Trust in Me (26 page)

"You mean...?"

"Like you said...tornado magnet."

"Oh, Kevin, I'm sorry. I should never have said—"

"Why not? Seems it's true." He turned a grave expression toward Claire and waved a hand toward the rubble of his home. "Can't get a much clearer sign that I wasn't destined to have any prosperity in this life. Just when I was in striking distance of getting out of my rut, Mother Nature slaps me back down, puts me in my place." He laughed dryly at the irony. He had to laugh. Or else scream. And he wouldn't show Claire how much losing his home, his dreams, his future meant to him. How deeply it cut, how much it burned. "In case you’re wondering, this is the part where you get the hell out of Dodge and leave me to lick my wounds."

She gaped at him with a creased brow. "And why would I do that?"

"Claire, I have nothing. Zilch."

She remained quiet for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. "You still have your cushy nest egg in the bank."

"Excuse me?" It took a moment for the bitterness in her tone and the incongruity of her statement to penetrate the fog of despair clouding his brain. He glanced at her, frowning. The instant he saw the hurt and anger in her eyes, he knew.

She cleared her throat. "You have the payoff you took from my dad, don't you? The money he gave you to stay away from me. I'd think that would be more than sufficient to get you back on your feet."

More than her tone, the message behind her words slashed him to the marrow. She believed he'd sold her out.

He'd thought he'd hit bottom when he lost his home. He'd been wrong. Claire's lack of faith dealt a more powerful blow.

Had he really thought that her braving the storm to rescue him meant she cared? That she'd chosen him over her father's manipulations? That she wanted a future with him?

Dumb sap
, the frog laughed.

Numbly, he nodded. "Yeah. Your dad's money. That would have helped a lot right about now."

He turned away and started down the road. Amazing how he could still walk with the crushing weight of loss that bore down on him.

"Would have helped?" she called after him. "What does that mean?"

He kept walking.

"Kevin?" He heard the patter of her sandals again as she followed him. "What, was the check in your trailer when the tornado hit?"

He could see his mattress flung against the trunk of the big oak at the edge of the road. That mattress was probably all that was left of the bed where he'd spent the greatest night of his life making love to Claire. At least
he'd
been making love. What had it meant to her? Apparently not much.

"Kevin?" Her voice cracked. Steeling himself to the effect her tears still had on his heart, he marched on down the road.

"You didn't cash it, did you? Kevin, answer me. Please!"

A whimper drifted through the darkness, and after a moment, he realized the noise hadn't come from Claire's direction. He squinted to make out the shadows near his crumpled trailer. A louder whine met his ears, and Kevin's pulse jumped. "Mutt?"

He ran toward the place where he thought he'd heard the whimpers and started digging through the rubble, tossing aside ripped insulation and splintered wood. "Mutt!"

Claire appeared beside him, plowing just as furiously through the debris. "Oh, God, let him be all right!"

They heard a sharp bark and shifted toward the spot where the dog seemed to be trapped.

"Why didn't I think about him when I came for you?" Claire groaned. "Oh, God, if he's not okay, I'll never—"

"Hey, don't think that way. Mutt's a survivor. He's okay. I know he is."

She paused in her digging and looked at him. "A survivor. Like you." She heaved a deep breath and blew it out. "You didn't take the money."

It was a statement, not a question. She spoke the simple words with confidence, with regret, with relief.

The answering joy that zinged through his veins gave him the strength to lift a large piece of fiberglass that lay across the remnants of his front steps. A very wet, very grateful dog shimmied out from under the stairs and launched himself into Kevin's arms, knocking him back in the mud. "Mutt! Hey, boy! Are you all right?"

The dog's warm tongue lapped at Kevin's face, and Claire chuckled through her tears.

"I think that means
yes
."

"I think you're right." He lifted his eyes to her. "About Mutt...and your father's money. Lydia nearly stroked when I tore it up, but...no, I didn't keep the money."

She dropped to her knees beside him and the wiggling dog. "Oh, Kevin, I'm so sorry I doubted you. Even for a minute." She wiped rain and tears from her eyes. "But when I saw you take the check from him, I thought—"

"Saw? You were there?"

She nodded.

He grimaced. "I guess under the circumstances, I can understand how incriminating it must have looked." He untangled himself from Mutt and drew Claire closer. "But how could I be happy without you in my life?"

A smiled ghosted across her lips then faded. Knitting her brow, she pinned a hard look on him. "So...if you're not cutting me out of your life like my dad demanded, then where have you been the last two days? I've been going crazy over at Mrs. Proctor's, missing you, thinking you'd dumped me, thinking Friday hadn't meant anything to you!"

He framed her face with his hands and shook his head. "God, no. Making love to you meant everything to me."

"Then where have you been?"

"Giving you space."

"Space?"

He nodded. "Breathing room to make up your mind what you felt for me. I had to know that wherever our relationship went from here, it was what you wanted. I backed off to give you time to decide whether you could be happy if you chose a life with me."

She stared at him as if he were speaking Greek. "What
I
wanted..."

He nodded. "I have been listening the last few weeks."

Despite the dim light, he saw a spark light her eyes, a smile grace her lips. "What I wanted. Oh, Kevin..."

"I know your independence is important to you."

"Not as important as you are. Besides, someone very wise recently reminded me that dreams are better when shared with someone you love."

"Dreams." He sighed heavily and glanced at his destroyed home. "Claire, life with me won't be easy. Especially now. I want you to have your dreams, but I don't know how far you'll get if you stay with me. I've lost everything."

She shook her head. "Not everything. Not me. You'll always have me. I love you for you, Kevin. For who you are. I love you just for being the warm, wonderful man who valued me more than my father's money."

For a moment, he simply let her words seep deep into his soul, let their meaning take root and grow until there was no room left inside him for doubt or despair.

"Then we'll face whatever life tosses in our path together."

"Yes. Together."

***

In the months following the tornado that destroyed his home, Kevin discovered that he was a wealthy man. He was rich in friends and blessed with love.

The town rallied to help Kevin get back on his feet, offering hot meals, helping hands in the sort and salvage process, and small donations that added up quickly and touched Kevin deeply. Grayson's citizens were eager to return years of good will and favors he'd done without any expectation of repayment.

The biggest surprise, the offer to build a new house for Kevin and his bride had come from Claire's father.

Standing beside Claire, emotion clogging Kevin's throat, he surveyed the construction site where his new home was well on the way to completion. "I still don't feel right accepting such a large gift from your father. I didn't marry you for his money."

"I know that. And so does he. You proved as much when you ripped up his payoff. You also proved to him how much you love me and the depth of your character. In short, you passed his test with flying colors."

"That's all well and good, princess. I'm glad your father likes me. But a house is not a wedding present. A coffee maker or a silver spoon is a wedding present. Besides, it was enough for me that he pulled some strings to help get Sam admitted to Breckenridge." Kevin still didn't know how he'd pay for Sam's care at the private mental health facility, but in light of other recent miracles, he had faith he'd find a way. "Knowing Sam will be safe and cared for is a tremendous gift to me. I already owe your dad for that. But this—" He waved a hand at the busy site, the same lot where his trailer had been before. "This is too much. It—"

Claire grabbed his chin and brought his mouth around for a kiss. "The way he sees it, it's not nearly enough to thank you for saving my life when the twister hit."

"I could argue that you saved
my
life by getting me out of the trailer just in time."

"But you wouldn't want to argue with your wife, would you?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Hmm, making up would be fun though."

Grinning, she gave him a kiss that said they didn't need to make up to have fun. He held her close and lost himself in Claire's kiss. So lost, in fact, that he didn't realize they had an audience until someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to find Mrs. Proctor eyeing him, a cell phone in her hand.

"Hate to interrupt, lover boy, but Claire left her phone in the car with me. It started ringing and wouldn't stop, so I answered it."

Claire reached for the phone. "Oh, thanks. Sorry if it—"

His elderly friend, whom he and Claire were both living with until the house was finished, snatched the phone back. "Cool your jets, honey. It's not for you. It's for Kevin."

Claire arched an eyebrow and gave him an amused look. "Oh?"

"Yep. Guy said it was important. Something about a job."

Kevin's heart skipped a beat. After his and Claire’s wedding last month, Kevin had given the Human Resources manager at Arrington, Inc. Claire's cell number as his contact number. Stiffly, holding his breath, he held his hand out for the phone.

"By the way," Mrs. Proctor added, before giving him the cell phone, "the new house is lovely and coming along nicely, but I'm hot, my leg hurts, and I'm ready to go home now. I start interviewing home health nurses today, so put a wiggle on, buster, or I'll raise your rent." Mrs. Proctor smirked then turned to hobble back to Claire's new Bug.

Steeling himself with a deep breath, Kevin raised the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

Claire watched him intently, and the curious sparkle of her gold eyes was almost enough to distract him from what the man on the line said. Almost. He caught "from Arrington, Inc.," "would like to offer you the position," "terms and salary acceptable to you," and "come in to sign the contract."

Kevin blinked slowly. That was all the movement he could manage. He had the job. Soon he could pay off his debts. He could afford the private hospital for Sam. He and Claire wouldn't have to scrape by to make ends meet.

"Hello? Mr. Fuller? Are these terms acceptable to you?"

"Uh," he croaked when his throat closed with emotion and disbelief.

Claire's face darkened with worry. "Is everything okay?"

Okay? Everything was better than okay. Suddenly he had everything he'd ever dreamed of and more.

"Yes," he said loud and clear. To Claire. To the Human Resources manager. To life.

He was on top of the world.

After setting up a time to sign paperwork for his new position with Arrington, he disconnected the call and swung Claire into his arms for a celebratory hug.

"Kevin, what is it? What's going on?"

He kissed her soundly, then tugged her hand as he headed for the car.

"So do you think Mrs. P. would mind going by Lowery's for a minute on the way home?"

"We took today off. What do you have to do at the store?"

"Turn in my two weeks’ notice. You're looking at the new chief accountant for Arrington, Inc."

Claire squealed. "Are you serious?"

"Does Mutt have fleas?"

She grunted. "Not anymore. I gave him a bath last night."

"Flea shampoo. So
that
was the new scent you wore to bed last night. Glad it's not a permanent switch." He kissed her hand as they hurried across the lawn to the car. "While we're at the store, I want my last act as manager to be to hire my replacement."

Claire gave him a sideways look. "Ray?"

He shook his head. "He's made a lot of progress, at the store and with his dad, but he's still too young and inexperienced to take the job full-time. It won't be long before he can take the reins, but for now, I'm thinking..."

Claire smiled broadly. "Lydia!"

Kevin winked. "She'll have a cow when we tell her."

"We'll be short a cashier again."

"Hmm. We will. Well, whoever Lydia hires to fill the job, I know you'll do a great job training them."

Claire snorted. "Because I'm
so
well versed in the hardware business now. Right? Darling, what
ever
possessed you to hire someone as green as me?"

He grinned. "I know a good thing when I see it. Princess, hiring you was the best decision I ever made."

She slowed her pace, and when he faced her, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Marrying you was the best decision I ever made. I love you, Kevin."

"I love you, princess."

Claire pressed her lips to his for a tender kiss, and Kevin knew he'd found his happily ever after. As her prince.

AUTHOR
BIO

Award winning author Beth Cornelison received her bachelor's degree in Public Relations from the University of Georgia. After working in public relations for about a year, she moved with her husband to Louisiana, where she decided to pursue her love of writing fiction. Since that time, she has won numerous honors for her work including a final in the Rita contest sponsored by the Romance Writers of America. She made her first sale to Silhouette Intimate Moments in June 2004 and has gone on to sell many more books to Harlequin/ Silhouette. She has also published with Five Star Expressions, Samhain Publishing, and Sourcebooks.