His Surprise Son

by Allie Pleiter

  “How so?”

  “We were dying. When the mill closed and the jobs disappeared, so many people lost hope. We needed faith and optimism. We needed to become faith and optimism. That’s why we’re Matrimony Valley, and not ‘Golf Valley’ or ‘Antiques Valley.’”

  Every time he thought Jean could not amaze him more... “She never told me that.”

  Lulu had started coming back up the aisle, nearly swallowed by a huge collection of ribbons. “You should have heard her presentation to the town council. She had an uphill battle all the way, but she just kept going until she convinced them. I like to think of Violet as living proof that she was right.” She looked down at her daughter. “Look at you! You got them all.”

  Lulu stuck her chin up over the mountain of satin strips. “It was hard, but I did it.”

  Kelly looked up at Josh. “You can say that about lots of things in life, sweetie.” She picked up the box. “Pile all those pretty ribbons in here and you can hang them up all over your room if you like. Miss Violet—excuse me, Mrs. Davis—is done with them.” Returning her gaze to Josh, she said, “It’s the prettiest spot in the valley. Good for thinking. Take all the time you need, and just stop by the church when you’re done so Boss knows to come pick up the chairs.”

  “Bye!” Lulu waved.

  As he waved back, Josh remembered a wave goodbye was the same in spoken English or sign. And that way back when SymphoCync was just a bunch of diagrams on paper, people had called him an impossible optimist, too.

  He’d been mostly certain up until that moment. But as he sat there in the leafy cathedral that was Matrimony Falls, Josh decided he wanted the faith and optimism that thrived here. He wanted the woman and boy who thrived here as well, and it was time to win his own uphill battle with Hal Braddon.

  If You really are the God who brought me here, be the God who keeps me here.

  There was something about this valley. About the people. Something that was such a polar opposite of San Jose, he couldn’t even begin to explain it.

  He knew he’d only experienced it.

  You can only experience it.

  Josh pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed.

  * * *

  “Is Violet married?” Matt’s voice was sleepy. It was pretty early out there given the time difference.

  “Went off without a hitch—well almost.” He decided to save the story of Violet’s last-minute floral fiasco for another day. “What’s your schedule look like for Tuesday?”

  “Why?” Matt sounded suspicious.

  “Because I think Tuesday sounds like a really good day for a promotion.”

  Matt yawned. “The marketing campaign for the launch has been in place for weeks. We don’t need any more promotion.”

  “Not SymphoCync. You.”

  He could hear Matt sit up straight from wherever he was. “Huh?”

  “I think I’ve found a way to do the deal.”

  “There is a way to do the deal. We say yes to Braddon’s offer.” Matt paused for a long moment before asking, “Are you saying you don’t want to sell?”

  “I’m saying I have a counteroffer in mind.”

  “Now I’m really confused.”

  “How would the title co-CEO clear things up?” Josh surprised himself to realize he was smiling.

  “You want to make me co-CEO with you? Seriously?”

  “You deserve it, Matt. And I’m going to need you if this is going to work out the way I want it to. Are you up for it?”

  Josh could imagine Matt’s wide eyes as he ran his hands through his hair. He’d likely jumped up and began pacing the room, if Josh knew his friend. “Co-CEO. With you.”

  “But we’d still have to convince Braddon to go along with it, so that’s why I’m asking about Tuesday.”

  “I can do Tuesday,” Matt agreed, still sounding a bit shocked.

  “Matt?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Absolutely. It’s absolutely a yes. But what am I doing Tuesday?”

  “Bring Braddon to the valley. I mean it—charter a plane, charm his assistant, pull strings, whatever. Just find some way to bring Hal Braddon to Matrimony Valley for a couple of days—for just twenty-four hours, even. I can do the rest.”

  “Are you crazy? He won’t.”

  “Then figure out a way so he will. We’ll do it together. I’ll send him an email with the most persuasive invitation I’ve ever written. You just make sure he says yes.” Josh started walking back to town. If he could talk Bill Williams into opening up for him after lunch on a Sunday, it was time for another extravagant purchase.

  “You’ve lost your marbles.” Matt laughed nervously. “You know that, don’t you?”

  “No, just the opposite. I think I’ve found them. Pack your bags and call me back when you’ve got Braddon.”

  Josh clicked off the line. Tonight he would sit down to write the most important email of his life.

  Big Fish was about to cast a line for the biggest fish of all.

  Chapter Twenty

  Memorial Day spent barbecuing in Jean’s backyard was one of the most satisfying afternoons in Josh’s memory. Jonah taught him all kinds of new words, and they spent hours in Jean’s hammock filling the Jonahphone with silly songs and happy pop tunes. The whole day settled so calm and convicting in Josh’s gut that by sunset he had no doubt what his path must be from here.

  So despite the size of the stakes in play, Josh felt solid and steady on Tuesday as he watched a nervous Matt and a curious Hal Braddon descend the staircase out of a private jet. Each held the gear bags Bill Williams had helped Josh Express Mail, to be waiting on the plane when they boarded. The wary look on both men told Josh they had opened the bags in flight, per his instructions.

  “What’s with the recreational theatrics?” Matt asked when he reached Josh first. “I was done with field trips in the third grade.”

  “Humor me,” Josh said with more confidence than he felt.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Matt said. “’Cause I sure don’t.”

  Hal Braddon walked up to Josh, nodding in greeting since his hands were full with the large bag. “You’ve got a flair for the dramatic, I’ll give you that.”

  Josh laughed. “Have you ever been to North Carolina, Hal?”

  Braddon set down the bag. “I’ve been stuck in the Charlotte airport a time or two, back when I flew commercial.”

  Josh doubted Hal Braddon had seen a coach airline seat in a while. “I needed you to see this before we struck a deal.” He knew “struck” implied a bit more equal footing than he had here, but this was no time to be timid.

  “You needed to take me on a fishing trip before I bought your business? Or did you just want to be the first person to ever kidnap me to seal a deal?”

  Josh gestured to the sedan idling behind him, popping the trunk. He relieved the men of their gear bags, then he doubled back to stow their suitcases as well before sliding behind the wheel.

  “Lunch is on your seats, gentlemen,” he said as his passengers settled themselves in the back seat. On each of the seats was an ordinary brown paper bag from Watson’s Diner.

  Hal laughed as he opened up the bag. “I haven’t had a BLT since high school.”

  “No turkey bacon nonsense,” Josh replied. “That’s real bacon from a cast-iron pan, not a microwave.”

  “White bread,” Matt marveled. “I’d forgotten the stuff existed.”

  “There’ll be pie and coffee at the creek later.” He caught Hal’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “When’s the last time you had pie and coffee, Hal?”

  “Can’t remember,” Hal replied after a hefty bite of Wanda’s creation. “But I suspect I’m about to be reminded.”

  A short while later, the sedan pulled up to the in
tersection at the top of Aisle Avenue, where Mayor Matrim stood ready to welcome her newest batch of VIPs. It was a poignant echo of how this whole thing began, and one that chimed with certainty in Josh’s chest, not apprehension. “May I present Mayor Jean Matrim.”

  “Welcome to Matrimony Valley, gentlemen.” Even though he knew she had to be as nervous as he was, Jean’s greeting held only a smooth, warm confidence.

  Matt stepped back while Braddon shook Jean’s hand. “The lady mayor of Matrimony Valley. This is getting interesting. And who are you, young fella?”

  Hal bent down and extended a hand to Jonah. Josh stepped up, willing confidence into his voice—and fingers—as well. “Hal,” Josh said and signed. “This is my son, Jonah.” The words felt heavy with importance.

  Hal looked surprised. “Your son? I didn’t know.”

  Neither did I, Josh thought as he caught Jean’s proud expression.

  “How do I say hello?” Hal asked, a rare bit of fluster in the man’s voice.

  “Same as we do.” Josh waved hello, which Braddon repeated with amusement as he greeted Jonah.

  Jean stepped up, interpreting. “Jonah, this is an important friend of Dad’s.” Josh wondered if anyone else heard the tiny halt of new wonder in her voice before she used the title “Dad.”

  “We’re going to take him and Mr. Palmer—” at which point Matt gave a nervous grin and waved hello as well “—fishing.”

  Jonah squinted up at Braddon and signed something.

  “What’d he say?” Hal asked.

  Jean gave a startled look to Josh, and then relayed, “Jonah asked if you were a big fish, too.”

  Josh choked down a laugh as he recognized the familiar sign. “It’s a bit of a long story.” He turned to Jonah. “Yes, he’s a big fish.” He grinned at Hal. “He’s the biggest fish there is.” And I aim to land him.

  Braddon laughed. “That’s a compliment, right?”

  “Around here, it’s a high compliment, Mr. Braddon,” said Jean. “Come, let me show you around.”

  I was wrong, Josh thought to himself. We’re going to land him together.

  “I see you’ve been promoted yourself,” Matt whispered as they walked down Aisle Avenue. “Congratulations, Dad.”

  Josh warmed with pride. That was a victory he could already claim as his, wasn’t it? And today was the day to fight for that title. “Thanks. And thanks for getting Braddon here.”

  “You owe me. And I still think you’re nuts. But I’m open to persuasion.” He paused before adding, “She’s still beautiful, by the way. But gutsier, and I suspect brainier than I remember. I can see your motivation. But I still think you’re nuts.”

  “Maybe.” Jean was beautiful. And gutsy. But brainy wasn’t the right word for Jean. She was wise, which was a whole level above the kinds of brainy people he worked with every day. She was rare. She was a word he couldn’t ever remember attributing to a woman before: she was precious.

  I don’t want to let her slip away a second time. Would it take hampering SymphoCync’s future—and the colleagues he’d gathered there—to keep her? And Jonah?

  Lord, I don’t want this to be either/or. I want this to include everything. For a guilty moment, he wondered what Matt—or even Braddon—would think if they knew SymphoCync’s CEO was praying right next to him. He’d be as shocked to know it as I am to do it. It was one of many changes he’d felt himself undergo since his first trip down Aisle Avenue.

  The changes in him were startling, but good. As if he was peeling off an outer layer he’d somehow managed to acquire out in California, one that kept him stiff and numb. Now a different layer was coming out underneath—one that could breathe, that felt things more deeply and saw new details in the world he’d been too rushed to notice before. It struck him, as he took a deep breath to launch the sales pitch of a lifetime, that the shedding had already taken place. He couldn’t—and wouldn’t—put the old layer back on. He couldn’t go back. Even if the cost became very high.

  Would You really let it come to that? he asked the Father in Heaven, who seemed so much closer to him here than anywhere else. Would You really ask that of me?

  They’d reached the inn. “Take a half hour or so to settle in, and then it’s off to the creek, so bring your gear.”

  “You really are going to take me fishing,” Braddon scoffed and scratched his head, but with an amused expression.

  “Humor me,” Josh said. “I’m not a man to waste your time. I’m making a point here.”

  “And that point is?”

  “In good time, Hal. In good time.”

  Braddon slanted a look at Matt. “Gutsy character, isn’t he?”

  Matt only nodded and opened the inn’s front door for Braddon. Josh felt himself exhale as the pair walked in to where he knew Hailey would be waiting to see them to their rooms.

  Jean looked at him. “You got him here. I can’t believe you got him here.”

  He took Jean’s hand. “Well, I figured if God’s big enough to get me here, Hal Braddon shouldn’t pose that much of a challenge.” He’d shared his plan with Jean earlier. What he hadn’t yet shared—because he didn’t know it himself until just this moment—was that he would stay in Matrimony Valley no matter what today’s outcome was.

  The only question now was how much his staying would cost him and everyone who worked at SymphoCync.

  “Well, listen to you,” Jean marveled as she leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek. The brush of her lips and the scent of her hair sent his pulse racing. He’d never really stopped loving her; he’d just let other things drown it out for a while. Tell her. As strong as the impulse roared to declare his resurging affections right there on Aisle Avenue, this wasn’t the time. Once this whole business with Braddon was over, then that would be the time.

  * * *

  Jean could tell that while Hal Braddon was amused and intrigued by what he called “Josh’s little field trip,” Josh’s second-in-command wasn’t as enthused. In fact, the sandy-haired lanky man in round glasses and a black T-shirt looked rather lost in his fishing gear. “Hip waders,” Matt Palmer said, looking down at the bulky boots-and-pants combination. “I’m wearing actual hip waders. That is what these things are called, isn’t it?”

  “Just ‘waders,’ I think. Although we have a few people who call them ‘hippies,’ if you prefer. With the creek water as cold as it is, you’ll be glad for them no matter what they’re called.”

  “Little man’s got a pair of them, too, I see.”

  Jean turned to Jonah and signed, “Do you like the new waders Dad bought you?”

  “Yep!” Jonah signed, nodding so vigorously that Jean felt no need to translate.

  “So is Jonah going to be my fishing teacher?” Matt asked, nodding toward Jonah.

  “You’ll have to ask Jonah that.” Jean turned to stand next to Matt, gesturing toward Jonah. She often had to coach people to talk directly to Jonah, allowing her to merely serve as translator rather than a messenger when people told her to “ask him this” or “ask him that.”

  It took Matt a second to realize the difference, but after a moment he bent down to Jonah’s height and asked, “Are you my fishing teacher?” as Jean signed the words next to him.

  “Daddy gets you, I get the big man,” Jean voiced as Jonah signed. Braddon was, in fact, as imposing physically as he was financially. Both Josh and Matt were tall, but Hal Braddon had a good half foot on either of them—he had to be at least six foot four. A “big fish” indeed. It was a blessing that Jonah had no concept of what was at stake today. In his usual gregarious way, her son was simply excited to have new friends. He didn’t share her anxiety that they’d be fishing with some of the most powerful men in the tech industry. Even the lieutenant governor hadn’t made her so nervous, and they were planning his daughter’s full wedding, not just an afternoon fishing trip.<
br />
  Yes, well, her son’s relationship with his father wasn’t hanging in the balance of the lieutenant governor’s wedding, was it?

  Josh came across the street from where he’d been getting last-minute teaching tips from Bill. They’d both tried to convince Bill to come along on this little expedition. “Between you three, you got this more than covered,” Bill insisted with a smile of confidence she didn’t feel. Still, as Josh strolled across the street with the easy self-assurance that had gotten him this far, Jean began to hope. Her attempts at reserve, at holding her feelings in check and tamping down the desire to have Josh fully in their lives—not part-time, but full-time—were failing. The figure he cut in jeans and a simple shirt, waders thrown over one shoulder with a rod braced against the other, was 100 percent rugged handsome. How did he manage to be down-home and elegant at the same time like that? Only Josh Tyler could look so natural and still stand out like a beacon on a dark mountainside.

  His gaze was ablaze with confidence as he caught her eye. “I will do this,” it said, and she allowed herself to believe in him. The prospect of losing him a second time to the excesses of California was simply too much to bear.

  When Jonah rushed up to meet Josh with a jubilant hug, Jean felt the last of her heart crack open. “Dad,” Jonah signed, as if it was all the greeting required—and wasn’t it? Hal Braddon had come out from the inn, but she didn’t voice the silent exchange for the two men standing beside her. The lump in her throat made it impossible, and no one could miss the meaning.

  “Son,” Josh signed, hugging the boy. She saw his eyes close for just a moment. He was savoring the moment just as she was. Let Braddon see what I see, she prayed. Let him see what we all see in this place and that man.

  Josh walked up to shake Braddon’s hand. “You look like you were born to do this, Hal.”

  The man laughed. “I was just about to say the same thing about you. Not exactly my usual sphere of influence.”

  “Nah,” said Josh as he turned the whole group toward the direction of the creek. “It’s just like finance. You take a few minutes to master the cast, use the right bait, tug a little to set the deal and then reel ’em in.”