Watch What Burns (4 page)

“
YOU pulled me away from a beautiful woman, so this better be good,” Tyler shouted as he walked into the police department, all guns blazing, the frown instilled on his forehead.

“Aw, I’m sure Austin won’t mind you being top cop for an hour or two,” Steve chided playfully as he relaxed back at his desk.

“I hope it’s not an hour or two,” Tyler smirked at his reasoning behind it. “I got my best girls waiting at home for me.”

“You’ve always got your best girls waiting at home for you,” Steve quipped sarcastically, trying to play the jealous man, but he couldn’t be that. No one could be bitter over seeing Austin reunited with Tyler, they could be envious all they wanted, but no bitterness was felt towards them.

“Exactly, and I’d like to keep it that way,” Tyler spoke back, knowing he’d go through hell for his daughter and wife. “So, what’s so important I needed to be here almost an hour before scheduled?”

Steve’s face darkened a little. “We all received these this morning.”

Tyler didn’t push, he just watched Steve twist on his seat, reaching across to grab a pile of letters. They were all the same brown manila envelopes, identical in size, identical in handwriting. The moment Tyler collected them in his grasp, he felt his blood boil. For over three years he hadn’t had any real issue with the past, yet lately it seemed to be all he had to deal with. Sure, Natasha rang the house, sent a letter on Tyler’s birthday, but she had never gotten this bad.

Looking at the envelope that had his name on it, Tyler literally ripped into it, his breathing stalled for a moment.
His eyes ran around the imprinted words on the paper. He knew the writing all too well. It was the script work of a woman he used to love. Now, she was constant source of heartache.

Tyler,

I know all about your life now. Congratulations on Grace, and congratulations on your soon to be over marriage. You know you can’t stay with her. She’s not perfect anymore, you deserve perfection. The sooner you open your eyes to that and cut yourself from the one thing that will ruin you, the sooner you can live your life to the maximum.

I know my hate of Austin compromises the honesty of my letter, but I will always feel that she is the one that you shouldn’t be with. She is a hindrance to you. You are made for bigger, greater things.

Hear me out and do away with the bad.

I will always, always love you, Tyler. Please visit and give me a chance.

Natasha x

“I can’t believe that woman,” Tyler ground out between clenched teeth. He couldn’t believe her audacity to name Austin a problem in his life when Austin was the one that could make or break him. Tyler quickly read the other letters, his vision only reddening more from the bullshit he read on the papers.

“And here’s mine,” Steve handed the final envelope over, his actions hesitant and almost nervous.

Tyler took the manila envelope, reached inside and pulled the letter out. As he read over Natasha’s hand writing, he could feel the need to manically leave and show Austin becoming prevalent.

Steve

I know how closely you used to work with Tyler. I know that won’t ever change. Please, if you’re reading this, you’ll understand how dire this is. I need you to tell him I need him, I need to see him; I need him back in my life.

Please, help me.

He knows where to find me.

Natasha.

Tyler tried his hardest not to screw the paper up into a tight fist. His willpower was beginning to bend and flex, nearing the point of breaking on him and remaining irreparable from now until tomorrow.

“I’ll be right back,” he told Steve, collecting all of the letters and heading into Robert’s office without even so much as knocking. “When are you next paying your daughter a prison visit?” Tyler asked, slamming the letters down onto Natasha’s father’s desk. Ever since the day that Natasha was put in the system for her dirty deeds, no one really went near the guy. Tyler kept a civil tongue and didn’t bad mouth the man, but he didn’t like him anymore than as a colleague he had to work with. “Maybe I can give you a letter to give back to her.”

“Why don’t you see her?” Robert asked, flexing into his chair. “I mean you clearly have enough to say as it is to me, why not say it to Natasha? You can tell her all about your perfect little life.”

“She tried to kill Austin, seeing her plead innocent at the trial was enough for me. You think my life is perfect, it’s not. What your daughter did still causes problems now for Austin, and it will for the rest of her damn life. We might be happy, and believe me we are, but there are lasting effects of your daughter’s arsonist attack that Austin has to cope with.” Tyler hit Robert’s desk, unable to continue this for the moment, “Plus, I can think of better ways to spend my time than seeing your daughter,” Tyler spoke with vehement bitterness and left Robert’s office, his mood darkened and dangerous.

***

“Can we see daddy?” Grace asked as she watched her mother placing the cakes into a tin. “Pwease, mama!”

Turning to face her daughter, Austin smiled brightly, “Do you think daddy deserves cakes?”

“Yes!” Grace jumped excitedly in her chair. “Because daddy always needs cake!”

Austin laughed gently at her daughter’s enthusiasm. It was infectious and everlasting. “Okay,” Austin quickly relented, “We’ll finish these ones up and go and surprise daddy.”

“Yay!” Grace exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed another cupcake from the freshly cooled batch. “This is going to be daddy’s special cake!”

Austin laid a kiss upon Grace’s forehead as she started to take the things to the sink to wash up. She smiled as she listened to Grace behind her, talking to herself as she decorated another cake. Even now, after three years, Austin couldn’t believe how perfect life was, how extraordinary Grace was. Every day was
a miracle with her, and Austin knew that Tyler treasured his daughter just as much as she did.

“Mommy!
I’m done!” Grace said as she looked down at her icing smothered cake. “Can we go now?”

Turning around, Austin noticed she had barely made a dent in cleaning up. Smiling, she realized that washing up could wait. “Let’s get you cleaned
up, baby, and then we can go over there.”

It didn’t take long for Austin to clean her daughter of the icing and cake mix and get her changed into clean clothes. Between Grace’s anticipation to see her father and Austin’s need to see her husband, it was swift motions and easy routine. Even in the car, Grace behaved, and Austin couldn’t fault how easy life was becoming as Grace got older.

“I’m going to make Auntie Sena look bootiful!” Grace told her mother, “And Unca Dean!” Grace continued, making her mother laugh. “It’s going to be so much fun, Mommy!” She literally jumped in her seat as she worked up her plans for the family evening. She noticed the car had stopped, and looked around. “We’re here!” Grace cried out as she looked out to see the police department now to her left.

“Yeah we are, Gracie!” Austin announced back, turning off the engine, taking the key from the ignition, and climbing out of the driver’s side of the car. “C’mon, Poppet,” Austin said as she pulled the car door open, undid the clasp of Grace’s car seat, and pulled her out. She listened to Grace continue her chat about playing dress up later with her auntie, and she just laughed away at her daughter’s excitement to everything.

Walking up the few steps to the department, Austin felt nervous. She hated coming here for one reason - Robert Truman. He was the only person that hated her other than Natasha. Swallowing her mounting fear, she pushed the door and entered the small town precinct.

Austin’s gaze immediately fell on her husband and her heart sank. He wasn’t happy, far from it. She knew of only one thing to break him down right now. Looking at Grace who hadn’t yet spotted her father, Austin leaned in and whispered for Grace to make a beeline for her father.

“Daddy!” Grace cried out the moment her feet hit the ground and she was running towards her father in an excited haste.

Austin stood in her spot and watched as Tyler turned around just in time to catch Grace in his embrace and hold onto her tight. Their daughter was their tonic. Apart from the temper tantrums she rarely had, or the fact that there were some days she refused to eat her vegetables like any other child, Grace Armstrong was the most idyllic child. She was the solvent to every problem that Tyler and Austin hit.

Tyler looked over his daughter’s shoulder and he caught gazes with his wife. He shot her a smile and a silent murmur of gratitude before he applied attention back to his daughter. He could see Austin approaching, but his daughter was clearly excitable over something.

“What’s got you and mommy down here, Sweetheart?” Tyler asked and Grace giggled.

“We made cakes!” Grace shouted and offered her father a massive teeth filled grin.

Tyler chuckled, “Oh, you did? Are they good cakes?”

“They’re yummy!” Grace announced and twisted in her father’s arms to see where her mother was. “Show him, mommy!”

Laughing, she opened the box, and looked to her husband. “I thought we would bring some down for you guys, but Grace made a special stash for you,” Austin smirked, and lifted her other arm to show the other box of cakes. “Specially decorated by our chef-artist extraordinaire,” she started and watched Grace smile brightly and then giggle as she rubbed noses with her.

“It’s a lovely surprise,” Tyler stated as he watched Austin regain her stature and look to him. He leaned in to kiss her. “I really need a chat with you later.”

“Okay,” Austin smiled, wary of what was wrong, but knew that Tyler would fill her in on all the details when the time was right.

“Well, well, well,” Robert said as he stepped out from his office. “Bringing family to work again are we, Armstrong?”

“Step back,” Tyler snapped at Robert, unwilling to put up with the needless
behavior. “We all do it, so don’t even begin to bring that attitude with me.” Tyler handed Grace back to Austin and stood protectively before them, “We all know how much dislike you’ve got towards me and my family, but your attitude isn’t welcome here.”

“I’m still one of the top officers here, what I say goes,” Robert argued, standing firm on his position here.

“And as deputy, I told you to step the hell back,” Tyler restated his previous statement, this time more forcibly.

“Ty, leave him,” Austin stepped in. “We only came down to give you guys some treats. No harm, no foul today okay?” Austin begged, knowing how hostility rose whenever Tyler and Robert were in a room. It was no lie that Natasha’s father couldn’t forgive Tyler for arresting his daughter, he was the only person who couldn’t accept his daughter’s faults, and with it her fate, and still, to this day, refused to believe it. “Grace and I were making a fly by visit.”

“Ahh, you brought the little one,” Robert’s gaze narrowed on the three year old in her mother’s arms. “Hey Grace,” Robert said as he stepped towards Austin, his eyes caught on Grace as he leaned in to see the little girl.

“Don’t touch her,” Austin snarled as Robert reached out to cup Grace’s face. After his attitude towards Tyler ever since Natasha’s arrest, Austin dubbed the man before her the devil’s advocate. “I’m polite enough for you to say hello to her, but you do
not get to touch her like you’re some integral part of our lives.”

“Don’t be like that,” Robert replied, reacting in a hurt manner as if Austin’s cold attitude was unwarranted.

“I’ll be however I want to be towards you, Robert, and I’ll do it as nicely as I please,” Austin gave him a smile, never losing her cool for a moment. “We have to deal with you because you work with Tyler, but I don’t have to tolerate you in my life other than that. I have to live with the decisions of your family, but that’s all I’ll live with.”

“Yeah,” Robert spoke with a chuckle, running his hand along his jaw line. “Maybe so, but you’ll always be the one that has to live with the scars of what my daughter did,” Robert offered an evil smirk with his comment, hitting Austin where she was always most vulnerable.

Austin didn’t take the bait. She remained stoic and strong, unmoved by the harsh comment. “At least I’m not the one related to a deceitful, manipulative,” Austin trained her eyes as she spoke the final word, “Murderer.” She spoke each word in a low, calm tone, her voice barely more than a whisper. As she watched the anger crash upon Robert’s face, Austin smiled, “Now there are some cupcakes over there, so why don’t you be a gentleman and try and not choke on one. Then come back and thank our little chef here,” she looked to Grace and smiled, she looked back over at Robert and was delighted with his expression. “Then you can leave, while being reminded that your words are absolutely futile on me.”

Everyone watched as Robert stormed off, slamming the door to his office behind him.

“Mommy,” Grace said looking to her mother with a sour expression. “I don’t like him. He’s so mean!”

“I know, baby, but not everyone is nice. You just need to know how to deal with them,” Austin told her daughter politely, kissed her forehead and looked at her husband. “Sorry, baby.”