A Matter of Trust: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 3)

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Even when Tyler had first come to the Center, she’d figured he’d be frustrated and angry—like most the people who came to them tended to be initially—but he hadn’t been. He’d been focused and determined, but he’d still taken the time to try to encourage the others there with him.

  That was the main reason she was glad to be able to call him a friend, and why—when she had someone who needed encouragement, compassion, and hope—she went to him.

  She couldn’t hear what Tyler was saying to Simon, but the man slouched in the wheelchair didn’t seem to be ignoring him, so that was a step in the right direction. Melanie glanced over to where Derrick, the physical therapist who had been trying to work with Simon, stood, his gaze on the two men.

  Moving to Derrick’s side, Melanie said in a low voice, “I’m going to head back to my office. If something happens, let me know. And could you ask Tyler to come by and see me when he’s done here?”

  When Derrick nodded, Melanie sent one more look toward Tyler and Simon before leaving the room. Once back in her office, she dove right into the files on her desk. Though she wasn’t completely sure why, she felt the need to be distracted.

  Melanie had been working for about half an hour when there was a knock on her door. Expecting to see Tyler, she was surprised when Adrianne walked in and made herself comfortable in one of the chairs across the desk from her.

  “What brings you out this way?” Melanie asked as she settled back in her chair.

  Adrianne grinned. “Do I need a reason to come see you?”

  “Usually.” Melanie looked at her older sister, wondering how different their relationship might have been if she’d made it through her teen years without incident like Adrianne had. People looking at them might assume they were close, which in some ways, they were, but Melanie knew the truth. If she considered herself close to anyone, it would be Adrianne, but it was hard to feel that they were super close when she kept so much of what she felt hidden.

  “Actually, I come bearing some good news.”

  Melanie arched an eyebrow. “You got a date?”

  “No,” Adrianne said as she rolled her eyes. “This is business related. Me having a date isn’t newsworthy. That would be the case if you had a date.”

  “Be nice or next time you’re going out, I’ll tell Mom.”

  This time, Adrianne glared at her. “Do you want to hear what I came to tell you or not?”

  Almost five years separated them, but Melanie had learned young how to yank her older sister’s chain. “I have a feeling you’ll explode if you don’t spill it.”

  Adrianne moved like she was going to get up out of her chair and leave, but then she flopped back into the chair and let out a heavy sigh. “Yeah. Okay. Fine. I do have to tell you this.”

  “So what’s the news?” For all her teasing, Melanie was curious. Adrianne didn’t come out to the Center very often.

  “We got a large donation to the Center.” Adrianne was BlackThorpe’s Public Relations person and was responsible for events to connect with security clients as well as organizing fundraising. The way the Wellness Center had grown over the past several years was a testament to her skill at the job. “They’ve donated before but never this large.”

  “Who was it?” Melanie asked.

  “It was given by Henry and Shauna Wakeford with thanks for helping someone special to them in honor of their birthday. It was for two million dollars.”

  “Wow.” Melanie knew her eyes widened at the amount. “That’s terrific, but the name doesn’t ring any bells for me. How about you?”

  “I did a quick search, and we don’t have anyone in our files with that last name. Of course, they didn’t say it was a son or daughter so it could be another relation.”

  Melanie scooted forward in her chair to rest her arms on the desk. “I suppose if they wanted us to know, they would have attached a name to the donation, right?”

  Adrianne nodded. “Yep, that’s true. I just wanted you to know because donations like that speak to the good work you’re doing here with your team.”

  A knock on the door drew Melanie’s attention from Adrianne. This time, it was Tyler who stood in the doorway.

  “Hey, Tyler,” Adrianne said with a smile at the man. “I didn’t know you were over here.”

  Melanie waved her hand at the chair beside Adrianne. “Do you have a few minutes?”

  Tyler nodded and sat down, stretching out his legs. “How’re you doing, Adrianne?”

  “Can’t complain. How about you?”

  “Pretty much the same.”

  “Tyler is here helping with a vet who’s struggling,” Melanie said. “How did it go with Simon?”

  “About what you’d expect. I did most the talking this time around, telling him about my experiences. He seemed open to interaction with me, so maybe next time he’ll do a little more talking.”

  “Thanks, Tyler. I think his family is at their wit’s end and scared. Between the depression, the alcohol, and the pain meds, I think they’re afraid they’re losing him.”

  “Unfortunately, their concerns are valid. Some do slip away, but I think we can pull Simon back from the edge.”

  Melanie watched as Adrianne laid a hand on Tyler’s arm and said, “BlackThorpe is fortunate to have you, not just as an employee, but as someone who can help others because of your own experiences.”

  Tyler looked at Adrianne, his expression serious. “I’m the one who’s fortunate. I doubt I’d be where I am now without the help offered by BlackThorpe.”

  The two exchanged a smile before Adrianne moved her hand back to her lap. The urge to tell her sister to back off shocked Melanie. She had no claim on Tyler and didn’t want to give him any ideas to the contrary. But man, it rubbed her the wrong way to see Adrianne being so friendly with him.

  “Well, I’ll leave you two to chat,” Adrianne said as she got up. “I just wanted to share the good news.”

  “See you at home,” Melanie called out as her sister walked out of the office. When it was just the two of them, she turned back to Tyler. “Thanks again for being willing to come by and meet with Simon.”

  “His outlook seems to be that he doesn’t deserve to have his life any better than it is right now.” Tyler dragged a hand through his curls, which only served to make them even more unruly. “Do you know the circumstances around the loss of his leg?”

  Melanie thought back to the information in his file. “I believe his convoy was attacked and when the vehicle he was in flipped over, his leg was pinned underneath, crushing it. The resulting damage was too much to repair.”

  “Were there casualties?” Tyler sat forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. His deep blue eyes looked straight at her, so direct she fought the urge to look away. For the first time, she was afraid he could see right into her soul and the secrets she held so tightly there. “I just seem to be getting a feeling of survivor’s guilt from the little he said.”

  “Yes, there were, but I don’t know exactly how many or how they died.” She dropped her gaze to a pile of folders on her desk. “I could get you the information from his file if you think it would help you to work with him.”

  “It would.”

  When he didn’t say anything more, she looked up to find him watching her intently. Swallowing, she said, “Uh, I’ll have to talk with Sharon—she’s his counselor—to get the file. I can’t give you the file itself and will have to make sure that I’m not giving you confidential information since technically you don’t work for the Center.”

  “That’s fine. If you give me dates, I can probably even find the information online.”

  “Once I’ve talked to Sharon, I’ll give you a call with that info.” Melanie shifted in her chair. “How do you find life now?”

  Though they talked about a lot of other things when they were together, they didn’t often speak of what had brought him to the Center in the first place.

  Tyler stared at her for a moment, one eyebrow lifting sligh
tly. “Are you asking as a shrink or my employer?”

  Melanie’s eyes widened at the question. “Neither. And I’m not your employer.”

  “Your name is part of the company.”

  “Well, that makes Alex your boss, not me.”

  Tyler grinned. “Okay, so then you’re asking as a shrink?”

  What was that flutter in her stomach from? Trying to ignore it, she asked, “How about as a friend?”

  He tilted his head. “After leaving here, living with the prosthetics became my new normal, but after so many years with them, it’s just…normal. It has its inconveniences, of course, but it’s easier to adapt now than it used to be. Probably the hardest part is dealing with people who seem to feel I need sympathy.” He paused, his jaw tightening. “I don’t.”

  “You’re a good role model, Tyler,” Melanie said, wishing things were different for her because if they had been, she might have been able to love a man like him. But sadly, he deserved better than her. After all he’d dealt with, he deserved someone who didn’t come with a ton of baggage.

  “I hope I’m a good role model for more than just learning to live my life without my lower legs. There are people out there who have it much worse than me.” Tyler crossed his arms. “The bottom line is that God gave me a second chance at life. I’ve been trying my best to make it count.”

  Melanie thought over his words. She’d been given a second chance as well, but she hadn’t embraced it quite the way Tyler had. “Well, I appreciate you taking the time to help Simon. Hopefully, your outlook will rub off on him.”

  “I’m praying to that end,” Tyler said as he pushed to his feet. “I’d better be going. I’ll probably come back around on Monday. Is that okay?”

  Melanie got to her feet as well. “That would be great.”

  “Have a good weekend,” Tyler said with a smile then walked out of her office.

  Melanie placed her hands flat on her desk and bent her head. What was happening to her? It was as if that night at Than and Lindsay’s engagement party had created a crack in the walls she kept around her heart and emotions. And now a man she’d long considered her friend was starting to mean more to her than she wanted.

  When they were just hanging out as friends, she could enjoy his presence because he was a fun person to be around. But it was at times like this when she saw exactly how deep his goodness went.

  Was it possible that she could take another chance? For a moment, she allowed herself to consider it. But then memories swamped her, and her shoulders curved forward as she fought off the fear and pain that raced through her body with every rapid beat of her heart. Even if she convinced herself Tyler could be trusted, she was too messed up to be able to handle a relationship with someone like him.

  While the counseling sessions she’d had and her own education hadn’t been able to free her from the chains that bound her to the events of fourteen years ago, they did give her the tools to deal with moments like this.

  Taking deep breaths, Melanie closed her eyes and sought the peaceful place in her mind.

  The cabin. The crackle of the fire in the fireplace as it spreads its warmth into the room. The comfortable chair with a lamp next to it. The soft blanket covering my legs. There’s a storm raging outside but inside I’m safe. It’s peaceful. Secure.

  I am safe.

  Deep breath in. Slow exhale.

  I am safe.

  Deep breath in. Slow exhale.

  Melanie stayed there until her heartbeat calmed. She took several more deep breaths before straightening. When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t surprised to find them damp. It had been awhile since her last attack, and even though she hated the moments of weakness with a passion, this time it had served as a clear reminder of why she couldn’t have what other people had…even if her heart was beginning to awaken and long for it.

  CHAPTER THREE

  TYLER SETTLED onto the couch, phone in hand, wincing as his hip protested the movement. A game of basketball had gotten a little too competitive with a bunch of the guys on Saturday night. While most of the time he was fairly agile, he and a couple others had crashed to the floor as they tried to get their hands on a loose ball. His hip had taken the brunt of his fall, and it had already started to turn a delightful shade of purple.

  When his phone rang as it did every Sunday afternoon at four o’clock, he tapped the screen to accept the call and then pressed it to his ear. “Hello, Momma.”

  “Hi, darling!” His mother’s voice floated over the telephone line. “How are you doing?”

  “I’m doing really well. How about you?” Knowing that question would open up a five-minute monologue by his mom on everything she’d done that week, Tyler leaned his head back against the couch.

  He responded appropriately throughout her report then braced himself for the next question. “So have you met a nice young lady yet?”

  This had started about six months ago. Every. Single. Week. The same question. “I’ve met several, actually, Momma, but none that I’m dating. I don’t have time for that right now. Marcus just dumped a huge project into my lap, so between work and church, I don’t have time for dating.”

  “You need to make time, sweetheart. You’re going to be turning thirty-one soon. It’s time you settled down.”

  Tyler almost laughed at that. He really couldn’t be any more settled than he was. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “On the subject of your birthday, we’ll be arriving the day before so we can spend some time with you. Hope that’s okay.”

  Of course, it was okay. They’d spent every birthday together except the two when he was overseas. “It’s fine, Momma. Perfect, in fact.”

  “And it’s okay I’m not coming alone?”

  Tyler rubbed a hand over his face, wondering why they were still having this discussion after almost twelve years. “Again, it’s fine, Momma. You know I don’t have a problem with Hank. He’s a great guy.”

  “He is, isn’t he?” His mom’s voice went soft, and Tyler had to smile. Yeah, his mom was head over heels in love with her husband, and thankfully, the man returned the affection as much, if not more. Tyler truly was happy that after raising him as a single mom—a young single mom—she’d found love.

  “I’ll have a room ready for you guys. Looking forward to seeing you.”

  “Me, too, sweetheart. It’s been too long this time.”

  After a few more minutes, their weekly call ended, but Tyler stayed sprawled out on the couch. Tonight was going to have to be an early night if he didn’t want to fall asleep at his desk the next day. Between the youth event Friday night, doing work around the house and yard on Saturday and the game where he’d bruised his hip, he was wiped out.

  He took a deep breath, sank lower on the couch and closed his eyes. Tyler let his thoughts drifted lazily to the week ahead. The big project for Marcus. Visit Simon. See Melanie.

  His eyes popped open, and he stared at the ceiling. See Melanie? He gave his head a shake. Ryan needed to stop putting thoughts into his mind. Thoughts he could do nothing about.

  One would think that Melanie would be the ideal person to have a relationship with. After all, she understood more than most women could what his injury and life with prosthetics was all about.

  His eyes slid shut again. However, there had been an awkwardness—a stiltedness—to their last few interactions. Had she heard Ryan teasing him about her in the lunchroom? If the teasing had made her uncomfortable around him, it was no doubt because she didn’t view him in that light.

  Which was for the best. He couldn’t allow himself to think of her that way either, and Tyler wasn’t prepared to lose a perfectly good friendship to the possibility of some sort of romantic relationship. So how did he go about reassuring her that what Ryan was suggesting wasn’t something she had to worry about?

  Even if he was interested in her, while BlackThorpe didn’t prohibit dating among its employees, it wasn’t really encouraged and something told him
that as a member of the Thorpe family, Melanie wouldn’t cross that line.

  So, the sooner he could get her to relax back into their friendship, the better.

  “Yo! Harris!”

  The yell dragged Tyler from sleep, and he reluctantly cracked his eyes open. Ryan stood in front of him with a large flat box in one hand and a six-pack of pop in the other. He squinted at him for a moment then sat up, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck. “Did we have plans?”

  “Nope. But I’m hungry and figured you would be too.” Ryan placed the pizza and drinks on the coffee table and dropped down on the couch next to him. “Maybe we could play some video games or watch a movie.”

  Tyler turned to stare at the man. “Something wrong?”

  It wasn’t that they didn’t spend time together just like this—Ryan lived in the other side of the duplex and they shared a weight room in the basement—but there was something about his friend’s demeanor that made him think this was more than just a desire to hang out.

  Ryan didn’t look at him as he freed one of the pop cans from the plastic rings and popped it open. He took a long drink then leaned back, resting the can on his stomach. “Nope. Just felt like hanging out.”

  Tyler was unconvinced but before he could say anything, his phone rang. With a final look at his friend, he grabbed his phone from where it had slid between the cushions during his nap. Melanie. He pushed up from the couch as he tapped the screen to accept the call.

  “Hello?” He found the remote on the coffee table and tossed it to Ryan before making his way to the kitchen to get some plates and napkins.

  “Hi, Tyler. It’s Melanie. Sorry to disturb you on the weekend, but I just realized I forgot to phone you with the information on Simon.”