Finding a New Life Ch. 18-19

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"Daddy!" Mia screamed as Lily and Tyler walked into the house the next morning.

"Hey princess," Tyler said with a big smile as he lifted Mia into his arms and gave her a tight hug.

"Dadada!" David gurgled, trying to toddle over.

"Hey little man," Tyler grinned as he watched his son walk on wobbly legs. "I've missed you guys," he added. Tyler straightened up and gave his mother a hug.

"I'm glad that's over," Caroline said softly. Tyler nodded and glanced at Lily out of the corner of his eye. "Lily will be fine," Caroline told her son.

"Dinner is at our house tonight if you're up to it. Grace won't be there because she's sill in the hospital obviously, but we'd love to have you, Lily and the kids over," Caroline added.

"I take it dad dropped the divorce suit," Tyler observed.

"We're working on it," Caroline said. Tyler smiled and looked back as Lily disappeared from the room, David in her arms. "I am sorry for the custody suit," Caroline added. Tyler ran a hand through his hair.

"Let's just forget about it," he suggested.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How are you feeling?" Grant asked, walking into the hospital room. Grace smiled and looked down at the tiny baby squirming in her arms.

"I'm feeling good. Between having Hope and Ty being found not guilty, it's been a good week," Grace said, her eyes shining. Grant nodded and pressed his lips against Grace's before pressing a kiss on his daughter's tiny cheek.

"I bet Lily's glad to have Ty home," Grant agreed. Grace nodded and ran a finger down Hope's cheek.

"I can't believe she's here," Grace breathed. Grant smiled. "She's so beautiful," she added.

"So are you," Grant said. Grace smiled and passed Hope over to Grant.

"Hey sis," Tyler said a few days later as Grant and Grace walked into the living room of his mother's house.

"It's good to see you," Grace murmured, giving Tyler a hug. "That orange just didn't suit you," she added. Tyler chuckled and turned to watch his brother in law unbuckle the straps of the infant car seat and pull a cranky Hope into his arms.

"Let me see my niece," Tyler said, holding out his arms. Grant transferred the tiny infant into Tyler's arms and he smiled as he looked her over. "She's beautiful," Tyler told Grace, leaning over and giving his sister a kiss on the cheek.

"How was your homecoming?" Grace asked her brother. Lily looked over from where she was helping Mia tie her shoe.

"Not too bad. It was relaxing," Tyler answered. Grace looked at Tyler in surprise. "Not now Grace," he added when Lily walked over. Grace gave her friend and sister a big hug before Lily looked over at Hope.

"God Grace, you're going to have to secure her in the basement to keep the boys away from her," Lily joked. Grace grinned and Grant chuckled.

"I've already talked to Greg about building a tower," Grant said with a grin.

"You guys are awful," Tyler said laughing.

"And how will you feel about Mia dating?" Grace asked innocently. Tyler looked over at his daughter.

"Let's not cross that bridge until we get there," Lily advised.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Why can't I go?" Mia whined.

"We've been over this Mia. Carly's parents won't be home, so you are not spending the night," Lily told her daughter.

"But I've known Carly for years!" Mia protested.

"I'm aware of that. You still aren't spending the night without her parents being there," Lily said.

"It's not fair!" Mia cried.

"Life isn't fair Mia. You can go to the party, but you will be home by nine thirty," Lily said firmly.

Lily looked up as Tyler walked in and sighed as Mia ran over to her father.

"I can spend the night at Carly's tonight, can't I daddy?" Mia asked. Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes and met Tyler's gaze over their daughter's head.

"I'm with your mother on this one Princess. I don't want you spending the night at Carly's without her parents home," Tyler said.

"But Josh will be there," Mia said. Lily shook her head as the reasons for her daughters persistence finally made more sense. Mia had made no effort to hide the fact that she had a major crush on her best friend's older brother.

Lily poured a glass of lemonade and slid it across the counter to Tyler before pouring herself a glass. Lily thought back to the last decade and couldn't believe her daughter was thirteen, almost fourteen already. "I heard from Jenni's mother," Tyler said softly. Lily looked up, her eyes narrowed.

"What did she want?" Lily asked. Tyler handed Lily a letter and her eyes widened. "If this kid is yours, why didn't Jenni tell you when you filed for divorce?" Lily wanted to know. Tyler shook his head.

"I don't know, but before I take this as gospel, I'm having a paternity test done," Tyler said.

Lily nodded. "That sounds wise, but why did they wait until all this time to say anything about him?" Lily asked.

"Jenni's dad passed away last year, and I guess her mom isn't doing very well these days and wants the the to be raised by family," Tyler said.

"When's the paternity test being done?" Lily wanted to know.

"Next week. Gail is flying in with Catie next Tuesday and the the test will be Wednesday morning," Tyler answered.

"When will the results be in?" Lily murmured, taking a sip of her lemonade.

"I'm having them rushed, but it'll still take a few days," Tyler said.

~~~~~~~~

"Hello Gail," Tyler said politely. Lily squeezed his hand gently.

"Tyler." Gail pushed a young girl forward gently. "This is Catie," she introduced. Lily sighed as she studied the girl's face; there was no doubt in her mind that she was Tyler's daughter.

"My God, she looks a lot like Mia," Lily breathed.

"Catie, this is your father," Gail said gently. Catie pretended not to hear her grandmother and pushed her ear buds further into her ears. Gail shook her head with a sigh. "I'm sorry, this has been hard on her," Gail said.

"I can imagine," Lily murmured.

"Where are your kids?" Gail wanted to know.

"School. We haven't told them about this yet," Lily answered. Gail nodded as she and Catie followed Tyler and Lily to the car.

"So Catie, how old are you?" Lily asked while they waited for the waitress to bring their lunch.

"I just turned eleven," Catie answered, taking a sip of her water. "How long did you wait for my parents to get divorced before you started banging my dad?" Catie wanted to know. Lily and Tyler glanced at each other.

"That is inappropriate," Gail scolded.

"It's true though! Lily's the reason that my parents weren't together before he killed mom!" Catie exclaimed. Tyler ducked down a little as people turned and stared.

"Catie, that's enough," Gail said firmly.

They ate the rest of their meal in silence. "I'll see you at the clinic tomorrow morning," Gail told Tyler softly. Tyler nodded and Gail started to follow her granddaughter out of the diner.

"Gail," Tyler called. Gail turned around. "I'm sorry about all of this." Gail gave a small smile and nodded.

"I'll see you in the morning," Gail said again before leaving the diner.

"What'd the results show?" Lily asked a few days later even though she already knew the answer.

"Jenni's birth control failed; I'm Catie's father," Tyler answered.

"Why do I have to stay with them?" Catie wanted to know as she watched her grandmother unload her bags.

"Because I can't take care of you the way you need to be taken care of and you have a brother and a sister," Gail told Catie.

"I don't want to stay here!" Catie whined.

"I know you don't sweetie, and I wish you didn't have to, but I can't. Look, I know you blame your father for everything, but he didn't even know your mother was pregnant. She never told him about you," Gail said.

"He isn't my father, he's just a sperm donor," Catie grumbled.

"Catie, that's the past. Now that he knows about you, he's more than willing to be a father to you," Gail told Catie.

"Wonderful. An absent father to go with a dead, absent mother. Oh wait, he killed her, that's why she's dead," Catie reminded Gail. Gail sighed and shook her head, looking up as Lily walked out onto the front porch.

"Catie, I know this is hard for you," she began.

"You don't know anything you bitch! If it wasn't for you and your whoring ways, my mom and dad would be together!" Catie shouted.

"Mom, who's this?" Mia asked as she and David got off of the bus and ran towards the house. Lily sighed. "Mia, David, this is Catie; she's your sister," Lily said. Mia and David and Catie all stared at each other, as if they were sizing each other up.

"How old are you?" Catie asked Mia.

"I'll be fourteen in two months," Mia answered.

"So you slept with my father before he met my mother?" Catie asked, turning back towards Lily who nodded. "Now I know you're some kind of whore," Catie said. Lily sighed.

"Mia, David, go inside the house and start your homework," Lily instructed. Mia and David waited a moment before turning back to Catie. Lily knelt down in front of her step-daughter. "Listen to me Catie. I know you've been through a lot and you feel lost and alone. I know, I've been there. I didn't know your mother very well, but I've known your father since I was ten years old. He's a good man," Lily said softly.

"Then why did he kill my mother?" Catie fired. Lily sighed again.

"He didn't want to, and when you're older, he'll explain it to you," Lily answered.

"I won't stay with a murderer," Catie said firmly.

"Catie Lynn, you don't have a choice. You will stay here and get to know your father because I can't take care of you any longer. You will mind your manners and do as you're told," Gail said, her voice just as firm as Catie's. Lily could see the tears of frustration welling up into Catie's eyes.

"Catie, why don't you go inside and start unpacking. Your room is upstairs, third door on the left," Lily said gently. Catie gave Gail a tight hug before picking up one of her suit cases and walked into the house. Lily followed Catie with her eyes. "Get to your homework!" she called to Mia and David who scurried back to the dining room table.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"So Catie, how are you liking your classes?" Tyler asked at dinner.

"What's to like about them?" Catie wanted to know.

"I like my history class," Mia piped up.

"That's only because you have a crush on Evan," David said. Mia tossed a piece of her bread at her brother.

"That's enough," Tyler warned.

"What happened to Josh?" Lily teased.

"Moom!" Mia whined. Lily grinned and Tyler rolled his eyes.

"She's just mad because Josh has a girlfriend," David said with a grin.

"If you even think about throwing that bread at your brother, you can kiss going to the dance good-bye," Lily warned. Mia pouted but put the ball of bread on her plate on her plate. "Is there something wrong with your dinner Catie?" Lily asked.

"I'm allergic to tomato," Catie said. Tyler's eyes widened and he reached to lift the plate away.

"No you aren't. Gail gave me a list of the things you're allergic to, what you like, don't like and she said that spaghetti is your favorite food," Lily told Catie. Tyler and Lily exchanged glances as Catie took a reluctant bite of her spaghetti.

"This is better than grandma's," Catie admitted reluctantly. Lily smiled.

"We'll let her think hers is better, we don't want to hurt her feelings," Lily said. Catie smiled back, a rare but genuine smile.

"She hates me," Tyler groaned.

"She thinks you deserted her," Lily reminded Tyler.

"I didn't even know she existed," Tyler protested.

"Give her time Ty," Lily suggested. Before Tyler could say anything else, the phone rang. Lily finished folding the clothes while she waited for Tyler to complete the call. "What's going on?" Lily asked.

"I have to go back into the office. Someone's trying to hack in," he answered, brushing a kiss over Lily's cheek before leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-2 months later-

Lily stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, but before she could cover herself completely, the door flew open and Catie ducked in. "Sorry!" Catie exclaimed. She tried to look away, but the scars on her step mother's body captivated her. "What happened?" she wanted to know. Lily sighed.

"Let me dry off and get dressed and we'll talk in a few minutes," Lily suggested.

"My mom really did that?" Catie asked, her voice small.

"Yes, she did," Tyler said from the doorway.

"That's why you killed her?" Catie wanted to know. Tyler nodded.

"I didn't want to hurt your mom. If she hadn't been trying to kill Lily, I would have let her just go to jail," Tyler said.

"That went easier then I expected," Lily murmured when they were in their room for the night. Tyler nodded, his eyes clouded with doubt. "Ty, it's okay," Lily said softly. Tyler shook his head.

"I should have known that I had a daughter out there somewhere," Tyler murmured.

"How? Did you have unprotected sex with anyone other than me or Jenni?" Lily asked dryly.

"No, never," Tyler said, looking at Lily. He grinned when his brain finally processed what Lily was wearing; a silky bathrobe. His eyes widened and he smiled appreciatively when Lily untied the knot in the sash and let the robe fall to the floor. "I like you like this," he said, his eyes twinkling. Lily smiled as Tyler gently pushed her down on the bed. "You're so amazing," Tyler whispered as he knelt between Lily's legs; pushing a finger up inside her moist heat. Lily moaned and arched towards him as Tyler continued to torment her clit mercilessly. Lily was on the verge of cumming when Tyler thrust hard and deep inside her.

"Oh God," Lily moaned. Tyler grinned.

"I'm not that good," he teased, nibbling on her ear as he tweaked a nipple with his fingers. Lily met him thrust for thrust, each thrust faster and harder than the previous thrust. Tyler sucked gently on one of Lily's nipples making her cry out loudly.

"Tyler!" Lily exclaimed as his cock brushed repeatedly over her g-spot. Lily moaned loudly as Tyler sped up his thrusts and slowed them down strategically. Lily fought to maintain his rhythm.

"I ..." Tyler thrust once, hard and deep. "Love ..." he thrust harder still. "You," he managed, thrusting in as far as he could. His cock brushed by Lily's g-spot again as Tyler brushed his fingers over her clit causing Lily to come, hard, fast and violently, letting out a low pitched scream. They lay together, their bodies locked in an embrace, as if they were afraid to let go.

"I love you too," Lily managed to say before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.