A Restored Man (24 page)

Ty stood and reached out to cup Cole's face, brushing his thumb against Cole's cheek.

"Kiss me before you go," Cole said.

Ty smiled. "You didn't say the magic word."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "Kiss me or I'll pull your pants down and blow you so hard you'll scream loud enough to make them come downstairs."

Ty chuckled. "That works," he said and leaned in for a kiss.

Cole gripped Ty's waist, not wanting to let him go. He withdrew from the kiss and buried his face at the crook of Ty's neck, trying to calm his pounding heartbeat. "I'll see you Monday."

Ty wrapped his arms around Cole and held him for a few moments. He finally released him and smiled before leaving.

Cole closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was falling for Ty and falling hard. Each smile, rumble of laughter, and graze of skin drove him crazy. And that faint whimper of desperation was going to drive him over the edge. He wondered what had triggered the stutter—he had been the reason for two stutters thus far. Nervousness? Loss of control? For some twisted reason, he felt a slight thrill at knowing he could unbalance Ty enough to stutter.
I'm a selfish bastard
.

He sighed. It was pointless to deny his attraction to Ty. He craved the banter, wanted to steal all the smiles and laughs he could garner. He smiled and bit his lower lip. Ty had lost control during that kiss. He definitely wanted more of that, to know Ty wanted him so desperately. He was going to drive Ty mad until he caved. This was one time he was thankful to be an expert at driving people nuts. Yeah, they were going to sleep together. Period. Ty should know better than to tell him it wasn't going to happen.

Ty had dropped the gauntlet and Cole was
so
ready for the challenge.

Ty should have known things couldn't continue as smoothly as they had for the last few days. He had been on a high since the weekend dinner, staying in touch with Aidan and actually talking and trying to mend the rift between them. The days at the shop that week were easy. Too easy. Ty was happier than he had been in quite some time. They worked the service tickets, knocking out two cars a day and managing to steal a few kisses in between. Cole had become his therapy of choice. When around him, his joy was intoxicating and permeated Ty's soul. His body didn't hurt as much, his thoughts weren't as dark, and his happiness was a consistent, quiet hum in the background.

An unexpected rain storm was headed their way with a promise for much wind. The staff was busy securing the service vehicles and bay exteriors when a gust of wind and rain hit against the metal sliding bay door.

"How bad does it usually get around the shop with storms?" Cole asked.

Ty ran his fingers through his hair. "It depends. If it's a storm with a lot of wind, then we can have issues between the bays and the showroom because it becomes a wind tunnel. With rain, we need to worry about the rear of the service bays because of the flooding since most of the equipment is back there and the incline is different so the water can seep in a bit easier."

Another gust of wind hit against the bay door. He looked up at the wall clock and pulled the radio from his pocket. "Stacie, come in," he said.

"I'm here, sir," she responded.

"After the guys lay out all the sand bags I want them to go home. We're calling it an early day. I don't want them driving in this when it gets worse."

"Yes, sir," she responded. "I'll let them know."

Ty returned the radio to his pocket and turned to Cole who continued with the service ticket. "Can you call Julian to see if he can pick you up?"

Cole nodded and retrieved his phone from his pocket. He pressed a few keys and waited. "Hey, it's me. Ty's closing the shop early, can you pick me up?" he asked and waited. He tugged on his lower lip and nodded. "Okay." He rocked on his feet as he spoke. "Yeah, it's safe here. Ty says it should be fine. He just doesn't want the guys driving in the bad weather."

Ty started storing away the tools in the chest and rolling up the fender pads.

"When?" Cole asked, pacing back and forth in a short path. "Okay, hold on."

"Is something wrong?" Ty asked.

Cole held his phone to his chest. "Julian can't pick me up yet. He's at a jobsite and working with the crew to secure the construction for the storm. Can I stay here for a while?" he asked.

Ty nodded. "Yeah, that's fine."

Cole returned the phone to his ear. "He says it's fine," he said. "Uh huh…yeah, I'll keep it close…okay, bye." He ended the call and pocketed his phone. "He's not sure how long he'll be. He said I'm fine until curfew time if you can tolerate me that long. I just need to make sure I answer the phone if he or Matt call me."

Ty chuckled. "All alone in the shop with you. What's a guy to do?" he teased.

Cole waggled his eyebrows. "I'm sure we can come up with something."

"How about we make sure everything is secured. I'm sure the guys already bolted out of here like bats out of hell." Ty sighed when his radio chirped a few short clicks.

Cole straightened. "Is something wrong with the radio?"

Ty shook his head. "That's Stacie's way of letting me know I've got someone up front I don't want to see," he said, wiping his hands on the towel. "I need to head over there. She's probably alone and she should've already left. I don't want her driving in this weather."

"Who's out front?"

Ty stretched his neck from side to side. "I'm guessing it's the guy who used to run the shop with my dad. He likes to come by and make my life impossible."

"Why?"

Ty planted his hands on his hips. "Because he can," he mumbled.

"I don't understand," Cole said, standing in front of him.

He reached out and pulled Cole by the waist. "I know you don't, because I'm not making much sense. I'll be back in a few minutes." He needed this closeness, these few seconds of strength Cole's nearness always seemed to grant him. He gave Cole a chaste kiss and walked away, leaving Cole to finish the work while he dealt with the dark cloud that had been hovering over him for the last two months, worse than the imminent storm. He heard the voices and steeled himself before walking into the service bay.

"Why don't you just call him on that little radio of yours?" Robert Stackman said to a serious-faced Stacie who looked as if she had been ready to leave the shop.

His father had worked with Robert closely for almost a decade, teaching him, training him on the ins and outs of the business and industry. Robert had been responsible for running the shop, working with the vendors and the service end of things while Ty worked on the restorations and customizations. Now, there he stood, two years later in a sharp, gray Armani suit and polished leather shoes he wouldn't dare wear to another auto shop in the tri-county area.

"There he is," Robert said when Ty approached. "How are you, Ty?"

Stacie immediately stood by Ty. "Sir—"

"It's fine," he said to her. He looked over to Robert, hoping to convey his irritation. "What do you want, Robert?"

"Wow, you were always the polite one in the family. What happened?" Robert asked. He leaned in closer to Ty. "Been hanging around with your brother I see."

Ty crossed his arms and straightened to his full height. "How about you tell me what the hell you want so you can leave."

Robert stood in front of Ty and looked up to him, invading his personal space. "We've discussed this. You know what I want. I want you to make a decision."

Ty scowled. "I'm not playing your game."

Robert arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "You don't have much of a choice," he said with a grin.

"There's always a choice."

Robert's grin twisted into a sneer. "You don't have one. You do what I need you to do or I'll ruin the Calloway name. Work with me and we'll both win."

Ty's heart beat so hard he could barely concentrate on what he wanted to say next. He tried not to let Robert get to him, but the slimy son of a bitch always seemed to get under his skin and strike the nerve that hurt the most. "I t-t-told you already. I'm n-n-n-…not g-g-go-go-" He paused when he felt a supportive, hand on his lower back. He tried to level his breathing so he could rein in the anger coursing through his veins. Cole's fingers gently moved up and down his back, calming him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the steady up and down stroke of Cole's fingers. Finally, calmer and in control, he spoke again. "I told you already. I'm not going to do it."

Robert's jaw muscles flexed and his gaze snapped to Cole, burning with a fury that obviously bubbled within. "Who the hell are you?" He asked.

"I'm Cole. Who the hell are
you
?"

Robert inched closer and squinted at him. "What's wrong with you?" he asked before bursting into laughter. "You can't even pick out matching eyes! You're a freak."

A surge of rage rose within Ty. He could see Cole in the periphery of his vision, standing stock-still, glaring at a laughing Robert. Ty lunged forward but Cole immediately reached for his arm, stopping him. His heart was racing and his skin was on fire. "Get the fuck out of my shop!"

Robert slowly straightened and stopped laughing. "What did you say?"

Ty stepped forward and stared down at Robert. "Get the fuck out of my shop," he said, enunciating each word slowly.

Robert looked at Ty then to Cole and back. "We're not finished and you
will
do what we've discussed," he said. He glared at Cole again then turned and walked toward the exit.

Ty clenched his jaw, trying to bite back the boiling rage.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Calloway. I tried to—"

"I know, Stacie. He wouldn't have left until he spoke to me. It's fine, please go before the storm gets worse," Ty said, his voice hoarse from the anger that wanted to erupt.

Stacie nodded and handed him the radio before exiting the shop.

Ty turned to Cole, his anger dissipating when he saw a flash of pain in Cole's eyes before he looked away.

"I'm sorry," Cole said quietly, shoving his hands in his work pants.

"For what?" Ty asked, scowling.

"For being an asshole."

Ty reached out and pulled Cole by the shoulders to turn him. He cupped his face, trying to draw Cole's focus to him. "Where did that come from?" he asked gently, stroking Cole's cheek.

Cole evaded Ty's eyes. He tried to pull his face from Ty's hold but couldn't.

"Cole, talk to me. Please."

"I hurt you," Cole said, with an uncharacteristic crack in his voice.

"When do you think you hurt me?" Ty asked, hoping to coax Cole out of his somberness.

Cole finally made eye contact with Ty, the pain in those mismatched eyes cut through Ty worse than the injuries from the accident. "What he said. I said the same to you."

"What are you talking about?" Ty asked, trying with more effort than usual to follow Cole's train of thought.

"He wanted to know what was wrong with me. I had asked you the same thing when we first met. I hadn't realized how badly—"

"Stop," Ty said, stroking Cole's cheek. "You and that asshole are not the same. He said that to intentionally hurt you, to piss you off, and get a rise out of you. You would never say something with that intent."

Cole pulled his face from Ty's hold and turned away.

Ty came up to Cole from behind and wrapped his arms around him, bending over to nuzzle the side of Cole's neck. "Please say something," he whispered in Cole's ear as he trailed kisses along his neck.

"I don't know why you like me so much after some of the things I say—"

"Cole—"

"Let me finish. You wanted to talk, let me say what I need to say please."

"Okay."

"I'm sorry for the stupid things I say. Sometimes I tease, but other times I say things and I hurt people even when I don't know I do it. I'm getting better. Well, at least I hope I'm getting better. I'm damn sure trying. But I would never hurt you."

"I know that," Ty said, tightening his hold around Cole's waist.

Cole turned in the embrace and looked at Ty. "And anyone who says anything like that to you to hurt you, they are going to pay for it. One way or another, they are going to regret hurting you."

Ty smiled and reached up to stroke Cole's cheek.

"Whatever it is he's talking about, let me help you," Cole said.

"I don't think you can," Ty said.

"How will you know if you don't let me," Cole said. He reached out and grabbed Ty's waist. "Please."

Ty sighed. He didn't have a clue how to get out of this black hole that kept pulling him in and he certainly wasn't going to drag Cole along with him. "I'll deal with it, let's just work on making sure everything is secured and locked down before the weather gets worse."

Cole stared at him with fire in his eyes. His lips thinned to a straight line and his jaw muscles flexed. He mumbled something under his breath then turned and walked toward the service areas. Ty watched as he checked the tool chests and rolled them against the wall.

Ty sighed. He didn't want to piss on Cole's happy world, yet somehow, it seemed as if that's exactly what he had done. He folded the tarps and stacked them in the bin.