20. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Tyler

The day had been long and filled with dread. Mosby was returning to Los Angeles, to his old life, though I was guessing it would be a lot different now. Would this be when I lost him? Would he fall back into the swing of things with his Southern California friends and forget all about me? The ache in my chest at the mere thought was enough to double me over.

I went upstairs to shower and change after I cleaned up the shop. Mom left about three-thirty after her last client for the day. She was going to the store and then home to cook, but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep anything down.

I went upstairs to shower and change, and just before I got into the shower, there was a knock on my door. I pulled on a T-shirt and shorts before hurrying to answer. When I opened it, there stood Mosby with a garment bag over his shoulder and a beautiful smile on his face. He looked gorgeous in a pair of dark-wash jeans and a crisp white shirt.

"Come in. I was getting ready to shower. Make yourself at home." I took his hand to pull him inside. He dropped his garment bag and pulled me into his arms, kissing me with the heat of a thousand fires.

I glanced at the clock over my television. We were expected at Mom's in twenty-five minutes, but this kiss… Tongues swirling together. Bodies seeking friction. My dick had a mind of its own and wanted to take Daddy to bed.

Mosby pulled away. "Bunny, if we keep this up, we won't make it to your mother's house on time. Did you talk to her about Chick and Trixie's proposal?"

"I mentioned it, but still, I don't know where I'd live. Their idea probably would complement what we offer at the salon, and now, with the new resort, maybe we could pick up some additional business, especially if we hired a nail tech. I'll talk to her about it tonight. I'll be right back." I hurried to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

Twenty minutes later, I joined Mosby in the kitchenette where he was having a glass of water and reading the news on his phone. "Look at this." He flipped his phone around to show me an art magazine article.

THE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF ARTIST MOSBY LESLIE IS SOLVED!

"Don't bother reading it. It's a ploy to get me to call Natalie. I'll go see her when I'm there. So, no sparkles today?" He stood and pushed in his chair before he put his palm on my jaw. His thumb caressed my bottom lip.

"You're beautiful either way, Bunny, but I love seeing you sparkle." Those words warmed my heart.

"Next time. Let's go. Mom's a stickler for punctuality. So, you're going to stay at your house in Montecito?" I'd never been to Montecito, but I knew it was near the Pacific Ocean.

"No. It's about a hundred miles from where I need to be in LA. I'll stay in a hotel. I will check on the house while I'm in the area, but I don't plan to stay."

We left the apartment and walked down the stairs. The Bronco and the Polaris were parked behind the salon, and it was a beautiful evening, so we decided to walk. "Tell me about your house. Do you miss it?" I had to tread carefully. His memories of his time with Alistaire were tied up in that house, and I wouldn't demean them.

"I loved the house when we found it. It's a white mission style with a terracotta tile roof. It was built in 1964 for some gay movie studio executive who probably hosted orgies every weekend according to what Alistaire found when he researched it. He was going to write a book series based on the house, but I don't believe it ever got past the idea stage.

"There are seven bedrooms and a large den on the second floor, along with a sundeck and an outdoor fireplace. The kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, and solarium are on the first floor. We have a pool and a pool house where my studio is located, and Alistaire had an office built on the other end of the pool house where he wrote. We also have a nice big backyard."

Mosby chuckled to himself. "Sorry. I say we , but it's just me, now, isn't it. Anyway, I don't have beach frontage, but the house is only a few blocks from it. I—"

"You miss your life there, don't you?" I turned to study him as we turned down the street where Mom lived.

Mosby put his right hand on the back of my neck as we walked down the street. "I wouldn't say I miss it. I'm finding there's more to life than the trappings of money or notoriety. I lived a superficial existence before I came here. I don't want to go back to that."

He pulled me closer and kissed my lips, stopping us on the sidewalk in front of my mother's house. For a moment I allowed myself to believe we had a shot together. That we would create a beautiful future for the two of us. I could see us living in the cabin with Mosby painting during the day while I worked at the shop and then hiking or riding around his property before sunset. Long nights of lovemaking and quiet Sundays in bed.

"Hey, you two! Come inside. Dinner's almost ready." Mom's voice was like a bucket of cold water, for sure.

We broke apart. "Later, I promise." Mosby led me to the front porch, and we went inside.

I was surprised to see Beau Fletcher's hat on the sofa table behind the couch. I glanced at Mosby. "Did you know he was coming? I didn't see his big truck."

We walked into the kitchen to find Beau drinking a beer while Mom turned on the burner under a pot of potatoes and water. "Hello, Beau. Didn't see your truck." Mosby grabbed my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Hey, fellas. I started missing my girl, so I flew in for a couple of days." He stood and extended his hand to each of us to shake. I held my hand back until Mosby pinched my ass and cleared his throat. I stopped behaving like a spoiled brat and shook his hand.

"Nice to see you again, Beau." I then turned to Mom. "What's for dinner?"

"I bought a rotisserie chicken at the market, but I'm making garlic mashed potatoes and have a broccoli salad in the fridge. Everything okay at the salon when you closed? I saw Clay West was letting you cut his hair. How'd that come about?" Mom gave the raw potatoes a fistful of salt and stirred the water just beginning to boil.

"He asked me last Thursday when I checked in." I turned to Beau. "You flew in? Where'd you land? The closest airport is Sacramento, right?"

Mom giggled. "Beau has his own plane. He flew into the municipal airport in Hartsville, and I picked him up."

"Your own plane? That must be handy. Wow, can you fly Mosby to Los Angeles in the morning? He needs to go back to check on his house." Where that boldness came from, I wasn't sure. I had a feeling it was a test I didn't want Beau to pass.

He pulled his cell out and pushed a button, holding up his finger and stepping onto the back patio. "Hi, Perry. I need you to file a light plan."

I turned to Mosby. "Look, a free ride. "

"Tyler, why would you do that?" Mom was mad, for sure.

"What?" I tried to look as innocent as possible. When I glanced at Mosby, I could see he wasn't exactly thrilled either.

"It's a free ride. It's nice of him to offer."

Mosby raised an eyebrow. " Offer? You're joking, right?"

"It was just a suggestion. I didn't mean anything by it. If he's going to be with my mom, he should get used to doing things for family."

"Tyler—" Now Mom arched her eyebrow.

"He could have said no." It was a weak defense.

Mosby scooted back from the table and patted his lap. My eyes grew huge. I could tell he was pissed. Was he going to spank me in front of my mother?

"Sit, Tyler." Mosby then stared at my mother. "Tell him now. "

I sat on Mosby's lap, and he wrapped his arms around me, kissing my cheek before he turned to my mother. She was twisting her fingers nervously, a habit I picked up from her as a kid.

"Tyler, honey, I've told a lie for a long time, and I'm so sorry I did, but I believed it was for the best. I didn't want you to feel bad for me, and I didn't want you to get hurt because of something I did. "

"All set. Is eight okay, Mo?" Beau sat down and put his hand on Mom's shoulder.

"That's fine, Beau, but you don't have to take me. I can get a commercial flight." Mosby pinched my ass again. Clearly, I was going to be in trouble later.

"Naw. Why have the damn thing if I can't help out a friend. Anyway, Marlie, honey, go ahead."

Mom swallowed. "Beau is your dad, Tyler."

I damn well hadn't expected to hear that. Then, I stared at the man and wondered what kind of an idiot I was. The man looked just like me—well, an older me.

Beau slid off his glasses. "I met your mother and was bowled over by her. Back then, I was a stock hauler and made it a practice to come to Foggy Basin if I had time at all after I met her. I was thirty-five, and your mother was twenty-two. She was pretty and friendly, and I fell in love with her in a hot minute. I was a bastard, though, because I didn't tell her I was married and had a daughter back in Wyoming.

"When she told me she was pregnant with you, I came clean about my family in Cheyenne, and she told me she never wanted to see me again because she wouldn't be a homewrecker. I opened a bank account and put money there for her for anything the two of you needed." From the corner of my eye, I saw Beau studying me, obviously trying to gauge my reaction to the news.

My stomach flipped. My father? What the fuck was going on?

I kept my eyes on my mother, waiting for any clue of how she felt about the matter. My thoughts were too jumbled to make sense, so I sat silently on Mosby's lap and concentrated on the gentle caress of his fingers under my shirt. His touch was the only thing grounding me at that moment.

"Tyler, I thought Beau was out of our lives forever. Our affair was a fluke, really. I'm not the kind of person to go after another person's spouse. I fell in love with Beau before I knew he was married, and even though I knew he was a good man, I couldn't live the life of a mistress. That's why I sent him away and said I never wanted to hear from him again.

"He sent an attorney here with the banking information he'd set up for us. It allowed me to buy the salon and the house." Mom's neck was flushed, which was a sign that she was upset.

"Why'd you lie to me? Why didn't you tell me the truth when I got older?"

The potatoes started boiling over, so Beau got up and quickly turned the burner down. He cleaned up the water before walking behind Mom and putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Tyler, I think she was afraid of what you'd think of her. It wasn't her fault I didn't tell her the truth. I didn't tell my wife, Raelyn, until your mother contacted me about your scrape with the law. I wanted to help you, so I needed to come clean with her because I'd been unfair to all of us for too long.

"Your mother's request was coupled with a demand for me not to show up here. She only asked for my help because she loves you and wanted to keep you out of jail. The money left in the account wasn't enough, so she contacted the lawyer to get a message to me. I'm sorry I wasn't here to love and support both of you."

Mom reached up and placed her left hand over Beau's resting on her shoulder. I was still frozen on Daddy's lap. Man, if I ever needed the ability to disappear, it was then.

"Tyler, honey, I'm sorry. You have always been my priority. I've tried to be mother and father for you. I've tried to give you everything I could, and I didn't want you to hate me. I knew you had a hard time in school, and I didn't want to make things harder at home by telling you about your father." Mom dried her eyes with her fingers.

I glanced at Beau. "What about you? You just threw money at the problem—me being the problem. "

Suddenly, I was angrier than I'd ever been. I stood from Mosby's lap and exhaled. "I hope you understand that I need to think about this before I say something I might regret. I'm not hungry, so if you'll excuse me."

I walked through the house and out the front door before I took off running. I didn't stop when I reached my apartment either. I needed time to truly process what I'd been told. It had taken me a few years to understand that I didn't have a father when all the other kids did.

Now I had to accept that everything I thought I knew about my life had been a lie.