Page 61 of Fall Over You

What a whirlwind. But looking down at her like this, I can’t imagine it going any other way.

Becca will probably have to wake up before Ellie and I do, and I don’t want her to worry that Ellie isn’t in her bed. I opt to leave her a note.

Thanks for taking care of her.

Ty

Like my body has a mind of its own, I dip to press a kiss to her forehead too.

TWENTY-FOUR

BECCA

With my fingers crossed behind my back, I open my banking website. This fall season is building up to one final fest after Halloween weekend with a different attraction: punkin’ chunkin’, or throwing rotten pumpkins as far as you can. Yesterday, I had to put down the deposit on the carnival rides and extra bounce houses. I knew funds were going to be tight, but I hoped it wouldn’t all come crashing in at once.

It has.

Today’s also the day that Ernest’s nursing home payment hits. It’s a matter of hours before I’m in overdraft—and that’s before I have to pay the folks coming in this weekend.

I don’t have a ton of choices. Crying about it certainly isn’t a choice. I need to move.

Tyler and I need to find out if this whole arrangement is even worth it. If we can’t get a loan, we might as well abandon the effort. They say there are two types of stress, positive and negative. It’s good for us to break routines, to have some hope for the future. It’s bad for us when Ellie can’t handle the changes and is afraid of losing her daddy.

I’m dedicated to making her feel as secure as we can, but there’s no point in getting on this rollercoaster ride if it amounts to nothing.

It feels like more than nothing, though. It’s not nothing when she holds my hand with confidence. It’s not nothing when she stops crying in my arms. It’s not nothing when Tyler kisses me like he fucking means it.

It’s early still, and if I leave now, Tyler and I can catch the loan guy at the bank before I have to go pick up Ellie. I grab two Red Bulls from the fridge as a bribe and head for my truck.

Tyler already looks stressed when I get to the garage. Guess it’s a club now. He’s talking to a customer while he makes notes on a ticket. A strange feeling washes over me as I realize I’m excited to see him. Also, he looks adorable when he’s in customer service mode.

But I feel completely stripped bare when he catches sight of me, and his face lights up, his ears turning pink. He glances at the clock. “Hey. What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you.” I put my hands out. “Just when you get a second. I don’t want to interrupt.”

He takes a longer, more serious look at me. He turns to the woman in front of me. “Sorry. Give me one second. Dad?”

Mr. Davis wanders over and Tyler explains where he’s leaving off. “Need to talk to Becca for a minute.”

Tyler beckons me behind the counter, his hand tapping my lower back as he ushers me to his desk. “Is it private?”

“Um, yeah.”

He nods. “We’ll go upstairs.”

He gestures for me to walk ahead of him and I’m reminded of a time about a week ago when we did this same dance. We sit at the table in his eat-in kitchen and he turns his chair so he’s facing me directly, our knees almost touching.

I pull his Red Bull out of my purse. “Here. Thought I’d at least bring you something.”

“Okay. Thanks.” He looks concerned, and I’m struck by how these same eyes were full of heat just two nights ago. How absolutely delicious his body felt against mine. “What’s going on?”

I sniff in a breath. “We need to take care of the money stuff, quick if we can. I had to pre-pay for some rides later this month, and there’s something I didn’t tell you about.”

His eyes flit over my face and he visibly deflates, but he waits for me to go on.

“Part of my deal with taking the land is that I pay for Ernest at the nursing home. I should have told you sooner that I do that, because it’s not a small amount.”

He bobs his head. “That makes sense.”