Picket Fence Pursuit (17 page)

“He’s rich, Amanda.” Kylie pushed the tray away from her. “I don’t know how rich, but enough that the man doesn’t even have to work.”

“Okay.” Amanda furrowed her eyebrows. “So Ryan is rich. He didn’t come right out and tell you, but now he wants to marry you. I’m not following the problem here.”

“Some girl he used to love wanted him for his money or something like that, so he didn’t tell me because he didn’t want me to want him for his money; he wanted me to want him for himself.” She flailed her arms and shook her head. “Oh, he just didn’t trust me to tell me, okay?”

“Kylie.”

“He knew how much I wanted to help take care of Mama and Daddy. He knew I was trying so hard to get a good job. He knew how afraid I was of ending up married to a coal. . . miner.” Kylie lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry, Amanda.”

“Kylie.” Amanda placed her hand on Kylie’s arm. “I love my coal-mining husband. So, so much. And he loves me. And he loves the Lord. I wouldn’t trade my life for all the financial stability in the world.” Amanda let go of Kylie’s arm, then folded her hands on the table. “I’m sorry for you, Kylie.”

Kylie frowned at her sister.

Amanda closed her eyes. “God’s given you a wonderful man with the financial stability you’ve always dreamed about.” Amanda opened her eyes and let out a deep breath. “And you still don’t see it.”

❧

Ryan grabbed a bag of potato chips from the pantry then opened the refrigerator and took out a can of pop. After snatching the remote control from the coffee table, he fell into the oversize recliner. Restless, he flipped through stations. Nothing interested him. He stopped on a station showing a commercial and dropped the remote on the end table.

“Still sulking?” Gramps’s voice sounded from the couch where he lay facing the cushions, arms around a pillow.

“I thought you were taking a nap.”

Gramps turned around and pushed the pillow behind his head. “I reckon a man can’t sleep with the racket you’re making.”

“Sorry.” Ryan shoved a potato chip in his mouth, then washed it down with a swig of pop. The commercial ended.

“It’s a Wonderful Life is on.” Gramps sat up. “I love this movie.”

Ryan groaned. Great. It’s a Wonderful Life. Oh, yes. Mine is absolutely terrific. He crunched another chip. Like I haven’t seen this a million times anyway.

“You’re becoming unbearable to live with.” Gramps reached over and grabbed a handful of chips from the bag.

“I’m not even saying anything.”

“It’s what you’re not saying.”

“What?”

“You asked Kylie to marry you a week ago. Now you’re not saying much of anything.” Gramps looked at him. “Tell me what happened.”

Ryan shrugged and watched the screen as Jimmy Stewart threatened to throw himself off the bridge. At this moment, Ryan understood Jimmy’s need, his feelings of complete failure. “She said no.”

“Just like that.” Gramps folded his arms in front of his chest. “No.”

“Just like that.”

“Did she say why?”

“She didn’t want me when I didn’t have money. Now she doesn’t want me because I do. Now, in my thinking, that means she flat out just doesn’t want me.” Ryan leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling. “I thought she was about to tell me she loved me, but—what does it matter now?”

“You’re probably right.” Gramps stretched his arms over his head. “Think I’m going to head over to St. Nick’s for a cup of coffee. You wanna come?” He swatted the air. “Nah. You oughta stay here and watch some television.” He stood and patted Ryan’s shoulder. “You haven’t done much of that lately.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“I’d never do that.” Gramps grabbed his coat off the rack and slid into it. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

Ryan watched as Gramps stepped out and shut the door. He offered no “I hate that for you, son.” No “I’m so sorry.” Ryan frowned as he looked back at the screen. Jimmy Stewart raked his hand through his hair in grievous frustration. Without the money, his place would close and so would his life. Money. It’s always about money, and I’m sick of it.

❧

“Just a minute!” Kylie called through the apartment when the doorbell rang. She grabbed an oven mitt then pulled the Christmas cookies from the oven. “I’m coming.” After taking the mitt off her hand, she brushed a few wayward wisps of hair behind her ear.

She peeked through the peephole. “Gramps?” After opening the door, Kylie motioned for him to come inside. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you?”

“Good.”

She pointed toward the couch, then sat in a chair. Wringing her hands, her heart sped in nervous anticipation. She had no idea what Ryan had said and if Gramps was mad or hurt or what. “Have a seat. How’s—how’s Ryan?”

“Miserable.” Gramps didn’t move. Instead, he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Kylie looked at her hands. She picked at a chip in one of her fingernails as a mixture of relief and sadness filled her spirit. “Oh.”

“Is that all you have to say? ‘Oh’?”

She gazed up at the older man. He’d cared about her from the moment she met him. He was the perfect gramps, a little rough around the edges, a bit of a spitfire, too, but with a heart filled with love, generosity, and loyalty. Her grandparents died when she was young, and she’d enjoyed Ryan’s grandfather as if he were her own. “I don’t know what else to say.”

“All right. Let’s figure this out, because I’m thinkin’ your feelings for Ryan run deeper than you want to admit.”

“Well. . .”

He scratched his gray-stubbled jaw with his fingers and paced the floor. “When you met Ryan, you thought he was a bit of a yahoo—”

Kylie’s mouth dropped open. “How would you know—?”

He raised his hand to stop her. “Ryan mentioned it.”

Her cheeks blazed hot at the memory, at the thought of what he must have felt when he heard her talking. People never ceased to surprise her. As soon as she was sure she had someone pegged, she’d learn there was more to them than she realized. “I judged him wrong.”

Gramps clucked his tongue. “Which is why God tells us not to judge people.”

Kylie nodded, feeling the swell of emotion in her throat. “You’re right. God and I have talked a lot about that over the last few days.”

Gramps smiled as he paced away from her. “You thought Ryan was a poor guy, one who didn’t even work a full-time job. Can’t say I blame you for not wanting to jump into a relationship with him. He was a bit silly not to trust God with you from the very beginning.”

Kylie smiled. At least Gramps understood why she’d been blown away.

Gramps sat on the couch across from her. “But now you know the truth. You know he has the means to provide for you. You know he didn’t tell you because of what happened in his past. I believe you know he loves you with all his heart, and you love him. It’s nothing more than pride and arrogance that keeps you from him.”

“You’re right.”

“Huh?”

Kylie giggled. “You’re right. It’s been pride. I’ve had my mind on one goal for so long. The one I know God did give me. I just wasn’t prepared for how God planned to bless me with it. I thought He would give me a job in a prestigious company with a business-oriented husband all wrapped up in a neat package.” She stood, walked to the table, and picked up the handmade Christmas card she’d made for Ryan. “But God had a different plan. A better one. Ryan.”

Gramps leaned back in his seat. He tapped the arm of the couch as he bit his lip, then chuckled. “You were heading over to the house to talk to Ryan, weren’t you?”

Kylie nodded. “Just as soon as I got up the courage.”

“I’d be happy to go with you.”

“I think I’d appreciate that.”

Gramps stood and walked toward her. He wrapped his arms around her, and Kylie savored his hug of understanding and acceptance. “That boy’s been unbearable. I’d like to get you on over there just as quick as I can.”

Kylie laughed and squeezed him tight one more time. “Let’s go.”

“You can ride over there with me, then Ryan’ll have to bring you home.” A twinkle lit Gramps’s eye, and he winked at her.

Nervousness filled Kylie’s gut as she slipped her shoes on and grabbed her coat, and they headed toward the front door. Ryan may be miserable to live with, but that didn’t mean he was ready to welcome Kylie into his heart with open arms. She opened the front door and ran into a mass of man. “Ryan?”

❧

“Kylie.” Ryan lowered his hand from the doorbell. Deciding he couldn’t take it anymore, he’d turned off It’s a Wonderful Life and headed to her apartment to talk with her one more time. He looked past Kylie. “Gramps? What are you doing here?”

Gramps buttoned the top of his coat and moved past Kylie and out the door. “I reckon it’s time for me to go on home.”

“Gramps.” Ryan glared at his grandfather. “What were you doing?”

“Go on in there.” Gramps practically pushed him into Kylie. “Talk to the woman.” He hustled down the sidewalk. He mumbled, “Didn’t I say I was too old for all this? Young people these days. . .”

Ryan turned back toward Kylie. Her eyes sparkled, but he couldn’t decide if that was from happiness at seeing him or nervousness that he was there. “Can I come in?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah.” She stepped backward and tried to pull off her coat all in one motion, then tripped on the rug. Her arms flailed in an attempt to catch herself.

Ryan tried to grab her arm to stop her fall. Instead, he gripped the coat sleeve and her arm slipped through it. She landed with a thud on the floor. Ryan stepped forward to help her. “Oh, Ki, are you—”

His foot caught on the rug and he launched forward, landing on his hands and knees beside her. “Ouch.” He turned over and sat beside her, rubbing his knees. “You didn’t have to drag me down here. I’ve already fallen for you.”

“Ryan, are you okay?” She took his hands in hers and rubbed the red spots on his palms.

Ryan clasped both her hands in his. “I came over here to tell you I love you. I’m not letting you get away from me. I’m going to sit right here in your living room until we talk everything out and I’ve convinced you that we belong together.”

She lowered her gaze and slipped her hands from his. “Do you mind if we sit somewhere besides here?” She pointed to the open front door. “It’s kind of cold outside.”

He hopped to his feet, shut the door, then reached down and helped her up. He held her close and peered into her eyes for the briefest of moments. “I love you, Ki.”

Letting go of her hand, he walked farther into the apartment. “It’s like this. I was convinced you had feelings for Brad. I was afraid you were like Vanessa. Yes, my heart told me that wasn’t true, but I was so focused on the past that I wasn’t listening to God clearly.”

He walked toward her again. “I should have told you from the beginning. Of course, you were afraid I couldn’t provide for a family. I was—”

“Ryan.” She grabbed his hand in hers, caressing his palm with her thumb. Fire raced through him, blazing a trail of desire to convince her to be his wife. After all, God had brought them together.

“You have to understand—”

“Ryan.” She lifted up on tiptoes and brushed her lips against his. She lowered to her height and gazed into his eyes. “You gotta hush a minute.”

Ryan swallowed. The sweet softness of her lips took him by surprise. He was hushed. Stunned to utter silence better described it. “Kylie.” He leaned toward her to claim another kiss, one that he could enjoy without surprise.

She pushed a paper into his hand. “I was coming to your house to give you this.”

Ryan looked at the homemade card that had a photo of himself dressed as Santa in the Christmas parade. In it, he held a small candy cane in his hand, offering it to a child. Opening the card, he saw pictures cut from magazines. First of a chocolate ice-cream cone, then a clown suit. Next was a cutout of canned foods and cereal boxes, then a winter coat. She’d taken a picture of her Christmas pole and glued it on there as well. Around the edges of the card were crayon-drawn, stick-figure people holding hands.

Kylie cleared her throat. “I’m not overly crafty. Look at the back. That’s what I was getting at.”

The back contained no pictures, just Kylie’s handwriting. She expressed her journey over the last several months with him—how she’d found him to be the most generous, loving person she’d ever known. She shared how God had showed her to pursue Him, not specific goals. Ryan’s heart warmed as she wrote how she’d fallen in love with him, the man, before learning he could provide for her.

“I still love the man.” Kylie quoted the last sentence of her letter. Her face flushed and she lowered her gaze. “It’s kind of a silly thing, a full-grown woman making a man a homemade card, but I—”

Ryan closed the card, laid it on the table, then wrapped his arms around her. “It’s the best present I’ve ever received. Only one could be better.”

He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the ring box. After popping it open, he lowered to his knee and took her hand in his. “I love you. Marry me.”

Her eyes lit with merriment as she knelt beside him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips. “Absolutely,” she replied after she pulled away.

Ryan huffed as he placed the ring on her finger. “You’ve kissed me twice today. I have yet to kiss you.”

“You take too long.” She claimed his lips again.

“Never again.” He stood and helped her up. Wrapping his arms around her, he lifted her up and kissed her with the fullness of his love. He lowered her to her feet, then brushed her hair away from her face. He caressed her soft cheek with his thumb. “I’m holding on to you for the rest of my life.”