Jon was back, looking scrubbed and clean and dressed in his own clothes, but with the anxiety still there until he saw that they were both no worse than when he’d left them.
Abby was still asleep and as he came to stand between their two beds Jon said in a low voice, ‘I’ve brought you something.’
‘Fruit? Grapes?’ she asked, smiling up at him.
‘No. But it has got stones in it.’
He took a small box out of his pocket and went down on one knee beside the bed, and as she stared at him with wide eyes, he took a ring out of the box and said, ‘Diamonds, with sapphires to match your eyes. Will you marry me, Laura? But before you give me an answer, I want you to know that I’m not asking you because Abby needs a mother and Liam a father, or because it would be more convenient for the domestic side of our lives if we were married.
‘I am asking you because I love and adore you, and long to know if there is any chance that you could learn to love me in return.’
The tears had begun to slide down her cheeks as she’d listened to what he was saying and she told him chokingly, ‘Oh, Jon! I’ve waited so long to hear you say that. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love you. I thought I heard you say something when I was about to float away in the river, but wasn’t sure if it was wishful thinking.’
He was smiling. ‘So, having overheard my frantic babblings before I jumped in, are you going to marry me?’
‘Yes,’ she sobbed. ‘I love you so much, Jon.’
He got to his feet. ‘So can I put the ring on your finger?’
‘Yes, please.’
‘And will you and Liam come to live with Abby and me in The Moorings when it has been made habitable?’
The tears had gone. She was alight with happiness as she told him, ‘Anywhere you are is where I want to be. I was desolate when you said you were moving out of the apartment, but I couldn’t beg as I had no idea that you returned my feelings.’
He sighed. ‘It wasn’t until you came back that I realised how blind and stupid I’d been to let you move out of my life, and ever since I’ve come to my senses I’ve been in agony as I’ve waited for a sign that you cared. When you went into that raging torrent after Abby I knew that if you were spared I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you how much I love you. So, Laura, can we fix a date for the wedding?’
‘How about tomorrow,’ she said dreamily, and he laughed.
‘It’s a bit quick. We might have to wait until the day after…and what do you think about the name for the house?’
‘Perfect, everything is perfect. Where did you get it from?’
‘When I was rummaging about in the cellar I found a faded sign that said “The Moorings” and thought how appropriate it would be with a new skiff or canoes moored at the front.’
He was looking down at the space blanket that she was wrapped in and said whimsically, ‘I’m just longing to hold you in my arms. I hope it isn’t long before the two of you are free of these things.’
He looked across at his daughter sleeping peacefully in the next bed. ‘Abby will be so miffed that she wasn’t awake when I asked you to marry me, but I think she’ll perk up when you start discussing bridesmaid’s clothes. Liam will be more interested in going with his new dad to buy a boat.’
‘It all sounds so wonderful. I can’t believe it,’ she whispered.
‘It is, and it always will be,’ he promised, and she knew that she would never be alone again.
The news was out. The village grapevine was buzzing. It was going to be the wedding of all weddings. Laura Cavendish, neé, Hewitt, marrying Jon Emmerson.
It would be standing room only in the church for that one.
Laura and Abby were home from hospital. Abby had recovered well and was showing no reluctance to go near the river again.
‘Just keep away from the edge when it has been raining a lot,’ Jon had told her. ‘I know that you can swim, but it didn’t do you any good because you banged your head when you slipped.’
Abby and Liam had heard the news that their parents were getting married with cries of delight, and as the weeks went by and The Moorings was gradually being turned into an attractive riverside property, their excitement mounted.
For Marjorie there would be double joy on the day she watched her son marry Laura. Her daughter and her family were coming over from Australia for the wedding.
It was a time of blissful contentment for Laura and Jon as the day they had chosen at Easter approached. Joy and laughter had replaced the anxieties and misunderstandings. Every day that dawned was a gift.
They’d spent their first Christmas together for many a long year in the apartments as the house wouldn’t be ready to move into until the spring, and on Christmas morning they had watched the children open their presents in the kind of family setting that they’d both wanted so much for them and that had seemed such a long way off when Laura had first come back to Heathermere.
In pale spring sunshine, in a church decked out with Easter lilies, Laura and Jon made their vows in front of a large gathering of well-wishers. An excited young bridesmaid dressed in her favourite pink and a somewhat bewildered small page boy in smart trousers and a velvet jacket had followed the bride down the aisle to where the love of her life stood waiting.
James Penrose had come all the way from Cornwall to give her away and as he stepped back at the altar, and Jon stepped forward to stand beside her, it was there before them. A future of love and happiness to be shared with their children, and any others that might come along out of their love for each other.
A love that had made mistakes, taken wrong turnings, but at last, deep and abiding, had come to fulfilment.
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.
All Rights Reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises II BV/S.à.r.l. The text of this publication or any part thereof may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information retrieval system, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
® and TM are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.
First published in Great Britain 2007
Large Print edition 2008
Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited,
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road,
Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
© Abigail Gordon 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4603-5609-8
A Single Dad at Heathermere Page 15