Taylor Lynne: The Women of Merryton - Book Two (29 page)

“She is special,” Easton
replied.

That gave Frank the
energy he needed to open and focus his eyes. They seemed to hone in on me
immediately. “Taylor,” he said, clear as day. His yellowed eyes welled up with
tears. “You came,” he cried.

Easton wrapped his arm
around me, as if to encourage me to reply.

“Yes,” I managed to say.

Frank tried to sit up.
Easton went to his aid by moving the mechanical bed upright and then physically
propping him up. Easton was gentle and treated him as if he was helping an old
friend. I’m not sure if I had ever met anyone with better bedside manners than
him; he was born to be a doctor.

“We better get a barber
in here and spiff you up,” Easton teased him.

Frank tried to laugh, but
it was strangled and painful.

Easton took his seat next
to me again and took up my hand.

Frank noticed. “You are
together again.”

I shook my head no while
Easton said, “Not yet.”

Frank did his best to
make his mouth move upward in a smile. The simplest tasks were monumental for
him. “She’s worth the chase,” he coughed out.

Easton smiled at me.
“Don’t I know it?”

I didn’t get a chance to
respond before Frank spoke again. “This time don’t let her go.”

“I don’t plan on it,”
Easton responded.

I think the men in the
room forgot I had a say in this, but I didn’t argue or respond. Frank had no
business giving anyone advice about anything, especially matters of the heart.

Annoyed, I removed my
hand from Easton’s grip and placed it in my lap.

Easton’s brow crinkled, I
assumed out of frustration or maybe even confusion, but he didn’t try and take
it back.

Frank kept staring at me
like he couldn’t believe I was there. I couldn’t believe I was there either.

“How are you, Taylor?”
Frank had the courage to ask.

At the moment not so
good, but … “I’m well.”

His face lit up like I
had given him a treat by speaking to him. “Tell me how my granddaughter is?”

I couldn’t believe his
audacity. I stiffened in my chair and contemplated throwing barbs his way. He
had no business calling Ashley his granddaughter. From the corner of my eye I
could see Easton watching me. He had to have known that didn’t sit well with
me. But then I looked at the pathetic figure in front of me. I thought about
Pastor Bates’ sermon earlier about the “least of these.” It was probably not my
place to judge who the least was, but in my book, Frank qualified. I took a
deep breath and thought about how God would want me to treat him. God, who
loved him as much as He loved me. I had a hard time coming to terms with that
fact, but I knew it was true.

“
Ashley,
is simply
wonderful; bright, intelligent, and loving.”

“She also has a mean
serve on the volleyball court, not to mention she likes to give her dad heart
palpitations from all the guys that flock to her,” Easton added.

“Takes after … her …
mother … I … see,” Frank responded out of breath.

I looked at Easton,
concerned.

Easton stood up and
attended to Frank. “I think you have had enough excitement for one day. Let’s
lay you back down so you can rest.”

Frank struggled to move
Easton out of the way with his arm, so that he could see me clearly. “Come back
… please,” he whispered in a strangled voice.

I could see how agitated
he was, so I nodded. He immediately relaxed.

Why I had agreed to come
back?

Frank closed his eyes
while Easton looked over the charts kept by his bedside. He also checked his
pulse and adjusted his oxygen. Frank didn’t stir; it was as if he had passed
out from the exertion.

When we exited, I once
again focused on the click-clack of my high-heels.
One foot in front of the
other,
I thought. That was how I was going to have to get through this.

“You’re quiet,” Easton
said into the silence of his truck’s cab as he drove me home after our visit
with Frank.

I didn’t respond. I kept
my gaze out the passenger side window.

“I know how hard that was
for you.”

I turned to him slowly.
“Do you really? Do you know how hard any of this has been on me?”

He thought for a moment
before unexpectedly pulling off the road and onto a little country road. He
pulled over and parked on the deserted road before turning toward me. “I would,
if you would let me in,” he pleaded.

“Why should I?”

He looked taken aback by
the question, but he didn’t hesitate. “Because for the last several years, not
a day has gone by when I didn’t think about how different my life would have
been if I had gone after you. These past months, you’ve shown me what my life
could have been if I hadn’t screwed it up,” he raised his voice. “And don’t
tell me you haven’t thought about the same things. Don’t tell me you don’t wish
we had worked it out.”

 I tried to hold back the
tears, but it wasn’t happening.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry
from the depths of my soul, Taylor. Can you please forgive me—forgive us?” He
reached over and caressed by damp cheek.

“You don’t know how much
I want to.”

“We’ll work with that
then,” he said through his own tears.

***

I had things to focus on
other than the men in my life that week. Ashley was selected to be one of the
Junior Homecoming Princesses so we had to find a dress. And Oktoberfest was
that weekend, so I was busy in the evenings helping Jessie and several other
parents in the PTA make foods I tell my clients to stay away from, like caramel
apples and these decadent homemade s’mores Jessie came up with. I justified it
by telling myself it was for a good cause.

Easton was giving me my
space, not that we didn’t see each other every day, but he wasn’t trying to be
physically affectionate, though I could tell he had to stop himself a few
times. I appreciated the breathing room. And that he knew that’s what I needed.
 

In between finding the
perfect dress, working, spending time with both of the girls, and making treats,
I went to see Pastor Bates. I hoped he could give me some guidance on how this
whole forgiveness thing worked, and if he thought it was wise to get involved
with my ex-husband.

Pastor Bates seated me in
his office, which was in an annex building close to the church. “So what would
you like to talk about?” he asked casually, like he was talking to a friend and
not a parishioner.

I wasn’t sure where to
begin, so I blurted out, “How do you forgive someone that you feel doesn’t
deserve your forgiveness? What if you’re afraid to forgive someone because it
means opening your heart up to be hurt again?”

He looked thoughtfully at
me. “I take it we are talking about two different people?”

“Actually, three,” I
admitted.

“Forgiving oneself is
always the hardest.”

He was good, like mind
reader good. “Yes,” I whispered.

He smiled. “Why don’t we
start with your father?”

“Frank,” I corrected.

“Okay, Frank.” He leaned forward
in his office chair. “Tell me about him.”

“Where do I begin?” I
asked.

“How about from the
beginning?”

I took a deep, brave
breath and let it out. I let out all of the hurt, fear, and uncertainty. I
recounted the emotional abuse he heaped on my mother and me. The cheating, and
how he physically hurt my mother when she tried to protect me.

“Did he ever physically
abuse you?” he asked.

“No.” I wiped my tears.
“But because of me, he hurt my mother.”

“It wasn’t your fault,”
he said simply.

“In my head I know that,
but I’ll never forget that night. I’ll never forget that I left her alone with
him. That I got a better life and she wouldn’t take it. No matter how horrible
he was, she wouldn’t leave him.”

He handed me a tissue
from the large box on his desk.

I used it up and grabbed
a few more. “How do you forgive that?” I whimpered.

He looked up to the
ceiling. “The only way I know is to turn it over to God.”

I looked at him wryly.

He grinned. “I know. It
is easier said than done, but withholding your forgiveness is only hurting you.
And forgiving Frank isn’t saying that what he did wasn’t wrong—it was. It’s
saying that you have chosen the better part. Look at your life, look at how
blessed you’ve been. Your mother gave you something she couldn’t give herself.
She gave you a chance and you took it.”

“But I’ve made mistakes
because of it.”

“We all make mistakes,
but believe me when I tell you, you are a blessed woman. Not many women that
grow up in the environment you did get to come out of it. You stopped the cycle
of abuse. Count your blessings, Taylor.” Easton had basically said the same
thing to me.

We talked for another
good hour, but being more thankful for my life was what stuck with me as we
parted. It made me realize I had been focusing too much on all that had gone
wrong or what could still go wrong, instead of what had gone right or what good
could come. He gave me a lot to think about. And he, too, was a fan of Easton.
I knew he was trying to keep it neutral, but he had to throw all the good Easton
had done in taking care of the medical needs for many of the less fortunate in
the area into our conversation.

I went to bed that night
and prayed for help to forgive. I also asked Him what He thought I should do
about Easton. I wasn’t really expecting much. He had been quiet when I left
Easton so many years ago, or at least I thought He had been. Maybe I was just a
terrible listener.

***

Oktoberfest was upon us.
I wasn’t sure why it was held on the last day of September, but since
homecoming was the following weekend it worked out well for me. We still had to
find the perfect shoes to go with the perfect pearl-pink dress.

Oktoberfest was held on
Friday night in the town square. Booths lined the street where you could get
anything from beer to German pretzels. There were face painting booths and
carnival games for younger children and a dance in the middle of the square for
the older kids and adults. That’s where Ashley was spending most of her time
with Spencer. Emmy was with her dad playing games, while I was manning the PTA booth
with Jessie, Abby, and occasionally Cheyenne. Cheyenne was usually dancing in
the square or eating the merchandise, so she wasn’t much help.

“Looks like Ashley fits
right in,” Jessie commented as we watched my girl dance.

“She really likes it
here.”

“How does her mom like
it?” Abby asked me.

“I’m …” I reminded myself
to be positive, “finding it’s growing on me.”

“Really?” Jessie asked.
She looked over to Easton and Emmy across the way. “It wouldn’t have anything
to do with the good doctor, would it?” She nudged me.

I smiled and didn’t say
anything, which both ladies took as confirmation. I wasn’t sure. I was certain
I was still in love with him, but I wasn’t sure where we should go from here. I
wasn’t sure if love could and should get us over the mountain we had created.

It looked like most of
the town came out for the festivities. The PTA was doing killer business. I had
a feeling we would be selling out of all the goodies we had made—I was both
happy and disturbed by that fact. My clinical nutritionist side couldn’t help
but count all of the bad carbs and refined sugar I was pushing on people.

Halfway through the
evening, Easton dropped by. He was dressed for the cool evening in dark,
fit-me-perfect jeans and a brown flannel shirt. The look worked for him and me.
He had with him my favorite nine-year-old, who was looking happy to be with her
dad. She was eating cotton candy and smiling a real smile. Her therapist was
already helping her.

“Can Emmy hang out with
you for a minute?” Easton asked. “I want to dance with Ashley.”

“Of course,” I smiled. I
held my hand out to Emmy, who joined me on my side of the booth.

“You’re next,” he told
Emmy as he walked off.

I watched him walk away
and steal our daughter from Spencer. Ashley didn’t seem to mind at all; in fact,
she looked like she was in heaven. Easton pulled her close and I could feel my
eyes water. I did my best to keep my emotions under control. I turned to Emmy
to help me out. “How was school today, darlin’? I asked her.

She smiled and showed off
her blue teeth from the cotton candy. “Good. I got an A on my book report.”

“I’m not surprised at
all.” I pulled her to me for a hug.

“Mm-mmm,” I heard
Cheyenne say as she pointed toward Easton, who was twirling our daughter
around. “I wouldn’t let that one go if I were you,” she said point blank.

Jessie and Abbie grinned
at me and Emmy giggled.

It wasn’t too long before
Easton came back for Emmy. He gave me a sultry smile before he walked away. It
warmed me right up despite the cool night. I was so preoccupied watching Easton
that I forgot I had a job to do.

“Taylor, Taylor, Taylor,”
Jessie said louder.

I shook my head. “I’m sorry,
what?”

“Do you have change for a
twenty in your cash box?”

I looked down and quickly
handed Jessie several singles and five-dollar bills. I went right back to
watching how cute Emmy and Easton were. Emmy was standing on Easton’s feet.
They looked absolutely adorable as they swayed back and forth together with
their goofy grins.

“He’s a good daddy,” Abby
said quietly by my side.

“Yes, he is.” I couldn’t
keep my eyes off him.

When the song ended, I
watched Easton leave Emmy with Ashley. It looked like he was giving them
directions. When they broke apart, the girls headed for the DJ and Easton set
his sights on me. He walked my way motioning with his finger to come join him.

The heat rose in my body—I
felt like I needed to take off my jacket. I shook my head no, but that didn’t
deter him. His smile grew more irresistible the closer he came. I felt a little
panicked. I had a feeling we had become the center of attention. It was like
his pathway was parted and made clear. He landed in front of the booth.

All business ceased—our
customers were now staring at Easton.

Easton held out his hand
to me. “Dance with me, Taylor?”

“Easton, I don’t—”

“She would love to,”
Jessie said. All the ladies pushed me out of the booth toward him.

I suddenly had flashbacks
of high school and my friends pushing me in the halls of school toward Gabe
Rawlins, a boy I liked my junior year.

Easton didn’t miss a
beat. He took my hand and led me to the center of the town square. Before he
could pull me to him, the DJ said, “This special request goes out to a special
couple. You know who you are.”

He drew me to him with every
ounce of charm he had in him, and like a magnet, I crashed into him. He held me
close as the song began, and tears streamed down my face as I immediately
recognized the song—our song.

Easton sang off-key in my
ear the title of our song, “Let’s Stay Together.”

I loved it as much as I
used to in our small, dingy kitchen. I looked up into his eyes and I could have
sworn I was transported back twenty years. I felt that electricity and tingling
running through my body. He kept singing all the words while I stared at his
handsome face. We swayed perfectly in time, like the last fourteen years hadn’t
happened. For a moment, I forgot that we had ever been apart.

He reached up and wiped
the tears off my cheeks. “Taylor,” he said in hushed tones.

“Yes?”

“Please let’s—” His phone
started vibrating out of control in his pocket. “Dang it. Hold on.”

He pulled out his phone
while keeping me close. He read the message and groaned. “I have to go, it’s an
emergency,” he said with regret. “Can you take Emmy home with you? I could be a
while. I’m sorry.”

“No problem,” I stuttered.
I still felt lightheaded.

His warm lips landed on
my forehead and lingered until he reluctantly released me. “I’ll get back to
you as soon as I can.” With that he walked away from me.

I was left standing in
the middle of the dance floor, very aware that I was garnering a lot of
attention. I ran my fingers through my curled hair and made my way back to the
booth.

“Momma,” I heard my name
called.

I turned to find both
girls coming my way and took them both up into my arms. “Your dad had an
emergency call, so you’re both stuck with me tonight.”

“I told you Dad loved
you,” Ashley whispered in my ear.