Free Acting Happy (Texas Desires #2) by Rylie Roberts Page B

she answered questions about herself? Everything she said was vague, and the first chance she got, she turned the topic off herself,” Reed said, coming closer to him and now they both looked out the window at Kenzie. He remembered the battered women’s donation and the pain crossing her face at the mention. He’d thought she might be holding herself together, but Prescott could be right. She may be hiding something.
    “Huh…” he finally muttered.
    “Did you think she was just overwhelmed with you?” Reed asked from right beside him, his tone a little condescending.
    “No, of course not,” Ty started, before stopping mid-sentence. This was Reed, and out of all the guys, he was closer to him. They shared the commonality of both being a little fucked up from the circles they ran in. “Okay, well, I kind of did. But what you said reminded me about the money from the chairs being a donation.”
    “A donation to what?”
    “Abused women.”
    “Well, there you go. Not rocket science there, buddy.” His words dripped with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes dramatically. “All I’m saying is you need to be careful. Once I started digging, there was a lot to find. For me, it was too late to do anything more than jump in and help.”
    “What? Are you saying you bit off more that you wanna chew?” Ty asked defensively.
    “Absolutely not. I love her. I wouldn’t change anything, but you aren’t as fucked up as me. I’ve got my own baggage to bring to the table. She has to accept a lot of bullshit to be with me. You’ve got some solids that I don’t have.” Reed looked at him expectantly, as though waiting for him to digest what had just been said. When Ty gave no acknowledgement that he might understand what the hell Reed meant, he finally continued, “My point is, when it’s bad, I can see how bulldozing your way in, then washing your hands of it, could make it worse. Look, keep the facts in mind. She’s a beautiful, smart woman living alone with her parents in the mountains with a public servant degree that she’s not using. Something’s not right.”
    “I just met the woman, Prescott. I’m not trying to marry her. I just want to spend some time with her,” Ty said, defensively. He wasn’t trying to put a ring on her, and besides, so now that Prescott had a woman, all of a sudden he was an expert?
    “Yep, you’re right. So ignore me.” Reed slapped him on the shoulder and went back to the beans. “For me, one look was all it took. I fought it…for about a minute, now look where I am.”
    “You seem happy,” Ty said, picking his things back up and trailing behind Reed as he headed toward the back door.
    “More than your wildest dreams, but like I said, I don’t travel the world with beautiful, willing women on my arm every day. Lara would never stop me from doing that, but it would make her insecure as hell.”
    At the door, Ty managed everything in one hand and went around Reed, turning the door knob, but stopped before pushing the door open, trying to understand because Reed wasn’t letting this go. So because of his career, he couldn’t have a date or two with a normal, everyday kind of woman? He was stuck with women who were more ambitious than even he was when he first started in this business?
    “You want me to back out and let Cole have a shot?” Ty whispered urgently, and his brow furrowed at the anger that came with his words. No way. Prescott could jump in a lake before he let that happen. Reed busted out laughing.
    “You’re hardheaded. No wonder we get along so well,” he said between fits of laughter, and that irritated Ty beyond anything else. Ty pushed open the door and walked out, not caring anymore if Reed could handle the door and the huge pot of beans in his hands. Let him figure it out.

Chapter 5
     
    After watching her eat a very small plate of beans and finishing off a bottle of water, Ty decided he’d have to get some healthy food selections in the house if he ever