“Do you remember how to find the hardware store?” Joy asked, looking over the list they had compiled earlier.
Chase pulled his mind out of the past and nodded. “I went there almost every day with Mr. Thompson.” He put the Jeep in Drive and pulled out of the estate. The top of the vehicle was still down and the wind pushed and tugged at them.
“Thanks for inviting me to come with you and help choose the paint.” Joy held her hair back with her right hand. “I know you didn’t have to.”
Several of the rooms in the house hadn’t seen a fresh coat of paint in years, so Chase had invited Joy along to pick out the colors she liked. If it was up to him, he would have chosen white for everything. Even if they were only there for a couple more months, he wanted Joy and the kids to feel at home.
“I don’t know what color to get for Kinsley and Harper’s room,” she said with a sigh. “Kinsley insists on pink and Harper on purple.”
Chase couldn’t help but smile. It was easy to tell the girls apart that morning when he’d joined them for breakfast, because they were dressed the same as the day before, except this time, they weren’t wearing overalls, but matching sundresses. Pink for Kinsley, purple for Harper.
“You can’t change the color of their clothes, or I’ll never get them straight.” Chase took a left onto Main Street, the sight of the stately brick buildings bringing back even more memories.
“I’ve bought everything in those two colors.” Joy’s hair continued to blow in the wind, giving her a wild, carefree look. “If one of them decides to like yellow or green, I’ll be in trouble.”
Chase was quiet for a moment as he thought about the twins. Of all the things that had surprised him these past couple of days, Joy’s twin daughters were the biggest shock. They had her brown eyes and her heart-shaped mouth, but those were the only features they shared with their mom. Yesterday, he hadn’t thought too much about their father, but today, the thought had crossed his mind several times. Was Joy still in a relationship with him? If she was, no one had mentioned it. Had the dad skipped out on her? Was he still part of their lives?
It wasn’t his place to ask her such a personal question, especially if the breakup was painful, but he couldn’t help but wonder. Would she open up about it, if he asked?
Joy waved at several people along Main Street and one older gentleman shouted a hello as they turned onto Broadway. The sun reflected off the large plate glass windows on several buildings. A bakery, a bookstore, a woman’s clothing store and more filled the charming downtown. Colorful flower baskets hung from historic streetlights and cast-iron benches were positioned along the tree-lined street.
At the hardware store, it took them over an hour to select paint and find all the necessary supplies to make repairs on their list. They carried doorknobs, hinges, light switches and plaster out to the Jeep when they were finished.
“Is the West Side Café still open?” Chase asked Joy after they secured their purchases in the back seat.
“Of course.” She repositioned a can of paint. “It’s the most popular restaurant in town.”
“I have been craving their stuffed hash browns and biscuits and gravy for years.” Just the thought of them made his stomach growl. “How about an early supper?”
She paused as she climbed into the Jeep. Her face grew serious and she shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chase.”
He got into the driver’s seat, but didn’t put the keys in the ignition. “Why not?”
She sat and clasped her hands on her lap. “It’s too complicated.”
Chase put his hands on the steering wheel and studied the bricks on the building ahead of him. He didn’t want to go another step further until he apologized to her, but how could he put into words the regret he felt? There was no way to explain his actions—or any excuse that could possibly make up for the heartache he was sure she had endured. The only thing he could think to say was, “I’m sorry.”
She didn’t respond, but stayed motionless in the seat next to him.
He faced her. “There’s nothing I can say—”
“No.” She swallowed. “There’s not, so please don’t even try.”
“But I have to. I was young and stupid—not to mention scared.” His words sounded flat, even to himself. “I know that’s not an excuse, but it’s the truth. If I could go back—”
“What?” She finally looked at him. “What would you do differently? Stay? Stand up to your father?” She put up her hand. “No. Don’t answer me. I don’t want to know. I’d prefer to just focus on the present and what I need to do to keep Bee Tree Hill for my children.”
“Joy?” A tall man approached the Jeep wearing a black pinstripe suit and a red tie. He wore shiny black shoes and dark sunglasses, and carried a briefcase.
“Tom.” Joy got out of the Jeep and met him in the parking lot. They embraced and when Joy pulled away, she had a beautiful smile on her face. “When did you get back?”
“Last night.” He took off his sunglasses and grinned at Joy. “I was going to call when I got home, but it was too late. And then this morning, I had an early hearing. I was just entering the courthouse when I saw you.” He held her at arm’s length. “You look great.”
Joy dipped her head and continued to smile. “You look good yourself. The Florida sun agrees with you.”
Chase stepped out of the Jeep, tired of being ignored, and extended his hand to Joy’s friend. “I’m Chase.”
“I’m sorry.” Joy motioned to Chase. “Tom Winston, this is Chase Asher—Morgan Asher’s great-nephew.”
Tom’s eyebrows came up. “This is Chase?”
Chase clenched his jaw at the question, but Joy simply nodded.
“It’s nice to finally meet you.” Tom shook Chase’s hand with a steel-like grip. “What brings you back to town?”
Chase hated to say why he came, but he had little other choice. “I’m here on behalf of the Asher Corporation to sell Bee Tree Hill.”
Tom’s smile fell and he looked at Joy. “Did you know this was going to happen?”
She shook her head. “I thought Uncle Morgan made his wishes known to the corporation, but apparently he didn’t.” Her mouth thinned. “And, if he did, I doubt his wishes would be honored.”
It was a dig to Chase’s family, but it was probably true.
“Do you want me to check and see if there’s anything you can do from a legal standpoint?” Tom asked. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes for you and the kids.”
Joy put her hand on Tom’s arm and smiled. “I know you are, but I don’t think there’s much you can do this time.”
Tom’s face was serious as he looked deep into Joy’s eyes. “If you’d only give me the word, I’d be by your side. You know I’d go to the moon and back for you and the kids.”
Chase narrowed his gaze as he studied Tom’s face. Was there a resemblance between him and the twins?
“Tom.” Joy glanced at Chase, her cheeks turning pink. Was she embarrassed that Chase heard Tom?
“I ask her to marry me about every six months since she told me she was pregnant with the girls.” Tom pulled Joy to his side and put his arm around her, but he looked at Chase. “Maybe you can convince her to say yes to me.”
She put her hand on Tom’s chest and playfully pushed him away. “You only ask me because you feel sorry for me.”
“Your words hurt, Joy.” Tom grinned, but then he grew serious again. “And you know that’s not true.”
An awkward silence came between them and Chase stepped over to the Jeep to open the door for Joy. “We should probably get back. Mrs. Thompson will be wondering why we’ve been gone so long.”
“Are you staying at Bee Tree Hill?” Tom asked Chase.
“In the carriage house,” Joy supplied as she got into the Jeep and closed the door. The window had been
rolled down, so she put her elbow on the ledge and reached out to take Tom’s hand. “Come by sometime soon. The kids miss you.”
Tom wrapped both his hands around Joy’s. “I will. And I’ll see if I can do something about the estate.”
“Thanks.” She waved as Chase jumped into the Jeep and started the engine.
For some reason, knowing who possibly fathered Kinsley and Harper didn’t fill Chase with relief. Instead, it made him more uneasy than before. But why wasn’t Joy with Tom? He seemed like a nice, successful kind of guy. He was clearly interested in marrying her. So why did she remain single?
They didn’t speak the entire way back to Bee Tree Hill.
Chase pulled into the circle drive and parked the Jeep near the front door. When he turned off the engine, they sat in silence for a heartbeat before they spoke at the same time.
“Who is Tom?”
“Tom is an old friend.”
Again, silence.
“How long have you known him?” Chase asked.
She shrugged. “Since I was in high school. We dated on and off, but then the summer you came...” Her words trailed away.
“Did you connect with him after I left?”
Joy’s fists rested on her knees and she let out a sigh. “I would rather not discuss it.”
She opened the door and reached into the back to grab a couple gallons of paint, and then went into the mansion.
Chase sat in the Jeep for another minute wishing he could turn back the clock and do everything differently. He wanted to ask Joy if Tom was the father of her twins, but he suspected he already knew the truth.
They looked just like the overly friendly lawyer.
Chapter Four
Early morning sunshine streamed through the multipaned window of Joy’s small sitting room. It connected to the master bedroom and served as her private office, as well as a place for her morning devotions. The window was cracked just enough for her to feel the fresh air and hear the birds singing in the basswood trees just beyond the mansion. In July, they would bloom and their fragrance would fill the air with the sweetest perfume. The trees also attracted honeybees, which was how the estate had been named.
But her mind wasn’t on the honeybees, or even the beautiful morning. From her vantage point, she had a view of the carriage house, distracting her and causing her to think about Chase.
The previous afternoon, when they’d returned from the hardware store, they had gone their separate ways. He had started to fix some of the minor, more bothersome issues around the house, and she had gone into the girls’ room to start clearing out the furniture for Chase to paint the walls. The boys had followed Chase around for the remainder of the day, and though she had tried to call them away from him several times, he’d insisted that he didn’t mind. Instead of grow impatient, he had taught them how to use a hammer and screwdriver, showed them how to replace a hinge and water faucet and even did a little math with them using his measuring tape.
And they didn’t even complain about adding when they were on summer break.
While Chase had put blue painters tape around the trim in the girls’ room, and Mrs. Thompson had entertained the girls with some gardening, Joy had begun working on the grants and fund-raising efforts to buy Bee Tree Hill. She hadn’t gotten far, though, since the girls’ room was close to her office and she could hear Chase talking with the boys. They hung on his every word and told him things they’d never told her. She’d tried not to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help it. She’d learned things about the boys’ past that made her want to weep for them—but throughout the conversation, Chase had been a pillar of support for the boys, never pressuring them to talk, or making them feel unimportant.
Now, as she sat in her office, researching possible grants online, her gaze drifted to the window, searching for a glimpse of the man who still made her heart gallop, despite her best efforts.
“How about a cup of coffee and a friendly face?” Mrs. Thompson asked, entering the room with two steaming mugs.
The smell of freshly-brewed coffee made Joy turn her attention away from the window. “Always,” she said with a smile.
Mrs. Thompson handed Joy one cup and took a seat on the lounge chair near Joy’s desk. She settled back and put her feet on the ottoman, a satisfied smile touching her lips just before she took a sip of the coffee. “The first sip is my favorite.”
Joy leaned back in her chair and did the same. “You make the best coffee.”
Mrs. Thompson held her cup between her two palms and studied Joy. “When are you going to tell him?”
With a sigh, Joy set her cup on her desk and crossed her arms and legs, not ready to face this topic.
“When you became pregnant,” Mrs. Thompson said, “Morgan wanted you to call Chase—”
“And I did—he just didn’t answer.”
“If you remember correctly, Morgan said he’d find a number that would work, but you said you weren’t ready and made us promise not to tell him.”
“You know how devastated I was when Chase left.”
“Yes.” Mrs. Thompson took another sip of coffee. “And that’s why we didn’t pressure you to say anything until after the girls were born. But at that time, you were just trying to keep yourself afloat and finish college.”
“That wasn’t a good time to tell him, either.” Indignation rose in Joy’s chest. “I had as much as I could handle just surviving. I didn’t need the added emotional stress of telling Chase about the girls.” Or worrying that he might take them from her.
“And when you finally had a handle on being a single mom and you finished college,” she patted Joy’s knee, “—which I’m so proud of you for—then you were busy trying to find a job.”
“I couldn’t handle telling Chase when I was dealing with everything else.”
“But then you found a job,” Mrs. Thompson continued, “and I told you it was time to tell Chase, but then you learned about the boys and decided to start fostering them.”
“And I couldn’t have done it without you and Uncle Morgan.”
“We were happy to help,” she said, “but, honey, it’s time to tell Chase.”
Joy shook her head. “Not now, not when we’ve just learned that we might be homeless.”
Leaning forward, Mrs. Thompson leveled her gaze on Joy. “Life will never be perfect enough to tell Chase the truth. Something will always come up. We’re either in a crisis, just past a crisis or about to enter one. If you wait too long, and he learns the truth some other way, it will just cause more pain.”
Lifting her mug off the desk, Joy couldn’t deny Mrs. Thompson’s wisdom. When was the last time her life was uncomplicated? When might everything be perfect enough for her to tell Chase he was a father?
Joy lowered her cup to her lap. The brown liquid was more hazelnut creamer than coffee. She was quiet for a moment as she took stock of her real fear. “What if he tried to take them?”
“I know that’s the real reason you haven’t told him.” Mrs. Thompson set her coffee on the desk and scooted forward to place her hands on Joy’s knees. “But you can’t let that keep you from telling him the truth. I know he left, and I know he hurt you, but I also know that those two baby girls need to know who their daddy is—and he needs to know them.” She put one hand under Joy’s chin and tilted her face up. “God’s got this, honey. He’s not surprised by any of it. He’s not surprised that Chase is back, or that he came to sell the estate or that you’re afraid to say something.”
“But how do I know it will come out okay in the end?”
“You don’t. All you can hope is that God will use this for your good and His glory, no matter how things turn out.”
Joy took a deep breath and tried to nod. She realized Mrs. Thompson spoke the truth—she just had a hard time believing it. “What if—” She paused, almost more afraid of the a
lternative thought that had plagued her all these years. “What if he doesn’t want anything to do with them?”
“Kind of like your daddy didn’t want you?” She spoke gently, but the words dug into Joy like a knife.
She couldn’t even respond.
“I wish I could promise you that Chase will do the right thing—but I can’t. I also wish I could promise you that he’ll be a good daddy—but I can’t. What I can promise you is that God will always be the Father you and those girls need—and, God willing, I’ll be here to help as much as I can.”
Joy set her coffee on the desk and leaned into Mrs. Thompson’s embrace. The older woman was as dear to Joy as a real mother—something Joy had not had since she was nine years old.
“I love you,” Joy said to her surrogate mama. “I’m so happy you’re a part of my life.”
“I love you, too, honey.” Mrs. Thompson sat back and took her coffee again. “And I’ll be praying for you and Chase and those children.” She winked and nodded. “You’ll see—God has a plan and everything will turn out exactly how He wants it to turn out.”
Joy clung to Mrs. Thompson’s confidence, even though she didn’t have any herself. Life had taught her to expect and prepare for the worst, and though she hated that about herself, she didn’t know how to change.
She would continue to fight for her children—and she would do what was best for them, even if what was best was also what was hardest.
* * *
“You know what we should build?” Ryan asked with his eyes big and bright.
“What?” Chase set the first board against the trunk of the tree and held it in place until he could pound a nail through the wood.
“A skylight, so we can look out at the stars. Then, we can have a sleepover in the fort to watch them.”
“You can’t watch the stars while you sleep, silly,” Jordan said, shaking his head.
“No!” Ryan rolled his eyes. “We’ll watch the stars until we fall asleep.”
Kodi cheered at the idea, but Chase simply nodded, as if he was considering the request. “We’ll have to see. I’m not sure I can build such a fancy fort.”
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