“Maybe so, but my momma always raised me to get the door for a lady.”
I cock my head enough to look up at him with a look that says what I want without saying it.Was he serious right now?
“I might not be that great at it all the time, but I do try to stick to it, though I don’t bring women to my house, and I never bring them around my son.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t have me around him now,” I grumble, not sure if this was a good idea or not.
We stop at the bottom of the steps, and Tyler turns me to face him. “We’re going to get a few rules set before we go inside.”
“What are those?” I sigh, exhaustion seeping into my bones. A day that was bad enough as it is simply keeps getting worse by the minute. All I want to do is curl up and not think about any of it for a little while at least.
“First, Dash doesn’t know you're pregnant, and he’s not going to know until I tell him. Second, you’re a guest in our house, you don’t try to act like his mother. Third?—”
“Just so we’re clear, I’m not some evil bitch. I’m not going to blurt out the fact that I’m pregnant. And I’d never try to take the place of another woman. Dash is your son. He’s sweet and amazing. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. So you can shove your idiotic rules.” I let out a huff and take a step up one of the stairs before turning back to Tyler, now at eye level. “Think what you want about me, but know that your son is innocent in all this.”
Something shifts through Tyler’s eyes, the intensity changes, and I don’t understand what it means or why.
“You’re right, he is innocent in all of this. He’s just a kid, and I’m just protecting him.”
“Then maybe, as I said, my staying here isn’t a good idea.”
“You’re staying here, Delaney. You’re safe here. Hell, Dash is going to eat up the fact you're staying with us since he can’t shut up about his ‘teacher’. Now, we’re going inside, I’ll set you up with some tea to calm your nerves, and you're going to relax”
“I’m not sure what to say to that.” The things he's said, from interrupting his rule-setting to his offer of tea, trigger a baffling feeling within my chest.
“Nothing to say.” Tyler shrugs and guides me up the rest of the stairs. He pauses on the porch and looks at me. “Onelast thing, we need to talk about the fire. Do you know how it happened?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I left anything on in the house.” It’s something I’m still trying to remember. Could I have? I made sure to turn off all the lights in the house and unplug my blow dryer and curling iron.
“Could someone have started it?” he asks.
My breath catches in my chest, my lungs seizing at the thought. Could someone have started it? Why? Who? My first thought goes to Philip, but I don’t think he would do it.
Then again, I didn’t think he’d hit me or follow me all the way from Florida.
“I’m not sure,” I tell him honestly. I won’t lie to Tyler.
“Alright.” He nods and jerks his chin toward the door, his hand moving to the small of my back once more.
I struggle to keep my breath even from the mere soft touch.
“We’re here,” he calls out and ushers me inside, letting the screen door slam behind him. The sound causes me to jump and look behind us. “Sorry, sweetheart.” The sweet words were soothing to me as he kept us moving. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
I want to tell him he didn’t scare me, but with everything, I can’t say it didn't. The fire has me shaken up.
“Daddy,” Dash shouts, his little legs eating up the distance between him and his father.
Tyler lets me go only when he’s close enough to throw Dash in the air and catch him. “You have a good day, kiddo?”
My breath catches at the sight of the two of them together. The way Tyler is with Dash, there’s no missing how great a dad this man is to his son. I have to fight back the tears that burn my eyes, threatening to spill down my cheeks.
Stupid hormones. That’s exactly what I’m blaming it on. And the fact is, it's been a very long day.
Tyler sets Dash back on the floor, and I realize I missed Dash’s answer. I had focused too much on the two of them together to hear it.
I inwardly give myself a shake to snap out of it and think.
“Dash, we’ve got company . . .”
