Some people say that you can't go home again. I don't know who those people are, but they must not have been from Dillon, Texas. Dillon had a way of pulling people in. Drawing you near and keeping you in her clutches as long as she could. Sure, you'd graduate high school, move away to college, forget to visit once, then often, but Dillon would always be there in the back of your mind. Dillon High School. Alamo Freeze. Applebee's. Football. The Dillon Panthers. Each place a treasure trove of memories and/or experiences. And no matter how hard you tried, sometimes, when things just hadn't worked out elsewhere, you found yourself right back where you needed to be. Dillon.
Lyla Garrity had left Dillon six years ago for Vanderbilt. She'd come back once during her four years away at school. That was the trip she'd almost extended permanently. Getting on that bus and leaving town, leaving Tim, it was the hardest thing she'd had to do in her life up until that point. The life he had mapped out, it was simple, but it included she and him, and that had almost been enough to get her to stay.
She'd cried the whole way back to Vanderbilt, and the first week back at school. Her roommate hadn't understood, hell, no one had understood, but that sadness was enough to convince her to stay away from Dillon. Tim was like a magnet, and she was his polar opposite, attracted to him no matter what stood in the way.
That's why she hadn't come back again. Sure, her dad, Buddy, still lived there, but he'd understood. Hell, he'd practically begged her not to come back. So she hadn't. She'd gone to California to visit her mother and step-father on school breaks, and then, after meeting Carter, she'd spent holidays with his family.
She graduated from Vanderbilt in four years. She'd gotten a degree in education, picked up her credentials, and had started teaching elementary school. Third grade. She loved it. She moved to Nashville where she'd met Carter, and she'd fallen in love.
Carter was suave and sophisticated, and handsome in a very polished way that one wasn't accustomed to being from Dillon, Texas. A big shot lawyer at the age of 26, he worked for the Nashville District Attorney and was on the fast track to the top. He was two years her senior, and he'd swept her off her feet. It had been a whirlwind romance with fancy dinners and roses, nice jewelry, and soon enough, a really nice engagement ring. But the engagement hadn't lasted long. Three months. It was three months until she found out that he had other girlfriends. Two other girlfriends to be specific. Granted, she was the only one he'd proposed to, but he'd been sleeping with all of them. Lying to all of them. She remembered hearing something about girls dating men like their fathers, and had never wished for a more honest father in all her life.
She remembered a time when she'd been naïve, thought that love could fix everything. The shoe was on the other foot, and she found it hard to believe that Jason had even been able to forgive her. The betrayal, the hurt, it was too much too bear. The love felt for Carter wasn't enough to forget about how badly he'd hurt her. Maybe it was karma. Some epic game of fate that said this was what she deserved after her indiscretions all those years ago, but she'd thought she'd paid for those sins. She'd chosen the holy path, she'd atoned. God had a cruel sense of humor sometimes.
She'd tried to look past it. Tried to let him explain, to set things rights, but she couldn't do it. Maybe she should have tried harder, stayed longer, but when she looked at him she felt nothing but repulsion. So a little over a week after uncovering her fiancée's secret life, she'd done the only thing that made sense at the time. She'd packed her bags, let her school know she wouldn't be back when school started next week, and loaded up her car and headed for Dillon. Her dad would know what to do. She'd just touch bases for a little while until she could figure out what to do next. She just hadn't called Buddy to let him know she was on her way. She didn't want him to worry, and she certainly didn't want him talking her out of it.
When she arrived in Dillon, it was raining. Pouring more like it. One of those hot, end of summer humid rains. She was tired of driving, and tired in general, and the rain was only making it worse. Too much time alone on the road had given her too much time to think, and at this point, thinking was the last thing she wanted to do. She just wanted Carter out of her head. He'd occupied space there for way too long already.
She pulled into the driveway of Buddy's house where she was quick to notice that all the lights were off. Buddy had never been one to live by the adage of "early to bed," but it was late, he was probably asleep. She hadn't called, so she couldn't expect that he would be waiting up for her. She left the car running and bolted to the front door.
She'd given up her house key years ago, when she'd stopped coming home. The doorbell wasn't working, but she knocked, and knocked, to no avail. He wasn't here. Defeated, she ran back to the car. She picked up her cell phone, maybe now would be the opportune time to call. He couldn't talk her out of coming now that she was already here. Her cell however, was dead. Her car charger was busted. She threw her cell onto the passenger seat and backed out of the driveway. She'd go to the restaurant. That's probably where he was. She remembered him saying he spent a lot of time there. She'd never even seen it in real life. Pictures yes, but she'd never set foot in Buddy's.
She pulled off the main road, and into the parking lot of Buddy's. She was glad she'd been paying attention when Buddy had talked about buying the property so at least she knew where it was. There were no cars out front, but she could see the lights on inside. Maybe his car was around back. She ran back out into the rain and knocked as loud as she could. No answer. She was getting tired of this.
She knocked again.
"Sorry, we're closed." She heard a muffled voice call from inside. She knocked once more before giving up. She turned and rested her back against the door, preparing to head back into the downpour when the door opened. Catching her off guard she fell backwards into the person who'd opened it. They tried to steady her by grabbing her arms as they spoke. "Sorry, ma'am. We're closed for the night. Did you need somethin'?"
Lyla froze. She knew that voice. The slow Texan drawl was unmistakable, especially when it had haunted her dreams for so long. Her breath caught for a moment before she could turn around. She thought about not turning around at all. She could just say thank you and walk away now. He'd probably never even know it was her. She could feel his strong hands on her arms and curiosity got the better of her.
Did he still look the way she imagined him in her head?
Would he be happy to see her?
Would be ignore her like he'd done for so many years now?
She pulled herself from him and turning around and taking a deep breath put on her best smile. "Tim."
The look on his face was first bewilderment, and then recognition. Disbelief more accurately. He left her standing there in the rain while he took it all in. She felt suddenly very vulnerable as his eyes took her in and then locked onto hers. He looked at her like he had never expected to see her again. Like she was some three headed monster that shouldn't exist. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his eyes.
Those eyes.
She imagined she could still get lost in them. She imagined that many women did. He shook his head as if just realizing that she was still standing in the downpour when he quickly moved aside.
"Lyla Garrity. Get out of this rain, I didn't know it was you." He ushered her in as fast as he could. He grabbed for her arm, and then quickly pulled away. It was strange how that now he knew who it was, he wouldn't touch her. "You're soaked, Garrity. I think I have an extra shirt around here."
"That's o-." He was gone before she could even object. He disappeared into a back room where she could hear him rustling about. He returned a minute later with one of his ratty old practice hoodies. "It's ain't pretty, but-," he shrugged, holding it out to her.
"It'll do just fine." She took it from him and disappeared to the women's room for a second. When she emerged Tim was behind the bar, cleaning glasses. He just smiled at her and continued his work. "My dad never told me you were working for him."
Tim didn't look up from the job he was doing. "Four years I've been here now. It used to be full time, but now I just help out when he needs me. It doesn't really surprise me that he didn't tell you."
Lyla cocked her head, "Why do you say that?"
Tim set down the glass and placed both hands on the bar taking a deep breath. Buddy had never been his biggest fan. Sure, he'd spoken on his behalf at his parole hearing, and he'd given him this job. He even had said he considered Tim family. But Tim wasn't sure how he'd react would he actually have become family. "Lyla, when we broke up, that was the happiest day of your father's life."
"It's not Buddy's fault we aren't together, Tim." Lyla responded, shaking her head.
"I know that, but it doesn't mean that Buddy wasn't thrilled about it."
Lyla blinked is disbelief. "I suppose you're right," she whispered. It was true. It was a big reason Buddy hadn't wanted her back home. He had been very vocal over the fact that his daughter would be doing a disgrace to her entire family should she end up with a Riggins. "It's been so long Tim. You stopped calling-"
"Would you have visited me?" He asked. It seemed random, but she knew what he was talking about. His time in prison. She'd stopped hearing from him before he went away, but she'd written to him while he was there, and never got a response.
"I…I don't…Yes. Yes, I would have. Tim we were friends since we were kids. I loved you. Of course I would have visited you. But I wrote, and you ignored me."
His shoulders slumped. "I didn't want you to see me like that, Lyla. I knew you would have come if I'd asked, but it would have been too hard. To see you through the glass, or to get face time and not be able to touch you. And to have to see you and know that I'd failed."
"Tim…"
He didn't like the sympathetic look she was giving him. "It doesn't matter anymore, Lyla. It was a long time ago. Hey, I hear you're getting hitched."
Lyla turned her head away from him. It was all she could do to not cry. She looked towards the ceiling and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Tim wasn't the only one who felt like they had failed, but was she really going to discuss her romantic failure with Tim Riggins?
Her persona had been visibly altered by his comment. "I say something wrong?"
She shook her head. "Nope. But that's kind of why I'm here. I'm not getting married anymore. In fact, we broke up. In fact, he had two other girlfriends. In fact, I quit my job, packed up all my stuff, and here I am. I was hoping I could stay with my dad awhile, but I can't find him."
"You won't find him, at least not for another few days. He's on vacation. Went up to Austin for some food convention. That's why I'm here. Holding down the fort until he gets back."
Lyla put her elbows on the bar and rubbed her temples with her hands. "Great. Just my luck. Now what am I supposed to do?"
Tim just smiled and continued to clean. "You could stay with me. I mean, until Buddy gets back. I wouldn't mind."
Lyla looked up at him through her bangs. "What about Billy and Mindy?"
Tim shook his head and laughed. "You think I'm still living with my brother? I'm hurt, Garrity, really. No faith. Actually, please come and stay. I don't get a lot of company, and I really would love for you to see the place."
Lyla shrugged. She was tired and she seemed to be running out of options, but she wasn't sure that staying at Tim's would be the best choice. However, the words came out of her mouth before she could stop them, "Okay. I'd love too."
She sat with him while he finished his work, sneaking peeks. He looked almost the same at twenty-four as he'd looked at eighteen. Granted, he looked older, wiser, but he'd lived through a lot in his young life. Enough to age anyone, but he carried it gracefully.
"You ready?" He asked as he grabbed his keys startling her out of her daze.
She nodded and walked outside waiting for him to lock up.
"I ran here tonight. It wasn't raining earlier. You mind giving me a lift?"
She tossed him the keys. "Do you mind? I'm beat, and I don't know where we're going."
"Nope." He opened her door for her, he was still a southern gentleman, and closed it once she was in.
They drove in silence, away from the homes and onto the quiet, dark, country road. She'd missed the stars, forgotten how clear the nights could be. She rested her head against the cool of the window and just gazed out into the dark abyss. Tim turned off the road and pulled into the drive of a beautiful ranch house.
Not just any ranch house. This was his. This was what he'd dreamt of when they were still in high school, when it was to be him, Jason, and her against the world. Friends living large in Texas. Her breath caught. He'd done it. He'd gotten his dream. She almost hadn't waited for him to stop the car before she hopped out. She admired the wood work, the large windows and that wrap around porch that he had always been talking about. There was swing on the porch and two white rocking chairs, none of which looked like they got much use.
He was beside her before she knew it. She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "Tim, it's beautiful."
"It is, isn't it." He liked the feel of her hand in his, and he'd squeezed back, but as soon as his did, she seemed to realize what she'd been doing and dropped her hand. "What bag do you need from the car?"
She continued to look on at the house in awe. "Don't worry about it, I'll grab it in a bit."
"What bag, Garrity?"
She looked up at him, and he looked back, almost in annoyance. He wanted to help. She should let him. "I think the blue striped one in the back seat has everything I should need for now."
He turned and grabbed it for her, and she followed him up to the house. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside. A large open floor plan, a large country kitchen, and although the place wasn't dirty, there were enough beer bottles lying around to prove a Riggins lived there. She followed him down a hallway to a back bedroom all done up in white. "You can stay in this one. You'll have your own bathroom, and I'm in that one, across the hall." He set her bag down on the bed. "I'm sure you're tired. Tomorrow I'll give you the grand tour." He turned to leave.
"Tim?" She stopped him before he could close the door. He turned and looked at her. She swore he was looking right through her. She walked over to him and wrapped him in a hug. He still smelled the same. Sweat and Old Spice. He didn't seem to know what to do at first, but she felt his arms wrap around her. His hand on the back of her neck. She pulled back and stared into those hazel eyes. "Thank you."
He just nodded and stared back with sad eyes as he turned to leave. "Any time, Lyla. We're friends. I'll see you in the morning."
To Be Continued...