Release date December 1, 2013.
Anticipating their lovemaking, she couldn't sit still and wandered into the spare room they'd used as an office. Tyler had a laptop set up on his desk. The silver and black case looked familiar. Then she realized he'd been working on Grant's laptop. She clicked the spacebar and sat down when the computer woke up. Why hadn't Tyler mentioned he'd been able to start up her brother-in-law's computer? Maybe he'd planned to surprise her.
After she clicked on a folder which said "pictures," she marveled how organized Grant had been. She found J. T.'s name and opened the first picture.
Jessica starred at the photograph of her brother-in-law and his foster brother J. T. Reynolds. Both the mischief in his eyes and the dazzling smile were familiar. Only the length of his hair was different. Stunned, she studied the picture of Tyler.
Jessica sat transfixed as she stared at the photograph. Although she didn't need to, Jessica glanced at the caption below, shaking her head in disbelief, "J. T. and me on the Fourth of July." From the appearance of picture, Tyler knew Grant for years. Propping her elbows on the desk, Jessica held her head in her hands. The man she'd grown to love was the man she'd been looking for. She had thought she could trust him, and all this time he'd been lying to her. Why did he lie? What did he plan to gain by pretending to be someone else? Tyler was just like all the other men in her life.
A small sob sounded in her throat. Jessie thought he was the one man she could trust. She should have known better. The men in her life were never trustworthy. Some things never change.
She'd heard him say goodnight to Wyatt and close his bedroom door.
"Tyler." Her voice sounded more like a plea than merely calling his name.
When he walked into the office her eyes widened beseeching him. "Thanks, J. T."
He glanced at the laptop and nodded. "Yes, that's me." His voice sounded heavy with regret. No he sounded relieved.
Tyler or J. T. or whoever he was stopped two feet from her side. Standing Jessica faced him.
"Jessica?" He reached a hand out to her. When she ignored his gesture he lowered his hand.
"Please let me explain." Again he extended his hand to her.
She tried not to hear the anguish in Tyler's voice. "Why?"
"Let's sit down." He placed his hand on her elbow.
Not wanting to feel the warmth of his touch or his kindness, Jessica jerked her arm away from him. "Don't touch me."
He gave her a curt nod then followed her to the living room. She sat on the couch, her back stiff and straight. Jessica guarded her emotions. Tyler sat beside her, turning to face her.
"My life turned around when Grant's family took me in as a foster child. For the first time, I found a family who loved me. I was a little guy who was always picked on and Grant watched over me."
"I know, but that doesn't explain why you lied to me." Jessica worked her hands in her lap.
"I didn't find out Grant died until after I'd completed my special ops. I received an email from his little sister, another child the Markham's took in. She explained what happened and that you were taking care of Wyatt. I promised Grant I'd watch over Wyatt if anything happened to him. When I make a promise, I keep it no matter what. When I returned home, I needed to find out who was caring for his child.
"In the service, I learned to know your opponent before you strategize. Once I got to know you I saw how good you were with Wyatt. It was evident he loves you. I fell in love with you too."
Jessica flinched when he referred to her as his opposition. "So, you got to know me yet you still didn't have the decency to tell me who you are. You let me believe you were Tyler Brown." She swallowed quickly before the emotions tightened her throat. "We made love and you still didn't bother to explain."
"I tried to tell you several times. My name is Justin Tyler Reynolds. I was named after my wonderful father." Heaving a sigh, Tyler leaned forward and rested his arms on his legs. "He'd come home drunk and beat up my mom. One night he beat her so bad she died before she got to the hospital. I was twelve at the time and swore I'd never use his name again. From then on I went by J. T."
His voice was unusually monotone and devoid of all feeling. This wasn't the fun loving man she knew. Jessica wanted to reach out and comfort him, but the thought of his deceit stopped her.
"Grant was the brother I never had. The only one who cared about me. The only family I had." Tyler stood up and moved to look out the front window. "The day I met you I stood on the porch and watched you care for Wyatt. You were gentle and kind. The two of you were a family. For the first time in years, I wanted to belong to a family. I didn't want to be J. T. Reynolds any longer. I got to know you, I like who I became because of you. You've made me a better person. Until I met you, I was nobody."
"You could have told me," she whispered. Why hadn't she discovered his deception earlier? Since the day she met him, Tyler had given her clues. He looks like his dad. Tyler never looked me in the eye when I talked about Grant.
"When I first came here, my military training kicked in and I worked on a covert mission." His hands raked his hair. "I'm sorry, Jessie."
"So am I," her voice was a soft whisper. Tears stung her eyes. She'd tried to block out all the happy memories she'd shared with Tyler. "As his uncle, you can have visiting rights." Her gaze met his. "But for now, I think you better leave."
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