Be With Me (13 page)

He had to get up and walk
around; just sitting there was driving him out of his ever loving
mind. Tyler walked to the rows of flower arrangement to try and get
his mind off of looking at his dad in such a way. He perused the
bouquets, and came across one that seemed to stand out from the
rest. It had at least three dozen roses, but they were dyed a dark
cobalt blue. On the front of the vase, instead of a traditional
ribbon, was a bow crafted from rusty barbed wire. Tyler knew that
whoever sent this particular arrangement must have known that his
father loved his ranch, and hated traditional colored flowers. When
he reached for the attached tag, he was stunned to find that it
read:
From
Margaret Wells.
Maggie had sent
these? He thought to himself.

Tyler turned to glance at
Emily, because she would have been the only one that would have
contacted Maggie. Emily was bent over in the floor grabbing her
daughter, and he couldn’t make eye contact with her. When he looked
down the long aisle toward the back of the church his heart skipped
a beat. There stood Maggie, dressed in black, and walking toward
him.

“Tyler, I’m so sorry about
your dad.” She said tearfully.

“Thank you. How are things
back in Chicago?”

“Okay I guess, trying to
get back to normal.”

“Yeah I suppose
so.”

He wasn’t sure how to talk
to her, things had changed, and this was not the place to say what
he needed to say.

“I’m just going to sit
back there, let me know if you need anything.” She gave a shy
smile.

He should have invited her
to sit with his family, but she wasn’t family. She was just some
woman that had passed through his life, and that was it. Those
thoughts saddened him, and he wondered why she was actually there.
She had no ties to his family, but yet she was there showing her
support and compassion. Maggie Wells had managed to burrow deep
within his heart and soul.

Twenty-Nine

Tyler looked like hell for
obvious reasons. I felt sorrow for his family, losing someone so
dear to them must have been heart wrenching. I wouldn’t have known
what that was like, after all I’d distanced myself from my mother,
and shot my father for God’s sake. Suddenly the feelings of being
alone swamped me. I’d worked so damn hard to hold my head up after
everything went to shit, but being at a funeral was bringing the
blisters of hurt to the surface.

The service was lovely,
and I was sure that it honored the memory of Tyler’s father in an
appropriate way. The family was being ushered from the church, and
Tyler stopped at where I was sitting. I was shocked when he reached
down and grabbed my hand, pulling me from my seat.

“Come on.” He said in a
gruffly voice.

Was he pissed that I was
here? I didn’t come to stir up trouble I just wanted to pay my
respects. I didn’t argue with him, the man had such a way that he
demanded respect. I walked behind him to his truck and he held
tight to my hand the entire time. The contact between us was
sending my nerves into overdrive, and I was hypersensitive to
everything around me. Tyler didn’t speak when he opened the
passenger door for me to the truck, and I didn’t try to make him
have a conversation right then. When we took off for the cemetery,
he finally spoke to me.

“I wish you could have met
my dad, I think you and him would have gotten along
well.”

“I wish I could have too
Tyler, I’m so sorry.”

“Yeah we all thought he
was healthy, but that goes to show that you never know when your
time is up.”

He was right about that
and I’d learned that every moment counted. I’d done so much
worrying and thinking on my troubles in life that I lost sight of
what was important.

“Richard came to see me
the other day, says he wants to still get married…” I blurted
out.

“Huh, the guy that knocked
up his secretary?”

“Yup that’s him. Although
he says it was a mistake and the kid isn’t really his.”

“And what do you think
about it Maggie?” He turned his head and pinned me with a
stare.

“Honestly…I’m not sure
what to think anymore.”

“Guess you have some
decisions to make then…”

“I suppose so.”

I was beating myself up on
the inside for telling him about Richard coming back, why the hell
did I think it was such a good idea to spill that piece of
information?
What an asshole move on my
part.

When we finally arrived at
the local cemetery Tyler was yet again quiet and somber. He led me
to the waiting grave site, and pulled out a chair under the tent
that had been erected. He was sitting on one side of me and Jake
was on the other. I felt out of place, but for some reason it felt
good to be included in a family thing like that; even if it was a
funeral. A few passages were read aloud, and the family threw roses
on the casket of the deceased. I was surprised when Tyler handed me
a long stemmed white rose, and led me forward to do the same. When
it was all said and done, we left the site and began to walk
through the cemetery, and eventually ended up again where my mom
was buried.

“Never thought I would be
back here again.” I commented.

“Life happens when you
least expect it sometimes.” Tyler smiled.

“So, what’s in the cards
for you now? I’m sure your mom will need help.”

“Well, we’ve all discussed
it and mom thinks it’s time to sell the ranch and find a smaller
home. She’s right she can’t keep up everything by herself
anymore.”

“Oh, well I just thought
you would want to take things over…”

“Nah, it’s not what I want
to do and mom understands that. She’s not upset, and Jake is fine
with it all.”

“That’s good I guess.” I
tried to smile.

“I’d really like it if you
could stick around a few days Maggie.”

“Tyler I can’t, I have a
huge deadline coming up at work, and I’m still trying to get caught
up from the last time I was gone.”

Tyler looked terribly
disappointed, and I hated that it was me who did that. I knew he
was going through so much shit right then, but my life in Chicago
was the only normal thing I had going for me, I couldn’t let it
fall to the way side.

“If you’re ever in Chicago
though, you could look me up.” I laughed.

Leaving Texas again was
heartbreaking, not because I wanted to stay there, but because the
man I’d fallen so deeply for was still there. I knew I should have
just spoken up and told the man how I felt, but there wasn’t really
time, and the moment wasn’t right either. Maybe I could learn to
live with the regret.

Several weeks passed, and
I fell back into my old routine, of course I’d made some major
decisions in that time as well. I told Richard there was no future
for us…of course the man cried, but I felt great in my decision. He
would find someone that could live with his philandering ways, and
his three hundred dollar haircuts.

Each day before I left
work I would always do a final check of my email, and one day I was
surprised to find one from Emily. I opened the email and it had a
video attachment, above it was written:

Maggie,

I think this is something
worth watching.

Emily

I clicked the play button
to start the video and was shocked to see the image of my childhood
home, the place that would haunt me forever. I heard voices in the
background between Tyler and Jake.

“Are you sure you want to
do this Tyler?”

“Hell yeah I’m sure! This
baby is getting bulldozed!”

I heard a piece of heavy
equipment fire up in the background, and the next thing I saw
brought fresh tears to my eyes. Tyler ran the bulldozer through the
house and leveled it to the ground. I wasn’t upset, I was elated.
That amazing man had somehow managed to knock down the one thing
that stood strong through all the years of torment I’d faced. The
next voice I heard was Emily’s.

“Jake why did he want to
do this, is he crazy?” Emily asked on the video.

“Men do crazy shit for the
women they love.” Jake answered.

Whoa, did I just hear what
I thought I did? Was it possible that Tyler had feelings for
me
? Holy
Shit!

When the video was over I
closed my computer and left the office. I just needed to go home
and think of what I was going to do. I mean this was huge…but maybe
I was making a big deal out of nothing. It wasn’t Tyler who said
that, it was Jake and maybe he just assumed it all. Yet again I was
faced with a huge decision.

Thirty

It had been a few days
since Tyler bulldozed Maggie’s family home down. To him it was a no
brainer, he received his part of his fathers’ life insurance
payout, and he’d purchased the home with the intention of watching
it crash to the ground. He was satisfied with what he had done, but
it hadn’t been only for the benefit of Maggie. She still had the
demons of that house haunting her each and every day, if he wanted
to get close to her and stay that way, it would take drastic
measures. When Tyler found out that Emily had taped the destruction
and sent it to Maggie, Tyler was beside himself. He wasn’t
expecting her to find out about it so soon, and he wasn’t sure what
she would say about it. Would she be pissed? He sure hoped not, or
else his plan would backfire and then he would be stuck at square
one.

When Tyler stood in front
of the door leading to Maggie’s condo, he wondered if flying to
Chicago was such a great idea after all. He was sweating bullets,
and half expected Maggie to rip him apart for what he had done.
Only one way to tell. He lifted his hand and knocked a few times on
her door.

“Just a minute.” She
yelled from inside.

The door swung open, and
Tyler sucked in a breath. She was sexy as hell in her flannel
pajamas, and bunny slippers.

“Tyler?” She
breathed.

“Hey, I thought I needed
to come and explain…”

“Yeah um, come in. Sorry
the place is a mess, I’ve been pretty much living at the office
lately.” She said nervously. “Do you want something to
drink?”

“No I’m fine.” He looked
her up and down and then chuckled.

“What?” She looked down
self-consciously.

“You look cute in those
bunny slipper.” He laughed.

She looked at her feet.
“Oh shit. Uh yeah, they are my favorite…”

“Listen Maggie, about the
house…” He quickly changed the subject.

“Tyler that was the most
amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. When I saw the video I
cried, but not a sad cry…more like a cry of relief, if that makes
sense.” She looked confused.

“Actually it makes
complete sense, and that was the reaction I was hoping to get from
it. I knew that house was something you needed to be rid of, and I
bought it with the intention of tearing it all down.”

“Why would you do that
Tyler? Why waste money on something for me…that’s
crazy.”

“It wasn’t a waste, it was
for you, and honestly I would tear down this whole damn city for
you.” He let out a breath. “Maggie, I love you.”

He could see her eyes fill
with tears. “Tyler, I…”

“Look, I don’t expect you
to say anything, but I want you to know that I will
wait.”

“I don’t want you to wait
for me Tyler, I’m here now, and dammit I love you too!” She jumped
across the room and threw her arms around his body, and damn it
felt good.

“So that means you’ll be
with me?” He asked.

“Of course it does!” She
laughed.

“Okay, but I have one
condition I think we shouldn’t live in Texas.” He
suggested.

“Where then?” She raised
her eyebrows.

“Well, your career is here
in Chicago, and I’m sure we could find a nice house in the
suburbs.”

“That would be perfect.”
She smiled and hugged him tighter.

“Oh shit I almost forgot.”
He dug around in his shirt pocket. “Here, I don’t expect an answer
now but…”

“Oh my God!
Yes!”

Tyler wasn’t even able to
complete the proposal he had lined out for her, but Maggie didn’t
seem to mind at all. He slipped the sparkling ring on her finger,
and it made him feel like he’d won the lottery. He would never be
perfect and neither would she, but that was what made what they had
so strong. He had no doubt in his mind that this woman was his
heaven on earth.

The End

Thank you for enjoying the “Come Back To Me”
Series