A Mile High Engagement Read online

  Trailers lined each side of the paved road, each one with a little yard in front. Most had front porches, too. These were homes not temporary shelters.

  But it was still what it was—a trailer park.

  Tyler didn't say anything as they drove forward but she could tell he was surprised.

  Sarah suddenly regretted hiding so much of her past from him. It wasn't that she was ashamed of who she was or where she came from. It was just that she'd seen people's reactions when she said she grew up in a trailer park—seen them step back slightly and try not to sneer, reassessing everything they'd thought about her up to that point.

  And why? Just because her home was cheaper than theirs? As if living in an apartment would've been better? At least here they'd had a yard to play in and a pool down the road and a front porch to sit on at night.

  So she'd kept this from Tyler, because she hadn't wanted to see that kind of judgement on the face of the man she loved.

  She wondered what he saw as they drove towards her mom's trailer.

  She saw people trying hard to have a good life. The lawns were well-tended, the people friendly. Sure, they might work at mining and construction and jobs like that, but they took pride in owning their own homes and did the best they could with the money they had.

  And it was a community. If someone needed help, all they had to do was ask and everyone would help as best they could.

  But would Tyler see that? Or would he just see a trailer park and all the stupid, ridiculous stereotypes that went with it? Would he see Bob wiping grease off on his shirt as he rolled out from under his truck and turn his nose up? Or watch the kids in their underwear playing in a sprinkler and assume it was because the parents were too poor for bathing suits or too white trash to cover them properly?

  These were her people and she didn't want to judge them, but she did, trying to see them through Tyler's eyes.

  "There's my sister and her husband's trailer." Sarah pointed as they drove by. It was a double-wide, painted tan and dark brown. Her brother-in-law had built the screened-in patio last summer. His old pick-up sat in the driveway, a little rusty here or there, but it still ran like a champ.

  "Your sister and her husband live here, too." Tyler kept his voice carefully neutral.

  Sarah nodded, chewing on her thumbnail once more. "Um-hm. My brothers do, too, but their places are on the other end of the park. I was the only one who moved away. Until I quit my job and moved back in with my mom that is. There. It's the white one with the green trim at the end of the lane."

  For the first time, Sarah noted how the old swing in the front yard was falling apart, the cover tattered at the edges, the paint flaking away. It squeaked, too, but no one was sitting on it at the moment.

  An old rusted swamp cooler leaned against the wall behind it. It had been there for years; she'd never given it a second thought until now.

  Tyler was quiet as he pulled his limited-edition BMW to a stop.

  Sarah's brothers watched them from where they sat on the front steps drinking cans of Budweiser. Their faces were closed off, almost hostile—so different from their normal, joking, laughing selves. It reminded her of when she was fifteen and Billy had come over to pick her up for their first date. Her brothers had sat outside and looked just as disapproving then, too.

  She felt a small surge of love for them, quickly followed by the annoyance of a woman old enough to make her own damned choices but still treated like a child by her family.

  Sometimes she hated being the youngest.

  "Don't worry, they don't bite." Sarah gave Tyler a quick kiss on the cheek and got out of the car. "Hey! Where's my hug?" she asked as she walked towards her brothers.

  Chris cracked a smile and stood to hug her, his considerable bulk too much for her to actually fit her arms around. "This the one, huh?" he asked, his eyes still fixed on the car. "Shoulda known you'd go for some fancy pants froo froo boy instead of a real man."

  Sarah glared at him until he looked away with a blush. "Be nice, Chris. He's…he's a good guy, he treats me well, he respects me. But he'll probably fuck up a few things tonight, okay? So take it easy on him."

  Chris nodded grudgingly.

  She turned to hug Paul. He picked her up and spun her around as if she weighed nothing.

  "Congratulations," he said as he finally set her down. Sarah staggered a bit, trying to get rid of the dizziness.

  Paul stepped past Sarah and extended his large hand towards Tyler. "Tyler? Paul. Pleased to meet ya."

  "Likewise." Tyler shook Paul's hand. He almost managed to keep the pained expression from his face as Paul squeezed his slender hand in his big, beefy one.

  "Knock it off." Sarah slapped Paul's arm.

  He let go of Tyler's hand and stepped back, laughing. "Just had to test him a bit. Make sure he's good enough for my little sis."

  "Well, he is. So back off."

  Tyler waved her down. "It's okay. I understand. If I had a little sister who'd just agreed to marry a man I'd never met, I'd want to see what he was made of, too." He flexed his fingers and grinned ruefully at Paul.

  Chris extended a hand towards Tyler and Tyler met his eyes with a resigned grin as he took it. Chris squeezed hard, too, and Tyler winced, but he took it. Chris let him go and stepped away with an approving nod. "So far so good, sis. We'll see how he does with Mom."

  Sarah glanced up the stairs to the screen door, her stomach clenched in fear. That was the big question, wasn't it? How was he going to do with her mother?

  She sent a silent prayer to any saints or gods willing to listen and then took Tyler's uninjured hand in hers. "Are you ready for this?"

  He shrugged. "No, but we have to do it at some point, right?"

  * * *

  Sarah's mom was in the kitchen, seated at the table with Jane, Hannah, and Mary. The kids were parked in the front room watching some cartoon, so engrossed they didn't even glance up to see that Sarah was there.

  Sarah's mom stood to greet them with the smile she reserved for guests she didn't particularly like; her lips curved upward to reveal straight white teeth but her eyes were cold and flat.

  Sarah studied her mom for the first time in a long time. Once, her mom had been as curvy as Sarah was now, but time had added inches to her waist until she was now very busty, but more straight than svelte. Her hair was mostly gray and tied back from her round face. She still had a beautiful smile, though, and more than one man gave her an admiring glance when she was out and about.

  She stared Tyler up and down, lips pursed in disapproval. "So this is him?"

  "This is him." Sarah stepped forward and hugged her mom, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Mom, I'd like you to meet Tyler Corrigan, my fiancé. Tyler, this is my mom, Susan Baxter."

  Tyler stepped forward with a full smile that revealed his perfect teeth and the gorgeous dimple in his chin. "Ms. Baxter. I can see where your daughter gets her good looks from. Here. I hope you like wine." He held out a bottle of wine he'd grabbed from his kitchen on the way out the door.

  It was probably worth a fortune and completely wasted on her mother (as it would've been on Sarah), but Sarah hoped her mother would take it. And maybe smile a real smile.

  Her mom's lips twitched upward a bit and her gaze thawed just a touch. "Thank you, Tyler. That was very kind of you. Now, where's the ring? Let us see."

  Sarah and Tyler exchanged a look. "Um, well…"

  Tyler bit his lip and scratched at his head. "You mind if we sit? And then I'll tell you the whole story."

  Her mother shrugged and Tyler sat down, taking Sarah's hand in his own. Sarah's mom handed them each a can of beer and then sat back down to listen. To Tyler's credit, he popped the can of beer open without hesitation and took a sip.

  Sarah had never seen him drink a beer before. He was a scotch and wine sort of man.

  Tyler blushed a bit as he started to talk, but he kept his eyes focused on Sarah's face and eventually lost himself in telling their story.
>
  It was very different from how Sarah would've told it. In Tyler's version he'd seen and fallen in love with her on the first day she walked into Corrigan, Inc. more than two years ago, but Sarah Baxter had wanted nothing to do with his rich, entitled ass.

  And she hadn't hesitated to let him know in every way possible. He'd despaired of ever breaking through that reserve until fate intervened and they found themselves alone for hours on a flight to Paris and he'd finally had his chance to woo her.

  Sarah's mom snorted at that and Sarah tore her eyes away from Tyler's face to see her mom's too-knowing look. "It was a legitimate work trip, mom. There really was a fraud that needed investigating."

  Her mother glanced at Tyler and then back to Sarah. "You missed Christmas for the second year because of your work."

  Sarah sighed. Her mother would never let her forget it either.

  "And I'm sorry for that, Ms. Baxter. I am. If we'd had the time, I would've never asked Sarah to leave her family behind on Christmas. But you should know, too, that she missed you all terribly and let both Mr. Horowitz and me have it before she left."

  Sarah's mother took another swig of her beer. "Go on, then."

  Sarah squeezed Tyler's hand and continued with the story. "After that we were dating, but it wasn't always easy because Tyler travels a lot and I was here trying to work." She didn't mention breaking up with him because he'd tried to take her shopping and she'd felt he was trying to change her.

  "We knew we loved each other, we'd both said it more than once, but we finally reached a point where we just couldn't keep it going any more. I wasn't willing to quit my job and leave here to travel with him and he couldn't be here." She shrugged. "So we broke up."

  She stopped to smile at Tyler before continuing. "But then last night…"

  Tyler continued the story. "Last night I saw her and I knew. I knew she was the only woman I ever wanted and that I was willing to do whatever it takes to be with her. So I proposed."

  Sarah's mother snorted.

  "Mom."

  Her mother looked back and forth between them and Sarah suddenly felt like she was back in high school getting "the talk" from her mother.

  "Look, I don't doubt that you love each other. I've never seen my baby girl glowing the way she is right now. But…marriage is hard even when you love someone. And if you couldn't make dating work, what makes you think you can make marriage work?"

  Sarah started to reply, but Tyler stopped her. He leaned forward, holding her mother's gaze. "Ms. Baxter, we'll make this work because we're committed to making it work. It won't be easy, we know that. But I don't want to lose Sarah again and…" He glanced at Sarah. "And I don't think she wants to lose me again either."

  Sarah shook her head.

  "So, see? We're committed to this. And if we're both committed, we can make it."

  Sarah's mother snorted again and shook her head as she stood from the table. "Spoken like a true rich boy who's never had to deal with real failure." She pulled a casserole out of the stove and set it on a hot plate on the counter before turning back to them. "Do you know what happened to Sarah's dad?"

  Tyler shook his head.

  "He was killed. Stepped in to defend a friend at a bar and someone stabbed him to death. Just like that." She snapped her fingers. "Here I was, four young kids, and her dad was gone. Dead. We loved each other, but you think that mattered after he was gone? Love's a sweet sentiment, but it doesn't pay the rent or feed four hungry kids."

  Tyler frowned. "Once we're married, if something happens to me Sarah will be well taken care of for the rest of her life."

  Sarah's mother leaned back against the counter, her arms crossed. "And what happens to Sarah if this doesn't work out? If she gives up everything for you and you decide she isn't what you want in a year or two or ten?"

  "I'm not giving up anything, Mom. I'm gonna keep running this business and being here for my family. Tyler's the one who's going to change his life to make sure I can be part of it."

  Her mother turned to study Tyler once more. "That true?"

  He nodded. "Yeah. I'm…I'm planning on traveling a lot less so Sarah and I can be together as much as possible."

  Her mother grunted and turned back to her casserole. She shoved a spoon in the casserole, grabbed the salad she'd made from the fridge, and plopped it down next to the casserole. "Dinner's ready. Serve yourselves."

  Sarah's mother went to the front door to call Chris and Paul in and summon the kids from their TV watching.

  Tyler looked at Sarah and she shrugged. That was about as good as it was gonna get. At least her mother hadn't kicked him out.

  * * *

  Later that night as they drove home after dinner and dessert and more than a few hands of penny-ante poker, Sarah asked. "So, still want to marry me?"

  "Of course."

  "Even if it means spending every Sunday with that group of crazies?"

  He laughed and then grew serious. "Sarah, that was…wonderful. I loved it."

  She stared at him. His face was barely visible as they drove down the dark highway.

  "You mean that?" she asked, softly.

  He took her hand in his. "Absolutely. I've never had a family, Sarah. Not really. I have two parents who raised me, but we've never been family. We're not close. Today when your mom heard the news, she called and wanted to meet me. And she didn't just accept me because I'm rich, she wanted to know whether I was a good match for you. Because she loves you.

  "My parents e-mailed to complain about how I'd interfered with their lives with my unfortunate announcement and all they cared about was what their friends will think."

  He squeezed her hand and smiled at her. "Tonight was…great. I just hope they liked me."

  A tension Sarah didn't know she'd been feeling suddenly relaxed and she leaned back into the leather seat. "Oh they did. They weren't sure at first, I'm sure you could see that. But when you sat on the floor with Katie and listened to her ramble on and on and on about that stupid show she was watching…And then you managed to beat Paul at poker, too? That did it. They love you now."

  "They do?"

  "They do."

  Tyler smiled and so did Sarah. He'd liked her family and they'd liked him. Maybe this thing was really going to work out…Maybe she could have it all.

  * * *

  That night, Sarah and Tyler made love for the first time. Oh, sure, they'd had sex before. Wild and fun and passionate sex that made Sarah feel things she'd never imagined were even possible.

  But for the first time that night they were slow and tender with one another, taking their time, touching and exploring, immersing themselves in one another's bodies. They lay together on his bed, slow and languid, their hands softly stroking as they whispered and dreamed about their future together.

  Sarah spoke about the business, thrilled and excited that they'd already had five calls from the party the night before. She told Tyler of her dream for a series of small boutiques along the East Coast and in Milan and Paris and London and Tokyo and Singapore. She whispered to him about how she wanted to be wealthy, but not alone; how she wanted to bring her friends and family with her. They could build something together and all benefit, all move up in life. She could have financial stability and her family too.

  Tyler spoke of his desire to step back from the day-to-day running of Corrigan, Inc. About his dreams of one day starting a small little shop somewhere that he could run himself, where he knew all the customers, and puttered around straightening things and sweeping the floors.

  They talked about how wonderful it would be to come home to each other each night. And the kids they'd have. Two of them. A boy and a girl.

  They laughed about possible baby names as they kissed softly. (His family tradition would've had the girl named Mildred Ethel Olga Corrigan.)

  Their kisses slowly deepened into something more and the wave of their mutual passion pulled them under until they lost themselves in one another, only surfacing hours lat
er, drained, exhausted, satiated.

  Sarah snuggled herself against Tyler's body and tried not to think.

  It was all so perfect. So, so perfect.

  * * *

  The story continues in A Mile High Gala. Or you can read the entire eight-story collection, A Mile High Romance: The Complete Collection.

  About the Author

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  You can contact the author at [email protected].

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  For other titles by Cassidy Coal as well as titles by C. Coal and C.K. Carr visit http://ckcauthor.com/.

  Steamy Short Stories by Cassidy Coal

  A Mile High Romance: The Complete Collection

  An Undeniable Attraction: The Complete Collection

  A New Year’s to Remember

  * * *

  Sweet Short Stories by Cassidy Coal

  writing as C. Coal

  Puppy Love: Volumes 1 to 13

  * * *

  Novels by Cassidy Coal writing as C.K. Carr

  Something Worth Having

  Something Gained

  Text copyright 2014-2015 M.L. Humphrey

  All Rights Reserved

 

 

  Cassidy Coal, A Mile High Engagement

 

 

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