The Acceptance
Page 18

“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.”