“You listen to me, girl. I’m your father and I supported you all your life, so you go with these men now!” And he started walking towards her as if to bodily give her to the men again.
Tammy would have laughed if she hadn’t been crying so hard.
“You what?’ she screamed, “You never worked a day in your life after mom died. I started working the minute someone would hire me to support not only myself, but your lazy ass, too. All you did was move us from relative to relative and friend to friend until we had nowhere else to go but sleazy motels. You took the money I brought home for rent and gambled it away until I got smart enough to pay the bills before you could find it. You tried to leave me with everyone we ever stayed with. All I was to you was a burden. You never wanted me. You made this mess, you clean it up. I’m done. I no longer have a father!” She turned and buried her face in Tyler’s chest, sobbing hysterically.
Tyler had hit the panic button on his phone the minute they had heard Tammy’s name called and he knew the cops would be there soon. When Tammy’s dad started to walk away, he pointed his gun in the direction of the three men and said, “Anyone moves and I shoot.”
As he was saying the words, Link and Dillon appeared out of nowhere and flanked him.
“I suggest you listen to him,” Link shouted.
It seemed like forever, but was really only a few minutes, before the police showed up and soon Tammy’s father and the two men were in custody.
Tyler took Tammy into the condo to calm her down. He knew the next few days would be bad for her. The FBI and locals would need to interview both of them extensively, and Tammy needed to deal with what her father had done. He knew she had good coping mechanisms because of all she had been through and hoped they were good enough to deal with everything that was about to happen.
* * * *
It had taken Tyler hours to calm Tammy down. Finally he had called Link, who had been the medic on his team in Iraq and had him bring over a sedative. He didn’t want to take her to a hospital where they would want to admit her. It was just a very small one, but it worked and Tammy was soon sleeping. What a fucking mess.
The whole thing had blown up before he could control it, but he felt that maybe some good would come of this.
Tammy had gotten to confront her father and gotten a few things off her chest. Maybe that would help the healing process. It was going to take a long time for her to get past the guilt she would feel, but he would be there for her and support her through it all.
He had already talked to Derek about bringing her out to use the horses more, knowing that would be good therapy for her, and Dottie was willing to support her in any way she could. The women had really bonded in the short time they had known each other.
He wanted to ask Tammy to marry him, but wasn’t sure of the timing and he still needed to get a ring. He had been looking online but couldn’t find what he wanted. He wanted to go to a jeweler friend and have a ring designed. Now that the threat against her had been neutralized, he could.
Sitting in the bed and watching her sleep, he made plans in his head. He would leave her with Dottie and take Derek with him when he went to get the ring. Even though he wasn’t worried about her father or the men now, he didn’t want her alone for a few days and Derek’s house was also a fortress. He was still going to have Tracy teach her to shoot. Never could be too safe.
The rest of the week passed in a blur. Tyler and Tammy spent a lot of time at FBI headquarters and at the police station giving statements and such. By the time the weekend came, Tammy was exhausted.
Tyler decided they needed to get out of town for the weekend. Derek had told him of a property close to Derek’s house that was for sale and the owner, who was also a friend of Derek’s, was willing to let them stay there for the weekend and see if they liked it. He also had horses and was looking to sell the whole thing, horses and all. Tyler was excited. He was going to propose to Tammy while they were there. He and Derek had looked at the house one afternoon while Dottie entertained Tammy.
Tammy was excited. It had been a busy week, but Tyler had promised her a surprise for the weekend. She didn’t know what was going on, but he had promised to take her out of the city and told her to pack light and casual. He was taking her some place she wouldn’t need many clothes for the weekend. She wondered if it was the club or a hotel or what. They hadn’t been back to the club since that first night, and she was anxious to play. She knew he was up to something, since he had been spending way too much time with Derek and always had a shit-eating grin on his face. His lovemaking at night had become even more intense, and he had been talking more about the future.
Chapter Eighteen
Throwing their bags in the back, Tyler helped Tammy into the truck. After they had driven part way through town, he stopped so they could eat dinner before continuing their journey. When they got back in the truck, he put a blindfold over her eyes. He didn’t want her to know where they were going until they got there. This weekend was truly going to be a surprise.
Dottie and Derek had been to the house earlier and had gotten it ready for them. The home owner was eager to sell and very cooperative with all of Tyler’s requests. All he had to do was get Tammy’s approval and then they could sign the papers.
Tammy could feel the tension in the air and was practically squirming with excitement. The anticipation was killing her and she kept reaching for the blindfold.
Tyler slapped her hand away from the blindfold for the third time in exasperation. “Leave it alone or you’ll get a punishment. We are almost there. I’ll tell you when you can take it off.”
He was chuckling to himself. She was like a little kid.
“Okay, but you don’t have to be mean about it.” Tammy pouted.
Patting her leg, he grounded her with his touch. “Baby you’ll love it. Relax and enjoy the surprise I have for you.”
He drove around to the back of the house, wanting to show her the horses first before he took her inside. Leaving the blindfold on, he walked her to the fence rail and the horses quickly came to greet them.
“Horses,” she exclaimed before he could remove the blindfold. “Are we at Derek’s?”
“No, baby,” he answered as he removed the blindfold and introduced the horses. “This is Mike, and his partner here is Shelby.”
Both horses nuzzled Tammy and Tyler pulled some sugar cubes out of his pocket for her to feed them.