“Thanks, honey.”
He headed upstairs and grabbed a bulb from the supply closet. He was exchanging the bulbs when a text came in from Luke.
I was at Teaguer’s with the guys last night and there was some stuff going around about you and Marissa—someone insinuated you slept with her. Thought you’d want to know.
Ty frowned.Who said that?
I was away from the table at the start of the conversation. It didn’t go on long once I got back, and I did defend you. Just wanted you to know what was being said.
Those guys act like a bunch of old biddies sometimes.
Kind of made me wonder if it’s coming from Marissa.
Why would she lie about that? He shot back a text.Think so?
It just seems like this whole thing should’ve passed over by now. Gotta run. Boss sending me on an errand.
See ya.Tyson was getting a little tired of the drama. He’d done everything he could think of to fix things, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Maybe he should try apologizing to Marissa again.
He mulled over the idea as he went for his tools and headed to Pasture View to check on the dripping faucet. As he loosened the set screw, his thoughts turned to Jenna and those two days they’d had together. Being with her like that, especially that last day when he’d felt free to take her hand or touch her cheek, had given him a small taste of what a relationship with her might be like.
And a taste hadn’t been nearly enough.
He’d missed her these past few days. Like an actual physical ache in his gut. He wanted to call her up and ask how her day was going. Wanted to run across the street the minute she got home.
And what would you say, idiot?
She’d always claimed she’d never date a firefighter—and that’s who he was down to his core. He planned on being an active member of the fire company as long as he was able, just like Dad had been.
Plus he was a little wary about putting his heart out there again. Britt’s desertion had left him feeling unworthy and rejected. He’d responded by going a little crazy. But maybe he’d just been proving to himself that he could leave people before he got left. Maybe it gave him a sense of control for a while. It certainly gave him the time and space to get over Britt. But look where his shallow lifestyle had led him.
Jenna wasn’t his feckless biological father, however. And she certainly wasn’t Britt. He knew her inside and out. She would never treat him so callously. Which brought him to the whole friendship thing. How could he take the chance of souring their relationship?
But that excuse was starting to wear thin. Especially in light of their time together this week. What if it was worth the risk? What if a romantic relationship with Jenna turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him? To them? And how would they ever know if they weren’t willing to put it all on the line?
He removed the handle and found the adjusting ring loose. A simple fix. He tightened the ring and put the handle back on. When he turned on the water, the drip was history.
He cleaned up his tools and stowed them in the closet, then stopped in the kitchen to see if Dad needed help—though heaven knew food prep wasn’t Tyson’s forte.
Dad turned down the offer but was happy to catch up while he punched down the dough for tomorrow’s cinnamon rolls. Mom joined them after a bit, and they talked until they were interrupted by a call from someone wanting to book a weekend in August.
Tyson was just about to head out front to pull weeds when he got a call from Fish & Wildlife. He stepped out onto the porch and took the call. “Hey, Greg, how’s it going?”
“All right, all right. Busy day out here on the refuge. Seems we had a little skirmish between two stallions. They’re fine, but one of the mares got in the way. Got a little scraped up. Nothing too serious by the looks of it, but we probably need to get the vet out here to take a peek at her.”
“Sure thing. Where’s she at now?”
“We’ve got her in the south corral with her foal. She’s a little shaken up. It’s Dream.”
Jenna’s buyback. He sure hoped Greg was right and it was nothing serious. “Her foal all right?”
“Yeah, she’s unharmed.”
“Okay. I’ll make a call and we’ll get out there ASAP.”
“Thanks, Ty.”
Tyson ended the call and reached out to the vet, who agreed to meet him at the pen in an hour.
