Read Online Lambert's Peace by Rachel Hauck - Free Book Online Page B

apart, arms folded. “If I work for Lambert’s, I’ll get caught up in the job, give a hundred and ten percent, and forget to keep looking
out there
.” She motioned toward the window. She felt like a stuck record, repeating the same mantra, but she felt driven to land a CPA position with a lucrative firm.
    â€œIt’s a consulting job, Taylor. A good line for your résumé. Unaccounted-for time is a negative, you know.” Dad regarded her for a moment. “Still hurts, does it?”
    â€œWhat still hurts?” She walked over to the desk where faded black and white photographs lined the edges.
    â€œLosing Will.”
    Remembering pressed her emotions to the surface. “Yes,” she said quietly. “Which is crazy after ten years.”
    She picked up a gold-framed picture of her parents on their wedding day in 1960. They smiled in black and white, walking up the church aisle, holding hands. That’s what she had wanted with Will. But he wasn’t ready.
    Dad stood behind her now. “I almost lost your mom.” He chuckled as he remembered. “She was a feisty one.”
    Taylor whirled round, the picture still in her hands. “Who, pixie Trixie?”
    Dad gave her a deep nod. “Your grandpa insisted she marry into money and culture. Bringing home a common laborer from the furniture mill didn’t fit Raymond’s idea of a suitable husband for his little girl.”
    Taylor sat against the desk. “I never heard this. What’d you do?”
    â€œNever gave up. Prayed a lot, as I recall. Did what I had to do to convince her father she’d have a wonderful life with me. For a while she dated Lem Maher down in Boston. I almost lost her then.”
    â€œLem Maher of Maher Stationary and Business Supplies?”
    â€œThat’d be the one.”
    â€œWow, Dad. Pretty
rico
competition.” She rolled the
r
in
rico
.
    He winked. “Love conquers all. Even money.”
    She put the picture back and crossed her arms. “And the moral to this story is?” She furrowed her brow.
    Dad returned to his chair. “Not sure. Maybe there’s a reason you and Will aren’t married—to each other or anyone else. Maybe there’s a reason you quit your job and moved home. Maybe there’s a reason you showed up just when Will needed help with a new business system. Maybe there’s a reason he asked you to help him. Maybe there’s a reason you should say yes.”
    Taylor looked at him, a wry twist on her lips. “Aren’t you full of reason tonight?”
    Mom called up the stairs. “Grant, the kids are here. Taylor … “
    Dad walked toward the door. “I can see lots of reasons why you should work for Lambert’s Furniture. Least of all, finding out if you still love Will.”
    Taylor stopped him before he walked out. “I don’t want to fall in love with him, Dad. It’s over, too late.”
    He kissed her cheek. “Then don’t. But do the job. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”

    For Will, matters of the heart confounded him. They were confusing and complicated. He liked specific processes and procedures, clear-cut goals with achievable results. Why couldn’t falling in love be like earning his MBA, running a business, or making furniture?
    Instead, he had to navigate the minefield of Taylor’s emotions. He had no map of her heart or his, no blueprint, no how-to manual. No way to know if he trod on dangerous ground.
    Loving Taylor fell into a completely different category than loving his family and friends—the category of
difficult and hard
. Because if she didn’t love him back, he didn’t know what he would do.
    Will pondered his relationship with Taylor as he parked his truck at Lambert’s Furniture and trekked to the office door.
    Did he love Taylor? After ten years? It didn’t make sense, but then matters of the heart never