Chapter 14

Torie hopped out of the shower and finished getting dressed. She was meeting Rae for lunch and some shopping and was already running late. She and Keith had worked out that morning. After yesterday they both had some angst to work through. And with telling Keith everything, it was as if a hundred-pound pack was lifted off her back. It didn’t change the fact that her dad was still out there somewhere, but she didn’t have to face anything alone anymore.

She’d fallen asleep in Keith’s arms and woke up in them as well. The poor man. Sat there and held her for hours. He’d dozed off as well, his snoring what woke her. She had to stifle a laugh when he’d stood and walked funny because both his legs tingled from having fallen asleep. He didn’t complain though.

They’d talked a bit more. Nothing special. Just about horses and what she liked about her job. He’d cooked up some pasta for them for dinner then made sure she was tucked into the cabin, safe and sound, before he left for the evening. Exhausted from her day, amazing nap or not, she had hunkered down by a cozy fire Keith built for her in her room before he left, and read Aimee’s Bible some more until she fell asleep.

Keith was busy all day helping his mom get ready for the big, annual Scott Christmas party that was happening the next night, so Torie wouldn’t see him. She could tell he didn’t like that idea, his protective instincts detectable from space at this point, but he trusted she could take care of herself and was glad to hear she’d be with Rae most of the day. Keith had asked if he could let Tony in on some of his concerns, and she was fine with that. He wouldn’t betray her trust, merely let Tony know what was necessary.

A pang of guilt hit her. Part of the reason she’d never told anyone about her dad was she didn’t want anyone else affected by his madness. She’d avoided getting too close to people for a lot of reasons. Protecting them was one.

Her phone dinged on the bathroom counter while she finished applying a bit of makeup. A text from Keith that said You okay?

She smiled. Did the man have a sixth sense about her? She wouldn’t be surprised. They were connected in a way she couldn’t explain. Her thoughts always on him. His apparently on her as well.

Yes. Just want to be sure I don’t cause Tony and Rae any trouble.

Her instincts for so long had been to keep people out. Not tell them what she was thinking. With Keith, there was no hesitation. She wanted him to know everything. Even her worry over how her situation might affect his friends.

Don’t worry about them. I’ve given Tony need-to-know intel. You and Rae are safe.

Torie wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that, but trusted him, and for the first time in her life accepted the help being offered. Keith and Tony were Special Forces Marines. They were well aware of how to protect the ones they love.

Love. Keith hadn’t said the words to her, but his actions spoke volumes. He definitely cared for her, of that she had no doubt. Her phone dinged again.

Have fun today. Enjoy a nice lunch and shopping. Tahoe City is beautiful at Christmas. Wish I could join you. I’ve gotta help Mom with about 8,000 twinkle lights. Pray for me…

She tapped out her answer and hit send.

There’s no way I believe that you’d rather go shopping.

His answer made her laugh out loud.

My mom. 8,000 twinkle lights. Southern woman throwing a huge party. I rest my case… I would gladly shop AND hold your purse.

The time on her phone glared at her. Ah! She was way beyond late now. She tapped out a quick last text to him.

I’m running super late. Gotta go. I’d love to have you with me too. And for the record, I will NEVER make you hold my purse. Ever.

Torie brushed her hair and dabbed on some lip gloss. All good. One last text came in from Keith.

God bless you for that, sweet woman. I’ll check in with you later. Have a good time.

Torie grinned and tucked her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. She shook her head. Her dad was out there somewhere looking for her, she knew, and yet at the moment, she was happier than she’d ever been. Go figure.

Keith had her back. As much as she experienced that through the camaraderie of those she worked with on the police force, this was personal. No one had ever watched out for her. Not since Gram. And not like this.

She’d spoken to Frank earlier that morning on the phone. There was still no news but he liked hearing she was somewhere hidden, a place her dad probably wouldn’t link to her. She knew better than anyone her dad could find her, but she’d done everything within her power to not make it easy for him.

Confident she was good for now, she double-checked her gun in her purse, grabbed her keys, and headed out the door. She mainly did girl days with Aimee but it had been a while. And Rae was fun. Today would be a good day.

 

 

***

 

 

Keith swore under his breath. He was on his parents’ back porch, hunched over a ball of twinkle lights that were twisted in a knot. How in the name of all that was holy did his mother manage to get them this tangled? The woman was meticulous and crazy organized and yet every year she dumped the lights into one big box, stating “I’ll deal with those next year.” Funny thing was, she was never the one to “deal with them.” It was always Keith. Or his dad, who had mysteriously disappeared into the house right around the time the box of lights appeared.

Coward.

His texting conversation with Torie earlier floated through his mind. He was absolutely positive that shopping with her and holding her purse would be a thousand times better than this. Hell, he’d carry her around if it meant getting him out of this chore. Hmph. That idea sounded appealing.

“What are you grinning about over there, Son?” His mother’s voice snapped him back to his own personal twinkle light twisted nightmare. Had he been grinning? Oh yes. The thought of carrying Torie around, having her in his arms any way he could get her, had made him grin like an idiot. And he didn’t care.

That was new.

Come to think it, he was experiencing a lot of new things since Torie rolled into his life. For one thing, she was on his mind all the time. Seriously. All the time. He couldn’t look toward the barn now without thinking about their workouts. How she pushed herself. Pushed him. How he laughed for the first time ever while doing push-ups because she kept teasing him that Captain America had to work on keeping up his image.

“Push-ups make you awesome. Captain America is awesome. Keep working at it. You’ll get there,” she’d said. All while doing about a hundred reps herself right next to him. The woman was relentless. And man, if he didn’t love that about her.

That’s right. He’d said it. Love. That was another thing new since Torie worked her way into his heart. He was in love with someone again. No. Not again. He’d never loved like this before. Not even Mandy. His heart sank a bit to admit that. But he’d prayed about it so much, God knew every facet of that situation. How Keith had done everything in his power to make things work.

No. His feelings for Torie were different. Much different. He just hoped that once she heard all about his past, she wouldn’t change how she felt about him. He decided last night as he’d drifted off to sleep that he’d talk to her soon, but after Christmas. He wanted to enjoy the time with her, make sure her holiday was special. Not bog it down with his past.

He also wanted to focus on her sorry excuse for a father. He sure as hell wanted that idiot behind bars again, and out of Torie’s life, as soon as possible. He’d made a call that morning to a friend of his in the military to see if he could put out feelers on her dad, help find him in any way. Keith would use everything possible within his power to get this situation over and done with.

He didn’t notice his mother sitting on the chair beside him until she spoke. “Now your brain is traveling faster than a freight train. You wanna talk about it?” She patted the chair beside her.

He rose, walked to the chair, and sat down, accepting her invitation. Even though getting grilled by his mom wasn’t his idea of a fun afternoon, it was hands down better than dealing with those stupid lights for a bit.

Keith’s mother smiled at him. Her silver hair hung to her shoulders in waves. She usually wore it up in a band or clip of some kind, but today it was down. She didn’t wear much makeup. Ellie Scott was the stereotypical southern woman in many ways but in others, far from it. No big hair for her. Soft and natural described his mother. Always perfectly put together, yes, but you got what you saw. Much like Torie in many ways. Steel Magnolias they were.

“Things seem to be going well between you and Torie.”

And there it was.

Keith smiled in spite of himself. “Yeah. Things are going well.”

“You like her.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I like her.”

His mom nodded. “That’s good. I like her too.”

“Oh yeah?” Keith lifted a brow and looked at his mom.

“Don’t give me that look. I realize we haven’t known her long, but I’ve had a feeling about her ever since the day she showed up to help with Aimee’s situation.”

She had him there. Those were his feelings as well.

“Love looks good on you, Son.” His mother smiled. “I know, I know, you haven’t said you love her yet, but I can tell.”

Keith chuckled. Few people in the world truly got him. His mother was one of them.

“I had to learn to read you, ever since you were a baby. You were always so quiet, so thought-filled. Just because you weren’t talking didn’t mean you weren’t taking in everything. You missed nothing. It’s what makes you such a good soldier. You read people and situations better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

Keith took a deep breath and frowned. Looked out toward the horizon. It was a gorgeous day. Cool and crisp. Perfect.

“I see that frown. Don’t believe for a second what happened with Mandy was all your fault.”

Uncanny, how she read his mind. “I didn’t read that situation or person well at all though, did I?”

She shook her head. “That was different.”

“Different how?”

His mother took a deep breath in and let it out. “You were so young. Not that that’s an excuse. You could read people then too. But you were so set on how you wanted life to be, I think you tried to force something that just wasn’t going to settle in how you wanted.”

“You never said this to me.”

She shrugged. “You were young, but you were a grown man. I prayed for what I thought was best, but God had another plan.”

He sure did. Keith had been trying to figure out just exactly what it was. Another first since meeting Torie—he didn’t think about that anymore.

“What if I’m trying to force things with Torie to be a certain way? What if I make the same mistake again?”

“Ah, the ‘what ifs’ in life. Those are tough cookies.” His mom nodded then looked at him, her head cocked. “But I don’t see that happening with Torie. She’s independent, confident, can take care of herself. I would imagine that’s what you love most about her.”

Yet again, his mother was dead on.

She continued. “And you’re wiser now, and more realistic about what you want from life. I could see Torie supporting you no matter what.”

Man, he hoped she was right there.

She patted his knee. “I’m right. We women can sense these things.”

Keith chuckled.

“My intuition tells me Torie’s life hasn’t been so easy either. I’d be willing to bet she has some wisdom from her experiences as well that have made her cautious, and honest with herself about what she wants from life.”

Keith nodded. “Her dad was…not a nice man.” He’d promised Torie he wouldn’t tell anyone her story. Not without her permission. His mother was a vault. She’d never share anything. But still. He was a man of his word. And his mother knew it too.

She nodded. “Got it.”

“She’s been carrying a lot of junk on her own. For a long time.”

“And yet she’s trusted you with it.”

Again, not a question.

“Yes ma’am.” His hat moved up and down as he nodded.

“Good. She senses in you what she should—a man she can trust.”

“She’s worried I’ll walk away from her.”

“Makes sense.” His mom leaned back in her chair, wove her fingers together, and rested her hands in her lap.

“I won’t.”

“Of course you won’t.” His mother’s confidence was firm, her tone gentle.

“She thinks I couldn’t love someone like her. Someone not…perfect. I tried to tell her God can make her whole.”

“Did she believe you?”

“I think she believes God loves her. But she just hasn’t let Him heal that part of her yet.”

His mom nodded. She didn’t respond right away. He loved that about his mother. Like him, she thought before she spoke, wanted her words to matter.

She reached for his hand and held it. “Well, then, you two are quite good for one another, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

She held his gaze with hers, eyes as blue as the sky, same as his, bore into his soul. “Torie’s never had a male influence in her life that allowed her to see God as loving. Forgiving. You can be that man for her, the man I raised you to be. Perfect? No. But honorable, kind, protective. Love her at all costs. And she can teach you it’s okay to let God heal your past and move forward.”

Keith closed his eyes. He lifted his mother’s hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I love you, Mom.”

She patted his cheek. “I know you do, Son. And I love you.” She pushed out of the chair and stood. “Now, we have a party to prepare for. Let’s tackle those twinkle lights.”

Keith laughed, his bad attitude gone. For this woman, he would do anything. Even tackle thousands of tangled twinkle lights.

As they moved around, setting up chairs and hanging decorations, Keith thought about what his mother had said. She was right. She usually was. He loved Torie. It was time to tell her. And then hope she’d let him spend the rest of their lives showing her.