by T. K. Chapin
“When’s the contractor saying it’s going to be move-in ready?”
“June.”
Jonathan shrugged. “That’s only a couple of months from now. At least you have Chet’s cabin after you move out of the bowling alley.”
“Yeah, I’m not worried.”
As Tyler got into the passenger side of his brother’s car, he peered out the window and saw a family. A man and a woman with their three kids, he assumed. Seeing them immediately made him think of Olivia as his brother pulled out of the parking stall and headed down the road toward the airport’s exit. “I sent a hundred roses to her work.”
“Whoa. Weirdo, why’d you do that?”
Tyler laughed. “I like her. She’s sweet and kind, and the last time I hung out with her, that night of the lunch date . . .”
“Yeah?” Jonathan glanced over, encouraging him to continue.
“It was revealed to me through our conversation that she has a whole lot of love to give, but she’s poured it out to so many different men without getting it back that she’s really wounded.”
“That’s kind of what you were saying before. Sounds like she needs Jesus.”
“Absolutely, she does.” Tyler let out a heavy sigh, feeling in his heart that it was impossible for her to find Christ. “I don’t see how she’s going to come over to the light side, so to speak.”
Jonathan laughed. “It’s not up to you. All you can do is plant seeds, right? The sower tossing seeds. Those seeds are the Word of God. It’s up to God to water it and draw her near to Him. That means the pressure is off you, Brother. Take comfort in that fact and hold onto it. Don’t forget Chet and how he found Christ.”
Tyler nodded, then was quiet for a long moment as they drove down the road toward the bowling alley. He wanted to see how it would unfold, how she’d finally come to Jesus, but every time he tried to picture it in his mind, it failed. It was as if he wasn’t there at all. Distracted by the song that came on the radio, he reached over and cranked it.
“So good to be back in town. I got tired of listening to light classical music in the hotel lobby and in the board rooms.”
“I’m glad you’re back too, Brother.”
Once home, he tossed his laundry into the washer and quickly checked his mail and plants. Then, he drove down to the dealership to see Olivia. Pulling up into a spot near the doors, he glanced in the mirror and smiled to check his teeth. He was wearing a sports jacket and a pair of jeans when he walked in through the double doors of the dealership a few moments later. Her gaze lifted to his as he walked across the tile floor of the showroom.
When their eyes caught, a crash of warmth lapped against his heart and radiated outward from there. He felt he hadn’t seen her in forever, and yet it was just shy of a week.
“You working hard?”
“Depends. How do you define hard?”
He laughed and took her hand as she rose from her seat behind the desk. As they fell into step together and headed for the exit, he leaned toward her. “Did the big guy say you could leave?”
“Yep. He said I was free to go since we’ve been slowing down.”
“Nice. I kind of have something for you—well, for us—to do.”
She tilted her head as she peered into his eyes. “What’s that mean?”
“I’m afraid you might not be interested if I tell you, so can we just keep it a surprise?”
Olivia laughed and tossed her hair over her shoulder, revealing her neck. The warmth already in his chest burned hot upon seeing the skin of her neck. His own feelings began to challenge his beliefs about the two of them. He started to wonder if this all was just lust in his heart or if there was something more. At that moment, he prayed to God and asked Him for discernment and guidance. I need Your Divine help, Lord. Don’t let my heart lead me astray from the truth that You tell me. Don’t let me fall into temptation with this beautiful woman. Guide my steps, Lord. Please. Your will, not mine.
Tyler drove out into the country, heading for Diamond Lake. As they left the city and the buildings were replaced with dotted trees in the landscape on both sides of the highway, Olivia stared out the window. “I know where we’re going. We’re going out to Newport.”
“Not quite. Remember that friend I told you about who passed away? Chet?”
“Yes.”
“We’re going to the cabin that he left me.”
“He left you a cabin? Wow, lucky you.”
Tyler didn’t respond for a long moment. Then, in a sincere and broken tone, he said, “I’d give it up to see him for five more minutes. He was like an older brother to me. I wish I could’ve said goodbye and told him how much I loved him.”
A blush crawled into Olivia’s cheeks. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. From what you said of him, I’m sure he knew how you felt.”
He raised a hand. “It’s okay. I know what you meant. I just wanted to articulate what he meant to me. You know, Olivia, I wasted a lot of years in my life, even as a Christian, being focused on the wrong things, thinking I had a handle on things when I never really had control of anything.”
“You don’t think you control anything?”
“Absolutely not.”
“What about your successful company with your brother? Not even that?”
He shook his head. “No, all the money and resources and things are on loan from God in my mind. It all belongs to Him, ultimately.”
Tyler pulled off the road and started their journey down the dusty dirt road toward his house being built, and beyond that, the cabin.
Olivia shook her head as she crossed her arms. “I couldn’t imagine feeling like I had no control over anything in my life. I’d go nuts if I thought I didn’t play some role in what went on.”
“Of course, we play a role in what we decide to do in this life. Ultimately, God has control though. The fact that I’m breathing right now is because I was given breath by God. He was with me when I took my first breath at birth, and He knows when I’ll draw my final one too.”
“See, I don’t like that thinking. I don’t like thinking of God as some big daddy in the sky, watching our every move.”
“I wouldn’t either. I see Him as a loving Father who wants the best for our lives.” Tyler pointed out his house being constructed and broke the conversation away from its current bumpy road. “That’s mine. Should be done in June. Do you like it?”
Olivia leaned toward her window and smiled. “I love it. The lake as a backdrop is gorgeous, then that wraparound porch. Sweet place. You know what it’s missing, though?”
“What?”
“One of those chain-link wooden double-seated swings. Right there on the corner of the wraparound porch. It’d be perfect.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
Coming around a bend in the dirt road, Tyler drove the car around a patch of trees and there the cabin, barn, and lake sat in plain view. Chet’s old truck sat parked beside the barn.
“Wow. You have two awesome places to live now? If you get tired of one, you can take a break and walk over to the other.” Tyler snickered at her comment. Olivia’s eyes went wide and she leaned forward, drinking in the view.
Pulling up past the cabin and a few feet from the barn, Tyler shut off the car and turned to Olivia. “We are going to be working primarily in here. There’s a bunch of stuff in there we need to send off to be donated or moved aside and organized in a pretty way. I have to make room for my stuff from my current residence since I have to move soon.”
She laughed. “This is quite some date you brought me on, Tyler.”
He leaned toward her, knowing she’d lean for him. She came close, but not all the way. He spoke softly. “I know it’s lame, but thanks for coming. You don’t have to help.”
Jerking his body back, he unlatched his seat belt and got out, shutting the car door. Olivia followed suit and exited the vehicle, slamming the door as she did.
“You wait one minute, Mister.”
“What’s up?”
“I don’t mind helping, but you did that on purpose! I know it. I know this is all new still, but I don’t like games, and I am not going to—”
She was so close to him that he lost control. He slipped his hand up behind her neck before she could tell what was happening. His fingers glided up the back of her head and into her hair. Tyler pulled her into him and kissed her deeply. As good a time as any. As his lips pressed against hers, the warming heat in his chest exploded and radiated a deep warmth all over his body. Unable to comprehend the depths of his enjoyment, he continued as he didn’t want the moment or the sensation to cease. Olivia’s hands slid up his sides and forcefully found their way under his shirt. A chilling sensation of pleasure pulsed from her fingertips as they glided over his abs, sides, and then touched his back. Then she started to remove his shirt, lifting it up over his head.
Tyler stopped, and grabbing his shirt in a hurry, he pulled it down.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a husky and frantic voice.
“What?” She took a step back and tilted her head, confusion across her face. “What do you mean?”
“You were taking off my shirt.”
“Yeah, I think that’s how it works.” A smirk appeared, desire evident in her memorable eyes.
Tyler was inflamed. Temptation was on a silver platter in front of him, and out in the middle of nowhere, nobody would ever have to know, but he would. He turned around and started to unlatch the barn door. She approached him, touching his shoulder with a gentle caress. The verse he read that night in his office about being unequally yoked penetrated his thoughts like a searing iron. What fellowship can light have with darkness?
“Stop.” His voice was firm, his breath short.
“What’s wrong, Tyler?”
He turned toward her. “I can’t let you touch me one more time like that right now. Okay?”
Slowly lifting her chin, she lifted her eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? And why is that? You worried what God will think?”
“I don’t want to dishonor Him . . . or you.”
“Okay.” She stepped back, holding her hands up.
“Thank you for understanding.” Surveying the piles of stuff before them, including a mountain of pine needle woven baskets, Tyler swallowed hard, knowing that it’d take more like weeks, possibly months instead of hours to sort through the lifetime of memories and items his late friend had collected over the years. He started into the piles, leaving behind the lustful thoughts toward Olivia and praying over and over again for God to forgive him and deliver him from the desires of his own heart.
Chapter 17
OLIVIA’S MIND REPLAYED HER AND Tyler’s kiss over and over like a movie you rewind just to relive the perfect moment one more time, even though the replays are never equal to the real thing. Olivia couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss most of the afternoon as they worked together to clean his friend’s barn. She was tasked with organizing the bags of clothing that were all throughout the left side of the barn. She tossed the ruined clothing in a throwaway pile and the still usable clothing in fresh garbage bags to be donated. Most of the garbage sacks the clothing had been in previously were riddled with holes, some falling apart entirely. The work wasn’t easy, and even though there was a chill in the air outside, she and Tyler were able to work up a sweat.
Olivia walked over with another filled black garbage bag for donation and tossed it into the growing mountain. Hurling the bag up top, she stopped and wiped her forehead with her forearm. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and saw her mother had texted her back.
Mom: Molly is good. Don’t worry about us. Have fun with Tyler!
“You okay?” Tyler asked as he looked over from where he was standing on the right side of the barn. He set the saw blades he was looking at down on the workbench and came over to her as she slipped the phone back into her pocket. Gently, he grabbed her hand and looked at it. “I didn’t even think about your hand!”
“It’s fine, Tyler. Truly, I’d tell you if I was having pain. I’m not shy about it.” She shook her head, smiling as she did. “I haven’t had a single episode since the acupuncturist. Honestly, I thought those acupuncturists were a little nutty for me, but I tried it anyway and I don’t regret it.”
He let her hand go. “Really?”
The joy in his voice melted her heart. This man seemed genuine in his care for her, and it warmed her whole body. “Yes. I’ve felt great.”
“I’ll let Jonathan know. He’ll be thrilled to hear it helped another person.”
As Tyler walked toward the workbench again, Olivia followed him. “Is his wife still experiencing pain?”
He stopped but didn’t turn around for a moment. “No, not anymore. Marie passed away.”
Olivia’s mind started placing the puzzle pieces together. Maybe Jonathan was responsible for Tyler’s faith and it had come about because of his losing his wife? She came closer to him and he turned around. She blurted out her thought process.
“Is her dying why you and he have faith in God?” As the words left her lips, she regretted it. “That sounded bad. So, so very bad. I’m sorry.”
Tyler shook his head. He didn’t appear offended in the slightest. “No. In fact, Jonathan questioned God for a long time after losing her. It was hard on him.” He took a step closer to Olivia, sending her heart rate soaring. “You want to know about my faith, Olivia? Is that what you’re asking?”
“No, I just wanted to know if her dying was what brought it about in your family. You know, a lot of people turn to faith because of loved ones passing away. They hope to see them again. It makes sense.”
He smiled in a way that made Olivia feel uncomfortable. It was as if he had a big secret she didn’t understand or know. He turned and went back to sorting tools and blades out on the workbench. Olivia took one step toward him but then decided against it. She didn’t really want to know about his faith. She knew if he spoke too much about it, she’d only hurt him with what she had to say about it.
She turned her eyes to the piles of stuff still yet to be sorted. Her gaze fell on the massive mountain of woven baskets. “You know this place is a bad episode of hoarders, right?”
Tyler laughed and nodded to her over his shoulder.
Returning to the clothing, she grabbed at and yanked a rotted garbage bag that was stuck in a crevice between a mangled bundle of rusted bikes and an old junk car. She dislodged half of it, the contents spilling out onto the barn floor as she held a partial piece of the torn bag. Great. She went and grabbed a new garbage bag from the roll a few feet from her and went and started picking up the clothes. Seeing a small girl’s outfit, she paused and picked it up. It was a pink dress with white lace and gemstones across the neckline.
“Hey, Tyler?”
“Yeah?” He was clear on the other side of the barn, but their voices carried well.
“Chet didn’t have children, did he?”
Tyler maneuvered over to her and peered at the dress in her hands. She handed it to him, and he smoothed a hand over the dress. “He did for a little while, three of them. He had a late brother who got bad into fighting and the bar scene. He took off on his wife and kids, and the wife ran out afterward too, for a little while, at least. Chet and Margret took on two girls and a boy. This belonged to the smallest girl, Cindy.”
“The mom came back though?”
“Yeah, eventually. Ten months later, she showed up sober and employed, with a car and a place of her own. They willingly gave the kids back, even though they were terrified of doing it.” He gently handed the dress to Olivia. “It’ll fit Molly, right?”
“I think so. You’re giving it to me?”
“Yeah, take it. Chet would’ve given it to you.”
She smiled and took it from him. Olivia went and set the folded dress to
the side of the barn next to the pile of bags and continued working. As she went through bags of clothing and glanced at various items from this man’s life, she had a desire to meet the man. “I would’ve liked to meet Chet. He sounds like he was a good guy.”
“He was one of the good guys.” Tyler surveyed the barn with his eyes. “It was a shame he lost Margret. I don’t think he ever fully got over it. Who could blame him? I don’t think Jonathan got over Marie, and he never will either.”
“Wait, he’s married now, though, isn’t he?”
“Yes, but there’s a part of Jonathan’s heart that Marie took when she left this planet. Sure, he’s found love again, but there’s still a piece of his heart missing that has gone to Heaven.”
At eight o’clock that evening, they closed up the barn and drove the short distance to the cabin to clean themselves from being in the dirty and dust-ridden barn. Olivia washed her hands and arms, and then Tyler came through the doorway of the bathroom. He was covered in oil on his arms and most of his clothing from dealing with car parts and had dirt in both his hair and on his face.
“You’re filthy.”
He smirked. “You don’t look that clean yourself, missy.”
Reaching, he plucked a piece of newspaper shredding from Olivia’s hair and dropped it, letting it float to the bathroom floor.
“Take a shower.” Olivia walked out of the bathroom and shut the door, not only to the bathroom, but also to the door on her itching desires within her.
He hollered from the other side of the door. “Hey, Olivia. You should look around for some food. I know it’s kind of strange to search the cupboards because, you know, the guy just kicked the bucket.”
“Don’t be so brash, Tyler!”
He laughed. “Sorry. Try to find some food around the house if you can. I don’t know about you, but I’m famished.”