Folding Hearts (14 page)

Miranda stared at the television, almost as if she were in a daze. “Hey, you still with me?”

She turned and gave a quick smile. “Sorry. It’s just been a long day. I think I am still in shock over all of this. How could I have been so stupid Ty? How could I ever think that he could be anything but the devil?”

Her confusion over her poor choices had stressed her more than she wanted to admit. I wasn’t really sure how she would react, but I held out my arms for her to slide into my chest. “I won’t bit
e
you know.”

She reluctantly slid her body over so that she was pressed up against my chest. I folded my arm around her shoulder and across her arm, pulling her into me closer. Very gently I pressed my lips into the top of her head. She remained silent in my arms and I was fine with that. I just wanted her to know that she was safe.

I had started watching a new hot rod show on television. Miranda leaned her body on mine and let me just hold her like that. She looked up at me. “I am really sorry that
I have been so distant with you. I should have never shut you out like I did. You are a good friend Ty. We are lucky to have you in our lives.”

She said the word friend again, which I was fine with, if that was all she really wanted. Unfortunately, just being with her for the past
few hours stirred up some buried feelings that I was trying to deny having for her. She was so attractive and the fact that she was vulnerable and needy made it easy to want to be there for her. We needed to talk about what had happened between us that night, but she kept telling me to drop it. I felt like we were on the same page, but she continued to shut me down. I
wasn’t
really sure what to do about it.

“
You are both important to me
. I don’t know who else I could have talked to about losing Van. It meant so much to me to have you giving me advice. I don’t really talk to a
nyone else the way that we talk,
” I admitted.

“Yeah, well with Bella, it is hard for me to have any kind of social life. Besides Van and my brother’s occasional girlfriends, I really don’t have many friends. Van is great, but she is so involved with her wedding plans right now. She really doesn’t have time for my drama, especially since they all told me to stay away from him so many times.”

She repositioned herself a little more away from me so we were face to face.
It should have made things easier, but her gorgeous eyes
looked intently into mine
,
causing me to look down at her lips. I knew it was a mistake. I never should have even thought about doing it, but I leaned over and pressed my lips against hers.

I kept my eyes open, worried about her slapping me in the face, but she closed her eyes right away. I avoided using my tongue, or following through with a deeper kiss. I just let my lips linger against hers. As I pulled away, I watched her open her eyes slowly.

“What was that for?” She asked.

I have wanted to do that for so long.

“I
…well…I don’t know.
Are you mad?” Since she hadn’t pus
hed me away or done worse, I fi
gured what I had done was
at least
okay.

She shook her head. “No. I just didn’t expect that.”

Me either!

“I should probably head over to my parents.”
Things had just become
awkward
.

I stood up before she could say anything. The kiss was over, but tension had filled the room. I could have just fucked everything up. I needed to get out of there. I didn’t regret what I had just done, but I didn’t want to face negative consequences, either.
She had finally smoothed everything over with me and I had possibly screwed it all up.

She let me walk to the door before she stood up and put her hands into her back pockets. “So, will we see
you
in the morning?”

“If that’s what you want?”
I leaned against the door frame.

She nodded her head up and down. “Yeah, I think Bella will be looking for you at the crack of dawn.”

“Should I set my alarm?” I wondered.

“
Of course not! Just come over when you wake up.”

She wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Are you sure you aren’t mad at me?”

She walked closer to me and leaned against the edge of the couch. “
Not at all. It was just a kiss Ty. It was sweet.
We are friends. It’s okay.
”

There was the friend word again….

“I don’t think anyone
has ever called me sweet before,
” I admitted.

She looked down at the floor and let out a tiny snicker. “You act different around me. I mean, people say you are one way, but I don’t see that side of you Ty. You have always been so sweet to me and especially Bella.”

“Izzy,
” I interrupted.

“Bella!” She laughed. “I think you should show everyone this side of you. You obviously have a big heart.”

I shook my head and disagreed. “Nah, I think that having my heart broken has changed the person that I want to be. The sex and the girls was something that I did to pass the time. They never meant anything to me, it was all for fun. I don’t know whether it was the accident, or the fact that I
finally lost Van, but whatever it was made me rethink the decisions I was making. I am not saying that I am abstinent or never go
ing
out
again
, but I just don’t do it a lot.”

“
All the partying is what got me Bella. I will never regret her, but I wish I hadn’t
ru
n around like I did. For shits sake, her daddy is a convict.”

We both laughed.

We stood there just staring at each other for a couple seconds. I grabbed the door and was thankful when I opened it and realized that the rain had slowed to a drizzle.

“Guess I will see you in the morning.”

“Okay.”

I gave Miranda one more smile before heading out away from the carriage house.
It was surprising to find my mother still awake when I walked into the house. She was sewing some huge ass blanket.

“Hey Mom.”

“I tried to call you and tell you she was coming.”
She shook her head like she was pissed at me.

I sighed.
“I know you did. I didn’t bother checking my messages. It’s all good though. I got a surprise visit from my favorite girl. She is getting so big Mom. Wait until you see her tomorrow.”

She sat her blanket down and looked up at me. I knew the look well. I sat down without being asked to.

“That girl is here because she is running from trouble. It would be in your best interest to keep her at a distance.”

I chuckled. “Seriously? I think I can make my own decisions when it comes to Miranda. She has been nothing but a friend to me when I was at my worst. If she needs a friend then I am going to be there.”

“You know that I ain’t talking about a friend Tyler. She has trouble written all over her.”

I pointed my finger at my mother. “You stayed up to give me this half ass lecture didn’t you?”

“Perhaps.”

“There is nothing that I won’t do for that little girl. I know you don’t understand it, but
it’s the truth. Please be nice to Miranda while she is here Mom. I know how you like to feel in control of my life, but
damnit
, I am a grown man now. I make my own money and wipe my own ass. You can’t continue to meddle like you do.”

She raised her eyebrow. “I am afraid to tell you that I will always have an interest in your life son. I don’t want to see you get hurt like you did before, or worse.”

I expressed amusement in her last comment. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Maybe she will try to trap you. Girls like that are always looking for someone to help raise their kids. I can’t blame her for having eyes for you.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head again. “She doesn’t have eyes for me. Jesus Christ!”

“Don’t use that talk around me.”

“Whatever! I am going to bed before I say something else to get you into a tizzy. Goodnight Mom.”

My mother didn’t say goodnight as I walked away from her. I got that she was suspicious of someone that she didn’t know, but Miranda was not looking to trap me, in fact she had never even made a move on me. I was the idiot trying to kiss her tonight.
I had to remember that my overb
e
aring mother had been looking out for me again. She needed to stop her meddling, but I saw the good in what she thought
would be considered lookin
g out for me.

After Van and Colt had left
, things were tough for me. I spent most of my time alone, sulking in defeat. Karma is really a bitch and it dealt me with the biggest payback possible.  I knew all along that Van was too good for me. While she sat at home planning our future, I was out banging chicks. I was selfish and worried about getting my dick wet.  When I finally opened my eyes to look into that mirror they call ‘truth’, well I didn’t like what was staring back at me at all.

I was left with nothing to show for.

No college degree.

No future in football.

No
driver’s
license.

No girl.

After weeks of sulking, it was my mother who
had
drug me out of my depressed stupor. Well, it was her and Miranda. Of course she would rather take all of the credit and not give any to the single mother staying in our carriage house.

It appeared that my mother had nothing to worry about anyway. Even if I was interested in Miranda, she had made it clear that we were just friends more than once. It was ironic considering that
the more I fel
t like I wanted there to be something between us
, the more she kept shutting me down. I
wasn’t
used to so much rejection. Maybe all of my cheating had left me with the inability to ever be trusted again. Maybe I needed to move to another country where nobody knew me.

For the next two hours I laid in my bed and pondered on every conversation that Miranda and I had ever had. It left me even more confused.

Chapter 15

Miranda

It was just a friendly kiss. He missed our friendship and was overwhelmed with our surprise visit.

I kept telling
that to myself while I
lay
next to my daughter
,
trying
to fall asleep.
I couldn’t get over the fact that Ty seemed so different. He hadn’t thrown himself on me, or given me any reason that he wanted me sexually.  He just offered a shoulder and
an ear. I needed to stop making something
ou
t of nothing
.

If the timing
was different I could se
e myself being
with Ty. Of course that would require him to return an interest in me, but he was great. Van said that he was a good friend. Although, on more than one occasion she said that he wasn’t a good boyfriend. I couldn’t just think about myself anymore. My daughter had to be my first priority. I couldn’t use sex as a tool to get a guy, especially a guy like him.  He loved my daughter so much and tha
t was a big deal. I wasn’t going
to let some secre
t feeling
s ruin their relationship.

I woke up to my daughter ramblin
g
. I sat up and noticed that she wasn’t even in the room. It took me a seco
nd to take in my new surrounding
s before I jumped u
p and rushed out into the living
room. She could have walked in
to the bathroom and been playing
in the toilet, or worse.

I froze when I spotted Bella, sittin
g
in her chair, eatin
g
her dry cereal, while Ty sat across from her. “How did you get in here? Did I lock the door wrong?”

“No. I used my key. I figured that you would be awake, so I just came in. Izzy must have heard the door open, because she came running
out of the bedroom carrying a bra and a diaper.” Ty had this half smile going, especially when he said the word ‘bra’.

I put my hand over my very embarrassed face.

“I changed the diaper, but the bra didn’t fit her at all.”
He reached his hand out and handed me my pink bra.

I tucked it behind my back. “Smart ass!” I walked over and tossed my bra back into the bedroom. Bella must
have been awake for a little whi
le, because my whole bag was ripped apart on the bedroom floor.

When I got back out into th
e kitchen, Ty was still cackling
over my underwear. I rolled my eyes and noticed that he had a cup in his hand. “Is that coffee?”