His Small-Town Girl

by Arlene James

  Tyler’s gaze held more than a little worry, but he nodded, obviously relieved. She took joy in that.

  “You better get moving,” Holt told her, “before I decide I can’t live without your pie.” The quip fell flat.

  She couldn’t believe she was doing this, but she bullied aside her doubts and threw her arms around Holt. He held out the pie to protect it and pecked a kiss on her temple, but his tight smile didn’t fool her. She knew he held back his tears with Herculean effort.

  She went to Ryan next. “I hope you two know what you’re letting yourself in for.”

  Ryan winked at Ty, teasing, “Anyone can make a few beds.”

  All her doubts rushed over her in that moment. “As if! It’s not just making beds, it’s—”

  “I expect I know a thing or two about what it takes to keep this place running,” Hap interrupted. “If three grown men can’t do it, well, God’ll provide.”

  “I know He will,” Charlotte agreed, moving toward her grandfather with a heavy heart.

  What a blessing he had been to her! Once she had thought her grandfather would forever be the center of her world. She had believed that anything that took her from there and him could not be right, but that was before Ty.

  Oh, Father, don’t let this be a mistake. Surely it shouldn’t be this difficult!

  “Granddad,” she began, her chin trembling. He cut her off, engulfing her in a bear hug.

  “I know what you’re gonna say, sweet girl, but I never expected you to give up your life for me. I’m plenty old enough to be on my own. Me and the boys will work it all out. God’s got something else for you to do.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Ryan said, joining the hug. “We have a plan. You go with Ty and help him out. Sounds like he needs it.”

  Holt pointed at Tyler then. “Speaking of plans, we’re expecting to hear wedding plans as soon as your mom’s able.”

  Tyler shook his head. “You’re just going to trust me to take Charlotte off like this?”

  The brothers looked at each other. “If we can’t trust you to take her now, we sure can’t trust you with the rest of her life,” Ryan declared.

  “Besides,” Holt added, “we know our girl. Her we can definitely trust.”

  Charlotte hugged them both again, whispering, “Thank you.”

  “You just be happy,” Hap instructed, nudging her to get moving. She couldn’t think about that now. What if she could never be happy in Ty’s world? She only knew that she would no longer be happy in her own world without him.

  “Cassandra,” Charlotte said, turning to Tyler’s sister, her mind awhirl with a hundred concerns, “I’ll need you to help me put together a suitable wardrobe as soon as possible. Can you do that?”

  Cassandra blinked, looked at Ty, and then she smiled in a happily calculating manner. “I’d be delighted.”

  “Thank you.” But her wardrobe was surely the least of what she faced, Charlotte knew. Whirling, she kissed Hap on his ragged cheek then rushed toward the apartment door, calling over her shoulder to Ty, “I’ll throw some things into a bag and meet you outside.”

  Behind her, she heard Hap chuckle. “You best scoot, son. She’s unstoppable once she’s got her game plan on.”

  “Speaking of that,” Ryan interjected, “you can expect us in your sky box at the next home game.”

  The last thing Charlotte heard before the apartment door swung closed behind her was Tyler’s laughter. She wished that she could feel as happy and carefree as he sounded, but all she could do was gird herself for the battles ahead. How many, she wondered, before she could lay claim to any real peace in her life again?

  Despite the doubts that crowded in on her, however, she clung to the hope of certainty. If the ground beneath her feet suddenly felt unsafe, then she’d just have to trust that angels would watch over her.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Charlotte felt strongly that Ty needed to see his mother as soon as possible, so they decided to drive straight to the hospital. Cassandra followed in her car. Along the way they spoke prayers for Amanda’s well-being and Ty’s wisdom in dealing with her. Once they reached the city, he pointed out landmarks relevant to his life, including the towering edifice in the distance, where he owned a penthouse.

  “Just another word for a larger-than-average apartment,” he commented mildly when Charlotte widened her eyes at the word penthouse.

  Mentally gulping, Charlotte smiled and said nothing. Inside, she quivered with nerves, her stomach knotting painfully. She truly believed that she and Ty belonged together, but her new role in his life terrified her. The weeks and months ahead were bound to be difficult ones. Only with God’s help could she hope even to get through them, but get through them she would. Somehow.

  They left the car with a valet at the hospital entrance. At some point Cassandra had fallen well behind them, but Tyler showed no concern.

  “She knows her way around. She’ll show up later.”

  He’d informed his sister via cell phone of their intentions, and she’d told him their mother’s room number. Clutching his hand, Charlotte allowed him to lead her through the gleaming building to a central desk, where he spoke with a volunteer before being shown to a private elevator tucked into an out-of-the-way corner. They rode swiftly up to the correct floor. When they stepped off, a uniformed security guard nodded at them, and Charlotte’s confidence abruptly faltered.

  Gulping, she looked down at the jeans and sweater that she wore beneath her usual old quilted jacket. Why hadn’t she at least exchanged her athletic shoes for flats? As if reading her mind, Tyler, still clad in his comfortable jeans and a simple shirt himself, dropped a kiss on her forehead.

  She tried to put aside her fears and believe that God controlled the situation. Back in Eden, she hadn’t doubted this was the right thing. She told herself that her place, now and forever, was at Tyler’s side. She just hoped that she didn’t embarrass him in any way.

  They walked down a broad, shiny corridor that more closely resembled a plush hotel than any hospital Charlotte had ever seen. At the quietly bustling nurses’ station, they were met by a distinguished, middle-aged man in a pristine white lab coat. His relief was clear.

  Tyler introduced Dr. Olander, identifying Charlotte as his fiancée. The doctor quickly masked his surprise, but if Charlotte could have crawled into a hole at that moment, she would have.

  After issuing congratulations and best wishes, the doctor got down to business. “I’ve never seen Amanda like this.” As he spoke, he led them toward a door with the appropriate number affixed to it. “She’s been weeping since she came in, and all she’ll say is that she’s a complete failure, especially as a mother.”

  Tyler dropped a perplexed look on Charlotte and pushed open the door. The “room” turned out to be a suite with a private sitting area.

  Charlotte looked to Ty. “Maybe I should wait here.”

  He skimmed a knuckle across her cheek. “I know how hard this is for you, but I need you in there with me. If I thought I could handle this on my own, I’d never have asked you to come.”

  How could she refuse that? The doctor pushed into the inner room, announcing, “Amanda, Tyler is here.”

  He stepped aside, revealing a small figure in a high, narrow bed. That figure rolled to face them as they moved forward. Even without makeup, her white-blond hair sticking out at odd angles and swollen, red-rimmed eyes, she appeared much younger than her sixty-one years. One look at Ty, though, and she burst into noisy sobs.

  To Charlotte’s surprise, he did not immediately go to Amanda. Instead he looked rather helplessly at Charlotte. He seemed even more at a loss with his mother than he had with his sister. After a moment, Charlotte pantomimed a hug. He looked doubtfully back to the bed.

  Finally, with Charlotte’s hand still gripped in his, he walked forward, saying, “Mother, what is this about?”

  Amanda’s sobs rose to a wail.

  Frowning at him, Charlotte gave him a tiny shove,
indicating with a nod of her head that he should sit on the bed and moderate his tone. He looked somewhat desperate at that, but then he gingerly perched on the edge of the bed, saying, “It’ll be all right. We’re here now.”

  “We?” Amanda queried weakly, sniffing and looking up.

  Ty tugged Charlotte closer, announcing firmly, “This is the woman I’m going to marry. Charlotte, this is my mother, Amanda.”

  The shock not only stopped Amanda’s tears, it rounded her eyes and mouth to comic proportions. Forcing a smile, Charlotte remarked to herself that at least she now knew where Ty got those gorgeous eyes of his. The bedside manner was something they’d definitely have to work on, though.

  “M-married?” Amanda’s bleary gaze sought out Charlotte. “You’re that Jefford woman, aren’t you?”

  “That’s right,” Charlotte answered, hoping her smile looked more cheery than it felt.

  “I want you to tell me what brought this on,” Ty said.

  “First things first, though,” Charlotte interjected gently, addressing Amanda. “Ty and I are going to pray for you. Then we’ll all talk.”

  Amanda appeared stunned. Charlotte heard the door close softly behind them as the doctor slipped out. Heart pounding, she moved sideways to place both of her hands on Ty’s shoulders and bow her head. Despite the distinct impression that Amanda did not follow suit, Charlotte’s heart swelled as Ty began to speak.

  “Thank you, Lord, for these two women. You know how much I love them and how much I need them. We all need Your guidance, and right now, my mother needs Your healing. Whatever’s wrong, I know You can fix it, and while You’re doing that, I ask You to make me a better son and a good husband, a man of whom You can be proud.”

  When he was done, Amanda lurched upward and threw her arms around her son, sobbing again. Tyler, thankfully, hugged her tightly, whispering, “It’s all right. Please don’t cry. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Suddenly, she grasped Charlotte’s hand and fell back onto the bed, clutching at Ty. “Oh, son, I’m sorry for being so weak and stupid!”

  Ty shook his head, smiling. “Amanda Aldrich may be a lot of things, but weak and stupid are not among them.”

  “Oh, yes, they are,” she insisted. Her grip on Charlotte intensified as she switched her gaze once more to Charlotte’s face. “I’ve been lying here making myself sick because I didn’t think my son loved me.” Her face crumpled, but she went on. “And why should he? I don’t even know how to be a mother. I never have!”

  Charlotte’s heart lurched inside her chest. She’d been right to come. God was at work here, and He would surely work out everything else. Over time she would come to miss Eden and her family less and less, to love Ty and his family more and more.

  “Now, now,” Ty crooned, petting his mother’s head.

  “I’m sorry,” she wailed, “but when Cassandra said that you’d told her you love her, I—I was so…so…jealous!”

  “Mother!” Ty gasped, sounding a bit exasperated.

  “Then I realized that maybe I’d never told any of my children how much I love them, and I do,” she squeaked. “I do!”

  “Oh, Mom,” Tyler said, gathering her close. He lifted a glance at Charlotte, his eyes speaking volumes. Charlotte nodded in acknowledgment. “It’s all right,” Tyler said, rocking Amanda slightly. “Everything’s going to be different now, I promise.”

  She pushed back a bit then and in a slightly reproving voice said, “You’ve never called me Mom before.” Then she looked up at Charlotte, adding, “I suppose I have you to thank for that, young lady.” Lifting her chin, she whispered, “Thank you.”

  Charlotte laughed with delight. Relief and understanding swept through her. Maybe their lifestyles were as different as night and day, maybe she wasn’t a fashion plate or from an influential family, but people were just people, after all, and every one of them needed the same things.

  To her joy, she realized that she had more to offer Tyler and his family than she’d realized.

  In many ways she’d just been marking time in Eden. Now she and Ty must forge a new world for themselves, for all of them. If she lost something precious in the bargain, well, it would be worth it. Besides, Eden would always be there for them. And they would never have to worry about having a room when they went to visit. With God’s help, she could adapt. She must, for what other choice was there?

  A palace, Charlotte thought with some dismay, glancing around Ty’s sumptuous, elegant penthouse. He’d remarked earlier that penthouse simply meant a larger-than-average apartment, but the entire apartment that she shared with Hap back at the Heavenly Arms Motel would fit into just the master suite of this place.

  Glass and shiny steel lightened dark, glossy wood, black lacquer and rich burgundy, making for an undeniably beautiful decor, yet the place felt colder and emptier than even the most shabby room at the motel. She’d have preferred to see a bit of personal clutter, frankly, but even the enormous bathroom displayed all the hominess of an operating room.

  Looked like she had her work cut out for her. But she could do this, she reminded herself. With God’s help she would make this place a home.

  “You don’t like it,” Ty said, leading her back to the living area after they’d settled Amanda into the guest room across the hall from Charlotte’s.

  It had been decided that Amanda would stay there with them after checking out of the hospital, at least for the time being. Later, Ty had suggested, Charlotte might be more comfortable the other way around, but the idea of moving in with his mother, even temporarily, filled Charlotte with gloom, which she struggled mightily to disguise. Fortunately, Cassandra and Preston had arrived just about then and were now spending a private moment with their mother.

  “It’s fabulous!” she insisted, lifting both arms to encompass the expansive room with its gorgeous furnishings, ceiling-to-floor windows and enormous, hidden television screens.

  “Look,” he said, coming forward to take her into his arms. “I never expected to live here forever. Actually, I always figured I’d wind up in a house in Highland Park, not some little town in Oklahoma. Just goes to show, huh?”

  Charlotte blinked. “Do you mean that? You still plan to make our home in Eden?”

  He drew back slightly. “Of course. Wouldn’t you rather raise our family in Eden than here?”

  “Well, yes, but what about your family?”

  “I suspect we’ll never be the same,” Cassandra said, walking into the room, “and maybe that’s a good thing.” She’d changed into a teal silk pantsuit and twisted her hair up into a wispy, trendy clump.

  Preston, Tyler’s brother, followed in a somewhat more subdued, thoughtful manner. Charlotte had thought Ty to be the best-dressed man she’d ever seen, but Preston, whose thick, wavy, medium-brown hair seemed a perfect mixture of Cassandra’s milky-blond and Ty’s dark, chocolate color, might have been a male model. Charlotte wondered if she had ever been that comfortable in her clothes.

  She tugged her mind back to matters of more importance. “What about your company?” she asked Ty.

  “Please,” Preston said, sounding bored as he dropped down into a leather club chair. “This is the twenty-first century.”

  Tyler tucked Charlotte close to his side and turned to his brother. “Meaning?”

  Preston examined his fingernails. “You can run the company from anywhere. All you really need is a good Internet connection. DSL should do it.”

  Tyler rubbed his chin. “Actually, it would have to be a satellite connection.”

  Striking a pose, Cassandra shrugged negligently. “So you’ll get a satellite link.”

  Hope rising, Charlotte looked to Ty. “Could we?”

  Nodding, he mused, “Probably need a phone, too. The cell coverage leaves a lot to be desired.” He looked at her. “It would mean a good deal of travel back and forth, I imagine.”

  Preston spread his hands. “So keep this place for when you’re in town.”

 
; “Are you saying that you think I should continue running the company?” Ty asked pointedly.

  Preston lifted an insouciant gaze. “Who else?”

  “You didn’t think you were going to get out of it that easily, did you?” Cassandra said, folding her arms.

  Tyler looked between his brother and sister. “The two of you would have to take on more responsibility.”

  Something played across Preston’s lips. “Think you can trust us?”

  “Yes,” Ty answered firmly.

  “The infighting has gotten rather boring of late,” Preston said, trying not to look too pleased. Crossing his legs, he dropped his gaze. “I’ll do my best.”

  “I know you will.” Ty looked at his sister. “Cassandra?”

  She broke into a wide grin. “You know, it’s just possible that we could make the best management team ever if we really put our minds to it.”

  “Amen,” Ty agreed delightedly. He gazed down at Charlotte, his blue eyes glowing. “It’ll take some time, you understand, to get things reorganized here, and then of course we have to find a piece of property around Eden and design and build our dream house.”

  “We have our whole lives,” she told him, so happy she could burst. What a fool she had been to limit God in any way. All He’d ever required of her was surrender to His will. “But first things first, as you said earlier. We have a wedding to plan, remember?”

  Smiling, Ty hugged her tightly. “How could I forget? And just so you know, I have recently discovered that I definitely do not believe in long engagements.”

  “That makes two of us then.”

  “Now,” Cassandra said in a very businesslike manner, “I suppose the wedding should be in Eden.”

  Ty and Charlotte looked at each other. “At the First Church,” he confirmed.

  Charlotte beamed. “Grover will be so pleased.”

  “Just family and close friends, I’d think,” Cassandra mused, “but of course we’ll need to have a second reception here.”