“No, rest for a bit and I’ll pull my truck up right here and pick you up. Don’t move, and don’t put those heels back on - okay?” Nodding, Rachel was a bit embarrassed to be caught barefoot in the parking lot. She felt incredibly unpolished and couldn’t believe he’d noticed so quickly. He pulled up near her, hopped out of the truck and opened the door for her. She climbed inside, setting her tan high heels on the rubber mats that lay on the carpeted floorboard.
“Let’s grab dinner and talk some more,” Tyler suggested. “Keep your shoes off if they are hurting you and we’ll eat in the truck if you are okay with that. We’ll have the privacy I want and you can relax to your heart’s content.”
“You know, I’d like that if you don’t mind.”
They grabbed two hamburgers, fries and milkshakes there in town and she watched his profile in the street lights as he drove for a while. She didn’t ask where, she just listened as he talked about him growing up here in town and some of the mischief he’d gotten into. As they pulled into the gravel driveway of the house that was being remodeled, she smiled knowingly. Tyler went where he felt comfortable. He was a creature of habit; it was just discovering what made him tick that was the key.
He got out of the truck and told her to wait there. Walking up to the farm house, he got two folding chairs out from the bed of the truck and set them on the wooden deck that surrounded the front half of the building. He walked back over to the truck and opened her door. Rachel immediately bent to get her shoes and yelped as she was picked up bodily out of the truck. Tyler carried her in his arms up to the front of the house to the walkway and set her down. As she stood there, she watched as he went back without word and grabbed their takeout meal.
She marveled at the little things he did that revealed the man he was. His mother was a lucky woman to have him looking out for her. Rachel was beyond touched that he’d carried her so she didn’t have to put her shoes back on her feet. He wanted her comfortable and relaxed with him. She didn’t move from where he’d set her down at, only waited as he walked back to the house with his hands full. He got to the deck where she stood and looked at her.
Rachel was standing a few inches higher than him due to the height of the decking of the porch. His dark eyes held hers as she suddenly leaned down to kiss him. Her lips barely touched his and the quick catch of his breath in surprise made her smile.
“You can pick me up tomorrow at six,” she murmured, remembering his own words to her earlier in the day. She’d not asked him out, but he had taken it that way since she’d admitted that she’d thought about kissing him.
“Are we going out tomorrow?”
“You asked me out the moment when you carried me up here,” Rachel told him softly as he smiled widely. “Now, I’m hungry and that smells delicious.”
They sat for hours there in the darkness, laughing and talking about their childhood antics. There was no power or running water at the house yet, and that cut their evening short as she got chilly. She was honestly floored by how nice it had simply been to be there in the evening air, just the two of them. He drove her back to her mustang that she’d left at work in the parking lot. He pulled up to the driver side of her car so she didn’t have to go far at all. As he opened the truck door for her, he smiled softly.
“I want you to have dinner with us tomorrow night. Come meet my mother and you can pick her brain on patterns, designs and talk about Fern.” Rachel noticed that he didn’t ask, he simply ordered like he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Looking at him, she noticed that he was once again opening up and this was the opportunity she needed to learn more about him – and meet his mother.
“I’d like that.”
7
The next day flew by for Rachel. She spent a majority of the day at her other project setting up the nursery for the twins. It was something to be hanging tiny shoes tied with shoelaces on pegs, folding receiving blankets into little fabric animals and hanging drapes to match the baby bedding. They’d decided upon a safari theme for their twin boys. There were colorful prints in pastel colors of leopards, elephants and giraffes hanging in frames on the walls. There was even a tiny outstretched lion on the carpet that made her blush heatedly as she heard Tyler’s words in her mind over and over again.
Returning to the office, she received a message that Tyler Howe had called and left a number for her. Grinning, she went to her office and called from her cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Who’s this? How’d you get this number?” she heard his mock outrage turn into laughter. She rolled her eyes at the playfulness in him.
“It’s Rachel, the woman you called?” she reminded him pertly.
“Oh, well I only call women that want to kiss me, and if I remember right, you didn’t want to kiss me because I was your client.” She knew he was baiting her and the banter was his way of flirting with her, something she thought she could handle easily until she’d seen him in the moonlight.
“But I did and regretting it a lot right now.”
“Don’t regret it, that was more of a peck than a kiss anyhow.”
“Let’s not go there, okay?”
“Changing subjects, so you feel safe talking with me -okay. I understand. This is your personal number or your desk phone? I am saving it on my fancy, new cell phone now.”
“You bought one? Good. I hope you got your mother one too, if she needs you,” Rachel prompted immediately and grew silent at the slow whistle she heard from his end.
“I knew I liked you,” he teased appreciatively. “We still on for dinner tonight? Mom’s cooking a roast.”
“Sounds good, should I bring anything?”
“Just yourself. I’ll pick you up soon.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting her and getting some ideas. The second, silent half of the Howe design project,” she teased openly.
“She can’t wait to meet you either.”
Rachel hung up the phone feeling unsure about what she’d just agreed to. It wasn’t unusual to talk to clients or family members to get suggestions or ideas for a project, but this was meeting Tyler’s precious mama. His saintly mother who could do no wrong in his eyes. It felt…awkward… Like a girlfriend meeting his mother. She was hardly that! She was trying to solidify a design idea that he’d hired her for.
She stared at her tablet that she’d written down ideas and questions on but was lost in memory of what it was like to kiss Tyler in the moonlight. She could see his dark eyes, their hungry yet surprised look as she took the initiative and leaned down. The way he’d reacted surprised her and touched her, making her feel incredibly special and powerful in that very moment. The way his lips felt against hers was stuff legends were made of, and she knew what people meant when they said they felt a spark. That gentle contact made her knees buckle and she couldn’t imagine what a kiss full of desire would do to her, if an innocent one made her crumble.
“You are having second thoughts?” Tyler’s voice interrupted her train of thought and she glanced up in surprise. He stood there in a polo shirt and blue jeans; the navy color of his shirt made his greenish-brown hazel eyes even darker, like melted chocolate that made her envy Willy Wonka at that very moment.
“No, not at all. Just didn’t hear you pull up.”
“This new truck is much quieter. I donated my other one to charity.”
“You bought it?”
“I thought you realized that,” he said with a happy smile. “I told the salesman to get it gassed up, washed and ready for me to sign once I got off work today.”
“I didn’t realize you were still working.”
“Yeah, I gotta have something to do with my time and I need to feel productive. I mean, money goes fast and I’ve spent quite a bit. I want to make sure that my mother is taken care of and that she never has to worry again.”
“I’m pretty sure she won’t have to.”
“Not on my watch,” he said firmly.
Rachel gathered her purse, notep
ad and her cellphone. Tyler extended his arm politely and she felt strange taking it there in the office. She didn’t want to make him mad, but he had to realize that this could put her job in jeopardy. There was no firm set rule, but she’d not give them an excuse to get rid of her. If she went home to visit Kansas, it would be as a hero not a zero.
She climbed into the huge truck and used the grab handle to pull herself up inside. It did sit a bit higher than his other truck, but it was definitely plusher. She saw that it had GPS, all the bells and whistles on it, as well as a few extras she didn’t realize. She didn’t even want to think what the truck had cost because they hadn’t looked at the stickers on the window, simply what might have suited him.
“What do you think of the truck?”
“I think you were spot on,” he admitted. “Once I drove it, I had to have it. Any doubts I had were gone. You knew exactly what would suit me and I should relax a bit more and trust you.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” she hedged. “I do make mistakes but generally I prefer to keep my clients happy with my work.”
“I’m still a client huh?”
“Of course, you are!” she sputtered. “Unless you’ve decided differently, I have a job to do and can’t wait to get started.”
“Relax, I’m only teasing you. I want you to do the design project, but I’d like it if we got to know each other. I want you to know the real me, not the guy that is just paying the bills. I don’t mean to sound like a jerk about it, but I want to get to know you more than just on an employer/employee level.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. We need to keep work, work – and well…”
“I can be patient,” he admitted, driving down the road and slowing down to pull into the mobile home park where they were still living. They drove in silence as she looked around the fancy truck and watched the scenery go by.
“I know you are way out of my league, but I’d like to think that maybe I could have a chance if I played my cards right. That’s why I still work, because I need to have something so I keep a sense of pride and feel grounded. I’m a normal guy in an abnormal world that I don’t recognize just yet, but you…” he stopped the truck in front of an older mobile home and looked at her.
“You, I feel like I recognize somehow even though we are on two different wavelengths. I know we are trailer trash that came into money, but we are human too. Just get to know the guy I am before you firmly say ‘no’ to going out on a date with me. A real date. I don’t beg, and never have had to since I won the lottery – but I also haven’t met anyone that I felt a connection to before. So, as stupid as it sounds: I’m putting myself out there and I want to get to know you.” Tyler turned off the truck, looking away from her.
“You’ve got a lot to learn about me, Mr. Howe,” Rachel told him softly, before reaching out towards him. She felt the warmth of his skin and a slight tingle as she wrapped her hand around his, squeezing it. “Let’s go on inside and not keep your mother waiting.”
She hopped down out of the truck as gracefully as possible (which wasn’t at all) and climbed the wooden steps up to the door of the doublewide trailer. The moment he opened the door, she smiled as she heard the Wheel of Fortune on in the background. Her own mom loved that show and they used to watch it all the time growing up.
“Tyler sweetie, it’s almost ready. Oh gosh, let me get this dirty old apron off my dress so I can look presentable for company.”
“Mama, this is Rachel Thorpe. Rachel, this is my mother, Clara Howe.” Rachel stared at the tiny woman in amazement and thought of the stories that Tyler had told her of her working two jobs for years on end. No wonder he was so protective of her!
Tyler was nearly six and a half feet tall, but this tiny woman was barely five feet and a hundred pounds dripping wet if she was a gambler. Frail did not begin to describe the little older lady that stood in front of her. She was wearing a button up dress and looked to be about sixty-five years old, meaning that she was thirty-five when she’d had Tyler. Her veiny hands shook as she grasped Rachel and pulled her into a hug.
“Oh my! She’s a lovely girl, Tyler. Rachel, come inside and have a seat in the light so I can look at you. My eyes aren’t the same as they used to be,” she said happily, grasping her hand and pulling her towards the fluorescent lights of the kitchen.
“I am so happy to meet you Clara; you have a lovely home.”
“Fiddlesticks, but it’s our home. My boy is working on getting us a little bit further out in the country. He thought that he’d keep it a surprise but this town’s full of gossiping ol’ biddies. He said I could have a garden again and he’d till the soil for me. I used to have a garden when we had the other house and grew tomatoes every summer.” Rachel smiled at the honesty and open friendship in the woman’s face. She glanced up at Tyler only to see him watch the two of them greet each other.
“There’s something so wonderful about having your hands in the dirt, isn’t there? My family always had a garden. Daddy would plant green beans, bell peppers and tomatoes too. Maybe I could help you get it started then we could share the bounty?” Rachel invited and hugged the little woman again when she reached for her.
How could she not simply adore Clara Howe? She was so sweet, earnest and gentle soul, that kindness seemed to seep from her pores. She was instantly enchanted with the woman that gave birth to the hardheaded man that fascinated her.
“Do you ever watch the Wheel? I just love Vanna- she’s so beautiful and wears the prettiest dresses,” Clara glanced down at the small watch on her tiny wrist. “We’ve got about a half hour before the roast is ready, if you want to sit down.”
“Let’s do that, and we can chit-chat together or watch the Wheel. I used to watch it all the time with my mother back home,” Rachel told Clara as she led her into the living room. Tyler’s face was now expressionless yet his eyes burned fiercely as she glanced over her shoulder towards him.
He was a proud man and she could only imagine what he was thinking as she took a seat on the worn-out old couch next to his mother. Clara took Rachel’s hand and began telling stories of when Tyler was a boy. It was obvious that the world revolved around her son and she was being let into the inner circle of their lives. They talked for quite a while as he took a seat in the recliner nearby silently.
Rachel answered several questions regarding her own family. Where were they from, how did she get here, what did she do for a living? The last question surprised her, which meant that Tyler hadn’t told his mom he’d hired an interior designer. She wondered if he’d told her about the house?
“Clara, will you give me a tour of the house – I’d love to see photos of Tyler when he was a boy.”
“Oh yes, mercy! That is one thing I love to do is brag about my sweet boy. Tyler will you get the roast out when the buzzer goes off?”
“Of course,” he said amicably. “I’ll go ahead and set the table so you ladies can talk.”
“He’s such a good boy- well, he’s a grown man now, isn’t he? A fine young man that reminds me of his father in looks but he’s just like me in spirit.” Rachel could certainly see that sentiment. He didn’t look like his mother, but then again, Tyler was very quiet and protective regarding their privacy, unlike the tiny woman that was carrying on and on by herself.
As they walked around the house, Clara pointed out photos and told her of each day, her voice wistful like it had just happened instead of twenty years passing. There were photos of Tyler with all four front teeth missing, pictures of him with a younger version of Clara as well as one single photo of Clara, an infant and a tall handsome man in a suit.
Tyler’s father. He was the spitting image of his father down to the way he wore his hair or stood there in the photo.
Clara walked her down to her bedroom and it was like walking into another time period. A white wicker headboard and large white dresser filled the tiny room. She had eyelet trimmed drapes that were pulled back with pink ribbon. A white ro
be with tiny roses hung on a hook on the wall and several doilies were framed and hung on the wall.
“My grandmother tatted those by hand. It’s a lost art and all I have left. We are simple folk that believe in family- or as my Tyler likes to say: God, country and Mama.”
“My family is too. We have a bible on a stand in the corner of the living room with names and dates inside going clear back to 1740. My daddy has my great-grandfather’s rifle hung on hooks in the living room. He said he remembers growing up, his grandmother making cocoa in a tin can on the potbelly stove. Family is all you have and all you can rely on.”
“Absolutely. C’mon sweetie, let’s head to the table. I’m famished and I know my Tyler must be. He could always put the food away as a boy growing up. I think that’s why he is so big and strong.”
They walked into the dining room to see that the wooden table was covered with a table cloth, linen napkins and three plates. He poured them each a glass of water and a glass of tea. Clara had taught Tyler to set a table nicely, probably just like her own mother had set, when she was growing up. Tyler pulled out the chair for his mother, helping her sit down, and moved to pull out Rachel’s chair.
“Thank you,” he whispered softly in Rachel’s ear. She didn’t say a word, only looked at him, smiled and nodded politely. Tyler led grace before they served up the roast in their plates. He and Rachel both stood automatically to serve everyone at the same time, bringing a smile to his face.
“I didn’t cook but I can certainly serve.” Rachel offered and immediately sat down guiltily at the disapproving glance Clara gave her. She ran a tight ship, obviously, and no one went against her.
“Not in my house young lady. A guest will be treated as such, now Tyler- if you please?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said with a knowing grin, winking at Rachel across the table. Rachel smothered a smile behind her napkin politely. She didn’t want to let him know that being the center of attention from him made her decidedly happy. She liked the way he relaxed away from others; he let his true self show instead of that cool, arrogant, untouchable exterior. If how the salesman at the dealership acted the other day was any inclination of how people treated him now, she understood.
Winning the Billionaire Page 6