Page 38 of Control

I inclined my head. “Yeah.”

Ty’s hand lingered just a moment longer. Then he pulled it away and drove me home. We spent the drive sitting in silence. Or, well, mostly in silence. The radio was on, but the volume was low, like background music in a movie scene.

I spent the ride back to my place—where Ty had picked me up this morning—feeling sorrow over needing to cool my efforts on my investigation, so my foot could have more time to heal, feeling immense gratitude for the news of Yasmine’s recovery, and experiencing the utter excitement I felt about the shift taking place between Ty and me.

We made it back to my place, and we took a few minutes to get settled. I gave Ty as much of a tour as he’d allow, quickly learning that although he’d been content to let me lead when it came to the work I was doing, he wouldn’t sit back and do nothing when it came to my well-being. It was as heartwarmingas it was frustrating, because while I loved the care that he showed, I didn’t like feeling helpless.

Sitting on one end of the couch with both of my feet propped up on the middle cushion—the germaphobe in me grateful for the booties I wore over my boot whenever I was out in public—I sent a pointed look to Ty at the opposite end of the couch. “I bet you’re really thrilled now.”

“What makes you say that?”

My brows shot up. “Are you kidding? This is going to get boring pretty fast, don’t you think?”

He shook his head, a look of amusement washing over his expression. “No. I’m having a blast.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure.”

Ty rested his hand casually on the top of my uninjured foot, giving my uninjured toes a light squeeze. “Nothing about this is boring to me, Alana. In fact, other than the obvious fact that I don’t want you to be feeling any sort of pain or discomfort, I think this is the best thing that could have happened.”

“What? Why?”

A slow smile formed on his face. “We’ve spent so much time focusing on the reporting of this story, but we haven’t spent a whole lot of time getting to know each other. I think it’d be nice to learn a bit more about you.”

I didn’t doubt Ty could easily see the flush that crept over my skin. As someone who did what I did for a living, that should have easily been one of the first things I wanted to do when it came to Ty.

“Well, that can only happen if it’s going to go both ways,” I reasoned. “You have to be willing to share things with me about you.”

“Fair enough. In fact, I’m willing to let you start. Ask me anything you want,” he urged.

I couldn’t help but notice how relaxed Ty was, even though he’d just given me the opportunity to ask him anything I wanted. It wasn’t as though I had anything I wanted to hide from him, but depending on where he took his line of questioning, there might have been one or two things that would have me cringing.

My eyes searched his handsome face for a bit, trying to decide what I was most interested in learning about him. God, he was good looking. And it was that thought which made me want to ask him about his relationship status. One look at him, and anyone might assume he was already spoken for, especially once they learned about the kind of guy he was.

But I had to believe he was single, based on his interactions with me. He was giving off far too many signals that he wasn’t tied to anyone else.

Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted to ask, I refrained. Maybe after we got a little deeper into this, I’d build up some courage, or perhaps the conversation would just lead there naturally.

“Okay. Well, I’ll make it easy,” I began. “Can you tell me about your family? Are they here in Steel Ridge? Are you close with them? Do you have siblings?”

“I grew up here in Steel Ridge, living with my parents and my two brothers. We’re close in that we talk to each other regularly, and we always get together for holidays or other celebrations. Everybody is busy doing their own thing and working, but we definitely make time for one another.”

I smiled. “Are you the oldest?”

“Middle child.”

“Mmm. I’ve heard about middle children. Is it as bad as they say?”

Ty’s brows pulled together. “I don’t know what they say about middle children, but I don’t think anything was bad.”

I shrugged. “It’s probably just some made-up thing I read about once. There’s this thought that middle children are somehow neglected and not given nearly as much attention as the oldest or youngest, which then supposedly affects your personality.”

He sent me an amused look. “Do I seem unhinged or like I might be suffering? Should I confront my parents?”

My eyes widened in horror. “No! Oh, God, I didn’t mean to insinuate anything like that. I’m so sorry. I probably shouldn’t have started the line of questioning off.”

Laughter spilled out of him. “Relax, Alana. I was just teasing you, and I’m not at all offended. What about you? Obviously, I already met your parents, but do you have any siblings?”

I loved how Ty was so laidback and easygoing. With the exception of my physical well-being, nothing seemed to get him riled up. “I have one brother. He’s the older one.”

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