King of my Heart

THREE

Ty walked into the race shop Tuesday after a DNF on Sunday. It sucked, but there wasn't anything he could do. Getting wrecked by someone two laps down while running in the top 5 did piss him off though. Wouldn't have been the first time that particular driver wrecked Ty on the track. It was definitely getting old. Jocelyn, of course, comforted him when he got home. He was grateful that he had her back in his life.
"Gibbs." Ty turned, seeing Denny walking faster to catch up with him.
"Hey."
"Sorry about the DNF. You did have a car to possibly win Sunday."
"Thanks. Doesn't change the fact that he was a dumbass for what he did."
"Well, you probably shouldn't have hit him as hard as you did earlier in the race." Denny said with a chuckle.
"Well, he was going to slow and holding me up." The pair got on the elevator. "So, I heard a rumor."
"What's that?"
"You and Jocelyn got married."
"Oh."
"It's funny because I didn't know you even knew she had come back to the states with Mercer."
"Where did you hear this?"
"DeLuca."
"Of course he'd be saying things."
"He said he saw you two in Marshall Park a month ago, both sporting rings."
"What was he doing in Marshall Park and not here?"
"His mom was in town and was able to take the day off. Is the rumor true?" Ty nodded. "I'm honestly not surprised something was going on between the two of you. She really brought out the best in you."
"She really does."
"I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Kasey is kind of jealous."
"Why?"
"You got married before we did."
"Do you need to get married? You've been together this long."
"Our relationship hasn't been the easiest." Denny said as the elevator doors slid open.
"I'm sure you'll be next." They headed into the conference room and took their respective seats. Ty soon un-clasped the chain that hung around his neck, housing his wedding ring. He figured there was no reason to keep things a secret anymore. Ty pulled the ring off the chain before sliding it on his finger, where it belonged. It never felt right hanging around his neck.
"Fancy piece of jewelry you got there, kid." Martin said, plopping down in the chair next to James Small.
"Feels better to wear the wedding ring on than hanging on a chain."
"Wedding ring? What? Everyone knows you and Elsie split. Who did you..."
"Okay, let's get this meeting started." Ty was thankful for Joe coming in when he did. He really didn't want to explain to Martin what had happened. It will come out eventually. The meeting went off without a hitch, Ty's DNF being the first to be brought up. After the meeting, Ty quickly got himself out of there before Martin could ask any more questions. He headed to the gym to get in his workout before heading out back to help the guys with pit practice. Ty checked his phone for messages, seeing one from his grandma. Who taught Patricia Gibbs to text, Ty didn't know. She wanted to know if he and Jocelyn could come for late lunch, just the two of them. Ty texted her back, letting her know he'd talk to Jocelyn first before giving her an answer.
"Gibbs." Ty turned, seeing DeLuca standing in the gym.
"What's up?"
"I just wanted to apologize for hitting on your girl the first time I met her. Nobody told me she was off-limits and..."
"Dude, don't even worry about it."
"You can't be too mad. She is fucking hot."
"Dude, I know." Ty said with a laugh. "Still trying to figure out how I got her."
"And I'm sorry for telling people what I saw the other day. Clearly y'all hadn't said anything yet."
"All good."
"Cool. See you for pit practice?"
"Absolutely." DeLuca left, much to Ty's relief. All he wanted for the next hour was silence. Well, besides his workout playlist he was about to blast in his ear buds.
***
Jocelyn was cleaning the kitchen when Ty walked into the apartment. They were having a late lunch with Ty's grandma and Jocelyn was nervous. What if Patricia didn't like Jocelyn? Could she handle not being liked by the matriarch of the Gibbs family? Jocelyn furiously wiped down the same part of the countertop when Ty walked into the kitchen.
"Hey, you ready?"
"About as ready as I'll ever be." Jocelyn replied, dropping the sponge back into the sink.
"You don't have to be nervous, Joce."
"Can't help it. What if she doesn't like me?"
"How can she not?" He asked, pulling her into his arms. "Mom likes you, grandpa likes you."
"This is your grandma though. I know how hard it is to impress grandmas."
"Everything will be fine. I'm going to take a quick shower and change. Then we'll go." Jocelyn just nodded before Ty disappeared into the bathroom. Jocelyn went back to cleaning the already spotless kitchen. By the time Ty came back into the kitchen, Jocelyn had scrubbed the glass top stove three times. "Joce." Jocelyn whipped her head around. "You can put the sponge down now. I think it's clean." Jocelyn put the sponge back in the sink before drying her hands. "Do you do this a lot?"
"What do you mean?"
"Nervous cleaning?"
"Anything to keep my mind busy and not think about what is going to happen." Ty just smiled.
"Come here." Ty held out his hand. Jocelyn took it. "Everything will be fine. Grandma is pretty easy-going. Let's go." Jocelyn grabbed her bag on the way out the door. The drive to the Gibbs household was silent, much to Jocelyn's delight. She needed the silence to prepare for herself for being in the same room as Patricia. When they finally made it, there was only one other car in the driveway. Ty got out first, walking around the front of the Supra to open the door for Jocelyn.
"I can open my own door." Ty said nothing, just held his hand out for her. Jocelyn took it, letting him help her out. She followed him up the driveway to the front porch. The front door opened before they made it to the top step.
"I was beginning to wonder if you two were going to show up."
"I told you that we'd be here." Ty said as he gave his grandma a hug. Patricia looked over at Jocelyn with a smile.
"And this must be Jocelyn."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Gibbs." Jocelyn held out her hand. Patricia ignored her hand, pulling her into a hug. "Oh!"
"No need for formalities, sweetheart. We're family now."
"Okay." She replied with a smile.
"Let's get some food in you two." Patricia turned and headed back into the house.
"I told you she'd like you." Jocelyn playfully smacked her husband on the arm as they followed her into the house. Jocelyn looked around as they headed to the kitchen. She saw the victory lane photos from the last 35 years, along with several trophies.
"She lets Coach keep racing stuff in the house?"
"Just a little bit. The living room is where all the family photos are."
"So, I can find baby Ty in the living room?" She asked with a smirk. Ty rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, unfortunately. Am I going to find baby photos of you in your things?"
"I honestly can't remember where all of mine and Evan's childhood photos are. I think Evan has them." They walked into the kitchen. Patricia had made a chicken pasta salad and some sweet tea for lunch. "This looks really good, Patricia."
"You can call me Patty, dear. And thank you. I'll give you the recipe." Jocelyn was so glad she was nervous about this lunch for nothing. They finished eating before heading out to the back deck to chat some more. Patricia asked Jocelyn about Evan and the kids, her dad, and what she planned on doing now that she's back.
"I haven't really thought about it. I think I still want to do therapy."
"She developed the app the team uses for therapy sessions."
"I thought I heard your grandpa mention that."
"I had an idea and I looked around for someone to help make my idea a reality and the right investor. Last time I checked, I believe we had 2.3 million downloads nationwide."
"That's impressive."
"I wanted to make sure therapy was accessible to as many people as possible." They talked for a whole longer before Ty and Jocelyn needed to head back.
"Take this home with you." Patricia said, handing Jocelyn an apple pie.
"No, we couldn't possibly..."
"I insist. Joe really needs to cut back on the sweets."
"Thank you, we appreciate it." Ty gave his grandma a hug before they headed out the door.