He wrapped a clean towel around his waist, went into her room and climbed in Angelina Tucker’s bed. The last thing his foggy brain registered is that the bed smelled flowery, too.
It smelled like Angelina.
That thought comforted him as he fell asleep.
TUCKER WAITED A HALF hour, then tiptoed into the bathroom through the hall door and picked up Tyler’s clothes. She planned on washing them while he slept. She couldn’t swear to it, but she was pretty sure the jeans and tight black t-shirt were the same ones he’d had on three days ago when he’d brought her Jace. The door to the bedroom was cracked and she saw Tyler sprawled on her bed.
A towel was still wrapped around his hips, but his chest and legs were bare. She felt something stirring, something that hadn’t stirred for a very long time.
It wasn’t that she was immune to men. It was simply that she didn’t have a lot of opportunity to meet men. She lived her life in a man’s world, but it sometimes felt as if there were no men she could, or would, be interested in. And when she did meet a man, she frequently couldn’t get rid of them quick enough. It wasn’t that some weren’t nice—they were. It was simply that fitting anything more than an occasional date into her busy life didn’t work for her. She wasn’t interested in long-term. She’d have thought that would make her their dream woman. But it seemed to do the opposite. The more she said she wasn’t interested, the more they pursued her.
Instantly, she realized she was ogling a man who’d lost a friend and was obviously devastated. She felt ashamed and rushed from the room, tossed his clothes in the washer and went to see if Jace was awake yet.
She found him sitting in the portable baby crib she’d bought.
“Hi, little man. Let’s go get some breakfast.”
Taking care of the baby was enough of a distraction that she could ignore the fact there was a half-naked man in her bed.
Well, not ignore, but almost ignore.
She was not going to think about the fact that she’d thought Tyler Martinez looked very good in a tight black t-shirt, and now she’d discovered he looked even better out of it.
CHAPTER THREE
TYLER WOKE UP DISORIENTED.
Where was he?
It was the scent that finally triggered his memory. He was in Angelina Tucker’s bed. On the heels of that realization came another—Jason was dead. He needed to get the baby and go check on Jason’s parents.
Tyler found his clothes in a neat pile in the bathroom. They’d obviously been laundered.
He added that to the long list of things Angelina had done for him as he dressed.
He went looking for his benefactor and found her in the living room on the floor stacking blocks with Jace. He stood in the doorway, mesmerized by the sight. She’d stack a small tower and Jace would whack it over, then laugh hysterically as she’d sputter, “Why you…” and rebuild it, only to have it toppled again.
She spotted him and smiled. “You woke up.”
“I did and found some clean clothes. Thank you.”
She seemed flustered by his gratitude and shrugged. “It was self-preservation. They practically walked to the washer and begged to be cleaned.” She grew serious. “I’m sorry about your friend.”
“Thank you. He was more than a friend…” Tyler stopped, not sure how to describe his relationship with Jason and his parents. There was the family he’d been born into, such as they were, and then there were the Matthews, the family he’d chosen…or rather the family who’d chosen him.
“Your friend’s got a great kid. I figured Jace’s parents were pretty special. I’m sorry he’s lost his father.”
“Mellie, his mom, is gone, too. Jace only has his grandparents left.”
“I’m sorry for that, too.” Tucker shook her head. “But you’re wrong. He has you.”
Jace deserved better than him. Lucky for the kid he had Jason’s parents, who were the best. They were two of the most decent people he’d ever known. “His grandparents will take care of him. Speaking of which, I need to take him to them. We’ve got to make the funeral arrangements.” He paused. “About work…?”
“Don’t worry. Dad cleared your absence with your parole officer, and your job is waiting for you after the funeral. Will you call me with the details?”
Her question brought him up short. “Why?”
Tucker shook her head, sending her short curls flying. “So we can come and show our respect.”
“You didn’t know him.” She’d never even met Jason or his parents, so he didn’t understand.
“No, but we know you. You work for us. We want to be there for you. That’s what friends do.” Her expression didn’t brook any arguments.
Tyler hadn’t understood Angelina back when he’d asked her out and she’d said no, despite the fact he was pretty sure she wanted to say yes. He didn’t think he was being conceited when he thought she was as attracted to him as he was to her. He understood her even less now. He simply said, “Thanks.” He leaned down to the baby. “Hey, Jace.”
Jace immediately held up his hands to be lifted.
“He’s not shy about what he wants.” Angelina laughed as Tyler picked up the baby. “Bart has begun referring to us as Jace’s minions. He’s got everyone at the shop totally under his thumb.”
“I don’t know how to thank you both. To thank everyone at the shop for picking up the slack for me.”
“Like I said, helping out—that’s what we do. You should have seen him with North. North’s got a Star Trek phaser app on his phone and was thrilled that Jace thought it was as cool as he did. The rest of us simply mock it, but Jace and North played with that thing for more than a half hour. I’m afraid that first it’s going to be phaser apps on a phone, and next thing you know, North will be taking Jace to ComicCon, or DragonCon.”
Jason had been a huge science fiction buff who’d kept trying to tempt Tyler into joining him by giving him books or DVDs to watch. Tyler realized that his friend would never again rave about how brilliant Buffy the Vampire Slayer was, or threaten to give him a Star Wars ringtone.
He noticed Angelina was still talking. “…and Lou and my dad took turns playing honorary grandpa with him. They were talking about taking him fishing. I put a stop to that. I figured I’d fail as babysitter if I let him become fish-bait. But I’m sure they’ll be asking to borrow him sometime. They used to take Bart.”
Tyler didn’t know what to say. He was an ex-con, but no one at Tucker’s garage seemed to notice. They simply accepted him as one of their own. “Angel, I—”
“Tucker, remember, Ace?” She smiled as she said the words.
Without thinking, Tyler leaned down and kissed her. It started out as a quick buss on the cheek, but she turned her head, and his lips were on hers. It was a tender kiss of friendship that quickly turned into something more. Something Tucker actively participated in and then abruptly pulled back from, looking flustered. He didn’t wait for her to holler at him, he simply took the baby and walked to where he’d spotted Jace’s carseat.
“Don’t forget his diaper bag,” Tucker said, following after him, bag in hand.
He started toward his truck.
“Thanks. I seem to be thanking you a lot.”
“We look out for each other. No thanks expected.”
He knew she meant that—she didn’t require or expect gratitude. She