Lambert's Peace (17 page)

Taylor broke off a piece of her cookie and gave it to Harry. “Mom and I were talking tonight about how different women are today than when she was growing up and how different her world was from mine.”

“It is amazing, isn't it?”

“She gave birth to me at thirty-three. I'm a single career woman, possibly about to land the job of a lifetime.” Will sipped from his mug. “It's what you want?” She looked up at his face. “Yes, it's what I want.”

Taylor refilled her hot chocolate from the thermos and cupped her hands around the ceramic mug for warmth.

As much as she determined she wouldn't fall in love with Will again, she loved being in his presence. But his countenance challenged the walls around her heart, and she wondered if she would ever find another man like him.

“Favorite color?” he asked suddenly.

She laughed. “Okay. That came out of nowhere.”

“Fess up; it's black isn't it?”

“Black? Not a color, my friend. Actually, I like blue.”

“Favorite gem?”

“Diamonds are a girl's best friend.”

“Guess I walked into that one.”

“Yep.” Taylor sipped her hot chocolate.

“Favorite song?”

“Now that's a hard one.” Taylor thought for a moment. “I know this is corny, but I really love ‘The Old Rugged Cross.'”

“I like ‘Just As I Am.'”

Taylor smiled. “Both of those songs make me cry.”

Harry shifted in the seat between them, curling up against the cold leather, his snout on Taylor's foot.

“You just might have to take Harry home with you,” Will said, reaching down to smooth the fur on Harry's back.

“Right. That would go over real well with Trixie No-More-Pets Hanson.”

Will laughed softly. “Remember when you wanted to keep that stray cat?”

Taylor nodded then sipped the last of her hot chocolate. “Talk about a cat fight.”

“Okay, favorite memory?”

The question struck a chord in the resonant places of her heart. The answer was easy: Will. But she wouldn't confess it out loud. Her time with him eclipsed all the fun days of high school and college, her first apartment, and her first career job and move to New York City. It was as if life without Will had never existed.

But she had to answer with something. “Hmm, let's see.” She thought about the night on the bridge. Funny, her best memory was also her worst. She decided to bail. “You go first. What's your favorite memory?”

He looked over at her then down at his empty mug. She couldn't see his face, only the outline of his symmetrical nose and chin.

“You.”

A prickly sensation ran over her skin. “Me? What do you—”

“You're my favorite memory.” He lifted his head, looking out into the darkness. “Playing basketball, football; eating ice cream; movie night in Franklin Murphy's basement with those of us who came home from college; driving down Old Town Road in my Camaro …”

Will had held her hand for the first time while driving down Old Town Road. A tingle ran across her hand as she remembered, just like it did that night.

They certainly had a strange relationship. One or two handholdings. One kiss. One marriage proposal. Ten years of silence.

She knew he was looking at her. “The job in California means a lot to me, Will.”

“I know. I guess I wish I mattered as much.”

“I'm sorry. But I've invested ten years in my career.”

“Ten years that should've been with me,” Will said.

“But they weren't, were they?” she answered without malice.

They were silent for a few moments. Taylor imagined it was getting late, but she didn't want to leave just yet. Tonight may be her last with Will.

“You never told me your favorite memory,” Will said, reaching down for the thermos.

“I don't know if I can pick one. Maybe my first job. Oh, my first big paycheck. The year I made the cheerleader squad.”

Will tipped up the thermos. A few drops flowed out into his cup. “Didn't you try out as a joke?”

Taylor laughed. “Yes, I did.”

“You beat out Tammy Carter her senior year.”

“Oh, that's right. Okay, that's not a favorite memory, then. I hated that I took Tammy's spot.”

For a long while, they talked about high school and college, comparing experiences and tales. For a man who had lived most of his life in White Birch, Will understood a lot about the world.

Finally, he said, “I hear it never rains in California.”

She laughed and bumped him with her shoulder.

Will bumped her back and scooted a little closer. Harry growled softly when Will's foot moved him into a different position.

Taylor clicked her nails against the side of her mug. “It will be a change, for sure.” Why did she feel like he was going to kiss her? Did she want him to kiss her?

One last kiss … a kiss good-bye?

Will reached down for the empty bag of cookies. “It's late. I should get going.” He pressed the backlight on his wristwatch. “Wow, it's ten thirty.”

He hopped out the side of the car, and Taylor felt oddly alone.

“Do you want to put the top up?” Will asked.

She slid out of the car on the opposite side. “I'll freeze if I don't.”

Will opened the passenger door and called for Harry. Taylor leaned over the wheel, turned the key in the ignition, and powered up the top.

Will walked around to the driver's side. “Have a good trip. I'll pray for you.” He took her hand and pulled her into his embrace.

A shiver ran over her scalp and down her spine. She closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to touch hers.

He wrapped her in his arms, and with a light squeeze he said, “See you in a few days. Come on, Harry.”

She swallowed and muttered, her heat beating with the force of eagles' wings, “Um, yes, a few days.”

Boswell Global rolled out the red carpet for Taylor. Alex Cranston personally met her at the airport then escorted her around the plant as if she were the queen of England.

The early morning interviews went well, and by the time Alex met her for lunch, she wondered if she glowed.

“I see you've had a good morning,” Alex said, leading her toward the parking lot and his car. “I thought we'd eat at a great little pizza place in Redwood City.”

Taylor lifted her face to the warm California sun. Yesterday, New Hampshire's gray sky threatened snow. “Perfect.”

Soon they were sitting on the patio under the pizza parlor's pavilion. When the waiter left with their order, Alex said, “The VP of marketing wanted to know which rainbow I followed to find you.”

“Really?” Taylor sat back, lifting her chin a little. In light of her recent failure at Blankenship & Burns, it felt good to hear she'd impressed the Boswell executives.

“We have a few more candidates to interview, but my guess is you're their choice.”

A spark of excitement ignited in Taylor. “I would be honored to join the Boswell Global team.”

Alex asked a few typical interview questions, such as how she saw herself fitting in at the company, and, just as she expected, to describe her greatest strength and weakness.

She smiled and answered with honesty. “Ambition. Both my strength and my weakness.”

Alex motioned to the waiter to refill their water glasses. “I thought so. Best weakness to have if you learn to manage it.”

“Believe me, after two years on my old job, and by the grace of God, I learned to manage my ambition.”

Alex regarded her after that comment but didn't probe further. “Tell me your career plans. What's up with Taylor Hanson in five years?”

“Well,” she started, prepared for this answer. In Charlotte, she'd gone over the top with her response. A month later, her perspective on life was more realistic. “I want to contribute to Boswell's vision, be a part of the decision-making process that leads us into the next generation. I'm thirty-three, so I have a lot of years ahead of me. I'm not married, so I can be devoted to the company.”

“Good to hear,” Alex said, smiling and reaching for his water. “Off the record, it's a plus that you're not married for now.”

“How so?”

“The last CFO left us in a little bit of a mess. You're going to have your job cut out for you.”

“I see.” Taylor absorbed the reality of what Alex communicated.

He set his water down. “Don't worry; the pay is worth it.” She smiled. “Good to know.”

Their pizza arrived, and the conversation went to more casual topics, such as the surrounding communities and life in northern California.

Yet thoughts of Will interrupted her concentration. She shifted in her chair and focused on eating a slice of pizza, shoving images of Will back to New Hampshire.

“Boswell seems to have a strong team environment,” Taylor finally said. “I like that.”

A lot like Lambert's Furniture
, she thought. She answered that with an internal
grrr. Stop thinking about home
.

Alex nodded. “It's one of the company's strengths.”

He went on to describe the benefits of living in northern California, but when lunch ended, Taylor felt she'd lost some of her enthusiastic glow while trying to fight the rising tide of love for Will.

How could he miss her so much? He'd lived the past ten years without her; now her sudden presence in his life drilled into the very core of his being, and he felt lost without her. The matters of the heart confounded him. Anxiety threatened. What if she took the California job?

Will took a deep breath. “Be anxious for nothing,” he prayed; “let the peace of Jesus guard your heart and mind.”

Feeling restless, he wandered from his living room to the kitchen to the back porch. Harry sat watching, his head tipped in wonder.

“We need Taylor, don't we, boy?”

Harry whined, wagging his tail. When the phone rang, Will answered on the second ring with a deep hope that Taylor would be on the other end.

“I'm hungry for some of Sam's pie.” It was Ethan.

“Pie?” Will echoed. “I could go for a big salad and soup.”

“Eat whatever you want. I'm having pie.”

Will laughed. “Don't worry, I'm having pie, too, but I haven't eaten dinner yet.”

“It's eight o'clock.”

“I know. Meet you there.”

At Sam's, Will found his cousin in a booth by the door. Sam greeted him while Taylor's nephew set water glasses on the table.

“Have you heard from your aunt?” Will asked Jarred.

“Nope,” the young man said with a quick, shy smile.

After they ordered, Ethan asked, “Speaking of Taylor, how's it going?”

Will shrugged as he unwrapped his silverware from the napkin. “It's not.”

“She's still determined to move to California?”

“Yes, and still determined not to fall in love with me.”

Ethan laughed. “And how do you know that?”

“She told me.”

From the balcony of her hotel, Taylor looked out over Coastal Highway 1, awed by the blazing colors of the Pacific sunset.

“Oh, Lord,” she whispered reverently, “what a beautiful day.” During her end-of-day wrap-up with Alex, he asked Taylor about her earliest possible start date while informing her of their generous relocation package.

“What's your minimum salary?” he asked, a smug sort of look on his face.

Taylor exhaled. She took his pen and jotted down a fat figure—ten percent more than she'd earned in New York.

Alex didn't even flinch. “Not a problem.”

Now, on the balcony at her hotel with a cool breeze carrying the scent of the ocean brushing her face, Taylor pondered her options.

“Lord, do I say yes if they offer?” She loved what she heard and saw at Boswell Global. She loved the idea of living in sunshine and making a six-figure salary. Before she turned thirty-four, she would have accomplished more than she'd hoped.