A Match for Meghan (Heartsong Presents)

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A Match for Meghan (Heartsong Presents) Page 15

by Kimberly Rose Johnson


  Ben stepped to where she stood at the edge of the gazebo and held out the small bouquet of flowers she hadn’t noticed him holding. “It’s me. I’m Animal-Magnet.”

  Air rushed from Meghan’s lungs as if she’d been sucker punched. She tried to blink away the blackness blocking her vision. “I don’t understand.” The world tilted and strong arms cradled her safely against a warm body.

  “I’m so sorry,” Ben whispered. “I never meant to shock you like this. Take deep breaths and let them out slowly.”

  Meghan did as he suggested until her vision cleared. “I’m okay.” His arms felt so good, like they were made to hold her. But how could he care about her if he’d played with her emotions so cruelly? She shrugged out of his embrace and took a wobbly step away from him. “Why did you lie? I never thought you were that kind of man—a man who would mess with a woman’s heart, just to get even.”

  “No, that’s not right. Well, maybe in the beginning I was trying to get even for the online profile you posted, but then things changed. I grew to care about you so much I was afraid.”

  “Of what?” He wasn’t making sense.

  “I was afraid you’d be angry and then I’d lose you.” He sighed. “Would you consider having dinner with me? I made reservations at Visconti’s. We could talk this out. Please, Meghan.”

  “I feel like such a fool.” Her voice trembled and she pressed her lips together. She would not cry!

  “You are not a fool.” He reached out to her, but she stepped back and held up her hands.

  “What you did was deceitful.” A tear slipped out, and she swiped at it with a shaky hand.

  “Yes, but once you hear me out, we’ll both have a good laugh.” A strangled chuckle burst from his mouth.

  She shook her head. “Not a chance. We’re finished.”

  He frowned. “How is what I did so different than you setting up an online profile for me?”

  “The difference is I didn’t play with your heart. No one got hurt and I never deceived you.” She spun around and rushed to her Jeep. Ben called after her, but she couldn’t look at him, much less listen to him.

  As she fumbled to put her keys in the ignition, he knocked on her window, startling her. She started the engine and rolled down the window. “What now, Ben?”

  “Please listen, Meghan. I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “Yeah well, you did.” She rolled the window up and pulled away from the curb. Animal-Magnet was Ben. It didn’t seem possible. Then again, she’d thought the men were very similar and she’d fallen for both of them—err—him.

  This was too rich. She’d fallen for the same rotten man twice! What was wrong with her? Did she walk around with a sign visible only to men that read hurt me? Then again, her mother had instigated a lifetime of hurt the day she’d abandoned Meghan at school. Well, she was going to have the last laugh. She was finished with men. No man would ever hurt her again.

  She pulled into her cousin’s driveway, killed the engine then ran up the front porch steps. Before she could knock, Laura opened the door.

  “I heard you drive up. What’s wrong? I haven’t seen you like this since the day your mom...”

  Meghan burst into tears and she rubbed at her eyes.

  “Oh, sweetie. Come inside.” Laura pulled her into the family room and guided her to the couch.

  Meghan heard whispers, but when she opened her eyes and scanned the room, it was empty except for her cousin. “Where’re the boys?”

  “I sent them to their rooms so we could have some privacy. What happened?” Laura thrust a box of tissues at her.

  “Thanks.” She dried her eyes and blew her nose. “I found out who Animal-Magnet was today, and let’s just say, it was shocking.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Ben.”

  “Dr. Young? Oh my goodness.” A small smile touched her lips. “I don’t see the problem.”

  “You’re kidding?” How could her intelligent, reasonable cousin not understand? “He lied. He made a fool out of me.”

  “Hold on a second. How did he lie?”

  “By not telling me his real name. Honestly, Laura, I thought you’d be on my side. What gives?”

  “I am on your side. I am always on your side and don’t forget it.”

  “Then how can you not understand why I’m so upset?”

  “I see a man who wanted to get to know a woman without any preconceived ideas from said woman. Was he ever anything but a gentleman?”

  Meghan sniffled. “No.”

  “Did he out-and-out lie to you about anything regarding who he is? Did he misrepresent himself to you?”

  “Well...no, but he didn’t identify himself, either.”

  “True, but he was authentic with you otherwise, correct?”

  “Yes.”

  “Sweetie, the men you fell for are one and the same. That ought to tell you something. He was authentic with you. Sure, he didn’t reveal his real name, but he let you get to know the real man behind the pseudonym.”

  Meghan blinked rapidly. “I don’t see how that makes deceiving me okay. I feel like he made a fool out of me. He probably had a good laugh with his buddies.”

  “Oh, come on. That’s nuts. Ben isn’t like that, or you never would have fallen for him. Besides, Josh and I are good friends with Pete, and Pete never would’ve gone into business with Ben if he weren’t a good guy. Ben might express himself better online than in person.”

  Meghan’s breathing slowed, and the tears stopped. “Let’s say you’re right. How do I move past what he did?”

  “I don’t know, but it seems to me the man must think an awful lot of you to do what he did.”

  “Really? That’s not the way I took it.”

  “Of course not. You’re used to being burned, but I don’t think that’s what happened here.”

  “Well, he did apologize and wanted to take me to dinner.”

  “See.” Laura grinned and nudged Meghan’s shoulder. “Call him and tell him you changed your mind.

  “I can’t.” Her words emerged as a hoarse whisper. “I was awful to him.”

  “So, you were in shock. I’m sure he will cut you some slack.”

  “I’ll think about it. I hear what you’re saying and maybe you’re right, but...” She shook her head. “I can’t talk to him, at least not right now.”

  “Okay. Give it some time. See how you feel in the morning.”

  “I’m sure I’ll feel the same way.” Meghan clutched her purse. “Thanks for trying to help. You’re the best cousin in the world.”

  “Thanks.” Laura pulled her into a hug. “You know your mom didn’t leave because of you, right?”

  Meghan pulled away. “What brought that up?”

  “You did, kind of. My mom once told me your mom never really loved your dad. She’d fallen in love with someone else before they met and never got over him. Mom said their marriage was doomed from the beginning.”

  “Then why get married?”

  “She was pregnant with you.”

  Sucker punched twice in the same day. “I never knew. How could I not know this?”

  Laura shrugged. “My mom thought she ran off to find him.”

  “Why didn’t anyone ever tell me this before?”

  “Mom said telling you would only confuse you. Then when you and I got older, I guess I never thought about it until now.”

  “Why do you think she never came back?”

  A shadow crossed Laura’s eyes. “Be right back.” She hurried to the kitchen. A minute later, she returned with a newspaper clipping. “I’m really sorry, Meghan.”

  Meghan read the copy of her mother’s obituary, which was dated nearly twenty-two years earlier. “She died the same year she
left.” Her hand trembled. “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

  “Everyone thought it’d be best to leave things as they were. I didn’t know she died until a couple of years ago when my mom asked me to give it to you when I thought the timing was right.” She bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry for keeping it from you.”

  “I guess that explains why she never came back. All this time I thought she didn’t come back because she didn’t love me.” She stared at her cousin. “You were supposed to tell me?”

  “I couldn’t tell my best friend in the whole world that her mom had died. She was out of your life—dead to you already. I didn’t see the point.” She hugged herself. “Until now. I’m so sorry.”

  “Today is full of surprises.” Anger tinged her voice. “May I keep this?”

  Laura nodded. “Are we okay?”

  “We will be, but I need some time.” Meghan could never stay angry with Laura, but right now, she wanted to throw a tantrum like a two-year-old. “I’ll call you.”

  “Wait.”

  “What?”

  “I promise not to bother you this week, so you can work through all of this, but should I save you a seat in church again this coming Sunday?”

  “I don’t know, Laura. I’m...I just don’t know.” She’d been seriously considering God and His place in her life, but now it seemed that all the people who had told her she needed Him had lied to her—okay, maybe not lied, but they had kept the truth from her.

  She didn’t want to be like them.

  “I’ll call you, Laura, and tell you. For now, I need some space.” She strode to her Jeep and drove home.

  * * *

  Ben’s feet pounded the asphalt. He’d been running along Ski Hill Drive for the past thirty minutes and still couldn’t clear Meghan from his head. What a colossal mess. At this point, he doubted she’d ever forgive him.

  He never should’ve met with her.

  No, it was the right thing to do. But now she was hurting. His gut clenched every time he thought about the look in her eyes. If only there had been another way to reveal his identity—to prepare her somehow for the shock.

  Lord, I messed up. I know I was wrong and I never should’ve deceived Meghan. I tried to play God, but I’m not you. I’m so sorry.

  He knew God would forgive him. Meghan was another matter.

  Ben’s pace slowed as the tension drained from his body. His stride evened. Somehow, he needed to make things right with Meghan, but his gut told him to leave her alone. For a little while.

  Ben stumbled. How could he leave her alone? She hated him. He needed to make things right. His stomach knotted. No. He couldn’t shake the feeling he needed to give her space.

  He slowed to a jog. Lord, please help Meghan and show her Your love. It tore him up inside to not be able to comfort her, and try to make her understand that he hadn’t been playing with her emotions. He cared about her—loved her.

  Whoa. He nearly tripped as his true feelings hit him.

  He loved Meghan.

  Everything he’d said or written to her had been the truth.

  An hour later, he sat at the table in his parents’ kitchen and told them about his meeting with Meghan. From the sadness on their faces, they didn’t hold out much hope. He looked from his mom to his dad. “Say something. Anything.” The only other sound in the room was the hum of the refrigerator, and it was driving him nuts.

  Mom grasped his hand and cradled it between hers. “I’m so sorry, Ben. I hurt for both of you.”

  Thank goodness she hadn’t said I told you so. He swallowed. “I really love Meghan and don’t want to lose her. What should I do?”

  “Pray.” His dad nodded once, firm. “Did we ever tell you our story?”

  Ben frowned. “You mean how you met?”

  “No.” A fleeting smile touched his mom’s lips. “He’s talking about the summer we broke up.”

  What were his parents talking about? “I thought it was love at first sight, then happily ever after.”

  “Hardly.” Mom shot a googly-eyed look at his dad. “Would you like to tell him? After all, it’s your story to share.”

  Dad sighed. “It was the summer of 1973. I had returned from Vietnam earlier that year and met my Betsy.” He glanced at his wife, eyes brimming with love. “At first, she wouldn’t have anything to do with me, but I never gave up. Oh, I was relentless.”

  “That’s true enough. But he was charming, too.” His mom blushed. “Until—”

  “Right, until I got it in my head I needed to impress her to get her attention.”

  “What he didn’t know was that he had my attention. I was playing hard to get.”

  Ben leaned back in his chair and watched his parents as they volleyed the story between them.

  “Yep. If I’d known, I never would’ve gone to such extremes.”

  “But I was very good at playing hard to get.” Her eyes twinkled.

  “That she was. Anyhow, I made up this war hero story about myself—a pack of lies—and I should’ve known better. Truth is, around your mom, I lost all good sense.”

  “What happened?” Ben couldn’t believe his dad had made up a war story.

  “Well, your mom here went to my commanding officer—we were good friends and a bunch of us socialized. Anyhow, Betsy started talking about my heroics and the truth came out. Oh, she was fuming mad. Said I made her look like a fool.”

  “Really, Mom? You were mad?”

  “Of course. Here I was singing your dad’s praises, and the next thing I know the whole group is laughing. I couldn’t understand what was funny.” She shot his dad a dark look.

  If his mom sounded annoyed forty years later, he could only imagine her anger back then. “So what’d you do?”

  “I stomped my foot and demanded they stop laughing. Then I broke up with your dad.” She buried her face in her hands, apparently trying to hide her pink-tinged face. She splayed her fingers and glowered at his dad. “You had to bring that story up. My goodness, I haven’t thought about that day in a long time. It still makes me uptight. I was so embarrassed.”

  “I’m sorry, but you must admit that even though the circumstances were different from Ben and Meghan’s, the outcome was the same.”

  She nodded.

  “Give your lady time,” his dad said. “If she’s anything like your mom, she’ll come around.”

  “And if she’s not?” Ben didn’t think Meghan would ever forgive him.

  “Then you’d better get on your knees and pray until it hurts.” Dad patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll be praying for you, too. Starting now. I’m going to bed.” He shuffled tiredly from the room leaving Ben alone with his mother.

  She squeezed his hand. “I will pray, too. I wish you hadn’t deceived her, but what’s done is done.”

  Ben pushed up out of his chair. “Thanks. Meghan was so close to making a commitment to the Lord, and I’m afraid I may have messed that up, as well.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s complicated, but maybe you could pray for her salvation.”

  “You got it.” She gave him a hug. “Go home, get some sleep and be sure to let me know if anything changes.”

  “Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you, too.”

  His cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID. “Hey, Pete. What’s up?”

  “That’s what I was going to ask you. I just got a call from Josh. He’s married to Meghan’s cousin, Laura. What’s going on?”

  A knot gripped his stomach. Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse.

  Chapter 18

  Meghan stared into her cup of coffee, unable to do much more than veg out. Nauseated by the idea of facing Ben so soon after learning of his deception, she called in sick to work. Pain like she h
adn’t felt since she was a child echoed deep into her soul.

  So many thoughts whirled through her mind that she couldn’t focus. Why did the people she love most hurt her? She slapped her hand to her mouth. She really did love Ben, even after what he had done. “Stop!”

  “Huh?” Cassie padded into the kitchen. “Stop what? And what are you doing home?”

  “I called in sick, and I was talking to myself.”

  Cassie grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured fresh coffee, then added creamer. “I worked late and didn’t sleep well, but I’m going to bite. Why are you talking to yourself?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Sorry you didn’t sleep well. I’m going to my room.” Meghan grabbed her coffee cup and passed Cassie.

  “Are you going to be here all day?”

  Meghan paused. “That’s my plan. Why?”

  “No reason. Just curious. I hope you feel better.”

  “Thanks.” She retreated to her bedroom and closed the door. The Bible she’d bought sat beside her bed on the night table—ignored since her confrontation with Ben. She ran a finger down the cover, then grasped it and hugged the book to her chest.

  Everything she’d read in the Bible rang true. She believed she could be a child of God, but what was the point? She’d thought Ben was a perfect Christian, but he had messed up. Then again, so did Jesus’ disciples—and He still loved them.

  Maybe she was thinking about this all wrong. Obviously, people made mistakes and hurt others. But it didn’t make them bad Christians. It made them human. So if Christians messed up, then she could be one, too. Serving the Lord, as her cousin called it, wasn’t some impossible-to-get-into club of elite people.

  Her eyes widened. Jesus loved people who made mistakes. He never stopped loving them. So that meant He would never stop loving her. Tears pooled in her eyes. She pulled her knees to her chest, set the Bible beside her and rested her forehead on her knees. She’d gone to church enough throughout her life to know what she needed to do.

  “Jesus, I believe You are who this book says You are. I believe You love me and I want You in my life. I want to be one of Yours. Please come into my life and make me a new creation like the Bible says. I want to be new in You. I’m sorry for all the wrong things I’ve done. Please help me to get over Ben. He hurt me, and I don’t know what to do with that hurt. Please help me. Amen.”

 

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