Tyler didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
He reached across the space between them and caressed her arm. At first, she seemed mesmerized by the play of his hand against her arm, so he kept his touch purposefully soft. Enticing. She stared, lost and dreamy, then her gaze lifted to his in transparent fascination.
That’s when it happened. The epiphany.
The events of the day combined into a sudden and startling display; a stunning recognition hit him over the head, and slipped clean through to his heart. He had an advantage here. Loving emotion radiated from the one woman he had always wanted the most. He saw the longing in her eyes. He detected the faint trembling of her hands, the intense, heightened awareness that flowed between them—heated and electric.
But he’d be foolish if he didn’t also recognize her fear, and the scars she carried from a failed marriage and the remnants of a broken heart trying hard to mend. No way would he move forward without extreme caution, and tender purpose.
Amy sat up. She stood more quickly than he would have expected, as though she were a bit nervous. “I should probably get Pyper home. I’m sure the excitement of the past few days is going to catch up with her before too long. I’ll see you at services tomorrow, though. Ken tells me you’ll be singing.”
Tyler nodded and stood as well. Darkness moved in, deepening the shadows, draining away the day. That recognition stirred a heavy sadness. The end of their time together on his brief visit to Michigan inched inexorably closer, punctuated by his recognition of Amy’s interest.
Maybe there was a way they could get together again, this time for longer than a weekend. In fact, he thought he knew just the way to make it happen. First, though, a couple weeks would have to pass in separation, to finish the tour. After that, he needed to resituate himself back home in Nashville and plan out his next steps—professionally, and now personally as well.
But for every night between now and then, he’d wonder if absence, however brief he intended it to be, would make her wounded but opening heart, grow even fonder.
Hearts Key
8
Amy had never enjoyed services more. Naturally, Tyler’s guest appearance had people crammed into every available space. Amy fell into the happiness of the service, rejoicing in the opportunity to absorb God’s presence via prayer, Ken’s preaching and Tyler’s amazing music.
Afterwards, when she looked through the entry doors of the church, that euphoria and positivity took a nosedive. There, lined up outside the activity center, the tour buses waited, a convoy that would take Tyler back to his life on the road, and, ultimately, his home in Tennessee. Far from Michigan. Far from her. She bit her lower lip.
Suddenly, the beauty of yesterday’s time together seemed like years ago.
“Mommy.” Pyper tugged on her hand and Amy swallowed, blinking hard in an attempt to readjust herself.
“Yeah, sweetie?” She looked down, only to find Pyper regarding her intently. With concern.
“You gonnna cry?”
“No, Pyp. I’m fine.”
“Mm’kay. You look sad.” Amy could tell Pyper was nibbling on the inside of her cheek. “I thought maybe sayin’ g’bye to Mr. Tyler might make you sad.” Pyper peered toward Tyler who stood near the entrance of the church, surrounded by people. She was cautious, but something else rippled through Pyper’s mood. Beneath the uncertainty, Amy sensed her daughter’s affection, and longing to reach out. “We pro’bly should go see him, huh? Annie’s over there with her mommy and daddy and everything.”
Amy looked toward the swarm of people who engulfed Tyler. There was no way she’d get anywhere near him without a bulldozer. But she had to see him one last time. She needed to say goodbye, and thank him for giving her, and Pyper, such a sweet pair of days.
She stayed put, watching, and after a time, their eyes met. Amy gave him a tremulous smile but kept her distance for the time being. Tyler stood in place, his focus trained on her; his smile dawned. In short order, he did his best to politely disengage, nudging Ken and whispering. Ken glanced Amy’s way and nodded, becoming a gentle buffer who interrupted conversations and redirected attention so Tyler could execute a smooth escape. They made a good team.
Amy caught his directing nod toward the rear corridor of the Narthex, near Ken’s office. He took off promptly. Walking toward the group, Amy tagged up her daughter with Annie. “Would you mind keeping an eye on Pyper for just a few minutes?” she asked Kiara.
Kiara offered an understanding nod when Amy’s gaze betrayed her, straying toward the doorway of Ken’s office. Tyler had just gone inside. “Take your time,” Kiara said in a tender voice.
Amy looked at her friend, feeling exposed. Uncertainty left her trembling. “I’ll be right back.”
Kiara smiled knowingly and ended their conversation by turning to a parishioner who waited nearby.
Amy didn’t think her walk down that straight stretch of a hallway would ever end.
She entered Ken’s office and closed the door, not turning toward Tyler right away. What could be said, after all? Where could they realistically go from here, except to the land of farewell?
For the moment, she faced the door, clutching the cool, metal knob. A stirring of air alerted Amy to Tyler’s approach. His hands came to rest on her shoulders. The motion was light, yet possessive in the best sense of the word. The warmth of his touch caused her to go still, close her eyes, and breathe deep. She folded her arms across her midsection; the moment lengthened and surrounded her completely.
“I hate to leave.” His voice, the words, performed a tender caress. “There’s still so much I want to say, and so much more I want to know.”
“I feel the same way.”
A weighted silence slid by, and at last she turned, facing Tyler, facing the inevitable. She relaxed her hold on herself, but her hands remained in tight fists at her sides. Why? she wanted to scream. Why isn’t my life ever easy? Why can’t we be saying hello instead of goodbye? She believed, believed absolutely, in the overriding goodness of God’s plans. But at times like this, she sure did puzzle over what He could possibly be thinking.
Tyler studied her face, and stepped close, almost as though wanting to shield and protect her. She tipped her head back and looked into his eyes, not caring if he saw how much this moment hurt her, how much she cared, how much she now wished life had provided for a different outcome between the two of them.
Tyler regarded her steadily. “Give me your cell phone a sec.”
Something in his features, that familiar warmth coupled with newfound intimacy, a compelling magnetism, made her catch her breath. She reached into her purse, and handed it over.
The intensity of the moment didn’t end when he broke eye contact long enough to work his way into her list of contacts and start clicking keys. Her skin went warm as she waited, watching long, lean thumbs press and move. He paused, glanced at her in a considering way and then continued. When he finished, he snapped the phone shut and handed it over. He didn’t release the device until her fingertips met up against his.
“I’ve added my phone…and my e-mail. Please use them, Amy. Please?” Amy trembled. His leaving stabbed through her spirit; she floundered, reality crashing in against wishes, and longing.
Valiantly, she shoved back the onslaught. “Turn around.”
“Huh?”
“Turn around.” Once he complied, she dropped her cell into its pocket and pulled a piece of paper and a pen from the depths of her oversized purse. Using his back as a surface, she began to write.
Tyler chuckled, and the sound let tingles loose against her skin. “This is so high school.”
Amy stopped writing just long enough to peek at him around his shoulder. “High school was fun.”
“Some of the time, yeah.” He sidled her a look and his lips curved upward.
Finished, she gave him the small slip containing her e-mail and cell number. “I’m not techno-savvy enough to enter in my contact information as fast as you just
did, but I want to stay connected too, Tyler. Really.”
With slow, careful motions, he folded the paper and slipped it neatly into the breast pocket of his shirt. “Amy?”
“Yeah?”
He looked at her intently for a moment. “This isn’t high school. Not anymore.”
He drew her in tight for a resistance-melting hug. Tell me about it, Tyler. Tell me about it. She let her world go soft. Her eyes fluttered closed, and for the first time in years, Amy remembered what it felt like to possess a yearning, loving heart that still believed in happily-ever-after, that still trusted, and still held fast to love’s beauty and grace.
Tyler took both her hands in his. He stepped so close she could absorb his warmth. Placing their joined hands on his chest, he rested his forehead against hers.
Never, ever in her life—even in the throes of her crazy-mad longings for Mark Samuels—had Amy craved a kiss so badly. He was leaving. She just wanted a small, simple taste of him before he left.
In fact, that need overwhelmed her, transforming into tears that rolled slowly down her face as he leaned in, as she tilted toward him, ready. Waiting. But rather than claim her mouth, he slowly and tenderly brushed away her tears away with the slow glide of his cheek against hers. “Amy, I’ve dreamed of this moment for way too long. I don’t want our first kiss to be a kiss goodbye.”
The words rocked her world. She forced herself to focus, and look into his eyes. There she found the truth. This moment, their reunion, was too precious to compromise. “I don’t either,” she admitted softly, hanging her head, weak with longing. “But we may never see…”
Tyler backed up and shook his head even harder. He lifted her chin and looked deep into her eyes, halting her words. He drew the pad of his thumb slowly, slowly against the line of her lower lip, and he blinked heavily. Then, his fingertips slipped beneath her tear-spiked lashes. “Yes, we will see each other again. I’m going to be bugging you.”
“I give you permission,” she answered, and she meant it…with all her heart.
“I want you to bug me back, OK? And, we’ll see each other again soon. Count on it.”
He was emphatic. Somehow, in the face of his sincerity, she found the tiniest measure of hope. It was thin and delicate but strong enough to help her hang on. And let him go.
So she nodded, and they held hands as Tyler opened the office door and they walked to the lobby. There, chaos reigned. Everyone at Woodland had lagged behind to wish Tyler and his crew a bon voyage. Beyond the now-open doors, the tour buses revved, belching diesel exhaust, engines rumbling. Doors squeaked as the drivers swung them open and tour members climbed aboard.
“Where will you be tonight?” Crazy, but she wanted to know, to have a connection to his whereabouts.
“Grand Rapids tonight, then Chicago for a few days afterward. Then we hit Columbus, Pittsburgh, and wrap up in Nashville.”
Amy watched Pyper break away from Kiara and Annie. Pyper stepped up slowly, taking Amy’s hand, but her focus belonged to Tyler. “G’bye, Mr. Tyler,” she said quietly. “Thank you for throwing me so good in the water.”
“It was absolutely my pleasure.” He crouched down, to Pyper’s eye level. She backed away just slightly, tucking next to Amy’s legs. Still, she smiled at him shyly. “I hope I see you again real soon, sugar beet.”
Her smile went wider and she nodded, giving a soft giggle. “Sugar beet,” she repeated, and giggled again. “I’m a sugar beet?”
Tyler gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Yep. You’re sweet, just like a sugar beet.”
She gave a little wave. “Bye.”
Tyler tweaked her nose lightly, and stroked her cheek. “See you soon.”
Now, he focused on Amy. “Remember. We’re gonna stay connected.”
“I promise to reach out, if you do, too. I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t, Amy. You won’t.”
She fought against tears once more, already aching with the pain of missing him. Pretty much a ridiculous reaction, Amy thought, since they had been reunited for less than forty-eight hours. Tyler’s rock-solid embrace trembled a bit, but he held her tight and sure. Amy sighed, an involuntary reaction to breathing in the subtle aroma of his earthy, appealing cologne, savoring the way his arms felt, locked securely around her waist.
She wanted to believe him. He lifted a hand to her cheek, stroked it as though revering a treasure. Fire lit her skin, blooming through her body, a fire stoked by the sureness of being in his arms, sharing with him, simply being with him.
But her mind worked in direct contradiction to her heart, warning her, sounding off alarm bells and raising flags.
He’s Tennessee; you’re Michigan. He’s a celebrity; you’re barely on your feet again. You’ve devoutly guarded your heart from further harm, yet you fall for him so easily. This is absolutely crazy.
In the end, all of her arguments did nothing to alter one key truth: being with Tyler again felt good. And right.
Hearts Key
9
“Pyper, you got a package in the mail.” And it was postmarked Tennessee. That made Amy’s lips curve.
“I did? What is it, Mommy?” Pyper bounded from her room, where she and Lucy Robbins, a friend from down the street, were playing with fashion dolls.
“D’no, honey. I think it’s from Tyler.”
Pyper’s eyes went wide, her smile large and just a little shy. “Really?” She took the thick, insulated envelope in eager hands and plunked her bottom down on the couch so she could tear into it. Lucy came out of Pyper’s bedroom, drawn by the commotion.
Amy thumbed through the rest of the Saturday offerings. A glossy set of advertisements, a pair of bills—nothing nearly as exciting as Pyper’s delivery.
“Wow!” Upon hearing Pyper’s happy shout, Amy set the mail on the living room end table and joined her daughter on the couch.
“What is it?” Lucy asked, crowding her friend to see what Pyper uncovered.
“Color books, and a big picture book, too—with mountains! An’ he sent me playing cards and stickers, too!”
Amy grinned. Tyler had sent Pyper all kinds of stuff native to Tennessee. A thick coloring book was all about Nashville, and another one about the Smoky Mountains. The third item was a hardback, coffee table book with pictures and information about the state. On the cover of that one, Amy noticed a bright blue sticky note.
Pyper turned to Lucy, a happy set to her features. “This is from Mr. Tyler. He’s a friend of me and my mommy, and he’s a really good singer. He’s on the radio and stuff, and he throws real good in the water, too.” Pyper ended her litany of Tyler’s traits just long enough to point to the sticky note. “Mommy, what’s this?”
Upon it was scrawled the words, Amy, Open me. ASAP.
Puzzled, and intrigued, Amy took custody of the book. “I think that one’s for me, snug-a-bug.”
“Mm’kay.” Enthused, Pyper scooped up her prizes and grabbed Lucy’s hand; she was flushed with pleasure, and that tickled the sides of Amy’s heart. “C’mon, Lucy. You can color in them with me.”
Off they charged. Left in peace, Amy opened the book. Inside the front cover, she found a folded sheet of letter-sized paper that she opened promptly.
Her breath caught. Her jaw dropped open and she launched from the couch, scrambling to grab her cell phone. She scrolled fast for Tyler’s name.
When he answered, there was no greeting, no preamble, just the sound of his soft, musical laughter. “Le’me guess. You just got the mail.”
Amy’s laughter bubbled over. “Yes, I did.”
“And? So? You in?” His eager excitement rolled through the connection.
“Tyler! You can’t even be halfway serious about this.”
“D’ya wanna bet?” His teasing tones went serious. “I know my proposal may be tough to execute, with your work schedule and all, but I’m missin’ you. I really want to try to get together, sooner rather than later if you can swing it…”
His words trailed off and he waited. Amy let herself fall into the moment, and breathe. The printed sheet she held detailed a one-week trip, for her and Pyper, to Tennessee. The itinerary, coordinated by a travel agency in Franklin, was marked “Draft” with travel dates yet to be determined.
“Nothing is set in stone. You can pick whatever dates you want, but nothing changes the intent. I want you and Pyper to take a taste of my life here in Tennessee.”
Amy couldn’t begin to wrap her head around the idea, or summon a proper response without careful thought and consideration. After all, this involved Pyper as well.
“It’s all on the up-and-up. Let me know when you’re coming and my aunt will stay with us for the week. Call her a chaperone of sorts. All I know is this: I want you and Pyper here, as soon as you can manage. I miss my girls.”
His girls. Amy braced herself against futility, thinking, Oh, Tyler, if only.
Still, the sound of his voice wrapped around her, and she savored its inflections and rich, deep warmth. His love saturated her, fed her craving heart with miraculous, life-giving food that came to her spirit as nothing less than a benediction from God. “I wish…”
“What? What do you wish?”
“I wish I could just let go, and say yes, but I’m afraid. I’m afraid for what the end of this whole thing would mean, for me, and for Pyper. I can’t afford to be risky with my life, and my emotions, or Pyper will pay the price just as dearly as me.”
He sighed, but not out of anger, or disappointment. Amy knew that at once. “I know, but don’t deny me the pleasure of being able to do things for you. There’s so much inside of me I want to give you.”
“Can you give me a day or two to think this over, and see what I can do?”
“I’ll give you even more if you need it. Like I said, the dates are flexible, the idea is a constant.”
She allowed a tender laugh at that. “Understood, and appreciated—on both counts. Tyler, this is amazing, please don’t think I’m hesitating to be coy, or difficult, or—”
Hearts Key Page 9
