Acceptance, The Read online

  Courtney stepped back. “C’mon, let’s go upstairs and find those items I wanted.”

  She held out her hand for the handrail that should be within a few feet of her. When her hand came to the newel post, she began her way up the stairs.

  “Just turn on whatever lights you need to. I’m a tad bit oblivious to its need,” she said and he chuckled from behind her.

  At the sixteenth step, which she’d counted a million times, she turned left down the hallway to Fitz’s room. With her hand on the wall she felt for the door, turned the knob, and pushed it open.

  Courtney stepped in and heard the switch of the light as Tyler stepped in behind her.

  “Baseball player, huh?”

  “Yes. A good one too.”

  “I can see that. There has to be fifteen trophies in here alone.”

  She nodded and stepped in further feeling her brother surrounding her as she did.

  “He held the record for home runs during high school.”

  “Impressive. My cousin was a semi-professional ball player. His room didn’t look much different.”

  “Which cousin?”

  “Christian, Christian Keller.”

  She turned her head toward him. “Pitcher.”

  Now he laughed hard. “You know who Christian Keller is?”

  “Because of Fitz. We used to go to the games.” She couldn’t believe the connection. “You have quite an impressive family tree. A baseball player, a country music artist, an oil heiress, and you…heir to Benson, Benson, and Hart.”

  The air in the room grew thick and she knew she’d crossed the line. But she waited for him to make a comment. The pain of the passing moments before he spoke was agonizing.

  “I guess you’ve done some research, huh?”

  Courtney let her shoulders drop. “I’m sorry. I hope you understand my unique position. I needed to know who it was that comforted me so much that day.”

  “I understand it, heir to the Fitzpatrick Financial Corporation.”

  Courtney bit the inside of her cheek. “You did your research too.”

  “Easily done.”

  She nodded in agreement. “My father is afraid you might be a gold digger.”

  “Couldn’t care less about someone’s money. I don’t care about what is in someone’s bank account. I’ve met men who are billionaires and they don’t have a bit of emotional worth to them. Thanks to my oil heiress aunt,” he emphasized and she felt the words squeeze at her, “I’ve met women who lived on the streets with their children begging for food. They asked for help and they now help others. They have jobs—careers. They’re wealthier than any man with a million dollars.”

  She wondered if it was possible to feel love at first sight—even when the physical sight was impaired. If it was possible—and again she wasn’t sure it was—she was sure she’d just stumbled into it. Tyler Benson was nearly too good to be true.

  Chapter Ten

  Admittedly, going through someone’s personal belongings, especially when you didn’t know them, was a little nerve wracking for Tyler. But for Courtney, he was pretty sure he’d do damn near anything.

  He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was about this woman, as he opened her brother’s dresser drawers in search of a box, that would make him drive over in the middle of the night just because she’d asked.

  Really he’d never done so much for any other woman before and he’d just met Courtney.

  “I found a box. Black with a Marine sticker on it.”

  “Yes!” she shouted and stood from her seat on the bed.

  He placed the box in her hands and she ran her fingers over the edge of the sticker. When she opened it there was a gold Rolex watch inside. She pulled it out and handed it to him.

  “Read the inscription please.”

  Tyler took the watch and turned it over. “To Fitz. It’s your time. Love Court.”

  He watched her body relax as she smiled. “That’s the one. I want that in my possession.”

  Tyler handed her the watch and she placed it back in the box.

  “He called you Court?”

  “Yes. He was the only one allowed to. I hate it, but not when he said it.”

  “It’s a beautiful watch,” Tyler added as he pushed the drawer, in which he’d found the box, back into place.

  “I bought it for him when he joined the Marines. I’d been very mad at him over that. His enlisting was my father’s idea, not his. He didn’t seem to mind, but I was pissed. We argued from the time he graduated until he was ready to go to boot camp. I gave it to him before he left because by then I’d realized it was his time to leave me and go into the world. He’d been protecting me and sheltering me for his entire life. It was time for him to go change the world.”

  She ran her hand over the top of the box. “I guess the world changed him.”

  Tyler watched her for a moment. “What else can I help you find?”

  Courtney turned and set the watch on the bed.

  They spent an hour in the room finding small items that Courtney didn’t want boxed up and stored for the rest of eternity. The watch, a jacket, a baseball, and a notebook were all they took out of the room. When they were done Courtney closed the bedroom door.

  “I’m going to put these away in my room. I’ll meet you downstairs in a few minutes,” she said as she passed him and walked into the room down the hall.

  Tyler walked downstairs and waited. Just as promised, she returned a few minutes later.

  “I suppose I should go now. If you need anything else, just call.”

  Courtney reached for him and he took her hand. “Would you stay? I mean, just for a little bit. I know it’s past midnight, but…”

  “I’ll stay.”

  “I could use the company. I don’t mean we’d do anything but sit on the couch and watch TV, but…”

  He gave her hand a squeeze. “I said I’ll stay.”

  Courtney walked to the TV, turned it on, and handed Tyler the remote. “I’m going to make some tea to relax. Would you like some?”

  “That would be nice.”

  “You find something to watch. I’ll be right back.”

  He sat down and watched her from the couch. Everything in the small kitchen was in an appointed place and she moved with ease through the room as she filled the water, set it on the stove to boil, and pulled down two mugs.

  There was a gracefulness to her—a peace. He needed that kind of peace in his life too. Tomorrow—or in a few hours—he’d meet his father in his office downtown and they’d discuss Tyler’s future at Benson, Benson, and Hart.

  In a few years his father would want to retire. His cousin Ed was holding the reins now, but Ed had always known that the company would eventually be Tyler and Spencer’s. But Tyler wasn’t sure he was cut out for real estate development on such a grand scale.

  Spencer had a mind for business. Tyler wasn’t even sure what he had a mind for. He’d made due for three years. He’d learned a lot about the world, about making ends meet, and about himself. Yeah, he’d learned that he was selfish and self-centered.

  Tyler let out a breath. He didn’t want to be that person anymore.

  The kettle on the stove snapped him from his thoughts. He stood and walked to the kitchen as she lifted the kettle from the stove.

  “I’ll try to stay out of your way,” he said leaning up against the counter.

  “Fitz used to say that too.” She held a mug steady with her hand, rested the spout of the kettle on the mug, and poured. “I don’t really know why I’ll miss him so much around here. His things were here, but he wasn’t here more than a few weeks a year.”

  “You gave him a place to call home.”

  She shook her head and replaced the kettle on the stove. “No, he did that for me. He didn’t want me living under my parents’ feet for the rest of my life. So he bought this place and moved me in. It’s been my refuge.”

  “You were close, you and your brother.”

 
“Very close. He felt responsible for me—for my situation.” She handed him a mug. “There are tea bags in the container on the table. You can choose what kind you want.”

  Tyler picked up his mug and walked toward the table. He waited for her to set her mug down and take a seat, and then he sat next to her.

  As he chose a tea, none of which were full strength coffee flavor, he asked, “Why did he feel responsible for your situation?”

  Courtney opened her tea bag and bobbed it in her mug. “Because I’ve been blind since I was eight.”

  “Right.”

  She tucked her hair behind her ears and then cupped the mug in her hands. “Because he was the one who scared the horse who kicked me and eventually that caused me to lose my sight.”

  There hadn’t been any kind of auditory gasp or movement, but she knew the silence of shock too.

  Tyler’s tea bag bobbed against his mug as he lifted it in and out in a nervous ritual. He drummed his fingers against his thigh. She could almost hear his brain turning trying to think of something clever like everyone else had when she’d told them.

  “How old was Fitz when that happened?”

  Tyler had lived up to his element of surprise. He didn’t coddle the fact that an accident by her little brother at such a young age had robbed her of what everyone considered normal.

  “Four.”

  “That must have really affected him.”

  “It did. He didn’t talk to me for a long time. He was afraid of me. By the time he was nine he was getting in fights over me. Then he was protecting me.” She pulled the bag of tea out of her mug and set it on a napkin she had pulled from the holder on the table. “He challenged me. He pushed me. But he always had my back. Like this house. He bought it a year ago.”

  “So when he was nineteen?”

  “Yes. Pissed my father off too. He took the money from his trust fund and bought a house.”

  “That’s a sturdy financial decision.”

  She laughed. “It was. He put my name on the title too so no one could ever take it away from me.”

  Courtney heard him lean in and rest his arms on the table. “Do you ever think he knew he wouldn’t come back?”

  In a nervous habit she tucked her hair back again. “He was very insightful like that. He’d never have told me though. He knew I was worried enough.”

  Tyler covered her hand with his. “I think it sounds like you two made quite a pair.”

  She smiled. “We did. I’m going to miss him so much I don’t even know how I’m going to deal with that.” That pain was creeping into her chest—the kind of pain that started as an ache and quickly began to choke you. Tears burned her throat and her breath began to hold in her lungs.

  “You won’t do it alone. I’ll be here.”

  She nodded. It was all she could do. He would be there. He’d said it more than once and she believed he meant it.

  Tea had turned into a long talk about the man that Fitz was. They’d moved from the kitchen to the couch and when Tyler’s phone rang that was what had awakened him.

  He shifted on the couch. His arm was numb from having had it draped over Courtney for the past few hours.

  The ringing had her stirring too. She sat up and rubbed her face.

  “What is that? Mine or yours?” Her voice shook with sleep.

  “Mine.” He looked at the screen. “It’s my brother. Hey, Spence,” he said trying to make his eyes focus on the light coming in from the window.

  “Want a ride? I’m heading into town. I can swing by and pick you up.”

  “A ride? What the hell time is it?”

  His brother laughed. “Man, it’s a quarter till nine. I told Dad you’d be there by nine-thirty.”

  “Crap!” He stood from the couch. “I’ll be there closer to ten. But I can drive in. Do me a favor, have them get me a parking space and I’ll take the elevator up to his office.”

  “You still have the key?”

  “Yeah, just tell him I’ll be there.”

  “I will. Where are you?” His brother’s tone had that edge to it—the kind that teetered on laughter.

  “Bite me,” he said as Spencer started to laugh. He pushed the button to hang up the call as Courtney stood next to him.

  “What time is it?”

  “Eight forty-five.”

  “Oh, God! My mother will be here any minute. You have to get out of here.”

  “I’m gone.” He hurried to the front door with Courtney holding his hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

  “Oh, it’s my fault. I called you here and then kept you here.”

  Tyler searched his pocket for his keys and pulled them out. “I’ll talk to you later.” He bent down and pressed a kiss to her lips which must have surprised her.

  He opened the door and hurried to his car. This wasn’t quite the way he’d wanted to prove to his father that he was man enough to accept responsibilities.

  As he drove away from Courtney’s house, he passed a black Mercedes. The driver slowed, but Tyler pressed on. As soon as he could get home and showered he could get to his father. The bonus to it all would be that in a few hours he could call Courtney and compare days.

  Tyler turned on his signal at the stop sign, looked both ways, and turned with a smile. He couldn’t believe how much he looked forward to that call.

  Chapter Eleven

  The front door opened and Courtney could hear her mother’s shoes on the hardwood floor.

  “Courtney, where are you? Are you okay? Are you here? Where are you?”

  She let out a groan. “Mother, I’m upstairs. I’ll be right down.”

  She heard the familiar thud of her mother’s purse landing on the coffee table and then the coffee pot being filled at the sink. If it was past two in the afternoon, she would have heard the sound of the cupboard with wine being opened.

  Courtney brushed through her hair and fastened it atop her head in a ponytail. She’d changed her clothes quickly and would have to remember later to pick the others up off the floor or she’d trip over them. But for now, she was in a hurry to get downstairs.

  Her mother was pacing the kitchen when she’d made her way down to her. She could hear the click-clack of her expensive Italian shoes. They made a different sound than heavier soled ones.

  “Good morning, Mother.”

  “Don’t good morning me,” her mother said and her voice shook. “I saw him. I saw him drive away from here.”

  Courtney walked to the counter and took a mug down from the cupboard. “And who did you see?”

  “That man you left the funeral with yesterday. You left me there alone.”

  “You said it was okay to go with him.”

  “To our house. You left.”

  Courtney poured herself a cup of coffee and when it warmed her body she realized just how tired she was. She and Tyler must have only rested a few hours.

  “I couldn’t stand to be there any longer. We said goodbye to Fitz. I listened to everyone mumble about how sad it was. He was too young. He was a good solider. You would miss him but it was a sacrifice for the country.” She was gripping the mug now. “And I was tired of hearing the whispers about how well I was doing despite my short comings.”

  “No one said that,” her mother argued.

  “I heard them, Mother. I can’t see them hide their lips behind their hands. I hear their petty little voices.”

  She could hear her mother sip her coffee and then set the mug on the table. “I just think it was inconsiderate of you to leave with a man during the reception. Do you know how that looks?”

  “Like I needed some space? My brother was buried yesterday, Mother. My only brother.”

  Her mother clucked her tongue. “You’ll need to move back home.”

  Courtney set her mug on the counter and fisted her hands on her hips. “I am almost twenty-five years old. I will be just fine here.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. Without Fitz here…”


  “Mother, Fitz was never here. He probably slept in that bed twenty times in the last year. I’ve lived here myself all that time.”

  Her mother’s fingers drummed on the table. “And now you have men staying here.”

  Courtney grit her teeth together. “That’s not what happened.”

  “That’s how it looked. And you should see you. Your shirt is on backward.”

  She hated when her mother said it like that instead of nicely telling her. It didn’t happen often, but she’d been in a hurry.

  Courtney picked up her coffee and walked to the table where she sat down across from her mother.

  “Tyler was kind enough to drive me home after we took a drive.”

  “A drive. You let a man you don’t know just drive you around?”

  Courtney let the smile settle on her lips and she was sure it would drive her mother mad. “He took me to his grandmother’s house and introduced me.”

  She could feel the tension begin to dissolve. “He took you to meet his grandmother?”

  “Yes. She doesn’t live far from you. Audrey Benson. She’s a very nice woman. We had iced tea on her patio, walked through her rose garden, and went to the stables to meet the horses.”

  That made her mother tense. “I don’t like you around horses. You know that.”

  “One mistake. One misfortune. I’m not going to deny myself the pleasures of horses.”

  “Courtney,” her mother’s voice went soft. “Aren’t you afraid?”

  “Of horses? No.”

  “Of anything?”

  The only thing Courtney was afraid of was becoming petty like her mother. That wasn’t even fair, she thought as she took a sip of her coffee. Her mother was a kind woman who just needed a lot of attention. Fitz would give that to her. Her father would play it off as a disease. And her mother would fuss over Courtney when it suited her so that Courtney would give her attention. Other than that, no, Courtney wasn’t afraid of anything.

  “It’s a waste of time to be afraid of anything. You have to look at the world each morning and realize it’s a wonder to just have another day.”

  Her mother reached across the table and took her hand. “I forget you were born with the overly optimistic gene.”