Gertie snorted. “Like a little sage is going to scare me! Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘it’s like heaven on earth’? That’s what I’ve had while I’ve watched you find your way back to Hickory Valley.”
Rich leaned against the post and stared at the rocking chair which was slowly and methodically moving on the tranquil, windless night. One niggling question still bothered him, erratically surfacing from his thoughts. “Tell me, did you put those dolls in Estella’s room?”
Gertie’s chuckle was light and lilting. “I thought the girls would like them. I thought it would make them feel a little more at home. They were from your Great Grandmother Hilda’s collection in the attic.”
“Ah, ha. I see.” Rich rubbed his chin. “So tell me. What more do you want from me?”
“Nothing more, Richard Lee. Just stopped by to offer some parting words of wisdom to you.”
“I can’t wait.”
“Remember the heart often sees what the eyes cannot.”
“Both my heart and my eyes want Torrie Larson for my wife,” Rich admitted. “They have from the moment I saw her in those oversized coveralls with blue nail polish on her fingernails.”
“Then ask her. Convince her. ‘Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.’”
“Oscar Wilde, your favorite writer.” Rich leveled his gaze toward the flower gardens out on the lawn, visible through the dim light shining from the gazebo. The roses were starting to bloom and their white buds shone as if someone blew luminous bubbles through the air and they drifted downward, floating just above the ground. They were exquisite. The smell was intoxicating.
But when he turned back to the rocking chair to mention it, the rocker stood unmoving.
Silence surrounded him.
“Gertie?” he asked.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Late Sunday afternoon in Elsa’s bedroom, Torrie ran a hand over her aquamarine dress and looked in the mirror, straightening a loose strand escaping from the fancy clip she had used secure her hair on the top of her head. Purse in hand, she headed out to the kitchen and passed the family room where both Gus and Neil were now sitting on the floor among a half dozen plastic boxes of Legos and four rambunctious children. Elsa had called to say she and Lars were running late from their business trip to upstate New York, but Gus had gladly stepped up to help Neil babysit until Elsa and Lars returned.
Rich Redman had called her and the girls every day he was away. If the truth be told, Torrie missed him more than she cared to admit, and she was looking forward to seeing him. Estella was staying one more night with Iris at Elsa’s house. Gus had rented an old Star Wars film and popcorn was on the list of many things for movie night with the children. Torrie stopped and peered in, watching them noisily playing and showing off their elaborate creations to each other.
Gus glanced up from his Lego design of what looked like a misfit starship and caught her gaze. “Wow, you look spectacular, Sis. Like a princess. You’re gonna make every guy at the restaurant jealous of Rich Redman.”
Torrie smiled and stepped into the room. “You guys have this movie night under control, right?” She stooped to kiss Iris and Estella on the top of their heads.
Neil looked up and whistled under his breath. “Whew, Gus is not kidding. Looking good, Torrie. And yes, this isn’t my first rodeo babysitting a bunch of kids on a sugar surge.” He smiled. “Go, go. Have a good time. Tell Rich we said hey. We’ll be sure to get the girls back to the house on Monday morning.”
On the drive to meet Rich, Torrie pondered her life over the last few months. In just four short weeks, Rich Redman had turned it upside down and filled a void she thought would never be filled. It was nice to feel safe and protected. Nice to trust someone. Torrie felt like a dozen butterflies were fluttering around in her stomach. She had to come to a decision about their future relationship. To be fair, she had to do it tonight.
****
Rich Redman waited at the front of the house, apprehensively pacing the front drive like a man about to scratch off a lottery ticket in hopes it was a winner. For the last three days, all he could think about was Torrie Larson. He had deep feelings for her, even though he wasn’t sure how or when they started. Maybe it was a collective realization that crept up on him. She was a beautiful woman who had courage, strength, tenacity…and yet a sweetness and warmth about her. And tonight, he was not going to let her stall or throw up barriers to justify why they couldn’t be together forever. “‘Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead,’” he repeated under his breath.
Minutes later, when Torrie pulled her vehicle up to the house, he went to the door and helped her out. His heart skipped a beat just touching her. She was luscious and sexy and her four-inch heels accented legs men would die for. The aquamarine dress she had chosen, the same color as her eyes, wrapped her up into one stunning package. He kissed her lightly but possessively on her lips. “I’ve missed you,” he admitted. “A lot.”
“I missed you, too,” she said and stepped backward, “and I have exciting news. The roses are starting to bloom!”
“I know, I saw them when I arrived home.” The word home reverberated in his head like a beating drum. Home. Home. Home. He had really started to think of Hickory Valley as home.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” She laughed, then dangled the car keys in front of his face. “Do you want to drive? We really need to celebrate. Where are we going?”
“Nowhere.” He took the keys, pulled her abruptly against his body, and soundly kissed her again, this time more possessively. He was surprised when she returned the kiss just as passionately. “We’re dining in tonight. Just us,” he whispered against her lips.
He led her up the front walk and through the house to the kitchen, redolent with the warm spicy smell of food, until they reached the back porch which had been elaborately festooned with tiny white lights hanging from the railing and twined around the posts. He gestured to the yard, where a freshly painted white gazebo held a small intimate table for two. A dozen white candles in glass holders lit up the newly screened-in interior.
“It’s exquisite!” she cried and covered her mouth with her hand. “However did you repair the poor thing so quickly?”
“Gus and Joe with a crew worked on it over the last few days.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the kitchen. “Lulu wanted to stay and serve us, but I decided we could easily handle our own plates. Tonight it’s all about us. The wine is uncorked and chilling in the gazebo. Why don’t you go out and pour us a glass while I bring a tray with our plates?”
Minutes later, once they were seated, Torrie gently touched the four white roses in a brass vase on the table. “Four?” she asked. “You picked four roses? For the four weeks we’ve known each other?”
He smiled. “I’m told the Chinese believe the number four is sometimes considered unlucky like our number thirteen, but the Buddhists think it represents the four greatest powers of our planet: earth, wind, water and fire. For me, it’s an auspicious number. We met on June 4th. We went out to dinner four days later. It’s been four weeks since our first encounter. And let’s not forget there are four people I want to make into a family.”
“How sweet. Elsa insisted you were a romantic at heart!”
“Speaking of Elsa,” Rich removed a letter from his inside coat pocket. “Here’s a sealed letter from the Forresters. I have no idea what it says.”
“How did you get this?” Torrie eyed him cautiously, her eyes flitting from his face to the letter.
“I sent Lars and Elsa to upstate New York to hammer them with irrefutable evidence and, with a little bit of persuasion, to convince them Iris is their granddaughter.”
“So that’s where Elsa and Lars disappeared to?” Her lips curved downward into a frown. “You sent them without asking me?”
He interrupted, before her temper reached a full boil, “Admit it, Torrie,
you would have said no, and this hang-up with Daniel’s parents is a wedge we have to remove before you can go on with your life and forward with me. It’s eating at your very soul, and it’s hanging over everyone’s heads like a thick black cloud. Open the letter and let’s see what they have to say.”
With much apprehension, she slipped her fingernail under the seal and removed a sheet of paper. It was a handwritten note. Silence surrounded them as she read it, and finally looked up at him with a startled expression. “They say they know I’m hurt and angry with them, and after talking to Lars and Elsa, they want me to meet with them at my own convenience. I can choose the day, time, and place…and if I wish, I can bring Iris with me. They understand my trepidation and are willing to give me all the time I need to come to terms with their reckless and cruel behavior.” She waved the letter at him “How did you do this?”
“I didn’t do it. Your sister is quite a formidable force. And let’s not forget your brother is a car salesman.”
“Unbelievable. This is the best present I could ever have. For six years it’s eaten half my heart away thinking they actually believed Iris wasn’t their grandchild and I’d cheated on Daniel.” Tears in her eyes, she pushed her chair back from the table and rounded it to take his face in her hands. She kissed him tenderly on the mouth. “I love you, I really do. Thank you.”
He pulled her down onto his lap, reached into his coat pocket again, and pulled out a velvet ring box. “I love you, too. I want you to marry me. I’d get down on one knee, but this is so much cozier.” He squeezed her gently. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I want you to marry me. I want you to raise as many white Austrian vintage roses as your heart desires. I want to have more kids with you. I want to be part of your crazy family with all your lunatic brothers. I want you to be my wife. I want us to live here in Hickory Valley.” He flipped open the ring box and a huge square diamond, surrounded by twelve small round ones, glittered in the candlelight. “What do you say, Torrie Jane Larson?”
“Yes. Yes!” she squealed, swiping the tears from her cheeks. She pulled his face toward her and kissed him passionately on the lips again. “I say, yes!”
Grinning, he removed the diamond and placed it on her ring finger.
“You know, to be honest, I’m not really hungry,” she admitted sheepishly. She slid off his lap and stood. “For food.” Her aqua gaze pierced the distance between them and shone with a glint of expectation. She held out her hand. “Unless you are.”
“What I’m starved for isn’t on this table.” He rose. “This can all be rewarmed.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her up the yard and onto the porch.
“Wait!” she said, turning. “I want to see the gazebo all lit up one more time. The candles might be out when we come back later. I can’t believe you restored it. It’s exquisite. We’re going to have many meals out there, just like your grandmother and grandfather did. And I want to get married out there by the gazebo and the roses. With only family and close friends in attendance.”
“Anything you want,” he agreed.
“And I want our girls dressed in frothy pink dresses.”
“I’m sure they’d love that idea.”
“And I want Lulu Smith to work for us.”
“I’m certain she wouldn’t have it any other way.” His mouth quirked with humor. “But we have to wean her from those Redman points before I go broke.”
Together they stood on the lighted porch and looked out into the night. After a few minutes, Torrie turned and placed her hands around Rich’s neck. She sighed and gave him a stunning, but happy smile. “Everything is beautiful. Thank you for such a perfect night.”
“No, you’re beautiful,” he whispered and drew her into a warm hug, his arms wrapped around her, his cheek resting on the side of her face. “And the night is still full of pleasant surprises,” he whispered near her ear. He hungrily kissed her like a drowning man needing to replenish himself with oxygen.
Around them a warm breeze kicked up and swept in from somewhere by the side of the porch where the rocking chairs stood. It seemed to surround them, embracing them in a warm cocoon of swirling wind, caressing and circling them for a brief moment before sweeping away into the yard, over the gazebo, and into the star-filled sky above.
Pulling away, Torrie looked around with a bewildered expression. “Heavens, I don’t know what just happened, but it was delightfully unexpected and surprising.”
From the corner of his eye, Rich took a peek at the last rocker on the porch, but it stood rock still. “Oh, darling, you have no idea how surprising it could have been,” he said. “No idea at all.”
A word about the author…
Judy Ann Davis began her career in writing as a copy and continuity writer for radio and television in Scranton, PA. She holds a degree in Journalism and Communications and has written for industry and education throughout her career.
Over a dozen of her short stories have appeared in various literary and small magazines and anthologies, and have received numerous awards.
When Judy Ann is not behind a computer, you can find her looking for anything humorous to make her laugh or swinging a golf club where the chuckles are few.
She is a member of Pennwriters, Inc. and Romance Writers of America, and divides her time between Central Pennsylvania and New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
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