Where Forever Lies Read online

  “Thank you for the dance,” he finally said.

  Blushing slightly, she said, “You’re welcome,” and found herself smiling like an idiot as she looked up into his eyes. Flustered, she quickly looked away. She wasn’t sure what was coming over her, but when she looked too long into his eyes, they seemed to pull her in and threaten to never let her escape. She suddenly felt awkward and wasn’t sure what to say.

  Tyler finally broke his stare when he looked down at his boots and then back up at her, “Maybe we ought to do this again sometime.”

  Paige tried to keep her smile contained but his endearing manner was too much. He was the complete opposite from the arrogant guy she’d seen. Her smile slipped, and she said, “Maybe,” as she turned to walk away. She knew he’d find her if he was truly interested.

  Once she made her way up to her table she saw Kyleigh and Brooke grinning like two idiots. She swore they acted as if they’d never seen her dance with a guy before. Of course, by the way she was acting, it probably looked that way. David was gone and Brooke was still chugging down beers.

  “What?” she hissed as she took a seat.

  “What my ass!” Kyleigh said. “I can’t believe you Paige, he’s hot, and manly looking with those cowboy boots!”

  “Oh, it was just a dance, calm down, girls.” Paige took a small sip of her beer, not really wanting to drink anymore, just needing something to take her mind off the way Tyler’s arms felt around her waist. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt anything that intense from a guy.

  Paige turned to face Kyleigh, “So? You and David? What’s going on there?”

  Kyleigh suddenly got quiet and Paige was shocked. Kyleigh was rarely speechless, let alone about a guy. She glanced out into the crowd, looking as if she was lost in thought. Finally, she turned her attention back to Paige and said, “We’re just talking... But he’s a really nice guy and, I don’t know, we’ll just see what, if anything, happens.”

  Paige raised her eyebrows at that, shocked that Kyleigh hadn’t mentioned it to her earlier. Maybe she was just waiting to see if anything became of it.

  As Paige, Brooke and Kyleigh all sat around their table talking about guys and work and everything in between, Paige’s thoughts kept going back to Tyler. The guy really had her thinking and that was a first. She stared out into the crowd, trying her best to keep her eyes away from his direction. She didn’t want to look too desperate. She wasn’t even sure if she was ready for a relationship or not. Paige jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

  “Hi, ma’am, I have a drink for you,” a blonde waitress said. Her white shirt clung tightly to her chest and her jeans looked as if she had painted them on. She smiled down at Paige with brightly painted red lips and red cowboy boots to match. Paige looked up at her in confusion.

  “I didn’t order a drink,” she said.

  “Well, you didn’t, but some good looking guy over there told me to bring this over to you.”

  The waitress set the drink down in front of her and Paige shook her head, smiling. She couldn’t believe what she was looking at. The nerve of him, she thought as she stared at the drink. On the table in front of her sat a pink, fruity drink with whipped cream, topped off with a cherry.

  She looked in Tyler’s direction and saw him looking down at his beer trying to hide the huge grin on his face. He took a drink of his beer and finally looked her way, his dark eyes glistening with amusement. He held his beer in the air and saluted it in her direction with a cocky smile spread across his face. He winked at her and she shook her head, held the drink in the air in salute towards him and then brought it to her lips and took a sip.

  He smiled and shook his head and then returned his attention to his friends. She turned away, feeling the drink’s fruity taste on her lips and was horrified that it tasted really good. Dammit! She thought to herself.

  “So, mister country boy over there bought you a drink?” Kyleigh questioned, her eyebrows raised in excitement.

  “Yes, as a joke more than anything,” Paige said swirling the straw around in her whipped cream.

  “Damn, Paige, you would be stupid to let that one get away,” Brooke confessed, as she downed another beer. “If you let him get away, I’m going to go find him.” Brooke started laughing as she high fived Kyleigh.

  Paige thought they were crazy. She didn’t know the guy, he could be a pervert or something. Maybe a stalker, with the way she kept running into him everywhere. She risked another peek in his direction and saw him laughing away with his friends. His leg was sprawled out in front of him, showing off his cowboy boot, his broad shoulders casually rested against the back of the booth they sat in and she watched as he ran a hand through his thick, brown hair. She bit her lip, knowing she was far from his type, and turned her attention back to her friends for the rest of the night.

  An hour later, they decided it was getting late and they all agreed it was time to leave. Paige looked at her watch and couldn’t believe it was two in the morning. No wonder she was exhausted. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been out so late.

  As they got outside and were making their way to the car, Paige shrieked as someone grabbed her shoulder. The parking lot was almost deserted and it was late and her thoughts were going rampant. She had always had a fear of dark, deserted parking lots.

  Startled, she turned around and saw Tyler. He dropped his hand from her and smiled hesitantly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  She eyed him nervously, thinking back to her stalker thoughts. “Uh, what’s up?” she asked, as she looked him in the eye.

  He scratched his head as he looked around anxiously. His eyes flitted down her body and back up to her face, making her squirm from his blatant staring. “Well, I wanted to ask you out. You know, if you’re interested? I know I was supposed to call you but I’ve been busy working all week and since I ran into you here, I thought we could make plans now.”

  The question hit her and she was suddenly unsure. She knew she had the urge to see him again, he had stirred deep feelings inside her, but fear held her answer hostage. She swallowed hard and found a bit of courage, “Okay. That sounds great. When did you want to get together?”

  Even in the shadows of the night, she could see a smile slip onto his face. He licked his lips as he said, “How about tomorrow night? This is one of the rare weekends that I don’t have my son. He’s at a friend’s house all weekend for a birthday party/sleepover type of deal.”

  Paige thought about it for a moment, wondering if she could get a sitter tomorrow night but then realized Kyleigh would be ecstatic to watch Kyra so she could go out on a date. “Tomorrow works. Just call me in the morning and let me know what time.” She could feel Brooke and Kyleigh’s eyes on them the whole time, and knew this was the highlight of their night.

  “Ok, I’ll call you tomorrow. See ya, Paige,” Tyler said, and then he turned and walked back inside The Broken Spur, leaving her mind reeling from what could be in store for her.

  ♥♥♥

  Paige said her goodbyes to Kyleigh and a passed out Brooke and slowly walked up the steps to her apartment. It was late and even though she was exhausted, she was glad she went because she’d had a lot of fun.

  She unlocked the door and stepped inside, her balance wavering slightly from being a little tipsy. Her head was beginning to throb so she poured herself a glass of water and took some ibuprofen. As she leaned against the counter she looked around her apartment. It was so quiet without Kyra here. It had been such a long time since she had spent the night anywhere that Paige felt the vacant, lonely feeling begin to creep in on her. Normally, she was so busy with work and Kyra, that her place was never quiet or boring. Kyra definitely made things interesting in the house. She was always getting into something, jabbering or laughing. Paige smiled as she thought about her. She was everything to her and Paige couldn’t imagine her life without her. Her life revolved around Kyra and she did everything in her power to provide for her and
give her a happy, healthy life. But now, at this hour, standing here all alone, she began to realize that she was also truly lonely. There was no denying it, no pretending that she was okay; she felt an emptiness inside her that was showing more and more each day.

  Her mind drifted to Tyler and she wondered what his plans were in life. He seemed like the type of guy to take charge and get things done whenever they needed to be done. She was surprised he wasn’t dating anyone, but then she remembered he’d said he was divorced. Maybe he wasn’t even looking for anything serious. She thought about that and hoped that wasn’t the case because she wasn’t looking for a fling. If she was to get involved with anyone, she would want it to be a little more serious than just hooking up every once in a while.

  She set her glass in the sink and walked down the hall towards her bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and saw the black mascara smeared under her eyes and her hair was lightly frizzed in the back. They’d danced for hours tonight and even though the summer heat had gotten to her hair and her legs felt like Jell-O, it was all worth it. Paige considered making a girls night out a monthly thing. She thought getting out for a night and having adult fun would be good for her.

  She pulled her hair back and washed the makeup off her face, brushed her teeth and then climbed into bed with thoughts of her life and what the future may hold for her and Kyra weighing heavily on her mind.

  Chapter 11

  “Mommy, the dinosaur says rooaarrr!” Kyra yelled happily, as she raised the plastic dinosaur in the air towards Paige, a red curl falling into her eyes.

  “Yes, it does, Kyra,” Paige said, as she lay on her stomach placing plastic trees all around on the floor for Kyra’s favorite make believe dinosaur game.

  She never would have thought her little girl would love dinosaurs so much. Paige figured dolls or ponies, like most little girls, but never dinosaurs. However, Kyra was beyond fascinated with them. When Paige was little, she had preferred dolls to anything else. Living in the city, she was never around animals or even had a desire to be. She was content playing dress up or having tea parties. Kyra, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with dolls and had voiced an interest in having a dog. Paige cringed at the thought of an animal in the house. She didn’t know how people could live with animals tromping around their house, shedding everywhere and having accidents. Even thinking about it she felt the anxiety taking hold. Her OCD would be in overdrive.

  Paige stared at Kyra, admiring her red curls that were similar to her dad’s auburn tinted hair. From the size of her ears down to the double crowns on her head, she looked just like him. Paige watched her smile as she played with her dinosaur and knew that was one of the few things she’d passed down to her. Paige had a huge smile that seemed to engulf her whole face and every time Kyra smiled, she was happy to see that a little piece of her was there.

  As Paige played dinosaurs with Kyra, she felt her phone vibrating. She pulled it out of her pocket and frowned as she looked at the unfamiliar number. She debated on whether or not to answer it but pushed the talk button anyway.

  “Hello?”

  “Paige?” a guy questioned on the other end.

  “Yes, this is Paige. Who’s this?”

  “It’s Tyler.”

  Paige sat straight up and gripped the phone tightly between her fingers. She felt her fingers begin to throb and loosened up a little. It is just a phone call, she told herself. It surprised her, scared her, and intrigued her that this man made her feel these emotions all at once.

  “Hi... you, um... called,” she said nervously, hoping he didn’t notice.

  “Hi,” he chuckled and then said, “I told you I’d call. How about I pick you up at seven?” He asked, getting right to the point of the phone call.

  Paige looked over at Kyra as she played quietly with her toys. She rarely went out, let alone twice in a weekend. Guilt was beginning to take over but she also found herself curious as to what it would be like to go out on a date with Tyler and where he planned on taking her. “Okay. Where are you taking me?” she questioned.

  “You’ll just have to wait and see,” he teased.

  “I don’t really like surprises, you know,” she said adamantly, as she stood up and started pacing the living room. Kyra stopped playing with her toys for a second, watching her mom with a curious expression on her face.

  “But I do. I’ll be there at seven so be ready,” he said, and then she heard nothing but silence on the other end. He didn’t even give her a chance to say bye. Paige found herself staring down at her phone, her heart beating as if it was about to explode. What was she thinking? She suddenly felt panicked at the thought of going out with him. The last blind date flowed through her mind and she sucked in a shaky breath, telling herself that at least she had met him a couple of times first, so it wasn’t like it was a completely blind date. She didn’t think Tyler seemed like the type of guy to try and make a move on her, but after the last incident, she didn’t put it past any guy. The girls at work had told her that Cory was also a nice guy and he ended up having grabby hands. Plus, with Randy just passing away, the thought of bringing another guy into her daughter’s and her life more than terrified her.

  She looked down at her daughter as she played quietly and knew she wouldn’t bring any guy around her until she knew for sure that there was a chance it could work out and become something. It wouldn’t be fair to Kyra to have a guy enter and exit her life again and she would never forgive herself if she let her get attached to someone only to have them ripped from her life.

  Paige began pacing again as she dialed Kyleigh’s number. As she answered, Paige blurted everything out at once.

  “Whoa, wait a minute. Slow down, Paige, and start from the beginning.”

  Paige stopped pacing her living room and took a seat on the end of her couch. She started absently straightening the quilt that was draped over the arm of the couch. She slowed down and told Kyleigh to be at her house by six. Paige held the phone out of ear shot as Kyleigh squealed with excitement. “Oh. My. God! I am so happy he called. You lucky bitch!” Kyleigh yelled, and Paige found herself unwillingly smiling.

  ♥♥♥

  After taking an hour to find an outfit that she thought looked good, and waiting on Kyleigh, she was finally as ready as she would ever be for this date.

  “Oh, my God, Kyleigh, I’m so nervous. It’s been so long since I’ve been out with a guy. What if I lock up and don’t know what to say? Or what if he ends up being crazy? Or...”

  “Paige, it will be fine and you will have fun,” Kyleigh exclaimed, her hands rested on her shoulders as she stared in her face. “He looks like a nice guy and he’s good looking. Just relax and have fun, don’t take it too seriously.”

  Paige sighed as she scanned Kyleigh’s face for reassurance and relaxed as she saw that Kyleigh’s eyes were filled with confidence that she could do this. She pulled away and looked in the bedroom mirror one last time as Kyleigh left the room. As she looked herself up and down, she felt her confidence starting to grow. She wasn’t ugly and she knew she was a good person. She wasn’t normally arrogant but she knew she had a lot to offer a guy and she wanted to take that step forward in her life. Deep down she was ready, it was something she longed for even though she was still anxious about getting to know someone again and having them around Kyra.

  She put on some dangly diamond earrings to go with her black lace shirt and skinny jeans, adjusted the hair clasp that held her curled hair on one side and applied some lip gloss. It is just dinner, she told her reflection and headed down the hall towards the living room where Kyleigh was lounging on the floor with Kyra watching cartoons.

  She stood in the middle of the living room, not sure what to do, when she heard a knock at the door. She clutched her chest as her nerves started firing like crazy. She took a deep breath in and out and saw Kyleigh grinning at her like an idiot.

  “Answer it,” she whispered, as she gestured frantically towards the door and Paige nod
ded as she went to answer it.

  When she swung the door open she was taken aback by what she saw. Tyler stood there looking completely confident and Paige couldn’t slow her racing heart. He was wearing Levis with a nice dark gray shirt and he still had the stubble on his face but she noticed he had trimmed it up neatly. His hair had that soft, shiny look that made her want to run her hands through it and she quickly diverted her eyes to his face, trying to keep her attention focused.

  “Hi,”

  “Hi, are you ready?” he asked, and she noticed how he discreetly looked her up and down, which made her feel a little better that he wasn’t blunt about it. A lot of guys she had been out with before had no problem letting their eyes freely travel over her body. It always made her want to slap them.

  She told him to hold on one moment and shut the door as she quickly made her way over to the living room where Kyra and Kyleigh were.

  “Bye, sweetie, I’ll see you in a little bit. Be good for Kyleigh, okay?” Paige gave her a squeeze and smiled at Kyleigh.

  “Call me if you have a problem, and thanks,” she said, grateful that she had friends she could count on.

  “We’ll be fine. Just remember to relax and have fun,” Kyleigh reminded her and then added with a sly smile, “I’ve got all night, too, Paige.”

  Paige rolled her eyes and said, “Kyleigh there’s no way that’s happening! I’ll be home after a few hours.” Paige waved her off and headed out the door where Tyler was waiting patiently for her.

  As they took the last step to the parking lot she saw the old orange and white truck waiting for her in all her glory. She felt herself smiling at the truck. It definitely stuck out from the other vehicles in the parking lot. She paused mid-step, confused when Tyler stepped in front of her and went to the passenger’s door and then she realized he was opening the door for her. She couldn’t remember any guy ever doing that, even Randy, who had treated her really well when they had been together.