by Tracey Smith
“Maggie?! Oh thank God!” Aaron released her hand and grasped the sides of her face gently, hovering over her with tears in his eyes.
“Aaron?” Maggie croaked. “How did you get here?” Her mind still felt sluggish and wasn’t making the connections.
“You’re in the hospital,” he explained slowly as he tenderly brushed aside her bangs. “Do you remember what happened?”
“I think so. A man came into the house...” Maggie trailed off as she struggled to focus.
“I’m so sorry, Maggie.” Aaron fell to his knees at the side of her bed and laid his head on her hand. “I should have been there. I should never have left.”
“Aaron, he’s going to come after you too,” Maggie said as it all started coming back to her. “He was looking for you. He’s going to come back!”
The beeping sound started coming faster and that’s when she realized that it was the sound of her heart monitor.
“Maggie, please don’t upset yourself. You need to rest,” Aaron’s said.
“He thinks the house belongs to him,” Maggie continued as panic began to grip her. “He thinks we are trying to take it away from him. He’s not going to stop.”
“Maggie, that man is never coming back,” he promised. “You’re safe. We both are. Please just try to get some sleep. We can talk more about this when you’re better.”
“I’m not tired,” Maggie lied, but her heavy eyelids betrayed her. That short burst of energy had drained her.
“Go to sleep,” Aaron whispered as he soothingly stroked her head.
“But if I do you’ll leave.” Maggie fought to keep her eyes open.
“I promise I’ll be here when you wake up. I’ll never leave your side again.” Maggie smiled softly as she finally let her heavy lids win the battle and she quickly drifted off to sleep.
~∞~
Aaron kept his promise. He stayed by her side night and day while she recovered. He and Andi took turns sitting by her bed so that she was never alone when she woke. Over the next several days she became stronger and was able to stay awake for longer periods.
She learned that she had three broken ribs, a broken arm, a severe concussion, and countless bruises. As her mind cleared, all the pieces began to come together. The man had claimed that his grandfather should have inherited the house when his brother died. It only stood to reason that his grandfather was Agnes Devereaux’s uncle. But apparently he believed that Aaron somehow held a claim to the property that was greater than his own, and he believed that there was some file that could prove it.
She now felt certain that Ms. Devereaux had brought her here to meet Aaron. Perhaps she’d watched her as a child being paraded around as an unwilling debutant and felt a connection with her. Perhaps she’d seen something in Maggie that reminded her of herself and that’s why she’d reached out to her, that’s why she’d left that flyer just outside her dorm room.
Ms. Devereaux had orchestrated this entire summer to bring them together. She tried several times to talk with Aaron about her suspicions, but he didn’t want to talk about it and begged her to leave it alone. He just wanted her to get well so that they could leave Sweetwater and leave Devereaux Manor behind them.
“The doctor says your scans look really good,” Aaron told her, coming in from the hallway carrying a few cups of coffee. He handed one to her and then sat in his chair beside her bed. “He said you should be getting out of here in a few days.”
Maggie smiled at the news. She was ready to leave and put all of this behind her, but there was one last question that she needed answered.
“Aaron, can you tell me what happened to the man who attacked me?” Maggie asked. She’d asked before and he kept telling her not to worry, that she was safe, but she needed to know what happened. She knew this was hard for him to talk about, but she needed answers. Aaron nodded, realizing he couldn’t put her off any longer.
“I was coming to see you,” Aaron admitted.
“You were?” She heard the surprise in her own voice and saw him wince in reaction.
“It was killing me, staying away from you. I thought it was for the best, thought it would be easier for you to move on if I wasn’t hanging around,” he explained.
“I could never move on,” she whispered.
“I couldn’t either. I stopped by to see how the harvest was going. I told myself I was only going to talk with the foreman and leave, but I needed to see you. I came in through the kitchen and when I reached the front room I saw him on top of you.” He had to take a deep breath and clear his throat before he continued. “I grabbed him and threw him off of you. You looked… I thought you were… I thought I’d lost you and I was going to kill him for it. I jumped on him and I just started hitting him, over and over. I wasn’t going to stop until he was dead.” A tear escaped and ran down his face.
“Did you?” Maggie asked with a trembling voice.
Aaron shook his head. “Some of the guys from outside, they heard the commotion. They came in and stopped me before it was too late. It almost was.”
“So he’s…?” Maggie couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat.
“He’s in intensive care,” Aaron stated flatly. “But as soon as he’s stable enough he’s going to stand trial for attempted murder.”
Maggie nodded, finally feeling the sense of closure that she needed.
“I almost lost you, Maggie. I don’t know what I would have done.” Aaron’s voice was strained with emotion.
“But you didn’t lose me. I’m here, and I’m going to be okay,” she assured him. “We’re going to be okay.”
~∞~
Leaving the hospital was quite the production. It seemed like everyone from Sweetwater had sent flowers. Maggie’s room had been overflowing with them and it took several trips to load them all into the back of Aaron’s truck.
“You’re sure you’re ready for this?” Aaron asked as they pulled into the driveway at Devereaux Manor.
“I’m ready,” Maggie assured him. She’d been preparing herself for coming back here. Andi had offered to pack up her things for her, but Maggie needed this final closure.
She wasn’t prepared for the crowd that was waiting for them. Ms. Brandy was the first to hug Maggie as she stepped out of the truck.
“We all just wanted to say goodbye before you head off to Savannah,” she told her. “I sure am gonna miss having you around the shop.”
“I’m going to miss you too,” Maggie replied, hugging her with her good arm.
Lacey and Travis Buchannan were next in the receiving line. Lacey was holding little baby Aaron and Travis was juggling the other three.
“Promise you’ll come back to visit?” Lacey asked.
“I wouldn’t miss the Fourth of July barbeque,” Maggie assured her.
“How about we all head inside so Maggie can get off her feet?” Aaron suggested, and everyone murmured their agreement as they made their way into the house.
Andi hung behind the crowd waiting for everyone to file inside before stepping over to loop her arm through Maggie’s “You doing okay?” she asked.
“I really am,” Maggie said. “I thought it might be hard coming back here, but this isn’t a bad place. I spent an amazing summer here. There are so many more good memories than bad.”
The impromptu going away party lasted for several hours, Maggie couldn’t believe how many people had shown up to say goodbye. Even Shannon, the waitress from the café where she and Andi had lunch every day, had come to see her off. When the final guest left Maggie was exhausted.
“I guess I need to go pack,” she said reluctantly.
“Already done,” Andi told her.
“And everything is loaded into the car,” Aaron added as he came back into the room. “Andi said she’d follow behind and drive your Jeep up.”
“Aaron’s going to bring me back in the morning. Dad really needs me to stick around until we get someone else hired at the store. It might take a couple weeks,” An
di said apologetically.
“I’ll be fine,” Maggie assured her.
“I can stay with you if you want,” Aaron offered. “Until Andi gets there.”
“I’d love it if you stayed even after Andi gets there.” Maggie glanced over at Andi who nodded her approval. Maggie turned back to Aaron and he wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her in for a kiss. Just then Barney came sauntering into the foyer announcing his presence with a loud meow.
“There you are!” Maggie said. “I was wondering where you’d run off to.”
“I’ll go put him in the car,” Andi offered as she scooped up the cat and carried him outside.
“I guess it’s time to go then,” Maggie said, looking around the room to see if there was anything she’d forgotten. She was surprised at the sadness she felt.
She would miss this place. She would miss looking out over the peach orchards while sipping her coffee every morning. She would miss visiting with everyone in town at Ms. Brandy’s antique store. But she would come back. Sweetwater was a part of her now. She hadn’t realized just how much until it was time to leave.
She looked over at Aaron standing in the doorway waiting for her and she realized that she was taking the best part of Sweetwater with her.
“I’ve got to grab one more thing,” she told him.
“Do you need help?” Aaron asked.
“No, I’ll meet you at the car.”
He nodded and headed out the door. Maggie went to the kitchen to retrieve Fred and as she carried her fern back through the big house she stopped to take one last look around. She set her key on the table.
“Good-bye,” Maggie said to the house and then she walked out the door.
Epilogue
Maggie hurried down the sidewalk. She hated meeting like this, in the middle of the day, so close to the restaurant where she knew Aaron was waiting for her. But it was the only way to get this done between her shifts at the hospital.
She slipped through the doors of the hotel and headed straight for the bar. She saw him sitting in a dark corner. She crossed the room quickly and slipped into the booth.
“You have some information for me?” she asked without preamble.
“It wasn’t easy to find,” he responded. “Agnes Devereaux is good at covering her tracks.”
“But you have found something?” she pressed.
“I found the name of the hospital where she was committed as a teen. It was called the Sisters of Mercy. It had been a convent that the nuns converted into a hospital for troubled girls. Agnes Devereaux lived there from May to December of 1953.
“Most of the residents who were there at the same time as Agnes are long dead, but I did find one woman who now lives in a nursing home in Atlanta. She was there when Agnes was and she claims to remember her. She confirmed that Agnes was very obviously pregnant, but that she left before giving birth to the baby,” he concluded.
“So the baby was born at Devereaux Manor?” Maggie asked excitedly.
“It would seem so, but I can’t say that for sure,” he hedged.
“I need to know whatever you can find out about that baby,” Maggie implored.
“I’ll contact you when I have more information,” he promised.
“Thank you,” Maggie said, standing from the table. “I look forward to hearing from you.”
~∞~
It was a quick jog from the hotel to the restaurant where Aaron was waiting. Maggie glanced at her watch and saw that she only had thirty minutes left before she needed to be back at the hospital.
“Hey, beautiful,” Aaron said, standing from the table as she approached. He kissed her on the cheek and pulled out her chair. “Wasn’t sure if you were going to make it.”
“I wouldn’t miss our date,” Maggie insisted. Ever since she’d started her residency these stolen moments were all they seemed to have time for.
Just then the waiter arrived with their lunch. Aaron had already ordered. He’d known she would be there. Despite her busy schedule she’d never missed their regular lunch date.
“Did you mail the announcements?” she asked as she began to devour her lunch. It was the first thing she’d eaten all day.
“Last week,” Aaron reminded her, smiling.
“Oh yeah, I forgot I already asked.” Maggie smiled apologetically around a mouthful of food. “I don’t think I’ve slept since then.”
“I noticed you sent one to Ms. Devereaux,” Aaron said.
“I thought she should know,” Maggie explained. “She’s the reason we met. It only seemed right.”
“She responded,” he told her. Maggie practically choked on her food.
“You spoke to her?!” Maggie asked, hardly believing it was possible. Aaron shook his head.
“She sent this letter.” He handed it to Maggie.
My Darlings,
It warms my heart to hear the wonderful news of your engagement. Congratulations on making the decision that I was never given the opportunity to make. I hope that you would consider allowing me to throw the wedding at Devereaux Manor as my gift to you.
Sincerely,
Agnes Devereaux
Maggie stared at it silently after she’d read it. Since the trial had ended they hadn’t spoken much of Devereaux Manor. The trial had been very difficult for Aaron, he blamed himself for what had happened to her. Maggie quickly realized that it was a topic better left alone. Aaron no longer worked for Ms. Devereaux, they’d made a life for themselves in Savannah and it had been a few years since they’d been back.
“We don’t have to have the wedding there,” Aaron assured her after a few moments of silence. “I just thought you’d want to know that she responded.”
“No. It seems fitting. It’s where we met, where we fell in love. I think it’s the perfect place,” she said.
“Are you sure?” he asked with concern.
“It’s time to go back,” Maggie said with confidence. “Regardless of whatever else happened there we never would have met if it weren’t for Ms. Devereaux. She brought us together. Having the wedding there, it just seems right.”
Aaron reached across the table and took her hand. “If that’s what you want.”
“Do you think if we let her throw the wedding that means she’ll be there and we’ll finally get to meet her?” Maggie asked with sudden excitement at the possibility of getting to the bottom of all the unanswered questions that she’d been left with.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Aaron replied.
You are cordially invited to…
A Winter Wedding
December 2014
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