MANNY©

Chapter 40

Rachael was in Kaleb's soundproof therapy room pacing back and forth becoming upset. She couldn't believe that Tyler did this. He out of all people knew what Charles put her through and how snooty his mama was. Now her husband pulls this and brings Charles' dad to her home. She was ready to give him a piece of her mind.

Tyler stood outside the door as he braced himself for the fallout with Rachael. He knew he should have run it by her. But something told him that the father was different from the son and mother. He even asked Mary would Edward be like his son or Gertrude. And when Mary said that the only thing good about Charles was Edward, Tyler knew that he needed to come to the gentleman man to man before anything else was done. 

Dinner went well and was surprisingly quiet. Even Kaleb could sense that tension was in the air, but no one had a mad face or yelled so he enjoyed the silence and ate in peace. After, Todd and Alyssa took Edward and all of the kids into the playroom. Tyler exhaled a breath and gave her time to herself in the therapy room before he entered. He slowly opened the door and walked in only to be met with a pair of brown eyes that gave off a frosty feeling. "Am I allowed to speak first?" He said, clearing his throat.

"Hell, no!" She yelled watching him lock the door. "Are you sure you want to lock yourself in here with me, Tyler?" She asked, cutting him another look. "I mean the way I feel right now, just know I may just end up going to jail!" She yelled at him. Tyler leaned against it and folded his muscular arms. "I'll take my chances."He told her with confidence. "Besides, you would never hurt me, Rachael. You love me too much." 

Rachael snorted in disbelief, turning away from him. "Don't be too sure." She mumbled. Tyler unfazed unfolded his arms then walked over to her, spinning her around to face him letting their eye contact connect. "I am sure." Tyler began. "You would never, ever hurt me, Rachael Sumner. You fucking love me way too much." He said calmly while he placed his hands on her hips. 

"I didn't tell you because I wanted to show them we are united in this. I am, after all, Mad's and Kal's daddy. I am their father. Not Charles. Edward and Gertrude are grandparents by biology only. And have to get BOTH of our permissions to see OUR children." Tyler said to her. "Now, Rae I stood aside so you could handle Gertrude.  I should have the right to take control of seeing what kind of man Edward was." He told her, noticing her continue to look away, still mad at him.

Tyler turned her entire body in his arms before making her look back at him. "I got to talk to him, plus did some more digging. You know what, baby?" He asked her while his eyes softened at her as she continued to look away. "He's a good guy. He wants to play this our way." Tyler spoke in a gentle tone. "You saw dinner tonight. He didn't overstep any boundaries. He only observed. And he's getting to know us and the children. This went way better than what we ever dealt with Gertie and Chuck. Rae, just go in there and make a bit of small talk before he goes."

Rachael just rolled her eyes before and moved out of his way as she went to open the door before he could say anything else. As Rachael and Tyler were coming out of the therapy room, Edward was coming out of the playroom with Alyssa and Todd. 

"Well, thank Tyler for a great evening," Edward spoke. "Rachael, it's been a pleasure. I was hoping we can get another chance to talk. No more springing me on you as a surprise, I promise." Edward smiled. "Here's my business card." He said, handing his card to her. "Call me when you get a chance. Nice seeing you again after so long, Todd. And nice meeting you, Alyssa." "Same here," Todd said shaking his hand. "Yes, nice meeting you." Alyssa agreed.

Rachael accepted the card as she spoke."Of course. Another time." She cleared her throat while they all stepped up to the door to see him out. "Goodbye, children." He said, turn to wave after he stepped out to where a limo was waiting. "Bye! Bye!" The kids all cheerfully said before going into their rooms to get ready for their nightly routines. "Ty, Rae. I was wondering if the Trips can spend the night over our house. We'll have them back before breakfast." Todd said as he held Trent and Ty Junior while Alyssa held Todd the second.

Rae looked over at her boys as they snuggled against their grandparents. A smile lit her face for the first time tonight. "Sure, dad." She said. "Have a good night, you two." She said while Tyler stood behind her to mouth thank you to his parents. They watched Todd and Alyssa walk across the yard to their big house. After watching them safely go inside Tyler turned to see his wife already gone to make sure that Maddy was taking a bath. She was giving Morgan and Mackenzie a bath together first. Tyler decided to go get  Micah and Kal ready for a bath together.

Once all the kids were in their beds and falling asleep, Tyler walked into his room and stripped off his clothes before slipping into a pair of boxer briefs to sleep in. Rae was in her fuzzy pink cotton candy PJs as she took her hair down and brushed it out then walked around to her side of the bed. Tyler huffed at her before he jumped on the bed and ran over it to beat her to her side. "Stop this, Rachael. I mean it." He said to her. "You won't go to bed mad at me for loving our kids enough to want to be a man and deal with this and protect it. You won't be mad at me for loving you and protecting our family and remembering our vows." He said with so much anger in his voice, that it went deeper.

She stared at him and watched him take her face in his hands as his blue eyes searched her brown ones. "Tell me, what you are thinking sweetie." He asked of her. "I," She began before sighing. "I'm just scared about this all. The man I was involved with -Charles- was so not who I thought he was. Not even after those lies came out .Then he comes back to my life with a whole another set of lies and more things I didn't know about. Now, this. I'm so tired of all this Tyler. I don't think I can do this anymore. I want to give up." She said then sat down on her side of the bed as Tyler sat with her.

He placed his arms around her as he pulled them both into the bed, letting her hair rest upon her satin pillow.  He let his hands roam all over the side of her body while she snuggled tightly into his. "Baby, don't worry. If you're tired I will do this for both of us. I love you." He told her. 

"You are my life and I want to make things easier for you Rachael. You rest, baby and I will take care of it all. If you ever want to help fight, you know you can. But if you can't anymore, you just let me take of it all. We have a huge support system of family and friends that are family. Whether the Stoldworths are apart of our lives and Maddy's and Kal's lives, we'll make it I promise you." He whispered while hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry." Rachel said softly. Tyler grinned before he spoke. "About?" "About what went on in Kal's room." She admitted, feeling bashful. "I know you are. You do know this means you have to pay for that. By taking a long trip." He told her while hovering over her. "How? Where?" She asked unsure of what was next. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it." He said unbuttoning her pj top then removing her bottoms. "You just let me know when you've reached the destination." He began to grin at her while he quickly opened her legs and entered her.