Tender Love Read online

  Alice’s nerves had never been more jittery than when she walked into the conference room the next week. The last thing in the world she wanted was to cause shock waves for Mark’s ministry. They arrived at the church a few minutes before the hour of the appointment, and she waited in the entrance hall until Mark got permission from the board for her to sit in on the meeting. When a man came and motioned for her to enter, Alice eased down in a chair by the door, miserable and self-conscious, as every eye in the room turned toward her. She might as well have had a scarlet letter emblazoned on her blouse!

  Mark patted a vacant chair beside him. “You come and sit here, please, Alice.”

  The presiding board member was Reverend Astor, the man she’d met at church camp in the summer. Since he was a good friend of Mark’s, she hoped that he could sway the deliberations in Mark’s favor.

  After clearing his throat a few times, Reverend Astor said, “This is a painful meeting for me, Mark, and I know it must be for you. However, charges have been brought before this board on the basis of circulating rumors, and while most of the board members feel the charges are unjustified, you should have a chance to defend yourself.”

  “What are the charges?”

  “That you and Mrs. Larkin are involved in an illicit relationship, and that she’s bought your affections with a huge outlay of money. In addition to that, we’ve had a complaint about your ethics in a business deal.”

  Alice sensed Mark’s rising anger, and she rather forcefully took hold of his arm and kicked his foot slightly.

  “Mrs. Pennington, who’s your neighbor and a member of this church, charges that Mrs. Larkin has been living in your home for several months.”

  “There isn’t any secret about that. Alice came in May as housekeeper and a nanny for my two children.”

  “But it seems there’s more to your relationship than that,” Astor said.

  “We fell in love immediately,” Mark admitted, “but we haven’t done anything to bring reproach on either of us. We haven’t been alone in the house—my two kids and Gran Watson are there all the time. I sleep upstairs with the rest of the family, Alice sleeps in a downstairs room, a long way from mine. You’ll have to take our word for it, for I won’t have you questioning my children or Gran.”

  “I do believe you, Brother Tanner,” Reverend Astor said.

  “To be honest, it isn’t that we haven’t wanted more than that, but our relationships have been honest. We plan to marry, but it isn’t because we have to get married.”

  “In her letter, Mrs. Pennington states that you ordered her out of your house when she accused you of an affair,” Astor continued.

  “I asked her to leave the house, and stay away, because she was meddling in the discipline of my children. Her accusations against Alice and me aren’t true.”

  Alice spoke for the first time. “Since modesty will keep Mark from telling you this, I will. In case you hadn’t noticed, he’s a very attractive man, and long before Mark’s first wife died, Ethel pursued him rather ruthlessly. She was in and out of the house, ingratiating herself with Gran and the children. Those of you who live in Richmond know that. When she learned that Mark and I planned to marry, she encouraged Kristin and Gran to fight our plans. That’s when Mark refused to have her come to the house or to contact his children. In other words, I accomplished in a few months what she’d set out to do, and she’s jealous.”

  Several of the board members laughed, and the tension in the room lightened.

  “There’s little we can do about her accusations, except go on living as we have, knowing that we haven’t done anything to be ashamed of,” Mark said. “And if you find us innocent of this charge, it will indicate that you consider our relationship is, and has always been, circumspect.”

  Alice sensed that the board was behind them, and that they were somewhat ashamed that they’d even called this meeting.

  “I believe you’ve answered our questions about the immorality accusation, now we need to deal with the ethics charge.”

  “You didn’t say who brought that charge,” Mark said, and Alice wondered if the accuser was someone Mark had dealt with at the bank.

  “The agent who recently handled a real estate purchase for you,” Astor said.

  “Mr. Tatum?” Alice said in an incredulous tone. Astor nodded.

  “Then we need to hear directly from Mr. Tatum,” Mark said. “He lives nearby— Could he be asked to appear before this board?”

  The pastor of the Tyler Memorial Church was one of the board members and he stood. “Mr. Tatum is in the church now at a trustee’s meeting—we could ask him to come in for a few minutes.”

  “Please do,” Mark said, and his face was white, his features tense.

  While Mr. Tatum was being summoned, the pastor continued, “I want to apologize to Brother Tanner, as well as Mrs. Larkin, for this meeting tonight. I realize when the board was presented with these charges, you had no choice except to investigate. However, the majority of the members here in the local church are indignant and embarrassed by these events. Mark Tanner was an effective pastor of this church for several years, and we have in the building now a delegation of more than one hundred people, led by Betty St. Claire, who’ve come as character witnesses for Mark and Mrs. Larkin.”

  “Thank you, Pastor,” Reverend Astor said. “I doubt they’ll be needed, but their support is appreciated.”

  Grover Tatum’s face paled, and he gasped slightly, when he entered the room and saw Mark and Alice.

  “Mr. Tatum,” Mark said as pleasantly as if he were discussing the weather, “we’ve learned that you’ve accused us of unethical dealings when we purchased the Ferguson property. We’d appreciate it if you’d tell us why you think that.”

  The Realtor’s face turned a mottled red and white, and his eyes darted from one person to another, although he carefully avoided looking at Mark and Alice. He swallowed convulsively a few times, and then he blurted out belligerently, “They cost me a tidy sum in closing fees.”

  “Could you explain?” Reverend Astor asked.

  “Because he was a minister, I dropped the price several thousand dollars.”

  “Right, when you quoted us a price on the property, you said the owners would take quite a bit less to make a sale.” Mark said.

  “It’s not right for a preacher to take advantage of me. I thought you were hard up. If you have enough money to buy that place and fix it up, you should have purchased at the asking price instead of driving a hard bargain with me. Preachers are supposed to be ethical.”

  Mark smiled. “And the same rule doesn’t apply to Realtors, I suppose?”

  “Mr. Tatum,” Alice asked, “how much money did you lose because we took you at your word and asked for the lowest possible price?” She reached in her purse, took out her checkbook and waited for his reply.

  “At least two hundred dollars.”

  Alice made out a check in that amount. “Then we’ll pay you the additional fee rather than to have our honesty questioned.” She gave the check to the man on her right. “Will you pass this check to Mr. Tatum?”

  When he got the check in his hand, Tatum turned it over and over, as if he didn’t know what to do with it, and finally blurted out, “It doesn’t seem right somehow, for a preacher to have so much money. I thought preachers were servants of the Lord and of people.”

  It took a lot to make Alice angry, but she couldn’t stand much more of this, and she knew that Mark was near the breaking point. She again laid a cautionary hand on Mark’s arm—the wrong words could ruin his future.

  Quietly, he said, “I don’t have any money, Mr. Tatum. If Alice wants to say anything, that’s up to her.”

  Reverend Astor rose. “I feel this conversation has gone far enough. In the first place, Brother Tanner isn’t guilty of anything more than buying a piece of property at a reasonable price, and from what I’ve heard, he still paid more for the Ferguson place than it’s worth. Secondly, I believe that Mr.
Tatum has an antiquated idea about the finances of our pastors. Today, we provide an adequate salary for those in the ministry so their families won’t have a substandard living.”

  Several “amens” indicated general agreement to this statement.

  “I’m sorry,” Astor continued, “that I’ve had the misfortune to preside over a meeting that has cast reflections on the reputation of one of the best pastors in our convention. I’ll entertain a motion that these charges be dropped and never brought up again.”

  A quick motion and second were received, but before the vote was taken, Alice said, “May I speak frankly? I don’t consider my financial status any of your business when my money came from a legitimate source, but when my assets might reflect upon Mark’s position as a minister, I’m going to explain.”

  Alice hesitated, wondering how much to say, praying for the right attitude to overcome her annoyance.

  “I inherited a rather large sum of money from my late husband, and that’s where most of the money came from to buy the property in question. But we’re not expecting that outlay of money to benefit us only. When I envisioned renovating the Ferguson property, it wasn’t exclusively for our use, but I planned to have a comfortable setting for visiting evangelists, missionaries, and for church meetings when Mark takes another pastorate. I hosted many social gatherings for my husband, and I enjoy entertaining.”

  A woman, halfway down the table from Alice, who hadn’t said a word, timidly raised her hand. The chairman asked her to speak.

  “I don’t want to offend Mrs. Larkin because I’ve never credited any of the stories we’ve heard, but I want to pose a question that I think others may ask someday. If you’re so affluent, why did you go to work as a nanny and housekeeper?”

  “I went to the Tanners upon the request of my friend, Betty St. Claire, who’s a member of this church. I’d been confined for several years taking care of my invalid husband, and after he died, my life was rather aimless. I needed something to do and when I considered going back to kindergarten teaching, Betty, who runs a nanny agency, asked me to go to the Tanners. Mark and his two children were hurting over the death of their wife and mother, and Betty thought the situation would be beneficial to all of us. I’ve always loved children, and I was willing to go. It was a long time before Mark knew I had any money.”

  Alice could feel the tears building, and with a little sob, she said, “When I accepted the job, I believed that God had called me to be of service to the Tanners. I didn’t intend to love Mark and his children, but I do, and I believe that is God’s will, too.”

  Most of the people at the table wouldn’t meet Alice’s eyes, but the woman who’d posed the question smiled and said, “I believe that, too. God bless you, my dear.”

  The crisis passed, but several days later when they heard that the church board had asked the Tatums and Ethel to withdraw their membership from the Tyler Memorial Church, Alice and Mark were stunned.

  “How could we have handled the situation differently?” Mark asked.

  “I don’t know. Perhaps I made a mistake to come to your home, but in my heart, I can’t believe that.”

  “Neither do I,” Mark agreed, “but I’m going to pray that God will give us the opportunity to make amends.”

  Alice and the children often encountered Mrs. Tatum and her son, Don, at the riding stables, but they ignored the Tanner children. Alice was especially disturbed that the Tatum boy wouldn’t speak to Eddie, who had become a friendly, outgoing child.

  Whenever his schedule permitted, Mark went with them to the stables on Saturday mornings, and the four of them enjoyed the two hours they spent together learning proper riding skills and techniques and how to care for their mounts. When it became apparent that the two children were interested in riding, and that it wasn’t a passing whim, Mark and Alice decided to buy two ponies and a couple of horses and board them at the stables until they could move them to their new home.

  But the day when they needed him the most, Mark had a meeting at the bank and couldn’t go riding with them. It was a balmy morning, and the sun was shining brightly. Alice and the kids waited until Don Tatum and his mother started around the paddock before they mounted. Because of the anger the Tatums held toward her and Mark, Alice wouldn’t crowd them on their ride.

  They were having a pleasant ride until Eddie shouted, “Look at those dogs running across the field.”

  Three dogs scampered across the field, and a rabbit bounded a few feet in front of them, heading toward the riding ring. The dogs, baying loudly, chased the rabbit toward the Tatums, and all four of them ran underneath Don’s pony. The frightened animal whinnied in fear, and kicked its rear legs at the dogs.

  Mrs. Tatum screeched, “Help!” which only frightened the terrified animal more. The pony started to run, and screaming, Don tried to dismount, but he slipped from the saddle, and one foot caught in the stirrup as the animal bolted.

  Alice kicked her mount into action, thankful that she was riding Mark’s faster horse today. She soon overtook Don and the pony. Jumping from the saddle, she grabbed the boy and jerked his leg loose from the stirrup. She shielded Don with her body as they fell to the ground, but she struck her head on a metal post. Except for his fear, Don was unharmed and he ran to his mother; but as Alice fell, the pony lashed out with its hooves, striking her arm. She saw Eddie and Kristin racing toward her before she blacked out.

  Mark was leaving his office when the phone rang. Recognizing the voice of the manager at the stables, his first thought was that one of the children had been hurt. He wasn’t prepared for the man’s message.

  “Mrs. Larkin has had an accident, and I’m afraid she’s seriously injured.” He briefly outlined what had happened. “I’ve already contacted 911, and the ambulance is on the way. It’s probably better if you meet them at the hospital. Do you want me to take your kids home?”

  “No, bring them to the hospital—they’ll want to be with us.”

  Mark paused to telephone Gran and let her know what had happened, then he ran to his station wagon, arriving at the hospital just as the ambulance backed into the emergency room entrance. He parked hurriedly, and was by the ambulance door when the attendants removed Alice.

  “Oh, Alice,” Mark whispered when he saw her. Her face was chalky, except for a large bruise on her forehead, and even though she was unconscious, she groaned in pain when they moved the cot from the ambulance.

  Feeling someone tugging on his hand, Mark turned to find Kristin and Eddie beside him.

  “Oh, Daddy, it was terrible,” Kristin said, “but she was so brave. It was just like something out of the movies—Don Tatum wasn’t hurt at all.”

  “Is Alice hurt bad?” Eddie asked, his lips quivering.

  Mark knelt and put his arms around them. “I don’t know, but will you be good kids and sit here in the waiting room? I’ll see what I can find out.”

  Since Mark was well-known at the hospital, the staff made no objection when he entered the examining room to wait with bated breath for the diagnosis.

  “Her left arm is broken, and it looks as if it’s a clean break,” the doctor said, “but that’s the least of her problems. I don’t like this knot on her head, which is probably a concussion. She’ll probably regain consciousness in a few hours, but we’ll have to admit her for observation. She also has several cracked ribs, which will pain her more than the broken bone.”

  Mark nodded. “Arrange for a private room—my children and I will want to stay with her. We won’t leave until I know how badly she’s hurt.”

  Alice was taken to X-ray, and her arm set before she was assigned to a room.

  Betty St. Claire and many other friends of Alice and Mark soon arrived, but Mark met them in the corridor for he didn’t want Alice to be disturbed. They’d come to offer help with the children, to take care of Gran, or to do anything else that was needful.

  Even Grover Tatum and his wife came—ashamed and remorseful—to find out the extent of Alice
’s injuries. With a break in his voice, Tatum said, “My wife told me how she saved our boy’s life. If it hadn’t been for her, our son might be here instead of her.”

  Mark accepted all offers of help and sympathy with a smile and thank-you, and he asked for their prayers. When the well-wishers left, Mark telephoned the desk and asked them to post a No Visitors, sign on the door. He knelt between Kristin and Eddie who looked small and defenseless as they huddled in their chairs.

  “It’s time we prayed for Alice,” he said. Reaching out a hand to both of them, he closed his eyes. “God, we come to you on Alice’s behalf. We pray for healing, and we believe that You will answer. We can’t believe, God, that when you’ve given Alice to us that You’d take her away after such a short time. But whatever happens, we thank you for the time we’ve had her, and for the difference she’s made in our lives. Amen.”

  Kristin was sniffling, and Mark found a tissue for her. “I’m sorry I’ve been mean to Alice, Daddy. You know I love her, don’t you?”

  He hugged his daughter. “Of course, I know you love her, and Alice knows it, too.”

  Mark stood beside the bed and held the hand that wasn’t connected to an IV, and he thought she might have returned the slight pressure of his clasp. Alice’s color was more natural now, but the left side of her face was turning black. Mark suddenly remembered his prayer asking for an opportunity to reach the Tatums, but he hadn’t expected this. Sometimes prayers could be risky.

  By late afternoon, there was no change, but Mark knew the children needed a break, so he took them to the cafeteria. He debated whether to send them home, but when he broached the subject, they raised such a ruckus that he didn’t insist.

  Besides, he knew that Alice would want to see them when she wakened.

  The results of the X-rays were positive, and her vital signs were good, so the doctors predicted that Alice would make a complete recovery. They expected her to awaken before many hours.

  The nurses brought blankets, and he made the kids as comfortable as possible in the chairs. Mark sat beside the bed, watching the even flow of her breathing, smiling as he reviewed the events that had brought them together. He remembered the first day he’d seen her and the immediate attraction between them. He thought of the first time he’d kissed her, about his proposal at the beach and her quick acceptance. He remembered the many things she’d done to make him feel special…wanted…loved.