His True Purpose

by Danica Favorite

  Bucky shrugged. “He keeps cutting my allowance every time I mess up. Corrine has certain needs, and you honestly think I can afford her wardrobe, let alone her spa visits, on the pitiful salary my father gives me? This is really his fault. If he wants me to have a trophy wife like Corrine, then he should pay for it.”

  Alexander looked at Corrine to see how she felt about being treated like an object, but she simply stared at her nails like she was bored.

  “What? A woman’s got needs. Bucky’s father didn’t used to be so stingy.”

  The two of them disgusted him. How could Janie have fallen for such a piece of pond scum?

  “I suppose you’re going to tell my father, aren’t you?” Bucky asked.

  Alexander shrugged. “You’ll make up some kind of lie. But so that you know, I’ve gotten her to agree to sign the nondisclosure agreement. Your father will have it on his desk after Thanksgiving, and Janie will receive the final payment for your blackmail scheme. You’re going to have to find a new way of financing your lifestyle.”

  Corrine stomped over to Bucky and gave him a shove. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t gotten greedy with that last letter, none of this would’ve happened.”

  The two continued bickering as they walked out the door. Alexander was glad to be rid of them, and even more glad that he finally had an explanation for the blackmail, but it only made him feel worse at the thought of how wrong he’d misjudged Janie. She was one of the few truly good people he’d met in his life.

  Actually, that wasn’t fair to the people he knew. He’d met many good people here in Columbine Springs. His parents were good people, even his mother. The forgiveness he’d received last night in prayer had made him realize that just as God forgave him, he needed to forgive his mother on a deeper level. She’d done the best she could, and her misstep did not discount the fact that she’d been the best mom in the world.

  Now to figure out what to do for Janie. He wanted her to be able to tell Sam the truth when he was old enough. Because she was right. The damage the lies had done to Alexander and William wasn’t anything Sam deserved.

  As for the money, Alexander felt that Janie deserved it. But he could also understand why she didn’t want to accept it.

  As he turned to leave, Cheryl came out from behind the counter.

  “I didn’t fully understand everything that was going on there, but am I right to understand that those people were trying to cause trouble for Janie?”

  Alexander nodded. “Not trying, I’m afraid. They are. I hate to drag you into the middle of all this, but if it comes down to it, would you be willing to testify about what you saw?”

  Cheryl grinned. “Of course I will. But I’ve got something even better. A while back, some kids were vandalizing the post office. So I installed some cameras to find out who it was.”

  She pointed to a sign in the lobby warning people they were under surveillance. “I got the whole thing on tape. And it’s legal, too, because of my sign. Those boys think they can come to my town and vandalize my post office? I don’t think so. I kept my cameras up, just in case they come back.”

  Which meant she could have a surveillance video of the previous blackmail attempts as well.

  “How long do those videos go back?” he asked. “How long do you keep them for?”

  Cheryl looked at him like he was an idiot. “I keep everything. You never know when you’re going to need it. So I can give you footage for up to two years back. You’re welcome.”

  Cheryl puffed up her chest. “Just wait until I tell Norm. He thinks I’m crazy for how long I keep stuff. This probably helps you out a lot, doesn’t it?”

  Trying not to laugh, Alexander said, “It does. Let me get a list of dates for you, and we can check the tapes to see if they have anything I need.”

  “I’ll make a copy for you of what happened here.”

  Excited that he might have found a way out of this mess for Janie, he drove back to the ranch. Janie’s father had asked him to give Janie some space, and Alexander figured he could talk to her when he saw her to get the papers.

  But when he entered the main ranch house, Ty stepped out of Ricky’s office area.

  “Good. You’re back. Come in here and have a chat.”

  He hadn’t spent much time talking with Ty, but his reputation as an attorney preceded him. Janie had told him she was going to have Ty look over the agreement.

  “I want to talk to you as well.”

  The surprise on the other man’s face told Alexander everything he needed to know. Ty was on Janie’s side. And that was okay. At this point, he figured Janie probably wouldn’t forgive him. She had no reason to trust him. Regardless, he was going to do the right thing by her. Once they were in Ty’s office, Ty closed the door behind him.

  “Well,” he began. “What do you want to talk about?”

  Alexander spied the nondisclosure agreement on Ty’s desk. Janie had followed through with her threat to have him look it over, but Alexander wasn’t worried about that. At least now, Ty could help him draft an alternative agreement. As a lawyer, he’d have spotted any potential traps in the agreement, and could also figure out ways to make the new agreement even stronger.

  “I need you to redraft the nondisclosure agreement.”

  Ty grinned. “Done. You don’t think I’d let her sign something that didn’t give her extra protection, do you?”

  Everyone said Ty was a good lawyer, and were Alexander not on Janie’s side, it would have been more problematic. But this worked in his favor, even if Ty didn’t realize it yet.

  “Fire up your computer and be prepared to make more changes,” Alexander said. “I’ve just come across new information that’s going to be a game-changer for Janie. She didn’t want to sign because she didn’t want to take away Sam’s right to know who his father is. Not only does she not have to, but I don’t want her to. As far as I’m concerned, Janie holds all the cards, and by the time this agreement is done, the senator will be willing to sign whatever she asks.”

  Ty’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t think that you can play me as easily as you played Janie or her father. Pastor Roberts is a good man, and I can understand why he would want to believe in your repentance. But I know men like you. I’ve been in courtrooms with bigger sharks than the senator, and I have always won.”

  If Alexander had anything to be afraid of, he’d be shaking in his boots. But he wasn’t worried about Ty. He’d already lost everything important to him.

  “Bucky is the one blackmailing the senator.”

  Ty stared at him. “How do you know that? Do you have proof?”

  “I caught him red-handed at the post office with his fiancée, who has been posing as Janie. Better yet, Cheryl has the place under video surveillance, which means I have it all on tape. The senator doesn’t have a leg to stand on, not if he wants to protect his precious boy.”

  It was almost funny, watching the incredulous look deepen on Ty’s face. “Just whose side are you on, anyway?”

  Alexander shrugged. “Janie’s. I was wrong to do what I did to her. She didn’t deserve that. And she doesn’t deserve what’s happening to her now.”

  “So you think you’re going to win her back?” Ty asked.

  At this point, Alexander knew he didn’t have a chance. “I ruined everything with her. I get that. But there are some wrongs I can make right, and that’s what I’m here to do. Now are you listening, or not?”

  “What about your job?” Ty asked. “From what Janie said, it was everything to you.”

  Alexander nodded. “It was. Until Janie taught me that there are things more important than my job. I have no doubt that I’ll lose it as a result of this, if I haven’t already. I have some connections, but I don’t know that this is the work I want to do anymore. Ricky said he’d find something for me at the ranch for a while. But I don’t
want to be a burden on him, either. So I’m just going to play it by ear for now, and once I get this agreement handled and we get through Thanksgiving, I’ll figure it out.”

  As aimless as it sounded, it felt good to admit that he didn’t have a plan. Strange, because his entire life had been built around this idea that he was going to someday be president of the United States. But the more he thought about the senator, and the moral compromises he had to make to get even this far, the more Alexander wasn’t sure he wanted that. The happiest he’d been in his entire life was here, helping the people in Columbine Springs.

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Ty asked.

  Alexander nodded. “I asked the senator to help with the turkeys they needed for the Thanksgiving celebration, and he refused, because it isn’t that big of a voter base. I don’t want those to be the types of choices I have to make.”

  Ty nodded slowly, like the changes Alexander was making in his life were finally sinking in. He wasn’t the same man who’d arrived in Columbine Springs three weeks ago. The fire had changed him. God had changed him.

  More importantly, Janie had changed him.

  “I guess we’d better get to work then,” Ty said.

  As he went around his desk to his laptop, Alexander felt even more weight fall off his shoulders. No, he didn’t know what the future held for him, but at least he knew that the agreement they were about to work out was going to be in Janie and Sam’s best interests.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Why hasn’t Mr. Alexander come to see us today?” Sam asked.

  How were you supposed to tell a child about the complexities of grown-up relationships that didn’t work out? This was one of the main reasons she didn’t date. How did you do so when it wasn’t just your heart that was involved?

  “He’s been busy,” Janie said.

  It was a copout, and she knew it, but she didn’t know what else to say.

  “Well, he said he’d always be there for me. I’m going to get my paper and call him.”

  That was the last thing she needed now.

  “Sweetheart, Alexander and I had a fight and even though he promised you that he’d always be there for you, I need a break. Can you give it a little time before you call him?”

  Hopefully, it would be enough time for her to figure out how to explain to her son that Alexander was a jerk, and she didn’t want him in Sam’s life.

  “I think you need to work it out. That’s what you always tell me and Katie and Ryan. Maybe you need to see things from his side. And even if you think you are right, and he is wrong, is it really worth losing your best friend over?”

  It was hard not to laugh at her son parroting her words. How many times had she given that exact speech to the kids over one of their petty disagreements? But she and Alexander weren’t kids, and this wasn’t a petty disagreement. Alexander had lied to her. Used her. Betrayed her trust. And while her father said he believed that Alexander was truly repentant, her heart was too fragile to let him back in.

  “I understand what you’re saying,” Janie said. “But this is a grown-up issue. Please give Mommy some time, okay?”

  Sam put his hands on his hips and gave her the sternest look a seven-year-old could muster. “Fine. You can have a time-out. But you better not take too long, because then you’d better say you’re sorry and hug and make up. You’re always telling me that God wants us to forgive each other. So you better do what God says.”

  At least she knew her son had been listening. But how could she get him to understand that some problems couldn’t be fixed?

  Yes, she knew she had an obligation to forgive Alexander, not just because the Bible told her to, but also because she knew it was necessary for her peace of mind. But as her father said, it didn’t have to happen right at this moment. Still, she knew the longer she held on to her grudge, the harder it would be. She didn’t know how to balance her feelings with what was right.

  “I will consult God on it,” Janie told her son. “But you need to mind your own business. So let grown-ups handle the grown-up issues, and when the time is right, I’ll let you call Alexander.”

  The disappointment on Sam’s face tore Janie’s heart in two. It was so unfair, the heartbreak her son also had to endure. She hoped it was worth it for Alexander. Because she was going to be cleaning up this mess for a long time.

  The front door opened, and Katie burst through, Ty following.

  “You’re home early,” Janie said. “Rachel isn’t back from her errands yet.”

  Ty set his briefcase on the table. “That’s okay. I finished what I was working on early, and I got a new agreement drafted that I wanted to discuss with you.”

  She looked over at where the kids had made quick work of pulling out a puzzle and were already working on it at the coffee table.

  “Why don’t you guys go into Katie’s room and play with her train set,” Janie suggested.

  Sam groaned and looked at Katie. “Mom and Alexander are having a fight, which means she wants to talk to your dad about it in private.”

  Then he turned and glared at Janie. “But I hope Ty tells you that you have to forgive him and make up so he can be my dad.”

  Wow. This was way more serious than she’d thought.

  She took a deep breath and asked God for an extra measure of wisdom and patience. “And I told you to leave the grown-up matters to grown-ups. God also says you’re supposed to obey your mother, so maybe you need to spend a little bit of time talking to Him about that.”

  Sam’s face fell, and she wished this would be the last disappointment he’d have concerning Alexander. She hadn’t realized how firmly he’d had his heart set on having Alexander as a father.

  “Fine,” Sam said. “But me and Katie are also going to go in there and pray for me to get my dad. You’re being selfish to stay mad at him.”

  The kids stomped off with such indignation that Janie would have laughed, if she weren’t on the verge of heartbreak. It wasn’t just Sam who was hurt by all this. But what was she supposed to do? Tell a pathological liar that everything he’d done to hurt her was okay?

  Ty walked over and squeezed her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I hate that the kids think they brought Rachel and me together with their prayers. Now they think they can do the same for you, and I know it’s not that simple.”

  Janie brushed away a stray tear. “You mean once Sam got over the fact that you became Katie’s dad, not his. I just don’t know how to get him to understand that as much as he wants a dad, it’s not that simple.”

  “Relationships are complicated,” Ty said. “And I know you don’t want anyone else butting in on the situation with you and Alexander, but I think you should know that he and I worked together to craft a new agreement that’s more favorable to you. I know this doesn’t fix everything between the two of you, and you have a long way to go, but—”

  “Stop. I know everyone means well, but just give me the papers, and I will sign them. I need this part of my life to be over. As for Alexander, I need you to leave me alone where he’s concerned and let me handle it in my own way.”

  She hated the disappointment that washed over Ty’s face, but he nodded. “I understand. It was probably too soon for me to push you in that direction, anyway. But I hope, once you’ve taken time to sort through your feelings, you read through this agreement and understand that almost all the changes were his idea, not mine.”

  She barely glanced at the papers he handed her. “But you agree with them?”

  “I do,” he said. “The senator still has to sign them, but Alexander thinks he can get him to, and I agree with his plan.”

  Janie grabbed a pen. “That’s all I need to know, then. You might be trying to fix things between Alexander and me, but I know you wouldn’t steer me wrong legally.” She initialed each page, then signed where it indicated.

 
She wasn’t kidding when she said she wanted this over with. With every stroke of the pen, she felt a little bit freer at knowing that because of this document, no one else was going to be waiting in the wings, trying to destroy the life she’d built.

  When she finished signing, she handed the papers back to Ty. “We didn’t talk about the money, but even though I said I was willing to accept it, I don’t want any of the senator’s hush money. Can you make arrangements to donate it to the community resource center anonymously? Even though Alexander thinks I can handle the executive director position, I spent a lot of time looking at the information Ellen gave me, as well as some of the documents and websites he pointed me toward. I’m not qualified for the job, but this money will help us find someone who is.”

  Ty looked down at the papers for a moment, then back at her. “I can do some of that. But one of the changes Alexander insisted on was that in addition to the money you get now, there’s also money put away in a college fund for Sam. He wants Sam to be taken care of, no matter what happens.”

  It shouldn’t have surprised her that Alexander would think of Sam. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, the one thing she knew for certain was that he genuinely cared for her son. But given Alexander’s loyalty to the senator, she would have thought that he’d have tried to save his boss as much as possible.

  “That was sweet of him, but unnecessary. Still, I might as well take it. One less thing for me to worry about, right?”

  The look Ty gave her told her she probably didn’t want to know what he was about to say, but she was going to have to hear it anyway.

  “You realize this will probably cost him his job, right?” Ty gave her the same disappointed look Sam had. “Again, I realize that you aren’t ready to work through this, and that’s fine. But you do need to get to a place where you can hear him out, and understand other developments to the situation.”

  She shook her head. “So it’s okay that he hurt me?”