Stealing Home by Tara Wyatt

Seventeen

Dylan:Hey. Just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing.

Maggie:Hey. I’m doing fine. I have a job interview this afternoon and another tomorrow morning.

Dylan:That’s great! Not that I’m surprised.

Maggie:Thanks.

Dylan:I miss you.

Maggie:I might miss you too. A little. Maybe.

Dylan: Can we please meet for lunch? I just want the chance to clear things up, that’s all.

Maggie:I don’t know if that’s a good idea.

Dylan:Just one meal. Then, if you still want nothing to do with me, I’ll leave you alone. I promise.

Maggie:I’m probably going to regret saying this, but okay. Lunch.

Dylan:Tomorrow, after your interview?

Maggie:Sure, I guess.

Dylan:Great. How about that taco place you like? The one on Commerce?

Maggie:You’re an evil man. Tempting me with tacos.

Dylan:Noon?

Maggie:Okay. Noon.

* * *

Maggie wiped her palms on the skirt of her sleeveless red dress as she stepped inside the Taco Tornado. The lunch crowd was in full swing, with a long lineup of people in front of the takeout counter, and almost every table in the restaurant occupied. The loud hum of conversation mingled with the Latin pop music piped in through the speakers, and the air smelled like carne asada and cilantro. A waitress moved past Maggie, her tray laden with margaritas, and Maggie wondered if it’d be rude to order one, just to take the edge off.

She stepped farther inside, her eyes scanning the tables, looking for Dylan. From a far corner, he caught her eye and waved. A rush of twisted emotions engulfed her, leaving her feeling happy and relieved and sad and anxious all at the same time. It was enough to nearly make her dizzy as she picked her way across the patterned floor tiles.

“Hi,” Dylan greeted her, dressed casually in jeans and a black Nike T-shirt. He looked good, and she wasn’t sure how that made her feel. A part of her wanted him to look like crap, to look how she felt. But maybe that wasn’t fair; she didn’t know. He stepped forward and tentatively pulled her in for a delicate hug. His scent enveloped her, making her stomach twist with barely contained butterflies. The feel of his body pressed lightly against hers made her throat clog with emotion, so she stepped back quickly in the name of self-preservation.

“Hi,” she finally said, rubbing her lips together and fiddling with the strap of her purse. She decided to hang back a bit and let him take the lead, since he was the one who’d invited her to lunch. It felt like a safe decision in an otherwise precarious situation.

“I got us a table in the back room so we can talk.” He gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “Quieter, more private.”

Adrenaline spiked through Maggie at the thought of being alone with Dylan, but she nodded.

Oh, yeah. That margarita was for sure happening.

She followed him into the back room, normally reserved for large groups or parties, her feet tangling up with each other when she saw another man sitting at the lone table in the otherwise empty room. For a tiny, terrible second, she thought the man was Caleb, but as she took another halting step forward, she realized it wasn’t. She didn’t know who he was, but he was dressed in a suit with a laptop open on the table in front of him. Other gadgets littered the table, things Maggie didn’t recognize, things that looked like…was that a blood pressure cuff?

“What’s going on?” she asked, taking a step back.

Dylan held his hands up as though approaching a wild animal. “Hear me out. I know this is gonna sound crazy, but just listen. This is Bill Linden, from the Dallas division of the FBI.”

“Why are the FBI here? What did you do?” she asked as she took another step back.

Bill chuckled and rose from the table. “Dylan hired me to give him a lie detector test.”

Maggie’s eyes bounced from Bill to Dylan to the equipment and back to Dylan. “Oh,” she said softly. He was going to take a lie detector test for her? Well, that was…unexpected.

He stepped forward cautiously and took her hands in his. “I want to tell you the truth. About everything. I want you to know that I’m not lying to you, and that you can trust me.”

Maggie bit her lip, her eyes once again flicking to the equipment on the table. “So how does this work, exactly?”

Dylan smiled, relief lighting up his eyes. “Bill’s gonna hook me up to this thing, and then you can ask me anything you want. He’ll tell you if I’m telling the truth or lying.”

“We’ll set it up so that you’re facing Dylan, and I’m seated behind him. I’ll check the readings with each answer he gives. I’ll nod if he’s telling the truth, and I’ll shake my head if he’s lying.” Bill hunched over the computer, beginning to get things set up.

“And I can ask you anything?” Maggie asked, a tiny ray of hope finding her through the clouds of the lies and the secrets.

Dylan spread his arms wide. “Anything.”

“Okay. But just know that me hearing you out doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I just want answers.”

He nodded. “I understand.”

“Ready if you are,” said Bill, and Maggie took a seat at the table, watching as he hooked Dylan up to the machine. Once everything was in place, Dylan relaxed back in his seat, his legs sprawled in front of him and almost touching hers. “I’m going to ask you a few test questions to make sure everything is set up correctly. What’s your full name?”

“Dylan Joshua McCormick.” Bill gave a little nod.

“Where were you born?”

“Ivy Hills, Texas.” Another nod.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight.” Nod.

“Okay, we’re good to go. Over to you, Miss Jennings,” said Bill, his attention on the computer screen.

Maggie opened her mouth and then froze completely. “I have no idea where to start.”

“Take your time,” said Dylan. “I’m not going anywhere.” And then he smiled, the one that made the corner of his mouth turn up and his eyes crinkle, and she felt something inside her relax.

“Okay, um…were you ever planning to tell me that your father paid my college tuition?”

“Shit. Right to the hard stuff. Okay. No. I wasn’t planning to tell you.” Bill nodded and anger flared through Maggie’s chest.

“Why not?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest in an effort to soothe the burn smoldering there.

Dylan sighed. “Because I knew how it’d make you feel, and it was in the past. There was nothing I could do to change it or take it back, and I just wanted to focus on moving forward with you. But I know now I should’ve told you. You had a right to know the truth, and it wasn’t fair of me to hold it back. I was selfish.” He paused and looked down at his lap, his fingers woven together. “After we got back together, I was scared I’d lose you again if I told you. And I knew finding out would hurt you. I was trying to protect you, and I guess protect us. I thought I was doing the right thing.” Bill nodded. Dylan was telling her the truth.

Maggie nodded slowly, taking his answer in. A part of her wondered if he hadn’t been right to keep the secret. Like he’d said, knowing didn’t change anything, and finding out had only hurt her. Then again, he’d made that choice for her in the first place.

“Why did you choose that ten years ago? Instead of staying with me?”

“Again, I felt like I was doing the right thing. I hated the idea of you saddled with all kinds of student debt or not going at all. I know how much going to college meant to you. I wanted to give you that. You need to know that breaking up with you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” Bill nodded.

Tenderness unfurled inside her, but she pushed it aside. She still needed answers before she’d let her heart do any thinking for her. “But you could’ve told me why. You didn’t have to keep it secret.”

“Can you phrase that as a question, please?” asked Bill.

“Sorry. Why did you keep it a secret from me ten years ago?”

“Because I figured if you knew, you wouldn’t take it.”

“So you forced me to accept charity I didn’t want.” There was more of that anger, burning hot right in the center of her chest.

Dylan’s gaze dropped to the floor. “I did. It was an asshole move. One I regret.” Another nod from Bill.

“I don’t know how to move past all this manipulation. I accept that you’re telling the truth, but it doesn’t change what you did.”

He looked up, meeting her eyes. His face was tight with remorse, regret etching lines around his eyes. “No, it doesn’t. But I swear, if you give me one last chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

Maggie’s chest felt tight, her brain buzzing. She wanted to forgive him, wanted to fall into his arms and let him catch her, but she held herself back. She needed to know that taking another chance on Dylan wouldn’t make her the world’s biggest, most pathetic sucker. “Have you ever manipulated me about anything else?”

“No, never.” But Bill shook his head, and Maggie’s hopeful heart sank.

“You’re lying.”

Dylan twisted to look at Bill and then froze. “Oh. Oh, yeah. There was one other time. It was recent too.”

“What?”

He grinned, and she had no idea what to make of that. “Your rules. I broke them on purpose because I wanted a second chance with you. You were using them to keep me at arm’s length, and I needed to get closer to show you what we could have.”

Maggie drummed her fingers on the table. Given how things had turned out—at first, at least—she couldn’t be too mad about that one. “Any other times?”

“No. And I won’t do it again. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson. I think it comes naturally, given the man I grew up with, but I know I can do better.” He met her eyes again. “You make me want to be better than all of that. When I’m with you, I feel like the man I could be, instead of the man I hate.” Bill nodded. Even if Maggie wasn’t so sure she made Dylan a better man, he certainly felt that way.

“Did you know anything about your father getting me fired?”

“No, not a damn thing. And he and I are through now. He’s out of my life for what he did to you.” Bill nodded.

Her eyes went wide, and she leaned forward, laying her hand over Dylan’s. “Seriously? Are you okay?”

He gave her fingers a squeeze. “I’m good. It was a long time coming. And he deserved it for hurting you.”

The room felt like it was spinning around her, and sweat gathered between her breasts. “If y’all will excuse me for a moment, I need to use the ladies’ room.” Without waiting for an answer, she pushed up out of her seat and scurried for the safety of the restroom, away from Dylan’s remorseful eyes and his truth and what it all meant.

It was all so messy and complicated. Dylan couldn’t help who he was or how he’d been raised, and he seemed genuine in his determination to do better. His remorse and regret for everything were sincere. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t pull the same shit in the future. She knew she was at a crossroads, where she could either choose to forgive him now that she knew the truth, or she could leave him in the past. She leaned on the counter, bracing herself against the tiled surface. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and listened, really, really hard, for the small voice inside her, the one she tried to tune into whenever she felt lost or confused or hopeless. Sometimes, it sounded like Mama’s voice, but today, it sounded like her own.

I miss him.

Three simple words. A tiny problem with the world’s easiest solution. It was messy, yes, but also straightforward at the same time.

She checked her appearance in the mirror and then made her way back to their table, sinking back down into her seat. “I’ve got a few more questions for you while you’re still hooked up to that thing.”

Dylan smiled. “Shoot.”

“If we…and that’s still an if…but if we did get back together, what happens when our careers are in conflict?”

He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

“Well, my career’s important to me. What happens if you get traded?”

“Let’s not borrow trouble, Mags. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But I can promise you that while baseball will be a big part of our lives, it won’t be the center.” He inched forward in his chair and took her hands. “Us. We’re the center. Everything else is details. More than anything, I want you to be happy, so we’ll figure it all out. I promise. Okay?” Bill nodded.

We’re the center. It was the truest thing he’d ever said. Ten years ago, he’d been her center, and he’d easily resumed that role in the present. Her world made so much more sense with him in it. Because together, they were the center. Of everything. She twined her fingers with his, letting his warmth seep into her, all the way down to her bones. But she had one last question for him.

“Do you love me?” She’d heard him say it to his father, but now, with her heart in her throat and hope filling her up, she needed to hear him say it.

He smiled softly, his eyes bright. “Magnolia Jennings, I’ve loved you since I was eighteen, and I never stopped loving you. Yeah, babe, I love you. More than anything.” Hearing those words from Dylan sucked the air out of her lungs, and she pulled in a shuddering breath, inching closer to him.

“Say it again.”

“I love you, Maggie. Always have, always will.”

She closed the distance between them and kissed him. It didn’t matter if Bill had nodded or not, because she believed him. His lips on hers, soft and gentle, felt like coming home. Felt like finding something she’d thought was forever lost. His kiss tasted like promise and hope and new beginnings.

“I forgive you, D,” she whispered against his lips.

“Thank God.” And he kissed her again.