Where Forever Lies (28 page)

She got
out and he came to greet her, picking her up in his arms and lifting
her to where her lips were at his level. He gave her one quick look
and then pressed his mouth to hers, not saying a word, the only
communication he gave her was coming from his body language.

She
reluctantly pulled away from him, and asked, “So, what’s
on your mind tonight?” She could tell there was something there
but she didn’t have a clue as to what it’d be.

He gave
her an evil smile and said, “You’ll just have to see,”
knowing how much she hated surprises.

“Tyler,
I hate surprises and you know that. It’s like torture not
knowing where we’re going.” She smacked him lightly on
the chest as he dropped her to the ground.

“Yeah,
but like I said, I love them. Now, let’s get going,” he
said as he wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her to his old
truck.

She slid
in, giving him a dirty look as she did. Laughing and shaking his
head, he shut the door on her and went to his side to get in.

“I’m
sure you’re hungry, right, since you’ve been working all
day?” he asked as he started the truck up and began turning
around.

With her
arms crossed, she said, “Yes, I’m starving.”

“Quit
being a baby, Paige. You don’t need to know every detail about
everything,” he said, as he grabbed her hand, putting it to his
mouth and giving it a kiss.

“I’m
not being a baby. I just like to know what the plan is. You know, my
OCD thing. I like to be in control. I can’t help it.” She
watched the woods zoom past, wondering what was up his sleeve
tonight. He was acting a little different. He seemed almost nervous
or something. She didn’t know what was going on with him but it
was putting her on edge. She hoped there wasn’t bad news he had
to tell her. That was always the first thing that would come to her
mind in instances like this. If someone started acting differently
around her, there was probably something bad following behind.

They
pulled into the packed parking lot of Brenda’s Diner and Tyler
reached out and grabbed her hand as they walked across the parking
lot to the outside seating area. They had been here a few times now,
and it was quickly becoming her favorite place to eat. There was
something about the home style feel that made her comfortable. Plus,
the food was even better than a lot of the high end places in the
city; and most restaurants in the city couldn’t compete with
the beautiful view surrounding the place, either.

They took
a seat and looked over the menu, and when they ordered Tyler asked
for a bottle of wine. Wine was one of Paige’s favorite
alcoholic beverages; and she couldn’t help but feel herself
relax when Tyler poured her a full glass.

During
dinner, they had small talk about their day, their jobs, and their
kids. Paige was excited that Tyler had picked up a couple of more
clients in the past week to break their horses for them. She knew it
was something he loved doing and something he wanted to make a career
of, one day.

After
their plates were cleared, their wine almost empty, they decided it
was time to leave before they had too much alcohol in them to drive
the short distance back to Tyler’s. Two glasses was enough for
Paige, knowing that by the time she’d be at her mom’s to
get Kyra, she’d be completely sober. She still had several
hours left with Tyler.

As they
drove down the narrow country road, bouncing in the seat of Ol’
Betsy, night had slid in completely, putting them in complete
darkness. She could feel tension building in the truck, it was
undeniable and whatever the cause, it was driving her crazy. He had
been acting strange all night, almost a little distant and it worried
her. She wished he’d just spill whatever it was he was going to
say to her, instead of dragging it out all evening.

She
twisted in her seat, feeling the seatbelt tighten around her waist,
and said, “Tyler, whatever is on your mind, just spill it,
please. I can’t stand this.”

She
thought she saw a smirk cross his face in the darkness of the truck
and frowned. She didn’t know what he thought could be so funny
right now. He was being quiet and broody acting, and it was beginning
to get on her last nerve.

They
turned down another side road that was nothing but gravel and she
looked around curiously. “Where are we going, Tyler?” she
questioned as she stared out the front windshield.

“You’ll
see,” was all he said as he kept driving straight ahead.

Paige
could see all the dust from the gravel blowing up all around them and
knew they were a long way from any houses. It looked almost deserted
out here. She felt apprehension form inside her, wondering what his
plans really were. Maybe he really was a crazy stalker and he was now
going to murder her. She almost laughed out loud at that thought, but
she knew those things actually happened. She’d watched enough
real murder shows to know that you never really knew someone
completely, even after you had been married to them for years. She’d
only known Tyler for a few months. She was suddenly concerned. He had
been acting strange all evening. How well did she really know him?

She felt
the truck come to a stop and looked over at him. A devious smile was
plastered on his face as he looked at her and said, “Hmm, we
must have run out of gas.”

“What?
Tyler, are you serious?” she asked, as she leaned over and
examined the gas gauge. It showed it was on half a tank and her eyes
slowly came up to meet his. “What are we doing out here? Tyler,
you’re starting to freak me out a little.”

His hand
rested across her shoulders as he said, “Relax, Paige. I’m
not some crazy guy bringing you out here on a deserted road to kill
you or anything. Don’t you know me better than that?”

She looked
down at her hands which rested on her lap and said, “I didn’t
say that at all.” Feeling embarrassed at letting her
imagination get the best of her. Of course she didn’t think he
would actually hurt her.

He started
laughing, bringing her attention back to his face. “Paige you
didn’t have to say it, it’s written all over your face.
You look scared to death. Damn, I was just trying to be a little
romantic here and do the old ‘I ran out of gas’ routine,
but lemme tell you, you’re kinda ruining it for me.” He
ran a hand through his hair as he looked down at her.

“Umm,
I’m sorry, Tyler. I just freaked out for a moment. You were
acting so strange all evening and then you bring me out here without
telling me anything and all these murder shows start playing in my
head so I just let my imagination get the best of me,” she
said, feeling terrible that she had made him feel bad when he was
just trying to surprise her with something nice. But she couldn’t
help it, even when she was trying not to be on guard, she still was,
to an extent.

“It’s
okay. But come here, I want to show you something.”

He opened
the door and motioned for her to follow. Curious, she got out and
walked around to the back of the old truck where he waited. He leaned
against the side of the truck, the moon bringing a little light into
the dark night. He unlatched the tailgate, reached inside, and laid a
blanket down. He climbed in and held his hand out to her. “Come
on, I thought we could lay out here and talk.”

Paige
reached out, took his hand, and hoisted herself up into the truck
with Tyler’s help. She laid down beside him and stared up at
the stars wondering what he wanted to talk about. It had to be
something good if he was trying to be romantic, but she had no idea
what it would be. The view of the stars was even better out here in
the middle of nowhere. The sky was so clear and the stars even
brighter.

She felt
his hand reach out and grab hers. She looked over at him but saw that
he was still staring off into the star flitted sky. He seemed even
more nervous than earlier. She had no idea what on earth could make a
man like Tyler nervous. He seemed almost invincible at times, like
nothing could bring him down.

His
fingers began rubbing her hand gently and she turned her gaze back to
the stars, letting him have his moment to gather his thoughts because
it was obvious he was thinking hard about something. Finally his
rough voice broke through the still night. “Paige, I’ve
been thinking a lot about us lately and there are some things I need
to say, to get off my chest. They’re weighing me down and I
feel that I need to just tell you.”

He paused
for a moment and Paige felt her chest tighten. This didn’t
sound good. This sounded like bad things he needed to vent about.

“I
feel like we are heading in a great direction and some days it scares
the hell out of me, but I feel that I’m where I belong. You’re
who I belong with and that also scares me.” His grip on her
hand tightened as he continued, “I just want you to know that
my feelings for you are growing every day. I love spending time with
you and Kyra. I love making love to you. I love when we are able to
spend the night together and I can wake up with you in my arms. I
just love everything about you. It all feels right.” He turned
his head and looked at her, the corner of his mouth turning up
slightly as his boyish dimples appeared, making him look young and
vulnerable. The sight of him being so open took her breath away.

Paige was
shocked by what she was hearing. Never in her wildest dreams would
she have thought he’d take her out tonight with the sole
purpose of telling her how much she meant to him. It made her body
tingle with excitement. She had been hoping Tyler felt the same way
about her as she did him, and she thought he did to some extent, but
tonight he left no room for doubt. She was speechless, and didn’t
know what to say.

“Paige,
is everything okay?” he asked, as his brows creased together in
concern and his grip on her hand loosened.

She smiled
as she climbed on top of him, his arms wrapping around her waist as
she leaned down to where her lips just barely brushed his. With a
faint whisper, she said three words she never thought she’d say
in her life.

“Everything
is perfect.”

The ride
back to Tyler’s house was quiet but not the same unnerving
quiet as the ride out there. Paige was perfectly content nestled
against Tyler, her head resting on his shoulder and her hand
intertwined in his as he drove. They had spent an hour in the back of
the truck bed, mostly holding each other close as they had small talk
and enjoyed the view of the clear night. After Tyler’s
confession of his growing feelings for her, Paige didn’t feel
like getting into deeper conversation the rest of the time, so she
kept their talk easy and light.

She
frowned as she looked down at her watch, amazed that it was already
nine, time seemed to fly by tonight. She needed to get going so she
could pick up Kyra.

As they
pulled into his drive, she said, “I’ll have to get going
so I can get Kyra and get her home, since it’s already getting
kind of late.”

He took
her hand and brought it to his mouth, giving it a light kiss. “Well,
why don’t you guys come over tomorrow night and we can rent
some movies for the kids or something?” he asked.

Her face
brightened at that thought, thinking it would be a relaxing evening.
“Sure, that sounds really good.”

As they
got out, he walked her over to where her car was waiting. She leaned
against her door, dreading the idea of leaving him and going back to
her house, but knew she couldn’t stay the night tonight. She
wanted to curl up in his bed with him all night long and make love
until late in the night, but those plans would have to wait until
later in the week. She had worked a lot this week and needed to spend
time with her daughter. She had plans of taking her out to the mall
tomorrow and splurging on letting her pick out several toys, along
with ice cream and possibly the park and then movie night at Tyler’s
later that evening.

Tyler
leaned in close, his tall frame standing before her, making her lean
back against the car. “I’ll call you tomorrow and tell
you when we’re home so you guys can stop by,” he said as
he nuzzled her neck.

She
shivered despite the heat of the night and said, “Okay, I’m
spending the day with Kyra so call my cell.” She wrapped her
arms around his neck, pulling him to her lips. His kiss was as soft
as the words he had spoken to her earlier as they lay in the back of
the truck bed, making it hard for Paige to get the energy to leave.
“Tyler, I can’t leave when you’re kissing me like
that,” she said in between each kiss.

“I
know, that’s the whole point,” he mumbled against her
mouth.

She let
out a small whimper as he ran his hand through her hair, making her
lean her head back against the car as he kissed a path down her neck.
She wanted to give in to him, to grab his hand and pull him into the
house, to let him have his way with her but she was a mother first.
She put her hands against his chest and gently pushed him away. “I
really have to go even though I don’t want to. Another night we
can pick up where we left off,” she whispered.

Sighing he
said, “Okay, I guess I’ll let you go.” He reached
around her and opened her car door, ushering her inside. “Come
on, you need to get in before I take my words back.”

She gave
him one last kiss and got in, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,
but we’ll have the kids, so I won’t be able to have my
way with you until sometime next week.”

A
seductive smile touched her lips as she said, “Well, it will be
worth the wait.”

She
watched his mouth twitch into that sexy crooked grin as he stood
there speechless. His grip on the door tightened as desire shone in
his eyes. He scratched his head and finally said, “I’ll
hold you to that.” He leaned down and kissed her hard on the
mouth and pulled back just slightly as he said, “Now, get out
of here before I pull you into the backseat and get what I want right
now.”