Chapter 4
FOUR
TAJ
Long before I even woke up this morning, I knew I was in trouble.
Normally, the level of worry I felt was the kind of thing reserved for matters involving work and business.
But that wasn’t the case now.
In fact, I hadn’t thought about work since before I’d arrived at the park last night. I certainly didn’t think about it when I’d gotten home, and it was the furthest thing from my mind when I opened my eyes today.
I was consumed with thoughts of one thing and one thing only. A blonde-haired, green-eyed beauty with a smile that made my heart stop.
When I was still in my bed hours ago, I recalled the events of last night.
After walking that beautiful woman to her hotel, I immediately made my way back to the vendor selling the snow globes.
The longing I’d witnessed in her expression when she held it in her hands was all I’d needed to see.
At the time, I hadn’t considered how I’d get it to her, but as I lay there this morning, I couldn’t stop myself from feeling the overwhelming urge to do something to help her.
So, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone.
I got up and immediately went about putting together a gift for her—some warm clothes and that snow globe.
And I secretly hoped the note I’d included that contained my phone number would be the one thing she didn’t overlook. I desperately wanted to see her again, and I prayed she’d have the courage to call.
Knowing I’d likely go stir-crazy if I went home, I’d decided to make an impromptu visit to my parents’ place.
The moment I walked in, I found my mom in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. “Good morning, Taj. I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
I walked over and kissed her cheek. “Morning, Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t call ahead of time.”
She spun around to face me. “You know that’s not necessary, honey. But is everything okay?”
Before I could respond, my dad walked in. “Hey, Taj. What’s going on?”
“Morning, Dad.”
He moved to his wife, kissed her, and focused his attention on me again. “What are you up to this early? How was the Christmas tree lighting?”
“It was good,” I answered, rounding the counter to grab a seat on the stool. “We had a nice time. And it was a great tree this year.”
“You want some breakfast?” Mom asked.
I held my hand up and shook my head. There was a small part of me hoping I’d wind up having breakfast out this morning. I didn’t want to ruin the chances of making that happen just yet. “I’m alright.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
“Okay. So, you had a good time last night?”
Nodding again, I confirmed, “I did.”
“Was everyone there? Your Uncle Luke and Aunt Nikki said that Lark and Tessa were running behind.”
I rolled my eyes. “What else is new with those two?”
Lark and Tessa weren’t sisters, but they were just as close with one another as I suspected Chloe and Mia were. Or the way my sister was with Harper, who was Tessa’s actual sister.
“But they showed up, didn’t they?” my dad pressed.
“They did. Everyone was there.”
Silence stretched between us for a moment. I was struggling to hold myself back from saying every thought inside my head.
My dad seemed to sense there was something on my mind, and he wasn’t one to let it go. “So, what’s the problem?”
I couldn’t meet his stare. “Problem?”
He placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. When I looked at him, he said, “You’re here bright and early on a Sunday morning. I know you love us, but I don’t think this is your idea of a fun time.”
Maybe it was because she’d been busy with making breakfast, but it wasn’t until those words came out of my dad’s mouth that my mom cottoned on to something being on my mind.
The problem was that I couldn’t quite figure out what to say to them. “I… It’s nothing.”
With their breakfast plates in her hands, my mom walked toward us, her worried eyes on me. “You can talk to us about anything, Taj. You know that.”
“Is there anything happening at work? You’ve been putting a lot of pressure on yourself when it comes to running Blackman Boards, especially taking on the new project with the old warehouse.”
My gaze darted between my parents. “I put pressure on myself because I don’t want to destroy what you’ve worked so hard to build.”
“You won’t do that,” Dad insisted. “If I had any doubt about your ability to run that company, I never would’ve handed over the responsibility of it to you.”
Mom added, “You’re so meticulous about everything you do. Every decision you make. And we couldn’t be prouder of you for all that you’ve accomplished.”
I smiled at them. “Thanks for saying that. Anyway, despite my need to prove myself, this isn’t about work.”
“So, there is something wrong.” My mom’s tone indicated she was slightly panicked.
“Not necessarily wrong,” I admitted.
Placing his hand on my shoulder again, my dad said, “Son, what is it?”
Without thinking, I blurted, “I think I met her.”
“You think you met her? Met who?”
There was a long pause. The tension in the air was so thick as they waited for me to share. “The girl I’m going to marry.”
A wide grin broke out across my father’s face.
My mom’s eyes rounded in disbelief. “What? When?”
“Who is she?” my dad asked. “How long have you been seeing her?”
I dropped my gaze to the counter and shook my head.
I wasn’t quite sure which of those questions was the best or easiest to answer.
Maybe I’d gotten too far ahead of myself.
What kind of crazy person was I to be here at my parents’ house just hours after meeting someone to tell them I thought she was the girl I was going to marry?
They were going to lose their minds.
Or, well, my mom would lose hers.
“I met her last night at the Christmas tree lighting,” I revealed.
My mom had the fork with her eggs halfway to her mouth when she stopped and jerked her head back. “What?”
“I know that probably sounds crazy, but—”
“It is crazy,” she fired back. “Look, honey, I’m not saying that she isn’t the one. But you just met her. Maybe you should take her on a few dates first.”
As I suspected, my dad came to the rescue. “I had similar thoughts about you, gorgeous.”
Her eyes darted to his. “What?”
“It didn’t take long for me to know that you were the one for me, Charley.”
A touch of softness entered her expression, but there was still some tension lingering. “That’s sweet of you to say, Wes, but we went on dates. We did things together. He just met her.”
My dad turned his attention to me. “What makes you think she’s the one?”
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I can explain it. But I don’t want you to worry that it’s happening tomorrow or anything like that. I suspect she’ll need some time before she’s ready to date anyway. I mean, she was in her wedding dress when I met her.”
“What?!”
Evidently, that was the wrong thing to say. “Maybe I should start at the beginning.”
“Yeah, I think that’d be a good idea.”
So, that’s what I did. I started at the beginning and told my parents about everything that had happened from the moment I saw her standing there in front of the tree in her wedding gown.
I told them how she’d been out there in the cold with nothing else on, simply staring at the tree.
Of course, I shared how she’d left her fiancé at the altar hours earlier, needed to get away, and found this town.
After telling them how we’d walked through the line of vendors in the park while we talked and drank hot chocolate, I revealed how I’d walked her back to the hotel and returned there this morning.
“You saw her this morning?” my dad asked.
I shook my head. “No. I put together a box of clothes for her. She came here with nothing but the dress she was wearing. I thought it’d be nice for her to have something normal to wear.”
For the first time since I’d revealed anything about believing I’d met the woman of my dreams—it still felt strange to have that thought when I hadn’t even taken her on a single date—something changed in my mom’s expression. “You’ve always been such a sweet boy, Taj.”
My lips twitched. “I’m twenty-seven, Mom.”
“And no matter how old you get, you’re still going to be my sweet boy. And regarding this girl, I think you’re getting a little bit ahead of yourself with this and your declarations. That said, I can admit that I’m so incredibly proud of you. Of the man you’ve become.”
“It was just a simple gesture for someone who needed some help,” I reasoned, attempting to downplay what I’d done. Sure, I guess it was noble, which is likely all my mom saw. For me, it was so much more.
Apparently, my dad could see right through the specifics of what I’d done. “Have you heard from her?”
I shook my head. “No. Not yet. But it hasn’t been that long since I dropped the package off at the hotel.”
“Do you think she’s going to call?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I hope so, because I can’t stop thinking about her. I just want to do things to make her happy. To see her smile. After seeing her alone in front of that tree, that’s all I want to do.”
My mom reached out and curled her fingers around my hand.
“Whatever you do, kiddo, please be careful. I’m not saying anything bad about her.
She did whatever she had to do, whatever she felt was right for her.
But if she was supposed to get married yesterday, she might still have a lot of mixed emotions.
I don’t want to see you get hurt in the process. ”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised.
“Good. Now, are you sure you don’t want something to eat?”
My dad answered for me. “He doesn’t. He’s hoping she’s going to reach out to him this morning, so he can take her out for breakfast.”
Eyeing him curiously, I asked, “How did you know?”
He grinned at me. “I was the same way when I first met your mom. I did everything and anything I could think of to constantly be in her space. I’d wake up earlier to go to work, just so I’d be able to spend my afternoons at Parks Ridge Ski Resort to snowboard with her before her shift at the coffee shop there.
I suspect, if your interest in this girl is anything like it was for me with your mom, you’ll put in the effort.
And I trust you’ll do it in a way that respects and honors wherever she is in her life right now. ”
If there was one thing my dad had drilled into my head—whether through conversations like this or by showing me with the way that he was with my mom—it was about the responsibility I had to the important women in my life.
My mom, my sister, our dearest friends who felt like sisters to me, and whoever I might have been romantically involved with.
And if getting the lessons from him hadn’t been enough, I saw it with my uncles—Zane, Stone, Luke, and Levi.
“You know I will, Dad.”
Pride washed over his expression. “Your mom isn’t wrong.
You’ve become a man that we’re both extremely proud of.
Not just in this, but in everything you’ve done.
The way you’ve risen to the occasion and taken over this company that’s known all over the world, to add something to it that’s meaningful, is astonishing. ”
My lips twitched. “No pressure, right?”
“No.” The look on his face turned serious.
“None, Taj. You work so hard to always do the right thing. Ever since you were young, you’ve always been that way.
There’s no need to feel any pressure, because you’ve lived your life with dignity from the start.
I don’t think you’re going to change that now when you’d have so much to lose.
And I’m not referring to money, either.”
He wasn’t.
Of course, he wasn’t.
For him, this came down to respect and honor. It was about what kind of human he’d raised.
“I don’t intend to,” I assured him.
He smiled and returned to his food, my mom doing the same. And just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. My stomach was instantly a mess of nerves as I slid my hand into my jeans and pulled it out.
A text from an unknown number.
Knock, knock?
My lips curved into a smile.
It was her.
I didn’t hesitate to tap out a reply.
Who’s there?
“It’s her, isn’t it?”
Tearing my attention away from the phone, I looked at my dad and grinned. “It’s her.”
He smiled at me. “I take it you’re leaving here soon, then?”
My phone buzzed in my hand, and the text was from that same unknown number.
Olivia
Wendy?
This was ridiculous, but I played along.
Wendy who?
Olivia
Wendy you think you can pick me up for one of these tours?
My fingers flew across the screen.
I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.
I stood from the stool and looked down at my parents. “I’m leaving now.”
My dad couldn’t have been happier for me. My mom had tears in her eyes, a small smile playing at her lips. “Have a good time.”
I gave her a hug. “I will. Thanks, Mom.”
“Bye, Dad.”
“Later, Taj. And, Son?”
“Yeah?”
He hesitated a beat. “Trust yourself. You already know what to do. Just trust in yourself the way your mom and I do.”
I jerked my chin down. “Thanks, Dad.”
A moment later, I was out the door and on my way to the hotel. I had mere minutes to come up with a plan for the day. With any luck, I’d make a good impression.