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The Road to Bliss
An eRed Sage Publication All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2019
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ISBN: 9781603103954; 1603103953 The Road to Bliss eBook version
Published by arrangement with the authors and copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
The Road to Bliss © 2019 by Denise N. Wheatley
Cover © 2019 by Lacey
Printed in the U.S.A.
ebook layout and conversion by jimandzetta.com
The Road to Bliss
***
By Denise N. Wheatley
TO MY READERS:
A story just isn’t a story without a large dose of romance and a happily ever after. THE ROAD TO BLISS is just that. This novel is a beautiful tale of love and second chances, with plenty of fun, drama and turmoil in between! My main character’s love affair feels so real to me, to the point where I found myself rooting for her in hopes that everything would work in her favor. Writing this book was a wonderful journey, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
READER ALERT!:
Timber West always plays by the rules. So even she’s surprised when she decides to leave her prestigious job as a chemist and launch a beauty and wellness company. Her fiancé Brian, who was her chemistry professor during college and also happens to be her best friend’s father, isn’t happy with this decision. His disapproval leads to their breakup, but a devastated Timber eventually finds love again with a charismatic movie star. Life is good until both her new relationship and business begin to falter, leaving Timber reevaluating Brian and pondering whether she should give him a second chance.
To my parents, Donna and Ron,
who showed me that this thing called love
really does exist….
We come to love not by finding a perfect person,
but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.
~Anonymous
Chapter One
Timber held onto the steering wheel of her car tightly as she sat at a red light and stared out of the window. She watched as beautiful orange and yellow leaves fell from the trees and scattered across the sidewalks. Children ran through the park as parents sat on benches, chatting happily amongst one another. It was a sunny, relatively warm fall day in the small town of Archdale, and everyone seemed to be in such a jovial mood. Everyone that is, except for Timber.
She glanced down at her bare left hand. The bright tan lines encircling the bottom of her newly-unengaged ring finger were definitely a standout. Timber closed her damp eyes and began rubbing her finger rigorously, as if the friction would help fade the excruciating reminder.
Timber’s day had actually started off fine. The thought of making it through the morning without bursting into tears yet again seemed possible. But then along came nosy Naomi, the owner of the Kick Back Salon that she’d just left. When Naomi noticed Timber wasn’t wearing her engagement ring, she gasped nonstop for five straight minutes, hugged Timber tightly to the point where she could barely breathe, and insisted that she share with her every single detail of what had occurred.
Not now, Timber had thought to herself as she slumped down into a pedicure chair and reluctantly told the story. Again. Even though the breakup between her and Brian had occurred last week, it still hurt as if it had just taken place moments ago. Her tattered heart and fragile emotions hadn’t even begun to heal.
Brian. After all they’d been through together, it still felt funny calling him that. Because during her senior year at Ashe University, he was only known to her as Professor Morris.
Timber fell in love with him the moment she walked through the door of his chemistry class. At 6’2”, the youthful professor was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome. His bright brown eyes were inviting and inquisitive, and his perfectly chiseled cheekbones framed a smile that radiated throughout the entire classroom. His upbeat yet cool demeanor made chemistry seem easy.
Timber wondered how she would ever get through the class and focus on his teachings while being lectured by such an attractive teacher. Her concerns heightened when Timber’s lab partner contracted Lyme disease, forcing the professor to take her place during her partner’s long-term hospitalization.
But back then Brian was an accomplished intellectual who had grown up in the big city, traveled the world, and had already been married at a young age and amicably divorced. Timber was a sheltered student who’d grown up in Archdale and had yet to see much of the world, let alone be in a truly serious relationship. She was convinced that her crush on the professor would probably go unanswered. But there were times when he appeared to be taken by her long, wavy hair, beautiful almond-shaped eyes and petite, graceful figure.
Professor Morris’s subtle interest in Timber seemed to grow when she declared chemistry as her major, and he even offered to be her mentor. She gladly accepted, hoping that their mentor/student relationship would grow into something more. But during their many meetings, tutoring sessions and lunches, Professor Morris never made a move. So one day, Timber decided to sit down with him and tell him how she felt. After all, she would be graduating that year, so their teaching and mentoring relationship would no longer be an obstacle.
Besides, Timber had grown tired of the immature college boys on campus that she had to endure over the past three years. She was ready for something more substantial, like a mature man who would revel in her dreams of one day becoming an accomplished chemist. And what better man to fill those shoes than the professor who had already begun to help guide her along the way? In Timber’s eyes, Professor Morris’s intellect, wit and desire to see her succeed put him in a spotlight all his own.
But Timber’s plan was put on hold when she decided to join Alpha Beta Epsilon, the most elite sorority on campus. Her time was no longer her own when she began pledging and devoting the next several weeks of her life to the sorority. Her meetings, tutoring sessions and lunches with Professor Morris became nonexistent. His check-in calls and emails went unanswered. Once he caught wind of who was pledging the sorority through campus gossip, he called Timber to wish her luck. Then his calls temporarily ceased. She figured that he was giving her some space, and she silently thanked him for it.
During the first few weeks of pledging, Timber developed a strong bond with her line sister Eva. Eva was the beautiful biracial queen of the campus. Her tall, model-thin frame, long auburn hair and bright green eyes made her the apple of most men’s eye and the brunt of most women’s frustration. Many of Eva’s peers were intimidated by her stunning looks and immense popularity, which prevented them from realizing just how smart, ambitious, funny and modest she was, and how she was the mastermind behind all of the university’s big events. Eva’s networking connections were endless, and her ability to book celebrity performances and appearances was amazing. Timber admired her drive and knew that once she graduated with a degree in public relations, she would move away from the small town of Archdale to the big city to pursue her dream of becoming a publicist.
Ear
ly one chilly morning during their final week of pledging, Timber lay awake underneath her heavy comforter and thought about how happy she would be once they were done pledging. Not only would she be an official member of Alpha Beta Epsilon, but she’d be able to get her life back on track. More importantly, she would finally be able to tell Professor Morris how she felt about him.
As she contemplated getting up to make herself a cup of hot chocolate, Timber’s phone rang. She figured it was one of her sorority big sisters and rushed to answer the call before the ringing awoke Eva, who had spent the night at her apartment and was now stirring in the day bed across from her.
“Hello?” Timber said, trying to sound as alert as possible.
“Hi there. I hope I didn’t wake you.” It was Professor Morris.
Timber jolted up and threw the comforter off, suddenly feeling overheated. This was quite a surprise. She hadn’t expected to hear from him until after she was done pledging. Maybe he was calling about her lab report, which had been due over a week ago.
“Are you still there?” he asked.
“Yes, sorry…um…I’m here,” she stammered, struggling to come up with a good excuse as to why she hadn’t turned in her assignment.
“The reason I’m calling is because I hadn’t heard from you in a while, so I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.”
“Oh, I’m fine,” Timber assured him. “I’m almost done pledging, but things are really hectic right now. After next weekend everything should be back to normal.” And I can finally tell you how I feel about you, she thought to herself.
“Well I’m glad to hear that you’re okay, because I was beginning to get a little worried. My daughter is pledging right now, too, and she’s fallen behind on a couple of assignments. I told her that once it’s all over, she has some catching up to do. And as for you, other than that lab report you haven’t turned in, do you have any other outstanding assignments due?”
Daughter? What daughter? Timber asked herself. She didn’t remember the professor ever mentioning that he had a child. “No…I don’t have anything else due,” she answered, now totally disinterested in talking about schoolwork. “So…I didn’t know you had a daughter.”
“Yes, I do. She’s around your age. She’s actually a student here at the university. You might know her. Her name is Eva.”
Timber’s heart began to pound out of her chest as she glanced over at her sleeping line sister, praying that the names were just a mere coincidence. “Eva? I uh…I may know her,” she said slowly. “What sorority is she pledging?”
“I’m not sure, I get them all confused. Alpha Beta something, I believe. Epsilon maybe?”
A cold chill swept over Timber’s body. She slowly wrapped the comforter back around her and lay down, suddenly feeling faint. This couldn’t be. She should have known about this. Maybe she would have known had she been paying closer attention. Because come to think of it, Eva’s last name was Morris, too. And Eva had one day mentioned that one of her parents worked at the university. Timber just never bothered to ask which parent, or what he or she did there. And now, as the feeling of disappointment pounded in her chest, she knew that there was no way she could compromise her friendship with Eva by getting together with her father.
Timber was devastated by this new development. Her heart sank as her blossoming plan to tell Professor Morris how she felt about him withered away right before her very eyes. At this point, her feelings for him had grown so strong that she felt the only way to get over him would be to completely detach herself from him on every level. So that’s exactly what she did.
For the rest of her days at Ashe University, Timber managed to vanish from Professor Morris’s life completely. She silently severed his mentoring ties and avoided enrolling in any of his classes during her final semester. She immersed herself in her schoolwork, sorority affairs and social events in hopes that her busy schedule would eliminate her feelings for him.
Timber’s behavior confused Professor Morris to the point where he began sending messages to her through Eva. Timber was careful when explaining to Eva how she would be graduating soon and simply needed to wean herself of her mentor, who had been her safety net during her entire senior year. Plus she would be going off to graduate school soon and wanted to be independent and able to stand on her own two feet. Eva told her that she understood and would pass the message along. Eventually, the professor’s calls and messages ceased. Although a distraught Timber missed him immensely, she felt that she had done what was best.
Then her graduate school letters of acceptance started coming in. Ashe University was the only school that had offered Timber a full scholarship. After consulting with her parents and academic advisor, she decided to stay there. And over time, her feelings for the professor diminished considerably. So when Eva invited her to the graduation/going-away party that her father was throwing for her, Timber saw no reason not to go.
Timber could still remember arriving at Professor Morris’s house the night of the party. She was surprised at how anxious she felt when her quivering fingers rang the bell. When he opened the door, the thumping in her chest caused the buttons on her blouse to tremble erratically at the mere sight of him. What was even more unexpected was the way her skin stung at the sight of his attractive date. But the worst part was the extreme self-consciousness Timber felt whenever the professor’s eyes were on her, which seemed to occur quite often throughout the night.
At the end of the evening, Timber hugged Eva goodbye and slipped on her coat. Professor Morris saw her leaving and jumped at the chance to walk her out. His hand sat gently on the small of her back as he guided her towards her car. Before opening the door, he stood closely in front of her and brushed a few stray hairs away from her face. They stared into each other’s eyes.
“I’m really glad you came. It’s always so good seeing you.”
“You, too,” Timber replied softly.
“You can stick around a little longer if you want. I’ve still got plenty of food left, and a great bottle of wine that hasn’t been opened.”
“I, uh…I can’t. I’ve got some things I need to take care of.”
Timber looked away, hoping Professor Morris couldn’t hear the dishonesty in her shaky voice considering she had absolutely nothing going on. She just didn’t want to be around him and his date anymore.
“I understand,” he said quietly. When Timber looked back at the professor, his expression said more than words ever could. It begged her to express how she really felt about him. But she couldn’t. Things were too different now. Or rather somewhat different now. Because one thing had undeniably remained the same: her feelings for him.
Professor Morris secured Timber’s scarf as a chilly wind swept past them. And then, just when he leaned in as if he was going to kiss her, soft, delicate snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Timber looked up and laughed gleefully, holding her hands out in hopes of catching the perfect flake. The professor smiled while watching her intently. Then he took a step towards her and leaned in again. But this time, he was interrupted by Eva when she swung open the front door and stuck her head outside.
“Dad! Grandma is on the phone. She said she needs to talk to you now!”
“Tell her I’ll be there in a second,” the seemingly disappointed professor called out, without once taking his eyes off of Timber.
But the spell was broken. Timber became worried that Eva had seen her canoodling with her father. She climbed into her car as fast as she could and started the engine. Professor Morris, however, hadn’t moved. He didn’t seem to want the moment to end. But Timber knew that this couldn’t go any further. So she waved at him apologetically and drove off, wishing that things were different but facing the fact that they weren’t.
The next day, Eva asked Timber to come see her off as she packed up and prepared to move to the city. Timber reluctantly agreed considering she didn’t like the whole goodbye routine. When she arrived at Eva’s apartment, Professor Morris a
nswered the door. He looked so handsome, and his expression was warm and concerned. She could barely look him in the eye. Timber wished Eva would’ve warned her that he would be there. But after she had hidden her feelings for him for so long, Eva probably didn’t think it would be an issue.
Timber greeted the professor with a stiff smile and slight wave, then slid past him. He stood there for a minute before closing the door and walking back into the apartment. Boxes were piled everywhere. A few football players were there to help load the new truck that Eva’s father had gifted her with for graduation.
As the players grabbed several boxes, Eva picked up a few garment bags and led them outside. Timber and the professor were alone. She leaned against the back of the couch, barely able to breathe as he approached her.
“We really didn’t get a chance to talk last night,” he said quietly. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been okay,” she managed, her voice almost a whisper.
The professor put his hands in his pockets, rocked back on his heels, and took a deep breath. “Timber,” he began, “I don’t know what happened between us, but I missed not being a part of your final months of school. I’ve had to keep up with your progress through Eva and your other professors. I thought we had a good working relationship, and I really enjoyed being your mentor.”
Timber crossed her arms and stared down at her feet. She felt wrought with guilt and was afraid to open her mouth because if she did, she knew that tears would start to flow. So she remained silent and allowed the professor to carry the conversation.
“But aside from that,” he continued, “I’m glad you’ve done so well. I’m proud of you. And I hear that you’re staying here at Ashe University for graduate school. I hope that we can start working together again. Maybe you could student teach some of my courses and—”
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