CHAPTER 4

Hailey and Jesse smiled after Taylor explained herself. “You are totally fine,” Hailey said reassuringly, “We understand why you didn’t tell us. It is not a big deal.”

“I know. But I feel bad now that your name has been put into the circus.” Taylor looked upset.

Jesse decided to step in. “You are in an impossible situation. Trying to protect yourself and trying to protect everyone else. Someone is going to get hit. It just happened to be you. And that is because you are the one that won’t tell. There is nothing the media loves more than a scandal, and your refusal to tell them anything makes them curious. Most people know that none of the rumors are true, but there are the few that will eat it up…so they still print it.” He smiled. “You are one of the strongest people I know. You have been through so much that the world doesn’t know about. You can handle this and anything else they throw at you. And you do not need to worry about us.” He looked at Hailey.

 Hailey smiled at him, “We have news too, and it’s good.” She looked nervous.

Taylor raised her eyebrows in anticipation. “Okay, my curiosity is peaked.”

“We are getting married!” Hailey said excitedly. “I’m really sorry you are finding out now, after you have had such a hard week, but I want you to be my maid of honor.”

Taylor jumped up and went to hug Hailey and Jesse. They both smiled. No matter what they should have known Taylor would be happy for them, that’s the kind of person she was. Always giving, always thinking of others. Most of the time this was a good thing. However, Jesse couldn’t help but think it might hurt her in the near future. Taylor was the strong one for the people in her life, she needed someone to be strong for her; everyone leaned on her. She needed someone to be her strong person.

“YAY! Of course, I will be your maid of honor. It is so exciting! We have to start planning.”

Hailey’s smile changed, “Well, we already planned most of it.” She looked at Jesse, “We agreed that we wanted it to be a short engagement and a small ceremony. That way there is less chance of anyone leaking it.” She took a deep breath, “So, we are going to have the wedding in two weeks. We have everything we need; the place, the food, the license, the wedding party, family and friends.”

Taylor’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it was happening so fast. “Wow…I can’t believe it’s so soon. Let’s go over the details please. I want to be caught up on everything, starting with the proposal.”

Taylor, Hailey, and Jesse talked for over two hours about the proposal, the wedding, Taylor’s life, and what possible solutions there could be. Taylor loved her best friends and could not ask for better people in her life. She was so happy for them, but in her heart she felt jealousy and a little resentment. Her life was not going as well. The media was speculating on her private life for the entire world to see, Jake was out of the country working, and Henry and PJ were in Tennessee at home. She wanted to go to sleep and have it all be a bad dream. Unfortunately, as she locked up after Hailey and Jesse left, Taylor knew this would not happen. She sighed and went to her room to get ready for bed.

As she got dressed the next morning she took time to pray. She knew she could not make it through without Him. “Lord, I don’t know what today will hold. But please let me handle it the way You want me to.” Her voice broke. “I think I am doing the right thing. Please let me know if I am wrong.”

After breakfast Taylor talked to Jake and Henry to assure them she was fine. Neither one of them believed her, she knew this, but they both knew that she could handle herself and Jake knew that it was her decision not to tell where she was on vacation. Henry had a different opinion.

“Tay, you need to tell them you were at home. No one will think anything of it.”

“Henry, no. We’ve talked about this. It would be different if I had planned the trip. The fact that I left so suddenly is the main problem, not the location. If I tell that I was home, they will start poking around to see why the visit couldn’t have waited. You were strong for me. Let me be strong for you. Please.”

Henry knew that tone. He knew that Taylor was not going to change her mind. And he also knew it was her decision to keep his secret; even though he did not totally agree. He sighed, “Okay, on a different note. I have decided that I will take you up on your offer. PJ and I will move to LA and live with you. I have it all worked out, we will be there in a month.”

Taylor jumped out of her chair and did a little dance, “Seriously?! Yes!”

Henry smiled; he knew this would be her reaction. “So, go buy that house you’ve been looking at and get settled before our bachelor ways and craziness invade.”

Taylor laughed, she knew it would be an adjustment, but it would be so nice to have Henry and PJ so close after being apart for so long. “Will do. I have got to go start making arrangements. Talk to you soon! And love you!”

Taylor hung up the phone before Henry could say good-bye. She immediately went and called the real-estate agent she had talked with before. As she sat down at her desk after the call, she thought back to the last time she and Henry had lived together, and how she would be strong for him and PJ because Henry had always been strong for her.

SEVEN YEARS EARLIER

Taylor sat and watched as her parents were lowered into the ground. Dry eyed she sat as the flag was handed to Henry. Sixteen was too young to lose her parents. Her mother wouldn’t be there to help her get ready for her first date or prom. Her father wouldn’t be there to teach her to drive or walk her down the aisle at her wedding. It was not supposed to happen this way. Life was not fair. Taylor thought about PJ and how at one, he wouldn’t even remember his grandparents. She thought about Henry, who had lost his birthmother at five, now he had lost his mother of eighteen years and his father.

Suddenly Henry took her arm. The funeral was over. Taylor wasn’t sure how much time had passed, or what exactly had happened during the service. She felt like she was in a daze.

“Honey, it’s time to go back to the house.” Henry said gently as he led her to the car.

“Okay.”

“It will be alright. Somehow. I promise.”

Taylor looked up at him in his uniform. So like their father is made her heart ache. She looked at her own skin. Henry’s mother had been African while her mother was Caucasian, so the pallor cause by stress, anxiety, sadness, and every other emotion possible made her white skin look even paler next to his. She looked back at the graves that help her parents’ bodies, took a deep breath, and prayed for strength.

“I know. We will make it through. Somehow.” She gathered all of the courage she could and smiled up at her brother.

They went back to the house and sat while people gathered and gave their condolences once more. Taylor was exhausted by the time the last mourner left. Then the door rang. Thinking that there was no way she could handle this, she looked for Henry, when she saw that he was busy with PJ, she knew she would have to face the person at the door.

Taylor opened the door prepared to force a smile and ‘thank you,’ when she got the best surprise of the day, Jake. Jake smiled and took her into his arms; Taylor burst into tears and cried on his shoulder.

FIVE YEARS EARLIER

Taylor stood holding a tired and confused PJ as she waved one last time to her brother. He was being deployed to some far away land and she was now in charge. At eighteen this was not easy, or normal. She looked around at the families there to say good-bye to their service members and once again wondered how anyone could walk away from a husband and child because of the military lifestyle. PJ’s mother had done this very thing when he was six months old and Henry had been set to deploy. PJ had come to live with Taylor and her parents for the duration of the deployment. Then the accident had occurred and Henry had been granted emergency leave. He had been home with them on base for almost two years. It was a blessing he hadn’t been deployed sooner. Henry was the strong one. Taylor went back to the house and put PJ down for a nap. She looked around the house and thought about how much it would take to run a house and thanked her Lord that she had taken extra classes and graduated early, so she didn’t have school to manage as well.

She heard a knock at the door. She had no idea who would be coming by so she had no expectations when she opened the door. Jake’s smiling face greeted her and she squealed as she shut the door behind her so they wouldn’t wake PJ.

“What are you doing here?” Taylor asked. “You are supposed to be working.”

“We finished early and I don’t start my next project for three weeks. So I thought I would visit my best friend. Plus, I knew you could use me since Henry left today.”

Taylor was confused. She never told Jake a specific date for Henry’s departure. She hadn’t known until a couple of days ago herself. “How did you know?”

Jake smiled, “Henry. We talked about me coming while he was away to help and visit. I just wasn’t sure I would be able to with my schedule. But we finished and here I am…for three weeks! We haven’t spent that much time together since I moved to LA.”

“I know! This is great.”

PRESENT DAY

As Taylor stepped out of her memories, she was more determined than ever to protect her family, including Jake.  Henry and Jake had been there through the hardest moments of her life when her parents died. Jake had been there when Henry deployed. They had both been there when she moved to LA for college. And Jake had helped her find the role that made her famous. ‘Yes.’ She thought. I can do this. I will not let them be dragged through this. I will be strong for them.