Her sister frowned. “He’s nice enough, but he doesn’t belong with you. I’m sorry, Penelope. I love you, but I’ll never support this marriage. I’m going home.”
Penelope’s heart broke as her sister left. Thomas gathered her in his arms. “She loves you and wants the best for you, my love.”
“Let her be cruel. I choose happiness and love with you.” She touched his face, blurred by her tears. Thomas caught the a drop before it fell, ruining her makeup.
“No weeping today. Shall I tell you tales of battle and bloodshed?”
It had the desired effect, and she laughed. “Please do. You know I want to know everything about you, and it might keep me from taking your sword and running my sister through.”
He chuckled and pulled her on his lap. Her friends had gone outside when Mildred made her entrance, so once Penelope pulled herself together, she went out to tell them her sister wouldn’t be participating in the wedding.
“Now, I need a glass of wine, and then I’m going to get dressed.”
“Shall I aid you? Those zipper things can be difficult.”
“Funny, Thomas.” Rainbow patted his arm. “Nice try, though. We’ll call you when she’s ready.” As they went upstairs, she mock-whispered, “I thought seeing a man in a tux was the hottest thing ever, but him, all in black, covered in weapons, is incredibly sexy.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
TWENTY
The weather was cooperating as Rainbow married them on the beach, Penelope’s bright red toes peeking out from under the formfitting white gown.
Thomas turned to her. “I will protect you with my body and my blade, and love you forever. I will spend every day proving myself worthy of your love.”
He touched each charm of her necklace shining in the sun as she slid a ring on his finger.
“No matter what, I will stand by your side, be your friend, lover, and companion, your biggest supporter and partner in our many adventures. I swear before all, I will love you until the end of time.”
Thomas looked down at his hand. “How? I watched him cut the band to make your charm.”
“He still had the stone. The band is new. I couldn’t remember what was on it, so I had the date we met and today’s date inscribed inside, along with our initials.”
He blinked. “I think I’ve sand in my eye.”
Rainbow couldn’t keep the grin from her face. “I now pronounce you man and wife. Kiss your bride, Thomas.”
He swept her into his arms, and his lips met hers as she wrapped her arms around him, meeting him, telling him with her mouth how much she loved him. They broke apart to cheers from her friends. The only way it could have been better was if Alice and the girls and cranky Mildred had been here.
Clouds blotted out the afternoon sun as they ate and drank, celebrating a new life together, surrounded by friends. By the time the afternoon deepened to evening, Penelope had taken off her dress and was wrapped in a towel when she came back out of the room, ready to celebrate the solstice. Thomas held up his hands.
“You all go. I will stay here and enjoy my cake, watching from a safe distance.”
Rainbow and the others laughed as they filed out the door, wrapped in towels, much to the amusement of Thomas. She kissed him soundly and then ran to join them.
Penelope shut the door with a sigh.
“Alone at last with my wife.” He held her close, whispering in her ear how they would spend their first night together when the rain started.
“Oh, I love walking on the beach in a storm.”
“Then we shall walk.” But once outside, he swept her up in his arms. “I love holding you close. I will never let you go.”
“I love you too, husband.”
The rain smelled salty, the scent of wet sand pleasing as he set her down. They walked under the gentle rain, talking and oblivious to how wet they were. Then Thomas stopped.
“What’s that?”
Thunder cracked across the sky, and for the first time, Penelope was afraid of the coming storm.
“Thomas, don’t. Let’s go inside.”
But he had waded out thigh deep, and when the next wave passed, he bent down, coming up with an object. Lightning arced across the sky as he knocked it against a rock, and she saw the glint of metal when the sky lit up again.
“Please leave it.” Fear spread through her veins like rushing water, threatening to consume her and pull her under.
Thomas hit the metal against a rock a few more times and turned to her, grinning.
“One of my daggers. I thought it lost forever.”
As he held it out to her, he tripped over a piece of driftwood; in slow motion, she saw three drops of blood fall from his palm. Penelope couldn’t move, couldn’t speak as energy crackled across her skin.
In a blinding flash of light, time stilled—even the waves seemed to stop as he reached for her, the blood on his palm crimson in the silvery light.
“Penelope, take my hand,” he roared over the thunder, and she swore he faded in front of her eyes but…the damned book. Love. It was all that mattered, the one thing she had lived her entire life by, but now? He could go back, save his sister from a terrible man, put right wrongs that should have never occurred in the first place.
“You can save them.”
He took a step forward, even as the storm intensified. “Nay. Take my hand.”
Knowing it would not work, she reached out, but her hand went through his, and he roared.
“Don’t take me from her.”
And in that moment, their hands touched, fingers intertwined. Tears streamed down her face, and she knew what she must do. Gently she disentangled their hands, stepping back, sacrificing her love so he could save his family. Duty and responsibility—they were as much a part of him as his love for her.
“Please let him go back to the exact moment he arrived. This is all I ask.” She reached out again, and this time, her hand did not touch a flesh-and-blood man, but a ghost. “I will love you until we meet again.”
He tried to step forward, but was held in place, reaching out for her, a look of anguish on his face. “I vow, I will love you for all my days and haunt you for all of yours. I will never let you go, Penelope.”
The flash of light sent her flying backward.
TWENTY-ONE
“Pittypat, wake up. I’ve had awful news. I’ve been trying to call you for hours and hours.”
Slowly she opened her eyes to see Mildred leaning over her.
“Thomas?”
Penelope sat up, waiting for the dizziness to subside.
“Oh my goodness, what happened to your hand?”
Frowning, Penelope held up her right hand, and there on her palm was a tiny black mark in the center that kind of looked like a sideways heart. She coughed and got to her feet, everything flooding back.
“Oh, Thomas.”
“You keep saying that. Where is your new husband? Lost him already?”
She burst into tears, fleeing the words until she stood waist deep in the surf, letting the ocean wash away the tears. The pain would be her constant companion for the rest of her life.
Had he made it home?
“Pittypat? What on earth is wrong with you? I’ve been trying to tell you. There’s been an accident.”
“I know.”
“But how? I’ve been trying to call you for ages.”
She looked at her sister, a terrible feeling threatening to pull her under. “What bad news?”
“Alice and her husband were lost at sea. The storm took the sailboat. They recovered the bodies a few hours ago. Thank goodness the girls were with his parents, but they can’t look after them.” Mildred frowned. “Alice gave them to you. I don’t know why. I would make a much better parent. Just look at you, wading out into the ocean. You obviously slept on the beach, and your new husband has already run off. You’re a terrible choice for the girls.”
The words finally penetrated Penelope’s brain, and the next
wave took her under. She tumbled over and over, scraping the bottom, knowing that if she took a deep breath, it would all be over, the pain would stop, and she would find Thomas waiting for her. Penelope was about to let the ocean have her when the rest of Mildred’s words sank in. She was now responsible for three young girls. No way did Penelope want them growing up with her sister, so she dragged herself to her feet, spluttering and coughing, and trudged out of the water.
“Thomas didn’t leave me. He went back to his own time. I let him go. I’m not always selfish. That’s all I’m saying to you about him. From this moment forward, you are never to utter his name. If you do, I will never speak to you again.”
Wringing out her hair, she looked to the house. “Come on, there’s lots to do to get the house ready for three girls.”
“Fine. I was only trying to help. Melinda is fifteen. She’s going to be a handful. You’ll need help.”
But Penelope had already tuned her sister out, her thoughts of Thomas, fervently hoping he had made it back in time to save his family, and that someday, when it was her time, he’d be waiting.
Tomorrow was the funeral. Penelope had to hide her grief over losing Thomas, and be strong now that she was responsible for three girls. She vowed to love them as her own and make sure they never forgot their parents.
Rainbow joined her on the beach. “How are you holding up?”
“Do you think it worked? That he went back to the right time?” She looked down at her red toes, remembering how much he like the color.
“Haven’t you looked?”
Penelope shook her head, listening to the gulls call to each other. “I’ve been afraid to. What if I gave up my one true love and soul mate and sent him to another time, and he died when he got back and couldn’t save his brother and sister? I don’t think I could live with myself.”
Rainbow looked at her with those wise golden eyes. “I’ve known you a long time—you’re one of the most fearless people I know. You’ve never been afraid of the truth. Now go on and look. I’ll be here, whatever you find out.”
Penelope’s heart twitched as she hugged her friend and Rainbow added, “But I believe the universe recognized the ultimate sacrifice you made and sent him back to the moment he left. Call me later, sugar.”
The rest of the day, Penelope scoured the used bookstore, made phone calls, even international, to find out, and finally, a professor at a university in Scotland got back to her with news.
“Right, Thomas Wilton of Oakwick Manor. His half-sister made an advantageous marriage—his half-brother took over the wool business, and Thomas, he died in battle, never married. Is that what you were looking for?”
She had to clear her throat as she touched the charms. “Thank you. It’s exactly what I was looking for. I can’t thank you enough.” Penelope called one of the women from her circle and commissioned a quilt for the professor as a thank-you.
But he’d gotten one thing wrong…Thomas had married, to her.
Underneath the Holden Beach sun, as the gulls circled and the waves crashed, they’d professed their love. He’d kept his vow, and she would hers. One day, no matter how much it hurt now, someday they would be together again. Penelope knew it as she knew there would always be air to breathe.
A walk on the beach and a conversation with Thomas gave her strength to face the funeral today. While she knew he couldn’t hear her, had been gone for hundreds of years, she truly believed he was somewhere listening, watching over her. She wiped a tear from her eyes as she came to the spot with the higher dunes, where she’d found him back in June.
A raven landed on the sand, close enough that if she’d knelt down, she could touch the bird. The black bird cocked its head and hopped toward her, dropping a tiny piece of black cloth. Joy filled her heart. He was okay, and someday they’d find each other again. Soul mates always did. It was the waiting that would be the worst. Thank goodness she would have her nieces to care for—they would ease the ache that pounded her battered heart day and night.
“I love you, Thomas.”
The bird cawed and took flight, disappearing into the sun.
TWENTY-TWO
Epilogue—Elsewhere
Penelope woke, rubbing her heart. She felt funny. What had she been doing? Lucy. Her dear niece had gone missing. Penelope was sure that slimy boyfriend of hers was behind what had happened. The sound of a violin had her looking down as if from a great distance. It was a funeral: Mildred, Melinda, and Charlotte were there, as were Rainbow and all of the ladies from her circle. Who had died?
The thought brought her close, and she saw it was her. Of course, she’d been outside walking on the beach, talking to Thomas, when she felt the searing pain and then peace. There was another sound, and when she looked through the mist, she saw Lucy. She wasn’t dead, she had gone back in time, found her own soul mate, and, well…
She looked down again. Melinda and Charlotte were in for the trips of a lifetime.
A hand on her arm made her heart flutter.
“My love. I’ve waited over seven hundred years for you.”
“Thomas.”
He caught her in his arms as she ran to him. It was as if the years melted away. She saw herself, younger and carefree, reflected in his eyes, and their love for each other burned so brightly that she swore it would outshine the sun and the stars. The kiss was even better than she’d remembered, searing her from her lips to her toes.
“We will look after them together, my love. Do what we can to keep your nieces safe.”
“I know we will. Now kiss me again, darling.” They had eternity.
Soul mates always do.
Books by Cynthia Luhrs
Listed in the correct reading order
THRILLERS
There Was A Little Girl
When She Was Bad
When She Was Good - Coming end 2017
Crimson Pool - 2018
TIME TRAVEL SERIES
A Knight to Remember
Knight Moves
Lonely is the Knight
Merriweather Sisters Medieval Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Books 1-3
Darkest Knight
Forever Knight
First Knight
Thornton Brothers Medieval Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Books 1-3
Last Knight
The Merriweather Sisters and Thornton Brothers Medieval Time Travel Romance Boxed Set Series Books 1-7
My One and Only Knight
Beyond Time - Coming Summer 2017
COMING 2017 - 2018
Falling Through Time
Lost in Time
A Moonlit Knight
A Knight in Tarnished Armor
Crimson Pool
The Ghost and Miss Gray
THE SHADOW WALKER GHOST SERIES
Lost in Shadow
Desired by Shadow
Iced in Shadow
Reborn in Shadow
Born in Shadow
Embraced by Shadow
The Shadow Walkers Books 1-3
The Shadow Walkers Books 4-6
Entire Shadow Walkers Boxed Set Books 1-6
A JIG THE PIG ADVENTURE
(Children’s Picture Books)
Beware the Woods
I am NOT a Chicken!
August 2016 – December 2017 My Favorite Things Journal & Coloring Book for Book Lovers
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About the Author
Cynthia Luhrs writes time tr
avel because she hasn’t found a way (yet) to transport herself to medieval England where she’s certain a knight in slightly tarnished armor is waiting for her arrival. She traveled a great deal and now resides in the colonies with three tiger cats who like to disrupt her writing by sitting on the keyboard. She is overly fond of shoes, sloths, and tea.
Also by Cynthia: There Was a Little Girl, When She Was Bad, and the Shadow Walker Ghost Series.
My One and Only Knight Page 9