“Yeah.” Robin looked away. “That’s true.”
With the thought planted in her brain, a seed of happiness sprouted in Kylie’s heart. “The sooner it starts, the sooner it’s over with.” She linked arms with Robin. “We’ll get up in the morning, drive the one-hour commute to campus, hit the coffee shop for a cappuccino, then head to class.”
“Uh, sure.” Robin gently unlinked her arm and pointed to the man waving to them from the far corner. Robin’s face lit up and she waved back. “There’s Tyler. Come on.”
The sprout of happiness withered in Kylie’s chest. She’d hardly seen Robin in the last few months. “We could hang out together. Just you and me. Talk a bit.”
Confusion wrapped Robin’s features. “Without Tyler?”
“Well, we haven’t seen much of each other.”
“Um. . .” Kylie watched as Robin’s face scrunched in uncertainty with how to respond.
Kylie swatted the air then pushed her friend in Tyler’s direction. “No. You go on.” She lifted her purse. “I think I’ll freshen up in the rest room then grab a bite of all this good food.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. You go on.”
“Okay, see you later.”
Kylie watched as Robin walked away without so much as a backward glance. Sighing, Kylie made her way to the bathroom. So much of her life seemed to be changing. Getting rocky. Unstable. First, her daddy’s illness. Then Dalton’s engagement. Amanda’s announcement of twins. Now Robin’s dating. It made her feel out of control.
She laid her purse on the sink and rummaged through its contents. Finding her lipstick, she opened it and applied the watermelon color. She smacked her lips together. Ryan had been right where she needed him all summer. Consistent.
What am I thinking? Ryan was a grown man working at Holiday World. Sure, he was godly and generous and fun to be around, but when the electric bill came due or the pantry emptied—then what? He’d take a side job as a lifeguard at a pool? No, Ryan’s picture would not be the one displayed in the dictionary beside the definition of “consistent.”
And yet he was just that.
Trying to forget the thought, she leaned closer to the mirror and brushed away an eyelash that had fallen on her cheek. “I wonder where he’s been.”
She stood straighter and brushed invisible wrinkles from her sundress’s hem. “Classes will soon begin. Life will go back to normal. I will not worry about Ryan Watkins.” She squirted some blackberry-scented lotion into her palm and rubbed her hands together. “I’m going to mingle”—she zipped her purse shut and exited the restroom—“have a bit of fun, then head home and go to bed early before work tomorrow.”
A purposeful bounce had formed in her step by the time she reached the recreation center. “Only two more weeks of work at Holiday World.” She pushed open the door. A groan sounded from the other side. She gasped, covered her mouth, and peered around the door.
“Ryan!”
“You pack quite a punch.” Ryan touched each side of his nose.
“I’m so sorry. What were you doing right behind the door?”
“Reaching for the handle.”
Kylie grimaced and moved his hands from his face to see the damage. “I’m sorry. You’re not bleeding. A little red, maybe.”
He sniffed and wiggled his nose. “I’m fine. How are you doing, Ki?”
Flutters filled her belly when he shortened her name. Wow, she had missed him. “I’m good.”
“How’s Brad?”
She shrugged. Why would he ask her about Brad the Baboon? She almost chuckled aloud at the thought of the pet name she’d made up for the man. “Good, I guess.”
Taking in his cool blue gaze and sun-kissed nose and cheeks, she acknowledged how cute this Richie Cunningham was to her, more attractive than she wanted to admit. “I haven’t seen you at work.”
“I had some other things I needed to get done.”
She furrowed her brows. “Don’t you. . .don’t you need to work? I mean, you said you didn’t have a day job.” She swatted the air. “It’s none of my business.”
“You want to get some food?”
“Sure.”
Ryan led her to the table. She picked up a plate and loaded it with country ham biscuits, potato chips, fruit salad, crackers and cheese dip, and an oversize double chocolate brownie. After grabbing a can of pop, she sat at a vacant round table. Ryan sat beside her. “You want me to bless our food?”
“Sure.” She bowed her head and closed her eyes.
“Thank You for our food, Lord. Thank You for this time of fellowship. I pray You will draw us closer to You, that our lives will be filled with joy and contentment. Amen.”
She looked up at him, then down at her plate. Was her life joyful? Could she say she felt contentment? The thought of working with Brad Dickson made her feel nauseous. Her brother barely grunted at her every time she called her parents’ house. Robin was preoccupied with Tyler. “Joy” and “contentment” were not words she would choose to describe her life right now. She bit into her sandwich.
“Excuse me. Can we have your attention for a moment?”
Kylie turned at the sound of Tyler’s voice. He stood in the middle of the room, with Robin holding tight to his side. An indeterminable queasiness overtook Kylie.
“Robin and I have an announcement to make.”
“No,” Kylie whispered and barely shook her head.
Tyler’s bottom lip quivered. “God blessed me once with a wonderful wife. When Cheryl died, I thought my whole life belonged to my son and the youth.” He peered at Robin, and tears filled his eyes.
“No, this is not happening.” Kylie gripped her fork.
Robin pulled a tissue from her front pocket. She handed it to Tyler, leaned close, and whispered something in his ear, then kissed his cheek. Tyler continued, “Well, God had other plans.”
Kylie’s heart sped up. “No.”
“He blessed me to love again.” He gazed at Robin. “I’m humbled and honored to share with you that Robin has agreed to be my wife.”
Kylie smacked her fork on the table, stood, and started to walk away.
“Kylie.” Ryan tried to grab her hand.
“No, Ryan.” She pivoted and gawked at him. “She does things on a whim. She never thinks things through. She needs”—she smacked her hip for emphasis—“to finish school.” She peered at the ceiling, nearly hidden by red and blue helium balloons. “Am I the only person on the planet who believes in being sensible?”
She turned and walked to the rest room. The words of Ryan’s prayer flooded her mind. Everything about Robin exuded joy and contentment. She’d practically floated on clouds each time she was with Tyler.
Kylie made her way to the mirror in the ladies’ room and peered at her reflection. “Everything’s going wrong, Lord.”
❧
Ryan waited at the end of the line of people that had formed to congratulate the newly engaged couple. Two weeks he’d spent away from Kylie. He’d purposefully tried to get the woman out of his mind, out of his heart. Time away would squelch his feelings. Seeing her with Brad and again tonight proved his plan hadn’t worked. When his turn came, Ryan hugged Robin and shook Tyler’s hand.
“Where’s Kylie?” Robin leaned close and asked.
“In the rest room.”
Robin turned toward her fiancé. “Tyler, I’ll be right back.” She yanked Ryan away from the crowd. “Let’s talk.”
“What is it?”
“Kylie.”
“I think she feels you’ve moved too fast.”
Robin bit her lip. “Look. I love Kylie. We’ve been the best of friends for as long as I can remember, but she has issues.”
“Issues?” Ryan frowned. He knew she wanted a good job and a steady husband and that being financially secure seemed to be the most important pursuit of her life.
“Not like that. She just can’t loosen up. Can’t trust. Can’t let herself—she’s just so worried ab
out having the perfect life she can’t see when God’s best is right in front of her.”
“What are you saying?”
Robin huffed. “You.” She poked his shoulder. “You, Richie Cunningham, are perfect for her. She’s so consumed with her perfect husband, perfect kids, perfect dog running along her perfect white picket fence, that she’s blind to what God has provided that is actually perfect for her.”
“Aren’t you being a bit dramatic?”
“No, I’m not.” She stomped her foot then giggled at her reaction. “I’m always dramatic, but that doesn’t change what’s going on with Kylie. Being poor as a girl and now with her dad fighting black lung, she needs to feel safe.” Robin cocked her head and stared at him. “What do you do for income?”
Ryan’s collar tightened around his neck as Robin’s scrutinizing gaze peered into him. “I work at Holiday World.”
“And that’s all?”
“I’m a Santa at the mall in Evansville at Christmastime.”
Robin raised her eyebrows.
Ryan cleared his throat. “That’s all the work I do that comes with a paycheck.”
“Hmm. I think there’s more to it than you lead on.” She pointed her finger at him. “Look, I don’t want you to give up on her.”
“What about Brad Dickson?”
“Brad?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “The guy she’s going to work with. The one who took her on a business dinner a few days ago. Mr. Clean-Cut, Nose-in-the-Air—”
“Wow. I think the green-eyed monster’s been paying Mr. Watkins a visit.”
“Humph.”
“He sounds cute, though.” She laughed and punched Ryan’s shoulder again. “I’m just teasing. I haven’t met this Brad Dickson.”
“You haven’t?”
“Nope, and she never talks about him.”
“Do you talk to her much now that your schedule is full with Tyler and Bransom?”
“You got me there.” Robin bit her lip thoughtfully. “Look. Don’t give up on her, okay?”
“Who says I’m pursuing her?”
Robin snorted. “I’ve been preoccupied, but I’m not blind. It’s obvious you like her. Pray she can see past her fears. She wants you. She just hasn’t admitted it to herself yet.”
Ryan watched as Robin scurried back to Tyler’s side. It’s obvious I care about Kylie, huh? And Robin thinks she cares about me—just doesn’t know it. In his peripheral vision, he saw Kylie sit down at the table. She scooped some fruit salad on her fork and took a bite.
But what about Brad? Robin didn’t have an answer for him—didn’t even know who he was. He looked at Kylie. He longed for her to be his. No matter what he did, his attraction wouldn’t dissipate, wouldn’t even budge. He made his way toward her.
“Hey.” Ryan sat beside her.
“Hey.” She smiled at him, but he could see the hint of red around her slightly swollen eyelids. “Are you still going to Belize in January?”
Ryan lifted his eyebrows. Her question surprised him. “Yes. We have a meeting this Friday.”
“You guys have fund-raisers and other things to raise the money to go, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’d like to go to the meeting.”
“Sure. I can pick you up at seven.”
“That would be great.” Kylie stood and picked up her plate and cup. “I’m pretty tired. I think I’m going to head back to the apartment, but I’ll see you then.”
Stunned, Ryan sat as Kylie threw away her food then headed out the door. She hadn’t congratulated Robin and Tyler. Sadness gleamed from her eyes. Robin was right. Brad wasn’t the problem. Kylie needed to trust God with her future, with her family’s future. Yes, everything would work out as soon as Kylie put her full trust in God.
Ten
A few days later, Ryan walked Kylie to the front door of her apartment after another missions trip meeting. “School starts tomorrow, huh?”
“Yep.”
“What did you think of the meeting?”
“I’m looking forward to the trip. I want to hold the babies.” Her eyes flashed with excitement as a smile warmed her lips. Ryan found himself wanting to touch the dimple on her chin. It was the deepest he’d ever seen; yet it added the neatest beauty to her face.
“You’ll make a beautiful baby-holder.” Ryan’s voice sounded huskier than he’d intended. He cleared his throat as Kylie’s cheeks blazed pink.
She jingled her keys. “I’m thinking of making hair bows for the fund-raiser.”
“That sounds great.”
“It’s a lot of money to raise.”
“God always provides.”
Kylie peered up at him. She studied him with an intensity that would make a bear cower back into the woods. “You really trust Him completely.”
She hadn’t asked, simply stated. Ryan swallowed, pondering if the declaration was accurate. Did he trust God? Completely? Kylie struggled with trust in poverty. What about his wealth? The greed and power that had filled Vanessa’s eyes when she learned of his worth flooded his mind. He remembered the way she had spoken with disdain to his friends who had less. Since then, he hadn’t been able to risk letting others know his true financial status. His intentions had been to live humbly, but had it really been for pride? “I—I try to trust Him.”
Kylie touched his cheek. “I’m thankful for your faith.” Before he could respond, she thrust her key into the doorknob, unlocked it, and scurried inside.
Humbled, Ryan walked back to his car, contemplating if he trusted his Lord as much as he thought.
❧
Kylie settled into the wooden school desk. Her drive had been a long and lonely one. She was thankful that Robin planned to stay in the apartment until the wedding and that Robin’s uncle offered to let Kylie keep the apartment until she had graduated and was gainfully employed. But she still missed Robin. The semester just wouldn’t be the same without her best friend.
She shuffled her folders, then placed all but the one she’d designated for the accounting course under her desk. Retrieving two pencils from her purse, she checked to make sure they were well sharpened. She pulled her schedule from her pocket. Only four classes this semester. Since she’d attended summer courses the first two years, Kylie was able to finish all necessary accounting content except this one fall semester class. The other three courses she took simply to keep her academic scholarship.
Ms. Jones. She read the instructor’s name for the class. Kylie had heard wonderful things about the fairly young professor. According to the buzz on campus, Ms. Jones was dynamic and an out-of-the-box thinker, yet she stayed abreast of the current business expectations. Kylie bit the eraser of her pencil. It seems I heard she was expecting.
Kylie dropped her pencil when Professor Nickels trudged through the door. His salt-and-pepper hair, a mass of wiry curls, swayed with each step he took. “I know you’re expecting Professor Jones.”
Nickels plopped his briefcase on the teacher’s desk. “I’m not looking forward to teaching this class any more than you’re interested in taking it.” He scanned the room. His gaze landed on Kylie. He scowled.
He jerked a stack of papers from his case and walked to one side of the room. “Professor Jones is having complications with her pregnancy.” He counted students and syllabi, then handed several to the first person in each row. “So, I’m filling in.”
A small, dark-haired lady raised her hand. “Will Ms. Jones and the baby be all right?”
“How would I know?” Professor Nickels shrugged and turned toward the chalkboard. “Look at page one in your syllabus. . . .”
Kylie slumped in her seat. Perfect. This was just great. This semester was supposed to be cake, and now she had Nickels to deal with—again. She frowned at the packet in front of her. Robin, her ever-consistent pick-me-up friend, wouldn’t be keeping her company on the long drive to campus. She wouldn’t be walking to the coffee shop with her each morning to encourage Kylie to make it through
his class.
Robin’s eyes had shone like emeralds when she’d returned from the singles’ get-together just a few weeks before. Her countenance had been a mixture of adrenaline, bliss, and contentment. “I’m not going back.” Robin’s words echoed in Kylie’s mind. . . .
“What? But you have to. You want to graduate. You want to get a good—”
“No, Kylie.” Robin had rested her hand on top of Kylie’s. “I never wanted it like you did. Don’t you see? That’s why I still don’t have a major.” She looked at the engagement ring on her finger, then back at Kylie. “I’m twenty-three years old. All I’ve ever wanted was to be a wife and mom. Think about it. When you wanted to play business, I wanted to play house. When you wanted to play school, I wanted to play house. When you wanted to play store, I wanted to play—”
“House,” Kylie finished.
“Yes. This is what I want. God has given me such peace, such confirmation. I want you to be happy for me.” She grabbed Kylie in a hug. “And I want you to be my maid of honor.”
Kylie had wiped away the threat of tears that filled her eyes. “Of course I’m happy, and I’d better be your maid of honor.”
The chalk screeched against the board, and Kylie snapped from her reverie. She glanced at the syllabus on the desk of the guy sitting beside her. Nickels was on page five. She flipped her pages over. Gazing at his scoring guide, she cringed. To be able to graduate summa cum laude, with a 3.85 grade point average or better, she’d have to have a B in this class. I can do it.
She looked at her watch. Five more minutes. Her cell phone vibrated in her front pocket. Discreetly, she pulled it out, as no one ever called her during the day once school started. Her phone’s display read her parents’ number, and her heart plunged into her gut. Quickly, she gathered her things and slipped out of the room. Please, God, let Daddy be okay.
She pressed the button. “Hello?”
“Hi, honey,” her mother’s voice sounded over the line.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing serious.”
Kylie let out her breath. “Mama, you scared me to death. I was sitting in class, and I thought something happened to Daddy.”
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