Third Time's a Charm (32 page)

The ninety-minute drive back to Lexington seemed to pass from one breath to the next. Patti’s angry glare was seared in Tori’s mind; her words echoed.
“Tom made his
choice. That ought to be enough for you.”
But it wasn’t nearly enough.

“Why?”

Her question punched through the silence in her car. It was directed upward, toward the gray, cloud-covered sky where she’d always considered heaven to be. Was Daddy there now? Was he looking down, watching her struggle to understand?

“Why did you stay with her, and not me?”

A sob choked off her voice on the last word. If Daddy was up there, he couldn’t answer. Or maybe he chose not to, as he’d chosen all along.

Raindrops speckled her windshield, and she flipped on the wipers. The turnoff to her complex was up ahead, but Tori couldn’t make herself take it. She’d go crazy sitting alone in her empty apartment tonight. Better to be around people who loved her. She’d go home, to Danville.

But where? Mom was at work at the hospital. Joan probably had plans with Ken. She would change her plans if she knew Tori needed her, but then the whole story would have to come out. Joan would be devastated when she found out not only that Daddy was dead, but that he’d chosen another family over them. And so would Allie. Tori’s pain was still too fresh, too raw. Seeing their grief would send her over the edge tonight. She couldn’t handle that. By tomorrow she’d have a grip on her own emotions, and she’d be able to stay strong as she delivered the devastating news to her sisters.

But not tonight.

“Good night, Gary. See you in the morning.”

Ryan lifted a hand in farewell as he exited the store. He had just enough time to run home and grab a sandwich before his seven o’clock class. When the doors opened, he realized the rain predicted for this evening had begun. Hunching his shoulders, he dashed across the parking lot and slid into his car.

The light was still on in the dentist’s office downstairs when Ryan pulled into the lot in front of his apartment. A couple of cars were parked outside, a BMW and a white Toyota. Dr. Patrick must have a late appointment tonight. He parked at the corner of the building, near the stairs. That’s when he noticed someone sitting in the driver’s seat of the Toyota. Someone who looked like . . .

Ryan shut off his car’s engine. It
was
Tori. But what was she doing here? And why was she leaning over the steering wheel like she was asleep?

He got out of his car. When he slammed the door, she raised her head. Rain ran in rivulets down her window, turning her face into a blur. He splashed across the parking lot and arrived at her car at the same time she opened the door. She climbed out and faced him. That’s when he saw that she hadn’t been sleeping. She’d been crying. The skin around her eyes was red and puffy.

She looked up at him, and her face crumpled. Deep inside his rib cage, Ryan’s heart gave a lurch. He opened his arms and, without a word, she stepped into them. Large drops of rain fell from the sky, wetting them both to the skin, while Tori cried in his embrace. He hugged her tight, trying to shield her from the downpour. Feeling more helpless than he ever had in his life, he realized he couldn’t shield her from whatever had caused such deep, wracking sobs.

Lord, whatever it is, can’t you help her?

“Come on.” He steered her toward the stairs. “Let’s get you out of this rain.”

Wordlessly, she allowed him to guide her up the stairs, and stood with her sobs coming in gulps as he unlocked the door. Inside, he flipped on the light and ran into the bathroom for a towel. Thank goodness he had a clean one.

When he returned to the tiny front room, she stood exactly where he’d left her, right inside the door. He handed her the towel and then gently guided her to the worn couch, the only place to sit. From the way she avoided his eyes and mumbled her thanks, he sensed she needed a minute to regain her composure. He left her blotting her sopping wet clothes and crossed to the kitchen area, neatly tucked into a corner of the room, to put on a pot of coffee. By the time he returned, she seemed more herself.

No, not herself. Not the confident, flirty Tori he knew. Her head drooped, and her lips trembled as though more sobs were only moments away. He sat beside her, and she gave him a quick, embarrassed smile.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s alright. That’s what friends are for.”

She ran her fingers through her disheveled hair in a self-conscious gesture. “I must look awful.”

He’d seen her look better. Besides the puffy eyes, her nostrils were red and her skin splotchy. But a vulnerability he’d never seen before lurked in the depths of her blue eyes. It drew him irresistibly, made him want to protect her.

“You could never be anything but beautiful,” he told her, and he meant every word.

The look she shot him was grateful. “I shouldn’t stay. I know you have class.”

Dynamite couldn’t pry him out of here tonight if she needed him. “It’s okay. I’m playing hooky.”

The gurgle from the coffeepot ended in a loud hiss. Coffee dripped from the basket into the carafe, the sound magnified in the silent room. Ryan wanted to ask what had happened, but knew instinctively that he shouldn’t rush her. She’d tell him in her own time. Instead, he poured two cups of coffee and brought them from the kitchen.

“Sorry it’s not a latte.” He handed her a steaming mug and took his seat again.

With a brief smile, she cupped it in both hands and sipped. Then she held it in front of her mouth and closed her eyes. “My father is dead.”

Ah, so that’s where the tears came from. “I’m sorry.” He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Do Allie and Joan know?”

She shook her head. “They’re coming over to spend the night with me tomorrow night. I’ll tell them then. But there’s more.”

He listened as she poured out her story, how she’d found her father on the Internet, discovered that he’d died, and that he’d lived in Cincinnati. How she’d driven to his house to confront the woman whose name was listed under the ambiguous label of “relative.” And what she found there.

“You should see her, Ryan. Chelsea is pretty, and smart, and she looks just like Daddy.” Tori shook her head. “She’s got some great memories of her father. I should be happy for her. Instead, I can’t stop wondering ‘why her?’” She twisted on the cushion until she was facing him. “What does she have that I didn’t?”

“You can’t think that way. The problem was with him, not with you.”

He might as well have kept silent. She didn’t seem to hear him but stared vaguely at some point over his shoulder as she continued. “Chelsea adored Daddy. I could see it in the way her eyes lit up when she talked about him. If I’d been less of a mama’s girl and more of a daddy’s girl, maybe he would have loved me more. Then he wouldn’t have left.”

“You know that’s not true.”

Her gaze snapped to his face. “Do I?”

Joan’s words in the store the other day came back to Ryan. Maybe she was right. Maybe all the expensive clothes, the perfect makeup, the flirting, were just a show. A way to cover up the insecure little girl who was trying to understand why her daddy left her. He’d never gotten a glimpse of that girl before tonight. And he was drawn to her even more deeply than before.

Lord, what can I say? I can’t fix this for her. I can’t answer
her questions.

But he could do one thing. He could tell her how he felt. Ryan raised his hand slowly and let his finger trace the outline of her tear-streaked cheek. “I don’t know why he left. But I do know one thing. His decision hurt him more than anyone else, because it deprived him of knowing you. I feel sorry for him. He missed out on seeing you grow into the amazing woman you are.”

Warmth flooded her eyes, and for the first time all evening, a genuine smile played at the corners of her mouth. Acting more on instinct than thought, Ryan took the mug out of her hands and set it on the coffee table, his gaze never leaving hers. Then he moved closer on the couch and cupped her face in his hands.

“Are you going to kiss me?” Her question was a purr in his ear.

His hand slid to the back of her head, his fingers buried in the damp curls, and he pulled her gently toward him. “Do you want me to?”

In answer, her eyelids fluttered closed and her face tilted toward his. The first touch of their lips was feather-light. And then Ryan pressed her closer and poured all the depth of his feelings into his kiss.

Emotions swirled in Tori’s mind and snatched the breath from her lungs. All the tormenting thoughts dissolved as every sense in her body tingled with Ryan’s kiss. When he pulled away, her lips felt cold, bereft. She wanted that kiss to go on forever.

Wow. Was Joan right, or what?

When a second kiss didn’t come, she reluctantly opened her eyes to find him watching her. “I’m feeling better now,” she said with a coy smile.

He gave a low laugh and slowly backed away. “I’m glad.” Then he sobered as he picked up his coffee mug. “But I need to tell you something important.”

Uh oh. Didn’t he want to go out with her anymore? Was that why he hadn’t called her all week? To hide the deep disappointment that must surely be written all over her face, she turned away under the guise of retrieving her coffee. “Okay.”

His words came out in a rush, as though he had to get them out before he changed his mind. “I’m not who you think I am. I don’t drink designer coffee, and I don’t know anything about marketing. I studied up on it so I could impress you. And I found out about your favorite flowers and your favorite pie so I could impress you too.”

A suspicion slowly crept over Tori. She narrowed her eyes. “How did you find out those things?”

Blood suffused his face. “Allie and Joan. They’ve been giving me advice all along.”

She started to laugh. Poor Ryan had fallen into the clutches of her matchmaking sisters.

“You’re not upset?”

“Listen, on the scale of things that have upset me today, that’s minor.” She hesitated only a moment before slipping her hand into his. “Actually, I think it’s sweet that you took their advice. Thank you.”

He sobered. “Tori, I don’t have a lot of money. In fact, I don’t have
any
money. So I can’t take you out to expensive restaurants and places like that. It’s not that I don’t want to, or that you don’t deserve to be treated like a queen, it’s just that I can’t afford it right now.”

“I know that.” She squeezed his hand. “We don’t have to spend money to enjoy each other’s company. There are lots of things we could do that don’t cost a penny.”

His lips twitched. “You mean like picnics in the park or drives in the country?”

“Exactly.”

“Your sister knows you better than I thought.” His thumb traced circles on her hand. “Though I can’t imagine why someone like you would want to go out with a farm boy like me.”

“Because I’ve recently made an important discovery. I may not be crazy about farms,” Tori leaned forward, and just before their lips touched, she whispered, “but I like farm boys.”

20

When Joan and Allie arrived at Maguire’s on Friday evening, Tori had already conducted more than a dozen interviews as early diners left the restaurant. She’d missed at least that many others, unable to talk to more than one party at a time.

“It’s about time,” she hissed at her sisters as they approached. “I’ve been here half an hour by myself.”

“Sorry.” Joan gave her a quick hug, then rolled her eyes in Allie’s direction. “
Someone
couldn’t pry herself away from her baby.”

Allie’s lip protruded, and she gave an audible sniff. “I can’t help it. I’ve never left her overnight before.”

“She’ll be fine.” The restaurant’s door opened, and Tori whispered, “Okay, just listen this time so you know what to say.”

Joan and Allie stood nearby as Tori approached the couple leaving the restaurant. They were happy to talk to her, and she recorded their answers on her survey form. A few minutes later, they left with their dessert coupons.

“That looked easy,” Allie said.

“It is.” Tori dug in her briefcase, then gave each of them a clipboard and a stack of forms. “Just smile, and make sure I can read your writing.”