“I don’t believe in happily ever after, Gin. It’s a myth, a fairy tale. I have to deal in truth.”
“And the truth is that you don’t love me. Am I right?” She lifted her chin. “That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
“I care about you, Ginny. You’re the warmest, most loving person I’ve ever known. You’ve got a special place in my life, and if I was ever to marry anyone, it would be you.”
“But?”
“But love—” He shook his head. “It’s something I can’t understand, Gin. Something I can’t quite get a handle on. It seems fickle to me. You fall in and you fall out. My father’s fallen in love four times since he left my mother. I don’t want to be like that.”
“Why, Tucker? Why not?” She studied him intently, leaning slightly forward on her perch.
He thought for a moment. Why was love so dangerous? Why, God? What made him fear taking such a risk?
“Because I’ll fail. I’ll be a failure. Again.”
She grinned.
Tucker stared at her in puzzled disbelief. She was grinning like a cat who’d found canary on the menu.
A minute later her arms were wrapped tightly around him, her cheek pressed to his.
“Oh, Tucker, sometimes I just want to slap you!”
“Really?” Just for a minute he let his arms circle her waist, felt her warmth press against him, her heart thud into his chest. Just for a minute he closed his eyes and reveled in the sensation.
“Yes, I do.” She leaned back far enough to stare into his face. “You are not a failure. Not now, not then. Not ever. You’ve achieved wonderful things, but the best thing is you’ve let in the light.”
“I have?” He couldn’t help asking the question. He didn’t understand anything she was saying. But as long as Ginny Brown stood in the circle of his arms, he wasn’t sure he cared.
“Yes, you have. Now go the rest of the way, Tuck. Hand it all over to God and see what He’ll make out of it. Let go and trust, Tucker. If you can’t trust anyone else, trust God.”
Then she stood on her fluffy tiptoes and kissed him as if he were someone infinitely precious to her.
Tucker kissed her back. He was in the desert, had been for months, and she was an oasis. He clung to her like a lifeline. He’d expected recriminations, anger, tears. But not this. Never this. He’d never expected that Ginny Brown would let him be in her world on his terms.
“I love you, Tucker Townsend. I love you more than I ever dreamed, more than I imagined, more than life itself. You’re buried here—” one hand touched her chest “—deep inside my heart. I will always love you. It doesn’t matter where you go, what you do or when you come back, that place is reserved for you.”
A pain stabbed him, an ache. He couldn’t tell her the same thing. He couldn’t give her the one thing she wanted from him.
“You’ve never failed me, Tucker. Not once. I’ve always believed in you, always trusted you. That’s what love is. And whether you love me back or not doesn’t change a thing.”
“I care about you, Ginny.”
“I know.” She smiled, pressing a lock of hair off his forehead. “You tell me that every day.”
“I do?” He frowned. “It’s not love. It’s just—caring.”
She nodded, eyes shining. “I know.”
He let his arms drop to his sides, wondering how to keep her from getting her hopes up.
“I have to go back there, Gin. I can’t get out of it even if I wanted to. It’s a test I have to get through. I don’t know what will come of it, but I feel like everything has been leading up to this particular moment.”
Ginny nodded. “A test of trust,” she whispered, face glowing in the sun. “You’ll pass, Tucker. And when you come back, I’ll be right here. Still loving you.”
“I don’t want you to wait, Gin. I don’t know how long this will take. Or even if I’ll come back.”
“I’ll be here.”
“You deserve to be happy.”
“I am very happy.”
“I don’t want you to get your hopes up,” he blurted out at last, frustrated by his inability to make her see that he wasn’t offering love.
She smiled so wide, Tucker stared. Pure joy radiated around her in the dewy morning, kissing her skin with an iridescence that made her more beautiful than he remembered.
“That’s the thing about happily ever after, Tucker. What it really means is hope. Hope for a future that’s blessed with love and joy and contentment. I will have my happily ever after, Tucker. So will you.”
He couldn’t let her go. Not like this. Not waiting another seven years.
Tucker leaned down and kissed her again.
“I’ll make you a promise,” he whispered, brushing his thumb against the rose-petal softness of her cheek. “If I come back in one piece, in my right mind, I’ll marry you.”
She froze, her eyes searched his, plunging to the very depths of his soul in their quest for honesty.
“Do you mean it?”
He nodded.
“I mean it. I don’t know what love is, Ginny. Or what it means. But I do know that there isn’t anyone else I’d rather be married to than you. We’ve had this—this bond for seven years. Maybe it can last. I’m willing to give it a shot. When I come back.”
She winked, an impish glow lighting her eyes.
“This bond is going to last a lot longer than that, Tuck. You’d better prepare yourself for a lifetime of love.”
Her father’s voice penetrated the stillness of the morning.
“Oh, my goodness, I’ve got to go. Dad’ll be wondering where breakfast is.” She tilted on her toes and brushed a kiss against his chin. “When will you leave?”
He shrugged. “All they said is to be ready. I’m going to get the boys together tonight. I don’t like to just run out on them with things so upset.” He dared to let himself touch her tousled curls. “Will you be there?”
“Try and stop me.” She put her hand over his, holding it. “All things work together for good,” she reminded him. “Hang on to that happily-ever-after verse.”
“I’ll try.” He stared into her lovely face and felt a rush of peace. He’d done his best, told the truth as he understood it. “Now it’s up to God,” he murmured.
“Who better?” She grinned sassily, hugged him, then took off to the house, fuzzy slippers slapping against the grass.
Tucker followed more slowly, pausing to wave at Adrian.
Okay, Lord. If you sent me to Jubilee Junction in order to leave again, I’m finally ready. My trust is in You.
He headed for Coach’s house and his suitcase. Time for phase two in this trust business.
Chapter Thirteen
“I’m sorry, guys.”
A collective groan went up from the seventeen boys gathered in the Browns’ backyard. Tucker waved them down.
“I thought we’d have one last evening together, but I’ve been ordered to leave in less than an hour. I guess God has other plans for us.” Tucker tried to smile, but he felt his spirit stalling at the challenges ahead. “I’d like you guys to promise me something.”
They nodded. “Sure, man. Yeah.”
“Tom is innocent. We all know that.”
Loud cheers greeted this statement. Tom sat with the others, his face a mixture of sadness and pride in the faith of his comrades.
“I intended to look for a way to prove that, but I can’t.” Tucker walked over and held out a hand to Tom. “So I want you guys to do it.”
The boy rose, took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly.
“My faith is in you, Tom. You’ve made a believer out of me. All things work together, you told me. Well, I’m convinced. You’re going to work this out, too. I can hardly wait to hear how you’re going to use your life.”
“Thanks, Tucker. I’ll be praying for you, too. All things work together.” He grinned.
Silence fell on the little group as Adrian Brown led a man dressed in military uniform
onto the deck.
“Tucker, I believe your ride is here.”
Tucker nodded. “Thanks. I’ll be right there.” Then he turned to the boys. “You guys keep the faith. Do what you can to help at the paper, stay out of trouble and keep that curfew. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but when I am, I’ll expect to hear everything. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
He waved, saluted, then walked onto the deck.
He, Adrian and Ginny followed the officer through the gate to the front of the house. A plain black sedan sat parked at the curb.
“I’ll say goodbye here,” Adrian murmured. He stretched out a hand. “I’m very proud of you, son. I’d like to hear all about it when you return.”
Tucker nodded, too moved to say anything. He shook Adrian’s hand. Adrian studied his face, nodded and walked away.
Ginny’s hand slipped into Tucker’s. She was openly weeping. He whispered a prayer for courage.
“Could you give us a moment?” he asked the sergeant.
The man nodded and walked to the car. Tucker led Ginny to a shadowed place under the maple tree where they’d shared their first kiss.
“Don’t cry, Gin.” He wiped away her tears.
“I can’t help it. I’m scared.”
He smiled, shook his head. “You? Afraid? Gimme a break, Gin. You’ve got the faith of ten warriors. You know whose hands I’m in.”
“I know, but—”
He touched her lips in the barest skim of a kiss.
“I came back here because of your faith. I made it through one of the worst times in my life because you had faith. Don’t stop trusting now.”
“Okay.” She sniffed, then wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands just as she had when they were eight and she’d fallen off his bike.
“Here. These are for you.” He lifted the sheaf of pale yellow roses from their hiding place. “They’re supposed to represent gold, a symbol of my promise to come back.”
“Tucker, they’re lovely!” She buried her face in the velvet petals. “Thank you.”
He didn’t need thanks. Watching her was enough.
“I wanted to give you something to solidify my promise, something tangible that you can hang on to until I get back. Actually I wanted to get you a diamond ring, but I didn’t have time.” He pulled his college ring off his finger. “Will this do?”
She stared at it, then at him, her eyes wide and deeply green.
“Tucker, are you sure?”
He nodded.
“It’s the one thing I am sure of, Ginny Brown. I’m coming back. And if you’re still willing, we’re going to get married. I don’t know anything about love, but maybe I can learn. You know enough to teach me.”
He pushed the ring onto her finger, staring at it in the soft evening light.
“This is my promise, Gin. I’ll be back.”
“I love you, Tucker.”
She melted into his arms for a kiss that shook him to his foundations.
When he finally lifted his head, her eyes were shining, all doubts erased.
“I’ll be waiting, Tuck. And when you get back, I’m going to show you happily ever after.”
He nodded. She’d laid her heart bare for him, held nothing back. He was scared, so scared that he would hurt her by never learning to love.
“Can you do one thing for me while you wait? Could you try and find something to help Tom?”
She nodded. “Of course.”
“The fire chief said something about matches being found at the scene. But when I was talking to Tom about his past, he mentioned that he’d always used a lighter. I have a hunch that’s a clue, but I just can’t connect it up.”
“Don’t worry, Tuck. We’ll figure it out. Tom’s not going to jail.”
He had to go. There was a plane waiting for him at some undisclosed location. The military had become involved, and everything was top secret.
And yet he lingered, his eyes memorizing every detail of Ginny Brown, his mind imprinting the scent of her, the smile, the brave quiver at the corner of her lips that she couldn’t quite hide.
“Go with God, Tucker.”
“Keep the faith, Gin. For me.” He kissed her once more. “I will be back. I promise. Don’t you forget it.”
She grinned, pinched his arm. “As if!”
He laughed. For the first time in years joy bubbled inside him and broke free. She’d done that for him.
“Bye, Gin.” He moved toward the car. The door opened. Tucker set one foot inside, then turned to her. “I like the shoes,” he murmured.
She froze for one long moment, then glanced at her bare feet. He knew she was laughing through the tears that trickled down her cheeks.
“Buy a new pair for my homecoming,” he told her softly. “Something really special.”
“You’ve got it.” She winked, then waved.
Tucker got in the car and sat silent as it drove away. At the last minute he turned. She was still standing there. As if she knew he watched, she lifted her hand in a wave.
“Goodbye, Gin,” he whispered and wondered if he’d ever see her again.
He hoped so. Suddenly it was very important that he come back to Ginny Brown. Suddenly Tucker had something very important to say.
“But you can’t!” Ginny stared at the assembled council, aghast at their decision. “You can’t cancel the deal. The boys are doing so well. It’s summer! We’d planned a bunch of programs.”
“I’m sorry, Ginny, you’ll just have to unplan them. We simply can’t allow the group to continue. In the absence of proof to the contrary, we’re going to have to assume that boy was responsible.”
“His name is Tom,” she said, teeth clenched to stop the words she longed to utter. “And he has not been convicted of anything.”
“The decision is final.”
Though she saw compassion in many eyes, Ginny knew the case was lost. She’d tried everything she could think of, pulled every string she knew. But Marty’s injuries combined with the constant reminder of the burned building kept the fear burning brightly in the Junction.
She rose to her feet, Tucker’s ring burning a spot on her finger.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said, her eyes pinning each one of them. “Tucker and Marty pulled these boys off the street, got them interested in something, helped them find a place in the community. Without this club, the boys are left to fend for themselves. Whatever happens now lies at your door.”
She turned and walked out of the room, unable to say any more. Tears threatened, but she refused to shed them. Time enough for that later. She had to tell the boys.
Heart sinking, Ginny walked to the battered but still functional newspaper office. Once the building had been declared safe, Marty had insisted the boys keep meeting there, try to salvage what they could, even though he was unable to be with them. The boys had pitched in with a vengeance and helped his staff clean the place up and make it usable. Now they’d have to leave.
The group waited for her at the back, some sitting on the staff benches they’d painted yesterday, some standing.
“It’s not good, is it?” Tom spoke for all of them.
“I’m sorry. The town council has insisted we disband.”
They stared at each other in shock, eyes brimming with disappointment.
“But our plans!”
“Yeah. We were going to have a party for Tucker when he came back.”
“And another one for Marty when he gets out of the hospital.”
“I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say. She’d tried so hard to find some proof of Tom’s innocence. She’d questioned Vera several times, searched uselessly for something that would shift the blame. To no avail.
She’d failed Tucker.
Tucker. She closed her eyes, inhaled the soft evening air that carried only a faint reminder of the fire. Where was Tucker now?
“Ginny? Does that mean they’ll be sending us back?”
; She blinked at the gangly group of barely-teens clustered around her. “I’m afraid I don’t know.”
“They can’t!”
The voice wasn’t familiar. Ginny stretched to her tiptoes to see who’d spoken.
“They can’t send us away.” A lanky boy stomped forward. “They promised!”
“Well, now they’re breaking that promise, Lane. You might as well get used to it.” Nick shoved his hands in his pockets. “It always happens. We should have known.”
“Yeah.” Ira sneered at Lane. “You should be happy, man. The club’s done, finished. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“No!” Lane’s face blanched. “I never wanted that. I wanted to belong to it. To be a part of it. I didn’t want to kill it.” He stared at them, then flopped his head into his hands, his whole body slumped in dejection.
“Why do you care? I thought you hated us.” Tom walked over to stand in front of the boy. “The last time we voted not to let you join, you said you didn’t want to be part of it.”
“I lied.” Lane faced them all. He shook his head. “I wanted to be part of it so badly I could almost taste it.”
He turned to face Ginny. “I never had friends, not real friends. I sure never had an airplane. Man, I wanted to see that plane fly.”
“We all did, Lane. The boys had just collected enough money to buy the motor. We were going to launch it next week, when Marty came home.” Ginny reached out to touch his knitted cap, trying to tell him how sorry she was. “I’m afraid it will never get off the ground now. The club is disbanded.”
“Yeah, and all because some dumb people think Tom deliberately set that fire! As if.” They started grumbling among themselves.
“The fire was my fault.”
“Huh?”
“Say what?”
En masse the group turned to stare at the boy who’d tried numerous times to join their club.
“What do you mean, Lane?” Ginny positioned herself in front of him and sent a warning glance to the bigger boys, who looked ready to fight. “How could it possibly be your fault?”
“I didn’t do it on purpose. Really I didn’t.”
“I believe you. Just tell us what happened, okay?” She felt a shiver of hope. Maybe Tucker’s work wouldn’t go down the drain. Maybe there was still a chance. “Go ahead. Take your time.”
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