If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) (29 page)

“Mom’s met her.”

“Really? When? She hasn’t mentioned anything to
me.”

“I asked her not to. I brought Tammy to Spokane a few
weeks ago. We all had dinner. They seemed to hit it off.”

Tyler thought for a moment, coming to a quick decision.

“How much do you need?”

She could see the relief seep into Kyle’s body.

“Moving costs, first and last month’s rent. A security
deposit.”

Tyler left the sofa, walking to her desk in the corner of
the room. She took out her checkbook.

“Groceries, incidentals.”

She tore off the check, handing it to her brother.

His eyes widened when he saw the amount.

“Tyler, I don’t know how to thank you. I promise to pay
you back as soon as possible.”

Tyler shook her head. “Here’s what I’m going to do,
Kyle. Every month for the next six months, I’m going to send Tammy a check.
Consider it my contribution to the cause. The first hint I get that any of that
money is making its way back to M.J., not only do I cut you off? I track you
down and kick the shit out of you.”

Kyle nodded. “Sounds fair.”

Tyler chuckled. Who would have thought? She was having a
laugh with her brother.

“You have a real chance here, Kyle. Don’t blow
it.”

She walked him to the door.

“And don’t worry about paying me back. Consider it a
wedding present. You are going to marry the girl?”

“As soon as we get settled.”

Before she knew his intentions, Kyle gave her a hug. Another
first. A little awkward and kind of sweet, Tyler hugged him back.

Kyle was halfway down the steps when he turned back. He
hesitated.

“Watch out for M.J.”

“I always do.”

“No. This is different. We went out for a drink last
night. I figured it would be my way of saying goodbye without actually saying
it, you know?”

“Okay.”

“He talked about you. A lot. That’s how I knew about
you seeing Drew Harper again. He,” Kyle frowned. “He hates you,
Tyler.”

Tyler blinked in surprise. She knew M.J. disliked her, but
hate?

“Why?”

“He could never intimidate you. That was fine when you
were little. He would lock you in a closet or knock you down. There came a time
when he couldn’t do that anymore. You started to fight back. Being a bully only
works when your victim is afraid. You never were.”

That wasn’t entirely true. She used to be afraid of M.J. He
was bigger and stronger. Then she realized he was a coward. He hid behind crude
language delivered in a loud voice. If actually confronted, he ran. Her fear
evaporated fast when she realized he never met anyone head on. That was when
she learned to watch her back.

Tyler had a sudden thought.

“M.J. was the one who told Regina Harper about Drew and
me.”

Kyle nodded.

“He got a pretty good chunk of cash for that
information. Even after Drew left town, Mrs. Harper paid M.J. to keep an eye on
you.”

“And since I’ve been back.”

“I wondered. M.J. hasn’t said.”

“What do you think?”

“I would say yes. Every now and then, he shows up with
some money to wave around. I don’t know where else he would get it.”

“Right.”

“Take care, okay?”

“You too.”

Tyler waved as Kyle pulled away. Feeling a shiver that had
nothing to do with the sudden November breeze, she closed the door. Making sure
to engage the locks and set the alarm, Tyler went to her little kitchen for
another cup of coffee.

She stood with her back against the counter, sipping the hot
liquid. It was unsettling to find she was being spied on. Knowing it was done
by her own brother added another layer of creepy.

Shaking off thoughts that threatened her happy buzz, she put
her cup in the sink. She had a statue to move. Or supervise moving.

Tyler walked around the figure, trying to be objective.
It
was good
, she thought, picking up a section of protective wrapping.

Regina Harper and M.J. could go to hell.

This was what mattered. This was what she cared about. Her
work. Her friends. Her Drew.

Smiling, Tyler put the last piece of tape on the last piece
of bubble wrap just as the truck pulled up outside. Perfect timing. In fact, at
the moment everything was perfect.

“GOOD FOR KYLE.”

“Good thing he has such a generous sister.”

“Mom will be happy,” Tyler said to Rose and Dani.
“All that praying has finally paid off. At least one of her sons is trying
to get his life together.”

They were having drinks at
Tom Tom’s
. The Friday
night crowd was just getting started. Loud but not rowdy — not yet. You could
be yourself at
Tom
Tom’s
as long as you respected the women and
tipped your server. All other rules were out the window.

Tyler thought back to the first time she came here. Jack and
Rose were just starting their relationship. Dani hadn’t a clue that shortly,
Alex would be back in her life. And she threatened to grind Drew’s balls into
dust. At the time, she meant it. In retrospect, she was glad their animosity
never escalated to that extent.

“What are you grinning about?”

Drew took the seat next to Tyler, giving her a warm hello
kiss.

“Just thinking about your balls.”

“Drew’s balls are funny?”

Alex joined Dani, taking her hand as he sat down.

“I’ve seen him naked. I don’t remember them being
particularly hysterical,” Jack said.

“How close a study did you make?” Rose asked him.

Jack winked at Rose, his blue eyes filled with their usual
good-natured twinkle.

“You got me there, sweetheart. I claim no more than a
glancing acquaintance.”

Drew groaned. He wanted to slap his best friend across his
grinning face.

“You have no acquaintance with my balls, glancing or
otherwise. Why are we even talking about them?”

“Tyler said you have funny balls,” Jack shrugged,
thoroughly enjoying his friend’s frustration.

“A little help here,” Drew said to Tyler.
“Clarify your earlier statement so we can leave my balls in peace.”

Tyler took pity on Drew. She reminded everyone of the night
back in May, going into detail since Alex wasn’t familiar with the story.

“I was pissed at Drew.”

“Nothing new there,” Dani chimed in.

“True. I’d just found out about that celibacy bet you
idiots made. I was afraid it was going to backfire onto Rose. Being a good
friend, I warned Drew. If Jack made her cry, I would rip off his balls and
grind them into the dirt.” She winked at the other women. “No big
deal.”

“So you say,” Drew countered. “My balls were
scared. They jumped up inside my body; I couldn’t find them for days.”

“They were in no danger. Jack got in a fight with a
bunch of bikers distracting us all. He was a hero, Rose didn’t cry. End of story.”

They all laughed, rehashing the finer points Tyler either
left out or missed when Jack and Rose were out in the parking lot.

“Balls aside,” Alex quipped, turning to Jack.
“Did you really take on those bikers by yourself?”

“I was more of a placeholder until Rose came to my
rescue. She jumped on the back of the biggest guy there.” He lifted Rose’s
hand to his lips. “My hero.”

“Ah,” Tyler and Dani sighed.

“Now we’re an old engaged couple,” Rose sighed.
“Soon to be married.”

“You finally set the date?” Tyler exclaimed.

“When?” Dani demanded.

“May 20th. The one-year anniversary of the night I
propositioned Jack.”

Rose beamed at the memory. Jack looked pleased himself.

“It was the best one-night stand I never had.”

“I LOVE ROSE, but if I have to look at one more bridal
magazine, I might go stark raving mad.”

“She hasn’t gone Bridezilla on you?”

Tyler smiled at her mother, a bit surprised she knew the
term. Anita Jones was moving into the twenty-first century. A new hair color,
new job, reality television. Tyler couldn’t wait to find out what was next.

“Not my Rose. It isn’t her attitude I object to. It’s
the number of mind-numbing periodicals we’ve poured over in the past week. I
didn’t know there were so many.”

“It’s a huge industry. Why last week alone, I did the
nails for three brides and seven bridesmaids. I’m booked solid in December.
Holiday weddings are very big.”

“You sound like you’re enjoying your new job.”

Anita nodded, her eyes bright. For that reason alone, Tyler
wanted to offer the owner of
Permanently Awesome
a big hug.

“The other women who work there are so nice. Right off,
they made me feel like one of the girls. The customers are nice too. You
wouldn’t believe the gossip I hear.”

“Blush-worthy?” Tyler asked. “Spill, Mom. I
haven’t heard anything juicy in weeks.”

“Oh, I could never tell. Some of those things are,
well, I’m sure they must be made up.”

A blush spread across Anita’s cheeks, making Tyler chuckle.
Sweet and old-fashioned in so many ways. A bit of a prude. She wondered what
her mother would say if she knew about some of the things her little girl did
with Drew Harper. Luckily, there was no reason for her to ever find out.

But she did need to know about Drew. He was Tyler’s main
reason for visiting her mother.

“Mom—”

“I did hear one piece of gossip that might interest
you.”

Tyler swallowed. Oh, boy.

“You’ve heard.”

“About you and Drew Harper? The salon was buzzing all
afternoon yesterday. It was all anyone could talk about.”

“Honestly?”

Tyler understood about small towns. They lived on gossip. It
was their life’s blood. The fact that she and Drew were seeing each other was
juicy. But all afternoon? Good Lord. Get a life, people.

“I wanted to be the first to tell you. I mean, last
night was the first time we’ve gone out in public. How could they have known so
soon?”

“It only takes a whiff of a hint, Tyler. You know
that.”

“This town fed on me and Drew so long the first time,
they should still be full. After Drew left town, and everything came out, it
was hard for me to show my face.”

“Last time was about forbidden love. That kind of
gossip, especially when it involves a Harper, never completely dies.”

“I suppose,” Tyler conceded. “This time we’re
adults. We won’t hide or pretend. If it works or fails, it will be because of
us — period.”

“Good.”

“That’s it? Good? You had a lot more to say ten years
ago.”

Anita looked into her daughter’s stormy eyes and sighed.

“I wish I could take my words back, Tyler. You were
hurting. Drew was gone. I should have held my tongue. I was afraid for you. I
saw Drew Harper as a man much like your father.”

“Drew is nothing like Martin Jones. He wasn’t then and
he certainly isn’t now.”

“No.” Anita gave Tyler’s hand a comforting pat.
“You wouldn’t be with him if he were. Back then, though, I was glad he
broke your heart before he could destroy your life. I made the mistake of
putting you in my shoes.”

Tyler took a deep breath. She didn’t want to be angry. Not
with her mother. The anger she felt for her father, that was another thing.

“You were mild in comparison to Dad. He said some
things I will never forget. Slut. Whore. Trash. God, his face got red. For the
first time, I thought he might hit me. Or have a stroke.”

“He was overreacting to his own… disappointment.”

Tyler frowned. “What disappointment?”

“About nineteen years earlier, Martin had an affair
with Regina Harper.”

“You knew about that?” Tyler asked in surprise.

“
You
knew?”

Tyler shrugged. It seemed they were both surprised.

“I knew it was a possibility. When did you find
out?”

“While it was happening.”

Anita got up from the table. She needed to be moving, to do
something. Emptying the almost full pot of coffee, she proceeded to make a new
one. The familiar task soothed her enough so she could continue.

“I knew almost from the start that you father cheated
on me — often. I also knew none of those women meant any more to him than I
did.”

“Oh, Mom.”

“I had no illusions that my marriage was a love match.
M.J. came along six months after we said I do. Martin always felt I forced him
to settle down.”

“Asshole.”

“Yes. He was an asshole, wasn’t he?”

“Mom!” Tyler exclaimed.

“That felt good,” Anita said with a smile.
“It’s taken me thirty-five years to say that out loud.”

“Do you want to say it again? You’ve earned the right.”

“Once is enough, dear. Now, about Regina Harper and
your father.”

“It isn’t necessary, Mom.”

“Now that we’ve started, it should be finished; once
and for all.”

Tyler nodded. Her mother was right. It was time to finish
it.

“I knew something was different. Martin had a bit of a
bounce in his step. Instead of coming home smelling like stale beer, he sort of
glowed.”

“You think they were in love?” It was hard for
Tyler to picture.

“Your father was. I started to worry that he would
leave me. What would I do? How would I survive with two small children and no
work experience?”

“You would have been fine.”

“Yes,” Anita agreed. “But I didn’t know that
then. I was scared, Tyler. So I followed Martin.”

“Good for you.”

“Of course you would say that, my fearless daughter. I
was shaking the entire time. I had no idea what I would do if I found him with
another woman. Maybe I could reason with her, explain why I needed him more
that she did.”

“Does that ever work?”

“Probably not.”

“Especially with Regina Harper,” Tyler said.

“Can you imagine my surprise when Martin turned his car
onto the bridge? I followed, still not making the connection.”