It was early April.
Tim worked on the Marstons house roof, trying to fix it up for them before summer heat. It's something he did now after he and Billy finished building his house. He helped other people do work on theirs. At 20 years old, he had acres of land, his own home, an occupation mapped out for him that he was pretty good at. He did construction jobs all over town, using his truck and his tools.
He even had a name "Riggins Constructions" much like Riggins Riggs, but less illegal. Being a champion Dillion Panther gave him easy built in client base and a loyal one too. Buddy had helped him register a company name for taxes and all that, told Tim he had to "do things right and legal this time around." Tim also worked bar still at Buddy's on busy nights, because well Tim liked bars and he got all the beer he could drink while serving others.
Tim looked out over the view from the roof from the house that was close to the center of town and he could see the dust rising as cars drove into Dillion. People coming home from school or coming for the open house at the highschool for the next season.
He was expecting the incoming, Smash was still the star at Texas A&M, but was heading home after finals to spend some time with his family in his hometown. School for the year was also over for others, Matt lived in Chicago with fiancee Julie who was going to visit her parents in Philadelphia while Matt came down to Dillion to visit with his mother and grandmother. Tim laughed a bit at that though, that's what he told Julie, but Tim knows that Matt knew Smash was coming back to town and they had planned a little reunion.
Life in Dillion was the same as always, football recruiting was going on with the boosters, trying to expand the stadium rumors were also about. Billy was still working on the coaching staff. Buddy was still the #1 booster and running his bar. Mindy dealt with her brood. Tim planned to finish this job then head home, to get ready for his night out with his old friends at Buddy's.
He was pulling into his long drive, seeing more of the dust rise up around his speeding truck. He pulled up in such a mess he didn't see the SUV that was pulled up to the side of his house. He got out of his truck and grabbed his cooler and tool bag coming to halt when he stepped forward to head up the front porch stairs.
Billy had insisted on two porch chairs on the wrap around porch, Tim said it looked girly. Billy thought they could drink beer from it and look out at Texas. What Billy didn't know was that Tim fought him on the 2 porch chairs on his porch because he didn't want to dream of the image that he was in reality seeing right now.
Lyla Garrity sitting comfortably in jeans and his old Dillion sweatshirt not a Vanderbilt one on his porch, in his chair, like the chair and porch was made for her. Which in Tim's mind it was.
"Garrity," Tim smiled walking up to her, dropping his bag on the ground.
"Tim." She smiled, getting up to hug him before sitting back down in her chair over looking the land. They sat in silence for a while like that. Lyla just looking content watching the sunset over the hills, while Tim watched her. He opened his cooler, pulling out 2 beers and opening them, passing her a beer which she smiled and shook her head in a "things always stay the same" meaning and took it.
She looked the same as she didn't the last time he saw her, it's been a year since the last visit home where he asked her to stay. They were both 20 now, still not legal to drink, but sitting out together on his porch after a long day with beers in hand.
"What are you doing here Garrity?" Tim asked her finally breaking the peaceful silence. Lyla turned to look at him she smiled before turning back to the view, then started talking.
"I had finished up my school year and my counselor called me in and said how I was fast tracking, from my AP in high school to my summer session and 2 semesters in Nashville that I was on track for early graduation. I had already done and passed the MCATS. She asked me 'Lyla, you've worked and are working really hard for something really fast, Lyla what do you want?'" Lyla smiled glancing back at him. Both of them remembering the same conversation they had in a trailer where she asked Tim the same question.
Tim took a swig of his beer nodding his head to let her keep going, he didn't want to interrupt her thoughts.
"Daddy has been telling me about you, every time I called I'd ask how you were doing. He'd hate me asking, but he'd tell me anyways. Working on houses, building your own, whether you were working a shift that night at the bar. He couldn't stop talking about the Panthers reunion you guys were going to have with Matt and Smash coming home today that he never even thought to ask me what I was doing, I guess he just assumed I'd stay at school like I've been doing." Tim knew she was rambling and changing the subject from school and the counselor conversation so he still didn't offer up anything. He knew Lyla well enough that she'd go back to it when she was ready. After 10 more minutes of them sitting in silence together, she finally spoke again.
"She asked me what I wanted and the only thing I could think about, the only picture that came to my mind was you. Dillion. Here, this." She said while waving her hand around to them sitting together on the porch like an old married couple.
Tim didn't want to believe it, he didn't want to get his hopes up that she would be coming back to him. He had always hoped it would happen some day, but not this soon. That more moments like this could be in their future. That it could be their future forever.
"Lyla.." Tim started not even knowing what to say. He wanted her to stay, he wanted to lock her up in the house and never let her go, but she deserved better than that. She wanted to finish school and be something. He wanted her dreams for her to come true.
"Don't. This isn't a whim. I packed up my entire dorm and all I had and have it in that car. The classes I have left I don't need to be in Nashville for full time, they're all classes that are offered online. I can do those anywhere. I could sit and do them from this chair. I'd have to go back for registrations, midterms and finals but that's it, not full time in a dorm staying there. I'd have to apply to other colleges for med school programs and there's so many of those around here. Texas Tech is 2 hours away, I can commute every day. There's hospitals all around here for after, there's a hospital in Dillion. I'm sure I can get an internship there."
Tim looked at her, sinking in everything she was saying, telling him that this is what she wanted, to still finish her school and become a doctor but to be here while doing it and he still looked at her in disbelief, not wanting to get his hopes up. "This is what you want, this here with me?"
"This is what I want, this here in Dillion with you." She smiled getting up off her chair and coming to sit on his lap with him. "I want to sit out here and drink coffee in the morning and beer with you at night. I can help you with your business stuff, according to Dad you can use the organization." She smirked as he laughed. "I want a life with you. You let me go, and I've lived my college life out there and I was lonely and just focused on getting back here, now I want my real life, to come back here to you."
"So this is it, you and me?" Tim asked her as she nodded while biting her lit in a way Tim knew she did when she was nervous.
"You're going to marry me." He told her as she stopped her lip biting and broke out in a huge smile before grabbing his face and pulling him forward for a kiss.
"That's good, because I was picking out a place over there by that big oak tree just for that." She smiled while pulling away and pointing out into the land.
"Someone's going to have to tell your dad." Tim told her as wrapped his arms around her and as Lyla scrunched her face.
"He might be happy his little girl is back to stay." Lyla laughed.
"That you're going to be Mrs. Riggins I doubt it."
"He loves you, he could surprise us. Speaking of which don't you have a captains of Dillion panthers reunion at Buddys to be at?"
"What about you?" Tim asked feeling uncertain about letting her out of his sight now that he had her back. Like she'd disappear if he went out for a little while.
"I'll be right here unpacking my very full car over there of stuff. Go, you Smash and Matt haven't been together since Smash left. I'll be right here when you get home." Lyla smiled while getting up slowly off his lap and pulling him up.
"You'll be home." Tim replied back thinking in his head how he loved the sound of that.
"Yes, and don't say a word to my dad. I'll talk to him tomorrow and find how how long Matt and Smash are staying, may be we can have the wedding before they go." She smiled as she pushed him towards his truck while he pulled his house key off his key ring and handed it to her. She took it and put it on her own ring she had on her pocket.
"Alright, I'm going." He said as they walked back towards his truck.
Tim grabbed her and gave her a slow goodbye kiss. He reluctantly let her go, got in the truck and she walked back on the porch and opened the front door using the key. She waved her hand at him bye while he pulled away and he watched in his rear view mirror as she entered the house. A vision that Tim was really going to look forward to seeing for the rest of his life.
Earlier in the day the bright spot he looked forward to was going out with Smash and 7 and now it was going to be coming home to Lyla.