Getting Over It: Sapphire Falls Book Six (20 page)

“You’ve put a lot of thought into this,” TJ said.

“I have.”

“Almost as if you’d been planning it even before you got hurt.”

Ty met his brother’s eyes. He shouldn’t be surprised TJ had guessed that. TJ knew his brothers better than anyone. Mostly because he was always looking out for them to keep them from messing up, and he had a gift the other three Bennett boys hadn’t mastered—keeping his mouth shut and simply listening a lot of the time.

“It had occurred to me as a retirement plan,” Ty confirmed. “I just didn’t know when that retirement was going to happen.”

“I’m happy to help with any additional renovations you might need in the house,” Delaney, their resident fix-it girl, said.

“Thanks. I’ll take you up on that.”

They talked for a bit about who in town would be good for some of the jobs and then cleared the dishes and helped Kathy clean up the kitchen. At least until she threw them all out because they were in her way and doing everything wrong.

Exactly as it had been growing up. Ty grinned. He knew his mother knew they all got in her way and did things the wrong way so that they would get out of helping, but it was a time-honored Bennett family tradition.

Ty made his way out onto the front porch as his brothers and their families gathered things up to leave an hour later.

“Trav, hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” Ty asked as Travis and Lauren stepped out of the house.

Watching his brothers with their girls, in love and happy, he’d finally decided that he needed some help. All of his brothers had figured out the relationship thing. Maybe they could actually be helpful. And Travis had been a high school classmate of Hailey’s. Of all his brothers, Travis probably knew her best.

Travis glanced at Lauren. “I’ve got this,” she said softly so as not to wake the sleeping baby. “Have one of them bring you home later. I’m going down for a nap too.”

Travis smoothed her hair and kissed the top of her head, and Ty actually got choked up. Jesus. This emotion thing was going to kill him.

“What’s up?” Travis asked, crossing to where Ty leaned against the porch railing. He settled his butt next to Ty’s.

“I need some advice.”

“Okay.”

“About a woman.”

Travis pivoted to look at him. “Seriously?”

Ty nodded.

“Hailey?” Travis asked.

Ty frowned but nodded. Travis knew?

“Yes!” Travis said. He swung around and called out, “Hey, City!”

Lauren looked back at him from where she’d strapped the baby in.

“Ty’s asking
me
for advice on women.”

Lauren raised both eyebrows and looked at Ty. She closed the car door quietly and then faced them. “Yeah?”

Ty shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Hailey?”

Ty sighed. “Yeah.”

“Okay, hang on.” She turned back, retrieved Whitney from the car and came back up onto the porch.

“You don’t have to stay,” Ty said. In fact, he’d love it if she
didn’t
stay. He was going to feel like enough of an idiot talking to Travis.

“It’s no bother. I’m happy to help,” Lauren said.

Yeah, that wasn’t what he meant.

Delaney, Tucker and the boys came out of the house.

“Henry, will you take Whitney back in to grandma?” Lauren asked, handing the baby over.

“Sure. Why?” Henry asked, handling the little girl as if he’d been born to it. Impressive for a twelve-year-old.

“We need to talk to Uncle Ty,” Lauren said.

Tucker looked at Ty and Travis, eyebrows up. “We do?”

Ty sighed. “No,
you
don’t.”

“About what?” Charlie, the ten-year-old, asked.

“His girlfriend,” Travis said with a grin.

Charlie scoffed. “Girlfriends are easy.”

“Are they?” Tucker asked.

“Yeah, just give them whatever they want,” Charlie said.

Everyone laughed, but Ty couldn’t help but think the kid was on to something. At least, he’d been giving Hailey what he’d
thought
she wanted.

“Are we really talking about a girlfriend?” Delaney asked.

“Well, he needs advice on a woman,” Travis said. “And asked
me
.” He seemed inordinately proud of that.

“Hailey?” Tucker asked.

Ty stared at him.
Dammit.

“Yes,” Lauren confirmed, settling into one of the white wicker chairs on Kathy’s porch.

“Oh, great,” Delaney said, taking the other chair. “We’ve all been dying to know what’s going on with you two.”

Lauren laughed. “You’ve only been here a couple of months. Think about those of us who’ve been around for years.”

Delaney turned to her. “It’s been going on for
years
?”

They know it’s been going on for years?
Ty thought.
Shit.

“At least since they started building Sapphire Hills,” Lauren said.

Ty said nothing. That had been what had prompted Hailey’s trip to Denver. The trip that had resulted in them sleeping together for the first time as adults.

But it had all started long before that.

“Ty’s had an unrequited crush on Hailey since he was fourteen,” Tucker said.

Fifteen. But Ty didn’t correct them.

“Well, apparently it’s not unrequited anymore,” Travis said.

Yeah, well, that wasn’t completely true either.

“What’s not unrequited?” TJ asked, stepping out onto the porch, Hope’s hand in his.

Sure, why not bring in the whole family?

“Ty’s crush on Hailey,” Delaney supplied helpfully.

“It’s
not
unrequited?” TJ asked.

“I wondered about the two of you that day she was at TJ’s farm, all pissed off about someone moving next door to her,” Hope said.

Ty sighed. And waited for them to finish.

“Something’s been going on for a while,” Lauren agreed.

“And now he wants advice, so I’d say it’s getting more serious,” Tucker said.

“He wants advice from
me
,” Travis interjected.

“Well, that makes sense,” TJ said. “Lauren is probably the most like Hailey of all our girls.”

“What’s that mean?” Delaney asked.

“You and Hope are sweet and patient,” TJ said.

“I’m sitting right here,” Lauren said.

TJ laughed. “Are you denying that you’re less sweet and patient than Delaney and Hope?”

“Fine,” Lauren said. “I’m not denying that Hailey and I both have the polished, bitchy thing going on when we need it. But you didn’t say that we also share a quick wit, a talent for sarcasm and are highly intelligent.”

“There,” Ty said, pushing off the railing. “That. That’s exactly right.”

He became aware everyone was staring at him. He took his eyes off Lauren and looked around. “You all agree that Hailey is smart and witty, right?”

They all nodded, while looking at him like he was nuts.

“That’s all I’m saying,” he muttered, and leaned back against the railing.

“
What
is going on with you two?” Lauren asked, leaning forward in her chair. “I’m
dying
to know.”

He looked around at the group gathered. Okay, unconditional love was up to bat.

“I think I screwed up.”

“You mean by running against her for mayor?”

This came from his mother, who had stepped out onto the porch. The screen door slapped shut behind her. “When I told you to make her feel like number one, this isn’t really what I meant.”

Everyone swung their attention from Kathy to Ty.

“She knew about you and Hailey?” Tucker asked.

“Only since Sunday,” Ty admitted.

“You knew about them on Sunday?” Travis asked his mom. “How?”

“I saw her leaving his house that morning half dressed.” Kathy had a smug smile on her face.

“Half dressed?” Tucker repeated.

Everyone’s attention turned back to Ty.

“You slept with her?” Tuck asked.

“We’ve been sleeping together for almost four years.”

Five mouths dropped open at that. The exceptions were Kathy and, interestingly, Lauren.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell us!” Delaney said to Kathy.

“This is between Ty and Hailey,” Kathy said. Then she frowned at her youngest son. “At least, it was until he decided to run against her.”

“I have a plan,” Ty said weakly.

“I hope so. Because being mayor is the most important thing to Hailey. It’s the thing she’s most proud of, the thing that makes her feel important, and you’re trying to take it away from her.”

Holy shit, those were almost exactly the words Hailey had said to him. “No,” he denied. “I’m trying to make it
really
mean something, to be real, for her to
actually
be number one.”

“How?” Delaney asked.

“By giving her some competition. A win doesn’t really feel like a win unless you beat somebody.”

Delaney didn’t look convinced.

“If you’re the only one in the running, you come in first, but you also come in last,” he said.

No one said anything to that either. And now Hope looked skeptical along with Delaney.

“It’s not a victory if you’re not victorious
over
someone,” Ty tried again.

“Not everyone needs the glory, Ty,” Lauren finally said. “Some people are happy doing what they’re doing because of what they’re doing. Not because of the medals and trophies.”

Fuck. Hailey had said that too.

“And what if you win?” Kathy said.

And up until Hailey had shared with him that she’d been faking the in-charge thing, he would have scoffed at that. But now… “Yeah, well, I didn’t think it through entirely.”

“So drop out,” Travis said.

“I can’t.”

“He can’t.”

He and his mother spoke at the same time.

Ty sighed. She agreed. Dammit. Dropping out sounded great. He didn’t want to be mayor. And he didn’t want to hurt Hailey. And he wanted to keep sleeping with her.

And he really didn’t want to be mayor.

“He can’t drop out,” Kathy said. “That would be worse. That would be like saying he knows that there’s no way she’ll be able to win and he’s
giving
it to her. That’s worse than winning an unopposed election.”

She was right. Ty sighed again.

“So what were you thinking?” Travis asked. “How was this plan going to work?”

“Being opposed in a race—even a political one—makes people really try. They have to push. They have to stand up and show everyone what they’ve got,” Ty said.

“And you think Hailey needs to do that?” Tucker asked.

“I do,” Ty said firmly. “She’s always been unopposed. Now she needs to show this town what she’s got.”

“She hasn’t been doing that?” Travis asked. “Hell, she’s been in charge of stuff as long as I can remember.”

He took a deep breath. He couldn’t out her. He couldn’t tell everyone, even his family, that she’d been faking everything. Or thought she had been. Or whatever the fuck was going on.

“I want her to know I believe in her. But I think that maybe… I don’t know her as well as I thought.”

No one said anything to that initially and he scanned their faces. The guys looked as confused as he was. It was Lauren and his mother that seemed more thoughtful.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, pointing at Lauren.

“I’m thinking you might be right,” she said.

“That I don’t know her?”

“Yes. And that a lot of people don’t really know her.”

Ty watched Lauren carefully. Did
Lauren
know this other side of Hailey?

“And you’re also thinking that I’m a jackass because I’m worried I might not be in love with her now that I’m not sure who she really is?”

Lauren shook her head. “Not that. That’s not all on you.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “That’s not
all
on me?”

Lauren leaned back and crossed her legs and regarded him seriously. “She didn’t let you in. So it’s not
all
on you. But it’s not like you dug deep, Ty. You were completely content with everything exactly as it was. You didn’t want it to be different.”

“No, but—”
Fuck.
“How do you know that?”

“Because you’re Ty Bennett. You are wildly successful and popular. Because you’ve
made
yourself successful and popular. You’ve worked hard and made decisions and choices that have put you where you are,” she said. “But you’re not good with things not fully in your control. Like other people.”

That was totally true. Like Bryan’s situation and his own knee to an extent. But… “She totally gives up control when she’s with me,” he protested.

Then
he realized he shouldn’t have said that out loud to the majority of his family.