Walking Straight (The Walking Together Series Book 1)

by T. E. Killian

  When Matt eased back down in his chair, his dad said, “I want to know what your feelings are toward Betty Sue.” Again, he interrupted what Matt was about to say. “I think you can be the best protection she could have.”

  He paused to look Matt directly in the eye. “If you can stay straight that is.”

  His dad kept looking into Matt’s eyes then said, “Okay, I think I know how much Betty Sue has come to mean to you Matt.

  Again, Matt was getting mad but was stopped cold this time by his dad’s next words.

  “Your mom and I both think that Betty Sue would make us a fine daughter-in-law . . . son.”

  * * *

  As soon as they walked into Trish’s house from the garage, Trish turned to Betty Sue, pointed at the small kitchen table, and said, “Why don’t we sit a spell? I think you and I need to do a little planning of our own.”

  Before she sat down, Trish poured two glasses of iced tea and set them on the table. Then she seemed to remember something and said, “I’ll be right back.”

  While Trish was gone, Betty Sue thought about all that had happened that day. Wow! She had never felt so welcome or . . . so loved? How could that be? She was a stranger to all of these people. Again, as she had earlier that day, she stopped and thanked God for all the blessings He was giving her.

  When Trish came back, she laid a black plastic box on the table in front of Betty Sue and opened it. To Betty Sue’s surprise, there was a gun in there and it looked like a smaller version of the one she’d seen Trish pull out of her bag at the diner yesterday.

  “But Trish. What’s this all about?”

  “Do you know how to shoot one of these things?”

  Trish seemed surprised when Betty Sue nodded and said, “Yes I do. There at the last, when my granny knew she was dying she told me that I would need protection after she was gone. She bought me a gun a lot like this one and paid for me to take shooting lessons.”

  Trish was still getting over her shock when Betty Sue said, “A fat lot of good it did me with Dave though. As soon as we got married, he took my gun away saying that with him around I’d never need a gun or anything else to protect me.”

  Trish mumbled under her breath and Betty Sue only caught a few words but they were all aimed at Dave.

  “Well, that certainly makes things that much easier I’d say. Here put this in your purse and I’ll get Hal to take care of the legal paperwork tomorrow. Okay?”

  Betty Sue couldn’t talk. She was so choked up that all she could do was to stand and pull Trish into a tight hug. And she suddenly felt like she never wanted to let go of this incredible woman who was doing so much for her.

  Finally, she found her voice. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve you Trish . . . and all the others too.”

  Trish patted Betty Sue’s back and pulled away. “I’ll tell you what you did girl. You just happen to be about the sweetest person I’ve ever known. Right up there next to Grace anyway. Why, you two are so much alike it’s almost scary.”

  Just then the doorbell rang and Trish who had just sat down, jumped back up. “I wonder who that could be.”

  Betty Sue stood and moved over to the doorway so she could see who was coming through the front door when Trish opened it. She was thrilled to see that it was Grace and she was alone.

  “Come on back to the kitchen Gracie girl and join us for a glass of iced tea.”

  Once the three women were situated at the table, Grace took a sip of her tea and smiled over at Betty Sue. “I’m so glad you came to Strawberry Betty Sue. I just shudder to think how long you would have had to kept running from that awful man.”

  Betty Sue didn’t know what to say so she just said, “Thank you. So am I.”

  The smile left Grace’s face and she fussed with her long blond hair, finally tossing it over her shoulders and back behind her chair. Then she looked directly into Betty Sue’s eyes and said, “Betty Sue. Do you like my brother?”

  Betty Sue was shocked. Where did that come from?

  “Well, I’ve only been here a few days and I don’t think I’ve been around Matt enough before today to even answer that question.”

  “But do you like him?”

  Betty Sue grinned. “Yes, I guess I do. He seems like a nice man.”

  Grace leaned back in her chair. “Betty Sue. If you don’t mind, I’d like to tell you some things about myself.”

  Betty Sue nodded and Grace looked at Trish. “You haven’t told her anything. Have you?”

  Trish shook her head. “No, Sweetie, that’s your place, not mine.”

  Grace smiled fondly at Trish. “That’s what I thought.”

  “Okay. Here goes. Betty Sue, as you probably guessed, I grew up in the church and have been a Christian ever since I could understand enough to ask Jesus into my heart.”

  She seemed to be letting that settle for a moment as she took another sip of her tea then took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  “I don’t want you to think I’m nosy or anything, but have you accepted the Lord too?”

  “Yes I have, when I was about ten, not too long after I went to live with Granny.”

  “Good. I was sure you had. But everything else I’m about to say hinges on that fact.”

  She frowned. “I always thought I was a good daughter to my parents but when they told me that I shouldn’t marry a man who wasn’t a Christian, I disobeyed them and did it anyway.”

  Betty Sue was really wondering where all of this was going now.

  “Do you know the passage in 2 Corinthians, Chapter Six, where it says that we’re not to be unequally yoked with non-Christians?”

  “Oh yes. Granny always told me to make sure I didn’t. But I guess when Dave kept after me for so long, I kinda forgot that.”

  “I wish I could say that I forgot too Betty Sue. But I didn’t. I fought my parents on that point and married Randy anyway.” She pulled a tissue from a box that Trish shoved her way. “He was so good to me before we got married and even for a short time afterward. But it seems that after Brianna was born, he changed.”

  She sniffed. “Oh, he never beat me like your husband did. But mental cruelty can be almost as devastating, let me tell you. He had me reduced to a trembling mass of nerves thinking I was the most worthless person ever.”

  “My parents, bless their hearts, never said I told you so or anything like that. They were so very supportive of me.”

  When she didn’t continue right away, Betty Sue prompted her. “Well, how did you get away from him, or did you?”

  “Oh yes, I got away from him as you said, but it wasn’t anything I did. You see, I knew he was seeing another woman and I even secretly hoped he’d want a divorce since I just couldn’t bring myself to divorce him. After all, I married him for better or worse.”

  She wiped her eyes again. “Well, about six months ago, he and his girlfriend had been out somewhere together and he was apparently taking her home when he ran off the road and hit a tree. It killed them both almost instantly. The police later told me that he had been drunk.”

  Betty Sue didn’t know what to say so she just reached out and covered Grace’s hand with hers.

  Grace raised her head. “So, what I’m trying to say is that I love my brother dearly but he’s not a Christian and I wouldn’t want you to make the same mistake twice. We both know what happens when you do.”

  Betty Sue didn’t know what to say. At first, she wanted to get angry since people seemed to be pairing her with Matt. But one look in Grace’s eyes stopped her. She only saw concern and compassion.

  She realized then that she had a lot of thinking to do and it was definitely the kind of thinking she could only do when alone.

  Chapter Five

  Monday morning, Betty Sue had awakened feeling better than she had in longer than she could remember. She looked out the window and the sun was shining brightly too. Oh what a glorious day.

  She couldn’t seem to stop her cheerful chatter as she and Tr
ish did all their prep work at the diner to get it ready to open.

  Finally, Trish stopped her by placing both hands on Betty Sue’s arms and saying, “Sweetie, it sure does my heart good to see you so happy. Why when you first came in here last week, I thought for sure that your chin was going to drag the floor.”

  Betty Sue grinned back at her. “And I owe it all to you Trish. You’re the most wonderful person I’ve ever known. And I just don’t know how to thank you.”

  Trish hugged her briefly. “All I ask is that you always stay this happy, Dear.”

  As the breakfast rush hit them, Betty Sue lost count of all the times that she had customers tell her they’d seen her in church yesterday and welcomed her to town. Wow! Was this town for real?

  Just as the rush was almost over, Betty Sue noticed that Pastor Henry and Linda came in and sat at a table in the front corner. When she went over to wait on them, Linda stood up and pulled her into a hug.

  She sat back down with a big smile on her face. “We’re so glad you’re here with us Betty Sue.”

  Betty Sue walked away with their order and so much more. She almost floated into the kitchen to give it to Terry.

  Later, when Betty Sue had cleared their table and refilled their coffee cups, Linda looked up at her and said, “Why don’t you sit a spell and rest after that rush Betty Sue?”

  Before Betty Sue could even answer, she noticed that Trish took the coffee pot from the table where Betty Sue had just placed it and said, “Go ahead Sweetie. I can handle anyone who comes in now.”

  As she started to take a seat, Betty Sue then realized that Linda, who had been sitting across from her husband, was now sitting next to him. Oh my, what was going on here?

  Linda seemed to be waiting until Trish was back in the kitchen before beginning.

  “Betty Sue. Henry and I want you to know that we are so happy that you have come into our son’s life.”

  That threw Betty Sue for a loop. Where in the world did that ever come from?

  As she was forming the words to deny there being anything at all between her and Matt, Linda giggled, sounding just like Grace. “Oh Betty Sue. I’m so sorry. I’ve embarrassed you and I promise you that I sure didn’t mean to do that.”

  Henry chuckled. “What my wife is having so much trouble saying is this. No matter if there is ever anything between you and Matt or not, just the fact that you have caught his eye and he seems like he just might be willing to change for you is quite enough for us.”

  She was just starting to relax when Henry gave her a mischievous smile that she’d seen on Matt’s face a few times. “For now.”

  Betty Sue didn’t know what to think now. But as she thought about it, she knew that Henry was right. Matt did seem to be interested in her. But the question that they hadn’t asked was the one she didn’t think she was ready to answer just yet even to herself. Was she interested in him?

  Then her conversation with Grace yesterday popped into her mind and she knew what she wanted to ask now.

  She tried to smile back at them. “Yesterday, Grace came over to Trish’s house after we left yours and she told me all about her marriage.”

  They both seemed to know as they simply nodded as if encouraging her to go on.

  She swallowed hard. “I’ve already been in a relationship that Grace helped me to see was never in God’s will for my life. I don’t ever want that to happen again. I don’t think I could make it through another one.”

  Henry looked down at his wife next to him and when she nodded her head, he said, “Betty Sue. My son and I have been at odds for better than ten years now. And I really feel bad about that. It seems that he has always been a rather headstrong, independent type of boy . . . man. And I guess I just keep pushing all the wrong buttons, so to speak, starting when he was a teenager.”

  He blew out a sigh then took a sip of his coffee. “I just wanted my son to have the same kind of relationship with Christ that his mother and I have.” He snorted. “I guess I went about it all wrong back then and I haven’t been able to get close to him since.”

  Betty Sue felt her love going out to this remarkable couple who only wanted the best for their son. That was when she realized what they probably wanted her to do.

  She looked at each of them in turn then said, “Are you saying that you want me to try to get Matt to change?”

  Betty Sue could see the baton, so to speak, go from Henry back to Linda with one shared look.

  “Well, Dear, since you put it that way . . . yes.” Linda giggled again. “We both think that you can accomplish what neither us nor his sister have been able to do for a long time.”

  Betty Sue couldn’t help it. She threw back her head and laughed. When she focused on the faces of the couple sitting across the table from her, she felt like kicking herself.

  “Oh no, please don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t laughing at you. I was laughing at me. You see, I don’t think I’ve ever been a good witness for the Lord. I was saved shortly after I went to live with Granny and all through the years until I met Dave, I was surrounded by Christians and never had an opportunity to share with anyone, even if I’d wanted to.”

  “The one time I got up the nerve to mention the Lord to Dave, he got so violent that I never made that mistake again.”

  Linda spoke up quickly. “Oh Betty Sue, Matt isn’t like that. He’s really a good person but it’s just that he’s rebelling against us and God too.”

  Betty Sue was still thinking about that statement when Linda added, “We always hoped that Grace would be able to influence Matt but I guess all her troubles with Randy kept it from happening. But those two are so close in many ways. It’s almost like they’re twins.”

  Betty Sue had so much to think about now, but she felt that she owed it to these two who were doing so much for her to give them some sort of an answer.

  She leaned forward. “I don’t know if Matt and I will ever get together in any way, but I promise you both that I will try to help him come to the Lord.”

  Linda cried out in glee and Henry smiled at her.

  No one else was able to say anything as Henry’s cell phone rang and when he saw who it was said, “It’s Hal, I’d better take it.”

  Betty Sue tried not to listen to Henry’s phone call and therefore was surprised when he disconnected and said, “We’ve got to go, Linda. Matt’s been in an accident on his motorcycle.”

  With that, they both left in a hurry leaving Betty Sue feeling like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs.

  * * *

  After leaving his parents’ house yesterday, Matt had been so mixed up that he didn’t know what to do next. Every time he thought about all the things that Betty Sue had told them, he got so mad he wanted to hit something.

  The one thing he had known was that he didn’t want to go back to his lonely little apartment.

  Not even realizing he had headed that way, he found himself parking his Hog in front of Jerry’s house and it looked like a party was in full swing. Maybe that was just what he needed to take his mind off all the things that were happening too fast in his life right then.

  The next morning, Matt woke up on the floor in the living room, fully clothed. He didn’t remember much except for the fact that he did seem to remember some girl getting mad at him because he wouldn’t go back into the bedroom with her. Why? Why didn’t he this time?

  As he rolled over and sat up preparatory to pulling himself to his feet, it hit him why he hadn’t. Betty Sue. That woman was getting to him like no other woman ever had.

  After listening to her tell her story yesterday, twice, he felt so much anger and disgust at a man who would beat a woman the way Betty Sue’s husband had beaten her. Then there was another emotion that seemed to be floating around the edges of his consciousness but he couldn’t catch it. What was that one?

  He knew that he was attracted to Betty Sue. What was it he’d said to Grace the other night? Oh yes, he remembered now. He’d said something
sappy like she was the one for him. Where in the world had that come from? And most of all, was it true?

  But, as he was going out the door to his bike, the cold wind hitting him in the face seemed to sober him up somewhat. He realized that he’d be kidding himself if he tried to deny that he was very much attracted to Betty Sue. And he reminded himself, again, that it wasn’t just because she was so tall. No. the more he was around her, the more he realized that Betty Sue was the same type of person his sister Grace was.

  That thought made him laugh as he started the bike and roared out of Jerry’s driveway. He’d always heard the saying that men always wanted a woman just like their mother but not him. No sir. He really did want a girl just like Grace. That made his smile grow even wider.

  Matt never knew for sure what happened next or how. There had apparently been some freezing rain during the night and there were still patches of ice on the streets. All he remembered was that he hit one and the bike slid out from under him. He must have passed out or something for the next thing he knew, he woke up in the ditch with his Hog on his left leg.

  He tried to push the bike off his leg but the pain hit him so bad that he blacked out again.

  When he woke up the next time, it was to see the disgusted face of Hal Wallace leaning over him. He was about to say something witty when someone lifted the bike up off his leg and the pain hit him again causing him to black out one more time.

  The next time he awakened, Matt had to squint at the bright lights shining down into his eyes. He closed his eyes again and that was when he heard a man’s voice very near his head.

  “Good, you’re awake again. If I can just get you to keep your eyes open for a bit, I need to look into them.”

  Matt tried again to open his eyes and keep them open. But it took several more attempts before he could accomplish what the man in the white coat was requesting.

  “Where am I? What happened?”

  “You’re in the hospital and you finally wrecked that bike of yours.”

  Matt would know that voice anywhere. Hal Wallace! Uh oh! He was in deep trouble now. He knew he wasn’t really high anymore but if Hal had a blood test taken, it would probably still show up on there and Hal would finally have him right where he wanted him.