By His Hand: Truly Yours Digital Edition (9 page)

“Thank you.” Victoria rose and gripped her bag. She glided with ease in her nude-colored heels across the carpeted floor. If Victoria knew nothing else, she knew how to conduct herself as a lady in a public setting. She could thank her mother’s determination that Victoria attend every one of her etiquette classes for that. Today, she hoped the training would pay off.

Walking through the mahogany door, Victoria noted the soft contemporary Christian music playing from somewhere in the room. She smiled at Zack’s greeting. His entire face seemed to shine, and his eyes smiled with his lips when he saw her. As a woman, Victoria sensed his approval of her appearance. Flutters of excitement and pleasure coursed through her at the realization.

“Have a seat.” He motioned to the leather chair that sat across from his oversized, mahogany desk. Scanning the room, Victoria noticed wall-to-wall bookshelves, some adorned with popular Christian books she recognized as her own favorites.

Squeaks momentarily overpowered the music as he sat in the large matching leather chair behind the desk. Glancing at her potential employer, a paneled window streamed light from behind him, giving Zack an innocent, angelic appearance. His light, masculine scent filled her senses, and Victoria couldn’t deny her attraction to him.

She lowered her lashes as she obeyed his bidding to sit. “Thank you.”

“Victoria, you are more than qualified for this position.” He glanced at her application. “You majored in business in college and seemed to do well. Did you have any positions in mind before coming to Lawton?”

“Not really.”

“Your lack of an employment history probably does hurt your job search.” He furrowed his brows. “You never had any part-time employment through school?”

She shook her head realizing Zack must not know her history.
He must be fairly new to the community
. Everyone she spoke with, everywhere she went, seemed to know her as Sondra’s sister-in-law. As she thought about it, that probably wasn’t accurate. Most people recognized her as the Mary Ann Mangler, as Abby put it.

She smiled at the thought. The mishap had given the townsfolk something to talk about, keeping them from thinking about her background. Maybe the wreck had been a blessing in disguise. She needed a fresh, new start. The last thing she wanted was for people to learn she was the daughter of an oil magnate who’d embezzled a large sum of money.

She remembered Chris’s stunned expression when he saw the damage to his car. She thought of him jumping out of it to wipe bird droppings from the windshield, proof of how much the car meant to him. Chris would never think of the wreck as a blessing.

“What about transportation?” asked Zack. “Lasso’s a bit of a drive from here.”

“I should be fine. I hope to have my Suburban back very soon.”

“Well, Dylan’s recommendation covers any lack of experience you have, and I’m sure they’ll help get you here until you get your vehicle.” The young banker stood and extended his hand to her. “I’d be glad to offer you the position.”

Victoria stood as well, almost wavering against the inviting scent of his cologne. She grabbed his hand, soft as her own, and realized Zack Bradshaw might just very well be the man she was looking for. “Thanks so much. When do I start?”

“Can you start training now?”

“Absolutely.” Relief flooded over her. Finally, things were starting to look up.

Chris touched the back of his neck. Having just gotten a haircut, he could almost feel the hot shaving cream the barber lathered on the back of his neck before taking a straight razor to it. That was his favorite part. His neck felt soft as a peach with no fuzz.

He walked over to his truck and hopped inside. Scooping up his work ledger, he made sure he had recorded his business expenses and payments correctly. He’d been busier than usual this week and planned to spend some of the extra income on parts needed to fix Mary Ann.

Of course, Abby needed a few more pairs of jeans and a few long-sleeve shirts before school started in a little over a month, so he’d have to set a bit aside for that. He tallied a second time to be sure he’d made as much as he thought. Once finished, he leaned back against the seat and looked through the windshield up to the heavens.
God, You are so good. You promised to provide what we need, but already You have provided enough for me to get some of the parts I need to fix Mary Ann
.

Smiling, Chris grabbed the checks he needed to deposit and jumped out of the truck. He whistled “Amazing Grace” as he strode along the downtown sidewalk toward the bank. A contemporary version to the old hymn popped into his mind, and he shifted his tune, mentally playing the notes on his guitar.
I’ll have to try it like that when I get home tonight
.

He opened the front door to the bank. An older lady who supported herself with a cane walked through. He nodded to her and waited for her to get through before he let the door shut behind him.

Looking up, he saw Victoria and Zack behind one of the teller booths. Victoria was sitting on a high-seated stool. Zack leaned over her shoulder and pointed to something on her desk. Something stirred inside Chris.

He watched as Victoria nodded, picked up a pen, and wrote something down. A sweet expression wrapped her face as she looked back up at Zack. A knot formed in Chris’s throat, and his temperature rose when Zack smiled down at Victoria.

Chris could see the words “good job” drip from Zack’s lips, and then Victoria lowered her eyelashes and gazed back down at the paper. The muscles in Chris’s arms began to twitch as anger raced down them.
What is the matter with me?
Chris glanced at the painting on his left and then shook his head and shoved his fists in his jeans’ pockets.

I’m full-blown jealous
. He glanced at Victoria, who now sat alone in her booth. She seemed busy writing something on a notepad. The green shirt complimented her dark curls and light complexion. She looked like a breath of fresh summer air. But he couldn’t be jealous over Victoria. The notion was ridiculous on too many levels.

Just get your deposit done and get on out of here. It’s been a long week
. He walked toward her and placed his checks and deposit slip on the counter. “Hi, Victoria.”

She jumped. “Chris, I didn’t hear anyone come in.”

“I see you got the job.”

“I did.” She clasped her hands, and Chris couldn’t help but notice how perfect her nails seemed, how soft her hands looked. He also noted her fingers were bare of any jewelry except a small silver band on her right hand ring finger. She added, “And I love it already.”

“That’s great.” All thoughts and words seemed to escape Chris. He stood looking at her, taking in that he’d never before noticed her lips actually had a kind of pouty shape to them. They were appealing and seemed to be more enticing with each blink.

She cleared her throat. “Did you want to make a deposit?”

“Yes.” Chris pushed the checks and deposit slip closer to her.

“It may take me a minute.” She smiled. “I’m new at this you know.”

“Take your time. I took the day off to run errands, get my hair cut, stuff like that.”

She glanced up at him before turning back to her computer. “Your hair looks nice.”

He felt his ears burn at her compliment. “Thanks.”

She finished the transaction and handed him the receipt. “You were my first bank customer.”

Chris noted the slip with the correct amount and account numbers typed on it. “Well, you did a great job.”

“You know I’m supposed to come by and spend time with Abby today, but I don’t know if I will be able to.”

“She’ll understand that you had to work.”

“It’s not that. I get off at four, but I hate to ask Sondra to come pick me up, take me to your house, and then have to pick me up again.” She sighed. “I’ll be glad when I get my Suburban back.”

“I’ll be in town. Why don’t you let me pick you up at four, and then I’ll take you home whenever you’re ready?”

Victoria peered at him. “Do you really want to do all that for the Mary Ann Mangler?”

“I’m beginning to see that the Mary Ann Mangler is a very nice woman who doesn’t deserve that nickname.”

Victoria’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? And what nickname does she deserve?”

Chris felt his stomach knot and his chest tighten. He had to admit he was falling for her. Falling for her hard. Now he had to decide if he wanted to ignore his feelings or if he wanted to go after this girl. He cocked his head as nicknames of endearment and love filled his mind. “Fresh air,” he whispered.

“What?”

He shook his head and willed his attraction to take a backseat in his brain. “Never mind. So will you come? Can I pick you up at four?”

“Sure. I’ll call Sondra and tell her she doesn’t have to worry about me.” Victoria placed her hand on Chris’s. His heart sped up with the touch, and he feared she could feel his racing heartbeat through his veins. “Thanks for trusting me with Abby.”

Abby? Trusting her with Abby wasn’t anything. It was the fact that she seemed to be taking hold of his heart that had him worried. “Think nothing of it.”

Victoria pulled her favorite pink grapefruit lipstick from her purse. She applied it to her lips and then smacked them together. Four o’clock had arrived quicker than she would have imagined. She rearranged the curls she’d allowed to frame her face. The clip in her hair had held tight, but she couldn’t deny her longing to let her hair fall at her shoulders. She didn’t know when she’d kept it up for so many hours.

After placing the lipstick back in her purse, she pouted at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Zack had already left work for some type of meeting at another bank. Victoria had hoped to be able to talk with him more. She’d even come up with a few questions she could ask him intermittently through the day. She sighed. Her plan had been a sneaky one, and deep down she knew that wasn’t pleasing to God.

I’m sorry, Lord. I don’t know what to say to a man, especially one like Zack. But I don’t want to be sinful or manipulative either
.

Determined not to ask Zack a single phony question when she saw him the following day, Victoria walked out of the restroom and bank to see if Chris had arrived. She spied him waiting in the parking lot in his green truck. Walking over to him, she poked her head in the passenger’s window. “Hey, thanks for picking me up.”

“It’s all right.” He patted the seat. “Hop in.”

She had to yank hard before the heavy door squeaked its willingness to let her do just that. Lifting one foot up to the floorboard, she grabbed the sides of her skirt and giggled. “I didn’t know it was such a leap to get into this thing.”

“There’s a handle above your head.”

“You’re kidding.” She looked up, and sure enough there it was. Victoria grabbed it with one hand and held her skirt with the other. With a quick hop, she pulled herself inside and slammed the protesting door.

“I didn’t think about you needing a change of clothes,” said Chris.

“What?”

“There’s no telling what Abby will want you to do.”

Victoria frowned. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one influencing her?”

Chris laughed. “Yeah, and I hope you can do it. Just the same, you’d be more comfortable in jeans or shorts. Abby will probably have some you can wear.”

“Okay.” An uneasiness gnawed at Victoria. Surely she hadn’t gotten in over her head with Abby. She leaned over and grabbed the handle to roll up the window. Having never seen one before except on television, Victoria wasn’t sure exactly how to work it. The handle was stiff, but she turned it both ways until she managed to get the window to rise.

“No air-conditioning.”

“What?” She gawked at Chris whose mouth split in a full grin.

“The truck doesn’t have air-conditioning. You’ll have to leave it down.”

“Well, this should be an adventure.”

“I’d reckon it will be.” Chris turned the key in the ignition. It grumbled and then roared its willingness to start.

Bluegrass gospel music pealed from the radio as the inside of the cab shook like they were in the middle of an earthquake. Victoria felt as if she’d stepped out onto some newly remade
Twilight Zone
program. She grabbed for her seat belt only to have it fight her for several moments to stretch long enough to fasten into its lock.