Page 68 of Relief Pitcher

“As long as it’s moving, slow is good.”

“Ty doesn’t date. He prefers to sleep with someone once and move on.”

She snorted. “Broke that rule.”

I couldn’t help but grin. It might be childish, but I got a thrill out of the fact that he’d made an exception for me.

“He’s sticking around for some reason, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you need to know what to do?”

I looked at her questioningly.

“Why do you need to know what’s going to happen? You wouldn’t in any other relationship. You sure as hell didn’t with Aleck. That man was a chaos gremlin who was impossible to pin down.”

We both laughed, and some of the tension left my body as I considered her words.

“Why don’t you take it day by day? As long as one of you isn’t leading the other one on or lying, then just keep rolling with it.” She kept darting glances toward the crows as the breeze blew her curls around.

“That’s a good point.”

“He might need to learn to trust that you won’t run at the first sign of trouble. If he doesn’t usually date, he’s probably going to fuck up. Be patient with him. If he’s worth it—”

“He is,” I said with conviction.

“Then it’s worth giving him a chance. As long as he knows that Aleck will always be a part of your life.”

I understood her concern. I couldn’t imagine letting someone in who wanted me to close off that part of my life.

“He asks me about Aleck. He wants to know about him and our life together. I’ve never felt like I needed to censor myself around him. Not once.” I smiled as I thought about the casual ways Ty included Aleck in conversation. “Actually, since I met Ty, I’ve reached a point where I can talk about him more casually without breaking down.”

The tension drained from her body, and she smiled widely. “I’m so damn glad to hear it. When we all grabbed drinks early in the season, he seemed interested. I didn’t know if that was for my benefit because he wants my business or if that’s just him.”

“It’s just him.”

“Then see where it goes.”

“You don’t give terrible advice for a pain in the ass.”

“Obviously. I told you to date my brother. You’ve known since college that I give superior advice.”

We silently watched the crows finish the peanuts. She was right. I didn’t need to know anything other than Ty was worth the risk, and I was ready to be happy again.

“Want to go to brunch before the game? I want to get out of the house.”

She walked over and pressed her hand to my forehead. “You? Want to leave the house? Ty reallyisgood for you. I’ll go if you’re buying.”

TEAM TAP THAT GROUP TEXT

Ethan: Has anyone asked Seth if he knows how long he’s planning to stick around?

Austin: Nope, but I’m curious as hell. Ty? You heard anything from him or your parents?

Ty: No, but it’s killing me not to ask. If I do, I might accidentally push him out.

Dom: I haven’t either. Why are you asking?

Ethan: I think we should get him more involved with the brewery. He’s been doing a great job working with me in the taproom, and it sounds like he’s doing great supporting Austin. But I think we could ask him to do more.

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