If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) (2 page)

“True. And, as a result, Jilly Underwood is a guest in
Rose’s home. How is that for karma kicking you in the ass?”

They laughed, sharing a joke the same way they had since
they were old enough to toddle across the few feet of grass that separated
their childhood homes. Neighbors since birth, Dani liked to joke that they
became friends while still in the womb. Their mothers went to the same doctor,
attended the same childbirth classes. They both joked, and cringed at the
thought, that they must have been conceived on the same night. They were born
less than a week apart, Tyler being stubborn and refusing to come out on her due
date.

After that, they were inseparable. They had other friends,
but the two girls spent almost every waking moment together. When Rose moved in
with Tyler’s family the summer they all turned nine, the dynamic duo became the
Three Musketeers. The transition wasn’t without its bumps — Tyler had never
been good at sharing. Rose, though, had made it impossible not to love her.
Within a week, they all ran wild, sharing everything. College and life had them
going on different paths for a while, but when Dani had told them she was
moving home, it was a no-brainer for Tyler and Rose to follow. At seventeen,
Tyler never wanted to see Harper Falls again. Now, she couldn’t imagine living
anywhere else. Full circle — or pretty damn close.

“I think we may have a budding romance in our
midst.”

“You don’t mean Jilly and her muscle man?”

Dani shook her head. “No, if that lasts a week, I’ll be
shocked. I meant Portia Nessmith and Boyd.”

“Queen Reggie’s PA and your bodyguard? Talk about an
odd couple.”

“
Ex
-bodyguard. And as for odd, you’d be
surprised how much they have in common. Boyd loves classical music and French
food. Portia is willing to learn about both.”

“God, they’re practically down the aisle.”

“Tease all you like. I say they’re a good fit.”

Maybe
, Tyler conceded silently. Who was she to judge?
Relationships were a constant mystery that she didn’t think she would ever
solve. Dani and Rose made theirs work. Her best friends practically glowed with
happiness. There had been times — early on — when Tyler had been on alert,
ready to knock either man in the head if he hurt her friend. Fortunately, that
hadn’t been necessary and now she looked at Alex and Jack as what they were —
good men who loved without reservation. Dani and Rose were in good hands, and
that made her very grateful.

“Any progress on the Drew front?”

“Well, let’s see.” Tyler used one long finger to
tap her chin as though contemplating deep thoughts. “I’ve been here for
over an hour and he’s not only spent the entire time as far away from me as he
can physically get, he’s never even glanced my way. What does that tell
you?”

“That my usually observant friend is blind when it
comes to Drew Harper.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Only that his eyes have been glued to you since you
arrived,” Dani said. “Though admittedly, he looks away whenever you
look at him. I swear the two of you act like pre-teens with your first
crushes.”

“I distinctly remember my first crush,” Tyler told
her. “That boy had no doubt about my feelings.”

“Poor Kenny Henderson.” Dani practically bent over
with laughter when she thought of the tall, skinny boy. “It took him until
junior year in high school to recover from that kiss you laid on him.”

“Hmm. In retrospect, it might not have been the best
strategy to do it in front of all his friends. But I was thirteen and thought
it was high time I had my first kiss. Once I’d decided on Kenny, I didn’t see
any reason to shilly-shally around. How did I know he would put his head in the
sand and not pull it out again for four years?”

“Boys — an unpredictable lot.” Dani agreed.
“He made up for lost time when he finally got going. I remember him that
last year of school. He dated every girl that would say yes. Didn’t push it,
I’ll give him that. I turned him down and so did Rose — no hard feelings.”

“It was good to know I hadn’t scarred him for
life.” Tyler thought about it for a moment. “He never asked me.”

“Kenny knew you were still getting over Drew. All the
guys did.”

“I didn’t have a single date that year. Another thing I
have to thank Drew Harper for.”

“You wouldn’t have said yes.” Dani reminded her.

“I deserved the right to say no.”

Tyler would have sent the man a dirty look, but as usual,
the second she glanced his way, he seemed fascinated by the view out the back
window. Frustrating. He’d been frustrating at seventeen and was even more so at
twenty-eight. Things had simmered between them for over a year — lately it
escalated to a low boil. Soon the lid on that old pot was going to shoot off
with all the pent up pressure. It was just a matter of time.

“I made the first move, now it’s up to him.”

“Telling him you should hit the sack and get it out of
your systems is not making the first move.”

“What is it?”

“It’s… passive-aggressive bullshit.”

“Thank you, Dr. Ruth.”

Tyler mumbled the words into her wine glass. Friends. There
just might be such a thing as knowing someone
too
well. Especially when
that person insisted on pointing out the obvious and had the nerve to be right.
It made it almost impossible to argue.
Almost.

“I know what you are going to say.” Dani
interrupted Tyler before she could even begin. “All that’s left between
you and Drew is an animal attraction. Fuck like bunnies, and you’ll burn it
out.”

“Right.”

“Ha, I say.”

“Ha? You say? Who talks like that?”

“I do,” Dani said. “Don’t try and change the
subject.”

“I wasn’t. I just wanted to point out—”

“That it’s all about the sex. Wrong. I don’t know what
it is, but I guarantee it’s a hell of a lot more than sex. I’m all for the two
of you having some. Have lots. But you won’t get him out of your system that
way.”

“Then tell me how.” All the teasing was gone.
Tyler needed to know. She needed a way. Drew Harper was in her blood and
nothing she had tried had purged her of him.

“Oh, honey.” Dani reached over and squeezed
Tyler’s hand. “I know you still hurt. I’d hold him down while you kicked
his ass if I thought it would do any good. Maybe it’s time to take the direct
approach.”

“And what would that be?”

“Ask him why he broke your heart.”

TYLER LET HERSELF into her studio, her mind still rolling over
her conversation with Dani.
Ask Drew
. Such a simple thing and yet so
complicated, her brain felt like it was about to explode. Land mines at every
turn; huge areas of quicksand. Neon lights flashing
DANGER, DANGER
. Ask
Drew. She had never been a proponent of self-flagellation — she wasn’t starting
now.

She dropped her keys on the counter of her small, but
serviceable kitchen. When she had decided to return to Harper Falls, Tyler knew
exactly the space she wanted. She was an artist. Her mother swore Tyler had
started drawing before she could walk. Using the walls as her canvas hadn’t
gone over very well with her father, but Mom encouraged her daughter every
chance she had. Anita Jones was not a woman to assert herself. When it came to
Tyler’s artistic abilities, she at least had tried. Martin Jones hadn’t cared
enough about his daughter or her talent to waste his energy arguing.
“Scrub the damn walls” was his only response. Anita scrubbed.

The abandoned warehouse by the river suited Tyler’s purposes
perfectly. Large, open, with plenty of natural light. At one time, it was used
to store building materials. A huge docking area out front would have been
perfect for trucks to back in, unload, and be on their way again. The building
boom in Harper Falls went bust and the warehouse sat vacant for years. A
restaurant tried its hand for a brief time. Mediocre fare and food poisoning
had put them out of business almost before they started.

As kids, she and her friends would ride past the old place
on their bikes. Rose thought it was creepy. The overgrown weeds and
spider-filled cobwebs made her shudder. Dani thought it might make a good
photography studio, but it would be too much work to make it habitable. Tyler
knew if she had the money what she would do with it. The plans were in her mind
and had stayed there until she was able to implement them all these years
later.

She quickly changed her clothes. A glance in the mirror
showed her a tall, slender woman. At the moment, she had on nothing but the
ridiculously expensive lingerie she loved to wear under her jeans and t-shirts.
Her little secret — not Victoria’s. Subtle curves, strong muscles covered in
silk, satin, and lace. Today, pale lavender. It made her skin look like rich
cream, smooth and silky.

Her ancestry was a mixed bag. Irish, American Indian, a hint
of Slavic, and a whole lot of
your guess is as good as mine
. The result,
in Tyler’s case, was straight, near black hair that she wore long, often piled
into a messy bun. Her gray eyes could be a clear silver or dark pewter or
stormy gunmetal. It depended on her mood. Happy, sad, angry — the shade told
the tale.

She pulled on a pair of loose paint-covered cotton pants and
an equally stained man’s button-up shirt. They were clean but well used and as
far as Tyler was concerned, every mark was a symbol of her sweat, toil, and
creativity. She would wear them until they fell apart, only then throwing them
out, and starting over. Same outfit, same effort. Her art was what got her out
of bed at three in the morning, and what kept her up sometimes days at a time
running on brief naps and gallons of coffee.

Inspiration was a fickle bitch. Tyler and hers had a
love/hate relationship of long standing. Right now, they were in a good place.
The Harper Falls Centennial Statue was coming along at an amazingly fast pace.
Every time Tyler touched the sculpture, it almost talked to her — vibrating
with energy. Yes, she talked to her projects, and sometimes when everything flowed,
they spoke back. This one was creating a soliloquy.

Tyler had to admit that of all her projects, this one had a
special place in her heart and mind. Just getting the commission had been a
process fraught with more drama than a
Real Housewives
episode — and
most of it just as manufactured.

Harper Falls had been buzzing about the centennial
celebration since before Tyler returned. The planning stages had been slow and
meticulous. What else could you expect from a project headed by Regina Harper?
She may have married into the name, but she took her responsibility as
matriarch of the town’s founding family seriously. As far as Tyler could tell,
Regina took everything seriously. The woman had no discernible sense of humor.
She’d especially found the idea of her one and only child, the heir to the
Harper money and power, becoming involved with Tyler Jones nothing to smile
about.

Tyler mentally shook herself. Those memories were not for
now. Dani encouraged her to confront Drew. Her friend thought it was time to
find out why he had broken — no, check that. Why he ripped out her heart and
ground it into tiny pieces. She was still looking for some large chunks of the
battered organ — almost convinced they were lost forever. If the day ever came
when Drew told her the why of it? Well, that was a conversation he was going to
have to initiate. She was ready to fuck him — not spill her guts.

Tyler pulled back the cloth that covered what would be her
contribution to Harper Falls. She ran her hand over the unpolished bronze. It
didn’t look like much at the moment, but she could see it — perfectly. In her
mind, the lines were bold, almost stark — but infinitely powerful. It would sit
in the middle of town. Visitors would notice right away. How could they not? It
was large and dominating. Harper Falls residents would eventually become used
to the sculpture. They would pass it on a daily basis getting to the point
where they would seldom even notice it. However, there it would be. Created by
Tyler Jones. And no one, not even Regina Harper would ever be able to take that
away from her.

Of course, if it had been up to Queen Reggie, Tyler’s design
would never have been in the running, let alone been chosen. The woman did her
best to eliminate every entry Tyler submitted, under every alias Tyler used.
How had she known? Well, Regina Harper had her spies — everywhere. In the end,
none of the intrigue or teeth gnashing had mattered. Regina had stepped away
from the committee in charge of choosing a winner and they chose Tyler. Her design
— her original design — had been deemed the best.

Tyler was so happy that it took her awhile to figure out who
had made it happen. Only one person had that kind of influence. Only one person
held any power over Regina Harper. Her son — Drew Harper. Tyler didn’t know
what he had said or what he had done. She was certain, though, that it had been
Drew.

Her stomach knotted. The text she sent him had been so
inadequate and had gone unanswered.
Thank you
. Had he cared? Been
insulted? Even seen it? How was it possible that once — so long ago — words
hadn’t been necessary? Tyler only had to look at Drew and everything that was
important would pass between them. When had it changed? She couldn’t pinpoint
the exact moment. Sometime during those last few weeks. The ease between them
slipped away — tension grew. Tyler was blissfully unaware that it even
happened. That was how he blindsided her. She had been wrapped in a false
cocoon. With just a few sentences, Drew burned it away, leaving her raw, and
her emotions in tatters.

Work. Her art. That was what she needed — the only thing
that mattered. They were about to celebrate the founding of Harper Falls. A
century ago, her love for Drew hadn’t even been a wisp in the wind. A hundred
years from now, it would be a long-forgotten blip. But this. Her hands traced
the sculpture again. This would last. This, people would remember.