His Small-Town Girl

by Arlene James

  She shook off the troubling thoughts and brightened her smile, determined to enjoy having him here. Thanksgiving seemed special this year because of Ty, and she wanted to concentrate on her many blessings, beginning with Tyler’s growing faith. Everything else came second to that.

  “So tell me,” she said, changing the subject, “do you have any Thanksgiving favorites?”

  He thought about it. “Hmm. Pumpkin pie, of course.”

  “Got it.”

  “Cranberry sauce?”

  “Homemade by my grandma’s recipe.”

  “Can’t wait to dig into that.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Well, football.”

  Charlotte laughed. “You came to the right place, then.”

  He carefully wiped away a spot of mustard on his pinky finger before looking at her. “That’s not what makes this the right place, Charlotte.”

  “No?”

  Slowly he shook his head side to side. “Seems to me that anyplace you are is the right place.” She ducked her head. “I thought about it all the way up here,” he went on gently. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since my mother showed up at my office this afternoon to ask me not to come.”

  Charlotte jerked her head up, her brow wrinkled. “She asked you not to come?”

  He nodded pensively. “We haven’t spent all that many Thanksgivings together,” he revealed, “and at first I thought her protests were just snobbery, frankly, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if she’s not frightened by the changes in me.”

  “Changes?”

  He slid her a wry look. “Don’t pretend I haven’t changed since we met.”

  She thought about the stiff, all-too-charming stranger who had walked in there that first night and compared him to the friend sitting at ease at her table now. His entire countenance had cleared. Gone were the worries and cares that seemed to have burdened him before. She never wondered if he might be looking down his nose at her, never worried that he might mean ill for her friends or community. Her only fear was that she had come to care too much for him.

  “I’ve changed, too,” she admitted. “I thought I had all the answers once, and now…I just don’t know anymore what God’s will for my life is.”

  Nodding, Ty braced his forearms on the table. “We’ll figure it out together.”

  Together, she thought, was the problem, but she nodded anyway. What else could she do?

  Father in heaven, help me, she prayed silently. I don’t want to hurt this man, and I don’t want to go against Your will. Thank You for bringing Ty to Your throne. Thank You for letting us make a difference in his life for You. Just help me figure out where to go from here. I don’t want to love him if that’s not Your will. I’m so confused. Help me do the right thing, even if that’s giving him up.

  But what if that meant leaving here to go with him?

  Obviously she still had some serious praying to do.

  Could God really mean for her to leave Eden? Could Ty possibly be happy here?

  She wanted to believe, wanted desperately to convince herself that God had brought Ty here for more reasons than his spiritual need.

  As if that wasn’t enough.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Well, now, this just might ruin my whole day,” Holt drawled, using his fork to pick something out of the hearty serving of dressing on his plate.

  “What’s that?” Charlotte asked, peering across the heavily laden table.

  Holt held up a greenish-brown lump, slid a look at his sister and with a perfectly straight face said, “This piece of celery is at least three centimeters thicker than all the rest.”

  “Oh, you!” Charlotte picked up a green pea and threw it at him. Uproarious laughter filled the room to bursting.

  Holt forked up a huge bite of the dressing and grinned over it at his sister. “Honestly, sis, this meal is as near perfect as it could possibly be.”

  Everyone agreed, including Ty. The table literally sagged beneath the weight of the feast she had laid before them. In fact, Tyler saw something he’d missed every time he stopped eating long enough to look around the table.

  It was enough to make a man abandon healthy eating habits entirely, which is exactly what Tyler and everyone else did for the day, the most thankful day of the year. And, oh, how much they all had to be thankful for!

  They’d stood around the table before the meal, four grown men and sweet Charlotte, linked their hands together and took turns praying aloud, praising and thanking the Lord for their many blessings. The festive, jubilant mood still infused them all, especially Tyler. He’d sat himself down and partook with all the enthusiasm of the Jefford men, teasing and laughing and groaning with pure delight.

  Tyler couldn’t have been happier or more at his ease. He felt, ironically, that he belonged here with these people, and for the first time he asked himself why he couldn’t just stay here with them, with Charlotte.

  Simply watching her interact with her family gave him great pleasure. Having her smile directed at him from time to time felt almost unbearably sweet.

  Yes, he thought, this is where I want to be. Let the company and my family take care of themselves.

  A pang of guilt surprised him. What would happen to all the people who depended on Aldrich & Associates for their livelihoods if he left the company to the care of his eternally bickering siblings? What would become of them, for that matter? How could his family ever hope to find what he had if he did not lead them to it, and how could he do that if he was not there?

  The prayer that he had repeated so often whispered through his mind then.

  Lord God, make me a man You are proud to call Your own.

  Would such a man abandon the company that he had been charged to lead? Would he abandon his own family?

  Tyler listened to the good-natured banter between brothers and sister and heard the unspoken affection and respect that they shared. These Jeffords valued family. Should he do any less?

  Perhaps he wished to walk away from the Aldrich family, just put the fussing and backbiting behind him, but would that be right? Did he really even want that?

  In all truth, what he wanted most was to feel the same tug of unquestioning love with his brother, sister and mother that Charlotte shared with her brothers and grandfather. Would leaving Dallas and the company achieve that? It didn’t seem likely, but he no longer saw a way to live his life apart from Charlotte.

  This day did not deserve such heavy thoughts, he decided, and he managed to push them aside. For the most part. He couldn’t help wondering from time to time just how his mother, brother and sister were spending the day. They would not, he knew, be enjoying themselves as much as he was, and that saddened him.

  No one could maintain a woeful mood in this company on this day, however. Eventually, even Holt, who seemed to have two hollow legs, called a halt. Pushing back his chair, he waved a hand in a sharp sideways movement.

  “Enough,” he declared.

  “More’n enough, if you ask me,” Hap corrected.

  “More than enough,” Holt agreed, rubbing his distended middle. “An embarrassment of riches, in fact.”

  “Well, then,” Ryan proposed, clapping his hands together, “let’s get this table cleared so we can get back to football.”

  “Oh, no,” Charlotte protested. “Y’all go on. I’ll take care of this.”

  “No, no, no,” Holt insisted. “You cooked. We’ll clean.”

  “Not necessary,” she argued, getting up to begin gathering plates.

  Tyler quickly rose and plucked up his own, holding it out of her reach. “I’ll help her,” he told the others.

  Holt paused in the process of pushing his chair under the table. Ryan divided a look between Holt and their grandfather. All three of them turned near identical grins on Tyler and Charlotte.

  “This is getting to be a habit, Ty,” Holt drawled.

  “Good habit,” Hap inserted.

  Ryan sent them
both slightly censorious glances before stating firmly, “We’ll all clear. If you two would rather wash and dry instead of watching the game, that’s up to you. Otherwise, we’ll all pitch in later. Well, me and Holt, anyway.”

  “That’s right,” Hap said merrily, limping and hitching his way toward the front room. “Got to be some compensation for getting old.” Everyone chuckled. “I’ll have the TV all warmed up by the time you boys get there. ’Sides, there ain’t room enough for all these bodies in the kitchen.”

  The Jefford brothers shook their heads, grabbing up bowls and platters. Charlotte had sense enough to put down the soiled plates and hurry ahead of them to the kitchen, where she began getting out the necessary storage dishes for the leftovers. Tyler did his bit by gathering up the dirty plates and flatware and ferrying them to the kitchen counter.

  In a surprisingly short time, the many leftovers had been safely stowed and the dishes stacked. Charlotte shooed her brothers toward the lobby, then turned to Tyler.

  “You, too. I can take care of this.”

  “No, ma’am. If you’re cleaning up, then I’m helping out, and nothing you can say will change my mind.”

  She looked at the stack of dishes regretfully, sighed and started to follow her brothers. Tyler stopped her with a hand on her forearm.

  “I’d rather be right here up to my elbows in dishwater with you than out there with them, much as they tickle me.”

  She smiled, one corner of her mouth kicking up higher than the other. “What about the game?”

  “They can play without me for once.”

  She relaxed back against the door frame. “Would you be there, actually at that game, if you weren’t here?”

  “Most likely.”

  “Why, then?” she asked softly.

  “Why am I here instead of there? Or why did I come back at all?”

  “Both.”

  He slid a finger down her cheek. “I had questions, and I knew I could find the answers here.” Using his fingertips, he gently pushed her braid off her shoulder. “And then there’s the sheer pleasure of your company.”

  An explosion of hoots erupted from the front room, evoking a smile and a glance in that direction.

  “And theirs.”

  He gazed once again into her complex hazel eyes, noting appreciatively the bits of gold, silvery-blue and soft green. “But it’s mostly you, Charlotte,” he admitted in a husky voice. “You’re why I’m here. And why I’ll keep coming back.”

  She said nothing to that, but he saw a kind of fearful longing on her face that he knew only too well. He’d seen it in his mirror often enough these past weeks.

  “Let’s do some dishes,” he said heartily, turning toward the sink and rolling up his sleeves. “I’ll even wash if you want. In fact, I insist on it. I wouldn’t know where half this stuff goes, anyway.”

  Charlotte laughed and reached around him to start the water. Tyler fought the urge to slip his arms around her and pull her close. It struck him then that just being with her like this, even though she was the sweetest thing he’d ever known, would never be enough. Stepping back, he watched her put in the stopper and squeeze in the liquid soap.

  Make me a man You are proud to call Your own, he prayed. I know that will be a whole lot easier if I can have Charlotte in my life, not just once in a while but all the time. I know there are problems with that, but please help me make that happen.

  Ty seemed wound as tightly as an eight-day clock from the moment he walked into the apartment that next morning. Grinning ear-to-ear, he could barely seem to stand still.

  “All that food yesterday must’ve revved your engine,” Hap noted over his second cup of coffee.

  Tyler bobbed his head in agreement. “Yes, sir. I’m feeling pretty peppy.”

  He proved that statement by helping Charlotte with her chores. Even after that, however, he seemed bursting with such energy that he rushed her through lunch, saying repeatedly that he needed a good, long walk. Hap laughingly bullied the two of them into coats and sent them off.

  Ty fairly danced across the pavement toward the park, skipping backward much of the time. His exuberance tickled Charlotte. He seemed so happy, and she chalked it up to his growing faith.

  “Have you noticed how much of our relationship seems to revolve around food?” he asked at one point.

  Our relationship. “What does that mean, I wonder?”

  “It means that you’re a very good cook, generous to a fault, welcoming, kind—”

  “It means that there aren’t very many places around here where you can get a decent meal,” she interrupted with a chortle.

  Empty tree branches clacked together on either side of the street, moved by a swirling breeze that held a damp, cold edge. The gray sky offered no cloud to threaten rain, however, and aside from the wind, the temperature remained lodged in the pleasant range.

  “Okay, there is that,” he allowed, “but that doesn’t mean the rest isn’t true, too. You are an excellent cook. Your generosity and kindness amazes me, and no one has ever made me feel more welcome. You, your family…” He looked around, waving an arm in an expansive gesture. “This whole town, really.”

  Her laughter wafted on the breeze. Why couldn’t it stay like this? she wondered. The two of them, always.

  And what if “always” is in Dallas?

  She shook her head. Late last night she’d decided that she’d been getting way ahead of herself. Ty had asked her to pray about their relationship. He had said that he’d come back to be with her, and now he’d paid her extravagant compliments. That did not mean he would ask her to go to Dallas with him.

  True, he’d inquired once before if she would ever consider leaving Eden, but that didn’t mean he was making plans for the two of them. She could be agonizing over nothing. Why not just enjoy this time with him and let things play out as God willed?

  Turning her face up to the sky, she said, “Have you ever noticed how God gives us glorious moments to get us through the dreary days?”

  Tyler considered that for a few moments. “Honestly, the only truly glorious moments I’ve known have been right here, and I would definitely say those are from God.”

  She smiled. “You are really on the mountaintop today, aren’t you?”

  “It would seem so.”

  They walked on, chatting and laughing about a variety of subjects. Long before they reached the park they could see that the place was deserted. They strolled on, crossing the bridge to the gently rolling ground on the other side. The narrow stream at the bottom of the gully carried leaves with it, little brown and gold boats with crinkled edges.

  While weaving their way through the trees, Tyler kicked playfully at the leaves piled in drifts on the ground, a veritable bundle of energy. Suddenly he spun, grasping her lightly by the upper arms.

  “I have to get something out of my system.”

  Staring up at him, she realized that he was seeking permission. “Go on.”

  To her surprise and delight, he stepped closer. His smile flashed in the instant before he dipped his head and kissed her.

  Charlotte felt that kiss all the way to the tips of her toes. Instinctively, she lifted up onto them, her arms drifting about his neck. At length, he lifted his head and sighed.

  Charlotte came back to the earth with a thud. She remembered the last time this had happened and that he hadn’t seemed inclined to repeat the experience.

  “Well, that was less than helpful,” he muttered. Charlotte ducked her head, heat staining her cheeks. “Now I just want more.”

  Her gaze zipped up at that. “Tyler!”

  “I know you’re not the sort of woman to go around kissing every man she meets,” he said, eyes glowing. “I also know that an innocent kiss is all you’d give any man, no matter how you felt about him.”

  “Except a husband,” she blurted, face blazing.

  “Since I heartily agree with that sentiment,” Tyler said, his voice growing more solemn with every syll
able, “I suspect there’s just one thing for us to do.”

  She looked up. Was this the end for them, then, or the beginning? She feared the end, had tried to prepare for it, but something told her that he meant this to be a beginning for them, and she truly did not know what she would do about that. Cautiously, she tilted her head.

  “What do you think we should do?” she asked.

  “Get married.”

  Gasping, Charlotte stepped back with one foot. The other remained firmly fixed in place, which pretty well demonstrated how torn she felt. Half of her wanted to throw her arms around him and cry out, “Yes!” The other already grieved what she worried could never be hers.

  “B-but how can we? You live in Dallas, and I live here.”

  “Logistics…” he began, but she cut him off.

  “It’s more than that! You know it is. We might as well live in different worlds! I don’t know anything about society or fashion or suites at the football stadium!”

  “Look,” he said, stepping closer. “I don’t know how it’s all going to work out. I only know that I love you and my life will never be complete without you.”

  Something inside her melted, and one pertinent fact stood out among all the others. She’d fought against it, but she couldn’t deny the truth any longer, not to herself, at least. “Oh, Ty.”

  He took her hands in his and went down on one knee, saying, “Might as well do this properly.” Tears filled her eyes as he formally asked, “Charlotte, will you marry me?”

  A sob slipped out of her. She hunched her shoulders as if she could call it back.

  “Before you answer,” he went on somberly, “you should know that the only way I’ll live my life without you is if you convince me that you don’t love me, too. Can you do that, Charlotte?”

  She shook her head.

  “Then I think you’d better agree to marry me, don’t you?”

  Staring down into his glowing, sky-blue eyes, she could not do anything else. Perhaps it had been only weeks since he’d walked into her life, but from the first moment she had known that God had brought him there.

  She knew, too, that her love for him was stronger than her fears about leaving her family and fitting into his, fears that she’d insisted on interpreting as God’s will. Even now she didn’t know how this would turn out, but she knew that God would take care of it, one way or another, if she just had the courage to take what He offered her now.