Page 145 of Learning Curve

“You’re a good man,” he says and nudges my knee with his.

“She makes me a better man.”

“Isn’t that how it always goes?” Ty questions with a smirk. “I was a real asshat before I met Rachel. She flipped my world upside down, and I shudder to think about where I’d be now if it weren’t for her.”

I furrow my brow. “You couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Oh, Finn.” Ty laughs. “You have no idea. I was what you’d call a serial dater without any intention of commitment. I had so many fucking girlfriends that when Flynn brought his wife Daisy to our family dinner to meet us all for the first time, I honestly thought she was a girl I’d invited there but just forgot about it.”

“What?” My head jerks back. “How is that even possible?”

“Like I said, man, I was a real asshat.”

I laugh at that. “So, Daisy was just Flynn’s new girlfriend then?”

“No, she was his wife. Though, if it helps at all, it was the first time we were meeting her.”

My eyes damn near bug out of my head. “Wait… He married her before any of you met her? I’m going to need more details.”

“Remind me to bring this up at the next family dinner,” he says through a smirk. “And wait until you hear Remy and Maria’s story. It’s a doozy.”

I laugh, and he shakes his head, gathering his thoughts. “Right. Yeah. Believe it or not, I did come here for an actual reason other than blessing you with my charming company. Two reasons, in fact.”

I quirk an eyebrow.

“I’ve managed to get all but one of Scottie’s professors to agree to pass her for the semester. She’ll have the option to take the final or to go with whatever her grade was prior to the accident.”

“All but one?”

“Professor Murkowski is being a bit of a dick, but I’ll wear him down,” he updates with an annoyed roll of his eyes. “Worst case, she’ll have to take the final in order to pass, but I’m confident I can make sure he gives her plenty of time to catch up on anything she’s missed.”

Professor Murkowski has a reputation for being a hard-ass, so this revelation isn’t that big of a surprise. Still, the girl’s fucking paralyzed. If that’s not enough to wear him down, I don’t know what ever will.

Truthfully, Ty’s the reason I’ve gotten approval from all my professors to work remotely. He’s also been working behind the scenes with the Financial Aid Office to figure out what they can do about Scottie’s cheerleading scholarship and figure out ways that she can keep funding for the next three years without being an active cheerleader on the squad. She’s a good student and they have a couple of grants for some scholarships that are largely at their discretion, so he’s pretty confident it’s going to come through.

“I appreciate everything you’re doing,” I tell him, and he just claps a hard hand to my back.

“Of course.” He rises to his feet. “Now, I gotta head out. Emily has a dance recital across town, and both my girls will ream my ass if I’m late.”

Before he can go, I find myself standing and hugging him. I don’t know why and I don’t know how, but it just feels right. It’s only been a few months since we’ve started working toward a relationship, but it feels like I’ve known him all my life.

“Thanks, Ty.”

“I’ve always got your back, bro.” He flashes a smile over his shoulder as he starts to head toward the elevators, but something dawns on me.

“Wait…what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?” I call out toward his retreating back.

He turns briefly to meet my eyes. “I’ll text you.” And then he disappears around the corner of the nurses station.

My phone buzzes a moment later.

Ty: The jurors found him unanimously guilty on all counts. And the judge has sentenced him to life in prison.

Holy shit. With everything that’s happened with Scottie, I completely forgot about my dad’s trial. Normally, it can take a year after someone is brought into custody before they stand before a judge and jury, but since he killed a police officer and he’s been a wanted man for many years, the court system fast-tracked that shit.

I don’t hesitate to open up the group chat with my siblings.

Me: He got life in prison.

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