Authors: Michelle Major
Kendall kept her features as placid as his mother’s. Damn, she was good. “No, thank you. I’m fine.” She lifted the bottle of wine she carried. “I brought this for you.”
His mother’s fingers curled around the bottle’s long neck. She studied the label for a moment and smiled her approval. “Thank you. What a lovely gesture. Tyler, your father is still in his office. I’ll bring him in to meet Kendall.”
“Hey, Clare-bear,” Ty said as his sister ambled forward. He pulled her into a quick hug before she could resist. “Save some for the rest of us.”
“There’s plenty to go around.” Clare extricated herself from his embrace and turned to Kendall. Her assessing gaze scanned her from head to toe. Ty held his breath, but his sister only said, “You’re taller in person than you seem on TV.”
Kendall smiled cautiously. “That’s a beautiful necklace.”
Clare fingered the colorful beads that sparkled against the fabric of her black tunic dress. “Thanks. I designed it.”
“Really?” Kendall asked, stepping closer to his sister to examine the necklace. “Do you sell your pieces? Those colors would look great on camera.”
As Clare smiled with genuine warmth, Ty wanted to hug Kendall. Not many people could cut through his sister’s tough shell so quickly. “I do. As a matter of fact—”
“Clare has a master’s degree in marketing,” his mother interrupted from the doorway. “She works for our family business. The jewelry is a hobby.”
Clare’s face clouded. “No, Mother, it’s not. And she asked . . .”
Libby’s tone was sweet as honey when she answered, “Kendall is a guest in our home, Clare. She was being polite.” She disappeared into the hallway.
Kendall’s gaze shifted to Clare. “It’s really lovely.”
Ty reached out to touch his sister’s arm. “I’m sorry.”
She rounded on him, her voice rough with emotion. “Get real. I’m just the appetizer. They’ll serve you up as the main course and in front of your fancy girlfriend, too. You’ve always been a glutton for punishment, Ty. He ruined you and now you’re back to play nice. You should have stayed away when you had the chance.”
Kendall stepped forward. “Ruined him?”
“It’s nothing,” Ty said. “Would you like a tour—”
“Wait.” Clare poked him hard in the chest. “You haven’t told her? You brought her to dinner and she doesn’t know about you and Dad?”
He wasn’t sure whether to smile or shake his head when Kendall stepped between the two of them like she was protecting him from his crazy sister. But Clare was right, he was the crazy one for allowing his parents access to Kendall.
His sister’s hand dropped as Kendall spoke. “Ty wanted me to meet your father because his company is mentioned in a story we’re working on about rebuilding the Silver Creek community.”
“Don’t start this shit again,” Charlie said from the couch, his knuckles white as he squeezed the highball glass.
“I’m not starting anything,” Ty muttered. “I promise.”
“But you’re working on a story that involves one of GoldStar’s development deals?” Clare’s voice was incredulous.
“No.”
Kendall frowned.
“I mean yes.” He scrubbed a hand along his jaw. “But my only part in the story is as an expert on the restoration efforts.”
“An expert landscaper?” Clare asked with a snort.
“There’s more to Ty than that,” Kendall said, crossing her arms over her chest.
There she went defending him again, even if she didn’t understand the reasons why Clare was going after him so hard.
With a disapproving look at Ty, Clare whispered, “You don’t know the half of it,” then stalked toward the wet bar built into the family room’s far wall.
His mother walked back in the room, her fingers tucked into the crook of his father’s arm. His parents only touched each other when there were guests in the house.
Ty wished he could follow his sister to the bar. Instead he stood with Kendall as his mother introduced her to his dad.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kendall,” his father said, pumping her hand like he was a candidate running for office.
Kendall smiled. “You have a beautiful home, Mr. Bishop.”
“Call me Eric. This place holds a lot of memories.”
Ty heard Clare snicker. Memories of slamming doors and strained silences, he thought. The only room in the house he’d liked as a kid had been the kitchen with Jenny and her mother. There had always been the smell of something freshly baked and laughter and music playing. It was a sharp contrast to the rest of the unnaturally sterile house.
Kendall gestured to the row of windows. “The grounds are beautiful, as well. Did Ty design the landscaping?”
Charlie coughed wildly. Libby stiffened.
Kendall flashed a questioning glance toward Ty.
“My parents have used the same gardener for years,” he explained. “Not me.”
She turned to his mother. “Have you driven down to Denver recently? The work Ty did on the Governor’s mansion is amazing.”
The grim line of his mother’s mouth could barely be described as a smile. “I’m afraid I haven’t been to Denver recently. Eric, would you escort Kendall in to dinner?”
“I’d love to.” His father set his glass on the mantel. “You must work with Bob Cunningham, Kendall.” He placed a hand at her elbow and guided her from the room. “He and I golfed in a tournament last week.”
She threw another look at Ty over her shoulder. He smiled reassuringly.
His mother patted his arm and said, “She seems like a lovely young women, Tyler. It’s about time.” Then she turned and followed her husband.
“Jesus.” Ty sighed as he crossed the room to the bar. “She’s in rare form.”
Clare handed him a beer out of the refrigerator tucked under the granite counter. “I think it’s menopause. I’m glad you’re here so she has a new target. My back is bloody enough.”
Charlie lifted his glass in Ty’s direction. “Brave man, bringing home a girl to meet Mom and Dad.”
“I’m an idiot,” Ty mumbled.
“But you’ve got some bowling-ball-sized cojones.” His brother nodded toward the dining room. “Are you going to leave her alone with them?”
Ty took a long swig of beer. “Better not. Let’s go, you two. The more the merrier.”
It was a shame that he only felt close to his brother and sister when they were trading digs about their parents. He knew they were still angry with him for defying their father, even after six years. He’d paid dearly for his independence from the family, and he wished Charlie and Clare could recognize that. All they saw was that he’d escaped Eric Bishop’s oppressive control. They couldn’t forgive him for it.
The dining room looked the same as it had since he was a boy. The walls were papered with an elegant stripe pattern of green and gold that shone in the light filtering from the picture window. The antique mahogany table was set with his mother’s Spode china and Waterford crystal. Fresh flowers sat on the buffet, flanked by ivory candles perched in long silver candleholders.
Eric Bishop sat at the head of the table, with Libby and Kendall on either side of him. Ty took the seat next to Kendall. As he sat, his mother looked at him and raised her eyebrows. Without thinking, he held out his hands for inspection. “What? They’re clean.”
Libby rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you mention that Kendall was from Kansas City?” his mother asked.
He glanced at Kendall, who gave him a nervous smile. Kendall had responded to his questions about her family with vague, noncommittal answers. He hadn’t pressed for details. His mistake. “My aunt lives in Kansas City,” he said to Kendall, ignoring his mother’s question.
“Yes, your mom told me.”
Although her tone was composed, Ty could see Kendall’s fingers working against the linen napkin in her lap. He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. When she met his gaze, the stark vulnerability in her eyes sliced across his middle. He didn’t know what had her so rattled. He didn’t particularly give a damn. At that moment, all he wanted was to get her out of his parents’ house.
His mother’s regal tone interrupted his thoughts. “Kendall attended the same academy as your cousins.”
“That’s nice,” he answered, his gaze still focused on Kendall.
“Are you sure you didn’t know them?” Libby asked Kendall. “The Truman family. They lived in the Carriage Hill neighborhood, just around the corner from the school. Two boys, one girl.”
Ty watched the vulnerability vanish from Kendall’s expression as her on-air mask slipped into place. She turned to his mother with a smile. “I’m familiar with the name. But I think the youngest boy was still a few years older than me.”
His mother nodded her agreement. “That would be true. What did you say your father did, dear?”
Ty’s hand still held Kendall’s. He felt her fingers tense, though her smile remained in place. “He’s involved in the automobile industry.”
His mother opened her mouth to reply, but Clare interrupted, “Are you going to grill her all night, Mother, or can we eat?”
Libby’s lips thinned. “I’m not grilling anyone, Clare. I’m getting to know Tyler’s new friend.”
Eric patted his wife’s hand. “She’s got a point, sweetheart. We’d better start on this feast before it gets cold.”
Libby slipped her hand from under Eric’s and fingered the pearls around her neck. “Of course,” she agreed, her voice stiff. “Why don’t you begin?”
“I’ll do that.” Ty’s father ignored the fact that Libby was royally pissed at having her interrogation of Kendall cut short. “Ty, would you pour the wine?”
He filled the crystal goblets but ignored his own glass. The last thing he needed was to catch a buzz when facing his parents. Dinner with his family was usually difficult, but today was particularly strange, and he couldn’t figure out what had Kendall so wound up.
She seemed to relax as the dinner progressed. Eric led the conversation to a variety of safe subjects from the weather to local sports teams. Kendall gamely answered questions about her work, the people she’d met, and stories she’d covered in the course of her career.
Toward the end of the meal, Ty’s mother leaned across the table and asked, “Tell us, Kendall, how did you and Tyler meet?”
Kendall smiled sheepishly. “The truth is, I rear-ended one of his landscaping trucks with my Jeep. It was a minor accident. Thankfully, no one was hurt.”
“That’s awesome.” Charlie howled with laughter and too much booze. “Did he threaten to fake whiplash if you didn’t go out with him?”
“Real funny, Charlie,” Ty said. “Only a guy as desperate as you would pull a stunt like that.”
“We got to know each other better when Ty started working on a story with me,” Kendall continued.
Shit. Ty pushed back from the table. “Uh, Ken, it’s getting late. We should get going.”
Clare and Charlie concentrated on their plates.
“What kind of story?” Libby asked. “Tyler, you didn’t tell me you were going to be on the news.”
“I’m not.” At Kendall’s puzzled look, Ty amended, “It’s not a big deal, just a small piece on landscaping during drought conditions.”
Kendall’s features scrunched in confusion.
His mother sighed. “When are you going to quit mucking around in the dirt and do something worthwhile with your degree?”
Kendall leaned forward. “Actually, Libby, Ty is helping me—”
Ty yanked Kendall’s chair out from the table, ignoring her yelp of protest. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to stand beside him. “I tried doing something worthwhile six years ago, Mother. You remember the results.”
“Let it go, son,” Eric said in his father-knows-best tone. “It’s water under the bridge at this point.”
Ty barked out a laugh. “Easy for you to say, Dad. I doubt you’d be so likely to forgive and forget if the tables were turned.”
“Tyler, we just want what’s best for you,” Libby protested.
“No, you don’t. You want what’s best for the family and GoldStar. We all know you’ll do anything to get it. Thanks for dinner, Mother. As usual, it’s been quite an experience.”
Before she had a chance to argue, Ty dragged Kendall from the dining room and through his parents’ house.
She pulled to a stop halfway down the hall. “I didn’t get a chance to thank your parents.”
“Send them a note.”
“Ty, what is going on with you?”
He started moving again, taking her with him. “I’ve got to get out of this house, that’s what’s going on. I’ve had about as much family bonding as I can take.”
He threw open the front door and stepped onto the porch. Taking a breath of the clean mountain air, he turned to Kendall. “I’m sorry about today. I shouldn’t have brought you here without telling you how things are with my parents.”
“Will you explain it to me?”
“Are you asking as a reporter or my friend?” He looked past her to the perfectly manicured lawn of his childhood home. Damn, he’d gotten himself into a fine mess today.
“As your friend, Ty. I’d like to understand what happened in there.” She looked like she wanted to press him for more details but squeezed his hand instead. “Are you ok?”
“I will be when we’re away from here. Give me some time to settle down, then I’ll tell you about my family.”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
“And you can tell me about yours,” he added.
Her mouth thinned, but she nodded.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
He was thankful she didn’t start asking questions again because he wasn’t sure he’d know how to answer. To explain how with one word, one pointed look, his parents could send him over the edge. How the taste of disapproval lingered in his mouth long after he left their house.
They drove in silence for the ride back to Denver. When they reached the city limits, he glanced over at her. Kendall sat staring out the passenger-side window with her head resting against the seat back. The light from the setting sun glowed against her porcelain skin. He wished this were simpler.
“Do you have a patio? I need some fresh air after that.”
She rolled her head along the headrest until she faced him. “A couple of folding chairs on the deck out back.”
“My house then. Is that ok with you?”
“Yes.”
He shifted lanes and took the exit ramp for his part of town. “What are you thinking about?”
She smiled wistfully. “Family.”
“Mine or yours?”
“Both.”
“I know I owe you an explanation for today.” Ty turned down the alley that ran behind the houses on his block. He pushed a button on his visor and a garage door cranked open next to a tall wooden privacy fence. The truck slid into one side of a two-stall garage.
“Let’s have a drink first. You look like you could use one. Then we can talk.”
She opened the door and hopped out before Ty could read her expression. But her tone sounded grave.
He had a sinking feeling that his relationship with Kendall was ending before it had even gotten started.
He got out of the truck and climbed the two steps to the door that led to his backyard, absently hitting the wall switch to close the garage door. The soft light of dusk flooded the doorway as Kendall stepped behind him into the yard.
She gasped and he whirled to face her. “What’s wrong?”
She continued to stare past him into his backyard. He followed her gaze and couldn’t hide his smile. “The yard, right? It’s kind of unexpected when you first see it.”
She shifted her gaze to him, her lips shaped in a small
O
. Damn, her mouth was sweet. She looked back and forth between him and the yard and then said quietly, “I’ve never seen anything like it. How long did it take?”
He dug his hands into the pockets of his pants and rocked back on his heels, considering her question. “Hard to say. I worked on it pretty regularly for a couple of years. Business was slow and I had a lot of time on my hands. I thought it’d be a good idea to have a kind of demonstration garden to show potential customers what I could do.”
“I imagine your clients were impressed.”
“It worked pretty well.”
He’d bought the house right after the fiasco with his father. He’d been young, angry, and full of righteous indignation, determined to prove to his family that he could make it on his own. He’d poured all of his energy and frustration into building Rocky Mountain Landscapes into a viable business and making his own backyard his creative showpiece. In the process, it had become a private sanctuary.
“Do you mind if I look around?” Kendall asked, stepping forward on the stone path. She turned to face him, waiting for his reply.
Ty wondered if she could sense how personal the space was to him. Once the business had taken off and he had referable clients, he stopped showing these gardens to customers. In the past three years, only his close friends had been invited to this small refuge from the outside world. “Sure. I’ll get the drinks. What would you like?”
She smiled. “White wine, please. I also need to make a quick phone call.”
“Go ahead. I’ll be right back.”
She watched Ty stride down the path that led to the back of the house, his wide shoulders straight under the expensive fabric of his sweater.
She had a new appreciation for the work Ty did, for the beauty he created in the world. She imagined coming home to this type of sanctuary every night. A heavy warmth settled in her stomach that felt remarkably like contentment.
Whoa, there.
She was talking about trees and grass. Nothing irreplaceable. They had grass in New York City. It was called Central Park.
She reached into her purse for her cell phone. She punched in the numbers and, after three rings, her mother answered.
“It’s me.”
“What an unexpected treat to hear from you, baby. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. I just called to say Happy Easter.”
“To you, too, sweetie. Your dad and I just finished supper. He made most of it.”
“Are you feeling ok?”
“I haven’t had a flare-up in a few weeks, but I was tired today. Don’t you worry. Your daddy’s been taking real good care of me.”
“That’s nice, Mom,” Kendall interrupted. “Listen, I don’t have a lot of time right now but I wanted to thank you—”
“Thank me? Thank me for what? Your birthday isn’t for another couple of months.”
She thought about the overt tension at dinner with the Bishops. They were the family she’d thought she wanted, perfect from the outside. But things weren’t always as they appeared on the surface. She never considered herself lucky, but despite their struggles, her parents loved each other and her. That was something money couldn’t buy.
“I wanted to thank you and Daddy for the way you always supported me growing up. When he had his drinking problems and was away at rehab, you always did your best. Even through your pain. He did, too, when he got sober. I wasn’t easy to live with once I started at Graves, and I know we weren’t as close as you would have liked. You were always there for me. Even when I acted like a total brat, you and Dad made so many sacrifices to make my dreams come true.” Emotion clotted in the back of her throat. “Anyway, I should have said it before this, but I want you to know how much I love and appreciate everything the two of you did for me.”
Swiping at her eyes, Kendall listened to silence at the other end of the line. Something that sounded like a hiccup filled the space. “Mom, are you there?”
“Yes, sweetie, I’m here.” Her mother’s voice was soft and thick with tears. “Well, it’s a good thing we didn’t go anywhere for Easter. You’ve got me crying like a baby. My makeup’s running down to my knees.”
She heard the muffled honking of her mother blowing her nose away from the phone. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t you be sorry, Kendall Lee,” her mother said forcefully. “Don’t you be sorry. Your daddy and I couldn’t be more proud of what you made of yourself. It wasn’t easy for you, rubbin’ elbows with all those fancy families. I wish we could have done more to help you, but you did right well on your own. I guess you showed all those ritzy-titzies what it takes to be a success.”
“You did so much for me, Mom, so much.”
“That’s what mothers are for, baby doll.”
Libby Bishop’s disapproving scowl flashed across Kendall’s mind. “Mom, I may be switching jobs this summer. I know I haven’t been back home for a while. I could try to take a week to visit before I move.”
“That would be wonderful.” She could hear her mother’s smile across the phone line.
“It’s a plan. I’ve got to go now. I’ll call again in a few days. I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. You take care and don’t work too hard.”
“Bye, Mom.”
She hit the button to end the call and slipped the cell phone back into her purse. If she got the job in New York City, the network would want her to start right away. Too bad. Come hell or high water, she was going to spend a week in the hometown she hadn’t seen for more than three years.
She walked slowly down the path that led to the small outdoor waterfall. She could picture Ty, his face glistening with sweat, hauling each stone and setting it carefully into place as he built the wall around the small pond. Kendall’s idea of a good workout was a three-mile jog around her neighborhood or a spin class at the gym. Her back ached just thinking about the effort it would have taken to lay the rock, move the dirt, and plant all the trees, bushes, and flowers in Ty’s yard.
It was more than the physical strength the job required. The design of the yard was a work of art itself. It was early spring, but tulips and daffodils were already sprouting through the earth in cheerful groupings. She guessed that as the season progressed, the bulbs would be replaced by wildflowers and other summer blooms.
Behind the garden, the fireplace rose from the side of the porch at the back of the house. The memory of her night there with Ty had warmth pooling in her belly.
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. The air smelled clean but different than it had when they’d been hiking through the burn area. There was none of the spiciness she associated with the mountains. A sweet freshness permeated the air around her. When she’d first stepped through the garage door, she’d felt like Dorothy emerging from her black and white world into the brilliant color of Oz.
A branch snapped to her left, and she saw a bushy-tailed squirrel scurry up the limb of a tree. She watched it climb until it jumped out of sight. A flash of color on the other side of the tree trunk caught her eye. She walked forward around a bend in the path and smiled. Two short Adirondack chairs, painted cherry red, sat in a small clearing of grass. Several iron torches flanked the walkway next to the opening.
“I thought we could sit out here.” Ty’s voice came from the path behind her.
He’d changed from his dressy clothes to a faded gray college T-shirt and jeans so worn a sliver of his thigh peeked through a frayed tear above his knee. His approach had been silent thanks to the soft-soled sandals he wore.
At the sight of him, the warmth in her stomach grew hotter and traveled lower in her body.
Easy there
, her inner voice warned. She swallowed to relieve the sudden dryness in her throat. “Ok,” she said, mortified when the word came out a croak.
Ty didn’t seem to notice. He walked forward, a glass of white wine in one hand and some brownish liquid—probably Scotch—in the other. “Since you’re such a fan of flannel, I thought you could use this,” he said, lifting one arm slightly. Kendall noticed a green and blue plaid shirt hanging across his forearm.
She reached for the shirt, careful not to touch him directly. She felt so charged even the lightest contact with him could set her on fire.
Although she’d slipped into her cardigan sweater on the way home, the early evening air was chilly enough to warrant multiple layers. Ty stared at her as she rolled up the sleeves that dangled over her hands. “What?” she asked.
“I knew you’d look good in those colors. Your eyes are as vivid green as the grass after a good, soaking rain.”
She scrunched up her nose. “I try to stay inside when it rains. Was that a compliment?”
“Yes, indeed, Princess, that was a compliment. But I should warn you, the shirt you’re wearing is my favorite. Don’t get too attached.”
Lifting the wine glass from his hand, she rolled her eyes. “No worries there, buddy.” She wasn’t about to admit how much she liked the soft, cozy feel of the well-worn fabric. Liked having something that belonged to him—that smelled of him—wrapped around her.
Nope, she’d keep that revelation to herself.
She took a seat on one of the wooden chairs and watched as Ty lit the candles inside the glass holders that hung next to the path. When the luminarias were lit, he folded himself into the seat next to her, stretching his long legs in front of him.
For several minutes, they sat in silence, water splashing into the small pond the only sound Kendall could hear. The waterfall’s gurgle blocked out any of the city’s noise, so she felt enfolded in a private paradise. If someone would have told her a month ago that she’d consider sitting on a wooden chair in a backyard paradise, Kendall would have laughed. But now she couldn’t imagine wanting to be anywhere else.
Uh, oh. Bad sign.
Despite the cool evening air, beads of sweat broke out against the back of her neck. Her heart beat faster. One of the tricks she used to stay focused on the future was not to get overly attached to the present. This feeling of contentment might be fine for the moment, but it was not good for her long-term peace of mind. She had to get out of here, back to the well-ordered and empty existence that made it easy to think about leaving.
“Don’t go.” Ty’s voice sliced gently into the silence.
She turned to stare at him. She hadn’t spoken aloud, she was sure. Was she that transparent? “What are you talking about?” she said with a forced laugh. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He straightened in his seat, taking a slow sip from his glass. “You look like you’re about to bolt, and I don’t blame you. You’ve had long enough to think about the fiasco at my parents’ house. I’m sure you want to be as far away from me as possible right now.”
That was true. Just not for the reasons Ty suspected.
She laughed softly. “Actually, I should thank you. Being with your family opened my eyes to some good things I hadn’t recognized about my own.”
Abruptly he stood, pacing back and forth along the edge of the grass. “Can you believe I wanted you to meet them? I’m so freaking stupid.”
In the space of a few minutes, dusky twilight had filled the backyard. The flickering glow from the luminarias shone against the glass of liquor he held in front of him, but his face remained hidden in shadows. “I know you don’t think we’re right for each other.”
“Our plans and goals are so different.”
“Plans change, Kendall.”
“Not mine,” she whispered.
He stopped pacing and stood directly in front of her. The lines of his face were hard in the murky light. “If it smells like crap and looks like crap, you can call it whatever you want. It’s still going to be a load of crap.” He began moving again. “The thing that pisses me off is that I bought into it. I took you up there to prove that I was worthy. Although it may not look like it, I have the background to run in the fancy circles that mean something to you.”
“They don’t . . . that isn’t it. Ty, I need to tell you something.”
He held a hand up. “What you should understand is that I chose to leave that life behind. I don’t regret that decision. Almost every time I talk to my mother or my dad, they pressure me to ‘return to the fold,’ as they see it. Hell, I’m pretty sure there’s an empty office at GoldStar just waiting for me. But I’m not going back. Not for them. Not for you.”