Pops' Diner, an Anthology [A Pops' Girls Anthology]

by Laura Hamby, Meg Allison, Shara Jones

  Eventually the scenery visible just past his facial profile alerted her to her surroundings. She straightened in her seat as Kendall pulled into the parking lot of the Bugle. A scan of the filled-to-capacity parking spaces told her that all of the Bugle's employees were here, including the evening shift. That only happened in the most momentous of occasions. The blood pounded in her ears.

  "Can't I have just a hint?” Tamryn heard the breathlessness in her voice, but the speculative look on Kendall's face took precedence.

  Before Tamryn could get an answer to her question or puzzle out Kendall's reaction, he'd already opened her car door and extracted her with a gentle motion. His hands remained gripped in a firm, yet undemanding way around her upper arms.

  She raised her face towards his. He seemed to be silently gauging something as he looked down at her. Her lips parted to question him when his hands tightened slightly, which caused her words to die unspoken on her lips.

  With a prophetic sigh, she reveled in the feeling that she knew would only be fleeting. The quick squeeze as his long fingers slid down to curl around her own chilled hand let her know he felt it too.

  "Let's get this business out of the way first. Then we talk about a few other things."

  "Fine. Let's lay the cards on the table and see the game life has dealt, shall we?” Tamryn extended her hand in his direction. The warmth of his palm settling against hers sent a comforting tingle through her. If only for a moment, she and Kendall were in perfect accord. As soon as she extracted her hand from his and stepped across the threshold, she knew her life would never be the same.

  * * * *

  Kendall eased into the front office of the Bugle several paces behind Tamryn, yet far enough back to watch her assimilate into the virtual bosom of the gathered newspaper staff. He watched Tamryn move with easy grace through the throng. She circulated amongst the staffers with a ready smile or comforting word.

  From under hooded lids he noted that even though Tamryn was easily the youngest person on the staff, all in the room gravitated towards her and hung on the easy assurance that radiated from her.

  Her honeyed laughter wound around him and coated him in the warmth that was seemed to be intrinsically Tamryn.

  "Let's do this, Kendall,” Tamryn called from her place in the front row. She gave him a saucy wink, causing a ripple of laughter amongst those that sat closest to her.

  Kendall strode to the front of the room.

  "Thanks for coming. Let me introduce myself. I'm Kendall Reed, for those of you that might not remember me. I've been gone for a few years. It would appear that my mother wanted to ensure my presence in Glen Meadow and bought the newspaper before she died. You're looking at the new owner of the Bugle. Tamryn knows that I have other plans for my career, but this obviously takes precedence. I've met with my attorney and we believe we might have a solution."

  Kendall scanned the sea of expectant faces and stopped searching when his gaze touched Tamryn's. Something shifted in his chest, and that sense of coming home he felt when he looked in her delighted face settled over him again. His lips tightened and he shook away the feeling. He had it within his power to give Tamryn and the townsfolk most of what they wanted.

  Just what did he hope to accomplish with Tamryn? His heart told him she was the thing he'd been seeking all over the world. He'd gotten through the worst times in his life by clinging to a mental image of her.

  He wanted her. He needed her.

  Would it be enough?

  Now that the moment of his commitment had arrived, he wasn't sure he could do this.

  The town of Glen Meadow would always have his gratitude and good will. Tamryn would always have his heart. He let the truth of that wash over him.

  But no one could have his soul.

  Too late. Tamryn Miller has that too.

  He nearly laughed aloud. He could fight it no longer. He was staying. He had contacts worldwide. He could pursue a career in photography and watch his plan for the Bugle to come to fruition.

  He cleared his throat and launched into the rest of his speech.

  "After speaking at length with my attorney, two options stood out. The first option is to sell the paper to Oliver Benson and Matt Johnson and let them combine the Bugle, the Syndicate and the Gazette into one conglomerate.” Kendall gestured with his hands to silence the immediate rumblings of the crowd. He allowed his voice to raise enough to carry over theirs. “The second choice is to keep the newspaper, and appoint a new managing editor. And, in fact, the second option is what I've chosen to do. I'm going to appoint Tamryn Miller as the new managing editor, starting immediately."

  The shrilling of the cell phone clipped to his belt drew his attention. He glanced at the caller ID with a frown. “Excuse me for a minute, please. I need to take this and then we can continue."

  He saw the stunned look on Tamryn's face and felt a surge of rightness that nearly overwhelmed him. That felt good. It felt right. And, the roar from the gathered crowd told him they approved.

  Except for one person.

  Kendall watched as Mark Wells stood by Tamryn's side, concern etched on his face and a proprietary hand on her arm. Kendall felt a strange flare of premonition as she listened solemnly.

  Drawn back to the cell phone, he heard the voice of his former editor and best friend, Brent Morris, on the line.

  "I've been gone less than a week. Can't handle the job without me, which is what I expected all along.” Kendall half-heartedly joked.

  After spending a few minutes posturing back and forth in their usual friendly banter, Brent told him that he was calling to offer him a job in the Philadelphia news office.

  A job that would take him far away from Tamryn and back into the world he'd vowed to never be involved in again.

  With only one ear tuned toward his friend on the other end of the line, Kendall moved closer and caught a portion of the conversation between Tam and Mark.

  Kendall felt his forehead buckle into a frown. He'd spent the entire night figuring his way out of the quagmire his recently departed mother had left him, only to decide that his solution lay with Tamryn. The woman that he'd finally realized could be the balm his soul sorely needed. He'd thought that by appointing Tamryn as the managing editor, he could continue the Bugle as is, give her the job she so desperately wanted, and satisfy the township in one fell swoop.

  The brilliant plan he'd spent last night formulating after his meeting with his lawyer suddenly took a nosedive.

  His focus centered on the scene unfolding before him.

  "Tam, don't do this. Don't bury yourself in this town. You've had offers at news offices around the country. Everyone knows you've wasted your time here, waiting for Kendall Reed to finally come back. He won't stay, Tam. He's only going to hurt you again. This town is too small for someone like him, and you are too good."

  Kendall turned away from the couple without waiting to hear Tamryn's response. What the hell had he been thinking? The lawyer was right on a least one score.

  Kendall focused on Tamryn's needs and hers alone. There was only one real choice in this after all. Clearly, Tamryn wouldn't make the proper choice, so Kendall would do it for her.

  With that single overheard conversation, everything he'd hoped for crashed around his ears. But if Tamryn wouldn't allow herself to live, he'd do it for her. She deserved her chance.

  As much as it ripped his heart out, he knew the best thing for Tam would be from him to take the job Brent offered, sell the paper, and to force her into the wider world. Her world, into which Kendall would never step foot again.

  His lips tightened and his gut clenched. He nearly threw back his head in a primal roar at the unfairness of it all.

  She'll hate you for a while, but someday, she'll be glad, he told himself.

  Glad. Maybe.

  Hate him? With a surety he didn't doubt for a second.

  "Fine, Brent, but is Walter Egan still looking to fill that staff reporter job in Denver? I have a frien
d..."

  * * * *

  Tamryn disentangled herself from the crowd that had swarmed around her after Kendall's shocking news. She still couldn't take it all in. She wanted to dance, sing, and fall on her knees in abject thankfulness.

  All she could think about is that he'd promised to talk about their future. The triumph of the newspaper was only the byline on her headliner day.

  With all her feelings surely showing on her face, she looked to Kendall, standing stiffly some yards from her. Her steps slowed. His posture didn't reflect that of a happy man. Her gaze fell on the silent phone clutched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles showed white.

  A prescient tingle flashed through her.

  Oh, my God. She knew that one phone call had just turned her life upside-down, and not in a good way.

  Tamryn stood two feet from Kendall and willed him to meet her eyes.

  "Kendall—,” her voice nearly deserted her. Her eyes searched his to seek the truth.

  A grim look replaced a fleeting stark one for only the briefest of seconds. Fear? Regret? What?

  "Tamryn, I had something different planned. Trust me on that score,” he said while looking into her eyes.

  She felt mutual heat and a yearning rise between them as if their bodies were on the same sensual plane, yet his cryptic words chilled her.

  "I'm sorry to get you all here and disappoint you. I'm sure you will all understand this is best in the long run."

  "Please talk to me, first. Please,” Tamryn begged through fear-stiffened lips.

  Kendall pinned a steady look on her and then to the man that had taken up a defensive stance beside her. Mark tried to exert a strong presence, but Kendall radiated a vibrancy that dwarfed her former fiancé's.

  "That phone call gave me some unexpected news. Rather than the plan I'd originally discussed with you, it looks like I'll be selling the newspaper after all. I just got an offer that is too financially sound to walk away from. I'm sure you understand that business is business. It looks like I'll be going back on the road. It wouldn't be feasible for me to keep the paper."

  Tamryn's world wobbled. She felt Mark's arm around her waist as he lowered her into a chair.

  "I'll speak to Oliver Benson and Matt Johnson to ensure your job positions will continue.” With a sharp nod to the crowd, Kendall strode towards the door, only pausing to spear Tamryn with a penetrating stare.

  Her hopes for the future of the Bugle wilted and collapsed into a snarl of unconsummated dreams.

  That pain dimmed into insignificance compared to the crushing blow her heart had just undergone. Her love, their budding future had just been trampled underfoot by his ambition and relentless need to keep moving.

  Her spine stiffened as she drew from that long-standing well of determination she carried within her and she met his challenging stare with her own.

  "Whatever happens, Kendall, you and I've been on a life-long journey to get to this point and I'm prepared to take see it through. I'm going to fight you on this. That's a promise. Get prepared."

  By the time she'd finished speaking, she found herself only talking to his back as he strode from the newspaper office without another word.

  As she heard the tires of his car spin gravel as he left the parking lot, she only hoped that she and Kendall could remember which war they were trying to win.

  CHAPTER SIX

  "Just like that, Momma. 'I'll be selling the newspaper.’ ‘Business is business.'” Tamryn ripped another half dozen paper napkins from the dispenser nearest her reach. The diner counter was littered with a multitude of crumpled paper piles as Tamryn vented her hurt and frustration. “He can't mean that. He can't completely reverse his decision on the strength of one phone call. I don't believe it."

  "Yes, sweetheart. I've heard you say so. But what I don't understand is why you're sitting at my counter making hash of my restaurant supplies and not fighting for what you want.” Momma peered over the top of her glasses and pinned her direct gaze on Tamryn.

  With a helpless, un-Tamryn-like flutter of her hands, she gaped at her boss and chief mentor now that Ma Baxter was gone, in an attitude of absolute dejection. “He is selling the newspaper. How can I fight that?"

  "Is that really all you want? A newspaper business?"

  "What else? Kendall? He never planned to stay. I thought he might, for a while. I thought ... Well, that doesn't matter now. I've lost everything. Again. Doesn't he understand how much that paper means to me? What it means to Glen Meadow? All these years I've worked my way up at the Bugle. I always brought the story home, Momma. And now he plans to sell it to the highest bidder. Why would he do this?"

  "Have you asked him? Go find out, Tamryn Denise. It's best to tackle the problem head on. Shredding my napkins isn't going to get you any answers.” Momma swept the crushed paper mounds into a waste bin and flapped her hands in her employee's direction. “Shoo. You've been waiting for years from Kendall to come home to you. Don't let that man go until you ask the right questions and he gives the real answers."

  The bright sunlight caused tears to seep from under her tightly squeezed lashes as she stood outside the dinner. At least, she blamed the sunshine for her tears. Anything, rather than admit the truth.

  Kendall had broken her heart.

  Again.

  But she couldn't understand why. Why make her promises he didn't plan to keep? Why kiss her and pull her soul from her body only to cast her aside. Something had happened in those few seconds between his announcement and the phone call.

  He seemed to be playing a deep game.

  * * * *

  "I feel terrible, Pops. But what else could I do? The financial aspect is astronomical. Besides, she doesn't have any experience as a managing editor. I nearly put all those people's fates into her hands. She isn't prepared for that. I couldn't risk it. No one else around here is qualified. I have to sell.” Kendall held a beer can in his hand, forgotten and warming as he brooded on the large, wraparound porch that fronted Pops and Momma's house.

  "Boy, do you think for a single minute that I believe this is solely about whether Tam has experience or not? She's practically run that newspaper by herself these last few years while Dwight and Maribelle played at being semi-retired, traveling around in that danged tin can trailer. Looks like a silver bullet.” Pops took a swig of his own brew and leaned back in the wide porch swing and regarded the younger man. “You were all set to turn it over to her and a single phone call changed everything. ‘Fess up, son."

  Kendall set the warmed beer on the porch beside his chair. He rested his elbows on his knees and let his face drop into his hands. He figured his bleak thoughts probably reflected on his face.

  "I have to push her away. I can't let her bury herself here. She has talent. Natural journalistic instincts and it's wasted on picnic announcements and reporting on school board issues. She deserves a better venue for her skills. So, I'm selling the newspaper. I spoke with Oliver today. He's confirmed he is willing to go in with Matt Johnson. They will split Glen Meadow's territory between their two town papers. All of the staff will retain their jobs. Tam will be free to leave."

  Kendall closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He was doing to right thing.

  "Kendall, do you know that woman at all? Tamryn wouldn't consider for a shiny second ever leaving Glen Meadow. Do you think she's never gotten any job offers? I can tell you now, she's had plenty of opportunities and she's turned them all down. This paper, this town, means something to her. She won't walk away."

  "Pops, Brent Morris is going to offer her a big career opportunity. She'd be crazy to turn it down. She has to take it. She'll love the mountains around Denver.” Kendall heard the inanity issue from his mouth, but his mind didn't seem to operating up to its normal par. His heart quivered in his chest at the thought of his Tamryn, all sass and spirit, but little knowledge of the wider world, getting her innocent edges knocked off.

  He shook his head like a bear with a sore tooth to dislo
dge the thought.

  No, he had to give her a chance. She didn't have to be brutalized by getting into the thick of the action in the war zones as he'd been; but, by damn, she could discover the world. Her parents hadn't given her the opportunity, and Ma Baxter had been unable to. Kendall would do that for her.

  He nearly snorted aloud. He'd come home to nurse his wounds. To try to reconnect with that part of himself he'd nearly lost, and the here he was, sending that best part of his life away.

  Great time to get noble, Reed.

  "She's got to go to Denver, don't you see, Pops?"

  "I don't like the cold, Kendall. I'm much more suited for dusty country lanes and cool, deep swimming holes. Are you making plans for my life without me?"

  He cracked open an eyelid and slowly centered his focus on her face. “Well, it seems like somebody had to make plans for you. You've not given a thought to any other idea except for staying in Glen Meadow, Iowa. This is for the best, Tamryn. You have to see that."

  "Why are you doing this? You're like some demented weather vane, twisting first this way and that. Why did you take me to the edge of my dreams, and then just careen away?"

  "I came home to get away from my life. I just wanted to take care of mom's things and prepare for a career change. I never meant to hurt you. But then this happened in my life that I wasn't prepared for. Lord, love my mother. And Lord, love you, too.” He shook his head and grimaced.

  "Would it be so bad, Kendall? To settle here in Glen Meadow? To turn over the newspaper to my care while you pursue your photography? I'm not leaving Glen Meadow. I owe this town so much for taking me in and nurturing me when I'd lost every important person in my life. Maybe you're running scared over what happened at the lake today. I won't hold you to anything. I understand that I'm just a simple country girl, not a woman of the world. I never figured to compete in that area. I did hope that at least we could be friends."