Using a little artful maneuvering, Ty managed to climb up onto the bench seat with a minimum of winces and groans. He started the engine, and soon we were out on the main road back through town, windows cracked to let the hot summer air blow through the cab.
The truck smelled like him, a swirl of leather mixed with hay, and something entirely Ty. Warm and inviting, like curling up by a fire, or lying on a blanket in the sun. I closed my eyes, breathing it in.
“You okay?” he asked.
My eyes flew open again. “I’m fine.”
“Don’t pass out on me.”
“I’m not drunk.”
“You were a little.”
Too dark to see it clearly, but I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Werebeing the operative word. You were drinking, too. Should I be worried about you?”
He said something under his breath that sounded likenot about that, but I couldn’t be sure. Louder, he said, “I had one beer in the last two hours. I’m good.”
“Well, you’re being a real gentleman to drive me home. You’re a good man, Ty.”
“Some might even call me the Best Man.”
I could imagine. His rancher hands might be rough, but he’d been achingly gentle when bandaging my blisters. No telling what else those hands could do.
Whoa. It didn’t take much for my brain to veer straight off the rails tonight. Steering my thoughts back to safe territory, I said, “You and Booker go back a long way, don't you?”
“Since we were kids. I’m closer to him than I am to Bret.” He glanced sideways at me, as if maybe he expected me to get bent out of shape at the mention of my ex.
“It’s okay, Ty. It’s not like I forgot you’re brothers.”
His mouth twisted, and even in the dim light from the dash, I could see he didn’t appreciate the reminder of their connection. I’d never had any reason to suspect bad blood between them, but I hadn’t suspected a lot of things about Bret.
“It makes sense, though,” I said, soothing him for reasons I didn’t quite understand. “You and Bret aren’t very alike.”
They were both driven, laser-focused on building their careers, but the similarities ended there. Bret was all charm and charisma and did his best to impress everyone he encountered. Ty was reserved, as though holding back the best part of him for the people who mattered most. Bret was the life of the party, but Ty was the one who had done all the work to make the party happen. Bret talked, Ty listened.
Bret had lied to me, but Ty was straightforward. He could be a grouch, but at least he was an honest grouch.
“I would hope we’re different.” His low voice practically came out a growl. “What he did to you was unforgivable.”
I stiffened in my seat, little eddies of embarrassment bubbling through me. “I guess he had his reasons.”
He stopped in front of my pop’s house, threw the truck in park, and turned to face me. The porch light slanted across his face, shadowing half his features. “Never do that, June. Don’t ever justify him cheating on you. You deserve better than that.”
Ty so rarely showed any emotion at all, the vehemence of his words seemed to light me up like glowing neon.You deserve better.I knew it, but hearing it from him hit differently, somehow.
Not thinking too hard about it, I unbuckled and slid across the space between us on the bench seat. “Thank you for saying that.”
He watched me with wary eyes as I leaned toward him. I closed the distance, finally brushing my lips against the warm skin of his cheek. For just a moment, I closed my eyes and breathed in his comforting smell up close. Soap. Leather. Hay. All Ty. I only had a shred of sense left, but enough to spare me from pressing my nose against the skin on his neck.
Pull yourself together.
As I drew away, he exhaled a soft groan and then stilled, frozen in place. I scooted back to my side of the seat, careful not to touch him again.
“I’m sorry. Did that hurt you?”
Something flickered through his eyes, and a muscle in his jaw pulsed. “It’s fine.”
