26. Skylar

“I can”t believe you dropped the oil pan on yourself.” Riley giggles from the backseat. “That’s a total newbie move.”

“Yup, total newbie move.” Tucker winks at me before returning his attention back to the road.

“I”m never helping the two of you ever again.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I let out a deep sigh.

“Nah, baby, you did good. Next time you just have to keep the oil in the pan.” If his lopsided smirk wasn’t doing all sorts of things to my stomach, I’d show him how well I remember that right hook he taught me. “Come to think of it… I think every oil stain on my garage floor came from when you helped me.” He scratches his chin.

“Oh, shut up! They did not!”

“I distinctly remember you chucking a full oil pan at Colt when he said you had a big ass.” He shakes his head, but he can”t hide his smile. “I swear that boy will never learn.”

“I might have done that, but no way are all those stains from me! Colt couldn’t do an oil change to save his life. I always swore he was going to get himself killed when he helped your dad out in the shop.”

“He almost did a few times.”

“I”m sorry I didn’t come home when he…” I glance out the window, unable to finish my sentence. “My mom told me about it, but I couldn’t bring myself to come back. It hurt too much, but I should’ve done it for you. I”m sorry.”

A warm hand engulfs mine. Tucker squeezes it gently before lifting my hand to his lips and pressing a soft kiss to my skin.

“There’s no reason to feel guilty. I understand why you didn’t come.”

“It doesn’t matter. He was like a dad to me too. I always loved your parents so much more than mine… I haven’t even gone to see my folks yet.”

“Sky… you need to go see them.”

“Why? I”m just the black sheep they barely tolerated.”

“They love you.”

“I”m not sure they ever did. If they knew why I left… they’d never forgive me.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he urges.

“I know what happened wasn’t my fault,” she glances in the backseat at Riley, “but if I hadn’t… put myself in that position, it never would’ve happened.”

We pull into the driveway and I turn the key, removing it from the ignition. Holding it out to Riley, I tell her to go in and wash the grease off her hands. As soon as she shuts the door, I turn my attention to Skylar.

“You need to stop beating yourself up over getting pregnant and having a miscarriage. I was thrilled when we found out you were pregnant and I know you were too. Who gives a fuck if your parents wouldn’t have approved? We were happy and in love, nothing else mattered.”

“You know how they are. They were never happy we dated, they wanted me to stay away from you and Colt.”

“Baby, do you know what your issue is? You went from being this teen who didn’t give a shit about anyone else’s opinion, to this broken woman who’s so afraid of people seeing you as the same rebellious kid you once were. You need to find that teen again. Be the woman who doesn’t give a shit. Be yourself and stop worrying about everyone else.”

“I”m broken, Tuck. I have been since I walked away from you.”

“But you’re back. Let me gather those broken pieces and put them back together again. Let me help you find yourself and the girl who doesn’t give a shit about anyone except the people you love.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“How about you worry about finding the real you and less about what I deserve.” He grins, knowing I hate being told what to do.

“I love you, Tuck.”

“I love you too, Skysky.”

“Ugh! Not you too,” I groan, covering my face in my hands.

“C’mon, Riley isn’t going to give us much time before she’ll be back out here, demanding we entertain her.”

“Are you sure she isn’t Colt’s kid?” I smirk.

“Sometimes I wonder… She sure does act like him a lot.”

“I can”t believe you spilled the popcorn everywhere,” I mutter under my breath, scooping up the few pieces remaining on the floor.

“It’s your fault for scaring me!” Tucker folds his arms over his bare chest.

“For the last time, I didn’t scare you! I tapped you on the shoulder to see if you wanted a drink! That hardly counts as scaring you!”

“It was an intense part of the movie!”

“You were watching Jumanji! It’s a child’s movie, Tucker!”

“Well, it’s rated PG so that proves it’s a little bit scary.” He sulks.

“Ok, Tuck, I’ll make sure to only let you watch G rated movies from now on.” I tap him on the nose, using my best baby voice.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he growls, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into his arms.

I lose my balance, sending the bowl of popcorn sailing into the air, spilling all over the living room once again. Both of our heads fall back, groans leaving our mouths in unison.

“This time it’s definitely all your fault!” I poke him in the ribs.

“Oh, please! You should’ve held the bowl tighter!”

“You two are funny.” Riley grins at us from her spot on the recliner. She’s so quiet, sometimes I forget she’s even here. “You tease each other a lot. I like it.”

“That’s the best part about being friends with someone for a long time before you start dating. You’re friends first, always.” Tucker presses a kiss to my forehead.

“Should I find a boyfriend, Daddy?” Riley’s brows furrow. “I could be friends with Jacob.”

“Nope! You shouldn’t be friends with any boys for a very long time.” Tucker’s face pales with the thought of a boy near his precious baby girl.

“When did you and Skylar become friends?”

I open my mouth to respond, but Tucker clamps a hand over it. Wide, desperate eyes search mine, begging me to keep my mouth shut.

“I think we were at least twenty-five. Yup, twenty-five sounds like a good age for you to become friends with a boy.”

“Daddy!” Riley falls into a fit of giggles. “I was born when you were twenty-two, Nanny said so! And you dated Skylar before you met my mom, so you had to be younger.”

“Riley…” Tucker groans, running his hand through his hair. “You don’t need to worry about boys yet.”

“When do I need to start worrying about them?”

“I… I don’t know, but I’ll tell you when. Until then, ignore them all. Punch them in the face if they try to talk to you.” He gives her a firm nod.

“Do not punch them in the face! Tucker, if she does that she’s going to get kicked out of school!” I swat at his chest.

“Well, that will keep her away from the boys too! Sounds like a win-win situation to me, baby.” He shrugs a shoulder.

“Riley, please don’t punch anyone at school. I can only handle Mrs. Goods for so long.”

“I won”t. I promise… but can I talk to you about boys, I don’t think Daddy will handle that well.” She scrunches up her little nose at me.

“Definitely, I think that’s a great idea. We’ll leave Daddy out of our girl talk.”

“Daddy’s gonna need something stronger than an iced tea to drink if this conversation continues,” Tucker groans.

We finish the rest of the movie. Riley loved watching it and she’s already begging for another movie night. When she yawns for the fifth time in as many minutes, Tucker nudges me off his lap.

“Let’s go, pretty girl. It’s time for bed.”

“But I wanna stay up and spend more time with you and Skylar.”

“She’ll be here when you wake up, I promise.” Tucker sweeps her into his arms and carries her to her room.