My Child, Our Child (Silhouette Special Edition)
Page 21
With a cry of joy she threw herself into his arms. “Oh, Sam, don’t you know the only reason I was leaving was because I thought you didn’t love me, and I couldn’t bear to be around you, believing that? I love you, too. And I love it here. It’s my home. I don’t want to leave. I never did.”
He gazed at her in wonder, and then their lips met, held, in a kiss of longing, a kiss of promise...and a kiss of hope.
Suddenly, they both felt it and sprang apart—tiny hands slapping at their legs as Brian begged to be a part of it all.
Laughing and crying all at once, they eagerly reached down to scoop him up and hold him between them.
Their bliss was interrupted by the phone.
Jackie ran to answer. It was Dr. Valcross, and she quickly told him what had happened.
He listened, then said, pleased, “Well, I’d say you’ve been dealing with psychogenic aphasia for sure. Sometimes it’s called shock aphasia.” He explained that in certain cases a terrible shock could cause a person to stop speaking, subconsciously fearing that if they did speak, it would somehow cause them to relive the trauma.
“Evidently,” he continued, “Brian had begun to love you like the mother who abandoned him, and when he was faced with losing you, he had to relive it whether he wanted to or not. So he was forced to do the only thing he could—beg you to stay, which meant talking. I’d say you’ve nothing to worry about,” he concluded. “He should be fine. It’s just one of those miracles that modern medicine can’t explain.”
When Jackie hung up the phone, she stepped eagerly into Sam’s waiting arms. “It’s going to work out, Sam. I just know it is,” she said fervently.
Then, remembering his mother, she worriedly said, “But what about your mother? She might not be glad I’m staying. She doesn’t think I have any more right to this land than Libby did. And I don’t want hard feelings.”
“We can change all that if you’re agreeable.”
“What do you mean?” She hoped he wasn’t going to bring up the subject of a contract again.
But that was not at all what Sam had in mind.
He smiled, the dimple she adored appearing at the corner of his mouth. “Simple. We’ll draw up one deed with both our names on it. Then no one can challenge ownership of these lands ever again.
“Because, my dearest,” he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again, “I want to give you a very special ‘happy’ if you’ll have it—a wedding ring.”
Epilogue
Sometimes spring cruelly bypasses the mountains. Winter yields to summer, with nothing in between but rain and warm temperatures that tease by day but plunge to freezing at night.
Nature, however, decided to be good to Jackie and Sam.
Spring came almost with a vengeance, the hillsides exploding with the brilliant pink blooms of the mountain laurel. Thick bushes that had sheltered wild animals through the cold months were alive with the gorgeous flowers of the rhododendrons.
Jackie had wanted to be married on the grassy knoll near the rushing stream beside the cabin. Sam agreed it was ideal.
Willa led a parade of well-wishers from town, and they turned the lawn into a rainbow of tents over food-laden tables for a feast after the ceremony.
Willa sighed as she helped Jackie adjust the train of her wedding gown. “This is the prettiest gown I’ve ever seen, and I think you’re the prettiest bride.”
They were in the bedroom of the cabin. Jackie thanked her and gave her a hug. She was proud of the gown she had chosen. Fashioned of ivory lace, it was studded with pearls. The sweetheart neckline was accented by the pouffed sleeves, which tapered to her fingertips. The skirt cascaded to a dramatic train, but it was lifted ever so slightly in front to show the tips of her ivory satin shoes.
Outside, a blue-grass band was tuning up, and Jackie laughed. “Not exactly the wedding march, but who cares? I’m a mountain girl now.”
“That you are,” Willa said, nodding her approval. “And we’re all glad, too. But what’s this about a honeymoon cruise?”
Jackie explained how it was Sam’s way of saying that maybe they should get off the mountain once in a while, that he was willing to travel, do things, meet new people. She yielded because she knew it made him happy but knew she didn’t care if she never left the Blue Ridge again as long as they were together.
“Hello? Can I come in?” Sam’s mother knocked on the open door, took one look at Jackie and cried, “Oh, you are beautiful.”
Jackie smiled, not certain what to do or say. She hadn’t seen Joan since the day she’d come to the cabin to get Brian.
Joan crossed the room. She was holding a little white box. “Please wear these. They belonged to my mother.”
With shaking fingers, Jackie opened it to see a lovely strand of pearls with matching eardrops. “Oh, Joan, thank you so much,” she murmured through a mist of tears.
“Welcome to the family,” Joan said, hugging her, then stepping back to wipe at her tears with a hanky. “I hope we’ll be good friends, Jackie, and I’m sorry if we got off on the wrong foot.”
“We will be,” Jackie assured her, smiling all the way from her heart.
Together, hand in hand, they went outside.
It was time for the wedding to begin.
Jackie thrilled at the sight of Sam, so handsome in a dark suit, white shirt and tie.
His eyes glistened as she walked toward him, and she could feel his love wrapping around her like the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains that surrounded them.
When their vows were spoken, and it was time to exchange wedding rings, everyone gasped out loud with delight as Brian stepped forward. On a pink velvet pillow, he carried the gold bands.
Then, pronounced man and wife, Jackie and Sam sealed their pledge of love with a kiss... and promptly reached down to lift Brian up into their arms to be a part of it all.
“Your child,” Jackie whispered, “is now our child, and I will love you both forever.”
ISBN : 978-1-4592-6037-5
MY CHILD, OUR CHILD
Copyright © 1999 by Patricia Hagan
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