Page 19 of Impulsive Saint
“Yeah well, you’d be the only one if that was true.” She picked up her own beer for the first time and took a few large drinks before wiping her mouth and putting it back on the table.
The room fell silent as they each focused on their food and Ashtyn hated it. She hated the weird tension that seemed to thrum between them now when it hadn’t been there before. She was trying to think of something to say, to change the subject, to get them back to whatever easy sort of friendship they’d begun making when Tyler cleared his throat.
“My mom was my dad’s second wife. He already had a son with his first wife. Vaughn was a teenager when our dad met my mom and truth be told, my mom is only a handful of years older than him. It made things rough on Dad and Vaughn’s relationship to say the least. They’re still estranged.” Tyler stared off into space and then shook his head, “Anyway, Vaughn is eighteen years older than us. Well, me anyway, not quite that many with Hunter. Hunter’s my other older brother. We have the same mom and the same dad.”
Ashtyn licked a crumb off her bottom lip, “That’s doesn’t sound all that fucked up except maybe for the age differences.”
“I haven’t gotten to Tatum yet.”
“That’s your sister?” She raised an eyebrow when he smirked.
“Yeah. She’s the baby of the family.”
Ashtyn narrowed her gaze, “And you said she’s your half-sister so I’m guessing your dad and mom split up at some point?”
“Correct.” Tyler tipped his beer towards her and then snorted, “But the real kicker is that she’s a half-sister to me and Hunter but she’s a full sister to Vaughn.”
“What?” Ashtyn’s mouth fell open of its own accord and she worked to close it again when Tyler laughed.
“Yeah. Dad…” He shook his head, still chuckling, “He had a few other women in between but eventually he ended up back together with Vaughn’s mom and they had Tatum. They’re still together to this day. If it wasn’t for the huge age gap between Vaughn and Tatum and the fact that Hunter and I exist, they’d seem like a perfectly normal family.”
Ashtyn covered her mouth when a laugh tried to escape, “Okay. No, you’re right. That’s not normal.”
“Thank you.” He grinned and she found herself shaking her head in amusement.
“I bet holidays are wild.”
“Nah. Not really.” Tyler shrugged, his mood sobering, “The four of us, Vaughn and Hunter and Tatum and me, we figured out a long time ago that we were better off relying on each other rather than on the man that gave us half of his DNA. Vaughn was always more of a father figure to us than Dad was anyway, so we don’t see our parents much. We’re close though, the four of us. We even have Sunday dinners every week so we can catch up on what everyone’s doing.”
Ashtyn felt a sharp pain beneath her breastbone as she listened to Tyler talk about his family. He made it sound as if it wasn’t a big deal that his father didn’t have much to do with them but she could tell from his expression that it still hurt him. She was glad in that moment to know he had two older brothers to look after him and that he seemed close to his little sister too. She had a feeling family, conventional or not, was just as important to Tyler as it was to her.
She bit her lip, “That’s nice.”
He squinted one eye at her, “Which part?”
She laughed a little, letting him lighten the mood, “Sunday dinners. I like the sound of that.”
“It is nice.” He smiled softly as he tipped his beer back, finishing the contents and then wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “You do realize if I take you to Vegas that I’ll miss Sunday dinner, right?”
She pursed her lips, “Don’t try to guilt me into backing down. It’s not going to work.”
“Worth a shot.” He shrugged and grabbed his plate, pushing to stand suddenly. “If you’re serious about hitting the road tomorrow, we should get some sleep.”
“Oh…yeah.” She nodded, glancing from him to the blankets and pillows on the couch beside her. “Yeah. Sure.”
He chuckled as he took her empty plate and beer from her, “You do know how to make up a couch to sleep right?”
“Of course I do.” She lied through her teeth and she had a feeling he knew it when he shot her another of those sly grins. “You know, a polite host would offer to give up his bed for his guest.”
Tyler laughed loudly as he headed towards the kitchen, “I never claimed to be polite, princ…” He seemed to catch himself, “Ashtyn.”
She hid a grin even though his back was to her. He hadn’t called her princess. He’d actually used her name. That had to be a good sign.
“If we’re really going to be on the road come tomorrow that means I have nothing but shitty roadside motels in my near future so no, I’m not giving you my bed. I’m going to enjoy my last night of good sleep in my own bed and you, runaway bride, can deal with the couch or ask me to take you home.”
She glared at him when he stepped back into the room, “The couch is fine.”
He gave her a smug wink, “That’s what I thought. Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”
