Good on Paper

"Hey! Are you saying I have a big butt?" she asked as though he thought she might.

Luke chuckled and said, "Hardly. Not that I've been looking at your butt, mind you. But from the occasional glance, I'd say your butt—and everything else—is pretty much perfect."

Flattered, Taryn said, "Okay. Thank you. I think."

"But before I answer your question about work, may I say something?"

"Yes. Of course," she told him.

"I'm just as aware of the difference in our ages as you are, and well, you're not the first woman I've ever been attracted to. Or dated or..."

"Hooked up with?" she said without judgment.

"Well, yes."

"I'd be surprised if it was any other way, and that certainly doesn't bother me."

"I mentioned that because you are the first woman I've ever had these kinds of feelings for. Very real, very deep feelings. I'm also a little concerned about scaring you off, but because we're talking like this, I need you to know that when I say 'I really like you' I mean I really like you, like you. A lot."

"That makes me very happy," Taryn told him sweetly.

"And I guess I'm wondering if those are the kinds of feelings you have for me. The age and job issues aside."

Taryn knew she was, and if this was ever going to work, she had to be completely honest with him so she told him how she felt.

"Very much so, Luke. And I guess that scares me because ever since my ex-husband walked out on me, I've relied on my checklist. I felt safe knowing I had a plan. If any potential future husband looked good on paper, then I could comfort myself knowing he was checking off all the right blocks."

She stopped for a moment then said, "And then you came along and made me have to stop thinking with my brain and start feeling with my heart again and blew my plan all to smithereens. And that's what scares me."

"But those feelings are there?" he asked again.

"Yes," she told him just above a whisper.

"So one more thing before I talk about jobs and work, okay?"

Taryn nodded and waited.

"I think I'm falling in love with you, Taryn," he said quietly but very sincerely.

Her heart fluttered and her tummy flip-flopped, but she didn't speak.

"I'm not asking you to tell me that, but I needed you to know that's how I'm feeling," he continued. "And since you have some kind of romantic feelings toward me, I feel safe talking about this very sensitive issue with you. The job thing."

"Luke. I'm not trying to humiliate you or anything like that. I care too much about you to do that. I just..."

"It's fine, Taryn, and I know you wouldn't do that. If I thought you would, I wouldn't be here."

"Oh, thank goodness," she said, feeling truly relieved.

"Now to answer your question, would you mind taking a short ride with me? Matt can come along, too, of course."

"You want us to go somewhere with you to explain why you don't have a job?" she asked not hiding her incredulity very well.

"Yes. Humor me, okay?" he said with a smile.

"O...kaaay..." she said, drawing the word out. "Let me go tell Matt to get ready."

Taryn went upstairs to let Matt know they were going somewhere, and his only question was, "With Luke?"

"Yes. With Luke. Now get ready to go, okay?"

Two minutes later, Matt was downstairs asking where they were going.

"I want to show you and your mom something," Luke said.

"At the Boys Club?" Matt asked.

"No. Not today, buddy. Something else. Come on. Let's go outside."

They got into the big, black Tahoe and left their modest suburban neighborhood and headed to I-5 where Luke then turned south. Taryn lived just inside the Seattle city limits with the cities of Tukwila and Renton bordering it just to its south.

Luke took an exit a few miles later that took them into Renton.

"I wish I could afford to live around here," Taryn said as they drove through the city.

"It's a nice place," Luke offered.

He drove a couple more miles then turned into an area known as The Highlands. It was one of the nicer places in the area and got its name because one had to drive uphill quite a ways to get there.

At the top was a large plateau overlooking the city and a beautiful, gated neighborhood Taryn had only been to once before.

"What are we doing here?" she asked. "Is this where your parents live?"

"They used to," he told her quietly.

He drove up to the gate, and the older woman in the little booth said, "Hey there, Luke!"

"Hi, Felicia. How are you today?"

"Oh, same old. You know," she said with a smile.

"Take care," Luke told her.

"You, too, sweetie!" the woman said.

Taryn wasn't awed by the homes there, but they were very impressive. It wasn't Malibu, but it was still a very upscale neighborhood.

Luke drove along the winding road for a while then said, "My house is just up ahead."

"Your house?" Taryn asked, suddenly feeling a huge knot in her stomach.

"It belonged to my mom and dad...before they were killed," he said without emotion.

"Oh, my God. Luke, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Thank you, and it's okay. You wouldn't know unless you saw the news the day their plane went down in the Cascades."

The Cascade Mountains divided Washington and Oregon in half causing the western side to be lush and green with the eastern side brown and well, very different.

"My dad loved to fly, and they went out to cruise around Mount Rainier, one of my mom's favorite places to go enjoy the scenic beauty."

He pulled into a very large, very beautiful home and hit another button which opened a four-car garage.

"I was a freshman in college, and they were enjoying being empty-nesters. The NTSB investigated after the crash and determined some kind of engine failure. In a single-engine plane, that's usually a bad thing."

He was trying to keep this tragedy lighthearted, but Taryn hurt for him knowing how badly it had to have hurt him.

"Anyway, to make a long story short, everything they owned became mine. I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to finish school, find a good job, and someday—a beautiful wife to have a family with."

He looked over at her and smiled warmly as he parked the Tahoe.

"Hold on and I'll come around, okay?" he told her.

Matt hopped out and Luke helped his mom out then invited them inside.

"It's absolutely gorgeous," Taryn said as they walked into the 4,200 square-foot home.

"Thank you. This was all my mom's doing so I can't take any credit. Except for the game room. Matt? You wanna check it out with us?"

"For reals?" he asked as he took in everything else around him.

"Yes. For reals."

Luke had a large area with a pool table, two TVs with video consoles hooked up to them, and another TV for movies.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Matt said.

"Why don't you play something so I can talk to your mom a little more, okay?" he asked the boy.

"Can I, Mom?" he asked.

"Of course, honey," she told him, almost dreading what was coming next after having misjudged him so badly.

They left Matt to entertain himself then went to the kitchen to finish their talk.

"Can I get you anything?" Luke asked.

"No, thanks. I'm full from all the crow and humble pie I just ate," she said, her eyes filled with sadness.

"No, don't feel that way," he told her. "I just don't share this part of my life with anyone—unless I really trust them."

"I don't deserve your trust," Taryn said, unable to look at him.

He was standing right next to her, but she just couldn't look at him.

Luke reached out and took her hands then continued talking.

"I stayed in school and graduated almost three years ago."

He smiled then said, "So I'm almost 25."

Taryn tried to smile but felt so bad she couldn't.

"Anyway, the money my parents had plus the huge life insurance policies on both them, all fell into my lap. I knew I didn't ever have to work but couldn't find anything to give my life purpose. Then one day the thought of devoting myself and my time to helping people in need hit me. And suddenly I knew what I was meant to do."

He waited for her to look up at him then said, "Helping people gives my life meaning. Nothing feels as good as knowing I helped a child or someone like your dad who can't get to the doctor or go buy groceries. I even have a half-dozen people who work for me who do this kind of thing all day, every day. We don't advertise except by word of mouth. We just do our thing."

He put a hand on her cheek then said, "So that's why I don't have a traditional job. And I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, but as I said, this is very personal and I'm a very private person."

At a loss for words, Taryn finally said, "Can you ever forgive for assuming the worst?"

Luke smiled then said, "You didn't assume the worst. I can think of many things far worse than not having a paying job. What you did was natural and logical. Any woman with a child would do the same. What sane woman would get involved with a man, especially one my age, if he was too lazy to work? Love or no love, there is a practical side to any relationship. So please don't feel bad, okay?"

"I'll...I'll try not to," she told him. "I just feel like...such an ass."

Luke laughed quietly then said, "Well, you know what what they say about what 'assuming' makes out of me and you, right?"

Taryn did know it was an 'ass', and his kind words and sense of humor allowed her laugh for the first time since 'the big talk' began.

"Yes, I know," she said sweetly, "and I guess I really do have a big ass—which is me!"

Luke laughed then put his arms around her and said, "I'm dying to kiss you again."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she said, "I'm dying for you to kiss me."

This was the longest and most passionate kiss by far, and Taryn moaned softly when he offered her his tongue. She gave him hers in return, and they swirled and danced for several seconds before he finally let her go.

"So do you still have feelings for me?" Luke asked.

Taryn blinked away her tears and said, "More than ever. But after what I thought about you, do you still..."

"Love you?" he asked with a smile.

"Do you? Love me?" she asked, her heart pounding fast and hard.

"Of course I do. How could I not?" he asked her rhetorically.

"I can think of several ways," she said, still feeling horribly guilty for assuming the worst.

"Well, I do, and that's never going to change," Luke assured her as he brushed back her hair.

"I'm...so happy," she said as the tears came back.

"Hey. None of that, okay?" he said as he grabbed a hand towel and dabbed her eyes.

"Okay," she said trying to stop them from falling.

"Hey, why don't you and Matt spend the rest of the day here with me? I'll make dinner for us and we can..."

"You cook, too?" Taryn said, her eyes again darting back and forth with his.

"What can I say? I'm a man of many talents."

Taryn laughed then kissed him. And she did stay with him the rest of that day, and that night, Matt stayed at his Aunt Becca's house, so that Luke could show the woman he loved how talented he was in another area.

As she lay in his arms, happy for the first time since she'd been abandoned, she said, "Luke?"

"Uh-uh?" he replied before turning over to look into her eyes.

"I love you, too," she told him with all the sincerity of her heart.

He smiled at her and asked, "So are you saying...I look good on paper?"

Taryn sat up, grabbed her pillow, and playfully hit him with it.

"Watch it, buddy!" she said, feeling like she might burst with happiness.

Luke threw off the sheets, and when she looked at his hard, handsome, young body she said, "I don't know about 'on paper' but you look very good on this bed."

He grabbed her and rolled on top of her then said, "How do I look from here?"

She felt him growing hard, whimpered softly then said, "Very, very good."

The two of them, and most often, the three of them, were inseparable from that day on. So much so, that just two months later, Luke proposed to her as they flew along the Cascade Mountains in a private jet just as the sun was setting in mid-September.

Matt was watching a movie, and when his mother shrieked with happiness, he turned around to see Luke on bended knee sliding a large diamond ring onto his mom's finger.

Her cries of, "Yes, yes, YES! I will marry you!" made Matt smile.

"Come here, buddy," Luke said as he stood up and extended an arm to give his future son a hug.

"Are we a family now?" Matt asked as he looked up at his mom and future dad, the man who would love, nurture, mentor, and raise him.

His mother was crying tears of happiness as answered him.

"Yes. Yes, we are, honey. We're a family now."

"Cool! Can I finish watching my movie now?" he asked satisfied with the answer.

Both of the adults laughed as Taryn said, "Sure. We wouldn't want to interrupt anything that important with something like us getting married."

The sarcasm was totally lost on the young boy who went back to what was most important to him at that moment while his mom and 'dad' did the same.

"I love you, Taryn," he told her again.

"I love you, too, Luke," she said as they kissed at 25,000 feet for a very long time.

Had she not followed her heart rather than a checklist, Taryn Edson might never have found the love she so badly craved or the man who loved her like no one else ever had or would.

Luke Edson might not have looked good on paper, but he looked wonderful to his beautiful wife every day they spent together for the rest of their lives.

Lastly, but not least, Edwin asked Winnie to marry him shortly after Luke proposed to his daughter. She wasn't his Jeannie, and never would be, but she turned his life around and made it worth living again.

Just like Luke had done for Taryn.