting a divorce.” He blurted the news out, knowing, as he spoke, that it was the truth. Would be the truth.

“I thought so…” Before he lost the nerve, Jake reached out and took her hand. Again, he was struck by a jolt of electricity when they touched, and when he looked into her hazel eyes, he saw that she felt the same. “But now… Now I think they did me a favor.”

The nurse smiled, what was sympathy turning into something deeper, something more. “Lucky break,” she amended.

Chapter Thirty-Four

T
yler looked over at the heavily pregnant young woman seated at his left. Her eyes were dark and stormy as they watched the snow swirl about the outside of the airplane. Her nostrils flared as she took a deep breath, her gaze flickering to the flight attendants talking in low murmurs by the restroom, then resumed glaring out the window. Tyler looked over to the flight attendants, one of whom eyed him with an open invitation, and then back at Chelsea. No, he guessed. She wasn’t angry with them.

She leaned forward and grabbed a magazine from the seatback in front of them, flipped through the pages without even seeing their content. A brow lifted on Tyler’s face as he eyed the old issue of
People
. Seeing a photo of himself with his arm around his ex-wife in Chelsea’s rotund lap was enough to make him snatch the magazine and stuff it in seat in front of him. Chelsea didn’t even react. She just returned her angry focus to the small, oval window again.

Now Tyler frowned. This entire flight back to Montana had been filled with nothing but stony silences from his seat partner, as had the limo ride from the hospital to the airport. In fact… Tyler’s eyes narrowed in speculation, Chelsea had been in a snit ever since Jake had introduced her to that beautiful nurse.

When Jake knocked softly on her door and poked his head into the room, Tyler left to give them privacy. When he’d returned, Chelsea looked thrilled, though somewhat sad, and stated that Jake just told her that he’d left a message with a divorce attorney back home. Then her husband came back, and announced that Tyler could have his seat for the flight back to Montana; he’d caught a ride with someone else.

Tyler could have kissed him. Chelsea, on the other hand, looked confused. Jake opened the door and invited someone in, introduced her. The nurse entered and looked at Tyler and Chelsea with a hesitant smile. Chelsea started to smile back, until her gaze fell on Jake’s face. Her soon-to-be-ex looked at the Native American woman as though he’d found the Holy Grail. Tyler understood that look. It was how he felt each time he thought of Chelsea.

He looked at Chelsea and his eyes widened in surprise. She looked… frozen. Her smile had congealed in her face, her eyes were icy, obsidian orbs set in stone. Her husband was giving her some of her own back to her and it was clear she didn’t like the taste.

Tyler looked over at Jake. Chelsea’s husband was still looking at Laurel Morning Star wearing the most besotted expression Tyler had ever seen in his life. Jake said something about how he was going to help Laurel with the rest of her packing and drive back to Montana with her. He wasn’t sure when he’d be back, but he’d left instructions with the lawyer to start the divorce proceedings immediately. He said all of this without his eyes never leaving Laurel’s face.

Jake then walked over to Chelsea’s bedside, gave his wife a distracted kiss on the cheek, shook Tyler’s hand –– now Tyler
knew
the man was head-over-heels –– and followed his nurse out.

Sure, it was gauche of Jake to state all of this to his wife with what was clearly her replacement at his side, but considering that Chelsea was pregnant with another man’s offspring, Tyler figured she’d take it in stride.

The low voice spoke in Tyler’s ear and he looked up into the large, gray eyes of the flight attendant that’d been eyeing him from the galley. “Yes?”

“We’re about to land and I was wondering if I could get anything for you before we do… Something to drink perhaps? A pillow? My phone number…”

With a polite smile, Tyler shook his head. He gave Chelsea’s stomach a tender pat, distracting her and causing her to look at him.
Finally
, Tyler grumbled to himself. Aloud, he replied, “Thank you, but I’m all set.”

The flight attendant’s mouth dropped in a silent O, but he recovered quickly. “Congratulations, honey.” He straightened, and this time his smile included the woman at Tyler’s side. “You done good, sweetheart. That Jennifer was
all
wrong for you.” He started to walk away, then turned around. “But if you ever change your mind, sugar, I fly the
friendly
skies.”

Chelsea hooted, looked at the blushing tips of Tyler’s ears, then laughed again. “You go, Girl!” she exclaimed to the attendant, and he turned and tossed her a saucy wink before disappearing into the galley.

~*~

“Well, Pat? Did he take your number?”

Pat eyed the leggy blonde, fresh from her boob job, and sighed dramatically. “No, damn it. The good ones are
always
straight!”

Another flight attendant snorted behind him. “No they aren’t. They’re always gay or married.”

“Whatever, honey,” Pat said in his butterscotch voice as he eyed the petite brunette female at his right. “But this one is neither…”

The blonde smoothed down the top of her uniform, fluffed her hair, and started to leave the galley. Pat stopped her by hooking his arm with his. “I wouldn’t bother sweetie. See that woman next to him?”

The woman peeked out around the curtain and sniffed. “That fat cow? What about her?”

The other two flight attendants crowded about the curtain, trying to sneak a peek as well, and Pat rolled his eyes. “Catty doesn’t become you, Barb. The woman’s
pregnant
, you nitwit, not fat. And I’d bet my basket of M.A.C. that she’s pregnant with
his
kid.”

“Damn.”

“Don’t I know it, honey.”

“She’s definitely smarter than his formers then,” the brunette murmured, as if to herself, “Got herself knocked-up straight-away. I would have done the same thing. Everybody knows that Ty Benson’s always wanted kids.”

“Did you notice the tan line where her ring used to be be?” the blonde chimed in. “Think she was married to someone else?”

“Aren’t they always?” Pat stated, then turned to ready the drink tray.

~*~

Tyler listened to her laughter with a raised brow. “Well, look who’s come out of her funk.”

Chelsea’s laughter abruptly ceased at Tyler’s reminder, and her eyes dropped to her ringless hands. “I’m sorry.” Her voice was soft, and tinged with irony. “I haven’t handled Jake’s news very well, have I.”

Tyler leaned back in the seat and waited. A flight attendant announced via the speaker system that it was time to buckle seatbelts, replace trays, and return seats to their upright positions as the plane started to descend into the clouds. He helped Chelsea with her seatbelt, then clasped his own.

When he was done, he looked her way, and saw her staring at him, her eyes a paradox of joy and pain. “I know it’s terrible for me to say this, I should feel happy and relieved that Jake found someone else so quickly… But I’m not.” Instantly, she shook her head, looking annoyed with herself. “That’s not it. I am happy for Jake and I’m relieved because now I feel less guilty.” She glanced out the window, trying to organize her thoughts, and Tyler propped his right ankle on his left knee, steepled his fingers, and waited.

“I was angry. Part of me still is. Because I took one look at Laurel and knew she embodied my worst nightmare. She’s everything I’m not. Everything Jake always wanted but could never have with me.”

“She personifies everything that Jake has ever loved since before he met me. I would swear that Jake was Northern Cheyenne in a past life. Everything he does, he does in the Indian way. His praying, his singing, his dancing, his child rearing. When we first met, it was at a powwow. I was there by sheer luck and chance. Jake was there because…” Chelsea’s smile was tender and nostalgic. “…Because he’s a powwow singer.

I could never muster the same passion for the powwow that Jake has. I sang with him, I danced… I
tried
. But I didn’t breathe it. I didn’t live it. It’s not a part of me the way it’s a part of Jake. But I loved him, and he loved me… and for years, that was enough. When there was a powwow scheduled, Jake would take the girls with him, but more often than not, I’d stay home.”

She sighed and focused on Tyler. “Laurel is everything Jake always wanted in me but could never have. And so help me, I’m jealous of that.” Chelsea shook her head slowly, her lips curved into a wry smile. “Fate couldn’t have picked a better way to get back at me
and
get Jake’s point across. The irony.”

“Which is?” Tyler prompted, his gaze intent on hers.

Chelsea chuckled. “Now I know how he felt all this time. He took one look at you and saw that you embodied everything
I
always wanted but could never have with
him
.”

Her head bobbed assent. “I’ve always wanted to have a large family since before I ever knew Jake existed. More to the point, I always wanted a lover who would
want
to have a large family.” Her lips twitched. “Our first words to each other after we made love for the first time were, ‘I don’t want to have any kids’, and ‘I want seven’.” Chelsea’s expression turned musing and she pressed a French-manicured nail against her lips. “That was probably our first clue.”

She sighed, closing her eyes, and rolled her head in a weary circle on her neck as Tyler’s hand clasped her own. He gave it a gentle squeeze and she smiled, placed it over her taut belly just as one of the twins gave her a sharp kick.

“You’ve got a large family now.” Tyler’s murmur tickled her ear, caused her pulse to race, and she welcomed his kiss, her heart nearly stopping in exquisite agony when the tip of his tongue touched hers.

When he pulled away, she was breathless, and she looked at him with her heart in her eyes. “I sure do.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

I
t was dark by the time Chelsea and Tyler arrived at the Morgan residence in Black Creek, Montana. They had picked up the girls in Bozeman before coming home and the sad, knowing look in Mrs. Morgan’s eyes had been almost too much for Chelsea to bear.

When asked, she told her mother-in-law only that Jake ran into a friend from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and was helping her move back home. Until Jake was back and the two of them could tell everyone together, she wasn’t going to say a word about the divorce plans. Still, Jake’s mother was an intuitive soul. She knew something was up. But she followed Chelsea’s lead and didn’t give voice to her concerns.