“Does Skylar know?” she asked.
“Yes. Although she didn’t take it well at first,” Eagle said. “She had a hard time wrapping her mind around it. Bull wanted to tell her before we went on a mission because he didn’t want her thinking he was off cheating on her or something. She kinda freaked out, and Bull was a mess on that op. We thought it was over between them, because if Skylar couldn’t accept what he did, there wasn’t really any way for that relationship to work. But I guess she thought about it while he was gone and decided to discuss it with him some more. She loved him too much to just let him go without a longer conversation. Then she was kidnapped . . . and suddenly it didn’t matter anymore.”
Taylor nodded. “I can understand that. You said that I couldn’t tell anyone, and I completely understand, but can I . . . is it okay to talk to Skylar about it?”
“Yes,” Eagle said immediately.
She was quiet for a moment, then said, “I have a question, but I’m not sure how to ask.”
“You can ask me anything,” Eagle told her. “Anything.”
“Why did you tell me? I mean . . . I’m glad you did, but we aren’t . . . shoot.”
“We aren’t dating,” Eagle finished for her.
She nodded.
“Honestly? I like you, Taylor. I could be wrong, but I think we clicked. From the first time I saw you in that parking lot, something drew me to you. We aren’t dating . . . yet. I’m not saying we will for certain, but with the connection I feel with you? I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened. But it doesn’t have to. Even if we’re nothing but friends, I’ll feel lucky to have you in my life. I’m not explaining this very well . . .” He sighed, his voice trailing off.
“No, you are,” Taylor said. “I feel the same way. I don’t have a lot of friends—most can’t handle my condition—but when I’m around you, and when I talk to you, I don’t even think about it. And believe me, that’s saying something, because it pretty much dictates everything I do in my life. I like you too, Eagle. A lot. But it scares me to think about being anything more with you, because I don’t want to do something that will mess up our friendship. Talking to you in the evenings has been the highlight of the last two weeks.”
“Nothing is going to mess up our friendship,” Eagle vowed. “And everyone in your life who’s cut you out because of your condition is an idiot. That’s like not wanting to be friends with someone in a wheelchair, or someone who’s blind or has some other medical condition. None of those things are the fault of the person who has them. I accept you as you are, just as you accept me.”
A tear formed in Taylor’s eye and slipped down her face. Eagle brought his hand up to wipe it away with his thumb. “Those aren’t angry tears, right?” he asked with a small frown.
She shook her head. “No. I’m just . . . overwhelmed. My own mother rejected me when I couldn’t bond with her, and ever since I was old enough to understand what was wrong with me, I figured I’d be alone.”
“First of all, there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with you. Second, your mom was stupid. A mother is supposed to love her children unconditionally. There were lots of different things she could’ve done to help you, even at a young age, but she didn’t even try. Fuck her.”
Taylor’s lips quirked.
“The bottom line is that you’re amazing,” Eagle continued. “You’re smart, and you already have my friends and employees wrapped around your finger. Hell, Skylar didn’t even know you, and she wanted to help make your life easier with the name tags. You didn’t take offense, which you would’ve had every right to, and instead made her feel really good about trying to help you. I wanted you to know about Silverstone. Not Silverstone Towing—that’s a whole different thing. My team and I are proud of what we do, and before you become too important to me to let go, I needed to tell you.”
“I’m honored,” Taylor told him.
Eagle took a deep breath and dropped his hand from her face. He wanted to pull her into a hug, but wasn’t sure if they were ready for that. He was encouraged by the fact that she hadn’t insisted they were only friends; it gave him hope for the future. For now, it felt good that they were on the same page. They’d take it one day at a time, and whatever happened between them would happen.
“You want to go back upstairs and see if anyone’s still here?” he asked.
“Actually, I want to play pinball,” she said with a small smile. “I used to be really good at it when I was a teenager. I spent a lot of time at the mall so I wouldn’t have to go back to my foster home, and I spent hours playing.”
“You had a bad foster experience?” Eagle asked, harsher than he’d meant to.
“Not really. It wasn’t bad . . . it just wasn’t good either. I was just there. I found it was easier not to try to get close to any of my foster parents or siblings. I knew they wouldn’t adopt me, I was just too weird.”
“You aren’t weird,” Eagle said, angry now. “Didn’t anyone try to understand your condition?”
Taylor shrugged.
He took that as a no. “Assholes,” he muttered, then stood. “If you want to play pinball, that’s what we’ll do. Get ready to lose, though,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood. “I’m the Silverstone champion.”
“It’s too bad your high score is going down, then,” Taylor teased right back.
“Whatever,” Eagle said.
“Wanna bet?”
Eagle stopped in his tracks and turned back to her. “Those are fightin’ words,” he told her with a grin.
“Bring it,” she countered.
Taylor couldn’t remember the last time she’d stayed out past midnight. It was now three in the morning, and she was lying in a recliner in the basement of Silverstone Towing, snuggled under one of the softest, fuzziest blankets she’d ever felt. Eagle was sleeping in another recliner across from her.
They’d played pinball until her fingers had felt sore from punching the flipper buttons. She and Eagle had been well matched. It had taken her a while to get into the swing of playing again, but once she had, she’d beaten Eagle five times, and he’d outscored her eight times. She hadn’t beaten his best score, but she had no doubt that with more practice, she could.
After they’d gotten tired of playing, they’d raided the kitchen for leftovers and brought them downstairs, turning on the television and watching Jurassic Park. They’d agreed that the franchise should’ve stopped after the first three. Then they’d just talked. About nothing and everything.
Eagle had told her about some of the more memorable tow jobs he’d gone on, and had even opened up about some of the people he and Silverstone had rescued while they’d been carrying out their missions.
She’d gotten the impression that all they did was go in and kill bad guys, but in reality, they’d freed a good number of women, children, and even men who’d been held prisoner by whoever they’d set out to eliminate. It had been an eye-opening conversation, and even without details about who and where, Taylor had been impressed.