Regena Bryant excerpt from Love ’ s Renmant
94 | NKLC Magazine
Avery Thomas switched the glass statue from hand to hand and waited for Tyler Anderson to answer his door . The thing was heavy . She glanced back at the waiting car . She ’ d tipped the driver handsomely to make this little detour , but the driver wouldn ’ t wait for long . She pressed the bell again .
Tyler had called several times this week . Their conversations had been very promising . Maybe she should have called . Derrard always said you should never just drop by a man ’ s house unless you are prepared to handle what you might find . When the door flew open , she stepped back . “ Hey !” Tyler beamed . She pushed the award toward him so quickly he almost missed it . “ I just wanted to show you this . I thought you ’ d appreciate it .” Tyler grabbed the solid statue just in time . “ I appreciate how you look in that dress . D Allen ?” “ Of course .” She twirled . “ Couture . One of the few pieces he designed just for me .” She swallowed hard . “ Can you come in ?” Avery smiled . Good to know Tyler wasn ’ t doing anything she couldn ’ t see . Behind him in the dark house smooth jazz floated to the front door . “ No , I just stopped by to show you the award . I hope you don ’ t mind . I didn ’ t interrupt anything , did I ?”
“ No , no , I was just researching details for an investment project .” He switched on a hallway light and held the award high to read the inscriptions . “ For commitment to education and the Chicago fashion industry .” Tyler nodded in agreement . “ Well deserved .”
Tonight , the Chicago Fashion Foundation had honored Derrard ’ s work and she ’ d presented the first Derrard Allen Memorial Scholarship . He left money to grant one scholarship to a deserving student , but she ’ d determined there would be a yearly award in his honor . How she was going to fund the scholarship was a question for another time . She reached out for Tyler to pass back the award . “ Sorry to interrupt .”
“ No ,” he balanced the award in one hand and reached for her with his other , “ please stay . Come in . I ’ ll make you a cup of tea .”
Why hadn ’ t she realized sooner what a good brother Tyler was ? “ I can ’ t . I have a car waiting . As I said , I just stopped by because I wanted to show you Derrard ’ s award .”
He looked past her at the waiting limo and his smile dimmed . “ Is there anyone waiting for you in that car ?” “ Just the driver .” Tyler ’ s grin broadened . “ Good . Come in out of the night air . I ’ ll drive you home . I ’ ll just go and tell the driver .” Tyler grabbed his wallet from a jacket and shot out of the house in his bare feet . www . regenabryant . com