by Leann Harris
He was still handsome, with brownish-blond hair that curled on the ends when it grew too long, deep blue eyes and dimples when he smiled. He looked a little worse for wear. He had put on about twenty pounds, and his once sparkling eyes were now flat and dull.
“Hello, Gavin.”
They were words she never thought she’d utter again. They sounded rusty, being dredged from some place deep inside her soul.
“How are you?” he asked. He stood on the other side of the table displaying dress shirts.
“Well.” She didn’t have anything she wanted to say to him.
“Is that all you have to say to me after all this time?”
A rage rose up in her and she wanted to throw something at him, but that wasn’t an option. Instead, she looked at the shirt he had in his hand. “Those are on sale. With a coupon, they’re twenty-five percent off.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.”
Beth noticed he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other,” he added.
What an understatement.
He set the shirt down and walked around the edge of the table. Beth refused to back up.
“When I came back from my family’s vacation in Europe and called, you weren’t there.”
She’d spent the summer with her mother’s sister in Colorado, working at a dude ranch. Aunt Nancy needed an extra counselor/hand and when she’d called, Beth had jumped at the chance.
“I haven’t seen you since our prom night.”
And there was a reason for that. “The register for the men’s department is over in the back corner.” She turned away, but his hand shot out, catching her.
She stared down at the offending hand. She wasn’t going to play his game. “Let go.” When she looked up, his eyes narrowed. She’d seen that expression countless times before. Obviously, the man hadn’t changed over the past ten years. Well, she had, and she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her.
“Hey, Beth. There are you.” Riley’s voice interrupted the tug-of-war between her and Gavin.
Gavin released her arm.
Tyler took in the situation and frowned. Beth welcomed Tyler’s protective demeanor. “Is there a problem?”
“No.” She moved away from Gavin. “The sale runs through tomorrow.”
Gavin looked at Beth, then nodded and moved away, leaving the shirt.
“Who was that?” Riley asked.
“Just a guy who wanted to buy some shirts.” Beth knew her explanation sounded lame. From Riley’s and Tyler’s expressions, neither bought it. “I am glad you’re here,” Beth forced out through her stiff lips.
Riley looked around. “So this is your store?”
“Yes, this is where I work. Let me give you the tour. I know that you need some new clothes for school and we can look for those, too.”
Riley grinned. “Sounds good.”
Beth walked them through the store. She explained about the store and its history. They even toured the corporate offices on the fifth floor.
“So, is this your boyfriend?” her boss’s secretary asked after Beth introduced Tyler and Riley.
The comment stopped all activity in the room.
“No.” Beth knew her answer sounded too harsh, and she felt embarrassed. “I mean, they are friends. They work at my brother’s ranch.”
The woman looked from Tyler to Beth. She didn’t say anything, but the look on her face said she didn’t believe a single word of Beth’s explanation.
Beth’s boss emerged from the elevator, her cell phone in her hand. “Good, you’re here.” She pointed her cell at Beth. “There’s a kink with David. You need to get out there. Now.”
The woman started issuing orders to her secretary about calling the private plane and making other arrangements.
Beth turned to Riley and Tyler. “I’m sorry, guys. I’ve got to go to see about this.”
“But are you going to be back in time for the lock-in?” Riley asked, a touch of anxiety in his voice.
“I’m going to do my best to get back here in time. That’s the most important thing in my life.”
“Okay.” Riley didn’t look convinced.
Neither did Tyler.
* * *
“Ah, querida, how good it is to see you.” David walked to her side and kissed her cheeks. When she drew back, he studied her face. “What is the matter?”
“Is there really a problem with the contract, David, or is something else going on?”
“You wound me.” He clutched at his chest with a dramatic flair.
Beth rolled her eyes. David might be classified as a temperamental artist, but he was a shrewd businessman.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was a ploy to get me here.”
He shrugged his shoulders. The handsome man was only an inch taller than her five-foot-six frame, but his coal-black hair, caught with a leather throng at this neck, proved to be longer than hers. His black mustache and goatee added drama to an already chiseled face. “Would that be so bad? You are a beautiful woman, and I am a healthy man.”
She suspected a motive underlying all the trips she’d made. How could she defuse this situation? Lord, I need some wisdom here.
“David, you are an incredible artisan, with flair and imagination, and you impress me with your talent. But you already knew that from the first time I walked into your shop and spent over five hundred dollars.”
“This is true.”
“But your work will always be your first love. I know that and so do you.”
He grinned.
“I could never compete with your lover. I know that and don’t want the heartache that would accompany loving you.” She hooked her arms around his. “So, I am going to spare my heart the pain and consider you my friend.” She turned to him. “My good and talented friend. You understand?”
He studied her face for several moments, then tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I knew there was a reason, querida, why I liked you. It will break my heart, but you are right.” He held up his index finger. “But I do have some questions about how my merchandise will be handled and if it can be put on sale.” He said the word with such distaste that Beth grinned. “I will not have it.”
“I think something can be worked out with you.”
“Let us do that. But before we do such boring stuff, what is this atrocious thing you are wearing?” He motioned to what she had on.
Beth glanced down at her business suit and white shirt. “Business attire.”
He wagged his index finger. “No, no. We must dress you as a beautiful woman, then we will talk business with our lawyers.” He glanced over Beth’s shoulder at the two men talking in the corner.
“I think, David, it would be wiser if we do business first, then I’ll let you dress me in some of your wonderful creations.”
Rubbing his chin, he considered her suggestions. “Bueno. Let us take care of the business, then I will show you how to dress as a beautiful woman.”
She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
David grinned.
* * *
Sunday afternoon, Zach walked up to the front porch of the foreman’s house. He held a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies. “I come bringing gifts.”
Tyler sat on the steps, Dogger by his side. He motioned for Zach to join him on the step. Zach handed the plate to Tyler and used both hands to ease himself down on the step.
Tyler wanted to kick himself, knowing that Zach’s artificial limb sometimes limited his movements. “Sorry.”
Zach waved away the comment. “Don’t worry. I’m here bearing a peace offering.”<
br />
“Why?”
Dogger looked with hunger at the cookies. Tyler took a cookie, made sure it was free of chocolate chips, then gave a small chunk of it to the dog. Tyler downed the rest of the cookie in two bites.
“Well, Sophie was afraid the family might’ve overwhelmed you this morning at church, then afterward at lunch. She also worried it might be too much without Beth here to run interference.”
Tyler had ridden to church with Zach and Sophie. They’d met Zach’s parents and brother and Susan and Riley there at the church, and afterward went to lunch at a local restaurant.
“Sophie worried that all that McClure charm in one place might be too much for you. Of course, Susan and Riley lapped it up.”
Indeed they had. In the midst of the chatter and laugher, Tyler found he missed Beth. Apparently, the issues with the contract were dragging on longer than she expected. She’d called him this morning and apologized. She’d also talked with Susan. “No, it wasn’t too much.”
Zach’s brow arched.
“Okay, maybe it was more than I was used to, but I didn’t need a flak jacket and helmet.” A couple of times, though, Tyler had wanted to excuse himself and walk out back for a moment of quiet.
Laughing, Zach grabbed a cookie off the plate. “It was almost more than I could handle, and I’ve lived with them. Mom’s coming by later to go baby shopping with Sophie. What they’re going to get, I don’t know. Thankfully, I won’t have to go this time. Who knew there was so much baby stuff?” He took several more bites of the cookie.
Zach seemed to lead a charmed life with a family and a wife who loved him.
“You’ve been a big help here.” Zach looked out over the corrals. “I’m thinking that over the next few months, I’m going to have to go to birthing classes and do all sorts of strange things connected with having a baby. I was hoping you’d like to stick around for a while and take up the slack. I know Ollie’s been given the green light from his cancer, but he’s not a spring chicken and I’d like to have some help for him.” He turned his head and met Tyler’s gaze.
Tyler didn’t hesitate. “I’d be happy to help you out, Zach. I find myself wanting to stick around.”
“Good. That takes a load off my shoulders. And I think you’ll also help some of the veterans coming to the ranch. I know Captain Kaye said she’d enjoyed talking to you.”
He admired the captain. She might have posed as a health professional while in Iraq, but he knew there was more to her story.
“After I explained to her about Dogger, she told me about the dog that came around their camp and the guys fed him. Then one day, the mutt didn’t show up. She wondered if he’d been killed.”
“We each carry our own nightmares.” Zach looked out over the corrals.
Amen to that.
A car drove up the front private drive, which ran from the parking lot by the foreman’s house and main house, then to the main garage. Zach’s mother jumped out and waved to him. Zach waved back.
“I gotta go. Be sure and take a nap before tonight. You’re going to need it.”
“You think Beth will make it home in time?”
Zach laughed. “Apparently, you don’t know my sister as well as I do. She’ll make it.”
That eased Tyler’s heart.
* * *
Tyler stretched out on the couch. Each time he closed his eyes to nap, he heard the sermon from this morning about giving God our wounds and scars and allowing Him to heal them, not letting them fester, thus making us useless to the Kingdom.
The message hit home, but he didn’t know if he could let go of the pain just yet. The pastor’s words echoed Brenda’s warning.
A spiritual hunger had awakened in his soul, but he wasn’t quite sure how to let go of the guilt.
His mind turned to his foster parents. From the time his parents were killed, his life had been in turmoil. Sure, his grandmother had eased his heart, but there had been a big hole inside him. Grandma’s death eighteen months later hadn’t added to the peace in his life. And he’d acted out until he landed with the Olasky family.
He smiled at the memory.
He needed to call them. They had given him rules, but also given him an abundance of love. And they’d changed his life by taking him to church. He needed to make peace with that part of his life.
He got up and went to the phone and dialed their number. On the third ring, the phone was picked up. “Hello,” his foster sister, Terri, said. “Hello.”
His throat clogged up momentarily. “Hi, sis.”
“Tyler. Oh, my heavens, is that you, Tyler?”
“Yes. You sound like I’m calling from the dead.” The words hit him. In a way he was. “I just wanted to call and say hello.”
“Oh, it’s so good to hear from you. Are you all right? You’re not sick or injured, are you?”
“No, just delinquent.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Tyler heard his foster mother ask who was on the phone.
“Mom, it’s Tyler.”
In the next instant the other extension picked up. “Tyler.”
“Hi, Mom.” It was so good to hear her voice. Margaret Olasky was the only foster mother he called “mom.”
“Oh, Tyler, it’s so good to hear from you. How are you? You’re not hurt or anything?”
He laughed. “Terri already covered that territory. I’m fine.” Margaret worried over his health, his well-being, his relationship with others. His foster father would quietly evaluate a situation, then allow him to come up with the answers on his own.
“I just thought it was time to check in.”
“I’m glad.”
For the next fifteen minutes he talked with his entire family, catching up on what had happened in everyone’s life. “I’m going to be in Albuquerque for a while, Mom, helping a fellow veteran with his equine therapy ranch.”
“That’s wonderful,” his foster father said. “What do you do?”
After another fifteen minutes of explaining about the ranch, Tyler said, “I just wanted to give you a heads-up.” He gave them the phone number.
“I love you, son,” his mother added.
The blessing settled over his spirit. “Thank you for understanding. I’ll talk to you later.” When he hung up, his heart felt light.
Maybe he was on the right road.
Chapter Eight
When Beth drove up to the church Sunday evening, she spotted the buses waiting on the far side of the parking lot. She was later than she’d wanted to be. David Santos, the company lawyers and guys in distribution had hammered out the kinks in the contracts with her mediation. Sales on his merchandise would only happen when and if he okayed it. When they went to fly out early this morning, the charter plane had developed a fuel line problem. It had taken most of the day to fix it, but they did and flew back into the city about five-thirty. Beth drove directly from the airport to the church. She still sported her sandals, tiered peasant skirt and bright pink T-shirt with a thick leather belt that David insisted she wear to show off his line of clothing and leather goods.
She’d planned on being early to talk with the youth pastor about Tyler and Riley, but obviously that wasn’t to be. She had the oddest feeling that the delay served Heaven’s purpose.
She’d missed going to church with everyone this morning and worried about how things had gone. She’d called Sophie and asked for an update. According to Sophie, Susan and Riley seemed to enjoy the service, but Tyler wasn’t comfortable. Why?
Parking the car, she scrambled out and walked to their unique building. The church had bought a bankrupt store and converte
d it into a church. Since then, buildings had been added, and a new sanctuary had been built. They now had beautiful stained glass in the new sanctuary. The old building had been converted into classrooms and a gym.
Teens and their parents were milling around the entrance to the older building. Two tables were set up inside the door for the kids and their parents to check in.
Several of the teens shouted out greetings. She waved and smiled at them, trying to tamp down the worry riding her. Where were Riley and Tyler?
“Hey, Beth, how are you?” Mike Neils, the youth pastor, asked.
“Late, but grateful to be here.”
He frowned at her outfit. “Are you going to be able to bowl in that?”
She glanced down at her clothes. “No. I raced from the airport to get here. I’ve got a change of clothes in my car. Are you ready to tackle the youth tonight?”
“I am.”
“Are my guys here yet?” Her guys? The words shocked Beth. Since when did she think of Tyler and Riley as her guys?
Pastor smiled. “They’re not here yet, but I enjoyed meeting both of them at service this morning. Riley looked like a deer in the headlights, but it didn’t take him long to get his bearings. I think after the fun we have tonight, he might feel better about being the new kid.”
“He’s been through a lot, Mike. He lost his dad several years ago, then recently his big brother in Iraq. His mother just moved to town to take a promotion, so he’s trying to find how he fits into everything. It’s been slow going at the ranch, but after he’d been a couple of times, I volunteered him to help with different riders.”
Pastor Mike laughed. “Ah, that philosophy. ‘I’m going to help you whether you want it or not.’”
Beth blushed. “Well, that’s not exactly how it happened.”
Pastor’s brow arched.
A commotion at the door saved her from having to further put her foot in her mouth. She turned and saw Susan and Riley walking in. Tyler entered the building a moment later. A couple of the boys called out “hi.” Riley nodded at them.
