Matter Of Trust (9 page)

Her mom’s grip strengthened on her arm. “I think it’s time I told you exactly why I feel so strongly about Ty Lawrence. Then I promise never to bring it up again.”

Kayla’s brow furrowed. It wasn’t like her mother to make emotional deals. She glanced at her watch. Ty was meeting her at Chloe’s in thirty minutes, giving her little time to get ready. But one look at her mother’s pained expression and she knew she owed her the respect to at least listen. She followed her mother into the country-style living room and sat across from her on the pale blue couch.

Her mom tucked an auburn strand of her hair back into the clasp it had fallen from then scooted forward on the cushion. “Your father swept me off my feet the first time I saw him. He was charming, sincere, and everything I’d ever dreamed of. When we got married I had such high hopes for our lives together. He had a good job working in management for a local grocery store, and I planned to stay home and have babies.”

Kayla saw the silent quiver of pain reflected in her mother’s eyes as she spoke and felt her heart break.

“After we had been married a few years, everything began to change. He lost his job and started drinking. I was so blinded by what I wanted to believe until it was too late.” Her mom reached out and grasped Kayla’s hands. “But it’s not too late for you, Kayla. You know Ty is a manipulator and a liar. He’s out to win you no matter what it takes, and after he does, then you won’t matter to him anymore. You’re like a trophy he’s set on winning, and once he does he’ll be free to go on to bigger and better prizes.”

Kayla flicked at her broken thumbnail as she struggled with how to respond to her mother’s pain without negating it. Her mother’s harsh view of men had always stemmed from her own experiences. That she knew. But that assessment didn’t have to include Ty. At least not the man Ty had become.

“I know you’re concerned about me, Mom, and you have every right to be. But you haven’t been around Ty lately. He’s not the same man.”

“People don’t change, Kayla. Not really.” Her mom reached up to rub the back of her neck and looked intently at her daughter. “I’d love to tell you it’s possible for Ty to have changed into some knight in shining armor and the two of you are going to live happily ever after, but that would take a miracle. This is real life where more often than not, the prince fools around with his secretary or gets himself killed over a six-pack of beer.”

Her mom was silent for a moment as tears welled in the corners of her eyes. “Just think about what I told you and please, please, be careful.”

“You know I will.”

Kayla leaned over and kissed her mom’s cheek. Her heart ached for her mother, whose dreams of happiness had been shattered by one man’s choices. Even after twenty-three years the pain still refused to leave. But Kayla believed in miracles. And Ty Lawrence wasn’t her father. As far as she was concerned, he’d already proven it.

“I can’t remember the last time I went to the zoo.” Ty handed Brandon a bag of popcorn, not even attempting to hide his boyish enthusiasm. “Are you sure you don’t want one?”

“I’m sure.” Kayla chuckled as she pushed the stroller past the food kiosk and toward the monkeys. Summer was dwindling to an end, but the day was still warm and sunny. “The real question is, are you sure you’re going to survive putting up with two preschoolers for the rest of the morning?”

“Are you kidding?” Ty ruffled the top of Jeremy’s hair. “They’re adorable.”

“He sure has latched onto you.”

Ty had begged to come along after Kayla had promised Chloe she would watch Brandon and Jeremy for the morning. So far things were working out great. Jeremy had already found a best buddy in Ty and had attached himself to his side. Brandon was content to ride in the stroller Chloe had provided.

Ty scooped Jeremy in his arms and lifted him onto his shoulders as they stopped in front of the chimpanzees. Kayla smiled at the father and son impression. It wasn’t hard to picture her and Ty, five years from now, with a couple of children in tow.

Unless her mother’s concerns were valid.

“Kayla?”

Ty’s voice broke into her thoughts, and she tried to shove the unwanted assumption aside. But her mother hadn’t been the only one to plant seeds of doubt in her mind. Jenny and Chloe were still just as upfront with their reservations. It was going to take much more than a free morning of babysitting to convince her best friends Ty no longer had an ulterior motive rolled up the sleeve of his pinstriped suit.

“Are you all right?” Ty nudged her with his elbow as she pushed the stroller up the slight incline. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“I’m fine.” She smiled, irritated at herself for letting other people’s biased opinions affect her. Ty deserved her trust. They stopped in front of a family of monkeys lying in the sun behind the glass barrier.

“I saw a big front page write-up on Abbott Financial Services in the headlines. Looks like it’s a good thing you got out when you did. Possible indictments, arrests …” She saw a shadow cross his face and realized it was probably a topic he’d prefer to avoid. Especially if he knew some of those who might be involved. At least she knew he was innocent. Ty might not have always been on the up-and-up with her in the past, but he wasn’t a thief. “I’m sorry. I—”

“No. It’s fine. I told you one of the reasons I left was that some unscrupulous things were going on.”

“So you think Abbott’s guilty?” she asked as they started walking toward the next exhibit. “The article quoted him as defending himself, but the report implied the missing funds were an inside job.”

“I want some ice cream.” Jeremy’s chubby fingers grabbed at Ty’s hair.

“Ice cream?” Ty seemed to latch onto the change of subject. “You can’t be hungry.”

Kayla’s eyes widened in amusement, Ty’s old employer quickly forgotten. “You’ve got a handful of popcorn in your hand, and you want ice cream?”

“Yes!” Ty and Jeremy said in unison.

Kayla just shook her head and glanced down at Brandon who lay sound asleep in his stroller beneath the warm sunshine.

“Hurry up!” Kayla laughed at the enthusiastic expression on Ty’s face and wondered how she could even think about doubting him. “The rest of the zoo is waiting for us.”

Two hours later Kayla spread out a sheet on the picnic table and began to unload the lunch they’d brought. It seemed the ice cream and other goodies picked up along the way had not diminished the appetites of Jeremy and Ty. Even Brandon was awake and ready for his share.

As Kayla passed out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with apple slices and carrot sticks, she asked Jeremy what his favorite part of the morning had been so far. The four-year-old hesitated only briefly before deciding that petting the goats had been the best part.

“What about me?” Ty shot her a dejected look.

“What was your favorite part?” Kayla asked obligingly.

Ty cocked his head and looked deeply into Kayla’s eyes. “Being with you.”

“Isn’t that kind of sappy?” Kayla managed a chuckle, but her breath caught in her throat.

“What can I say? I’m in love.”

Kayla froze for a moment, then turned to look out across the green lawn bordered with orange and yellow flowers. Her heart battled with the noise of common sense that seemed to assail her at every turn from well-meaning friends and family members. She loved Ty. That had never been an issue. But reestablishing a broken relationship didn’t come with a handbook. At the moment she didn’t know if she was ready for the next step. She had to come to the point where she trusted him completely no matter what anyone else said. That was the only way their relationship would ever work.

“I’m sorry.” Ty tossed the rest of his sandwich into the picnic basket.

She reached out and squeezed his hand. “It’s not you.”

“You’re not thinking of breaking things off, are you?”

She shook her head and ignored the warnings that continued to surface.

“Kayla, if I’m going too fast I’ll slow down.” Ty picked a piece of grass at the edge of the blanket and rolled it between his fingers. “You don’t trust me yet, do you?”

“I trust you.” She wiped a tear that slid down her cheek, wishing she didn’t feel so emotional. “But I can’t forget how hurt I was when I found out the truth. I don’t ever want to go through that again.”

Kayla sat silent for a moment, searching for the right words.

“And I talked to my mother this morning.” She handed Brandon his sippy cup. “Or shall I say my mother talked to me.”

“I can just imagine how that conversation went. It’s not a secret she can’t stand me.”

“She says it’s impossible for someone to change as you claim you have. It would take a miracle, were her exact words, I believe.”

“It did take a miracle.”

She looked up and caught his gaze. “I know, Ty, but religious transformations don’t impress my mother.”

“What do you believe? Because that’s all I care about. I told you from the very beginning that if you told me to walk out of your life and never come back I would respect your wishes. But that’s not what I want to happen.”

She blinked back the tears. “I don’t want you to walk out of my life.”

Ty laced his fingers with hers, the two little ones forgotten for the moment. “As long as we’re honest with each other, Kayla, we’ll make this relationship work.”

“How were the boys today?” Chloe plopped herself down on Kayla’s couch with a bowl of potato chips, ready for their monthly Friday night girls’ time. Pizza and junk food were the standard fare along with heart-to-heart chats that often lasted into the early hours of the morning.

“Your kids were adorable.” Kayla tossed Chloe an extra pillow then checked her watch. Jenny was predictably late. “You can imagine how excited they were when they got to feed the giraffe.”

“I understand that finally beat out feeding the goat on the excitement scale.” Chloe picked up the rolled newspaper Kayla had left on the lounge chair earlier and popped off the rubber band. “Is this today’s paper?”

“Yes. I haven’t even had a chance to look at it.”

Kayla ducked back into the kitchen to grab the rest of the snacks she’d whipped together this afternoon. Seven-layer dip with corn chips for Chloe. Chocolate chip cookies for Jenny. When Kayla returned, Chloe was busy scouring the entertainment section.

“Nick’s sister is writing a sort of ‘Dear Abby’ column for the
Farrington Chronicle
now.” Chloe flipped back to the front page. “By the way. What company did Ty work for in Boston?”

“Abbott Financial Services.”

“There’s an article in here about them.”

“They’ve been in the paper a lot lately. The government is investigating the company.” Kayla set the food on the coffee table. “What does that article say?”

“Police brought a man here in Farrington in for questioning last night regarding an estimated $175 million believed to be missing.”

“Someone here in Farrington?”

“They’re trying to prove the books have been altered for the past few years. Ty worked with finances?”

Kayla shot a piece of popcorn at Chloe, hitting her target. She didn’t like the obvious conclusion. “Don’t start with this again. I know for a fact that Ty wasn’t at the police department last night.”

“Had a hot date?”

Kayla’s stomach knotted. “Actually, no. He cancelled. Some emergency came up at work, and he had to stay late.”

Chloe didn’t have to say anything for Kayla to know what her friend was thinking. Kayla stared out the window overlooking the apartment’s manicured lawns. She still believed he may have lied to her in the past, but even the old Ty wouldn’t have done anything illegal like embezzle a fortune.

Chloe folded up the paper and set it down. “Don’t worry. I may not completely trust Ty, but even I can’t see him involved in a fraud case.”

“Of course he wouldn’t be.” Kayla pushed aside any doubts that were rising to the surface. The whole thought of Ty being a thief was … ridiculous. “If Ty said he was at work, then that’s where he was.”

As long as we’re honest with each other
.

Kayla shook her head. “The article doesn’t matter. I have chosen to trust Ty. If he needs to tell me something, then he will.”