The Perfect Couple

by Valerie Hansen

  “And I'm neither,” Kara grumbled to herself. “I could lighten my hair but I'd still be short. And seriously imperfect.”

  She grimaced. It was a good thing God loved her, no matter what, because even after surrendering to His will and becoming a Christian, she still had plenty of flaws left.

  Halfway to the church, Kara was so convicted she had to speak out or explode. “Tyler?”

  “Mm-hm.”

  “There's something I have to tell you.” When he glanced over at her and opened his mouth to speak, she shushed him. “No. Be quiet and just listen. I don't know if I can get through this if you talk to me.”

  “You don't have to explain anything. I already know all about Alex,” he said softly.

  Kara was awestruck. “You do?”

  “Yes. Mark told me this morning. He said Susan confided in him. I suppose most married couples would do the same.” After a soul-wrenching sigh he went on. “Dee and I never managed to reach that point. She had the idiotic notion she was supposed to hide the bad stuff from me, for my own good. That's why I didn't find out how sick she really was until it was already too late.”

  “Oh, Tyler, I'm so sorry. For everything.” Kara reached out to him and laid her hand over his as he gripped the reins. He didn't look at her but she could see his eyes glistening with tears.

  “I guess that's why I was so upset this morning. Why didn't you tell me what your marriage was like?”

  “What good would that have done? I didn't want to be pitied. Besides, I had to admit my weaknesses, and Alex's, before I could hope to overcome anything.” Her fingers gently stroked the back of Tyler's hand as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I thought I'd never…”

  Kara wanted to say she'd thought she'd never fall in love again, but now that she fully comprehended the significance of Tyler's promise that he'd never hurt her, she realized there was far more to her change of heart than mere romantic love.

  “Go on,” he urged.

  Kara was so relieved, so joyful, she didn't know where to begin. “Oh, Tyler. I can't believe how blessed I am. I didn't think I'd ever meet a man I could trust the way I trust you. After what Alex did, I was sure you wouldn't want to have anything more to do with me. But here we are. Still together. It's a miracle. I can't wait to get to church and tell Susan!”

  He chuckled. “Then I suppose you don't want me to stop this wagon and give you a kiss, huh?”

  “Nope,” Kara said, laughing with him. “I want at least two kisses. And that's just for starters.”

  As soon as Tyler released the reins she fell into his arms, gave up the last of her reservations against loving him, and lifted her face to his.

  Tyler's kiss was gentle at first, then grew more and more demanding. Kara's head spun. Her heart raced. Her soul rejoiced. This was not the kind of intimate awareness she'd expected when she'd released the last of her misgivings and admitted how much she loved him. This was truer, deeper, absolutely flawless. It was unexplainable. Unfathomable.

  Kara closed her eyes and returned his kiss with every ounce of her being. Surely, no woman in the entire universe had ever been as happy as she was at that moment.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The churchyard was decorated with bundles of dried cornstalks, gourds, squash and pumpkins. Streamers of crepe paper in rich autumn colors hung from the trees and fluttered in the breeze amid the falling leaves.

  As soon as Tyler brought the wagon to a halt, he was mobbed by giggling, tussling, shouting children.

  Kara reluctantly left him and went looking for her sister. She found her in the church kitchen with three other women, slicing cakes and pies into individual servings.

  Everyone was startled when Kara burst through the door and screeched, “Susan! Guess what just happened.”

  “From the look on your face, it must be something pretty good.” She laid down her knife, licked icing from her fingers, then rinsed her hands in the sink.

  “Not good…wonderful!” Kara rushed to join her. “I just left Tyler. You won't believe this. He's not mad. Not at all.”

  “About what?”

  “About Alex, of course.” She lowered her voice. “I didn't expect you to tell Mark right away but now I'm glad you did. He blabbed the whole thing to Tyler this morning. I didn't have to explain a thing. Isn't that terrific?”

  “Whoa.” Susan took her by the arm and led her to a distant corner of the room where they could talk more privately. “Slow down and start from the beginning. What makes you think Tyler knows what Alex did?”

  “He said so.”

  “In so many words?”

  Kara's brow knit. “Well, no. I guess not. But I'm sure he knows. He said you'd told Mark all about it.” She didn't like the additional sympathy that had begun to color her sister's already concerned expression.

  “Mark was in bed, snoring, when you and I talked on the phone last night,” Susan said. “The guy sleeps like a rock. I couldn't have tattled on Alex if I'd wanted to.”

  “Surely this morning…”

  She shook her head. “No. Mark grabbed his breakfast on the run and headed for the barn so he could get his chores done early and ride into town with Tyler.”

  “That's not right. It can't be. Tyler was alone in the wagon when he came to pick me up.”

  “I know. They were almost to the church when he made Mark get out and walk the rest of the way. That's really all I know, except that my poor husband was grumbling about his sore feet by the time he finally got here.”

  Dizzy, Kara leaned against the wall for support. If only she could recall exactly what she'd said to Tyler. Or what he'd said to her. Her thoughts were a hopeless jumble being stirred by a growing sense of foreboding. What a fool she'd made of herself, babbling on and on about how wonderful Tyler was! When he did find out the truth, he'd probably imagine she'd only kissed him to keep him from demanding restitution for his losses. Not that she'd blame him. If she were in his shoes, that's exactly what she'd think.

  Susan slid a comforting arm around her shoulders. “I'm sorry, Kara. Don't you see? It couldn't have been Alex's dishonesty that you and Tyler were talking about this morning. Mark doesn't know about it, yet.”

  See? Oh, yes, she saw plenty. In the shattered mirror of her mind everything was becoming agonizingly clear. “I guess it must have been Alex's awful temper that Tyler meant. It all makes perfect sense now that I think about it. That's what made him say he'd never hurt me.” Her lower lip quivered with repressed emotion. “Too bad he isn't going to be able to keep that promise.”

  “Maybe…” Susan began.

  Kara interrupted her. “No. It's over. You know it and I know it, so don't try to kid me.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What should I do? Go home? Forget him? Forget about dreaming of having his children?” Tears crested her lower lashes and trickled down her cheeks. Sniffling and fighting the urge to sob out loud, she added, “If I live to be a hundred, I know I'll never be able to forget him. Never stop loving him.”

  When Susan opened her arms to offer a motherly hug, Kara lost her battle with her raw emotions and collapsed on her sister's shoulder, weeping as if she'd just lost her best friend. As far as she was concerned, that was exactly what had happened.

  Time with the children was so hectic it was after twelve before Tyler realized how long it had been since Kara had left him. He passed the reins to Mark and went looking for her. Instead, he ran into Susan.

  “Hi. Have you seen Kara? She was supposed to come back and ride the hay wagon with me after she talked to you.” Grinning, he pushed his hat off his forehead and wiped his brow. “I need her help. Those kids are tough to handle.”

  “I haven't seen her for hours,” Susan said flatly. “But don't worry about Kara. She can take care of herself.”

  “Not according to Mark.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “So he did tell you something. That explains a lot.” She pointed to some chairs in the shade next to the ol
d stone building. “I think you'd better sit down. Apparently, you only know half the story.”

  “Okay. Sure.” Concerned, Tyler offered Susan a chair, then spun another one around backward and straddled it like a horse, facing her. “What else is there? Mark already told me Alex used to lose his temper and scare the fire out of Kara.” He stiffened, scowling. “He didn't hit her, did he?”

  “No, but he might as well have. If that man were alive right now and I caught him in a dark alley, he'd be real sorry.” She folded her arms across her chest, made a dour face and snorted in disgust. “I guess I might as well get this over with. Remember this morning, when you and Kara were talking? She thought you meant you weren't angry that Alex had shorted you when he vaccinated your herd.”

  Tyler was on his feet in a heartbeat, sending the chair flying. “What? Is that true?”

  “I'm afraid so. Somehow, Kara got the idea Mark had already told you all about it. Only he couldn't have. She didn't phone me with the bad news until late last night, long after Mark had gone to bed. There was no way to change history, so I didn't wake him.”

  Tyler couldn't believe what he was hearing. Indignation hardened his heart. “And what about before? How long has Kara known about this? Months? Years? Since it happened?”

  Susan stood rigid and returned his anger in kind. “If you really think that, then I'm glad you and Kara are through. She was married to one stinker. She doesn't need another husband like that, now or ever.”

  “Who said anything about us getting married?” he shouted. “Kara and I were just pretending to like each other in the first place!”

  Their raised voices had attracted a crowd but Susan didn't back down. “Look. Kara already knows she was a fool to fall for you. She always was too naive, too loving, too empathetic. That's her biggest problem. She never did have enough sense to turn away lonely, helpless critters when she thought they needed her.”

  “Meaning me, I suppose? Well, I'm not lonely. And I'm not helpless, either,” Tyler snapped.

  “Oh, yeah? If you're so sure of yourself, then why are you yelling?”

  Like it or not, he had no ready answer.

  Susan nodded and stared at him knowingly. “That's what I thought. How long have you been in love with my sister?”

  “I'm not…”

  “Careful, Tyler,” she drawled, “you're standing in a churchyard. I don't think it's a very good idea to tell a fib here…or anywhere else, for that matter.” The moment she detected a softening in his expression, she stepped closer and laid a hand on his arm. “Kara didn't know what Alex had done until she'd finished sorting out some old statements he'd left behind. It was only late yesterday that she had enough information to put it all together.”

  Tyler realized he'd been holding his breath as Susan spoke. He exhaled with a whoosh. “Why didn't she tell me?”

  “She thought that's what you two were discussing on the ride down here. I was the one who had to break her heart and explain she was mistaken.”

  He glanced into the crowd of onlookers, searching in vain. “I have to talk to her. Where is she?”

  “I don't know. I suppose she went home to lick her wounds. Personally, I'd have run as far away as I could get, but Kara's not like that. I hope you realize how easy it would have been for her to destroy the old bills and hide the real truth from all of us.”

  “I'm beginning to see a lot of things I missed before,” Tyler said soberly. “Can I borrow your car?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I'm temporarily afoot. Unless you expect me to chase after Kara in the hay wagon. If she's not at home, it could take me forever to catch up to her that way.”

  Susan began to smile. “Oh, I don't know. The cowboy heroes in the movies always manage to arrive in time to rescue the damsels in distress.” The consternation in his expression made her giggle. “Of course, they usually ride beautiful white horses. The scene might lose some of its romance if you trotted up to her driving two other jackasses… besides yourself, that is.”

  “That's another reason I'd rather take your car,” Tyler countered wryly, “so Kara doesn't get me mixed up with the mules. We're all stubborn and hardheaded. Considering the ridiculous mistakes I've made recently, I don't want to take the chance she might get the three of us confused.”

  Kara was so engrossed in cleaning the barn she didn't hear Susan's car approach. Her first clue that she was no longer alone was a tall shadow falling across her path.

  Startled, she spun around and gasped. That was enough to bring Peewee to her side, growling a warning until he recognized their visitor.

  Tyler paused and calmly held out his hands. “It's just me, Kara. I didn't mean to scare you. I knocked on your front door. Nobody answered.” He chanced a slight smile. “I figured I'd find you wherever all the animals were gathered. And sure enough, here you are.”

  Realizing she'd pushed herself to exhaustion as a temporary means of taking her mind off her troubles, she leaned wearily on the handle of the pitch fork. “I know why I'm here. The question is, why are you here?”

  “To finish what we started this morning.”

  Kara drew one wrist across her forehead to push back wisps of damp hair, then shook her head sadly. “Look, Tyler, I've been giving this whole mess a lot of thought. I made a big mistake this morning. I guess I wanted to believe I could get away with not telling you something important because I didn't want to be the one to hurt you. So I interpreted our conversation to my advantage. Only it wasn't. To my advantage, I mean.”

  His smile widened. “Are you through?”

  “No. I have to explain. It's just very hard to do.”

  “I can see that.”

  “I'll bet you can,” she countered. “Will you please take me seriously and stop that silly grinning?”

  “Honey, I'll take you any way I can get you,” Tyler said with clear affection. Approaching, he held out his hand. “But first, I want you to put down the pitchfork.” He eased it from her hand and laid it aside before continuing. “Susan told me everything. And I mean, everything.”

  When Kara tried to speak he silenced her by placing one finger lightly across her lips. “Hush. I admit I was pretty mad, at first. Who wouldn't be? But I thought it all through on my way over here. It wasn't your fault. I don't want us to ever talk about what Alex did or didn't do again, in private or in his veterinary practice. None of that matters.”

  “Yes, it does.” Kara's voice quavered, her eyes filling with unshed tears.

  “Only if we let it,” he insisted. “Neither one of us had a perfect marriage, in spite of what we led people to believe.” Seeing the doubt in her eyes he added, “No. Not even me. If my wife had trusted me, loved me the way you do, she'd have known it was unfair to withhold a portion of her life, simply because the details weren't pretty. Keeping me in the dark like that wasn't a kindness. It was cruel and unfair.”

  Kara placed her palms on Tyler's broad chest. His arms encircled her. Pleading for understanding with her gaze, she said, “Alex and I ran the animal hospital together. I should have kept closer track of the details. Maybe I could have stopped him.”

  “You know that kind of a man wouldn't have paid any attention to your moral objections, even if you had figured out the hoax he was pulling. I thank God you didn't realize what was going on. Alex could have hurt you—or worse—if he saw you as a threat to his schemes.”

  Tyler's arms tightened, pulling Kara closer, protecting her from unseen danger simply because he loved her so deeply, so completely, he could do no less.

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her cheek on his chest. Their heartbeats merged, became one rhythm, as if the Lord were joining them to each other, body and soul. Maybe Tyler was right. Maybe God had kept her blinded to the truth for her own sake. This was the first time she'd considered the possibility of being in her heavenly Father's safekeeping all along.

  And now? Kara wondered. She started to rehearse what she should say to Tyler
, then realized it was unnecessary. No longer worried, she tilted her head back and looked up at him without reservation. The sight of his dear face thrilled her beyond belief. It was a good thing he was holding her so close because she doubted her wobbly legs would support her if he let go.

  Happiness and perfect peace flowed over, around and through her. She grinned at him through a mist of joy. “Hey, cowboy?”

  “Yes, ma'am?”

  “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to kiss me?”

  “I could do that,” Tyler drawled. “But first I want to ask you something.”

  “Talk, talk, talk. That's all we seem to do.” To Kara's delight he silenced her with a long, firm kiss that stole her breath away. She was still struggling to regain her equilibrium when he began to whisper against her cheek.

  “I was going to ask you to marry me, but if you don't want to talk…”

  Wide-eyed, Kara leaned back and stared at him. “I-I might be willing to make an exception.”

  “That's mighty gracious of you,” Tyler teased. “Well?”

  “You're really serious about this? I mean, you're not going to let me answer, then laugh hysterically and tell me it was all a joke, are you?”

  She saw his countenance start to darken and began waving her hands in front of her as if she could shoo her words away like pesky gnats. “Never mind. Forget I said that. I'm a little nervous, that's all. I never thought I'd even consider getting married again, and now, here I am with—”

  Tyler interrupted. “Was that a yes? I couldn't tell.”

  “Yes!” she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, yes.”

  Tyler caught her up and spun them both in circles. Sharing the excitement, Kara's dogs began barking and running back and forth. The little terrier dashed up and nipped at Tyler's ankle, giving the leg of his pants a good thrashing. Thanks to his boots, he wasn't hurt.