by Dora Hiers
Her heart swelled with love for this kind man. “No, sweetheart, this isn’t a dream.” She smiled at the joy that cascaded across his face. “You didn’t think I would stay away, did you?” She braved a step into his office.
“You didn’t respond to my texts. My message.”
“I couldn’t. I would never have been able to leave.”
“Why did you, then?”
“I couldn’t move forward with loose ends dangling.”
“Loose ends?” His throat worked.
“Giving Antonio my answer.”
The man still didn’t budge. His back rigid, hands hidden in his pockets. Face now a mask to cover the fear and insecurity that still plagued her beloved. Painful and raw, and her leaving must’ve reopened those old wounds.
She had to demolish that barrier for good. The one that kept two people from different backgrounds apart. The one that based a person’s value on how much money they made or accumulated. The one that society, and her father, had helped to erect.
“Which, in case you’re interested, was a resounding ‘no.’” At his gasp, she dared another step and then another until her shoe tapped his boot.
The hard lines of his jaw softened, and he smiled. That smile, that look, as if they were the only ones on the planet, just her and him. Did crazy things to her pulse. Made her legs weak, her heart soar.
“Took you long enough,” he growled.
“So you missed me?” Chuckling, she grazed the whiskers shadowing his jaw.
“Don’t even go there.” He seized her hand and caressed her palm with a feather-light kiss.
“I know. It seemed like forever. But, I had to make arrangements to give up my apartment. Pack my stuff. Quit my job.”
“You quit your job?” Surely that was hope that made his voice hoarse, and not worry. He regarded her, his scrutiny covering her eyes, her cheeks, and lingering around her lips. A sigh lifted his chest as he threaded his fingers through her hair.
“Mmm hmm. My life is here, in Steepleview, and my heart. Has been since the first day I visited Where Wishes Live and met you.” She wrapped arms around his back and gazed up at him, allowed all the love in her heart to shine from her face. “My home is here because that’s where you are.”
His blue eyes glimmered as he enfolded her in his strong arms. “Home. Yes, I definitely like the sound of that.”
He kissed her, his touch, light and airy. Like a butterfly, his mouth landed on hers to perch then flitted away, entirely too soon.
When she opened her eyes, he was smiling. She pouted. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “Greedy, eh?”
“For you? Yes! I just got back from a whirlwind week, two grueling days of fifteen-hour flights. I need—”
The rest of her words were garbled by his mouth landing on hers, hard, demanding, but giving more than he took. This kiss left her breathless, her legs trembling, her heart thumping overtime.
“Better?” His lips tickled just under her ear.
Oh yeah! A contented sigh escaped her throat when his mouth wandered across her neck. “With a little more practice, it’ll be per—”
He dazzled her with another toe-tingling kiss. If they kept this up, she’d never be able to sleep tonight. Or tomorrow. What day was it, anyway?
He must’ve noticed her wobble because he pulled her tighter against him, practically holding her up, and nestled his chin on her head. “You haven’t slept yet.”
“I wanted to see you first. Make sure you didn’t give my job away,” she teased, her cheek buried against his soft cotton shirt.
“Cupcake, if you want the job, it’s yours. But are you sure that’s what you really want? You could get a better-paying job somewhere else in town.” He tilted her chin up with his thumb.
She might be sleep deprived, but she still recognized the subtext. He wasn’t referring to the job. Rather, him. She framed his face with her hands. “I couldn’t be more sure of anything in my life.”
Epilogue
“I thought that last couple would never leave. Couldn’t you tell them you ran out of fresh coffee?” Chase chuckled and held the door open, his gut a knot of excitement and anticipation. And maybe just a pinch of nerves.
“Why? Then, we’d just have to brew a fresh pot. Besides, we don’t technically close for another twenty minutes. And it’s Christmas Eve. I promised Raymond he could go home early.” Camille untied the apron and hung it on a peg then shrugged into her coat.
“Susan’s going to cover for Raymond, cupcake. Don’t worry. I took care of it.” Just one detail in the myriad of others to pull this off. But she was so worth it, their love worth waiting every day of those ten years.
“What’s the hur—” Camille slipped past him and stepped outside onto the back porch of the employee entrance for Where Wishes Live. She gasped and covered her mouth, twisted to glance up at him, question marks literally shining from those gigantic blue eyes. “What—”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore. Come on.” He caught her hand and led her down the steps toward the open sleigh.
Samuel, their carriage driver for the evening, grinned from his position in the front seat, gripping the reins. The Santa hat drooped across his forehead, and he shrugged it away with an annoyed snort. The horse nickered and stomped a hoof.
Ready to get the show underway. Just like him.
Chase circled Camille’s waist and hoisted her up on the sled then pulled himself up. “Ready?”
“Yes!” Camille’s face glowed with pleasure.
He leaned forward and tapped Samuel’s shoulder. “All set.” When the sled lurched forward, he draped a blanket around her legs.
“Thank you.” Her sweet kiss revved his engine.
“You’re welcome, cupcake. You keep kissing me like that, and we’ll make this a regular event.” Except for one major component.
He settled back against the seat and curled an arm around her neck. She snuggled against him like a contented cat, one arm wrapped around his middle, her face pressed against his torso.
Could she feel the wild hammering going on inside his chest? The crescendo of an era of longing, of prayers and wishes. He mentally rehearsed what he wanted to say, then took a deep breath of confidence, summoned his courage and chased away the remnants of longstanding doubts. She’d come home, to him.
Thank You, Lord, for bringing Camille back home. To You and to me. Help our love to thrive and bloom, help us always keep You the center of our life together.
“Whoa!” Samuel tugged the reins and the sled stopped.
The next few moments would establish their future, set the wheels in motion. Excitement propelled him from the sleigh. He held out a hand for his love.
Camille stood but stayed atop the sleigh, studying their surroundings. Did she recognize the significance of this particular spot?
He knew the moment she did. Her lips formed a silent “oh” and her eyes swelled to biscuit size. Her hands covered her cheeks. “Our capsule! I’d forgotten!”
He chuckled and lifted her down to the snow. “You don’t know how many times I rode out to this very spot and had to talk myself out of digging it up.”
“I’ll catch up with you two later,” Samuel said. He flicked the reins and clicked his tongue and the horse moved away.
“Ready to go back in time?” he asked.
“Actually, I’m more ready to move forward.” She flashed a sweet, inviting smile and her words lit a fire in his gut. “But this’ll be fun, so yes!”
He laced their fingers together and led her to the exact spot where they’d buried their pod. One of Where Wishes Live’s scenic overlooks, a site he could probably charge big bucks for romance lovers to visit, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. This was their spot.
A string of battery operated lights twinkled from a single tree, the one they’d engraved their names to mark the location. A shovel leaned against the t
hick trunk. The blanket he’d dropped off earlier stretched underneath, the basket with a thermos of coffee and cookies on top.
“Oh, Chase! It’s so beautiful!” Camille tugged him forward but let go to snatch the shovel.
“Hey, now, cupcake. I’ll do the digging.” He took the blade from her and mashed it into the dirt with his boot, surprised at the firmness of the hard ground. Especially considering he’d dug it up to add one last item to the capsule a few years ago.
She chuckled. “Just helping you get started.”
“Anxious?”
She plopped down on the blanket and leaned back against the tree. “Yes, incredibly so. I can’t believe I forgot about it.”
“Being away probably contributed. It’s not like you passed by this spot again.” Actually, he purposely rode out here a couple times a week. To sit on this very overlook and gaze up at the heavens, every star a wish for her to return. To conjure up the memories, which had grown increasingly more challenging with every year that passed. He heaved another shovelful of dirt in a pile. Hit metal on the next swipe.
She scooted toward the edge of the blanket and peered in the hole, clapped. “Yay! You found it!”
He chuckled. “What? You doubted me?”
“Not for a second.” She left the blanket and wandered over to stand near the edge of the mountain, wrapped arms around her waist as she stared at the lights swathing the resort. “You know, out of all my travels, this is still my favorite spot in the whole world.”
“Really?” He heaved the last shovelful at the pile and leaned on the pole. Not just to catch a breath. He’d waited so long for this moment, and he didn’t want to miss a second.
“Yes.” She twisted, devoured him with a hungry gaze. “Our first date. Our first kiss. Our time capsule. Our special tree.” Her sweet, perceptive smile just about buckled his legs and landed him on his knees.
He tossed the shovel aside and moved toward her. She’d already turned back around, so he circled his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest, resting his chin on her head, smiling at the joy and peace that flowed into his spirit. “I like the ‘ours’ going on there. Maybe you’ll add one more after tonight.”
“Mmmm.” The contented sigh rumbled through her torso.
Time slipped away as they stood together as one. Finally, she broke the silence. “I love you, Chase Kirkland.”
“I love you, Camille Tulane.” He twisted her around and kissed her, every ounce of love gushing from his heart like an opened dam. When his lungs finally gave out, he tugged her back to the blanket. “Let’s crack this baby open.”
****
Camille popped the lid of the metal container, anticipation churning her insides. As love-drenched teenagers, what had they crammed inside such a tiny container that would impact them a decade later?
She spotted the first item and squealed, dangled the thin yellow strip of paper in the air. A photo of them together on the slope was taped to the back of it. “Aww! My ticket to the ski lift at Where Wishes Live!” She’d been coming to Steepleview for years, but that day was a milestone. The day she realized her feelings for Chase had progressed way past the friendship phase. The day she no longer saw him as a lanky teen, rather the man he’d become.
Her eyes blurred, but she blinked away the moisture. Now was not the time to get mushy. Not with all the treasures left to unpack.
Smiling, he held up the second item. “My first five dollars from mowing lawns. I’d have put in the whole ten, but my dad asked for the other half.” He shook his head with the memory.
She pressed a hand against his arm. “He probably needed it for groceries. You used to have a ferocious appetite.”
“Still do.” His less-than-innocent appraisal told her he wasn’t referring to food just now.
Heat rose up her neck and danced along her arms. She shivered.
“Cold?” he asked, giving her upper arms a vigorous rub.
Cold? How could she be cold with his nearness, his searing looks sizzling her to the very core.
She shook her head. Concentrated on what was left in the capsule. She pulled out a set of measuring spoons, a gift passed down from her grandmother. “Can you believe when my boxes arrived in Italy, I searched all over for these? I totally forgot I put them in here.”
“Don’t beat yourself up. You had a lot going on back then.” His knuckles grazed her jaw, pure adoration lighting his expression.
“And you always know the right thing to say.” Bliss flowed out of her in a contented sigh.
Smiling, he dug the next item out of the pod, held up a matchbox taped to a tiny piece of bark. “For all the wood I chopped.” He tossed it on the blanket and flexed an arm.
She laughed. “You must’ve supplied firewood for at least twenty-five houses every winter. And for how long? Ten years?” She squeezed his upper arm, the strength and power bunching under her touch. “That’s a lot of muscle there, buddy.”
“Don’t you know it!” he teased and popped a kiss on the tip of her nose. He waved the container in the air. “But you’re distracting me, cupcake. I think there’s something else in here with your name on it.”
“Distracting you?” She scoffed and bumped his shoulder. “Hardly! I’m not the one showing off my muscles.”
“Okay. I’ll behave.” He handed her the capsule.
She tipped it upside down but nothing came out. She peered inside the dark cavity. The last item fit snug in the bottom of the container. She tugged out the manila envelope, frowned. “Now, I really don’t remember this.” She shot a quizzical gaze to him.
He leaned forward, smiling, something broad and mysterious. As if he could hardly clamp a lid on a secret. “Open it.”
She tore the top and scattered the contents, a couple of folded pieces of paper and a tiny gift, onto the blanket. She unfolded the first page, scanned it. “What is this? The deed to Where Wishes Live?”
Nodding, he didn’t say anything. Just moved in closer.
She shuffled that page behind the next one and read the first few words before moisture studded her eyelashes, blurring her vision. She covered her mouth with a hand. So he hadn’t wanted her to go! Sniffling, she swiped at the tear that trickled down her cheek.
“Can you read it out loud?” he asked.
She nodded. Her voice came out quivery. “Dearest Camille. It’s been two years since you left for Europe, two LONG years. I miss you something fierce. It doesn’t help that every inch of this property, your smiling face haunts me. You’re in my thoughts every day. Snap, even my dreams. You’re the reason I’ve worked so hard. It’s all been for you and with the hope that one day you’d come back home. To me. To us. I regret not begging you to stay. Even more, not asking you to marry me so we could achieve our dreams together.”
A sob halted her words. She covered her mouth, swallowed the painful glob of emotion bottlenecking in her throat.
He squeezed her thigh. “Want me to read it?”
She took a deep breath, nodded.
One arm curled around her shoulders, the other holding the letter, he picked up where she left off. “But, it truly wasn’t our time. God knew that. He knew that I needed time to find Him on my own. And you needed time to spread your angel wings, to figure out where you belonged in this giant world. As for me, I already knew where I belonged, just not to Whom.” He glanced at her. “Now, I do.”
She opened her mouth, but all that came out was an “oh!” More tears tracked down her cheeks.
He continued. “Your father was right to stop us from being together, Camille. Back then, I didn’t have anything to offer—”
“That’s not true!” The denial burst from her mouth, interrupted his words.
He pressed her tight against his side. “Nothing of value.”
She grazed his whiskered jaw. “Chase Kirkland, don’t you dare! You are valuable, you, just the way you were then and the way you are now! Don’t you know that I loved you? That those things didn�
�t matter to me?”
“It mattered to me. And to your father.” His jaw tightened. He leaned into her hand then flicked his attention back to the letter. “Things are different now, Camille. Everything I have is a result of my love for you, and I hand it over to you willingly. My land. My faith. My heart.”
The papers fluttered to the blanket. He brushed her cheek with his fingers, his gaze, those intense blue orbs telling her everything she needed to know before the words ever left his mouth. “Camille Tulane, I love you. My love never faded, and I promise that it’ll never burn out. Will you stay this time? Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” She launched herself at him and they both tumbled back against the blanket. Their kiss was sweet and tender, full of promises for the future and a bit of making up for lost time. When they finally separated, they stretched side by side, hands laced together, staring up at the stars.
He spoke toward the heaven. “Thank You, Lord. For bringing Camille back home. To me and to Where Wishes Live.”
Yes. Thank You, Lord!
The End
Thanks so much for reading WHERE Wishes LIVE!I hope you enjoyed it and that you’ll take a minute or two to share your thoughts on Amazon, Goodreads, or wherever you hang out online. Reviews, positive and negative, help other readers determine whether this book is something they’d be interested in reading.
Dora Hiers also writes stories minus a distinct faith element but still sprinkled with hope and grace and second chances. Clean and wholesome romance. No sex scenes, no cursing, no need to hide the books from your kids or grandkiddos. But definitely a tad more heat than most Christian books. Check out Sweet Romance that Sizzles by Tori Kayson.