She felt heat rise in her cheeks as a smile spread across his face when their gazes met. Her heartbeat kicked up a notch, and it was hard to take a deep breath. Hopefully, nothing showed on her face.
“Hi, Tyler,” she said when she reached his side.
“How’re you doing today?” he asked.
“Not too bad.” She wrinkled her nose. “All things considered.”
“Already starting to feel the effects of old age, eh?”
Melanie jostled his elbow with hers but before she could say anything, a soft voice with the slightest southern lilt to it said, “Darlin’, are you going to introduce us?”
Tyler took a step back and turned toward the petite woman standing behind him. “Sorry, Momma. This is Melanie Thorpe.” He slipped his arm around his mom’s shoulders. “Melanie, this is my mom, Shauna and her husband, Henry Wakeford.”
The names sounded familiar, and she tried to place them as she shook hands with Tyler’s parents. Suddenly, it hit her. Adrianne’s donors. Tyler’s parents were the two million dollar donors?
Her gaze met the older man’s. His warm blue eyes twinkled as he smiled. He obviously realized she’d just put two and two together.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Melanie said without divulging her revelation. She had no idea if Tyler was aware of their donation and didn’t want to put anyone in an awkward position.
“The pleasure is all ours,” Shauna said as she smiled. “We are thrilled to meet the people who helped Tyler so much.”
As she looked at Tyler’s mom, she didn’t see too many similarities except for the color of their hair and their eyes. Clearly, Tyler had gotten his height and build from his father—whoever he was. Tyler had never spoken of him. His mother’s petite stature put her quite a few inches shorter than her son. Henry Wakeford also dwarfed Shauna in the same way Tyler did.
That wasn’t the only similarity between the men with regards to the dainty woman who stood between them. It was hard to miss the absolute devotion on the faces of both son and husband.
“It’s so nice that you’re able to spend Tyler’s birthday with him each year,” Melanie said. “He mentioned that you’ve only missed two birthdays.”
Shauna looked up at her son, love clear on her face. “His birth made me a mother and there’s no one I’d rather be a momma to than this boy.” She lifted her hand and laid it on the side of Tyler’s face. “I can’t imagine not wanting to celebrate the day my whole world changed. For the better.”
“You know, Momma, today is Melanie’s birthday too.”
Delight filled Shauna’s face, her blue eyes sparkling as her gaze moved back to Melanie. “Really? Well, that confirms my theory that truly great people are born on this day. Are you having a party with your family?”
“Not today. I think my mom has something planned for tomorrow night.” Melanie sighed. “I’m not really supposed to know about it, but my sister took pity on me and clued me in.”
“Do you have plans for tonight then?” Tyler asked, his brows drawn together.
“Uh…not really.”
“Then you must come with us,” Shauna announced with a clap of her hands. She looked up at her husband. “Right, darling?”
“Absolutely, my love.” As he spoke for the first time, Melanie heard the English accent and realized that they didn’t just live in London, Henry was from the UK.
“I really couldn’t intrude on your dinner,” Melanie said as she looked to Tyler, hoping he’d see the plea for his help to decline the invitation.
Instead, he smiled at her and said, “It wouldn’t be an intrusion at all. I’d love to have you along for my birthday dinner.”
“It’s just not right that you’re not doing something special on the actual day,” Shauna insisted. “Even if you are having a dinner tomorrow night.”
Melanie knew she should just politely decline—that was the smart thing to do—but lately she’d been making some very un-smart decisions. This was just going to be one more. “Okay. You’ve convinced me. Where should I meet you?”
“We can pick you up,” Tyler said.
“I appreciate the offer, but it would be easier if I just met you there.” This was something Melanie wasn’t going to budge on.
Tyler seemed to sense that because he nodded then said, “We’re going to a place that Than recommended.”
“The restaurant where he and Lindsay got engaged?” Melanie asked.
“Yep. That’s the place,” Tyler confirmed.
“I know where that is. What time are you planning to be there?”
“I made reservations for six-thirty.”
“Sounds perfect.” Melanie turned to smile at Shauna and Henry. “Now, would you like a tour of our facility?”
~*~*~
Tyler followed as Melanie led his mom and Hank through the Center. He felt pretty pleased with how things had turned out. Not only was he going to have his mom there to celebrate his birthday, but now Melanie would be celebrating with him too. He couldn’t have planned it better if he’d tried. In years past, he hadn’t been around for his birthday since he’d flown to be with his mom and Hank, so this was the first opportunity for them to actually celebrate together on the day.
He didn’t add much as they moved from one area of the Center to another. Melanie was definitely the ultimate tour guide as she knew the place inside and out. In some ways, this center was Melanie. She had taken it from the small place that had only been able to accommodate a handful of vets to what it was now. Back then there had been a focus on therapy—physical and emotional—but what they had now was so much more. He hadn’t even been aware of all the different aspects of the program that BlackThorpe now had in place at the Center until he’d gone on this tour.
Hank asked a lot of questions and it wasn’t long before Tyler realized that his stepdad knew quite a bit more about the Center than he’d assumed he did. That surprised him since, to his knowledge, neither of them had ever been there aside from the first day when they’d brought him to the Center.
“Been doing your research?” Tyler asked when they stood at the front desk once again.
Hank looked at him and smiled. “I felt it prudent to keep up to date on what the BlackThorpe center was doing. After they did such a wonderful job with you, I wanted to make sure that they would always be able to accommodate others who had needs similar to yours.”
“You’ve donated?” Tyler asked. He knew his stepdad was a very wealthy man, but for the most part, he had never availed himself of the money he had even when it had been offered. At most, he’d allowed Hank to buy the duplex that he and Ryan lived in.
“I most definitely have.” Hank reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder. “You were the son I never had and then I—we almost lost you. The people here brought you back to us. They gave you the opportunity to put your life back together. How could I do anything but help them to be able to continue the good work they do here?”
Emotion clogged Tyler’s throat, and he blinked rapidly. He’d always had respect for Hank and was so grateful for how he treated his mother, but Tyler had never thought that the man ever looked at him as anything more than his wife’s son. The stoic British businessman had never expressed any sort of emotional connection to him. Because he was so visibly in love with Shauna, Tyler had just assumed Hank hadn’t needed a grown son as part of the package.
“Thank you.” The words were hard to force past tight vocal cords. Tyler felt a soft touch on his arm and looked to see Melanie smiling up at him. He could see emotion in her eyes too.
“You’re welcome, my boy.” Hank squeezed his shoulder then lowered his arm. “And Melanie, thank you so much for the wonderful tour. I’m convinced more than ever that our donations are going to the right place. Be sure to let us know of any special projects like the therapy dogs that are in need of funding.”
“I will do that for sure, Mr. Wakeford. We are so very grateful for your support of the work we do here. It would ha
ve been impossible to expand the way we have without generous donations from people like you.”
“First, please call me Hank. And second, it is all our pleasure.”
Tyler swallowed hard to clear the remaining tightness from his throat and then said, “We’d better let you get back to work, but we’ll see you at six-thirty. No backing out.”
The smile she flashed told him she had been considering it, but she said, “I’ll be there.”
“Good. See you later.”
Once his mom and Hank had said their goodbyes, he led them out into the bright afternoon sunlight. A quick glance at his watch showed he still had three hours before their dinner. Thankfully, he already had a gift for Melanie so didn’t have to hit the stores to try and find something. They’d exchanged small gifts in years past, but this year he’d spent a little more time and effort to get her the perfect present. He just hoped she agreed.
When Tyler and his folks arrived at the restaurant, Ryan was already there waiting for them. Tyler had phoned earlier to add one more to their reservation so the table in the back of the restaurant was set for five.
“Nice to see you again, Ryan,” his mom said as she sat down in the chair Hank held for her.
Ryan had stood at their approach and didn’t sit back down until Shauna had settled into her chair. “You, too, Mrs. Wakeford.”
“Oh please, call me Shauna. Mrs. Wakeford is Hank’s mum.” Tyler’s mom leaned closer to the table. “And she never lets me forget it.”
Tyler glanced at Hank and saw the man nod and smile. “That is very true. I love my mum, but she’s a wee bit pretentious. A bit of a snob. According to her, Mrs. Wakeford should be a proper Brit, not some American.”
“But the heart wants what the heart wants.” His mom touched Hank’s cheek. “Right, darling?”
Hank captured his wife’s hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “That’s for sure, my love.”
As Tyler watched them, he hoped that if he ever found himself in a relationship again, it would be like theirs. He thought he’d found that once, but looking back, he could see that things weren’t that way for them even before his accident. His ex-wife had never been content to just sit and share quiet times. She had been an even bigger thrill seeker than him. He had enjoyed the adventures, but he would have been happy to sit in their own backyard around a fire pit just talking too.
Their lifestyle, even while dating, hadn’t really allowed for much conversation. When the one thing they had in common was threatened, she’d hit the road. Tyler understood much more now how important it was to have a well-rounded relationship. One that could include the thrill of adventure but would also flourish in the slower less-exciting times.
“It looks like the birthday girl has arrived,” his mom said.
Tyler turned to see Melanie making her way toward them with the hostess. She had changed from when he’d seen her earlier. She now wore dark fitted jeans that were tucked into knee-high boots, the heels of which gave her a couple more inches in height. The loose turquoise sweater she wore looked striking with her dark hair and eyes. But it was her smile as she approached the table that grabbed him.
Her eyebrows rose slightly when all three men got to their feet at her approach. Tyler stepped behind the chair next to his. “Good evening, Melanie.”
She hesitated a moment before sitting down. “Hi, everyone.”
Once they were seated, Tyler turned to her and said, “Glad you could make it.”
She smiled, her gaze warm. “It was by far the best invitation I had for how to spend my birthday.”
“It’s your birthday too?” Ryan asked as he leaned forward.
“Yep. But Tyler’s still older than me.”
Before the birthday discussion could continue, a waitress appeared to take their drink orders. Tyler also ordered a couple of appetizers before the waitress left, promising to return when they’d had a chance to look over the menus.
As they waited for their drinks and then their meals, his mom regaled them with tales of her experiences living in London as part of the upper class. With a clear memory of how things had been for them when he was growing up, Tyler was glad that his mom no longer had to scrimp and save in order to provide for them. Even though she came off as somewhat flighty and lighthearted, he knew that underneath it all, she took her life and loves very seriously.
“Can you say grace, darling?” his mom asked as she laid a hand on Hank’s.
Tyler had to smile at the indulgent nod Hank gave his mom. Saying grace out loud in a restaurant was something it had taken the man a while to get used to. However, Tyler was pretty sure Hank still wasn’t used to his mom’s insistence that they hold hands as well. But could anyone say no to Shauna Wakeford?
He took the hand his mom offered him and then turned to Melanie. Ryan had easily taken Hank’s hand leading Tyler to believe that he too came from a family where grace—regardless of where it was said—included handholding. As both he and Ryan held a hand out to Melanie, she hesitated only briefly before slipping her hands into theirs.
As he listened to Hank give thanks for their meal and the birthdays they were celebrating, Tyler added his own silent prayer of thanks for the people God had brought into his life. People might look at his disability and feel sorry for him, but he knew that he was actually extremely blessed to have lost his legs because he was fairly certain that he’d never have met the people he had in his life now. Melanie. Ryan. Simon. They were all there as a result of what had happened to him. He couldn’t find it in himself to wish away the one bad thing that had brought him so many good things.
Once they’d said grace for the food, his mom turned the conversation in another direction. “So, do you have family nearby, Ryan?”
Ryan took a drink of his water. “Depends on what you class as nearby. Most of my family lives in Winnipeg, which is about a seven or eight-hour drive north of here.”
“Canada?” his mom asked.
“Yep.”
“Do you have siblings?”
“I do. I kind of have a Brady Bunch thing going on with my family. I have one brother, two sisters, four stepbrothers, and two half-siblings, the Irish twins.”
“The Irish twins?” Tyler was a little surprised at the sibling revelation. He’d known Ryan had a large family, but he hadn’t known the exact makeup of it. “Is that because you all are Irish?”
“No.” Ryan grinned. “Dalton was born just nine months after Danica. Siblings born within twelve months of each other are often called Irish twins. Dalton was two months premature.”
“So there are…ten of you kids?” his mom asked.
Ryan nodded. “It was a good thing my step-dad was into construction. He had to build us a pretty big house when he and my mom got married.”
“I bet there’s a story there,” his mom said, a dreamy look on her face.
Ryan laughed. “There is, and it was kind of fun being around to see it happen even though I was fairly young at the time.”
“What brought you to BlackThorpe?” This time, Melanie joined into the conversation.
Tyler wondered if Ryan would answer the question since he was fairly quiet about his background. Ryan’s gaze settled on Melanie, and Tyler felt a pinch of jealousy. If Melanie was interested in a relationship, Ryan would obviously be the better choice. And although he knew his friend wouldn’t cross that line since he seemed to think Tyler had feelings for her, that didn’t mean she wasn’t interested in Ryan.
“My dad was in the US military.” He twirled the straw in his glass. “He was an American, which is why I can work here. He was killed in action. After his death, my mom moved us back to Winnipeg, where she’s from, but from very young I always hoped to be able to follow in his footsteps. Much to my mother’s dismay, I enlisted and was sent to the Middle East. While I was there, I ran into Alex who was in the country on BlackThorpe business and when I decided that one tour was enough—particularly because of my mother—he offered me a position with Bl
ackThorpe. So, here I am.”
It was pretty much the same as what Ryan had told him when they’d first met. He still wasn’t sure how his father had died, and Tyler was fairly certain there was more to the story of why he’d only done one tour. However, he wasn’t going to pry too deeply if the guy wasn’t interested in sharing.
“And he’s the best neighbor I could ever ask for,” Tyler said as he grinned at Ryan. “He brings me pizza and plays video games with me.”
“Since you make me work out and eat halfway decent the rest of the time, I’m still trying to decide if you’re the best neighbor I could ever ask for.” Laughter floated around the table at Ryan’s remark and accompanying pained expression.
Melanie shifted on her chair beside him and Tyler looked over at her. “Well, you should try living with your older siblings. Thrill a minute.”
“You live with Adrianne and Alex?” Ryan asked as he tore a piece off the breadstick he’d taken.
“Sort of. We each have our own set of rooms, but then there’s a large common area with a big kitchen, dining room, and a great room. Sometimes having our own rooms isn’t enough when you need space. We had to lay down some ground rules not long after we moved in together.”
“Ground rules?” Tyler asked. He’d known she lived with her siblings, but he’d never been to their home.
“Yep. We’re not allowed to ask where anyone is going, for one thing. That was a biggie. I felt like I was living with my parents every time I went out, and Alex or Adrianne would be asking me where I was going and when I would be home.”
Tyler tried to ignore the twist to his gut when Ryan and Melanie began to share stories about the joys of having siblings. It was one thing he had no experience with, and it had never bothered him until that moment when he wished he could have that in common with his friends too.
A Matter of Trust: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 3) Page 7