A Matter of Trust: A Christian Romance (BlackThorpe Security Book 3) Read online

  A Matter of Trust

  By

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Copyright ©2015

  Kimberly Rae Jordan

  A man, a woman & their God.

  Three Strand Press publishes Christian Romance stories

  that intertwine love, faith and family.

  Always clean. Always heartwarming. Always uplifting.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic or mechanical without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations being used in reviews or articles about the book.

  This is a work of fiction. The situations, characters, names and places are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to locales, events, actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment and may not be re-sold or transferred via any method to any other individual. If you are reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please respect the hard work of the author who has spent many hours creating this story for your enjoyment and purchase your own copy of this eBook. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials by illegally downloading or sharing this eBook. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

  Available Titles

  By Kimberly Rae Jordan

  (Christian Romances)

  ~*~ BlackThorpe Security ~*~

  Guarding Her Heart

  Signs of Love

  A Matter of Trust

  Proof of Life

  ~*~ The McKinleys ~*~

  This Time with Love

  Forever My Love

  When There Is Love

  ~*~ Home to Collingsworth ~*~

  Home Is Where the Heart Is

  Home Away From Home

  Love Makes a House a Home

  The Long Road Home

  Her Heart, His Home

  Coming Home

  ~*~ Those Karlsson Boys ~*~

  Waiting for Rachel

  Worth the Wait

  The Waiting Heart

  Marrying Kate

  Faith, Hope & Love

  A Little Bit of Love:

  A Collection of Christian Romance Short Stories

  For the latest news on releases and sales for Kimberly Rae Jordan’s books, please sign up for her newsletter.

  http://eepurl.com/WFhYr

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader ~ Thank you so much for buying A MATTER OF TRUST! This is book 3 of the BlackThorpe Security series. If you haven’t read book 1 (Guarding Her Heart) yet, click here to get it for just $.99. While A MATTER OF TRUST is a standalone book, your reading experience may be enhanced by reading the first two books in the series.

  Thank you once again for your continued support of my books and happy reading!

  –Kimberly Rae

  CHAPTER ONE

  MELANIE THORPE watched Justin Morrell and his girlfriend, Alana Jensen, make their way across the crowded room. The muscled man had his arm around Alana’s shoulders, his expression softening as he looked down at her. Justin was not a man known for adoring looks and blatant affection. That he indulged in both with Alana—without a care for who saw them—was a true indication of the love he had for the woman. A knot tightened in Melanie’s stomach as her gaze followed them to where they stopped to congratulate Than Miller and Lindsay Hamilton on their engagement.

  She had thought that Justin was a die-hard bachelor. Married to the job. Devoted to BlackThorpe. Instead, Alana had walked into his life, and suddenly, the intense focus he’d had on his job had faded away to a more normal one. It hadn’t taken long for him to start walking around with the same look that Eric McKinley, Trent Hause, and Than had had on their faces as they’d fallen in love.

  Justin was a good man. If Melanie had been interested in having a man in her life, he would have been one she’d consider. But things had worked out as they should. Alana was good for him. She’d pulled emotion from him that no one else had, and her friend was happier than she’d ever seen him in the years they’d known each other.

  For a brief moment—as she studied the two couples standing together—Melanie wondered what it would be like to fall in love. Truly fall in love with a person you could trust with your heart. Your life. Someone whose love brought happiness, not fear.

  “What did Justin do to tick you off?”

  Melanie turned to look at the woman sitting next to her at the round table. Her sister’s blue eyes were narrowed as she waited for an answer to her question.

  Leaning back in her chair, Melanie crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap. “He didn’t do anything.”

  “Then why are you scowling at him and Alana?”

  “I wasn’t scowling at them.” Melanie let out a sigh. “I was thinking about something else.”

  “Were you thinking about the changes you’re going to make when you turn thirty?” Adrianne asked, a grin lifting the corners of her mouth.

  “Changes?” Melanie had actually been trying to avoid thinking about the birthday that was just around the corner. “What kind of changes?”

  Adrianne reached out to tug a short strand of her hair. “Well, for starters, you could lose the goth look.”

  “It’s not goth.” Melanie lifted her chin. “Besides, I like this look and don’t see any reason to change.”

  “I kinda—sorta—get the hair. I mean, the dark brown hair is beautiful, but why do you keep wearing those colored contacts? It’s like you don’t want to look anything like Alex or me.”

  “Not looking like you guys has nothing to do with it. I just…it’s a personal preference.” And after fourteen years of sporting the short dark brown hair and brown eyes, Melanie had almost forgotten what she used to look like.

  Almost.

  “Well, then the next thing you need to change is your approach to dating.”

  That made Melanie laugh. “You’re one to talk, Annie.”

  Adrianne’s eyebrows drew together at the use of the nickname. “At least I go out on dates. You just flat out turn down any guy brave enough to ask.”

  Melanie’s gaze moved from Adrianne to Alex, their brother, Adrianne’s twin. He currently sat with his head bent, listening to something Marcus Black was saying. Of the three of them, Adrianne was the one who dated the most, but even she hadn’t found someone that she wanted to date for more than a month or two.

  Alex was more like her than his twin. He didn’t date, period. Melanie had no clue why he never asked anyone out, but she didn’t press him about it as she had her own reasons for avoiding dating.

  She hoped that Adrianne would find someone to marry soon. I
t would be great if she could give their parents the wedding and the grandchildren they kept pestering for because Melanie sure wasn’t going to be the one to give them either of those things.

  “Maybe for your birthday I’ll set up a profile for you on one of those online dating sites,” Adrianne said.

  “Go for it,” Melanie challenged her. “I’ll just change my profile to your picture and all your details. Loves long walks on the beach, sitting in front of a blazing fire and knitting socks for all my family.”

  “Only if you can crack the password.”

  “I know people who can do that for me,” Melanie said with a smirk.

  Adrianne rolled her eyes. “And for the record, I only gave you guys socks for one Christmas.”

  “It’s not a talent that should be overlooked when searching for a mate,” Melanie told her. “I mean, we do live in Minnesota after all. You never know when you’ll need to keep your feet warm during a snowstorm.”

  Adrianne gave her a frustrated look before turning her attention to the other side of the room. “They sure do look happy, don’t they?”

  Melanie had to agree with her sister. Than and Lindsay looked deliriously happy, and she was glad for them. But now with them engaged, and Justin and Alana looking like they were on their way to that point as well, half the BlackThorpe management team was off the market. That left her, Adrianne, Alex and Marcus. If she had to put her money on one of them, she’d put it on Adrianne. After all, a person had to actually date in order to find someone to marry.

  All she knew for certain was that that person wouldn’t be her.

  ~*~*~

  Tyler Harris propped his elbows on the desk and pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. He’d been staring at the computer screen for way too long without a break.

  Pushing away from his desk, Tyler stood. He steadied himself on one foot before carefully shifting his weight to the other. For the next couple of minutes, he stretched his body side to side to ease the tightness in his back.

  Deciding that a fresh cup of coffee would help his focus, Tyler leaned over his desk to snag his travel mug, grimacing when a muscle spasmed in his back. Hopefully, the walk to the lunch room would help to work out any remaining kinks in his body.

  As he straightened, he heard a rap on his door. Swinging around, Tyler spotted Melanie Thorpe standing in the doorway and smiled.

  “Hey. Long time no see.” It had been a couple of weeks since he’d last seen her. Busy work schedules had kept their paths from crossing lately. “What are you doing in my neck of the woods?”

  She returned his smile, her expression warm albeit a bit reserved. “Do you have a minute to chat?”

  “For you? Always.”

  Tyler waited until she’d seated herself in the chair on the other side of his desk before he settled back in the one he’d been so relieved to get out of just moments earlier. Melanie’s dark eyes regarded him as he waited for her to begin their conversation.

  As he had ever since they’d first met and he’d realized who she was, Tyler had tried to figure out why Melanie looked so different from her siblings. With her short dark brown hair and piercing nearly-black eyes, she presented a striking picture that was pretty much the opposite of Alex and Adrianne. He’d commented on it once, but she’d just brushed it aside as looking like different sides of the family.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting you,” she said, waving her hand at the piles of paper on his desk.

  “Nope.” Tyler leaned back in his chair, interlacing his fingers behind his head. “I was getting ready to take a break anyway.”

  “I won’t keep you too long.” She paused. “I’m here to ask a favor.”

  “What’s that?” Tyler asked even though he had a feeling he knew what the favor would be. It was one she’d asked of him before, and one he never refused.

  “We’ve had a new guy at the Wellness Center for a week or so, but he’s resisting any type of rehabilitation.”

  Frowning, Tyler lowered his arms and sat forward. “If he doesn’t want the help, why is he there?”

  BlackThorpe’s program to help soldiers wounded overseas usually took in men and women who wanted to make use of the resources that the company had for them. To have someone taking a spot in the program who didn’t want to be there was a shame.

  “We took him in as a favor. His older brother is a friend of Alex and Marcus. Unfortunately, it seems that he wants his sibling there more than his brother wants to be there.”

  Tyler dragged a hand through his hair, wincing as his fingers caught in a tangle of curls. “Let me guess. He needs prosthetics.”

  Melanie nodded. “Just one actually. Left leg.”

  “You want me to talk to him?” Tyler asked.

  “If you have some time to stop by.” Melanie smiled at him—a smile, that as usual, didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’re our best success story.”

  Tyler shifted in his seat. It was true that he’d accomplished quite a bit with BlackThorpe’s help. Not only had they assisted him with rehabilitation after his accident in Afghanistan, but Marcus had given him a job. He’d been working at the company for over five years now.

  “What’s the best time to drop by?” Tyler asked, his mind already flipping through his schedule for the next few days.

  “He has therapy—not that he makes use of it—at nine and again at three, so sometime around then would be great.”

  “Okay. I’ll try to stop by tomorrow.”

  Melanie got to her feet in one fluid movement. “Thanks so much, Tyler.”

  “You’re welcome,” Tyler said and stood as well, though not quite as smoothly as she had.

  “Good to see you again.” She gave him one last smile as she headed for the door. “See you tomorrow.”

  Tyler watched as she disappeared into the hallway, a bit perplexed at the quick visit. Usually, she’d spend a few minutes shooting the breeze with him, so the fact that she’d warmed the chair in his office for not even five minutes told him something was up with her. However, unless she offered up the information, he wouldn’t learn anything. Neither of them pried into things the other person didn’t choose willingly to share. No doubt some would say that made their friendship a little weird, but so far it had worked for them.

  When they’d first met over six years ago, she’d been a student who worked part-time at the BlackThorpe Wellness Center while attending college. He’d been a wounded former soldier who was determined to get his life back to normal…or as close to normal as possible, with two prosthetic legs.

  When he’d left the military hospital to return stateside, Tyler had decided he wanted to go someplace that would offer him well-rounded and intensive therapy as he worked to get his life back. That’s when his stepfather, Hank, had given him information on the BlackThorpe Wellness Center.

  At the time, his main source of support had come from his wife. Kelly. She’d come from Texas to be with him in Minnesota. But that hadn’t lasted much beyond a couple of months. It wasn’t long before she’d decided she needed to be home in Texas, to go back to her job. Her phone calls and visits gradually dropped off as she carried on with the life they’d once shared together…without him. Friends had been hinting that she’d found someone new not long after his accident, so the divorce papers hadn’t been a huge surprise when they’d arrived six months after his accident.

  Though she’d never said anything about the way Kelly had faded from his life, Melanie seemed to be around more once she’d gone. As a student, Melanie hadn’t been in charge of his therapy or even involved in it really, but she’d taken the time each day to stop and chat if she saw him. Their conversations were rarely related to his recovery. Once she discovered he enjoyed basketball, she’d ask him how his team was doing. Sometimes she’d talk to him about something significant in the news.

  He’d found himself enjoying their chats, grateful for a friendly face. She’d never flirted with him, and he’d appreciated that. It would have taken
them to an awkward place because he had absolutely zero interest in any kind of relationship beyond friends. And he still felt that way—although to a somewhat lesser degree. Once burned was definitely twice shy in his situation. Eventually, she’d graduated and after a year working as a psychologist, counseling the men and women who came through the doors, Melanie had stepped into the role of director of the Wellness Center.

  When he’d gotten to the point where he was able to do most of what he wanted on his prosthetics, Marcus had approached him about working for BlackThorpe. With no other direction in his life, Tyler hadn’t hesitated to accept the job offer. And while he really wasn’t thrilled about the winters in Minnesota, everything else in his life was good so he wouldn’t complain. Much.

  Tyler and Melanie had kept up their casual friendship over the years since, chatting at least once a week. They’d go out for dinner with a group of people from BlackThorpe once in a while and occasionally had coffee when they had the time. They were in contact enough that when two weeks had gone by without seeing or hearing from her, Tyler had started to worry.

  He still wasn’t convinced that everything was okay with her, but he wasn’t sure he had the right to pry. It was somewhat perplexing to him why he suddenly seemed to want to.

  Snagging his mug, Tyler made his way out of the office and down the hall to where the lunchroom for their floor was situated. There was a small deli on the main floor, but each floor also had its own lunchroom. As he walked into the brightly lit room, he spotted one of his good friends sitting at a table near one of the large windows looking out over the skyline of the Twin Cities.

  “Hey, Ryan,” Tyler called out as he approached the coffee machine.

  “Yo!” His friend twisted to give him a salute. “How’s it going?”

  “It’s going.” Tyler finished doctoring his coffee and joined Ryan at his table. “Melanie stopped by to see if I’d meet with a vet who’s having a hard time with the rehab.”