Coming Home: (Contemporary Christian Romance Boxed Set): Three Stories of Love, Faith, Struggle & Hope

by Debra Ullrick

  “Why? What did she want? What did she say?”

  “I don’t know.” Tanner shrugged, shrinking back from the weight of responsibility. “Mr. Jones talked to her, and when she left, she was real upset. I think she was going to walk all the way back with them kids, but I took her back so she wouldn’t have to walk.”

  The story twisted and twined through Keith as his brain fought to decide what to do with it. “You don’t know what she and Mr. Jones talked about?”

  “No, Sir. I just know she was real upset when I took her home.”

  Keith nodded. “Well, thanks for telling me, Tanner. You did good.”

  “I hope she’s not in trouble. She really seems like a nice lady.”

  “That she is, Tanner. That she is.”

  The Dodge pulled to the front of the mansion in a small cloud of dust. Keith hopped out and slammed the door. He stalked to the front door. He needed to know what was going on. Had he been thinking, he would’ve come up with a less intrusive way to find out. However, he wasn’t thinking—not about shoulds and protocol anyway. His only concern was about her, and that thought overtook every other one.

  At the door he didn’t ring the doorbell, but he was met by Inez just the same. “Where’s Maggie?”

  Inez looked positively terrified. “Ms. Montgomery? I think she’s upstairs. Why?”

  “Keith.” His father’s voice rumbled through the entire mansion. “I need to see you.”

  “I’m not here on business, Dad.”

  “Keith!” The name was harsh and sharp. “I need to see you. Now.”

  Loathing for his whole insufferable life crawled through Keith. “Fine, but this better be quick.” He stalked to his father’s office, entered, and shut the door. Something told him he didn’t want the entire mansion privy to this little discussion.

  His father walked around the desk but didn’t sit down. “I got a call this morning.”

  Keith wasn’t interested in playing cat and mouse. “And…”

  “It was from Bill Hodges.” He let the name hang in the air for a moment. “He said somebody had cancelled his contract without notice, and he said we owe him for the remainder of the contract as scheduled whether we accept the deliveries or not.”

  Anger boiled in Keith’s gut. “First of all, you told me to make a decision. I made it. Second of all, we don’t owe him a dime. In fact, we paid for three loads that were either late or partial shipments. In my books that means if anything, he owes us. Tell Bill Hodges he’s off his rocker if he thinks I’m going to deal with someone who jerks me around and then says it’s my fault.”

  “I’ll have you know that Bill is a friend of mine.”

  Keith was in no mood to coddle. “Then I’d suggest you pick your friends a little better.” He turned for the door.

  His father sounded like he was about to explode as he cleared his throat. “Have you told Dallas about the other night?”

  “The other night?” It took him a moment to frame the reference even as he stopped. Slowly he turned. “You mean Friday? No, why would I tell her about that?”

  “Because Keith, you’re not in college any more. And you’re not in high school. You can’t go around cavorting with drunkards and expect your wife-to-be to never find out about it.”

  “Dad, I’m almost 30 years old. I’m not 16. I can drink if I want to.”

  “You’re not hearing me, Keith. Responsible adults do not stay out all night and come home plastered. You have to get your priorities in order here. Dallas and her family can’t have bad publicity over some stupid thing you did.”

  “I had a few to drink. That’s not a crime.”

  “Make no mistake about this, you get stopped in the shape you were in the other night, and jail is going to look good compared to the hell you will reap from that family, and let me tell you, Lowell Henderson is not one to forgive easily when his name’s at stake.”

  Keith’s patience with his father was about to run out, but he held it in two fists just the same. “You don’t have to tell me about Lowell Henderson. I’ve seen him work up close and personal. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

  “Don’t you dare make a mistake with this one.” His father’s menacing tone snaked through Keith. “Dallas deserves better.”

  That did it. He turned in one swing. “For the love of Mike, Dad! What do you want from me? Huh? What? I’ve done every single thing you’ve ever asked! Private school. College. Master’s degree. And now I’m marrying Dallas Henderson. I’m moving away, to a house that’s six times too big and ten times too expensive. I’m getting a job at a desk that I’m going to hate just so maybe, maybe you’ll finally get off my back about not being good enough. And now you’re going to stand there, and tell me even this much isn’t enough? What am I supposed to do, cut my wrist and bleed so you’ll see I’m trying to make this work?”

  Hurt laced through him, and he hated that. “I don’t know why you don’t just say what you’re really thinking and get it over with. I’m a disappointment. I have been from day one, and if you could ship me back to the factory and order a new son, you would do it in a heartbeat.”

  “Keith, you’re blowing this out of proportion.”

  “Out of proportion?” Hurt snapped into raging anger. “This is my life we’re talking about here, Dad. I’m sorry I’m not more rational, but I’m kind of dealing with a mountain of junk at the moment.” He shook his head. “I don’t have to stand here and listen to this.”

  “I’ve decided to put Ike in charge at the stables,” his father said as Keith stepped out of the door.

  Keith turned, very, very slowly. Hurt, anger, resentment, and complete exasperation rained through him. He wanted to scream and yell, but he knew how little that would accomplish. Finally he shrugged. “Well, it’s your operation. It always has been. In two months I’m out of here for good anyway. Do whatever you want with it.” And without waiting for his father’s reply, he stomped out.

  At the front door he came a breath away from going out. Then he remembered his original mission, and he turned back for the stairs. Two at a time he climbed them, not caring if it was proper or not. He didn’t really care about anything at the moment. They didn’t care about him, why should he care about them? At the top, he didn’t so much as pause as he headed to the playroom. When he got to the door, he stopped for one second and listened.

  Instantly peace and serenity drifted through everything else. He smiled at the lilt in her voice and the happy sounds of the kids. He would have given the world to have what they had now. Quietly he pushed open the door and peered inside. She sat in the chair with Izzy on her lap, reading. It was a scene he wished he could get very used to.

  “Maggie,” he whispered, and her head jerked up.

  Her eyes went wide. “Keith. What…?”

  He put his finger to his lips and ducked into the room. The closer to her he got, the more his lungs screamed for air. It was like being sucked into a black hole of exhilarated anticipation. “How’s it going?” He sat down on his heel next to the rocking chair. Unconsciously, he ran his thumb under his nose. “I heard you came by the stables the other day.”

  The depth of Maggie’s agony had never reached so low. He was here, and yet he wasn’t. Tears jumped into her skull, stinging everything in their path. Ike’s words rang in her head, and as much as she wanted it not to be true, he was right. This was Keith Ayer, and she needed to remember that.

  “I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I just thought maybe we could go riding, that’s all.”

  Keith’s face fell into concern. “Tanner said he thought you were upset.”

  It took everything she had to shake her head and smile. “I just thought… You know. I wasn’t thinking. You have enough to do without us coming around to bother you.”

  “Bother me? What does that mean? You haven’t been bothering me. I love having y’all out there.”

  That makes one of you, she thought, but she was smart enough to know voicing it would be
disastrous. “I know, but you have work to do.”

  He shook his head at that, and his jaw went hard. “Yeah. Work.”

  Concern plowed through her on his tone. Her gaze surveyed him. “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing.” He looked at her and smiled. “Listen. Okay? You three are welcome at the stables any time you want to come.” He reached over and ran his hand down Isabella’s curls. “I love seeing you.”

  Maggie nodded, but she knew better. She’d seen reality in bright, living, unforgettable color.

  “Are you sure that’s all?” He looked like he wanted her to say everything that was in her heart. He was so close, so unbearably close, she was afraid she just might.

  “Yeah. What else would there be?”

  “What did you say to Maggie?” Keith asked, slamming the office door behind him. He was itching for a fight, and Ike was as good a place to start as any.

  “Maggie?” Ike stood and went to the filing cabinet. “I’d say you have more to worry about than some little gold digger like her.”

  Fury overtook him in a breath, and Keith grabbed Ike by the perfectly pressed shirt and slammed him up against the wall. “What did you say to her?”

  Ike’s eyes went ice cold. “You’re something else, you know that? You’ve got Dallas Henderson staying in your house, presumably in your bed, and you’re all hot and bothered about some little kids’ babysitter.”

  “You say one more thing like that about her, and I swear…”

  “Look, Keith.” Ike pulled calm to him as he put up his hands to show he wasn’t about to take the first swing. “I know, you’re freaked out about the wedding. I get that. I can’t say I wouldn’t be either, but get serious here. You just got demoted from owner to employee, and now you’re worried about this?”

  “He called already, huh?” Keith backed up. The world seemed to be crashing around him.

  “Yes, he did. I’ve told you he doesn’t take kindly to anyone undermining him.”

  “Undermining…? Whoa. Now just hold it right there. You agreed with me about the Hodges thing.”

  “Yes, I did. I still do, but your dad doesn’t know that, and so he will take out his displeasure on whoever’s name is stamped at the bottom of the order. Besides, this way he can tell Hodges he’s taken care of the problem.”

  The word snarled around Keith’s gut.

  Ike put his hand on Keith’s back, which to Keith wasn’t the smartest move anyone had ever made. “Listen to me, Keith. You’ve got like two months left here, tops. Just lay low and keep yourself out of trouble. The less he hears from you the better. Trust me, in two months you’ll be married and far, far away from this place and from him. None of this will even be on the table anymore.”

  Keith turned, and the ice from Ike’s eyes had descended into Keith’s heart. “What makes you think then will be any better than now?” As far into the future as he could see, life had no prospect of getting any better than it was at this very moment. “I’ve got hay to check.”

  “We’re leaving at noon. I expect you to take care of everything while we’re gone,” Ike called.

  “Yeah.” Keith walked out. “What else is new?”

  Sitting at the counter over a ham sandwich and chips, Keith re-ran the morning through his mind. Ike had said something to her. Of that, Keith had no doubt. But what had he said? How low had he sunk to convince her to stay away? His thoughts traveled back to the party on Monday. Tracy cut Maggie to ribbons, and Maggie never so much as swung back.

  He wondered if that’s what she was doing now, ducking back and hoping to become invisible so no one would see how hurt she really was. The thought sent an ache through his heart that he wondered if he’d ever before felt. She was hurting, and there wasn’t one, single solitary thing he could see to do about it.

  “Hey, babe,” Dallas said, coming in from the garage with a fistful of packages. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”

  “Lunch time.”

  She ca-thunked the packages onto the counter. “Oh, hey, Dad called today. He got an interview set up for you in two weeks with Mr. Ferrell at Devonshire. He said, to emphasize your education and to go easy on the last five years.” Dallas walked up and ate a chip from Keith’s plate.

  “What else did he say?”

  “Just that he and Mom will be coming up to Vermont again for graduation. You are remembering graduation, aren’t you? May 13. You’ve got your flight booked and everything?” She ate another chip.

  He hadn’t even thought about it. “Oh, I was going to do that this week.”

  She didn’t look pleased with the answer. “You need to get that booked. You’re going to have to pay triple if you wait too long.”

  Like she’d ever thought money was a problem for him before.

  “Or I guess you could take your dad’s private plane up there.” That thought seemed to appeal to her as she crunched another chip. “That way we could just fly back together. Yeah, why don’t you just do that?”

  Yeah. Why didn’t he?

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Please make note of the party next Saturday,” Patty Ann said, pointing it out on Maggie’s schedule. The personal secretary’s office in the East wing was so dark and gloomy Maggie had to make herself not shiver at the looming doom that seemed to glare at her from the corners. Worse, it was cold. Ice block cold.

  “Okay.”

  “Mrs. Ayer does not want the children around that night. Nowhere. No how.”

  That stopped Maggie’s nodding. “Where are we supposed to go?”

  “The playroom is acceptable, but stay out of sight and absolutely no noise. This is a very important affair. Many of Mr. Ayer’s biggest business associates will be in attendance.”

  Maggie scratched the side of her head. “Okay.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Ayer are due to fly out this evening to attend her nephew’s wedding on Tuesday.”

  “Tuesday? Who gets married on a Tuesday?”

  “Those,” Patty Ann said with exasperation in her voice, “who can afford to be married in a private ceremony in Buenos Aires.”

  “Ah.” Maggie lifted her chin in understanding.

  “That’s all that you need to be aware of. Everything else is self-explanatory.”

  Meeting over, Maggie stood.

  “Oh, and Ms. Montgomery. Your paycheck.”

  At least that was getting to be a nice habit.

  “May 13,” Dallas said, pulling Keith to her as they stood in the terminal. Her eyes danced with the date. “Get that jet fired up. I’ll be waiting to see you.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” His hand felt big on her waist. Where had the I-can’t-wait-to-be-with-you feelings he’d had when they first got together gone? Now it was like going through the motions with someone he didn’t even know, and as he stood there with her, he wondered if he had ever really known her or if he had been in love with the idea of being in love with her.

  She kissed him once more. It was more of a peck really. “And don’t forget to call the bank on that house loan like we talked about.”

  “Got it.”

  “Oh, and I’ll email you the details on the Ferrell thing once Dad sends them to me.”

  Keith nodded. “I’ll be watching for it.” He couldn’t figure out why she didn’t just get on the plane already.

  She stopped and gazed right into his eyes. “I love you.”

  He tried to smile. “Love you.”

  “Final boarding call Flight 85 to New Haven.”

  Dallas looked up at the speakers. “That’s me.” She sighed. “I hate leaving you. You take care of yourself.” She readjusted his collar.

  “You too.”

  “I love you, babe.”

  “Love you, too.” With one more kiss, he glanced beyond her to the boarding ramp. “You’d better get, or you’re going to miss your plane.”

  “Okay.” She pulled herself away from him and turned. “Bye.”

  He waved.

  “Take car
e.”

  He smiled.

  “I love you.”

  And then, finally, mercifully, she was gone. Keith let his eyes go closed as he breathed in what it was like not to have to be somebody else to impress her. Sooner or later she was going to see the truth, and sooner or later she was not going to be happy about that truth. The only question was just how long sooner or later would take to get here.

  “Ms. Montgomery, phone call,” Inez said that evening when the kids were down for the count.

  Maggie swung her legs off her bed and followed the maid down the stairs and into the kitchen. “Thanks.”

  Inez nodded, snapped off the light, and left.

  Dallas was gone. Maggie knew this because she’d heard Inez and Jeffrey talking about it. All day long, she had hoped Keith might make an unscheduled appearance, yet he never had. “Hello?”

  “Maggie. Oh, good, I’m glad I caught you.”

  “Greg?” Her heart fell through the name.

  “You remembered.”

  “Of course I remembered. You have such little faith in my memory. What’s up?”

  “I was thinking we should get together again. Maybe tomorrow night. What do you say?”

  “Oh, Greg.” She sat down on the chair in the breakfast nook. “I don’t know. The Ayers are gone, and I have no idea when I’ll get another day off, but it definitely won’t be tomorrow.”

  “Nights? You don’t even have nights off?”

  “Not really.” Her mind tripped back over the little bruises that had faded from everything but her memory. If it was up to her, she would never have so much as another minute off.

  “That sounds like slave labor.”

  She sighed. “It’s not so bad.”

  “Hmm.” He seemed to think through their options, which from Maggie’s point of view didn’t seem exactly abundant. “Well, you’re free now… to talk I mean?”

  “Yeah.” Softness for him drifted through her. “I’m free to talk now.”

  “I’ll take it.”

  His parents were gone. Keith knew that. Dallas was also safely back in Vermont. He knew that because she had called when she got there. Sunday morning was his first chance, and he wasn’t going to blow this one. He stood on the front steps, pressed and ready for church. All he wanted was to spend a couple of hours with the only person who still represented sanity in his world. He rang the doorbell, and nerves crashed through him. What if she told him no? What if she laughed in his face? He reached to ring it again when Inez opened the door.