Therapy is Good for the Soul

“Mmmmmmm” Bailey yawned as she stretched her arms and legs out. She rolled onto her side, disappointed to find the spot next to her empty. As she was about to get up to look for Tyler, she noticed a sparkle flash on the headboard of the bed. A huge grin spread across her face when she realized it was sunlight from the window reflecting off her new ring. She stretched her left arm out to get a better look at the ring. Still in awe of yesterday’s events and Tyler’s proposal, she took her right hand and pinched her left arm causing her to flinch slightly. She then burst into a fit of giggles knowing it wasn’t a dream.

“What are you doing?” Tyler chuckled as he watched Bailey literally pinch herself and laugh about it.

“Had to make sure I wasn’t dreamin and this was real!” She popped up onto her knees and held her left hand up wiggling her fingers showing off her engagement ring.

“So I guess it’s safe to say you’re not having second thoughts.”

“Are you kiddin me? Tyler, yesterday was the best day of my life and it’s all because of you!” She jumped to her feet spun around one time before plopping back down on the bed. “I get to marry you!” She squealed, bursting into another fit of laughter and stretching her arms out begging him to come to her. “Now get over here because I’m cold and lonely!”

Tyler didn’t hesitate, taking a note from Bailey; he ran over and jumped onto the bed. He gently placed his hands on her hips and drew her into his lap. She leaned into his chiseled chest and wrapped her arms around him. He pushed her hair behind her right shoulder, exposing her lovely neck. He left a trail of butterfly kisses up and down her throat and up to her earlobes before finally pressing his lips to hers. She immediately felt a spark when his perfect lips touched hers and she instinctually opened her mouth allowing an entrance for Tyler’s tongue. Their breathing grew quickly as their kiss became more passionate and aggressive. Tyler wound his fingers into Bailey’s hair as he lowered them both back until they were lying on the bed. They were both breathless and flushed when Tyler broke the kiss. Somehow their feet got tangled in the unmade sheets.Bailey smiled as she stared into Tyler’s big brown eyes while he tried to untangle them. She gradually reached for the hem on the bottom of his t-shirt she was wearing. Tyler inhaled deeply, and pulled Bailey’s hands away from the shirt before she could pull it off. He brought each hand to his lips for a kiss before hopping off the bed.

“Don’t want our breakfast to get too cold. I’ll be right back.” He bent down and kissed Bailey’s forehead before exiting the room leaving Bailey dumbfounded at what just happened.

She took Tyler’s exit as an opportunity to run to the bathroom. After relieving herself, she looked in the mirror to make sure she wasn’t a complete mess from the previous evening’s escapades. She brushed her teeth and ran a brush through her hair before getting back in Tyler’s bed. Tyler returned a few minutes later, carrying a breakfast tray with a large pile of scrambled eggs, several pieces of wheat toast and turkey bacon, a bowl piled high with pineapple and blueberries, some yogurt with granola on top, and two large glasses of orange juice.

"What's with the feast? I'd actually like to be able to fit in a weddin dress, you know. There's no cotton pickin way I can eat all that!"

Tyler sat down on the bed and Bailey shifted over to give him more room. He placed the breakfast tray down overtop of her legs. He bent down and kissed her forehead.

"First, your body is perfect just the way it is! Don't you dare become one of those crazy girls that becomes obsessed with her weight and thinks she has to lose a ton of weight before getting married!" He gently caressed her cheek as he brought his lips to hers. "And second, this isn't all for you. I don't know about you but after last night I worked up quite the appetite." He smirked and leaned in for another kiss. "Now dig in before it gets any colder!"

Tyler picked up a piece of turkey bacon and started eating it, while Bailey drank some orange juice. After a few minutes, Tyler noticed Bailey was just picking at the scrambled eggs with her fork but not eating.

"Bay, is something wrong with the eggs? Do you want something else?" He lightly tapped her shoulder when she didn't respond.

"Oh sorry, did you say somethin?”

“Where’d you go just now? I was asking if something is wrong with the eggs?”

“No, they’re great. All of this is wonderful; thank you.” She gestured across the tray but then returned to just poking the eggs with her fork.

“Bay, if it’s so wonderful then why aren’t you eating? You don’t really think you need to lose weight do you?” Tyler was getting a little annoyed as well as concerned that she had suddenly become so quiet and distant.

Bailey bit her bottom lit while contemplating if she should tell Tyler the truth. Knowing she was a horrible liar and he’d see right through her, she decided it was best to bite the bullet and let him know what was on her mind.

“Tyler, did I do something wrong?” Tyler stared at her, clearly puzzled by her question. “You know last night was my first time; was it ok? I…. I… I mean was I ok?” She stared down at the large pile of food and fidgeted with her hands before looking back up at Tyler. Before he had a chance to respond, she started rambling, almost pleading with him. “If you didn’t like something, you have to tell me; I can get better. I want to be able to give you the same pleasure you gave me. Tyler, I promise I can learn if you just teach me!”

Tyler picked up the breakfast tray and placed it on the other side of Bailey. He then cupped Bailey’s cheeks between his hands. “Bay, where is this coming from? I thought it was pretty obvious on multiple occasions last night that I enjoyed every minute of making love to you.”

She took a deep breath and her bottom lip twitched a little. “Then why did you stop me from takin my shirt off and lettin us explore each other more this mornin? I mean, I didn’t think guys would stop unless they weren’t really into it.”

Tyler brought his lips to Bailey’s for a quick kiss and started chuckling. “Bay, I can assure you that I enjoyed every moment of last night! It was better than anything I ever imagined and I can’t wait to do it again. You have no idea how much restraint I had earlier. I even contemplated taking a cold shower in the guest bathroom.” Seeing that Bailey was still confused and unsure about herself, he pulled her in his lap and continued. “Bay, the reason I stopped is because last night was your first time. I saw you wince a few times so I figured your body might be a little sore and need some time to recover. Am I right?”

“No.” Tyler gave her a knowing glare. “Ok, but I’m just a little sore. It’s really nothing, we can totally…”

Tyler cut her off by bringing his lips to hers. He gave a gentle tug on her bottom lip causing Bailey to open her mouth just enough to allow an entrance for his tongue. Tyler and Bailey’s tongues danced together in perfect harmony.

Tyler’s cheeks were heated when he finally broke the kiss. “Bay, we have our entire lives together to explore each other’s body. As hard as it is for me to say this, I still think we should give your body a rest. I don’t want to hurt you!” He placed her back down on the bed beside him and reached across her to pick up the breakfast tray. “Let’s refuel and then you can take a nice warm bath before we call our families and tell them the good news.” He handed her a fork and kissed the top of her head. “Now Eat!!”

Feeling much better, Bailey leaned her head on Tyler’s shoulder and started eating some of the eggs. There was silence in the room beyond the occasional clink of a fork on a dish for the next several minutes while they both devoured the food Tyler prepared.

“Guess I was hungry after all. Thank you for fixin such a yummy breakfast!” She craned her neck slightly to reach Tyler’s cheek to give him a quick peck.

“My pleasure; glad your appetite came back.” Tyler kissed the top of her head before standing up, taking the tray with him. “Why don’t you go take a bath while I take care of the dishes.”

Bailey slipped the sheet off and headed into Tyler’s master bathroom to grab her vanilla and lavender scented body wash out of the shower. She turned on the hot tap to run a bath and squeezed some of her shower gel under it, creating a mountain of bubbles. She hummed a little song while gathering towels out of the hall linen closet. She started to get undressed, slipping Tyler’s t-shirt off and onto the bathroom floor. Climbing in, Bailey slid into the bubbles, and her whole body could feel the water reached the right temperature, allowing her to relax. She poked her foot out to turn the hot water off.

“Tyler can you please come here?” She hollered hoping it was loud enough for Tyler to hear.

Tyler quickly washed his hands and headed to towards the bathroom. When he reached the partially opened door, he knocked before peaking behind the door. “Do you need something?”

“Mmmhmm.” She nodded her head and motioned for him to come in. He walked over to give her a kiss. He loved the sly naughty smile she was giving him. “Come join me.”

“Bay, I’m not sure that’s the best idea.”

“I promise I’ll be good. Pretty please!”

“Fuck me! You know I can’t resist that pouty lip.” Tyler ran his hands through his hair and shook his head side to side in defeat.

“Come on in, the water’s wonderful.” She smiled knowing she won this battle and Tyler was giving in.

Tyler pulled his boxerbriefs and pajama bottoms off and joined Bailey in the tub. He stepped over the edge and eased his feet into the water one by one. He lowered himself slowly until he was sitting behind Bailey. It felt so good, warm, and silky from the bubbles; he relished the warm wetness as it engulfed him. Reaching behind him, he pushed the button to start the jets and bubbles began to multiply and spill over the edge of the tub. He pulled her close to him. She felt dreamy against his body with their hot wet skin touching each other as they lay in the hot bubbly water in together. They became completely relaxed in each other’s arms while soaking their cares away. Soon they both dozed off for a few minutes completely oblivious to the world.

Tyler woke up and felt Bailey purring in his arms, asleep. He loved her in that position, relaxing on his chest. He started planting soft kisses on her back. When she felt his chin whiskers, her body shivered causing her to awaken. Tyler knew it wasn’t the tub water because it was still steamy hot. He reached over and grabbed a washcloth, got it wet, and started running it over her body. He softly caressed the back of her neck and the top of her shoulders, massaging her with the smooth, wet cloth in the warm relaxing water. Bailey leaned slightly forward so that his hands could slide lower down her back, rubbing along her spine and down the sides of her trunk until they reached even lower to caress the top of her ass. He eventually brought his hands back up to the tops of her shoulders and softly stroked them again, rubbing the soapy water deep into her pores. Then he concentrated on her arms and shoulders enjoying how the roughness of the cloth felt against her skin. Steadily he ran the cloth down the front of her chest, lightly caressing her throat, then dipping lower to begin rubbing along the tops of her breasts. Tyler slid his hand back and forth across the tops of her breasts and listened to the soft moans that escaped Bailey as her nipples began to harden and jut out of the water. He then ran the cloth down over her breasts, moving the cloth in circles around their fullness, ending with the nipples, which were hard as rocks by this time. He eased the washcloth down her stomach, running over it slowly, then down between her legs. The feel of the cloth against her under the water was incredibly sensuous. She let her legs fall apart as he gently ran the cloth across her thighs and slowly back towards her center. Bailey couldn’t contain the moan that crossed her lips.

Tyler placed the washcloth on the side of the tub so he could feel Bailey’s body directly react to his touch. He kissed up her spine and gently nipped at the side of her neck while his hands glided over her tender breasts. His hand slid lightly over each breast, tenderly squeezing each one and rolling her nipples between his soapy fingers. His hand steadily slid between her breasts, slowly caressing up and down her cleavage, then reaching back over to tease her nipples again. Bailey leaned back with her eyes closed and Tyler grazed his tongue delicately across her lips and hers immediately darted out to meet his. As their kiss deepened, his hand slid further down her stomach.

Suddenly Bailey got up splashing water everywhere; she flipped around and gently repositioned herself so she was straddling Tyler. Seeing her beautiful hazel eyes directly caused his body to instantly become alive. He had to get even closer to her. Tyler cupped Bailey’s face in his hands and kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and her lips. He pushed his tongue into her mouth swirling his tongue over hers. He sucked her bottom lip as if milk and honey was flowing. Their kisses were full of hunger, full of longing; as if nothing mattered but this moment. His hands left the sides of her face and move down her shoulders and arms. His huge, strong hands slid onto her waist, then up her ribcage to the undersides of her breasts. She reached up and put her hands in his hair to deepen their kiss. She then leisurely ran her hands all over his toned chest and stomach, enjoying the feel of his skin.

As Tyler entered her, she gasped and arched her back in pleasure. She felt so full, both emotionally and physically. He held her close as they slowly rocked back and forth, letting the pleasure build slowly. The water splashed everywhere out of the tub and the bubbles launched into the air as their rhythm increased in pace and became really intense. Remembering he didn’t have a condom on, he pulled out of her just in the nick of time before they both reached their climax. As the hot ripples waved though their bodies, Bailey fell forward onto his chest, her body shaking in orgasm. When she recovered, they both smiled looking back into each other’s eyes and she brought her soft lips to his. They burst into a fit of laughter when they looked around and realized the mess they made. There was water all over the floor and bubbles scattered across the bathroom.

Bailey looked up at Tyler and with a mischievous smile. “I knew you’d come around and see things my way.” She gave him a quick peck on the nose. “Thank you!”

“Damn, you’re a sneaky little vixen! But, I’m not complaining, that was incredible! Who knew baths could be so much fun?” He touched his lips to hers once more. “How do you feel?”

“Heavenly!”

Tyler smiled as he stood bringing Bailey up with him. He grabbed one of the big fluffy towels and pulled her into his chest as he wrapped it around her body. He caressed her supple cheek and lifted her chin until their noses almost touched. She could feel the warmth of his breath brushing the top of her lip as they stared into each other’s eyes. He teased the corner of her mouth, making her wish for more. Unfortunately he didn’t grant her wish this time. “Go get dressed, then we’ll call our parents.” He grabbed Bailey’s hand before she could walk away. “Oh and Bay, please put on some frumpy sweats or something.”

Bailey giggled. “I’ll do my best.” He released her hand when she started walking to his room. “Aren’t you comin with me?”

“I’ll be there in a minute. I think I’m just going to clean up this mess first.”

“Oh, let me help.”

“No! No! I’ve got it, you go get dressed.”

“Ok, I’ll see you in a bit. Love you!” She blew him a kiss as she left the room.

“Love you too.”

He hopped in the shower as soon as she was out of his view, turning the cold water on full blast to stop his raging hormones. When he emerged in his room, he found Bailey singing and dancing to music on her iPhone while she brushed her hair. He smiled to himself and wondered how he got so lucky to have such a wonderful girl in his life. He snuck up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and kissed her right cheek.

“I thought I told you to change into something frumpy.” He planted a few featherlike kisses along her jawline."

“I did; this is just an old pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt.”

“I wouldn’t call wearing pants that hug your figure just right, frumpy. And damn it, you know I love to see you in my number, but it’s just too much right now! You’re making it very hard to resist temptation and if you keep this up we’ll never get around to telling our families we’re engaged.” Bailey giggled at Tyler’s expression of sexual frustration. Tyler went into his closet to get dressed. “It’s not funny Bay!” He came out and threw a hooded Patriots sweatshirt to her. “Here, put that on. It should help.”

“What if I don’t want to wear it?” She teased him.

“Bay, Please! If you love me, you’ll put it on.”

“Fine, I’ll wear it.” She pulled the sweatshirt over her head and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

“Thank you.”

“Ok, now that your hormones are in check, can we go call our parents?”

“You’re one to talk, if I recall you had the same problem earlier this morning.”

“True. I guess it’s somethin we’ll both have to learn to manage. Do you think we’ll ever feel fully satiated?”

“Speaking for myself, that would be a HELL NO! I’m never going to be able to get enough of you.”

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing we’re going to have a lifetime together.”

Tyler bent down and kissed her. “And I plan to take full advantage of that too, but it will have to wait until after we tell our families. He took her hand and escorted her to his couch in the living room. “Who do you want to call first?”

“Is it ok, if we call my parents first?”

“Of course, why don’t we Facetime them?”

“That would be great.” Bailey dialed her mom’s number and requested to Facetime with her. “Hey Momma, is Daddy there? I have some big news to tell you.”

“I’m sorry munchkin, but he wasn’t feelin well and went upstairs to take a nap. This round of chemo is really wipin him out.”

Tyler wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulder and pulled her into his side as he watched the sparkle and happiness in her eyes dissipate as she listened to her mother.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“No, there’s really nothing any of us can do, but keep your Daddy in our prayers and make sure he gets rest. Now, I believe you mentioned some big news.”

“Last night Tyler proposed and I said yes. Momma, I’m gettin married!” Tyler was happy that some joy had returned in her face.

“Oh baby, that’s wonderful news! Your Daddy told me Tyler asked for his blessin so I knew it was only a matter of time. I’m so happy for you!”

Bailey turned towards Tyler pleasantly surprised by what her mother just told her. “You asked Daddy for permission to marry me?”

“Of course, it’s tradition.”

Bailey’s smile grew as she stretched up and brought her lips to his. They pulled apart when they heard Bailey’s mother cough.

“Oops, sorry Momma.”

“It’s ok. Now let me talk to that handsome fiancé of yours.”

Bailey handed Tyler her phone so he could talk to her mom. “Hi Mrs. Thomas.”

“Tyler I’m so happy for you and my little munchkin! Now that you’re officially goin to be part of the family, let’s stop with the formalities and call me Momma. Is that ok with you?”

“Yes mam, and I can’t wait to join your family. I want you to know I love Bailey very much and promise to take good care of her.”

“I know you do, son. I knew from the moment I met you, you were the one for my baby girl. I’ve never seen her happier and more relaxed than when she’s with you. Thank you for lovin her so sweetly.”

“You’re welcome and it’s my pleasure.”

Tyler and Mrs. Thomas spoke for a few more minutes, before he handed the phone back to Bailey. She filled her mom in on all the details of Tyler’s proposal and the date they’d picked for their wedding next year. Before they hung up, they scheduled a date to talk more about wedding plans and Bailey promised she’d call back later to check in on her daddy.

They decided to call Tyler’s mom next. She was of course over the moon that the couple was getting married. She welcomed Bailey to the family and asked her to call her mom now. His mom told them she was happy to help in any way needed when it came to planning their wedding. Tyler made her promise not to blab their news to his sisters, which she agreed to do as long as they called them right away and Tyler promised he’d bring Bailey home to Canada with him as soon as he could. Before calling his sisters, Tyler made a quick call to his dad to tell him the news as well.

“Hey shithead! How are ya?”

“Tyler, don’t talk to your sister that way!” Bailey said as she punched Tyler’s arm.

“It’s ok Bailey, I’m use to it.”

“See she loves it.”

“I said I was use to your stupidity, not that I liked it.”

“Don’t worry Cass, I’ve got your back and will take care of him later. So how have you been?”

“Great! I finally got a date with that guy I told you about.”

Tyler grabbed the phone from Bailey. “Guy, what guy? You need to focus on hockey and school, not some guy!”

Bailey swat Tyler’s chest with her left hand. “Oh stop Tyler! He seems like a nice guy and Cass has a good head on her shoulders. You can’t keep babyin her.” Bailey Pat Tyler’s chest then returned her focus to his sister. “So, tell me all the details.”

Much to Tyler’s dismay, Cassidy went into great detail about how she and this boy, Jamie connected and how wonderful their first date was. Bailey was resting her head on Tyler’s shoulder with her left hand periodically rubbing and patting his chest in an effort to comfort him. Tyler wanted nothing more than to change the subject, and realized they hadn’t told Cassidy why they called in the first place. He decided to see if he could help move things along, so he started playing with Bailey’s left hand that was still resting on his chest. He wondered how long it would take Cassidy to notice the ring as he started to push it up and down along Bailey’s ring finger.

“Tyler, what are you do… Oh my gosh! Is that what I think it is? Did you finally man up and propose to Bailey?”

Bailey and Tyler started laughing at Cassidy bouncing up and down on the couch and squealing with excitement. “It’s about time you noticed!” Tyler laughed as he pulled Bailey’s hand to his lips.

“I can’t believe it! We’re finally going to be sisters; welcome to the family!”

“Thank you! Cass, I was wonderin if you’d be one of my bridesmaids?”

“I’d love to be a bridesmaid!”

“Great! Oh and I promise I won’t make you wear some God awful, tacky dress!”

“I trust you; I’m sure whatever you pick will be perfect. By the way do you like the ring?”

“I love it!” Bailey brought her left hand closer the phone screen to give Cassidy a closer look at the ring.
Cassidy started giggling. “Bailey, I’ve already seen it; I helped Tyler design it. Do you remember when we visited I got you to look at all kinds of rings and try them on with me? Well that wasn’t a fluke. Tyler asked me to help him figure out what you liked and what size ring you wore. It was so much fun; you were totally oblivious to his devious plan.”

Bailey’s jaw dropped as she looked back and forth between Cassidy and Tyler, shocked by this piece of information. “Oh my goodness! You knew back then you wanted to marry me?”

Tyler laughed and pulled Bailey in closer to his side. “Bay, I told you I think I fell in love with you the day we met. I’ve known for a very long time I wanted to make you my wife.” He kissed her forehead and smirked as he watched Bailey admire the ring he had made special for her.

“Do you see it has a little bit of your favorite things from several of the rings we looked at? I made sure he didn’t pick some over the top, tacky, and super huge ring too. He even added a couple of the small sapphire accents you liked.”

“Thanks Cass, you and Tyler did a fabulous job! It’s absolutely beautiful!”

“I hate to break up this love fest, but we need to call a few more people to tell them the news, including Candace.”

“Ok and congratulations again guys.”

“Thanks Cass. I’ll be in touch soon.”

“Love ya shithead! Catch you later.”

Tyler hung up and immediately called his other sister, Candace requesting to Facetime with her. Even though things were much better between Bailey and Candace, they were both a bit nervous how she’d react to their engagement news. They were relieved when Candace had a similar reaction to Cassidy. She even joked with Bailey, asking if she really knew what she was getting into by marrying Tyler. Candace was touched when Bailey also asked her to be a bridesmaid and immediately said yes. They finally said their goodbyes, when Candace said she had to get ready for practice.

Tyler pulled Bailey onto his lap when they ended the call. “Thank you for asking my sisters to be your bridesmaids. You didn’t have to do that, but I really appreciate that you did.”

“I really like them Tyler and they’re going to be my family too. Of course I want them in the weddin.” She snuggled into his chest when he tightened his embrace.

“God, I love you!” He kissed the top of her head.

“The feeling is mutual.”

“Who should we call next?”

“Since Michael and Melissa are on a cruise, let’s call Stephen and Marybeth.

“Don’t forget Sarah Kate.”

“Of course not, although she may not be very happy since I’m marryin her prince.” She giggled before planting a swift kiss on his lips and hopping off his lap. “Hi Marybeth how are y’all?”

“Good. How ‘bout you and Tyler?”

“Great, actually that’s why I called. Tyler and I got engaged last night.” Bailey held up her engagement ring for Marybeth to get a good look at it.

“Oh, Bailey that’s wonderful news! I’m so happy for y’all. Have y’all picked a date yet?”

“Yes, it will be June 27th next year.”

“I’ll mark our calendar.”

“We’d love for Sarah Kate to be our flower girl. Do you think she’d like to do that?”

“Pretty sure she’ll be over the moon, but you can ask her yourself. Sarah Kate, can you come here a minute, someone wants to talk to you.”

Bailey smiled when she saw the little pixie running towards her mom. It grew even larger, once Sarah Kate saw her aunt staring back at her. “Baywee! Mommy it’s Ant Baywee!”

“Hi Sarah Kate.” Bailey waved at her niece.

“Where’s Tywer?”

“Sarah Kate, watch your manners! Say hi to your aunt right now.”

“Sowee. Hi Baywee, is Tywer there?” Causing Tyler to bust out laughing and Bailey shook her head and sighed.

“Yes, he’s here.”

Sarah Kate started jumping up and down and clapping her hands. “Me see! Me see Tywer! Pwease!!!!” Tyler wrapped his arm around Bailey’s shoulders, pulled her closer and leaned into view of the phone. “YEAH, TYWER!!! Mommy wook, it’s TYWER!” Marybeth nodded that she could see him too.

“Hi, Sarah Kate. How’s my little princess?”

“Good. I pwactice skatin, but still not fast wike you.” She gave him a pouty lip that he swore she must have learned from her favorite aunt.

“That’s ok, I’ve had more practice than you. You keep taking lessons and before you know it, I won’t be able to keep up with you.”

“I want skate wif you. Pwease!!!!”

“I want to skate with you too. Tell you what, your aunt Bailey and I’ll come visit you this summer and I’ll take you skating again.”

“Yeah!! Is summer tomorwo?”

“I’m afraid not princess. Your aunt and I have to work, but I promise we’ll call you again tomorrow.” Tyler started to get flustered when he saw tears start to trickle down Sarah Kate’s cheeks. He hated seeing her upset and turned to Bailey for help.

“Sarah Kate, Tyler and I have to ask you something very important, but I need you to wipe away those tears first. Can you do that for me?”

“Ok.” She whimpered and sniffled a few times as she wiped her tears on her sleeve.

“That’s my girl. Sarah Kate, you like Tyler, right?”

“NO Baywee! I wuv him!!!!”

Bailey’s grin grew as she watched her fiancé turn to mush before her eyes. “I stand corrected, you love Tyler. Sarah Kate I love him too! I love him so much I want to spend my happily ever after with him.”

“You haf ta marwee him to do that.”

“I know and last night Tyler asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

Tyler had to plug his ears from the high-pitched sound of overwhelming joy that escaped Sarah Kate’s mouth. “Baywee you gettin marweed! I told you Tywer was your pwince!”

“You sure did! You are one smart little girl.”

“Big gurl!” Sarah Kate crossed her arms across her chest correcting Bailey.

“I’m sorry, one smart, big girl that Tyler and I love very much.”

“I wuv you too! Baywee are you gonna have a weddin?”

“Yes we are, and we’d like you to be our flower girl.”

“What dat?”

“Oh, it’s a very important job that only special girls get to do. You’ll have to wear a very pretty princess dress and carry a basket of flower petals that you get to throw in the air as you walk down the aisle. You can even wear a pretty crown made of flowers if you want.” Bailey and Tyler watched the sweet little girl’s eyes grow at least 3 times larger at the thought of getting to look like a princess. Bailey continued knowing how much her niece loves being the center of attention. “Everybody that comes to the weddin will be watchin you, because you get to make sure the bride gets to the groom. Does that sound like somethin you’d like to do?”

“Oh yes Baywee, I can do it! I be your fwower gurl.”

“Thank you Sarah Kate! You’ll be the most beautiful flower girl ever!”

“Are you happy too, Tywer?”

“You bet! It wouldn’t be the same without my little princess helping. I love you Sarah Kate.”

“I wuv you too.” She blew Tyler a kiss.

“Sarah Kate it’s time for your nap, so tell Bailey and Tyler goodbye.”

“I wuv you Baywee. I wuv you uncwel Tywer. Don’t forget to call me tomorwo!”

“Bye, Sarah Kate.” Bailey blew her niece a kiss and waved goodbye.

“I promise I won’t forget. Sweet dreams princess.” Bailey and Marybeth rolled their eyes and laughed when Sarah Kate started blushing.

“All right, you said your goodbyes now it’s time for bed so scoot. Congratulations to the both of you. I guess I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye.”

“Bye.” Tyler and Bailey said in unison.

Bailey sighed and turned her body so she was facing Tyler, sitting Indian style. “Well, that’s it I can’t marry you.”

“What? Why?” Tyler started panicking; he took both her hands in his and stared deeply into her eyes. “Please Bay!” He pleaded for her to change her mind back.

“Nope, I’m sorry Tyler. I can’t marry you because you’re stealin my niece’s heart from me.”

‘What? Oh Thank God! I thought you were being serious.”

“I am serious, Sarah Kate loves you more than me and that just won’t do!” She couldn’t maintain her deadpanned look anymore and burst into a fit of giggles.

“It’s not funny Bay, you almost gave me a heart attack! Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

“I’m sorry; I couldn’t resist. Did you see the way she was gushin over you? She didn’t even care about me, until I told her she could get a real princess dress.”

“What can I say, the ladies love me. It’s the cross I have to bear.” Bailey whacked him hard in the chest with a pillow. “Oh, you’re going to pay for that!”

Bailey didn’t have a chance to escape before Tyler used his quick reflexes and had her pinned down on the couch. He immediately used his long fingers to relentlessly tickle her. He got Bailey laughing so hard that tears soon started trickling down her cheeks. Her pleas to stop were barely audible between her giggles. Before long, he was hovering over her body.

“Please Tyler, you’re gonna make me wet my pants if you don’t stop!”

He leaned in close until his lips were mere centimeters from hers. “You have to pay the toll first.” He smirked pressing his lips to hers. Tyler grazed his tongue lightly across her bottom lip causing Bailey to open her mouth just enough to allow an entrance for it. They broke apart after a few minutes, when Bailey gently pushed on Tyler’s chest.

“Sorry, but I really do have to pee now.” Tyler smiled as her cheeks flushed and sat up releasing her body from his grip. She stood up and picked the throw pillow off the floor from where Tyler had thrown it. She threw it at his head and laughing took off, afraid he’d chase her to retaliate.

Bailey returned a few minutes later, leaned down and placed a sweet little kiss on Tyler’s lips. “Don’t think I’m going to let you off the hook that easy for throwing that pillow at me. I’ll get you back when you least expect it.” He took Bailey’s hands in his and pulled her into his lap. “But right now, we have one more call to make.”

“I know, in a way I’m lookin forward to provin her wrong, but I’m nervous about her reaction. I’m tired of her insultin you and don’t want her to hurt your feelins.” She gently cupped his cheek with her palm and looked into his eyes with sincere concern.

Tyler turned into her palm and kissed it. “Bay, I’ll be fine. There’s nothing your sister can say that I probably haven’t heard before. I’m worried about her hurting you again though.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m going to be right here the whole time and if she starts to upset you, we can just hang up. Ok?”

“Thank you.” She brought her lips to his for a swift kiss.

“Before we call there is one thing I need to say. I want you to have your dream wedding! Anything you want, you tell me and I’ll make it happen! However, I will put my foot down when it comes to your sister. I know we can’t really get out of inviting her, but she WILL NOT be part of our wedding! And furthermore, if she starts to upset you and try to break us apart again, I will revoke her invitation. I made a promise to your parents, Michael, and myself that I will protect you and I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, including your sister!” After he got everything out he took a deep breath and waited for Bailey’s response.

“You done?” Tyler shook his head yes and she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her for a passionate kiss. “Just so you know, I had no intentions of askin Becca to be in our weddin. I appreciate that you want to protect me, but this is one battle I have to fight and hopefully resolve once and for all. Do you understand that?”

“Yeah I do.” He placed his hand behind her head and kissed her forehead.

“Thank you. I guess it’s time to get this over with.” She got off his lap, but huddled in close to his side for comfort. She took a deep breath and called Rebecca. “Hey Becca.”

“Hi.”

“I’m callin to let you know I’ve come to my senses and made a decision.”

“It’s about time! So when are you movin home?”

“I’m not.”

“But you just said you came to your senses”

“I did; I decided not to let you guilt trip me any more. I’m doin everything I can for Momma and Daddy and my life is here now.”

“Are you really gonna be that selfish!”

“I’m not selfish! I talk to Momma and Daddy every day, sometimes more than once. I also talk to all their doctors and Daddy’s therapists on a regular basis. I’ve been more involved and know more about what’s goin on with them then you do, so don’t you dare say I’m not doin enough!”

“I have Kara and things I have to take care of here; I can’t just drop everything to be with them every wakin minute.”

“Nobody is askin you to. But you barely visited Daddy when he was in the hospital so you don’t really know how hard it was to see him like that. I’m the one that has to make the difficult medical decisions, not you!”

“Momma and Daddy asked you to do that because you’re the one with the medical background. You accepted that responsibility, so don’t blame me for that!”

“I’m not! It’s overhelmin at times havin to hear all the bad news. I second-guess if I’m makin the right choices to help them and respect Daddy’s wishes all the time. Can’t you understand that I deserve to have a support system just like you and the rest of the family? Tyler and my friends here are my support system just like you have Jeff.”

“Tyler? Please! When will you see that relationship is goin nowhere? If you need a support system, move home.”

Tyler gave a gentle squeeze to Bailey’s thigh as she took a deep breath before responding. “Will you just stop! You don’t have a cotton pickin clue about our relationship! Tyler has been there for me through all of this, and certainly more than you’ve been. I don’t know what your problem is with him, but you better get over it fast! Tyler proposed last night and I said yes.”

“You’re gonna marry that asshole?”

“Oh my God! What is wrong with you? Tyler is one of the sweetest and most generous men I know. You would know that if you ever bothered to get to know him! I don’t understand why you don’t want me to be happy?”

“I’ve just been lookin out for you!”

“No you haven’t! Ever since I told you we were datin, you’ve been lookin for anything to make me hate him. But, I’m done listenin to you say nasty things about him and tell me our relationship is doomed! I should have stood up to you and put a stop to your animosity towards Tyler a long time ago! You need to get this through your thick skull, I love Tyler with all my heart and he loves me! Nothin you can say or do will ever change that! Tyler is goin to be part of our family whether you like it or not, so you better get over your prejudices towards him. As much as I love you, Jeff, and Kara, I won’t allow you to bully me anymore. I want you in our lives and we want to be in yours, so I Beg you Becca, PLEASE find it in your heart to give Tyler a chance and welcome him to the family! I don’t want to lose you, but I have to put Tyler first! Please, Please don’t make me chose between you! We’re gonna lose Daddy, I can’t lose you to!” Tears were streaming down her face as she finally expelled all the frustration and fears she’d been keeping in for a long time. Tyler immediately wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side and let Bailey cry into his chest.

“I don’t want to lose you either! I’m sorry if I upset you, I really thought I was looking out for you. I promise I will try to get to know Tyler.” Rebecca was now shedding tears of her own when Bailey’s words finally hit her and she saw Tyler comforting her.

“Thank you. That’s all I ask.”

“And Bailey, I know you’ve been doin a lot for Momma and Daddy. I’m sorry I made you feel like you weren’t doin enough! It’s just hard for me to see them this way and I thought maybe if you were here it would make things better. I’m just havin a really hard time and can’t really deal with Daddy’s Cancer this time.”

“Becca, I wish you would have told me that from the start. I would have understood that much more, than you givin me a bunch of excuses as to why you couldn’t go see them or help out more, and makin me feel like I wasn’t doin enough. I’m havin a harder time too and don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have Tyler, Em, Christina, and Freddy. Becca, it’s bad and Daddy’s not gonna get better. We need to be there for each other, not push each other away.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too. Becca, I love you.”

“I love you too Bailey.”

“Why don’t we promise to talk at least once a week to support each other and catch up.”

“I’d like that.”

“Ok, it’s a deal then. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Bailey, please tell Tyler I said congratulations. I’m glad he’s there to support you.”

“Thank you. Give Kara my love.”

“I will. Bye.”

Tyler wrapped his other arm around Bailey, pulling her into a hug that she gladly returned. “You ok?” She nodded her head into the crook of his neck. “I’m so proud of you; I know that wasn’t easy. I really think things will be better now that you got everything off your chest.”

He kissed the top of her head. They remained in their quiet embrace for several minutes before Tyler decided to lighten the mood and started tickling her sides. Once he knew Bailey was in a better place again, he stopped his relentless tickle attack and kissed her cheek. “So what do you feel like doing now? Want to watch a movie? Are you hungry? Want a nap?” Bailey shook her head no to all of his suggestions. “You’re going to have to help me out, because I’m out of ideas.” A devilish little smile appeared on her face as she took his hand, stood up, and pulled Tyler towards his bedroom. “Ahhh! Now why didn’t I think of this?” He literally swept bailey off her feet and carried her the rest of the way into his room, so they could spend the rest of the day exploring each other’s bodies.

Notes

WOW! I'm still overwhelmed y how many people are still reading and vested in this story. Thank you so much for all your kind words! This chapter is a bit of a filler, so I hope it's ok.