by Trisha Grace
“This is beautiful.” Kate bent down and skimmed her fingers across the surface of the water.
He took the phone from her hand and snapped a picture of her, and another when she turned to look at him. She raised her hand to block her face, but he’d already taken the photo.
“You have been taking photos of me and of us the entire day, but I can’t take one of you?”
She shrugged. “This is amazing.” She sat by the bank and took in the scene around her.
Settling down beside her, he said with a grin, “The cabin has a fantastic view, too.”
Kate nudged him with her elbow as she laughed softly. “Stop. Stop selling me the cabin idea, I don’t know why you want me to go there so badly, but …” She raised her finger to stop him from interjecting. “I’ll go.”
He grinned brightly.
“I can’t promise when. Since I’ve been rather busy with the bed and breakfast, I haven’t had time to catch up with my teams. And there may be hiccups here and there. But I’ll let you know once I can free up a couple of days.”
“That’s fine with me.”
They continued chatting by the bank of the river until it got too warm, and they decided to head back and have their lunch.
He made sure he matched Kate’s pace.
Every now and then, whenever the path was uneven, he’d hold out his hand for Kate to use as support.
He really had to stop finding excuses to touch her.
The trek down took slightly longer, and he figured that Kate must have been exhausted.
He didn’t mind the slower pace; it was his fault that she was tired. The horse riding, the uncomfortable sleeping situation, and the two hours hike were probably taking a toll on her. “Are you all right? We can rest for a while if you want.”
“No, I’m fine. Sorry, I know I’m slowing you down.”
“I get to see more.” He smiled warmly at her. Then taking her hand, he folded his arm and hooked her hand over his. “Lean on me if you’re getting tired.”
He didn’t think that she would. From previous conversations, he’d surmised that she didn’t like others to think she was weak.
But the combination of events were clearly too much for her. She leaned against him as her pace slowed further. Though she was clearly tired, she didn’t complain or whine about needing rest. She kept her feet moving. Only when they got back to the car did she sigh and stretch her limbs.
Tyler laughed at her, but she merely scowled at him. Probably too exhausted to banter with him.
They had dinner nearby, and she seemed invigorated after that. She shopped around the gift shop, examining the items and picking out T-shirts for both of them.
“I don’t want it.” He pushed her hands away when she tried to see if the T-shirt would fit.
“Why not? It’ll be a fun reminder of our trip.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need a T-shirt to remind me of our trip. I have a good memory, and you have enough photos.”
She sighed softly and placed the T-shirts back onto the shelf. “All right,” she said with discontent as she moved on to the rest of the store.
Tipping his head back, Tyler shook his head again, exasperated with himself. He grabbed the T-shirts she’d placed down, brought it over to the counter, and paid for them. When he turned, Kate was standing beside him with the biggest smile.
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
When he saw the smile that two T-shirts brought, the thought of owning a cheesy T-shirt didn’t seem that bad after all.
That night, the same nightmare plagued him again. But he was no longer drowning in the fear and loneliness that the dream always brought him. This time, he knew that at the end of it, Kate would be there in the sunlight and with her smile, bringing light into the darkness that enveloped him.
Chapter Eleven
Kate opened the door and got out of the car while Tyler took their luggage from the trunk. She was getting used to this whole letting-others-take-care-of-her thing.
She strolled up to the mansion and opened the door. As expected, the door wasn’t locked. It never was during meal times.
She tilted her head to the side and blinked as the living room greeted her.
The whole living room looked different.
The writing desk was missing, and in its place stood a black grand piano. “Ty, you didn’t have to do that,” she said when she felt him coming up behind her. “Was it because of what Eve said?”
“I thought it’ll be more convenient for you, then you don’t have to travel between places to play your piano.”
She broke into a wide grin and went forward to try out the piano. Lifting the cover, she tried out a few keys.
“Huge present, isn’t it?” Evelyn’s voice drew Kate’s attention.
“What are you doing here?” Kate stepped away from the piano and hugged her friend.
“Checking if you’re hurt and if I need to hunt him down.”
“I had so much fun.” She handed Evelyn the laptop. “Go ahead, I’ll join you in a bit.”
Evelyn took the laptop and went back into the kitchen while Kate returned to the piano. Her fingers skimmed across the surface of the keys, but she didn’t play them.
“Do you like it?” Tyler asked.
“Yes, very much. Thanks, Ty. This is really nice of you.”
“As long as you’re happy.”
Standing, she threw her arms over his shoulders. “I am. Thanks,” she said and stepped back, the grin still plastered on her face. “Let’s eat something.”
She stepped into the kitchen and took a quick glance, secretly relieved that Joanne wasn’t present. Joanne and Evelyn being in the same room would result in a mega explosion.
“Hello all,” she announced.
All of them uttered some form of acknowledgment, but their attention was mainly on the laptop. They had all crowded around Evelyn’s chair, trying to look at the photos.
“Ty, you’re in a lot of the photos,” Joseph stated.
Ryan looked up at Tyler and gave him a sly smile before adding. “And you’re smiling—a lot,” Ryan said.
“People smile when they’re taking photos,” Kate stated plainly. “Ty’s an amazing rider; he’s really good on the horse.”
“You rode with her? Seriously? The last time we wanted to try riding, he got us instructors and dumped us to them,” Dan complained.
Kate laughed at the funny image of two grown men on the same horse. “So you wanted to ride with him?”
Dan rolled his eyes. “No, I’m merely stating the huge contrast. He left Anne there, too.”
Joseph cleared his throat while Tyler shot Dan a glare. “Sorry, I was—”
“It’s okay,” she said. “I told you it’s nothing to worry about. Is there enough food for us? I’m starving.”
Marianne’s eyes were glued to the screen. She nodded and waved, gesturing for Kate to go ahead without even looking over at her.
When Kate heard her own voice on her laptop, she knew Evelyn was playing one of the videos. It was the one she took while they were seated by the bank of the river. “So, tell me more about the cabin in North Carolina.”
Tyler went on to describe what he could remember of the place. When the video ended, Ryan asked, “Wait. You have a cabin in North Carolina? Why haven’t we stayed there before?”
Evelyn closed the laptop and shifted it to a countertop nearby.
Shrugging, Tyler answered, “I didn’t like going there.”
Everyone around the table fell silent and dug in.
Seemed like everyone knew how Tyler avoided everything that had to do with his parents.
“And you feel like going there all of a sudden?” Evelyn asked, apparently unaware of how quiet everyone had become.
Kate kicked Evelyn under the table and scowled at her.
“What?” Evelyn mouthed to Kate.
“I think Kate will love the place, and I want to show her my horse,” Tyler answered.
Kate turned to look at Tyler, surprised that he’d answered Evelyn’s question instead of shrugging it off.
She picked up her fork and pointed its ends at Evelyn’s plate.
“Kate,” Dan said as he stood and stretched his hand toward her. “I’m sorry about what Joanne did.”
She grimaced and sighed. “Dan, I told you it’s all right.” Still, she shook his hand so that he could return to his seat.
“I know, but you deserve an apology, and I want to make it up to you.”
She opened her mouth to speak, but Dan continued before she could say anything.
“I’ve paid for a Lasik consultation with the doctor that Joseph recommended. So whenever you’re free, you can head down, get your eyes checked, and decide if you want to have the operation. Then you can stay off contact lens altogether.” Dan cast a quick glance at Tyler as he finished up his sentence.
Seemed like everything within the group was public information.
“Did you ask him to do that?” she asked Tyler.
“No, he didn’t,” Dan said. “I asked Joseph how you were doing, and he told me about your spectacles giving you trouble and the Lasik thing. I thought it’d be a good idea.”
“Thanks.”
“So when is Joanne coming to apologize for herself?” Evelyn asked, staring right at Dan.
Dan blinked, then smiled awkwardly.
“When pigs can fly, when hell freezes over, when the sun stops shining, when—”
“I think she got it, Ryan,” Joseph said, stopping Ryan’s mindless ramble.
“Eve, let it go. I’m fine,” she said softly, but a tone of warning lingered in her words.
Evelyn raised both her arms and shrugged, then returned to her food.
“So, you guys stayed and had a mini-holiday?” Ryan asked.
He had asked it casually enough, but she couldn’t help feeling that she was being tested. “Yeah, you saw the photos.”
“You asked and he agreed?” Ryan pressed.
Kate frowned and turned to Tyler.
“Ignore him.”
She turned back to Ryan and smiled. “We were already there anyway.”
“Do you know Tyler hates taking photo?”
“Ryan.” Tyler stared at him. “Enough.”
Ryan was clearly trying to push a point across, and Kate could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks.
Clearing her throat, she turned to Evelyn. “So, Eve, what are you doing here?”
Evelyn swallowed, then using the fork, she pushed the food around on her plate. “One of our teams screwed up majorly. I just got a call from an extremely pissed off client. I thought you’d want to know about it.”
Kate sighed and braced herself for the news. “Which one?” Then burying her face in her hands, she continued. “Please don’t tell me it’s the one I handed over to Laura so that I could work on the bed and breakfast.”
Evelyn’s silence answered her question.
“Perfect. What happened?”
“They messed up with the ordering and got the wrong pieces of furniture. But instead of telling us, they thought that somehow, miraculously, the owners wouldn’t notice the difference.”
Kate stared at Evelyn, completely dumbfounded. She opened her mouth to speak, but Evelyn raised her finger and pursed her lips. “And,” she said after a moment. “They damaged one of the owner’s furniture. Instead of apologizing, they just threw it out. They even argued that the owners agreed to remove it in the first place.”
“Have you spoken to them? Maybe it was miscommunication.”
“I knew you’d say that.” Evelyn shook her head. “Trust me. They knew they screwed up, but they chose to be complete idiots instead of owning up to it.”
Kate sighed heavily.
Why didn’t she just listen to Evelyn? Why did she have to trust Benjamin?
She could go on listing all the whys, but it wasn’t time to wallow in what she should and shouldn’t have done. She sat back against the chair and asked, “Is there a possibility of retrieving the furniture to restore it?”
“Nope. It’s long gone.”
She nodded. “What did the Harpers demand?”
“Mrs. Harper was just screaming into my ear.” Then smiling coyly, Evelyn said, “I held the phone away from my ear and agreed with everything she said. You know I’m not good with handling people, so I figured I’ll let you do the talking.”
“Okay. Once you get back to the office, check if we still can get the original pieces we wanted. If it’s out, find alternatives. Find out from them exactly which furniture was thrown out and check if we can replace that as well.”
“I can tell you right now that it can’t be replaced. I remember that table. It’s a handcrafted desk.”
“Then you’ll need to work your magic,” Kate said.
Evelyn was great at handcrafted furniture. She was attentive to details and always made sure that it was flawless before presenting it to the clients.
“It was made from a specific wood. It won’t be easy to find; I’ll need time and pictures of the original desk. Based on how she was screaming in the phone, I don’t think the Harpers will be willing to provide either of that.”
“I can help with that,” Dan interrupted. “I know someone who provides special wood, I’m sure I can get him to give you some for the desk.”
Kate turned and smiled at Dan. “Thank you, that will be very helpful.” Looking back at Evelyn, she explained, “Dan owns a construction firm.”
Dan returned her smile and shrugged. “Not a problem.”
“What about Laura?” Evelyn finally asked.
“She’s going to prepare an apology for the Harpers. I want it in writing. After I approve it, she’ll read from it—word for word. We’ll discuss how to deal with her after we settle the debacle.”
“Oh, I got that covered. Dismiss her and the rest of the team.”
Kate pursed her lips while her fingers tugged at her locket.
Though someone in the team should’ve spoken out about what was happening before it went out of hand, sacking the entire team seemed too drastic.
It was the team leader who made the decision.
“I know you don’t want to do that,” Evelyn said. “I’ll let you decide what to do with the rest of them, but Laura’s got to go.”
Kate nodded.
“I guess I’ll get back to work and leave you to deal with the incensed client.” Evelyn stood and said her goodbyes.
Dan stood and followed Evelyn as she left.
“Sorry for talking about work at the table, must’ve bored you guys.”
“Don’t worry, I’m so tired that I wouldn’t have talked anyway,” Joseph said while Ryan nodded.
“Good luck.” Ryan gave Kate a pat on her shoulder before heading out.
“I’m going to crash, too.” Joseph stood.
“Joe,” Tyler’s voice stopped Joseph in his tracks. “Can you check Kate’s eyes again to make sure they’re all right?”
Though she insisted that nothing was wrong with her eyes, Joseph turned to her. “Don’t bother, he won’t let me get any rest until I’ve checked your eyes.”
She shook her head but didn’t want to give Joseph any more trouble. So she sat and allowed him to check her eyes, moving her eyes according to his instructions.
“Seems fine.”
“I know. Thanks,” she said.
When Joseph stepped out of the kitchen, she yawned softly and stretched.
“Are you leaving now? I’ll drive you there.”
She smiled and shook her head. “You’ve already been driving me around for the past two days. I can manage.”
“Evelyn said the Harpers were really angry. You sure it’s all right for you to go down on your own?”
“I’ll be fine. They’ll probably yell at me, but I’ll be fine.”
“Why don’t you ask those who screwed up to solve the problem instead?”
“And let them make things worse?”
“Let me drive you. I’ll wait in the car.”
“No. I know it sounds serious, but screw ups will continue to happen, and clients will continue to get upset. You can’t protect me from all future yelling. So, no. Just go rest.”
Tyler didn’t reply. He stacked some of the dishes on the table and turned back to Kate. “Then when you’re done at the Harpers, drop me a text to let me know how it went?”
“I can do that.”
“Will you be back for dinner?” Marianne asked.
“I guess so; there isn’t much I can do when offices close anyway.”
“Good. I was thinking of making dessert. What do you like?”
Kate thought about it for a moment. She wasn’t in the mood for any dessert. Besides, she didn’t want to trouble Marianne. “I’m fine with anything.”
“No, I want to make something that you like. Tell me, or I’ll have to spend the whole day thinking about which dessert to choose and if you’ll like it. It’s so much more troublesome.”
“Apple strudel. I don’t know if it’s possible to make it at home; I always buy it. If you want, I can buy some on the way back.”
Marianne scoffed. “Not a problem. You’ll have apple strudel tonight. Oh, right, I almost forgot. Mr. Sawyer asked for your plane tickets and hotel receipts to verify that the conditions were met.”
“I was starting to think Mr. Sawyer wasn’t living here at all. I haven’t seen him since the first night we moved in. I’ll pass it to him tonight.” Then turning to Tyler, she continued. “I’ll text you.”
But Tyler stood, took her laptop, and walked out beside her. “If you need anything, call me.”
“You don’t have to be so worried, Ty. You can’t protect me from everything, but God can. If hoards of angels are with me to keep my feet from dashing against a rock, they can keep me safe from a screaming client.”
He looked blankly at her.
Her lips parted into a smile. “Psalms 91,” she explained.
“You have a lot of faith.”
“You have to believe in something, right? I choose to believe that the words in the Bible are true.” She paused by her car. “Seeing Jesus as a very real presence in my life helped me a lot when I lost my parents. Whatever I do, I always imagined that they are there with me, that they are part of the angels who surround me.” She shook her head, smiling wryly. “I will call you if I need anything.”
