Simon sighed and shrugged. “Probably a bit of both.”
“You know what I’m going to tell you, man. Did you ask me to come just to hear me say it to you?”
Simon lifted his head enough that Tyler could see the smile tilt the corners of the man’s mouth. “She said I had ten days to get used to the idea, that she was going to be here next Friday come rain or shine.”
“Sounds like one determined woman. One who loves you very much. How do you feel about her? Do you love her?”
Simon’s head snapped up. “Of course I do. She’s the most wonderful woman in the world, and I let her go because I thought she deserved so much better than me.”
“I get the feeling she didn’t want to be let go. If you love her as much as she loves you, it would be a shame to not be together. For better or for worse. That’s what the wedding vows say. Sounds like you’ve got someone who is more than willing to go through the worst with you.” Tyler reached out to lay his hand on the man’s shoulder. “That type of love and commitment is something to hang on to. Some of us aren’t so fortunate.”
Simon’s brows drew together. “Did your girl leave you after you lost your legs?”
“She was my wife, and she hung around for a little while but then decided it wasn’t the life she wanted. She didn’t love me enough to want to go through the worst.” Tyler was surprised that he was able to say that without the pang of regret it usually brought.
“I’m sorry to hear that, man.”
“What’s done is done. But it does give me enough experience to tell you to grab onto this girl and don’t let her go.”
Simon sat straighter in his chair. “Can you help me get ready for her?”
“Sure thing, buddy. What do you need?”
“I’m going to talk to physio about working more with crutches. I’d like to be out of this,” he thumped the wheelchair, “when she comes. Also, I could use a haircut and maybe some new clothes.”
“Well, I don’t know why you think I know anything about haircuts,” Tyler said with a laugh as he dragged his hand through his own unruly curls. “But I’ll take you somewhere and then we can do some shopping.”
“Thank you.” Simon’s expression turned serious. “That really doesn’t seem enough. But thank you. Not just for this, but for spending time with me. For understanding. For sharing your life with me. For kicking me in the butt when I needed it. I’m a better man for having met you. Definitely a man more worthy of Tanya. Thank you.”
Tyler smiled. “Seeing you smile and looking toward the future is thanks enough. And I’m coming out of all this with a new friend.”
Simon held his hand out but instead of shaking it, Tyler slid his hand so his fingers clasped Simon’s thumb. The man returned the grasp and squeezed hard. “The day Melanie brought you to see me was a day I’ll never forget.”
“Me, too.” Tyler released his grip. “So when do you want to do this?”
“Are you free on Saturday afternoon? Maybe before we go play basketball?”
Tyler nodded. “Sounds good to me. If something comes up, I’ll give you a call, but otherwise I’ll be here around three.”
Tyler walked with him back to the elevator and returned to the second floor. Simon took off to find his counselor while Tyler made his way to Melanie’s office, hoping she would be free for a chat.
He could see right away that her office door was closed. Heather smiled at him as he stopped next to her desk. Something about her smile made him think she had also been privy to the rumor floating around.
“She’s just on a phone call if you want to wait. It shouldn't be too much longer.” Heather glanced down at the phone on her desk. “Yep. She’s just finished.”
The young woman turned to her computer and typed out a quick message. She waited a moment then swung back toward him with a smile. “She said for you to go on in.”
“Thanks,” Tyler said with a nod of his head.
He opened the door with one hand while he knocked on it with the other. Melanie looked up as he poked his head in.
“Heather said to come in,” he said, suddenly hoping that Heather wasn’t trying to create situations that would turn the rumor into reality.
“Yep. Perfect timing.” Her smile warmed Tyler as he sank down into the chair across from her. “What brings you out my way?”
“Got an SOS call from Simon, so I came out to talk with him.”
Her brows drew together, concern in her gaze. “Is he alright?”
“Actually, I’d say he’s more than alright.” Tyler described the conversation he’d had with Simon.
“That’s wonderful,” Melanie said, her brown eyes sparkling. “Although his girlfriend might be the impetus for taking bigger strides toward getting to a healthier place, I would say that you played a huge role in getting him to the point where he could actually be receptive to a reconciliation with her.”
Tyler rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “I’m just glad that it’s working out for him. He still has some hard work to do, but at least he’s got the motivation. He asked me to take him for a haircut and clothes shopping.”
Melanie laughed. “He has seen your hair, right?”
“Hey!” Tyler ran a hand through his hair. “Are you saying there’s something wrong with my hair?”
“Not a thing.” Melanie’s cheeks flushed at her words. “You have curls that a lot of women would give anything to get their hands on.” Her brows snapped together. “No, wait. I mean, give anything to have. On their own head.”
“And if I told you that I get this look by using a curling iron every morning?”
Laughter erupted from Melanie, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. When she could talk again, she said, “No way I’d ever believe that. Just the thought of you standing in front of a mirror trying to get your curls to hang just right…” Her words trailed off into laughter again.
Tyler chuckled. “My mom tells me that women have loved my curls since I was a toddler. And she didn’t like to cut them, so she always made sure I was dressed in boy clothes so no one thought I was a girl. Strangely enough, some still did.”
As he sat there watching the flush fade from Melanie’s cheeks, Tyler knew it was now or never. “Hey. You want to go to a Timberwolves game with me tomorrow night?”
Melanie’s eyes widened. “Tomorrow night? Ryan isn’t available to go with you?”
“He probably is,” Tyler said with a shrug. “I’d rather go with you.”
She seemed to consider his words. At that moment, he probably would have given just about anything to be able to read her mind. It was clear she was considering things. Tyler fought the urge to give her an out. But if she didn’t want to go with him, she’d have to say the words.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MELANIE’S FACE relaxed into a smile. “Sure. Sounds like fun.”
“Do you want to do dinner ahead of time? It might be kind of rushed since the game starts at seven. We could grab something afterward. Or during, for that matter.”
“I think I could handle something during the game. Even if it is on the unhealthy side.” She settled back in her chair. “I was going to call you later.”
“Really? What’s up?”
“I wanted to tell you that Jenni called me the other night.”
“That’s great. How is she doing?”
“Much better. She wanted me to know that she didn’t hate me. And to thank me for what I did in getting her help.”
“Well, that’s definitely an answer to prayer,” Tyler said.
His response seemed to catch Melanie off-guard. She stared at him for a moment, her head tilted to the side. “Did you pray for her?”
“Sure. It sounded like she was really struggling, so I prayed that she’d come to a place of accepting the help she needed. And I prayed that you would be at peace about your role in what happened with her.”
“Thank you,” Melanie said, blinking rapidly as if holding back tears. “For praying f
or her and me. I guess I didn’t expect that.”
“Why not?” Tyler crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re important to me. You were in pain over what had happened with Jenni. Of course I would want to pray for you and for her.”
Melanie caught her lower lip between her teeth, her brow furrowed. “I guess I got used to God not listening to my prayers a long time ago.”
Tyler’s heart clenched at her words. Over the years, she’d mentioned going to church and he’d just assumed she had some sort of faith. “Well, here’s the thing. God hears our prayers, but sometimes the answer He gives us is not what we want to hear.”
“But sometimes He does give us the one we want to hear.” Melanie’s words were so soft that Tyler almost couldn’t hear them. “At least this time.”
“I’ve learned that even when He says no when we want Him to say yes, that looking back, the answer He gave was the right one. I may have wanted the yes, but no was really what I needed.”
She didn’t look completely convinced. “At one time I believed that. I accepted Jesus into my heart like they said to do in our Sunday school class. Just stuff kinda…went wrong, and I lost faith in God hearing my prayers.”
The uncertain look on her face made Tyler want to take her into his arms and assure her that God was still there for her. And so was he. So many things were flooding him right then. Emotions. Realizations. Desires.
Melanie had always had a quiet confidence about her, as far back as when she’d still been a student. Tyler had seen how her presence had soothed people—even him during the earliest days of his time at the Wellness Center. And when Kelly had dumped him, she’d never patronized him with platitudes about how he was better off without her. She’d just offered her quiet encouragement to him each time she’d seen him.
But lately, he’d become much more aware of a vulnerability within her. And he’d be lying to himself if he denied that he wanted very much to protect her. To keep her safe from whatever was making her feel that way.
Tyler leaned forward, propping his arms on his thighs. “It’s never too late to rekindle that faith.”
Melanie nodded. “I went to Alex’s church on Sunday instead of my parents’. Not that anything is wrong with theirs, but the pastor at the church Alex attends had a sermon that made me think.”
“Those are always the best ones,” Tyler said. “God wants us to seek after Him. It’s like any relationship—you need to get to know the other person. That’s true with God too. Study His word. Spend time in prayer. Listen to sermons that feed your knowledge of Him.
“But don’t think for a minute that I haven’t questioned God on occasion too. I mean, I didn’t have much else to do while lying in that hospital bed in Germany with my legs gone. I questioned Him a lot. And then when Kelly left me, I questioned Him some more. Just don’t let your questioning drive you away from Him.”
“Yeah. I think that’s what I did.”
Before Tyler could respond to that, the intercom on the phone on Melanie’s desk went. “Sorry to interrupt, Melanie, but Marcus is on the line for you. Do you want me to take a message?”
“No. Just tell him I’ll be one minute.” Melanie gave him an apologetic look as Tyler got to his feet. “Sorry about that.”
“No worries.” He headed for the door then turned back. “So we’re on for tomorrow night?”
“As long as you don’t care that it might feed the rumor mill.”
Tyler smiled. “I’m counting on it and hoping that maybe it won’t be just a rumor.”
Before Melanie could say anything, Tyler winked at her and stepped out of her office. Heather sat at her desk, a wide grin on her face. She gave a fist pump and fake-whispered, “Go, Tyler!”
Feeling buoyed by the conversation they’d shared, Tyler headed out of the building toward his vehicle.
~*~*~
Melanie hung up the phone after a brief conversation with Marcus about how his sister was doing with her dog. She stared at the now-empty seat on the other side of her desk.
I’m going on a date.
Or at least she thought she was. She had little-to-no experience with this, but surely his parting comment supported her supposition. A squeal from the doorway drew her attention, and she spotted Heather peeking into the office, a huge smile on her face.
Melanie waved her in. Heather lost no time at all scooting into the room and dropping down into the seat that Tyler had vacated.
“Oh my goodness! He asked you out!” Heather’s light gray eyes sparkled like polished silver. Melanie wasn’t sure she’d ever seen her assistant so excited.
“I guess so?” It came out more a question than a statement.
“Of course, he did. You are so lucky. There are a lot of ladies in the company who are going to be jealous of you. They’ve tried to get his attention, but he never seemed to notice them.” Heather clasped her hands to her chest. “Maybe this is why. He’s only had eyes for you.”
Melanie frowned. “I don’t think so. We’re friends. We’ve only ever been friends.”
“Starting out that way is the best. You already know so much about the other person that you don’t have to wonder if you’re going to find out something unexpected about them.”
That comment caused a spark of unease in Melanie. There was something major Tyler didn’t know about her. She had seen the revulsion in his eyes when she’d explained what had happened to Jenni. At the time, she’d known it was a reaction to the actions of the abductors, but how would he feel knowing she’d endured the same thing as Jenni? Would that revulsion then be towards her?
“Hey now,” Heather said, pulling her back from her dark thoughts. “You look pale as a ghost. I promise that it’s nothing to be worried about. Tyler clearly adores you and is finally making a move. And there are going to be a few very happy people.”
Melanie frowned, remembering the bet they had going about who was going to fall in love next. She knew it was all in good fun, but part of her hated having people know about her relationship…or what she hoped might become one.
The next day as soon as it was five o’clock, Melanie dashed out of the building to head for home. Tyler was picking her up at six so she’d barely have time to get changed. Thankfully, she’d decided on her outfit the night before. Or at least she thought she had…as she drove along the highway headed into the cities, she was second guessing what she’d chosen.
There was no one else home when she got there. Alex had said something about a dinner meeting with Eli Bennet. Melanie had no idea of Adrianne’s plans, but she hoped to be gone by the time her sister got home. She took the stairs to her room, two at a time and slammed the door behind her when she reached them.
With quick movements, she stripped off her office clothes. She grabbed the dark green long sleeve bodysuit with a sweetheart neckline she’d laid out earlier and pulled it on. Normally, a bodysuit wasn’t something she really liked to wear, but the black jeans she wanted to wear were on the low riding side, and she didn’t want to constantly be worrying about her shirt coming untucked. She took a quick trip to the bathroom to refresh her makeup and make sure her hair still looked okay. After a moment’s consideration, she switched out her jewelry, changing the more conservative stuff she wore at the office for a pair of long dangling silver earrings and a necklace with a silver pendant on a black cord.
After a quick spritz of perfume, she returned to her room to pull on her favorite boots, taking a moment to slip her driver’s license, some cash, and her bank card into the hidden pockets along the calf before zipping them up. Lastly, she picked up her black leather jacket.
Knowing that Tyler would be there soon, she went ahead and shrugged into it. She zipped it halfway up then tugged it into place. It was fitted but also flared a bit in the hips so it came right to the top of her jeans. She knew the outfit gave her a kind of biker chick appearance, but if she was going to be unarmed, she wanted to know that her outfit wouldn’t hinder her if she needed to fend someone off
.
And she knew it wouldn’t because she’d practiced in this very outfit on more than one occasion.
A buzz alerted her to the fact that someone was approaching the gate. She went to the control panel on the wall by the door to her room and pushed the button once she recognized Tyler’s car. After taking a quick breath, she grabbed her cellphone from the bed where her purse’s contents were spilled. She slipped it into a zippered pocket on the side of her jacket and left her room.
By the time she walked out the front door, Tyler was just getting out of the car. The way his eyes widened when he saw her brought a flush to her cheeks. Now that they had kinda moved into a new area of their friendship, Melanie was more aware of wanting him to find her appearance attractive. Right or wrong, it was there.
“Well, we may have selected similar outfits, but yours definitely looks better,” Tyler said as he rounded the hood of his car.
Melanie smiled as she saw that he too wore jeans with a T-shirt and leather jacket. And as far as she was concerned, he looked just fine. Better than fine, actually.
He opened the door for her then waited until she was settled before closing it. As he slid behind the wheel, he glanced over and said, “You don’t have a purse or bag?”
Melanie shook her head. “When I’m dealing with crowds, I find it easier to not have to fuss with one. I have my ID and money in a hidden pocket in my boot.”
As Tyler guided the car around the driveway, he looked over at her, an eyebrow arched. “But no weapons, right?”
“No weapons,” she confirmed with a grin.
Because this had gone from two friends going to a basketball game to a date, Melanie had anticipated that things might be a bit awkward, but that was not the case. They chatted about work and then Tyler talked a little about how his mom and Hank were doing.
Melanie wondered if Tyler expected to meet her parents if they were dating now. She cringed at the thought. The only benefit would be if it would make her mom back off Adrianne, although realistically, it could also make it worse for her. Your little sister has a boyfriend. Why don’t you?
A Matter of Trust: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 3) Page 18
