Finding Her Courage Read online

  Camille stopped her right there. “No, of course not.” But Nikki didn’t look convinced.

  Whatever. Nikki could push all she wanted, but Camille wouldn’t be interested in a superhero, let alone a pilot. Even if Ty was nicer than she’d first thought. Once he’d relaxed yesterday, they’d actually had fun. But that sort of kindness had to be an act. There was definitely something wrong with him. There had to be.

  The barn doors were open when they showed up. She was half expecting Ty to still be asleep, but he was talking to Dillon. A box of equipment sat on the floor between them.

  He turned when they came in, and Evie actually went over and gave him a hug. She never did that with people she’d just met. For a split second Camille was too startled to talk. Then she regrouped. “Thanks for the kitty litter.”

  Ty grinned. “No problem.”

  She introduced Dillon to Nikki, and her sister’s bubblegum-pink lip gloss appeared. Three coats this time. Camille tried not to roll her eyes.

  “What’s this?” she asked Ty, tapping the box with her foot.

  “Just some notebooks, measuring tape, that sort of thing.”

  That was nice of him. Maybe a little too nice. “So, you’re just leaving me with this while you go watch TV?” No wonder he was awake. He wanted to push this stuff off on her and get out of here fast. There was probably a ball game on.

  Ty looked confused. “What? No. I’m yours for the day. I only thought this might help.”

  Oh. Nikki gave her a look, and she felt the pink rush to her cheeks. “Sorry. Sure, this is great. Thanks.” She started sifting through the box and pulled out the measuring tape. “Is it okay if Nikki walks around and takes some pictures?”

  “Sure.”

  Dillon jumped forward. “I can show you around if you want.”

  Apparently the lip gloss had worked. “That’d be nice,” said Nikki. Two minutes later they were gone.

  Ty gave Evie some hay so she could feed Milkshake. She ran to the stall with it. “Emmitt and Maricela offered to take Evie around when they feed the rest of the animals, if that’s okay.”

  Aha. “You don’t want Evie hanging around? Not much of a kid person, I guess.”

  Ty blinked. “I just thought she’d like to see the animals. She almost cracked a smile yesterday. Maybe today we can actually pull one out of her.” He paused a second. “And I love kids.”

  Camille started twisting her wedding band around. “Sorry. Guess I’m just a little tired today.”

  It was easy to read Ty’s expression. Crossed eyes, head tilted to the side, slight frown. What’s with you? But there was nothing with her. She was just a little jittery. Too much coffee, probably.

  Emmitt and Maricela came by and took Evie to feed some goats. She made Emmitt promise the goats wouldn’t eat Evie’s fingers, then played if off like she was joking when they all laughed. Silently she told herself she’d do a finger check as soon as Evie returned.

  “Did you want to check out the hangar?” Ty asked when she was done in the barn.

  Camille’s heart bumped against her chest a little too hard. “Is that another barn I saw on the other side of the storage shed?”

  “Yeah, we’ve got a few. This is just the main one.”

  Perfect. “I think we ought to focus on the barns for now. And the stables. I was thinking Phoebe might like to be married at the stables, then ride a horse to the barn for the reception.” She arched one eyebrow, waiting for Ty to shoot down her idea.

  “That’s a great idea.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure she’ll love it.” His mouth curved up at one end. Very Elvis. Very cute. She forced the thought away. “Your client list in Chicago probably comes with a one-year wait list.”

  If only. “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re really good at this. Smart and pretty is kind of a rare combo.”

  Camille bit her bottom lip. The word charming crept into the back of her mind and lingered there. The warmth in Ty’s eyes did nothing to push it away. She brushed a strand of hair from her eyes and saw him glance at her ring. She put her hand down to her side and headed for the next barn.

  A couple hours later she was all barned out and ready for the stables. They were bigger than she’d realized. She could string lights across the top and add a bouquet to the door of every stall. She sketched out a few ideas, expecting Ty to peek over her shoulder, but he stayed three feet back. Definitely on his best behavior today.

  “There’s a lot of outdoor space here,” she said. “We ought to think about how to use it. Where’s a good place to set up chairs?”

  Ty looked around. “There’s a shady spot back toward the house that’s pretty nice. Lots of trees.” He started walking, and Camille followed. Nikki’s tour must have ended, because she and Evie were leaning over a fence, throwing chicken feed on the ground.

  A rumbling sound started up from the direction of the hangar, and a white plane with a blue stripe on the side pulled out. Camille’s heart gave an uncomfortable lurch, and her feet got tangled up with themselves. She fell forward.

  Ty’s hands shot out and grabbed hold of her, wrapping around her waist and pulling her back up. They stood that way for a minute, then Ty cleared his throat and stepped back as the plane sped down the runway. “You okay?”

  She nodded. Her mouth was too dry to talk. The plane lifted off the ground, and Camille looked quickly away. Ty gave her a reassuring smile. “Dillon’s giving a lesson, but don’t worry, I told him not to buzz your house.”

  Camille would have thanked him if her heart wasn’t speed-walking down a runway of its own. “Do you have to fly planes? Couldn’t you just give riding lessons or something?”

  “We tried, but the money wasn’t enough to keep this place going. Flying turned it all around.”

  That was all well and good, until one of the planes crashed. Evie was staring toward the sky. “Maybe we should call it a day. Evie doesn’t like planes. She’d probably be more comfortable at home.”

  There was that look on Ty’s face again. Half-irritated, half-adorable. “She looks okay to me.”

  “She’s not.” Camille started toward her.

  “Hang on.” Ty hurried to catch up.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll be back tomorrow.”

  Ty touched her shoulder, and she paused just long enough to meet his eyes. “We go to church Sunday mornings and usually hang around for a bit afterward, chatting and helping out with things. We won’t be back till noon. Maybe even a little after.”

  “That’s fine. Evie can sleep in.”

  “You’re welcome to join us. I mean, I don’t know if you ever go to church, but it’s a pretty nice one if you do.”

  They used to go to church all the time, but that was before God had taken Wesley from her. “Thanks for the offer, but I think we’ll pass for now.”

  Ty nodded. “Sure, the offer’s always open though.”

  Not just charming. Likable. “We’ll see you tomorrow around noon then.” Camille turned away from him fast, before something more dangerous than charming and likable got into her head.

  Chapter Five

  Camille hadn’t realized how much she wanted Phoebe to like her ideas until it was her last day to come up with them. Back in Chicago Camille’s boss had branched out from birthdays and anniversaries to weddings. Camille had only done a handful, but they’d gone well and she’d hoped to do more. Then the banks had started calling and the bills had started piling up. If Ty’s finances had taken a nosedive, hers had been swallowed up by a black hole. And her focus had been swallowed right up with it.

  If she went back to Chicago with Phoebe Saylor’s wedding in her portfolio, it would help undo some of the damage the last few months had done. Her boss might even start sending her on jobs again instead of confining her to a desk, and the yearlong
wait list Ty mentioned the other day might actually become a reality.

  She got Evie out of bed, dished up a late breakfast and was at Ty’s by eleven thirty. Evie veered them toward the hangar; Camille veered them toward the barn. Her notebook came out, and her pencil started moving fast. Evie tugged on her arm, and the line Camille was drawing swerved right. “Sweetie.” It was more tsk than reprimand.

  Evie pointed toward the stall where Milkshake had been just yesterday. It was empty. Worry lines that belonged on a thirty-year-old etched themselves across Evie’s forehead.

  “I’m sure Milkshake’s okay. When Ty gets back, we’ll ask him.” But Evie’s worry lines only added another five years. When Ty finally showed up, it was almost one, and Evie was two steps from forming a search party. She knocked the breath out of him with a hug, then grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the stall.

  Ty picked up on the problem pretty fast. “Milkshake’s fine. Remember we said she had a cold? Well, she’s better now, so we moved her back in with the other cows. She missed her friends.” Evie stopped tugging Ty and started dragging him toward the barn doors.

  “Evie.” Camille put her hands on her hips, a sign that things had progressed past the tsk-phase. Evie immediately let Ty go.

  “Why don’t I get Emmitt?” said Ty. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind paying Milkshake a visit.” Evie turned wide eyes to Camille, who nodded her okay. Her notebook was still clutched in her hand, the blank page desperate for her attention.

  Ty returned with Emmitt a few minutes later. “I heard you want to see Milkshake?” Evie nodded. “Funny, she said she wants to see you too.”

  One corner of Evie’s mouth flickered, like she meant to smile. But then she sneezed and the flicker dipped back down. The light in her eyes stayed right where it was though. She gave Emmitt a hug, then took his hand and led him out of the barn like she knew where she was going.

  Two hugs in less than thirty minutes? That had to be a new record. Maybe Nebraska agreed with Evie more than she’d thought.

  “So how was church?” Camille’s notebook was open again, her pencil sketching about ten miles too slow. Why couldn’t her hands keep up with her brain?

  Ty kicked some hay. “Fine.”

  Her pencil paused mid-stroke. That didn’t sound like the same Ty who’d talked the church up to her just yesterday. She arched an eyebrow. “Fine?”

  He shrugged. “You know, church is church.”

  Hmm. Maybe she wasn’t the only one conflicted about God. Okay, new subject. “I hope it’s okay we came by early. I was anxious to get started.” If they actually got the job, it meant Camille would have roughly eighteen days to plan a wedding fit for a movie star. If she had her boss’s entire Chicago staff working for her day and night maybe, maybe, she could get it done. Trapped in Nebraska, without all that, she had no idea how to pull it off.

  That crooked grin Camille loved so much curved across Ty’s face. Much better than the frown that had started forming. “Sure. You and Evie are welcome here anytime.”

  Kind, cute, genuine. She officially gave up trying to find something wrong with him and accepted the fact that Ty was just a nice guy.

  Did you say cute?

  Camille told her inner voice to pipe down. So what if Ty was cute? So was Evie. So was Milkshake. There were a lot of cute things in the world. Ty just happened to be one of them. An hour later, her sketchbook was half full but her brain was still bursting with ideas. “Let’s check out the other barns.”

  “Again? What about the hangar?”

  A slick, icy wind ran up her spine and over her neck. “No, um...the storage shed.”

  Ty’s brow crinkled. “What would Phoebe want with the storage shed?”

  She gave him a look. “You said you wouldn’t second-guess me.”

  His hands flew up and zipped his mouth shut. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

  They headed over, but Ty was right. The storage shed really wasn’t right for a wedding, even a rustic one, no matter how Camille tried to spin it. She spent a good hour in there anyway, but couldn’t make it stretch any longer. That only left one place she hadn’t explored.

  “Ready for the hangar?” Ty asked.

  Dark clouds only Camille could see circled the hangar, a thunderstorm about to strike. “I need another look at the stables.”

  Ty gave her a look but kept his opinions to himself. They started down a short path. The stables were unchanged since yesterday, but Camille didn’t let that stop her from spending an inordinate amount of time going through them. New ideas. New sketches. Anything to keep her busy and away from the hangar.

  Ty’s phone buzzed. He slipped it out of his pocket. “It’s Phoebe. I texted her last night to ask about an indoor or outdoor ceremony.”

  “And?”

  “And she and her fiancé want to get married in the hangar, then fly out in one of the planes.”

  Fly. Out. In a plane. Camille’s head couldn’t quite wrap itself around that.

  “She’ll be here tomorrow at ten. Is that good for you?”

  Her voice croaked. “Sure.” She cleared her throat. “I’ll be here at nine. We can go over things one more time before she gets here.”

  Ty stopped walking and folded his arms across his chest. “So. Do you want to see the hangar now?”

  There was no way out of it. “I guess.”

  Three planes gleamed brightly at her as Ty opened the hangar doors. The space was huge. Other than the planes, there wasn’t much in here, except the smell. Grease and oil and all things bad. You could actually feel it get inside you and rot there. She’d smelled it a thousand times when she’d visited Wesley on air-force bases.

  At least there was plenty of room to dance. She jotted down a note to ask Phoebe whether she was going with a band or a DJ. Ty went over to the yellow plane and patted it affectionately, like a kitten. Camille didn’t get it. How could you feel affection for something that could kill you?

  “I think I’ve seen enough.” She turned and exited the hangar without waiting for him.

  Ty jogged after her. “You really hate planes, don’t you?”

  Hate? No, she didn’t hate them. Exactly. She just hated how dangerous they were. “They have their place in the world, I guess. Like most things. It’s Evie who hates them.”

  There was that look again. Like he was choosing his next words carefully. “Can I ask you something about her?”

  Camille’s defenses went up fast. It was habit when it came to Evie. “What?”

  “Has she really not talked in two years?”

  That was an easy one. She’d only answered it a billion times before. “Yes. Not since her dad died.”

  “What about doctors?”

  She shrugged. “What about them? We went to every doctor in Chicago and a few that weren’t. They all said the same thing—give her time.”

  That was every doctor’s first, last and final prescription, always accompanied by a handful of pills to turn her daughter into a mindless zombie. A midsize fortune had been spent on what amounted to false hopes and a big pile of nothing but time.

  “I remember when George found out about Wesley. I’d never seen him so sad.” Ty paused. “I’m sorry I never got to meet him. He sounded like a great guy.”

  Even two years later it was still weird hearing people talk about Wesley in the past tense. “Thank you.” Her voice came out thick and her eyes drifted toward her shoes. There was a very interesting piece of dirt stuck to them.

  “I know it’s hard. My friend Jon was a pilot too. There was a storm and his plane...” Ty didn’t have to finish. The same past tense that had stuck in her throat got caught in his.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks.”

  But that only made Camille’s head hurt harder. How could Ty keep flying after something like that? She’d never u
nderstand him. Spending the entire day with him had only confused her further. “I think we’ve got enough ideas here to wow Phoebe tomorrow. I know she’s picking you over Liam.”

  A new shadow passed over Ty’s face. Dark. Forbidding. Camille was no fool. Whatever was between him and Liam went deeper than Phoebe Saylor. But then the shadow vanished and his smile returned.

  Evie came running toward them. Her face was pink. If she’d also been smiling or laughing, she’d have looked like a totally normal kid.

  “Time to go, sweetie.” But Evie wrapped her arms around Camille’s waist and shook her head. “It’s almost dinnertime.” When had five o’clock rolled around? But Evie’s head kept shaking, stronger and more frantic. She sneezed once, but that didn’t slow her down.

  Emmitt was hovering behind them. “I told her she could brush Honey later, and she hasn’t gotten her chance yet.” He looked sorry.

  “If you want, you can eat dinner here, with us,” said Ty.

  The effect was instantaneous. Evie’s eyes started glowing. Was it eating with Ty, or the idea of brushing a horse? “I guess we could.” All she’d had planned was spaghetti. “Is it okay if Nikki joins us?”

  “Sure.” Ty’s trademark grin appeared. “You’re always welcome here, remember?”

  * * *

  Ty set out three extra places at the table. Camille took the seat beside him, and Evie squeezed in next to her. Dillon waited until Nikki was seated before making his decision. He shooed Maricela away from her usual spot and slid in on Nikki’s other side.

  Tonight was Ty’s turn to say grace. Camille looked a little flustered but bowed her head and instructed Evie to do the same. Evie looked confused but did as she was told.

  There was plenty of food to go around. Anything they didn’t eat got packed into the fridge for lunch the next day. Fried chicken, roast beef, potatoes... It took a lot of food to feed two dozen mouths.

  “What does Evie like?” Ty asked. “Fried chicken?” He’d never known a kid who didn’t like fried chicken.

  “She loves it.” Camille thanked him and handed him Evie’s plate.