Read the book: «His Surprise Son»

Chapter One

Here comes the bride.

For Jean Matrim, the arrival of Matrimony Valley’s first bride was a victory. She was looking at living, ready-to-walk-down-the-aisle proof that her long struggle to overhaul this town into a wedding destination was finally paying off.

Violet Thomas was going to be wowed if Jean had to call in every favor and spend every last ounce of energy to do it.

“You must be Violet,” Jean said with her best everything-is-going-to-be-wonderful smile. “Welcome to Matrimony Valley.”

North Carolina could be stunning in the spring, and the mountains were certainly showing off today. A clear sun dazzled through bright green leaves as they fluttered in the May breeze. The town was showing off, too. Front stoops sported potted plants. The sidewalks were swept, and many of the town’s main-street businesses sported new coats of paint and cheery signage. Jean had even convinced nearly every shop on the newly renamed “Aisle Avenue” to put a little pot of violets in its window to welcome the valley’s inaugural bride on her first visit. People had worked hard, and everything looked as charming as she’d hoped.

Violet certainly seemed to love it. “You must be Jean,” she gushed, looking around at the small town and then up to the clear blue sky with its adornment of fluffy clouds. “Look at this place. It’s just like I imagined.” Violet beckoned to someone inside the car. “Come out here and look at it, Josh. It’s perfect!”

Josh? Violet had listed her groom as navy captain Lyle Davis. She’d mentioned that Lyle wouldn’t be on furlough until just days before the wedding. So this Josh—an uncle, brother or such—must be helping with the arrangements.

A tall, dark-haired man with intense eyes opened the driver’s side door and stood up. At the sight of him, Jean was sure the Smoky Mountains behind her shifted a foot closer. The sight of this “Josh” pushed her so far off balance she nearly had to reach out and grab the car to stay steady.

Joshua Tyler stood in front of her. He still possessed the same powerful air of confidence she’d remembered, the same charisma that once drew her heart to his. Of all the people she never expected to set foot in Matrimony Valley, Josh topped the list.

Violet, oblivious to the shock wave going off in Jean’s chest, and likewise in Josh’s startled eyes, called him over. “Jean, this is my stepbrother, Josh. He isn’t only paying for a lot of this, but he’s giving me away at the ceremony. Right now, he’s a great stand-in for Lyle. We’ve only got Josh for forty-eight hours before business sweeps him away again, but we can cover a mile of ground in that time, can’t we?”

“A mile of ground,” Jean repeated, still scrambling to get a grip on how her past and future had just collided right in the middle of Aisle Avenue. Her first bride was Josh Tyler’s stepsister?

It can’t be. There had been a time when she was to be Mrs. Joshua Tyler, but life had steered her far away from those days. Of all the hurdles she’d jumped to turn this town around and launch Matrimony Valley’s destination wedding enterprise, a surprise like this certainly hadn’t entered the picture in her mind. Jean wasn’t even sure it entered the realm of possibility. Him? Here? Now?

Jean looked at Josh, searching for some hint as to how to handle what Violet clearly didn’t know. Josh only stared at her as wide-eyed as she stared at him. One thing was certain: right now was not the time to get into the long and complicated history Matrimony Valley’s mayor and chief wedding planner had with the man about to walk the town’s first bride down the aisle. Think, Jean. Be professional and keep this rolling. Deal with Josh later—keep your focus on Violet.

“Let’s start by checking in with Hailey,” she managed. “You’re staying at the Inn Love, aren’t you?”

“Of course we are. Oh, look at the street signs, Josh,” cooed Violet. “Aisle Avenue, Bouquet Lane—they’ve all got wedding names. Even the inn is called ‘Hailey’s Inn Love.’ Inn Love, get it? Wonderful.”

Josh was as handsome as the day she’d left him over five years ago. In fact, he’d aged phenomenally well, an assessment that sent up a poking finger of doubt into her not-so-phenomenally-aged stomach. She was fit, but she’d never fully regained the figure she had before Jonah was born. That never really bothered her until just this moment, when somehow Josh Tyler turned up looking even better than he had when they’d been together. The short span of years since they’d been engaged had fine-tuned his trademark confidence into the casual elegance of a sharp-dressed tycoon. Dashing, even. Seriously, was that fair?

Was any of this fair?

Lord, how could You do this? Today? To this wedding? To me?

Violet, bless her, still seemed oblivious as she pointed out the Aisle Avenue sign of the town’s primary road that used to be Main Street. “You’re already walking me down the aisle, Josh, get it?”

“On the Fourth of July, you can even parade down the Aisle,” Jean explained, salvaging her professional voice despite the box of fireworks going off underneath her ribs. “We’ll be doing that for the lieutenant governor’s daughter later this year. A whole patriotic red, white and blue wedding.”

Josh’s command faltered for a moment, and he rubbed the back of his neck. With the jolt of shared history, she remembered he always did that when unnerved. Unnerving? Yes, that certainly described the situation. “Why don’t I just grab some lunch while you two nail down the details?” he asked.

His voice. He’d always had a stunning voice—put to good use on the late-night shift of their college radio station. He’d stolen her heart with that voice, reading aloud to her under that huge pine tree on the west campus on warm summer nights. Back when the whole world spread before them. Back when she’d been a little lost and a lot reckless and...and now it had all come home to roost, as Dad would have said.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Violet’s objection pulled Jean from the shell shock of her thoughts. “You promised me you’d stick around and help. No laptop, no conference calls while you pretend to sneak off to lunch. For the next two days, you’re going to be my family, Josh Tyler, so get used to it.”

Despite his smooth demeanor, Josh shot her a split-second “now what do we do?” look. They both needed a way out of this until they could catch their breaths and figure out what to do. “Your stepbrother does look hungry, but Hailey’s dining room is closed right now.” She looked at Josh, willing her expression to convey “helpful professional.”

“Why don’t you stop over at Watson’s Diner for something if you like.” She pointed to the diner storefront a block away. “Wanda makes a great BLT.” She turned to Violet. “And there’s no Wi-Fi to tempt him.”

Violet laughed. “BLTs are his favorite. How’d you know?”

Not here, and not now. She shrugged. “I suppose you learn to be intuitive in this business.”

“I thought you said we were the first wedding in Matrimony Valley. I love that. Lyle and I are the first, aren’t we?”

“You most certainly are.” The whole town would pull out every stop to make Violet Tyler the happiest bride in Matrimony Valley history. Jean was going to make this work, whether or not Josh Tyler had just catapulted himself back into her life.

Into their life.

Jonah. It really has all come home to roost.

Violet pulled on Josh’s arm. “Look, Josh, that’s the path to where the waterfall is. I told you the minute I saw it on the video, I couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else.”

There had been nights back in school when Jean would spend hours describing her tiny hometown in the Smoky Mountains to Josh, including the stunning waterfall where she always wanted to get married. Sure, it had been Matrim’s Valley back then, but how did Josh not figure out where he was going? Jean was glad Violet didn’t suggest they go look at the waterfall right now—she didn’t think she could stand in front of that waterfall anywhere near Josh Tyler right now.

“Let’s save that for tomorrow,” Jean quickly diverted. “Hailey’s ready with your catering details and I’ve only got an hour before I...” She stumbled for a split second, not ready to bring up Jonah, or even say his name in front of Josh. “...have a family commitment, but Yvonne at the bakery will talk to you after we’re done with Hailey.”

She watched Josh’s gaze flick to her left hand, and fought the urge to tuck the ringless hand into her pocket. His left hand bore no ring, either. So, a man she guessed to be one of Silicon Valley’s most eligible bachelors also hadn’t been snatched up yet. The fact lodged in her gut.

“I’ll go grab that sandwich and meet you at the inn,” Josh suggested, looking grateful for the out. “You want anything, Vi?”

“Wanda does an equally good tuna salad or grilled cheese,” Jean offered.

“Tuna,” Violet replied. “And then you get right back over here, Josh. If you’re helping pay for things, then I want you helping me decide things.”

Josh had never been destined for anything but success. Even during their time together in school and then out in California, he’d clearly been a rising star. But bright stars tended to obscure everything around them, and that shiny California life had grown complicated—and then soured—fast. How stunningly ironic that his business success now had a hand in funding hers, that her first big client came with her biggest regret in tow.

She watched Josh cross the street, feeling stunned and rattled. What on earth to do now? Dad had always called her The Queen of Solutions. But today, even Mayor Matrim, The Queen of Solutions, came up short. She hadn’t the slightest idea how to solve her newest, biggest dilemma: how to introduce Joshua Tyler to the son he didn’t know he had.

* * *

Jean Matrim.

Mayor Jean Matrim, and Violet’s wedding planner to boot.

Sometimes life took a swing at you that you never saw coming.

The woman behind the lunch counter at Watson’s Diner stared at Josh as if he were a science experiment, an oddity to be analyzed rather than a customer to be welcomed. As if asking for a BLT on wheat toast marked him as someone foreign and suspicious.

“We don’t do turkey bacon, you know,” she declared, even though he hadn’t asked for it. “We only do real food.”

“Big fan of real food myself,” he said, offering a smile she did not return. The woman grunted what he hoped was approval, after which they stood in awkward silence as the cook started to make his sandwich. There was no one else in the quiet place, and Josh wondered if Wanda could hear the fierce growl of his stomach as the sound of bacon frying filled the air.

“How long has Jean Matrim been mayor of Matrimony Valley?” he asked. Jean would be turning thirty next year, same as he—how’d she get to be mayor at such a young age?

“Well, now, that depends if you count the year Miss Jean was mayor of Matrim’s Valley. Before—” Wanda waved a dismissive hand “—all this business.” Wanda clearly saw no point in hiding her lack of enthusiasm for the town’s new identity, even to a customer. That might explain why Watson’s Diner seemed to be the only local business without a wedding-themed name.

“Well, all totaled, then.”

“Hasn’t even been two years.” Wanda drew herself up a bit. “My Wayne stepped in as mayor when her daddy first passed. Then she up and ran against him in the last election. Not too long after that she got the scheme in her head that turned us into...this other thing.”

“You’re not a fan of the whole Matrimony Valley campaign?”

“I’m a fan of staying in business, I give you that, but I can’t help thinking there could be a dozen other ways to do it than turning ourselves into the Las Vegas of the Smoky Mountains.”

Josh stifled a laugh at that. He’d been to half a dozen tech conventions in Vegas, and this valley was in no danger of giving that city a run for its money. “It’s a pretty place,” he offered, the urge to defend Jean rising up from some surprising long-ago part of him. “My stepsister Violet’s thrilled to be your first bride.”

Rather than offer a response, Wanda gave him a look that roughly translated to “I can just imagine” and hit the cash register key with a declarative finger. “Fries or chips?”

“Chips. And coffee. And everything to go, if you can.”

“Of course.” Wanda shouted, “To go, Wayne!” back to the cook, who barked “Okay” in return.

“Wayne and I, we’re no big fans of ‘to go,’ but that’s the way you young people all seem to eat these days. Next thing you know, Her Honor will be asking us to put in a drive-through window.” She nodded toward a rack of chip bags on the wall behind her. “Regular or barbecue?”

“Barbecue, thanks.” He probably shouldn’t inquire, and he suspected her answer, but Josh couldn’t stop himself from asking, “So do you think Mayor Matrim’s idea will work? Matrimony Valley?”

“Well,” she said after looking him up and down, “you’re here.”

I am indeed, Josh thought as he paid for his meal and accepted the white paper bag and foam coffee cup she handed him. What are the odds of that?

“I’m not knocking a single mother trying to make her way in the world, bless her heart,” Wanda went on. “I just think we didn’t have to turn ourselves inside out like this to survive. Matrim’s Valley has been here for three generations and survived its share of hard times without changing the name of everything in sight.”

Josh had taken two steps toward the door before he fully absorbed what she’d said: single mother.

Jean was a mother? She had said “family obligations,” hadn’t she?

It shouldn’t have surprised him—Jean had always been the type to want marriage and a family. She’d worked in a bridal shop all through college. She’d given an eager “yes” to his proposal. They’d planned on a family, eventually, once the business stopped eating his every waking moment. Things never got that far. And now she was a mother.

But a single mother. A barrage of questions rose up in his mind as he crossed the street back toward the inn. For a guy who made his living on the internet, he’d been way out of touch with college friends. Did she marry? Whom? When? And what had happened to end it?

It should have been him she married. Of course, he had no right to say that now, but there had been a time when he felt that way. They’d been madly in love back in college. His senior year, he’d been king of the world, watching everything in his life line up to launch him toward the stars with Jean beside him. Nothing was beyond his reach. His final semester was a blur of parties and congratulations and that one spectacular night spent with Jean reveling in his golden future.

Things went too far after that night—and they both knew it—but they would have been making a new life together in San Jose, so it hadn’t felt like a mistake. In truth, he’d thought that night marked the end of her second thoughts about joining him in California. He was so full of himself back then that he’d simply assumed he’d won her over.

She came to California, but she never really settled in. His relentless pace bothered her in ways it never had in school. She couldn’t seem to make friends, claiming Silicon Valley’s posturing grated on her down-home sensibilities. She grew so moody and distant that by the time news came of her father’s illness, they’d both used it as an excuse for her to disappear back east “just until things got better.”

They never did.

There were emails and phone calls, but the lapses grew longer as the flat-out scramble of a software start-up consumed his attention. He had always meant to call her but somehow never did. A part of him knew he’d have to face the wrong of that someday, he just didn’t count on it being here and now.

He’d gradually shut down his connection to her, telling himself Jean was never really the kind of woman to take to West Coast life. It wasn’t that he couldn’t find her—he was a brilliant man with a fortune in technology at his disposal—he just never managed to follow through. He’d let her slip from his life, telling himself he didn’t regret it.

Only he did regret it. And it felt like life was getting ready to show him how much.