[2.1] THE BRIGHTEST LIGHTNING, tyler owens

The One He Knew He Loved

Jaymes slowly rose up from Tyler's shoulder and looked at him. "We should probably head back, Ma will be wondering where I went."

"But, I'm so comfy." Tyler whined.

She grabbed a nearby bottle of water and tossed it onto his stomach, making his abs tense and him pick up his head. Effectively getting him uncomfortable.

"Alright, Darlin, mission accomplished. I'm gonna grab the horses."

"Thank you."

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After Jaymes packed up the picnic and Tyler grabbed the horses, they headed back to the homestead.

They both got off and walked into the barn, then untacked, and put Tex and Rango back into the back pasture with Saige.

Jaymes showed Tyler around the barn at his request. Showing him the stalls, the corner for hay, and the corner for tack. When she got done, her eyes drifted up to the upper level. Where all her research was. She thought about it, and decided to skip it, at least for now. They needed to go find her Ma and introduce her to Tyler.

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Jaymes cursed slightly when she forgot the picnic blanket in the barn. "I'll be back, just stay here." She explained to Tyler, who nodded in reply.

When she walked in she saw the blanket right where she left it, on the railing leading to the upper level. She was gonna walk out and go back to Tyler, but one quick look wouldn't hurt, right?

She walked up and set her sights on her favorite thing, though she had forgotten about it, it still made her smile.

Turning the controller on, she watched as air made a mini vortex in the center of her small town.

"Build your own tornado?"

She wasn't surprised when she heard his voice. She expected him to wander up here sooner or later. She turned the tornado off and looked at him.

"Middle school science fair project."

"Bet you won." He said convincingly.

"Every year." She bragged.

Her smile slightly faded when she looked up and saw a picture from five years ago. Everyone has their arms around each other except Javi and Jaymes. He has his arm wrapped around her chest as his other arm and hand ruffled her hair. Still, the smiles on everyone's faces were prominent.

"I'm sorry about your old crew, Jaymes. I really am."

"How'd you know?" She asked, looking into his eyes.

"Danny and Dexter showed me an article from a while ago. Danny thought she recognized your name." He told her honestly.

She nodded as she took a few steps back and rested her head on his shoulder.

His hands snaked around her waist as her hands covered his and as he leaned forward slightly and kissed her right shoulder. That's how they stood for the next couple minutes, swaying slightly in sync together to a silent melody.

Jaymes picked her head up when she heard a set of footsteps coming up the stairs. She looked at Tyler knowingly and they broke apart. Just then, her Ma's face appeared out from the stairway.

"Hey, Ma."

"Jaymie Rae, why is there a cute boy up here with you?" She asked, pulling out Jaymes' middle name.

Jaymes ignored her, "Ma, this is Tyler."

Tyler took a step forward and stuck out his hand, "Pleasure ma'am."

She took his hand and shook it. "You can call me Kathy."

They both smiled at each other then broke apart as Kathy pointed to them. "I'm cooking up some dinner, you okay with eating outside?"

"Anything sounds great."

"Perfect, Jaymes set the table, Tyler you come with me." Kathy commanded.

They all walked out of the barn and went their separate ways.

When Tyler and Kathy went into the kitchen, Kathy immediately spoke. "So, what's your business with my daughter?"

Tyler wasn't surprised at the question just, caught off guard by how sudden it was. "My intentions are nothing but pure, ma'am."

"Kathy," She corrected. "I've seen the way you look at her, and the way she looks at you, there's something going on."

Tyler hesitated unsure of his response, but he knew what he had with Jaymes was real and he wanted her mother to know it too. "I think I love her."

She chuckled, "You think? Yeah, son, you're in love. Only love can make you that crazy, and that damn stupid."

He looked at her, listening intently.

"You came halfway across the state just to make sure she's okay. When anyone else would have simply called, you wanted to see her in person. To see what she was feeling. Only love can do that to someone."

She stopped mixing the salad and turned to face him. "She was my miracle baby, y'know."

She walked to the small window in front of the sink and stopped while Tyler followed her over; from here, they could see Jaymes setting up the table. Adjusting the cloth and the seats to make sure they were perfect.

"The day after she was born, the doctors told me that she wouldn't survive. She had a material infection called Sepsis. She had an extreme reaction to an infection, which caused her blood to clot. The doctors told us that she wouldn't make it two days. But, I knew, I knew that she wasn't gonna give up on life. She had too much to look forward to. So, as long as she kept fighting, so did we. On the third day, the doctors took her into surgery, and we were told to not get her hopes up. But, when they came out, she came out with them. Alive and beautiful. After that, I knew that she was gonna do something special, that one day she was gonna change the world. When she lost her crew, she lost her drive, her passion, for all of it. Moved to New York to work behind a desk. Then she met you, and everything came back. Her humor, her passion and drive. She probably wouldn't still be here if you weren't. Tyler, please don't fuck this up, she's as happy as I've ever seen her. You're good for her."

"I won't, I promise." He said looking into her eyes, sealing his promise.

"I know you won't." She smiled as she patted his shoulder.

"Alright, now, grab the salad and let's go."

He grabbed the salad and followed Kathy out the door, ready to see Jaymes again. Ready to see the one he knew he loved.

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Chapter 10 done! Hope you enjoy!
Word Count: 1080