Crowned (Girls of Wonder Lane Book 2)

by Christina Coryell

  “We were trying to protect you.”

  “From what, exactly? Life?”

  “The wrong choices.”

  Pulling her eyes away from the photo, Harley turned to look at her mother. “The wrong choices, or the wrong people? Because I’ve got to tell you, everyone makes wrong choices. You’ve made your share.”

  “I know that, Harley. All have sinned and fallen short—”

  Cutting her mother off by rising from the couch, Harley walked to the small window near the front of the trailer, looking down at the little hand crank that could be turned to press it open. From the looks of it as it sat askance, it had long since stopped being functional.

  “You know what I never quite grasped, Mom? The thing that always gave me a hang-up as a kid? The whole sin thing. I sat in church with you week after week, year after year, and I knew about every type of sin imaginable. Don’t sin and you can be close to God, I heard. Keep yourself clean so you can be close to Jesus. You can’t go to church unless you’re trying to be perfect. But now I know the whole thing was absolutely backwards. I did everything according to the rules, and I never felt any closer to God.”

  Elaine furrowed her eyebrows at Harley, but she merely shook her head and continued. “My friend Annie has purple hair and a pierced eyebrow, and she takes me to church with her on Sundays where I sit by a biker who counsels people with addictions. There are no perfect people in that place—just a bunch of messed up people willing to give everything because of Jesus. They are willing to give everything because He says, ‘Come as you are.’”

  “But then Jesus changes their lives,” her mother protested.

  “Yes, Jesus changes their lives. Not the pastor at the church, or another Christian who thinks they have it together enough to judge them.” Letting out a sigh, Harley returned to the couch and lowered herself slowly. “I always thought God didn’t care about me…that somehow I didn’t quite measure up to His expectations, and that was why nothing ever worked in my favor. I poured over scripture after scripture trying to figure out which quality I was missing, did you know that?”

  “No,” Elaine whispered.

  Hesitating, Harley peered at the long line of Bibles against the wall. “What did you mean, that God made it easier to help Mayowa as I grew older?”

  “Oh,” her mother muttered, crossing her arms against her abdomen. “Well, you were just so good at everything, Harley. You were such a hard worker, and a fast learner…so smart and quick thinking. I always figured God knew what He was doing, giving me a daughter that could make her own way in the world, so I would have room to help when I was needed. And you loved being with your dad so much, it was easy to take off in the summers. You made everything easy.”

  Laughing to herself, Harley pinched the bridge of her nose to stop the tears from forming. “So the reason I had to work so hard was because I worked hard. That’s a bitter pill to swallow.”

  “You were a blessing.” The words were spoken quietly, but to Harley they sounded loud and clear, both uplifting and hurtful in one blow.

  Glancing at the photo where it rested beside her on the couch, Harley thought back to Dallas and wondered who she had helped with her donation. She had discussed the matter with Duke while they waited that day, and had come to the conclusion that it didn’t matter. Her priorities were right and she was doing her best, and the rest was out of her control.

  If she was willing to sacrifice for someone she didn’t know, shouldn’t she be able to manage some slight empathy for the woman who raised her? She didn’t understand her logic, and would likely never agree with the way she had gone about things, but to obsess about it now would only drive her crazy.

  Anyway, didn’t Duke say that she was crowned with love and compassion? She certainly wanted to believe that.

  Turning to her mother, Harley reached out and placed a hand on her arm, offering a sad smile. “Sometimes what others mean for evil, God can use for good.”

  “That’s from Genesis.”

  Squeezing her mother’s arm, she let out a sigh. “Yeah, from Genesis. I suppose if he can use what people mean for evil, he can use what they meant for good, right? And I think He will, in the end. Even if the execution may be a little shortsighted.”

  Pondering her words, Elaine gave her daughter a puzzled look. “I’m not sure what you mean, dear.”

  “Nothing,” she muttered, allowing a sigh to escape. “Merry Christmas, Mom. Maybe we should string some popcorn and cut out snowflakes, for old time’s sake.”

  Harley watched as her mother straightened, eyes widening. “But I only have my good stationery for writing letters. I can’t cut that up.”

  The protest struck Harley as so absurd, she immediately started giggling, even as her mother looked slightly horrified. “Heaven forbid, I wouldn’t want you to destroy your good stationery. Forget it. Is the peanut butter safe? Maybe we can make some cookies.”

  “Is the peanut butter safe,” Elaine chided, shaking her head as she rose. “What a question.”

  Yes, indeed, Harley thought, watching her mother step before her into the kitchen, making note that she hadn’t answered, which brought a fresh round of giggles. Perhaps her mother would have some misgivings about the waste of peanut butter as well.

  “You have our telephone number, right?” Elaine asked Harley as she stood at the foot of the wobbly stairs, a tan sweater wrapped around her shoulders.

  “It’s in my pocket,” Harley assured her, patting her hip for emphasis. She had nearly burst into laughter again when her mother pulled out her fancy paper and tore off the tiny corner for the phone number, but was able to control herself. Apparently giving her daughter her phone number made it higher on the importance scale than making Christmas snowflakes.

  “Land sakes, Ryan, you have a fancy car,” Elaine continued, peering at the BMW.

  Ryan smiled at Harley before answering. “Actually, that’s your daughter’s.”

  “Oh. I never did understand why people wanted flashy cars, but I’m sure it’s nice.”

  Glancing around for her father, Harley noticed him by the side of the trailer, motioning to her. Reluctantly turning in his direction, she peeked her head at her mom to make certain she wasn’t following.

  “Dad?” Harley whispered as she reached the end of the trailer. “Something the matter?”

  “Not that I reckon,” he answered, scratching his head as he examined the front yard for signs of movement. “When we were messing around with those motorcycles, I saw that your friend has a tattoo.”

  Laughing, Harley threw her hand over her mouth. After a moment, when she managed to calm herself, she pretended to be serious. “Yeah, he does. Lots of them—everywhere.”

  “Oh.” Phil stretched his neck and looked towards the front of the trailer once more before he allowed a crooked smile to grace his face. “Well, don’t worry. I won’t tell your mother.”

  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too wide at his remarks. “Thanks, but maybe you should tell her. I’d love to see her face.”

  “Maybe tomorrow,” he added with a chuckle. “She’s had too much excitement today already.”

  He managed to work in a wink before Harley wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a squeeze before they stepped back toward Ryan and Elaine.

  “Take good care of my girl, Ryan,” Phil said.

  “I intend to, sir.”

  “Come see us in Louisville,” Harley added as she reached the passenger side of her car. Her mother nodded, even though Harley knew she didn’t mean it. Her mother would go halfway across the world every summer, but Harley doubted she would ever grace the front door of her home. “Dad, maybe you can ride with Ryan sometime. Come see me, okay?”

  Her father gave enough of a grin that she felt he might be considering the idea, so she considered that a solid accomplishment. Pulling open the passenger door, she slid into the car and waved at her parents.

  The engine roared to life and Ryan turned
and placed his hand against the top of her seat, eyes focused on the back glass as he placed the car in reverse.

  “What were you whispering about with your dad?”

  Choosing not to answer, she allowed her eyes to drift to the facial hair below his lip, and then drug her eyes back to meet his as slowly as possible. In response, he smiled and shook his head, and as soon as they were out of sight, he placed the car in park in the middle of the driveway.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I told you not to torment me.” Twisting in the seat, he leaned across the center of the car, pressing his lips against hers before she had a chance to protest. For a split second she thought it might be funny to try to resist, but her body decided otherwise, relaxing against him as she wrapped her fingers around his forearm. As he tried to pull away, she rose from the seat and followed, as though she was magnetically drawn in that direction.

  “Okay,” he muttered, “don’t get carried away.”

  Pretending to pout, she leaned back in her seat and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. “‘Don’t torment me, but it’s okay for me to torment you.’ You’re so cruel.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry.” Shifting into reverse once more, he gave her a charming smile. “What were you whispering about with your dad?”

  “You and your alarming mass of body art. I tried really hard to convince him that you were a respectable young man, but the second we’re out of sight, you park the car and pounce on me.”

  “Wow. I thought your dad liked me.”

  “Of course he liked you,” she said, laughing. “He liked you enough that he wasn’t going to tell my mom about your tattoo. And besides, it doesn’t make any difference to me whether they like you or not. I’ve pretty much already made up my mind about you.”

  “And?” He glanced at her as he pulled onto the road, pressing on the accelerator.

  “And…I think you’re pretty amazing.”

  C hapter Twenty-Eight

  Stepping up to the heavy wooden door separating her from those she loved, Harley took a deep breath before knocking three times, gently pushing it open.

  “Anybody home?” she asked expectantly, peering around the corner. Kelsey was sitting alert in her bed, looking much better than she had a couple days before. Regina was next to her on a love seat, and Ryan was on the opposite side in a large armchair.

  “Harley!” Kelsey spoke up, a huge smile adorning her face.

  “This is absolutely not where I planned to spend my holiday,” Harley complained, stepping up to Kelsey and taking her hand. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world, though. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas,” Kelsey repeated. “They’re having turkey and stuffing in the cafeteria if you want some.”

  “You know what? I think I’m good. I’ll just wait until the next time, and your mom can fix me a good old-fashioned turkey dinner.”

  “Sounds like you’re planning on sticking around.” Ryan stepped up behind her, placing a hand on her waist.

  Turning, she lifted herself to her toes and planted a sweet, quick kiss to his lips. “I’m sure I could be persuaded easy enough.”

  “Man…that sounds like a dare. Did you all think that was a dare?” He lifted his palm to the side of her face, cradling her cheek in his hand as he stared into her eyes, the hint of a smile forming at the corner of his mouth.

  “I think you should quit flirting,” Kelsey interrupted. “It’s Christmas and we should be exchanging gifts. Where’s Dad?”

  “The doctor wanted to speak with him,” Regina stated. “He should be back any minute.”

  “Well, he won’t care if I give Harley her gift.” Reaching to her left, Kelsey picked up a rectangular package wrapped in red, holding it out to Harley. “Here, this is for you.”

  Harley took the package from Kelsey’s hands, unable to ignore the mischievous look crossing the teenager’s face. She was definitely not the kind who could keep secrets. Suppressing a laugh, Harley pulled back the paper to reveal a gray, worn out copy of Webster’s Dictionary.

  “She thinks I’m vocabulary-challenged,” Harley presumed, showing the book to Ryan. “That’s just plain mean.”

  “No, it’s helpful,” Kelsey insisted. “This is my old dictionary, and now you’ll be able to study all kinds of words for when we play Scrabble.”

  Heart full, Harley smiled at her blonde-haired friend. “I love it, really. And the fact that it’s yours makes it even more special.”

  “I autographed it for you.”

  “Okay, show-off.” Shaking her head, Harley settled on the bed next to Kelsey, casting a glance at Ryan. The blue of his shirt was drawing out the color of his eyes, which were focused on her so intensely that she had to force herself to look away.

  “Is it okay for me to give you your present?” Harley asked her, watching her face light up as she pulled the small, flat box from her purse.

  “It’s okay Mom, right?”

  Regina smiled as she nodded her head at her daughter. “I’m not going to stand between someone and a present.”

  Harley held it out and watched Kelsey delicately take it into her hands. “It’s from both of us—me and Ryan.”

  Giving her a quizzical look, Ryan leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows against his knees as Kelsey pulled at the ribbon adorning the white paper with the gold foil scrolling. Her eyes sparkled as she pulled out the small black box, hesitating only a second before plucking the top of the box from the bottom. Letting out a sharp gasp, she carefully inspected the gold chain and the letter tiles that hung from the necklace, spelling HOPE.

  “Oh, Harley, I love it so, so much. Thank you. Thank you, Ryan. It’s beautiful.”

  Harley took the necklace and shifted forward to help Kelsey fasten it around her neck, nearly unable to keep her eyes from her friend’s beaming face.

  Totally worth it.

  “Mom, isn’t it perfect?” Kelsey asked, sharing a toothy grin with her mother.

  “That is really something,” Regina said, nodding her head.

  Harley fought the instinct to become emotional by taking a deep breath and reminding herself to be calm.

  “Harley, can I talk to you for a second?” Ryan rose from his chair and stepped toward the door.

  She attempted to offer Kelsey a reassuring smile, but something in his tone told her he wasn’t pleased. Following him out the door, she halted when he stopped abruptly a few feet into the hallway. Turning to face her, his expression appeared to be one of confusion rather than disappointment, which was immediately a relief.

  “I know how much that cost,” he began, “and I know that I had nothing to do with that. How did you get that, babe? And don’t tell me it was from Annie’s rent money, because I saw you pay Jake for the work he did.”

  “Does it really matter?” Taking a step toward him, she placed her arms around his waist.

  “Yes, it matters.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, but didn’t move to pull her any closer.

  “Okay,” she breathed, glancing down. “I took some things to Annie’s store.”

  “What things?”

  “Gucci sandals,” she admitted, giving a shrug. “Jimmy Choo boots, Prada handbag, Burberry jacket—”

  She could have gone on naming the other couple items she had taken to The Revolving Closet, but she found herself unable to talk once Ryan’s lips were on hers, his hands moving to either side of her face, holding her captive while he kissed her tenderly. When he slowly pulled away, he rewarded her with a sincere smile.

  “Merry Christmas,” he whispered, reaching around to his back pocket. She released his waist and stepped back, accepting the CD case from his hand, where she saw HARLEY’S SONG written across its length.

  “You mean I finally get to hear the entire thing?” she asked, giving him a smile of her own before a worried look crossed her face. “You’re not the one singing, right?”

  “Very funny. No, it’s Matt.”


  “I can’t wait to hear it.” Pulling a folded paper from her pocket, she held it out to him shyly. “Merry Christmas.”

  He looked nearly as giddy as Kelsey had been while he unfolded it, and then he glanced up at her in surprise. “Is this what I think it is?”

  Nodding, she watched a woman stroll past, eyeing them curiously. “I now have a helmet, and it’s red and sparkly. I can’t very well have a man with a motorcycle and never get to ride it with him, can I?”

  “No, I guess not.” Reaching for her, he nearly crushed her in a hug, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe. “I told you I didn’t want anything for Christmas except you.”

  “And you got me,” she answered, wiggling slightly so he would loosen his grip. “Now I’m going to be plastered to your back everywhere you go, like a bad nightmare.”

  “More like a dream come true. Come on, Kelsey and Mom will think I’m mad at you, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth.” Tugging on her hand, he coaxed her toward the patient room, throwing an arm around her shoulders as they stepped through the door together.

  As soon as they entered the room, they were stopped by the appearance of Sam, looking as though he might have seen a ghost. Harley’s heart sank almost immediately, knowing that he had just been talking to the doctor.

  “I have news,” Sam stated stoically, placing a hand on the edge of the bed to steady himself. Harley instinctively drew herself closer to Ryan, who stood unmoving.

  “Sam?” Regina squeaked, the color draining from her cheeks as she rose and placed her hand on Kelsey’s arm.

  “I’ve just spoken to the doctor, and I’ve been cleared.” Releasing a quick laugh, he looked at his daughter as he fought tears. “I’ve been cleared with my health, and I can be a donor for Kelsey. He wanted me to know as soon as possible, since it’s Christmas.”

  Regina bent over her daughter and began to cry as Sam rushed over to hug the both of them, tears flowing freely. Ryan wrapped his arms around Harley, kissing her forehead while they both succumbed to tears together. She was spending Christmas Day crying in a hospital room, and for Harley, it was hands-down her favorite Christmas yet.