“You were with her?” Stephen asked.
“I was holding her hand.” She walked a few steps and stopped and looked with great compassion into Cork’s eyes and Stephen’s. “I believe I understand now what was keeping her here. We knew nothing about your wife, Mr. O’Connor. Your mother, Stephen. That’s sometimes the way it is when people come to us. We had no idea that she had a family who didn’t know where she was or what had become of her. I believe that’s what held her. I believe she wanted you to know. And now God has taken care of it.”
They continued on and passed through the wall of the old mission and came out into the bright sunlight of the desert, where a cemetery had been created. White stone stood against yellow sand. There were green cacti and sage-colored desert plants among the grave markers and the monuments, and all these elements fit together in a starkly beautiful way.
“Many of those who come to us don’t wish to go back for burial,” Sister Amelia said. “They have their reasons for wanting their final rest to be here. With your wife, we had no choice, of course. And Mr. Nightwind was quite generous in his request for her disposition. Your wife is there.”
She pointed toward a large mausoleum at the center of the cemetery. The structure was built of stunning white marble, with a door as white as ice. Cork stopped as if he’d hit a wall, and he stared. He felt that he’d been blind all along but under the blaze of the desert sun the scales had finally fallen from his eyes. He glanced at his son, who had seen it, too.
Sister Amelia touched his arm. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s just that we know this place. Stephen saw it a long time ago in a vision. A big yellow room with white rocks and a white door and behind it his mother. We didn’t know what it meant.”
Sister Amelia put her hand gently on Stephen’s shoulder. “Perhaps that she would be waiting for you here. That she was always meant to be waiting for you here. Would you like to go inside?”
“Yes,” Stephen said. He walked forward on his own.
But Sister Amelia took Cork’s hand, guiding him, because his eyes had become blind again, this time with tears.
EPILOGUE
Nancy Jo O’Connor was laid to rest in the cemetery in Aurora on a lovely May afternoon when the sun was saffron yellow and the sky was cornflower blue. It was a simple graveside ceremony in the place where before there’d been only a memorial headstone. Cork was there. Jo’s children and her friends were there. Rose and Mal were there and Hugh Parmer and Becca Bodine and her son, who finally knew the truth of their husband and father. And Liz Burns was there. Although she’d never known Jo, the part she’d played in Cork’s search had brought her into the lives of the O’Connors in a powerful way.
Cork looked around him at those who’d loved his wife, especially his children. Jenny and Anne were practically grown women, beautiful and strong. There was still a good deal about Stephen that was changing, but much of the fine man Cork believed he would become was already obvious. Jo would have been proud of him. She would have been proud of them all.
They prayed and they wept, and at the end they turned together and headed back to their lives. All of them except Cork, who lingered at the grave. When he was alone, he spoke quietly.
“There’s something I need to say to you, Jo. It’s been in my heart a long time, ever since we argued and you left. I hope you can hear me, sweetheart.” He laid his hand on the polished coffin, where sunlight ran along the grain and gave the wood the look of sweet honey. “I just want to say I’m sorry. And I want to say I love you.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “And I have to say good-bye.”
He took his hand away, turned where the others had gone, and followed them into the beauty of that day.
Table of Contents
HEAVEN’S KEEP
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART I LOST
PROLOGUE
ONE Day One
TWO Day One
THREE Day One
FOUR Day One, Missing 12 Hours
FIVE Day Two, Missing 20 Hours
SIX Day Two, Missing 26 Hours
SEVEN Day Three, Missing 43 Hours
EIGHT Day Three, Missing 49 Hours
NINE Day Four, Missing 65 Hours
TEN Day Four, Missing 76 Hours
ELEVEN Day Four, Missing 82 Hours
TWELVE Day Five, Missing 94 Hours
THIRTEEN Day Five, Missing 103 Hours
FOURTEEN Day Five, Missing 105 Hours
FIFTEEN Day Six, Missing 118 Hours
SIXTEEN Day Six, Missing 128 Hours
SEVENTEEN Day Seven, Missing 144 Hours
PART II FOUND
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-THREE
FORTY-FOUR
FORTY-FIVE
EPILOGUE
Heaven's Keep Page 32