“Calm down,” he said.
She glared at him. “Are you kidding me? You want me to calm down after hearing that my father almost died and I didn’t know anything about it?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want. You can’t just run off to him like this. Please, let me finish. Ben is fine. With medical treatment and preventive care, his cardiologist is very encouraged by his progress. He had a procedure and he’s changed his lifestyle. He’s doing fine. You wanted the truth? This is it. He’s fine. I would never lie to you. You know that.”
She did know it. She swallowed hard and looked at her hands on his chest. His heartbeat was just as elevated as hers. She tried to push by him again, but this time he quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
At first she struggled. Then knowing it was futile, she held her breath and tensed. Everything inside her wanted to explode as the memory of her mother dying on Christmas Day and the image of her father collided in her mind.
Then she exhaled and crumpled against him, giving way to the feelings long buried in her heart. As always, he was here for her. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet, spicy scent of his cologne. Yes, this was what she remembered so well. Tyson—strong, commanding, powerful, yet tender, gentle and forever loving.
Being here in his arms, hearing his soothing voice, feeling him this close... The memories washed through and flooded her heart, bringing back feelings she had tried for so long to deny. This was where they had started and she knew in her heart that she had never stopped loving him. “I can’t...I can’t lose him.”
“I know,” he whispered softly in her ear as he stroked the length of her back. “You won’t lose him. I promise.”
He kissed her forehead, tenderly soothing the tears and sobs away.
She reveled in the strong protection he offered. Here, in his arms, nothing bad could ever happen. He had a way of always making everything all right.
She didn’t know how long they stood there, but after a while she took a deep breath and stepped back. He released her and gently tipped her chin up with his finger. She looked up into his dark, loving eyes. They were safe and assuring. Right then she knew she was lost once more. Falling in love with Tyson had been easy the first time. Loving him now was as natural as breathing.
“He’s all I have left, Tyson...” she began.
“Trust me. You have more than you can imagine. I’m here. I will always be here for you.”
His words washed through her like a warm wave of calm. Trusting him had never been an issue. He had never lied to her. Years ago, when he’d told her that he was here for a job and would be leaving as soon as it was over, it had been the truth. But she’d thought she could persuade him to stay. He hadn’t and she’d been crushed. That was when she’d left.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have...”
“No, please don’t apologize,” he said, smiling. He cradled her face in his hands as his thumbs wiped away the last of her tears. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. Why does he have to be so wonderful? “I’m fine.”
He released her and she stepped back and looked away. “My heart breaks every time I see you cry. Did you know that?” She turned back to him and shook her head. He smiled. “Remember the first night we met?”
She nodded. “I’m surprised you remember that night,” she said.
“Of course I remember. How could I forget? That was the night my life changed, the night I fell in love with you.”
The lump in her throat instantly dissolved and her nerves stilled. It felt as if, all of a sudden, the world had slowed, just for that moment. Without thought or hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was completely impulsive, but it felt so right. He kissed her back and then everything she had been feeling exploded. All she could think about was being with him just one more time. The kiss deepened and the passion escalated. Then, suddenly, everything stopped. He pulled back.
“Janelle. Janelle, wait,” Tyson said, breathing hard and holding her from him. “We can’t. Not like this. You’re upset and vulnerable. I can’t take advantage of you and I don’t want you to have any regrets when we make love.”
“Tyson, I’m fine,” she assured him, moving closer.
“I know, but I’m not.”
“You’re turning me down.”
He leaned in and kissed the sweet underside just behind her ear. “You have no idea how much I want you right now. Believe me, when I walk out of here in the next few minutes I’m gonna hate myself, but this isn’t enough for us, not anymore.”
She licked her lips, took a deep breath and nodded slowly. He was right. She was upset and vulnerable, but she also wanted to be with him. Still she nodded. “Yes, you’re right. This is too fast.”
“I think I’d better go,” he said, turning to the door.
“Wait...” she said. He turned around. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For telling me the truth, for being here for me,” she said, half smiling. “For always being here for me.”
“Janelle, I will always tell you the truth, and there’s no other place I want to be except here with you.” He leaned down and kissed her lips tenderly. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later,” she said softly. She watched as he got into his car and drove off, then closed the door, walked over to the stairs and sat.
This was information overload. Her father seemed fine medically, but she still intended to talk to both him and his doctor. She grabbed her cell phone and called her father’s office. His voice mail answered, but she decided not to leave a message: she didn’t want to upset him. She went back into the living room and walked over to the mantel. Four Christmas stockings—it looked as though they were one big happy family.
She still couldn’t believe her father had called Tyson and not her. But if her reaction to hearing the news was any indication, then maybe he had been right not to do so. She was out of control and completely irrational. Going to her father at that moment would have gotten him upset and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Tyson was right. She needed to calm down before talking to her father.
She walked over to the sofa and sat, taking a deep breath before dialing her father’s office phone number again. He answered. “Hi, Dad. Got a few minutes?” she began.
“Hey, sweetheart. Sure—just a few, though. Everything okay?”
“Yes...well, not really. I spoke with Tyson a few minutes ago. He told me about your heart attack and stroke.” She heard her father sigh. “Dad, why didn’t you tell me? I could have come home. I could have been with you.”
“And that’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you rushing home upset, and had I told you, that’s exactly what you would have done. I had the best doctors and the best medical care available. Believe me, if any further problems arose, I would have called you, but they didn’t. And now I feel better than ever.”
She couldn’t deny that. Her father looked better than he had in years. He’d lost weight, he was eating right and he was taking care of himself.
“That’s not the point. You should have called me.”
“To do what?” he asked. “There was nothing you could have done at the time except sit and worry, and I didn’t want that. Now, I need to get to a meeting and get my business back in just as good shape.”
“Okay, but I still want to talk about this.”
He chuckled. “Of