Amazingly, the evening progressed comfortably and, by the time her father turned on the late edition of the news, Amie was sure he liked Tom.
Even Mom behaved sweetly toward him now.
“Tom, dear, the guest bedroom is all ready for you.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Potter.”
She yawned, placing a delicate hand over her mouth. “Gracious! I’m tired. See you all in the morning. Amie, you will be here for breakfast, won’t you?”
“Yes.” She planned to drive home tonight and return bright and early tomorrow. “I’ll be here.”
Mom blew her a kiss as she left the family room.
The night wore on and Amie began to wonder if Dad would ever get sleepy and allow her some time alone with Tom. But when Stephen arrived home and settled down in front of the television, she gave up.
“Guess I’ll go home.” She glanced at Tom. “I hope you don’t mind me abandoning you this way.”
“Not at all,” he replied graciously. “I’m in good company.”
“G’night, Princess,” Dad called from his recliner.
“Take ‘er easy, sis,” Stephen mumbled in between a fist full of corn chips.
Tom offered to walk her to the door.
“Will you be all right here?” She almost feared leaving him in the company of Dad and Stephen.
“I’ll be fine. I like your family.”
Amie smiled. “They like you, too. I can tell.”
He grinned.
“I thought we could eat lunch over at my place tomorrow,” she said, praying they’d have time to talk then. “And later we’ve been invited to my friend’s house for fellowship and board games.” Amie shrugged into her coat with his mannerly assistance. “Does that sound OK?”
“Sounds great.”
She longed to kiss him but remembered his vow to God. Somehow that special promise made her feel secure, evidencing that Tom was a man of his word.
“Well, good night.”
His expression softened. “‘Night, Amie.”
Leaving the house, she felt oddly disappointed that he wasn’t sorrier to see her go. On the other hand, she was elated that Tom had won her family over.
Climbing into her car, she started the engine. As she drove home she sent up prayers of thankfulness. God knew things could have been worse!
~*~
For lunch the following day, Amie created peanut butter and jelly sandwiches extraordinaire for a late afternoon lunch at her condo. While eating, she and Tom laughed together about Tom’s first racquetball experience. Her father had insisted he come to the club this morning, along with Stephen and Gregory and a highly competitive game ensued between the four men.
“I still can’t believe your dad and I won,” Tom remarked as they moved to the living room after their meal. “I mean, I never played before.”
“You must be a natural.”
He snickered. “Right. I won’t be able to move a single sore muscle tomorrow.” He walked to the grandfather clock and appraised the piece with admiration. “Nice. You’ve got an impressive place.”
“Thanks, but it’s not mine any more. I have to be out by the end of next month.”
Tom bobbed his head and continued strolling around the living room, pausing every now and then to admire a photo or to take a closer look at a framed print. “Do you think you’ll be happy living in a small, country town like Tigerton after all this?” He waved his arm, indicating to their surroundings. “Plush carpet, expensive furniture, fine paintings, prints and knickknacks.”
She shrugged. “Sure? Why not? Can’t I take this stuff with me?”
Tom grinned wryly.
Smiling, Amie picked up a throw pillow off the colorful floral-printed sofa and threw it at him. “I’ll have you know, Tom Anderson, that I don’t need any of these things to be happy.”
“No?”
“No.” She stepped closer, feeling as though her now-sober expression matched Tom’s. “I’m a single woman who, up until recently, made a lot of money. I bought what I wanted, but I never needed any of this.” She cast one quick glance around the well-decorated living room before her gaze came back to his. “I’ve learned that it’s the Lord who puts joy in my heart but, Tom...just being with you makes me happy.”
“You’re sure about that?”
She tipped her head. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Well, in that case...” Tom reached into his blue jeans pocket and pulled out a diamond solitaire, set in sterling. Slipping the ring onto her left-hand finger, he got down on one knee. “Will you marry me, Amie?”
Gazing at him, she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry—so she conceded to both. And with all that emotion in the way, the most she could do was nod a reply.
Standing to his feet, he chuckled lightly. “Does that mean yes?”
“Yes,” she fairly choked, throwing her arms around his neck.
He hugged her tightly, then pulled them back and held both her hands in his. “After you left last night, your brother decided to turn in, leaving your dad and me. I end up showing him the engagement ring and I asked his permission to propose marriage to you.”
“What did my father say?”
“Not much. He said you’re an adult and could make up your own mind. He said I didn’t need his approval, although after racket ball this morning, he told me he approved.”
Amie sent a quick glance upward.
“That was enough for me. I decided to ask you to marry me right away.”
“And wouldn’t it be perfect to have our wedding reception at our new hotel?”
He looked skeptical. “That won’t be until September or October, maybe later if the crew runs into snags, bureaucratic or otherwise. I was hoping we’d get married this summer.”
“But it’s only a matter of weeks to wait until our hotel is finished.” Amie tipped her head. “Please? It would mean so much to me.”
“Then we’ll get married this fall.” Smiling, he walked to the sofa and sat down. “I want you to be happy and if having the reception in our hotel makes you happy—”
“It does.” She seated herself on the other end, leaving a generous amount of space between them. In that moment, she wanted his convictions to be her convictions, and she’d made her own vow to the Lord. Heavenly Father, I will not tempt this man to break his promise to You. I’d love to kiss him right now, but help me keep my feelings in check until after the wedding.
And, in that same, prayerful state of mind, Amie realized it was time to share her heart.
“Tom, before we start seriously discussing our future, there’s something you need to know about my past.”
“It doesn’t matter, Amie,” he insisted.
“But it matters to me.”
“All right.” His tone sounded thick with acquiescence. “I’m listening.”
Chewing her lower lip, she wondered how to even begin.
“You know, I read Hal’s journals,” Tom said. “You never finished them, did you?”
She shook her head.
“Well, I’m not completely done with the last one myself, but I got far enough along to have figured out that something pretty soul-shattering happened to you about...four years ago.”
“Three.” Amie frowned. “But how could what happened to me be recorded in my uncle’s diary? He never knew. No one did—or does.”
“Hal wrote that he sensed something had happened. He mentioned his visit with your family over Easter. He’d looked forward to it because the holiday always reminded him of your spiritual birthday...and we both know Hal was our spiritual father in that regard.”
“Yes…” Amie smiled.
“Hal wrote that he saw you at supper and everything seemed fine,” Tom relayed. “You talked about going to a company party later in the evening. You were smiling and happy, but the next day you’d completely changed. You appeared...skittish, that’s his word, not mine, and he wrote that he’d caught you crying your heart out a couple of times. Hal added that
your mind seemed a million miles away. He asked you if something was wrong and if you wanted to talk, but you refused, and pretty much stayed in your room the rest of the weekend. Hal said in his journal that it appalled him that none of your family members acted the least bit concerned about you when he felt so troubled. He began praying for you, Amie, and did so every day since then.”
Listening to Tom’s recitation hurt more than Amie imagined anything in life ever could. His words were like a searing brand upon her memory, so hot and horrid that she wanted to scream from the pain. She rose from the sofa and walked over to the front windows and stared out over the soggy spring lawn.
“Look, Amie, you don’t have to tell me any more than what I learned from Hal’s writings.”
She whirled around to face him. “But I want you to know.” An errant tear rolled down her cheek. “I want you to know everything. I need to share this with you, so you’ll understand.”
Tom sat back. “OK, I’m all ears.”
She brushed away the moisture leaking from her eyes. “I attended a party that night. I’d had the afternoon off but went back to work because everyone at Maxwell Brothers was celebrating the acquisition of a large account and I didn’t want to miss out on the fun since I’d had a hand in the acquisition. Besides, there was an intern who promised to be there, and I’d been flirting with him for months. That night was his last night with our company so, of course, I wanted to say good-bye.”
She folded her arms tightly, peered at her cream-colored carpeting, and continued. “I was such a little fool. I don’t know what I was thinking. And that’s just it. I wasn’t thinking. I accepted a couple glasses of champagne, against my better judgment, and when he asked me to drive him back to the dorm in which he lived I jumped at the opportunity.”
Every detail played out before her with an unnatural clarity. “When we arrived, he asked me up to his place and I willingly followed him inside. It was very romantic at first.” Amie swallowed a painful lump, urging herself to go on. “He put on soft music and I let him kiss me. Then...and then everything happened so fast. I tried to stop him. I said no, but—”
She covered her mouth with both hands and choked on a sob while squeezing her eyes closed. Every muscle in her body felt taut as the rest of the horror washed over her. When she looked up again, Tom was standing in front of her, his face a mask of sympathy, coupled with something else, something undefined.
“Did he rape you, Amie?” Tom’s tone sent a chill right through her.
She managed a nod as the familiar trembling began.
“Did you report the incident? Tell police?”
“Tom, don’t you see?” she cried. “It was my fault! His pastor said so and I think he might be right. Why else would—”
“Stop!” Tom set his palms on her shoulders and gave her a gentle shake. “It was not your fault.”
“But it’s true that I was hardly the innocent v-victim.” Scalding tears of shame streamed from her eyes. “I wanted Jasper to notice me. He…the pastor…they said my skirt was too short and my top too low-cut.”
“Baloney! I see women in bikinis at the beach and that doesn’t give me or any man rights to abuse them. That’s crazy.” Tom’s gaze narrowed, and his nostrils flared. “What that guy did to you, Amie, was criminal. It’s called date rape and it’s a felony. I hope the guy went to jail.”
Amie shook her head. “He’s in the m-mission field.”
“What?” Tom combed his fingers through his hair then clenched his fists.
His reaction made Amie sob. Was he angry with her for not going to the police?
“Oh, Amie…” Tom gathered her into his arms. She wept quietly against his shoulder. His hand caressed her upper back as she cried. When at last all of her anguish spilled out, Tom pressed some facial tissue into her hand.
“You know,” he said, gently moving strands of hair off her wet cheeks, “after reading what Hal wrote, I thought I’d prepared myself for everything. But it didn’t prepare me for this.”
An angry muscle worked in his jaw and his hazel eyes glistened like a sharpened blade.
“Do you w-want your engagement r-ring back?”
He blinked, and the dark clouds of wrath dissipating. “No...no, I love you and nothing will ever change that.”
He held her again as another round of tears rolled down her face. But something felt different. The truth about her past had changed his heart about something.
For the remainder of the weekend, Amie sensed a barrier between them. While Tom was no longer two hundred and fifty miles away, he never seemed so distant.
His reaction was the very thing she’d feared the most.
19
Amie drove fast along the last stretch of highway heading north. The open windows of her car let in the early summer air. She’d given the situation six weeks and wasn’t about to wait any longer.
Oh, sure…Tom had been maintaining a terrific façade. He said all the right things, although they sounded hallow to Amie. Too bad she could see right through it. But after today, it’d be all over. She fully intended to break their engagement. As for their business partnership…well, she’d have to decide what to do about it later.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Amie finger-combed her wind-blown hair back off her face with the other. She made the turn onto County Road J.
The hotel’s construction was well under way. Its foundation had been poured, the wooden skeleton of its walls erected. Tom had kept her posted on the progress, and he’d even recently inquired about wedding plans, but Amie sensed his heart wasn’t in the latter.
And she was through playing games.
She’d had four hours of solitary driving to work up the courage to confront Tom and she wouldn’t back down until she’d had her say. Tom’s classes were over, so he couldn’t blame her for putting undue stress on him during crucial exam time. As for the hotel, it certainly wasn’t her fault that he’d encountered a few run-ins with Big Al. Any pressure there was Tom’s own doing.
She turned on the gravel road and sped toward the church. At three-thirty on a Friday afternoon, she’d been hoping to catch him before he left for work and, thankfully, she spotted Tom walking to his truck. His eyes lit up in surprise and his lips split into a wide smile.
Amie’s resolve wavered slightly.
“What are you doing here?” He jogged to her car as she parked. His grin hadn’t lessened.
Opening the door, she climbed out. “I want to talk to you.”
“You couldn’t phone or email?”
She shook her head. “Not for this.”
A sudden frown crinkled Tom’s forehead. “OK. Something wrong?”
Amie took a deep breath and glanced around her. The tops of the tall pine trees swayed gently on the tepid June breeze. Beyond them, she could hear the laughter from the Warren girls at play in their yard. In that very moment, she almost wished she could pretend...like Tom.
Steeling herself against those expressive hazel eyes, she slipped off her engagement ring. “I’m letting you off the hook.” She took his hand and set the ring in his palm, ignoring the look of shock on his face. “You’re a fine Christian man, Tom, and I know you’d never go back on a promise. So, I’m doing it for you.”
“Amie—”
“You don’t have to say a word. I know you changed your mind when I told you about...my past. I can’t blame you and, if you’ll remember, I all but expected it. But, you know, you could have saved us both some heartache if you had left things alone back in December.”
“It’s that obvious, huh?” He turned the engagement ring in his palm.
His admission startled her. She nodded while tears momentarily blinded her.
“Here, put this back on.” Tom’s voice turned as soft as a caress. “And don’t you dare take it off again.” He slipped the ring back in place. “It’s not what you think, Amie. I haven’t changed my mind about marrying you.” He paused. “I love you. It’s just that...I’m so a
ngry. Not with you. With that Jasper fellow. I’m glad you didn’t give me more details because I’d probably kill the guy. One night I even searched the Internet trying to find a Jasper in Illinois who worked at Maxwell Brothers about 3 years ago. Thank God I didn’t find him. You’d be visiting me in jail right now.”
Amie was taken aback by the severity of his statements, yet, in some strange way, it consoled her too. “You felt that way?”
Tom blew out a breath and battled the breeze, pushing his dark hair out of his eyes. “Jake had to counsel me several times.”
“You’re awesome. You can be angry with Jasper. I’m just glad you didn’t lose respect for me and change your mind about us getting married.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Amie. The guy had no right to do what he did.” Tom cupped her chin. “Don’t smile. I’m not sweet, Amie, not chivalrous either, and you’ve got to understand something. I never get angry.” He released her and stepped back. “That’s why this has been so hard on me. I watched anger destroy my father. He was furious with God for taking Mom, and he vented his wrath on us kids. Afterwards, he comforted himself with a bottle of whiskey. I vowed when I was thirteen that I’d never get mad—at anything. I swore I’d let nothing and no one push me to commit an act of violence against another human being. But here I am. Right where I vowed never to be.”
“I had no idea.” Amie empathized with his inner struggle and felt a twinge of guilt to have assumed he’d been apathetic or upset with her. “I’m glad you told me.”
He shrugged. “I s’pose I should have been up-front with you from the start. It’s just that I felt so ashamed and I didn’t want to burden you.” After giving her a long look, he glanced at his wrist watch. “Listen, Amie, we’ll have to finish this discussion later. I’m sorry. But I’m meeting a building inspector at the construction site.” He shook his dark brown head ruefully. “I can tell that something’s not right, except I don’t know enough about construction to pinpoint the problem. Then, again, maybe this is all my imagination.”
Her Hometown Heart. Page 17
