Part 8

Tyler didn't know what to do. He had tossed and turned all night. He couldn't stop thinking about Lydia and everything she had told him. She wanted him to stay. He wanted to stay with her. But the problem was him, not her. He had never been good enough for her and he still wasn't. Sure he had a ton of money in the bank and several well paying programming jobs coming up, but that didn't mean he was good enough for her. They had started on different levels, and would always be on different levels. But she wanted him to stay. Frustrated, he slammed the door behind him a little harder than he had planned and headed for the diner.


The smell of fresh baking pies almost made him float to the back booth where Josiah sat, drinking a cup of coffee. "Your hair looks good," Josiah said as Tyler sat. "But you look like crap. Somebody has woman problems." Tyler could have taken it a little better if his friend hadn't been smiling so big he was almost laughing.


"Screw you," he replied, running his hand through his shorn hair. He did smile as MaryAnne, the waitress, came over and placed a cup and a carafe of coffee on the table. She knew already that they would drink the whole thing if they sat long enough. It saved her a few hundred trips to fill up cups. The red head was pretty enough, but he was surprised that he had no reaction to her other than that. He was hoping for a small spark of interest or something.


"Nice come back," Josiah smiled even bigger. "Lydia?"


"Yeah," Tyler replied grumpily. There was no point in denying it. Josiah would just see through it.


"I always liked Lydia. She had a hard time growing up, but she sure has made something of herself. Her sister is in med school, and I think that's all Lydia," Josiah said, admiration in his voice. For Josiah to use that tone of voice when speaking about anyone was a miracle in itself. He didn't admire many people. "You better wipe that hang dog look off your face. Here come my brothers. If they see you, they will forever give you hell." Josiah waved at his five brothers, and the mass of handsome, broad shouldered men made it's way to the back booth, turning heads the whole way.


Tyler refocused on why he was here. Josiah's wedding. There were several activities planned for the next five days, and he needed to be at his best and on his toes with this crowd. He stood and greeted the brothers with hugs and back slaps. He hadn't seen them in so long, and now he wondered why. They had always treated him as family, even now. They finally got enough chairs pulled to the booth and MaryAnne brought more mugs. She took orders from all of them, but for some reason avoided looking at Abe. That's interesting, thought Tyler. Abe avoided looking at her, too.


The men sat and talked up until lunch time, when they ordered more food. MaryAnne had finally quit asking if they needed anything else, and just waited until they called her name across the diner. Tyler had never had a better time with the Todd boys.


"When does your mom get here?" Tyler asked, speaking to the crowd in general.


"She's here. She's at Josiah's getting it ready for the barbecue tonight," Noah answered. "Which means I guess that we better get over there so she can see your ugly mug." There were snorts and laughter around the table, and after much shuffling and pocket digging, they left Josiah with the tab. They all chipped in for the tip, making MaryAnne's week. Grateful as she was, she couldn't help muttering, "Damn man. He ought to be slapped and I'm just the woman to do it" under her breath.



"Higher, Tom, higher," Nadine Todd called, trying to get her husband to lift his end of the banner. "Perfect." Tom tacked his end, and Nadine turned for the next task.

"I wouldn't say perfect, but I'm pretty close," Tyler said, grinning at his best friend's mother. She had been the mother his couldn't, or wouldn't, be. She had given him love and a safe place to be. She had given him family, and he loved her for that.

Nadine Todd smiled at Tyler, opening her arms as she approached him. She wrapped her arms around Tyler, just like she would greet any of her children. "Sweet boy, how are you? I haven't seen you in so long. You don't call, you don't write," she chastised him as she kissed his cheek. "Do you know what pen and paper are? They are for writing, like a letter, to me."

"Sorry, Mom," he replied, feeling like a little boy all over again. "I've been busy."

"Sure, sure," she teased. "That's a great haircut. Looks good. Still a little long, but I know how you boys are." She hooked her arm through his and they walked towards the house. "So, do you have a woman? When am I going to get grandkids from you? Caleb has given me two, Simon and Gillian have one and one on the way. You remember Gillian?" And just like that, Tyler was home. Nadine had never treated him like a friend of her sons'. He was always her boy, her son, her family. He belonged.


Lydia rechecked the back door to make sure it was locked. She rechecked the lights, the store room, the dressing room. She sighed loudly, knowing that she couldn't put it off any longer. She needed to get Josie's for the cook out. After her talk with Tyler the previous night, she didn't want to go and face him. Avoiding him didn't work, and she knew she had to get over herself. She locked the front door behind her, and turned to set off for the bank. A quick deposit in the night drop and she was off. She turned to walk to her car, and there he was. He was all strong, lean legs in his shorts and flip flops. The loud Hawaiian shirt made her smile. That seemed so appropriate for him.

"Hey," she greeted him. "Nice shirt."

"It is, isn't it? I got it in Hawaii. It screamed tacky tourist and I had to have it. I came to give you a ride."

"I have my car. Can I give you a ride?" she asked politely.

She was on fire. She wanted to touch him, or have him touch her. Either way, she just wanted to be touching.

"Are you scared of the Harley?" he asked teasingly. "We need to talk, and I want to do it before we go to the barbecue."

"Tyler, please. There isn't anything else to say," she replied. She didn't want there to be anything to talk about.

"See, the funny thing about last night is that you did all the talking. I didn't get to tell you my story," he stood and walked to the magnificent motorcycle, holding out a helmet to her. "You can get on, or I can put you on."

"So now you go all cave man. I need to go to the bank, and I am not getting on that thing," she said smartly. She started to walk away when he grabbed her arm gently.

"Lydia, please," he said softly.

She closed her eyes, several emotions working. She opened her eyes, grabbed the helmet, "Fine, but can I make this deposit first?"