by JoAnn Durgin
“What’s your name?” she asked, not seeing a name tag as the teenager buttoned the jacket with shaking fingers.
“Tamara,” one of the guys said.
Amy turned and stared them down. “You’re still here?” How she’d love to smack the smug expressions off their faces. Tempting as it was, smacking wasn’t a Christ-like response. Love them and show them by example. Unclenching her fists, she raised her chin and glared at the two guys. “Want to tell us what’s going on here?”
Cooper stepped in front of the guys—boys really, now that she got a good look at them up close and personal. “I suggest you leave the lady alone.” Confident. Commanding. John Wayne-like. Impressive.
“Ah, man, she ain’t nothin’ but trailer trash, anyway.” The taller, mangier one waved his hand in dismissal and started to walk away.
What a horrible thing to say. Her instincts made her step closer to Tamara.
“This guy thinks he’s gonna teach us a lesson,” the other one taunted, standing his ground, challenge in his eyes. Amy’s stomach tightened as he smacked one balled fist against his palm. Cooper could take this kid in a heartbeat, but hopefully no one would resort to violence. The first guy turned but stayed his distance.
“You’re right about that,” Cooper said, pushing one finger against the taunter’s chest. “Back off, boys. You both need to learn some respect and manners. You never treat a woman like this and you sure don’t talk about a lady in a disparaging way.”
“Dis—what?” The first one scratched his head.
When she caught a glimpse of his teeth, Amy cringed, wishing she could drag him to the nearest dentist’s office. Before or after she made sure he shaved and washed his hair was the question. Her eyes moved to Tamara, but the girl slumped further against the wall and avoided her gaze.
“Didn’t we cross the state line?” Cooper said to her.
Amy snapped back to attention. “Yes, we did.”
“You kids from Texas?” He’d taken them off-guard, and the startled looks on their faces would have been comical if the situation wasn’t so serious.
“Yeah,” the one said. “You stupid or something? What of it? And we ain’t no kids.”
“I beg to differ. If you were Texas men, you’d know how to treat a woman right. Maybe your mamas didn’t teach you that lesson, but you’d best learn it now unless you want to spend a majority of your sorry lives staring at four concrete walls without the benefit of female companionship. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it.”
The second kid glared at him in wide-eyed disbelief. “So, you don’t wanna fight?”
Cooper’s mouth twisted. “No. I guarantee you,” he said, forcing him against the wall, “if we fight, you wouldn’t come out on the good end. Trust me on that one.”
“We’re leavin’ already,” the kid said, raising his hands and stepping away. “You got lucky this time, Tam,” he called over his shoulder as both guys sauntered in the opposite direction.
As soon as the boys took off, Tamara closed her eyes and slid down the wall. Amy rushed forward and the girl collapsed against her. Sobs rolled from her in waves. Holding her close, Amy suspected this child hadn’t been held like this in a long time, if ever.
Leaning her head on Amy’s shoulder, Tamara buried her face against her sweater, soaking it with mascara, glittery eye shadow and tears. Amy smoothed her hair and murmured comforting words to try and keep her calm since she seemed to hover on the edge of hysteria. Closing her eyes, she said a quiet prayer, but loud enough for Tam to hear.
“What . . . what are you . . . you doing?” Tamara sniffled, pulling back and wiping the back of her hand over one cheek and then the other. Black mascara was smudged under both puffy eyes and her cheeks were flushed.
“Saying a prayer.”
“For me?”
It was difficult to tell whether her question bespoke defiance or simple curiosity.
“Yes. You seem to need it right now.”
“Oh.” Tamara slumped against her again, and Amy glanced at Cooper as she tightened her hold. He stood a few feet away, hands pushed deep in his pockets, appearing a bit awkward.
“Cooper, here. Take my purse.” She shrugged it from her arm and dropped it to the concrete. With one foot, she kicked it across the pavement in his direction. “I have a package of tissues in there.”
He shot her a skeptical look as he picked up the purse. “That’s breaking a cardinal rule. My mama told me never to open a woman’s purse. Under any circumstances. Never. Very bad thing.”
Amy rolled her eyes. Tamara stopped sniffling and stared at him.
“Normally, that’s true,” she said, “but I have nothing to hide. I give you permission, so do it. Please.” She gave him a smile to sweeten the request.
“Do you need a ride somewhere?” Cooper asked Tamara after she blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes. Her smeared eye shadow made her look more bedraggled and haggard. She shook her head, not answering. Shuddering again in the chilly air, she wrapped her arms across her middle.
“Here. Let me help clean you up a little.” Taking one of the tissues Cooper handed her, Amy used a gentle touch, dabbing at Tamara’s eyelids and then on the delicate area beneath both her eyes. It was impossible to remove all traces of the eye makeup, but as she worked, Amy revealed her clear skin. Beneath it all, she’s only a vulnerable, hurting kid.
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Tamara sniffled and stared into the distance. “Why do you care? Because it’s almost Christmas? Is this your good deed for the day?”
Amy’s heart sank at the heavy sarcasm in the girl’s voice. “You looked like you needed a little help, and a friend.”
“I don’t have any friends, and you don’t want to be one neither.” Her frown grew deeper.
“That’s not true, but in order to have friends, you need to be one, too. It works both ways.” Balling the tissue, Amy tossed it toward her purse. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cooper throw it in the nearby dumpster and then lean against the brick wall, watching them.
“Surely you have girlfriends you can talk to at school,” Amy said.
“I dropped out.”
Amy tried not to show her surprise. “How old are you, Tamara?”
“Almost seventeen. And call me Tam.”
Tam’s brown eyes were less defiant and filled with something more like defeated resignation. “Care to tell us what that little scene was all about? Why were those guys hassling you?”
“I don’t owe you any explanations.”
“True enough, but if you want to talk, I’ll listen.”
“You don’t know nothing about my life. Look at you,” Tam said, waving her hand up and down in front of her. “Dressed in your fancy clothes. You probably have a nice car that’s not patched together and you pray it gets you to the end of the street much less to work. A high-paying job with meetings and power lunches. Friends with lots of money and country club memberships. A family who cares . . .” Her voice faded and Amy saw the tears behind the wounded words before Tam’s wet eyes focused on her. “You’ve seen me in action.” She looked over at Cooper. He shifted his position and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans again but remained expressionless. “I got a little too friendly, that’s all,” she said with a shrug. “Those guys . . . they kind of expected something. It’s nothing. I’m used to it.”
Amy sucked in a quick breath. Lord, give me the right words. “I buy my clothes at sample shops, I don’t own a car and my job pays lousy but I love it. Some of my friends have money and others don’t have much at all, and my family is great. The way I look at it, everything I have is a blessing. The family I was born into wasn’t my choice, but what I do with my life is my choice. You can have what you want, too, but God expects you to work for it. He never said it was easy. The things I had to work hard for—and the sacrifices I’ve had to make—make achieving and earning certain things more precious.”
“I’m not easy,” Tam said, the defiance
back full-force.
“I didn’t say you are. I meant life’s not easy.” Putting both hands on her slender shoulders, Amy forced the girl’s eye contact. “Here’s the thing, Tam. You can’t flirt with every good looking guy. You don’t know the kinds of people that are out there, the kinds of things that can happen. Yes, there’s a lot of very good people—good men—but you have to be able to see the difference. You can’t go around putting yourself out there and tempting them or it’ll eventually get you into serious trouble. You need to learn how to tell the difference. It’s something called discernment, and I’m going to pray you find it. Sooner rather than later. If you ask God, He’ll help you.”
“You sound smart and all, but I don’t really believe in God.”
“Well, God believes in you.” Amy could tell she’d caught her attention. The “really” in her statement gave her a little wiggle room. “Are your parents around?”
Tam shrugged. “Mom works all the time and my stepdad’s usually drunk or else hitting on her.”
Amy’s heart ached and she swallowed the hard lump in her throat. “Does he hit you?”
The girl shook her head. “Nah. I think he knows if he did, I’d hit him right back.”
“Do you have anyone you can talk to? A friend?” She motioned to the restaurant. “A lady who works here, maybe? In case things get too tough at home, you need someone you can confide in or at least someplace you can go where you know you’ll be safe.”
“Not really. I mean, yeah, there’s one nice lady named Kaye, but she’s got enough kids and grandkids of her own to take care of. She doesn’t need me hanging around.”
Retrieving her purse from the ground, Amy reached inside and pulled out the small case with her business cards. “Here. Take this.” She handed one to her. Taking it, the girl scanned it before meeting her eyes again. “I want you to call me if you need anything. Anytime. Anywhere. If there’s a way I can help you, I will, but you have to let me know, okay?”
From the corner of her eye, she caught the skepticism written in Cooper’s expression from where he still leaned against the brick wall, arms crossed, watching them.
Tam frowned and half-nodded. “Thanks.” She glanced down at the card she held in her hand. “Amy.”
“God’s given you unique and wonderful gifts, Tam.”
The girl’s eyes grew rounder. “Really? What gifts do you think I have?”
“You’re smart and resourceful. Anyone can tell that much. You’ve got so much to look forward to, so much to see and do.” She smiled and made sure she had Tam’s eye contact. “Beneath all that makeup is a very pretty girl, but you need to use discernment and make the most of the opportunities God hands you. Then, you’ll be able to really shine.”
“Thanks,” the girl mumbled, her lower lip trembling. She looked on the verge of crying again and caught her breath as she looked up at her with tearful eyes. Straightening up, she squared her shoulders and ran a hand over her rumpled uniform, smoothing it.
“Do you need a ride somewhere?” Amy asked.
Tam shook her head. “No. I was on my break and they’re probably looking for me. I hope I’m not in trouble. Can’t afford to lose this job. I was only supposed to have twenty minutes, but I don’t know how long I’ve been out here. Longer than twenty minutes, I reckon.” Starting to walk away, she paused and began to unbutton her jacket. “Sorry. Here’s your jacket.”
“Keep it. Besides, it looks better on you than me.”
Tugging the jacket closer about her, Tam nodded. “Thanks.” She started toward the corner and paused. “Amy?”
“Yes?”
“Merry Christmas.” Her glance included Cooper. Coming back over to her, she leaned close. “He’s really fine.”
Amy smiled but hoped he couldn’t hear Tam’s words or read her lips. “Tone down the flirting. You don’t want to invite trouble. Save it for the right man. He’ll come along at the perfect time in your life, but you want to be there waiting for him when he walks through the door.”
She could tell Tam listened but she turned the corner and disappeared from view without another word.
Moving behind her in a flash, Cooper lowered his suede jacket onto her shoulders. With gentle hands, he turned her around to face him, bringing the jacket together in the front, his eyes never leaving hers. “I’m breaking the pact.” His lips met hers in a kiss more sweet than passionate, perfect for the moment and her jumbled emotions.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t always play by the rules either. We lasted all of what? Five hours?” She laughed a little and brushed away a tear.
“You don’t know how glad I am about that.” He released his hold on her. “More like four hours and thirty-four minutes. Shall we get back on the road to Austin now?”
“I’d say so. We’ve had enough excitement.”
He grinned. “Be careful what you wish for.”
Chapter 23
“That was a beautiful thing you did back there.” As he opened the car door and Amy climbed inside, Landon noticed she shivered. After starting the engine, he cranked up the heat. “Austin or bust.” He drove a couple of blocks toward the interstate and glanced her way. Her shoulders shook, her head turned toward the window.
“Amy?” She didn’t answer but fumbled with her purse on her lap.
“Are you crying?”
“No,” she said, her voice small. When a sob escaped, she clamped a hand over her mouth.
He pulled into a deserted parking lot and stopped the car. Not knowing how to help her, he watched, feeling as helpless as he had back at the restaurant. The woman beside him wore her heart on her sleeve, and he loved her desire to help others in tangible ways. She possessed a depth of compassion he rarely glimpsed. Stuck in the confines of the car, and with freezing temperatures outside, he struggled with two immediate options: pull her close and comfort her or huddle in his seat like a stoic coward.
He glanced at her purse. “Do I have your permission?” When she nodded, he reached for it, thankful the package of tissues sat near the top of her bag. Plucking one out, he handed it to her. Accepting it with a grateful smile, she dabbed at her eyes as a few tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” she said in between sniffles. “I don’t cry often, but I feel so bad for Tam and girls like her. Did you see the emptiness in her eyes when she said she didn’t have any friends? She’s only a lonely child without anyone to care for her, so she turns to men for affection and mistakes it for true love.” She sniffled again. “That’s one of the saddest things I can imagine.”
When she turned those beautiful eyes on him, something inside shifted. A pale yet brilliant green, they’d never looked more intense, sparked by deep emotion. They also held a question, as if she hoped he’d have the answers for the world’s problems.
“You demonstrated love to Tam and fulfilled a physical need,” he said. “She’s a lost kid, but hopefully she’ll wake up and realize not everyone’s out to take something from her.”
Her shoulders still shook and she lowered her head to her hands. “I’m sorry. You can start driving, if you want.”
“No way I’m going to leave now.” Not sure what she wanted him to do, he sat back and waited, feeling helpless yet resisting the urge to pull her into his arms and hold on tight.
“Please?” she asked, her voice muffled.
When a few more seconds passed, she tilted her head, indicating she needed him to come closer. Reaching for her, he brought her to him, as close as possible within the confines of the car’s bucket seats. Smoothing her hair away from her eyes, he kissed her forehead and leaned his head against hers. “Let it out. Whatever you need.” At his words, she sobbed even harder. His heart swelled as she cried in his arms, and a strong, foreign urge to shelter and protect this woman flooded through him. He was glad she was comfortable enough to cling to him and share her hurt, but with every passing moment, he felt like the worst kind of scum for not revealing his true identity. Wi
th her so upset, it sure wasn’t the right moment now. Problem was, would that moment ever come? As compassionate as Amy was, she was also feisty and wouldn’t tolerate dishonesty.
“I get pretty emotional with stuff like this. You might as well know that now.”
“I knew you were beautiful, but now I can add words like stubborn.” He tipped her chin and waited until she met his gaze. “Feisty, fearless, loyal, kind and unbelievably compassionate.”
“You’re saying some really nice things to me—about me—all of a sudden.
He eased into a grin. “Stick around, sweetheart.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart. Please.” Turning her head, she pulled out of his arms and glanced back at the restaurant, closing her eyes.
As soon as she left his arms, he experienced a loneliness that shocked him. Lord, help me. I’m already falling hard for her. Forgive me for deceiving her. Knowing she prayed, it drew him to her more. And pierced his heart to its core.
~~**~~
Another hour down the road—spent in relative quiet—Amy yawned and struggled to sit up straighter. A flash of yellow-gold caught her attention in a field. From what she could tell, it was a golden retriever. Why was the dog running abandoned on this deserted stretch of highway? “Cooper, pull over. Now.” Placing one hand on his arm, she twisted in her seat, craning her neck as she stared out the back window.
Easing his foot off the accelerator, he pumped the brake and edged off the highway onto the slightly-sloped shoulder. Gravel crunched beneath the tires as he stopped the car. “Are you sick or something?”
“Or something.” After flinging the passenger door wide, Amy scooted out and sprinted into the open field, releasing puffs of air as she ran. At least the terrain was flat and the weeds weren’t high, allowing a wide range of visibility. Please don’t let there be any strange creatures anywhere around here. Thinking about the possibility of a personal encounter with snakes or armadillos—anything other than a dog or cat—made her cringe.
