I got a phone call from Billy in the middle of the night. His voice was strained and he struggled to tell me that Tim drove off after a fight they had at the Landing Strip.
I rubbed my forehead, sitting up in Tim's bed. "Do you know where he went?"
"No. I need your help, Cat."
"I'll go check around Dillon. You get home and get yourself together. Tim's gonna be okay."
"He hates me."
Sighing, I gathered up my jacket and keys to my cheap little car I traded my BMW for, not giving my parents the satisfaction of taking it away from me. "Billy, he went to prison for you, for your family. He loves you more than you know. Tim's just mad, so let him be mad. The more you force him to forgive you, the more he's gonna resist."
Billy went quiet for a few seconds, probably trying not to cry again. "You're right. You're right. Let me know when you find him."
I hung up and got into my car, Skeeter piling in with me. He was happy to go for a little drive. He didn't even know his favorite person would be at the end of it once I found Tim.
The first place I checked was the bar. His truck wasn't there and all of the doors were locked tight. I checked my house and all of his other usual places. He wasn't even at the property. My last option was the Sproles' house. His truck was parked in the yard and the camper door was wide open.
Skeeter bolted right inside, causing Tim to peer out at me as I walked up.
"Billy called me, askin' if I could find ya," I said, standing at the bottom step. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He sipped his beer.
Skeeter sat at Tim's feet and gazed up at him like he was the best thing to happen in his short dog life.
"My parents are gone again, so if you want a place to stay without bringing Cheryl's wrath on you, you can stay there." I leaned against the camper. "I won't tell anyone where you are. You can hide out as long as you need."
"I'm gonna go work in Alaska once my parole ends."
The night air stilled with my heart. Skeeter even laid his head down on his paws.
"That's a long way from Texas."
"Yeah."
"Okay." It pained me to speak. "If that's what you think you need to do... I won't stop you. Just know you always have a place here in Dillon."
I turned my back to Tim, scampering back to my car. Skeeter hopped in without me calling his name. I didn't look at Tim as I backed out of the yard.
Halfway down the road from the Sproles' place, I pulled off on the side of the road because I couldn't see through the filter of tears. I put my head against the steering wheel, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.
If Tim was really going to Alaska, my confidence in our relationship was dwindling. I didn't want him to go there, but I didn't want to stop him if he thought it was his best choice.
I didn't want to deal with Billy when I got back to the house, so I told him that he was okay and ducked into Tim's room. Skeeter curled up at my stomach when I laid down. Neither of us slept well that night.
Skeeter and I were walking through Dillon when a voice I hadn't heard in a while grabbed my attention. Tyra Collette pulled up in her truck next to me, a bright smile on her face. She got out of the vehicle to give me a hug.
"Your hair is brown!" I said, carefully grabbing a lock of it. "You look amazin'!"
"Thanks, Cat. You're lookin' pretty good, too!"
I smiled. "I'm so glad you're here."
Tyra looked down at Skeeter. "Is this little guy yours?" She patted his head.
"Skeeter. Tim adopted him, named him. Now I'm takin' care of him."
She stood up straight. "Where's Tim? You two still goin' strong?"
I shrugged. "He's probably workin' at Buddy's bar right now. I think we're still together although I haven't heard from him in, like, two days."
"What happened?"
I explained what happened at the Landing Strip and when I found him at the Sproles' house. The more I told her, the more her mouth straightened into a thin line. It didn't make me feel any better.
"Can you show me where he works? I'll drive."
"Sure, I guess."
The drive there was short, but we filled each other in on the more positive parts of our lives, Skeeter poking his head out the passenger window to feel the breeze. I was glad to hear Tyra was flourishing in college after all the hard work she put in during high school. I was proud of her.
Tyra parked and walked into Buddy's with purpose. Skeeter and I watched the door after she disappeared inside, waiting to see what was going to happen. She wasn't in there for long. Tyra strolled out of there like she was the mayor of Dillon and patted my leg when she climbed back into the truck.
"I'm gonna talk some sense back into that boy for ya. By this evenin', he'll put Alaska far out of his head and he'll come to your doorstep apologizin' for being an ass."
I chuckled. "Thanks, Tyra. You might wanna tell him I'll be at his house and not mine."
"What the hell happened with your house?"
Once again, I explained my reasoning for leaving my house and my desire to stay far from it when my parents could come back when I least expected it. I was just waiting for Tim to build that house so I could get my stuff out of my room and leave my parents' house behind. That only happening if Tyra was able to get through to Tim.
"Shit, Cat. You can stay with me and Mom if you ever need to. I know Mom misses having people in the house with her." Tyra brushed her hair back. "Let's go get Julie and have a girls morning before I talk to your boyfriend. You could use it."
I nodded and she took off to the Taylors'.
Having a morning with Tyra and Julie was so much fun. I'd missed getting to be with both of them. Sometimes Julie and I would get together, but she was dealing with her own stuff with Matt and school. We didn't get a lot of time together. Tyra coming back for a little while brought me back to our days in high school.
While Tyra had her chat with Tim, I had a photoshoot with a family wanting some Christmas photos. They were having a hard time finding a photographer to take their photos so close to the holidays, so I happily volunteered. I didn't charge them an arm and a leg for it either. I understood the stress of getting a Christmas card ready in time to send out and I didn't want to be another photographer that disappointed them. If they liked the photos, I had a better chance of getting hired by them later.
I worked tirelessly through the afternoon to get them edited and sent over to the family. Then I rolled right into some homework. I was exhausted when I finally bid Mindy and Billy goodnight, taking refuge in Tim's room.
I collapsed on his bed and bundled up under the covers. I held a pillow close to my chest and closed my eyes. The last thing I remembered was Skeeter hopping onto the bed and curling up at the bend of my knees.
I jerked awake when I heard the bedroom door shut and when Skeeter leaped off the bed. I sleepily checked the time on the alarm clock to see it was nearing 2 a.m. I sat up and looked at the door. I was surprised to see Tim there, rubbing Skeeter's belly.
I owed Tyra everything.
Tim finally looked at me. He sat his bag down. "I'm sorry."
Nodding, I pulled my knees up to my chin. I blinked away the tears trying to make themselves known. God, I owed Tyra.
He sat down on the edge of his bed, his eyes lingering on the picture of us on the table before meeting my gaze. "I shouldn't have told you about Alaska like I did... without talkin' to you." His hair fell in his face as he stared at the sheets. "I'm not goin'. I didn't really want to. I was mad."
"I know you were. What did Tyra say to you?"
"She mostly told me I've been a selfish idiot. She made a lot of sense and I'm really sorry, Catherine."
"Does this mean you're not mad at Billy anymore?"
A half-smile. "No, but I'm gonna work on it. He is my brother after all."
"Are... Are we okay?"
Tim nodded. "If you don't hate me."
I took a shaky breath. "Never."
Tim took that as his invitation to kick off his boots and crawl into bed. As if he was testing the waters, he gently kissed my forehead to gauge my reaction. Of course, I didn't mind the touch. My eyes closed the second his lips touched my skin. The two days without seeing him, touching him... hearing him were horrible. I couldn't sleep and I was a nervous wreck not knowing if he wanted anything to do with me anymore.
"Please don't leave me like that again," I whispered, putting my forehead against his. "I-I didn't know if you were okay... if you were takin' care of yourself. I didn't know if you still loved me."
His arms enveloped me as he guided me to lie down with him. Tim brushed my hair behind my ear, his eyes studying every curve and angle on my face. "I'm sorry," he said. "I love you. I never stopped."
Nodding, I tucked my head under his chin and started fiddling with his State ring that fell out of my shirt. A few unneeded tears slipped out my eyes that I wiped away before he noticed. I was tired of crying.
His hand covered both of mine and he kissed the top of my head. "I'm gonna start workin' on that house and we're gonna move in together – just us and Skeeter. After Christmas, I'm startin'."
"Can I help?"
"Yeah."
I left a ghost of a kiss on his chest. "I'm glad you're home."
His arms tightened. "Me too."
It felt so good to finally sleep through the night.
