7. Tucker

Knowing Skylar’s back and seeing her for the first time are totally different experiences. I had a dull ache in my chest when Colt spilled the beans, but seeing her for the first time? That’s a fresh hell I wasn’t expecting. It was like being transported back in time, to the day I watched her walk away without a care in the world for me and how I had to survive everything I lost.

My chest rises and falls more quickly, all I can hear is my blood pumping. Not the buzz of the bar around me or the sports game playing on the TVs. My hands shake slightly as anger courses through me. She left me ten years ago, never called or came back to check on me. She walked away like the life we had here didn’t matter anymore. Why the hell is she back?

“Hey, man. Let’s grab that empty table before someone else snatches it up.”

Colt points to the only empty table left in the bar. My feet move the way Colt’s guiding me, but my gaze stays focused on the only person who’s ever owned my heart.

“You alright, Tuck?”

“Why’s she back? Why now? After all these years.”

When I first found out Skylar was back, I was confused, but there was no anger. I was caught off guard, but now I”m pissed.

“I don’t know. She’s not exactly an open book with me, never has been.”

“She was with me. I knew everything there was to know about the girl,” I say softly, thinking about all the times we’d talk to each other into the wee hours of the morning.

“What happened between you two?”

My gaze snaps to him, I want to tell him the truth, but it won”t do any good now. Telling Colt will only bring back the pain even more than seeing Skylar already has.

“It doesn’t matter now, it’s in the past.”

“Are you gonna be ok seeing her around again?”

“Does it really make a difference? I can”t force her to leave.”

“Shit, I”m sorry, man. I wish there was something I could do… Want me to arrest her for something?”

“Thought you were scared of her?”

“I”m not nearly as scared of her as I am of a pissed off Tucker Donahue.”

“Nah, leave her be. No point in ruffling feathers for no reason, I doubt she’ll talk to me any time soon.”

Skylar’s face lights up with mischief when Maverick comes over to talk to her and her friend. I’ve seen the friend around a handful of times, but I’ve never spoken to her before. Maverick smiles when he makes Skylar laugh. My fists clench at my side, irrational anger racing through my body.

She’s not my girl anymore. I can”t get pissed because she isn”t mine. Maybe she never was to begin with.

I repeat the thought over and over until I begin to relax slightly.

When Skylar smiles, I can”t look away. Her blond hair falls in waves down her back, her plump lips are colored a shiny pink with lip gloss just like they were when she was my girl. Several necklaces are layered across her chest, but one in particular catches my attention.

A small anchor sits at the base of her throat, shining in the lights above the bar. It’s the necklace I gave her after we found out she was pregnant. I down the beer Colt got me, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. Shit. This is going to be harder than I thought it would be.

My thoughts drift to Riley, she’s my entire life. Most days I try to ignore the hole in my heart left after losing my first child to a miscarriage. I was so excited to become a father, even at eighteen. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Skylar and having a child with her didn’t scare me one bit. When I gave her that necklace, I told her she was my anchor. With her in my life I could hold on even during the worst storms life could throw at us. I never expected her to disappear after the first one, but damn that storm was massive. It almost destroyed me. Probably killed a part of me. But I fought my way to the surface, kept my head above water, and learned to live without two pieces of my heart.

“I”m gonna go get another, you want one?” Colt nudges my arm, trying to get my attention for the tenth time in the last five minutes.

“Yeah, sure. Why not.”

“Don’t sound so thrilled about free beer, someone might think you’re having a good time.”

He bounces off his stool, heading straight for Skylar, just like I knew he would.

Colton and Skylar always had an interesting relationship. They banter like siblings, but he also has a healthy fear of her after she’s punched him in the nuts a few too many times. They’ve always been comfortable around each other, no hiding behind a fake fa?ade or putting up walls between them.

“Hey, Tucker.”

Melanie slides into the seat across from me, a soft smile brightens her face.

“Hey, Melanie. How’s it going?”

I pick at the label on my beer, my gaze still locked on Skylar. It’s like a magnetic pull, no matter how much I want to ignore her, I can”t.

“Eh, I can”t complain. How’s Riley?”

I smile to myself; my little girl makes life great. I can”t imagine not having her.

“Riley’s amazing. Excited to start school on Monday.”

“How’s daddy feeling about that?” She grins.

“Like shit. I don’t wanna lose my little partner in the shop, but mostly I”m gonna miss her being with me all the time. She did her first solo oil change this week.”

My eyes are locked on Skylar, even though I know my attention should be anywhere except on her.

Skylar stumbles off the stool for a second time, anger and pain radiating through her. I”m standing and heading her way before I even realize what I”m doing. I reach her in seconds, placing a hand on her hip to keep her from face planting.

“Come on, darling. Let’s get you home,” I whisper in her ear.

Skylar’s eyes snap to mine. They instantly water and her bottom lip begins to tremble. She’s drunk off her ass and a drunk Skylar can only go one of two ways. If she was happy before she got drunk then she’s all giggly and full of jokes. But if she’s upset and gets drunk, she turns into a sobbing mess. Looks like she was upset tonight, I”m sure seeing me played a part in that.

“Let go of me. You hate me.” She pushes my hand off, her words slurring. When she tries to take a step, she trips over thin air, almost toppling to the floor.

I grip her hips with both hands, tugging her back against my chest. I wrap an arm around her waist to keep her from moving away again.

“Let’s not make the scene they all want to witness. Let me take you home and you can get whatever you want to say off your chest,” I murmur in her ear.

“Don’t act like it doesn’t hurt to see me! Because I”m dying over here,” she whimpers.

“Darling, stop… I don’t know why you’re back, but I doubt you want all of these people knowing our secret and I”m pretty sure you’re too drunk to hide anything right now.”

She finally stops fighting and melts into my chest. I pull her over to the bar, grabbing her purse, keys, and phone.

“Maverick?” I call above the noise.

“What’s up, Tuck?”

“Put her drinks on my tab… Do you know where she’s staying?”

“At the old Beauford house, I made sure to ask before she started downing Skylars.”

I shake my head at him. Everyone in this town thinks it’s hilarious to name a drink that knocks you on your ass after her, but they know very little about the pastor’s rebellious daughter.

“Thanks. I’ll make sure she gets home.” I turn my attention to the girl who was here with Skylar. “Hey, I”m Tucker.”

“Leslie.” She holds out a hand before pulling it back with an embarrassed smile. “And obviously you can”t shake my hand when you’re busy holding up Sky.”

“Are you two friends?”

“Yes? We work together at the elementary school. We decided since neither one of us has friends here, we might as well be best friends.”

The elementary school? What the hell does Skylar do there?

“Oh, what do you do at the school?” I press, hoping to find out more about why Skylar’s here.

“I”m the secretary and Skylar’s the new principal.”

Wow, that’s definitely not what I expected to hear. Skylar never seemed interested in working with kids. More than anything I”m shocked she’d come back here to become a principal. Most of the teachers are the same as when we were kids, I can only imagine how much trouble they’re giving Sky.

“That’s awesome… I”m going to get her home before she can”t walk. It was nice to meet you, Leslie.”

“You too! Thank you for helping her!”

I nod a goodbye before tugging Skylar out the door with me. This is going to be a long night.

“No. I don’t wanna lay down,” Skylar moans when I push her down on the couch.

“You don’t have to lay down, but I want you to sit while I get you a drink… Did you eat dinner?”

“Nope! I was too sad to eat.” She falls to the side, her head landing on the armrest.

I ignore the stab of pain her words cause. I hate thinking of her being sad. I know exactly what’s making her feel that way and it kills me.

Moving into the kitchen, I fill a glass with water, grab some pain pills, and start making some food. She needs something to absorb all this alcohol. I make some eggs and toast with butter and cinnamon sugar, it was always her favorite.

“Eat this, darling.” I settle onto the couch next to her and hold out the plate.

“Why are you taking care of me?” She mumbles with her eyes closed.

“Do you want me to leave?” My brows draw together. Skylar waves a hand in the air, almost falling off the couch in the process.

“Do whatever you want, we both know I don’t make the best choices in the world.”

“Skylar…”

“Shit… I forgot how much I love the way you say my name. It’s so sexy, and now your voice is even deeper. Dammit, Tucker! Why couldn’t you be old and gross, maybe have a beer belly and thinning hair? This would be so much easier if you did.”

She pushes herself up into a sitting position and stares at me with unfocused eyes.

“I”m sorry, Sky.” I chuckle, pushing a hair away from her face.

“We should talk,” she mumbles around her eggs.

“We should. But not when you’re drunk.” I let my fingers trail down her jaw.

“But it’d be so much easier when I’m drunk.”

She moans when she takes a bite of her toast, her eyes sliding shut as her head falls back against the couch.

“It would be, but I think we both deserve a real conversation.”

She nods, her eyes still shut. When her head falls to the side, I realize just how drunk she really is. How many drinks did she have?

“Tucker…” she moans, peeling her eyes open to stare at me. My heart jumps when she says my name again. As much as she loves hearing me say her name, my name slipping off her tongue is driving me nuts. It’s pulling me back to the summer before she left. The summer everything changed.

“What are we gonna do, Tuck?” Skylar runs her fingers up and down my forearm. I tighten my grip around her waist, tugging her back closer to my chest, as close as I can get it.

“We’re gonna love this baby… our baby.” I place a protective hand over her stomach and kiss the side of her neck.

“Are you scared?”

“No, I”m really happy, Sky. I’ve planned on marrying you and having our own little family since we started dating. We might be doing things a little outta order, but I don’t care as long as I have you by my side, that’s all that matters.”

“I love you. This baby is going to be the luckiest baby in the world to have you as a dad.”

“I love you too, darling. Our baby and I are both lucky to have you in our lives.”

She snuggles a little closer, laying her head back on my chest. We stare across the lake imagining what our future is going to be like. I think life is going to be perfect with her by my side.

A soft snore pulls me from my memories and my eyes drift to a sleeping Skylar. She’s so different yet so much the same as the girl I once knew. The golden blonde hair I used to run my fingers through is the same, but now there’s highlights and lowlights in it. Even though her eyes are still the same dark blue, they now hold a sadness and pain that wasn’t there before. Her legs somehow seem longer, her figure a little more hourglass shaped, but she’s still my girl.

The one I swore I’d never let go of.

I sit with her for another hour or two, just to make sure she doesn’t get sick. I don’t want to worry about her when I go. Once I”m sure she’s sobered up a little and I don’t think she’s going to choke on her own vomit, I shake her a little, trying to wake her up.

“Sky? If I go, are you gonna be ok?”

“I haven’t been ok in a long time, Tuck, but I”m sure I can survive another night on my own.”