by Kennedy Fox
Guilt creeps up at the memory of how worked up Liam got while waiting for Victoria to file divorce papers.
“Is he getting that bad?” I ask. By the time I see him every day, he’s already spent hours at the gym, then after he cleans up, he’ll go track a fugitive until the evening. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was purposely avoiding me, but I understand he’s trying to juggle a lot at the moment.
Tyler nods. “He’s getting anxious not knowing who he’s fighting yet, and JJ keeps texting him reminders about how important this fight is.”
I groan. God, I hate that ugly ass piece of shit.
“Okay, fine,” I surrender. “Getting dressed now.”
Tyler walks away, and I check my phone, seeing eight text messages from Sophie. She has a full day of rehearsals before she’s off for the holiday and asked me to run to the grocery store for some last-minute items she needs for tomorrow’s feast.
Maddie: I’ll grab everything, stop worrying.
Sophie: Thank you! Love you!
Maddie: Next time, don’t send Beanstalk to wake me up, though!
Sophie: I had no choice, sleepyhead!
I snicker and set my phone down so I can get ready for the day. Once I’m dressed and presentable, I head to my car and crank it, but it doesn’t turn over.
What the fuck?
I try it again and nothing. Well, great.
Grabbing my stuff, I walk back into the house and look for Tyler.
“Hey,” I say when I see him in the kitchen. “My car won’t start for some reason. Any chance I can take your truck to the store to get groceries for Soph?”
He looks at me, concerned. “It won’t start at all?”
I shake my head. “Just makes a weird noise, then dies. I have no idea.” Shrugging, I pout. “I can take an Uber if it’s an issue.”
“No, of course not. But I’m a little worried after what happened to the G-Wagon. You should let me look at it.”
I smirk and cross my arms. “You know how to work on cars?”
“Don’t look so surprised.” He chuckles, then grabs his keys. “C’mon, I’ll take you so I can buy some tools and oil. When’s the last time it’s had an oil change?”
I follow him to the front door. “Uhh…”
“Oh, Madilocks. I’m about to teach you some life skills today.”
Groaning, I walk out to his truck. “That sounds like zero fun actually.”
An hour later, we’re back at the house with everything on Sophie’s list and everything from the auto aisle. Tyler talks to me about car shit and what could be wrong with it, and honestly, he’d be better off talking to me in a foreign language because I don’t have a clue what any of it means.
As I unload the bags, he changes and returns in old-looking jeans and a ripped T-shirt. “Come out when you’re done. I want you to watch.”
I give him a look that says I’d rather be anywhere else.
“Stop being a baby.”
“I’m not! I just don’t want to tinker around in an engine.”
Tyler laughs hard. “You don’t tinker in an engine, Mads.”
I roll my eyes. “Whatever…can’t you just fix it, and I’ll give you a big hug in thanks?” I flash him a sweet smile.
“Nice try.” He grabs the extra bags of parts he bought. “Meet me out in there in five, I mean it.”
I grunt loudly. “Fine. I have to change again because I’m not getting my nice clothes dirty.”
“Don’t really care what you wear as long as it covers your body.”
He’s gone before he can see my scowl, and I grab my phone to send Liam a text.
Maddie: Is there a reason you’ve put Tyler on dress-code duty? He won’t even look me in the eyes!
Liam: Well, hi. What’s the matter, sweetheart?
Maddie: Don’t be cutesy. I know you scolded Tyler for looking at me when I’m not ‘fully dressed.’ Don’t you think that’s a bit…macho?
Liam: Hell no. I love Tyler like a brother and owe him big time, but he still has a working dick.
I nearly gag.
Maddie: So does Mason. You’re not threatened by him?
Liam: You never notice how Mason leaves the room when you enter or turns away when you walk in?
Maddie: ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
Liam: Baby, relax. It goes both ways. I don’t look at Sophie, and he doesn’t look at you. It’s bro code.
Maddie: Something is seriously wrong with you.
Liam: I don’t want other guys looking at my girlfriend.
Maddie: Mason is like my BROTHER. Ew!
Liam: Good. Keep it that way.
Maddie: I know you’re really stressed right now, but you can’t be all alpha-possessive.
Liam: I’d be less stressed if my girlfriend would tell me how much she loves me instead of yelling at me.
Then the jerk sends a smiley face. Damn him.
Inhaling a sharp breath, I decide to let it slide. For now.
Maddie: You’re damn lucky I love you.
Liam: Always?
Damn him again.
Maddie: Always.
After a half hour of sitting outside and watching Tyler do God knows what to my car, I’m bored.
“Can I go inside yet?” I whine.
“Is your car fixed?” he counters.
“No clue, you’re the know-it-all.”
I hear him laugh as he messes with shit under the car. “Can you at least hand me the pliers?”
Releasing a breath, I get up and look in his tool kit. “What’s that?”
He chuckles.
“Stop laughing at me! If I told you to get me a leotard, would you know what that is?” I fire back, digging around.
“Red handle with two grippers at the top,” he explains.
Yeah, that narrows it down. I grab two items that kind of sound like that. “Any of these?” I ask, lowering my body to where he is.
“Come closer,” he says. I inch farther. “A little more.” I go on my back and wiggle toward him.
“You’re an ass. I know what you’re doing,” I say with a smile. “Now I’m dirty.”
“Welcome to workin’ on your car,” he taunts, grabbing one of the tools out of my hand.
I watch as he messes with shit, and I’m intrigued. “How’d you learn about cars?”
“My grandfather,” he says.
“The one married to the grandmother who taught you how to cook?” I ask.
“Yep. Mimi and Pops. They practically raised me and taught me everything my mother didn’t.”
“And your dad?”
He shrugs. “Left when my sister was a baby.”
“Are you and Everleigh close?” I ask, remembering his sister’s name from when he first told me.
Tyler shrugs again. “Kinda. We text, but I haven’t been home in years.”
“So you haven’t seen your sister in years?”
“She’s come to Vegas a couple of times, but no, I don’t see her as much as I’d like.”
“You don’t visit your grandparents?”
After he stays silent for a minute, I know he’s not going to answer that question, so I ask him another one. “Any ex-girlfriends back home?”
“Nope.”
“None? Wait. Ex-boyfriends?”
He turns and glares at me.
“What? I wouldn’t judge. I don’t care if your gay, straight, upside down, or triangle. I’m just asking.”
He snorts. “What the fuck is triangle?”
I roll my eyes. “I was just making a point.”
“I didn’t date in high school,” he says. “Graduated and enlisted right away.”
“So you were in the military!” I snap my fingers. He made a comment about boot camp in Montana, so I had a hunch he had been.
“Only for four years.”
“Why?”
“Decided on a different path,” is all he tells me. Trying to pry information out of Tyler is harder than when I was trying to crack L
iam all those years.
“Why didn’t you date in high school? I imagine you were popular. Probably the quarterback. Amiright?” I smirk and wait for any kind of expression from him.
Instead, he slides out from under the car, so I follow him, and he starts fidgeting under the hood. He wipes his hand on the rag, and I study his hard expression.
“There was a girl, wasn’t there? I can tell.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“Hardly. I’m very good at reading this kind of shit. Ask Lennon. I knew she and Hunter were in love before she did.”
He snorts. “How’s that possible?”
“I’ll tell you when you tell me a secret.”
“I’m not that desperate to know. Plus, I’ll just ask her myself.”
I scoff. “That’s cheating.”
Tyler takes out a long metal stick, wipes it across the rag, then puts it back in its place. “Why do you want to know so badly? I’m not one of your girlfriends who wants to gossip about crushes and periods.”
“Well, you did buy me tampons already, so we’re halfway there.” I shoot him a shit-eating smirk.
He groans, shaking his head. “If I tell you, will you leave me the hell alone about it?”
“Yes, promise!” I say overeagerly.
He sighs. “She wasn’t my girlfriend, but her name is Gemma. She’s my sister’s best friend.”
“Oh my God!” I squeal, my eyes widening in excitement.
“Shut it.”
I hold back my laughter, but then fail and release it. “What else? Tell me more.”
“Nope, that’s all you get.”
Sticking out my lower lip, I give him my best pouty face. “That shit might work on Liam, but it doesn’t faze me.”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms. “Rude.”
Chuckling, he pushes off the car, then shuts the hood. “You need a new battery. I’ll run and grab one.”
“What, that’s it? How do you know?”
“Because I checked it when you were unloading groceries, but you also needed your filters replaced and an oil change.”
“Well, that’s good, right? That means no one messed with it?”
“Nope, just normal age and slacking on car maintenance.”
Whew.
I watch as Tyler packs up all his tools and supplies. “So…what’s Gemma look like?”
“I haven’t seen her in years.”
“Not even on social media?”
He shakes his head.
“You weren’t curious?”
“Curiosity killed the cat, Maddie.”
“Oh come on! Is she single? Have any kids? Does she still live in Lawton Ridge?”
“No idea…on all three.”
“Wow…you’re weird.”
He shrugs. “Guess so.”
Tyler opened up a little more today and gave me some personal details of his life, but I’m determined to crack him in half before he goes back home. I don’t know who hurt him or why he’s so private, but I have a feeling there’s a story behind it. And I want to hear it.
Chapter Eighteen
LIAM
I’ve been tracking this asshole for the past week between training, and the longer he takes me on this cat and mouse chase, the thinner my patience becomes. I have a lead to a house and watch it for hours, but I can’t see him clearly enough inside to merit barging in without a warrant. I don’t need one if I know without a doubt the fugitive’s in a residence, but this sneaky bastard hops from one place to the next.
After another failed attempt, I decide to try again in a couple of days. Tomorrow’s our Christmas party with everyone, and with the fight on our minds, it’s been tense around the house. I’d like just one day when we can forget and have fun together.
“Hi, baby.” I wrap my arms around Maddie as soon as I see her standing in the kitchen with Tyler. They’re laughing, and I notice Tyler’s face is covered in grease. “What’s going on?”
I move around her and grab a beer from the fridge.
“Tyler taught me how to change the oil in my car,” Maddie states, and Tyler snorts into his drink.
Narrowing my eyes at both of them, I watch them. “Oh, really? I find that unbelievable.” I laugh when Maddie throws me a scowl.
“Excuse you, I could very well learn how to do that sort of stuff…if I wanted.”
I smile as I take a sip. “And did you?”
“Well, technically…no. I watched and handed him tools.”
Smirking, Tyler shakes his head when Maddie isn’t looking. But damn she looks so proud. “Awesome, job, babe. Next, have him teach you how to change a tire.”
“Uhh…that sounds out of the realm of things I can do, so how about you just always be available to come rescue me if I need it.” She wraps her arms around my neck and smiles up at me. “What’s the purpose of having a big, strong man if I can’t have him changing tires for me?”
Chuckling, I nod. “It’d be my honor to always be around to rescue you.” I flash her a wink, and Tyler groans.
“And that’s my cue.”
“Oh, c’mon, Beanstalk. I was just going to tell Liam all about our little chat today.” She beams at him, but Tyler shakes his head, takes another sip, then leaves the kitchen.
“Why do you tease him?”
“I never had any brothers growing up,” she explains. “This is my chance.”
I laugh, bringing her lips to mine for a soft kiss.
“I got him to admit there’s a girl back home,” she tells me. “Eventually, I’ll crack him and get the whole story.”
“You’re relentless.”
“That’s why you love me,” she quips.
The following night, Hunter, Lennon, and the kids come over, and together, we put up the tree and decorate the house. Part of it feels foreign, a tradition I never got to have as a kid growing up, but it makes me appreciate it even more. Sophie cranks Christmas music while Lennon sings and Maddie hangs lights and garland. We give Tyler the honors of putting the star on top since he’s the tallest, and it’s the first year with all of us together. Hell, it might be the last too.
Now that Mason and Sophie are married, I suspect they’ll be looking for a house of their own soon. It’s hard for me to think about the future, though I want one with Maddie more than anything. Until after the fight, we’re living in limbo, but soon, my debt with the O’Learys will officially be paid off; at least I hope for good this time.
The girls made us watch a Christmas movie after we ate dinner. It was more fun than I thought it’d be, but the girls really know how to put together a feast. Then as we ate, Sophie suggested we all share a favorite holiday memory. We all died laughing as Sophie and Lennon shared memories from their childhood. Most revolved around making Maddie believe Santa walked around the house, leaving cookie crumbs on the floor. They even put reindeer poop tracks outside for her to find too. Being the youngest, she got the brunt of their pranks, which Maddie didn’t find hilarious at all.
“You look really beautiful,” I whisper in Maddie’s ear as she sits on my lap. The sparkly red dress hugs her like a second skin.
“I wore it for you,” she leans back and murmurs. “Even if you can’t tear it off later.”
Fuck if I don’t wish I could.
“Trust me, I would in a heartbeat,” I tell her.
I’m dying to touch her. To give in to our desires and make her my Christmas meal, but the pent-up tension and aggression is helping me in the ring during training, so I can’t risk getting weak now. There are only ten days left until the fight, and I plan to make every day of training count.
After the movie, Sophie announces it’s time to exchange gifts. We did a secret Santa with the girls and guys separate, and I got Hunter’s name. Knowing he’s an Aaron Rodgers fan, I managed to outbid a person online for a signed jersey and football. Then of course I got Maddie something, but it’s nothing compared to what I really want to give her. I love her, but I also don’t want
to rush anything before we’re truly ready, so I kept it simple.
“Dude, yes!” Hunter shouts when he opens his present. “This will get passed onto my son and his son and then his son’s son…for generations, man.” He’s so happy, and I can’t help but laugh.
“That’s going on my mantel, isn’t it?” Lennon deadpans, then shoots me a playful glare.
I throw my hands up and shrug. “You knew what you were getting into when you married him. Plus, it’s better than the Playboy centerfold blowup poster I was going to buy.”
Lennon points at me. “Better watch your back, Evans. This just gives me fuel to get you back next year.”
“It’s on.” I shoot her a wink.
After everyone exchanges their gifts, Sophie makes her special peppermint hot cocoa with candy cane straws and marshmallows. Mason sneaks behind her and adds in vodka, and she scolds him for it.
The entire evening is surreal.
I’ve never had this experience before. My father tried his very best to give me what he could, but the warmth and laughter in the room are new to me.
“You want your gift tonight, or should I wait until Christmas Day?” I ask Maddie as we stand in the kitchen, getting hot chocolate refills.
“Hmm…” She smiles wide. “Now.”
I laugh because I knew she’d say that. Reaching into my back pocket, I grab the thin pieces of paper and hand them to her. “Sorry they aren’t wrapped…”
Her eyes light up as soon as she realizes what they are. “Oh my God!” she screams so loud, you’d think we were already at the concert. “Billie Eilish tickets! Are you kidding me?” She flings herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck, and I catch her. “How did you get these? They sold out in like minutes!” She pulls back and searches my face.
