My Forever Love

by Wendy Lindstrom

  As the kitten dove into her dinner of finely shredded chicken breast and a saucer of milk, Rebecca removed one of her pretty white gloves and knelt beside the kitten. As she stroked Jojo’s small back, her heart swelled with love. In that moment Rebecca realized that if not for her accident she and Jojo wouldn’t have found each other. The accident may have stolen Rebecca’s memories, but it hadn’t taken away her capacity for love or joy or a perfectly happy future. Like Jojo, Rebecca needed to accept her circumstances and embrace each moment with gusto and a sense of curiosity and adventure. Choked by emotion, she tenderly scratched behind Jojo’s tiny ears. “I need to get you a playmate, little one.” And Rebecca wanted her own mate as well.

  With that thought in mind, she went to the parlor where her grandmother and Dawson were relaxing. “You look so lovely, Grandma!” Rebecca exclaimed, admiring the gown of deep blue and the blush on her grandmother’s face. Dawson served as a perfect complement for her in his dark suit and white bow tie. “You both look spectacular.” Rebecca clasped her hands in front of her chest. She was so happy to see her grandmother decked out in a pretty dress with her eyes sparkling with anticipation of the evening ahead. “Shall we head to the dance now?”

  “Please,” Dawson said with mock exasperation. “Your grandmother is ridiculously eager to waltz with me.”

  Rebecca and her grandmother laughed at the same moment. Dawson winked at them, got to his feet and escorted them outside.

  Rebecca could barely contain her excitement as Dawson helped her into his carriage. She willed the carriage to go faster, and when they entered town it seemed all heads turned in their direction.

  “Looks as if you beautiful ladies have made me the envy of every man in town,” Dawson said. “I haven’t garnered this much attention since Doc sent me to the asylum in Bangor.”

  Rebecca gawked at her grandmother’s back, stunned, her mind awhirl with a hundred questions, none of which she could ask without being inappropriate.

  Glancing over her shoulder, her grandmother gave a slight nod to indicate that she knew about Dawson’s history.

  Rebecca sat silent in the aftermath of Dawson’s statement, trying to act as if she hadn’t heard him when she desperately wanted more information. Why had the doctor sent Dawson to an asylum? Dawson may be a tad peculiar, but he seemed as normal as anyone.

  That knowledge chilled Rebecca.

  Somehow, though, Dawson had managed to escape the locked doors of the asylum and live his life the way he chose. His peculiarities had been accepted here at Crane Landing. But what if he hadn’t been a member of the Crane family?

  She fell quiet, lost in dark thoughts.

  Her grandmother turned and reached one hand back to pat Rebecca’s knee. “Anyone looking as lovely as you should not be so Friday-faced, my dear,” she said. “That dress is only half as lovely without your smile.”

  Apparently oblivious of the effect of his words, Dawson drew the horse to a slow walk as they entered the Grange lands. “Look who’s waiting for you,” he said as he stopped by the shelled walk. He disembarked and then came around to let down the step and help both Rebecca and her grandmother to the ground.

  Adam stood at the edge of the makeshift dance floor that was rimmed with gaslights and spread out like an oasis atop the grass. He gave new meaning to the word handsome in his black tailcoat suit, white formal shirt, and black bowtie. His wavy brown hair lifted slightly with the breeze as he turned toward them... and his mouth fell open.

  The sight of him swept away the darkness that had settled over Rebecca. As soon as she was at his side, the magic of his presence enveloped her and drew her away from her worries.

  “What a vision you are,” he murmured. “You literally take my breath away.”

  Warmth suffused her with his compliments. Quietly she handed him the dragonfly he’d created. “Will you please pin this lovely dragonfly to my dress for me?” She held perfectly still, watching him as he pinned it to the edging of her gown, just above her heart. After a couple of seconds, she laughed softly. “You remind me of your dad just now,” she said, “how studious Uncle Duke can be when he’s focused intently on a task.”

  Adam lifted his brows at her. “That’s interesting considering I’m adopted.”

  “Uncle Duke has had a big influence on you.”

  Adam smiled. “That he has.” With his head bent close to hers she could smell his freshly washed hair and a hint of cologne. “There,” he said, finished with the pin. “With the dragonfly perched on your dress you look like a fairytale princess in a bucolic glade.”

  Rebecca laughed and looked down at the delicate dragonfly and then back at Adam. “You make me feel like a princess. Thank you.”

  He linked his warm fingers with hers and gazed down at her, his eyes dark with emotion. “Wait until I twirl you around the dance floor in that pretty dress. I won’t be the only one who thinks you look like a princess.”

  Leo slapped his large hand over Adam’s shoulder and hauled him away from Rebecca. “I see I’m still keeping you two out of trouble. You can thank me later, Adam,” he said nodding toward Rebecca’s grandmother who was approaching on Dawson’s arm. Leo’s white teeth flashed in his tanned, handsome face as he laughed.

  “You’re a pest, Leo,” Adam said under his breath, but he and Rebecca, and Mary who had arrived with Leo, laughed and greeted one another with hugs.

  Mary and Rebecca complimented each other on their dresses and secretly admired their handsome escorts. Leo was a darker, slightly larger man than Adam, but both men were similar in the quietly confident way they carried themselves.

  “Go away,” Adam said, nudging Leo aside. “There is something I need to take care of before I whisk the beautiful lady out onto the dance floor.” He dropped his hands to her waist and reached for the dance card dangling there.

  “What are you doing?” Rebecca asked as he drew her dance card toward him, tasseled cord and all.

  “I am filling your card now so there will be no chance of losing you to another man later,” he said. He took up the small, slim pencil and scribbled his name beside several dances listed on the inside of the card.

  Rebecca couldn’t suppress the warmth that spread through her. He’d claimed every waltz—all five of them—along with two quadrilles and the mazurka.

  Leo hooted. “Adam, my friend, you live your life like you fish and play baseball, with purpose and a plan.”

  Adam tipped a grin at Rebecca that made her dizzy with delight. “This night is ours.”

  Her heartbeat thumped in her chest and her face flushed with heat.

  Mary whacked her fan against Adam’s arm. “You should be ashamed, Adam Grayson. You told the hopeful young ladies at my wedding ball that you couldn’t dance.”

  Adam cringed as if he’d gotten caught in a white lie. “Well... what I meant was that I didn’t know how to dance without Rebecca Grayson in my arms.”

  Rebecca’s mouth fell open and she released a breathy sigh. A flutter of excitement swept through her stomach and left her in a near swoon.

  “Oh, my...” Mary pressed her fan to her smiling mouth and shook her head, her diamond earrings sparkling in the gaslights. “You and Leo are both incorrigible.” She looked at Rebecca. “I fear you will have your hands full this night.”

  “As will you,” Leo said, sweeping Mary into his arms and onto the dance floor.

  Adam laughed at their friend’s antics and turned to Rebecca with a happy smile on his face. “Is it all right if I’m an incorrigible romantic?” he asked.

  Struggling to get her breath back, Rebecca gave him a nod and smiled. “Were you always like this?”

  “Only with you,” he answered, tucking Rebecca’s arm in his and turning her toward the dance floor. “It’s time to dance. I can’t wait another minute to hold you in my arms.”

  Waltzing with him was dreamlike as he moved her across the floor with ease and sureness. Every smooth turn, each steady step carried Rebecca further in
to their dream of sharing life together. She felt her heart lift as she followed his strong lead.

  “Surely we must have danced a hundred times together before this night to be so in tune with one another,” she said.

  He smiled. “Only a dozen times or so, but we have been in tune with each other from the day we met. Dancing is just an extension of that connection we share.”

  They were definitely connected. She felt it throughout the evening in their easy friendship and in her body when he held her. They may not have danced a hundred dances, but there was no question that she’d been in his arms that many times. The thought made her wonder if those previous occasions were anything like their late night visits on her back porch—or if they might have been even more intense and... passionate.

  “I have a surprise for you later,” Adam said as he pivoted and turned, adding a playful flair to their waltz.

  “Really?” she asked. “I love surprises.”

  “I know.”

  She made a face and said, “I wish I knew as much about you as you know about me.”

  “You may find it boring if there was nothing new to learn.”

  Her footstep faltered and he tightened his hold. “Do you find me boring?” she asked, dismayed at the thought.

  He laughed outright. “Hardly, my darling.” He gave her another small twirl that flared her skirt. “You are more a mystery to me now than you’ve ever been. I’m thoroughly intrigued and captivated by you. Every word from your mouth is a delightful surprise. I love not knowing what to expect.”

  He might change his mind if he knew about the irrational thoughts she wouldn’t allow out of her mouth.

  “What is this surprise you have for me?” she asked.

  “One you’ll definitely love, and that’s all I’m going to tell you.”

  She gave his shoulder a gentle whack with her fan. “You are a tease, Adam.”

  “As are you, my love. You’re so beautiful I can barely keep my hands off you tonight.”

  Rebecca thought of Jojo and how the little darling went after what she wanted without a lick of shame or fear.

  With a low growl Adam pulled her into a quick hug. “I cannot imagine anything better than the feel of you in my arms,” he said, then stepped back to put some space between them.

  “What about holding your baby?” she asked.

  His eyebrows went up in surprise. “That’s an interesting comment and something I haven’t thought about since—in a while.”

  “Gracious!” she said, her face flaming with heat. “That was entirely inappropriate of me.”

  He shook his head. “It was a beautiful thought and I can imagine how utterly amazing it will be when that day comes.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, trying to cool her cheeks in the light breeze. “I have no idea why I thought to say such a thing.” It was a totally inappropriate time and place for such a comment and was one more example of her thoughts getting away from her. Would she be forever plagued by this? She was supposed to be healing. Doc Samuel said she seemed to be doing better. But her blatant flirting was as inappropriate as her words. “I’m parched all of a sudden,” she said. “May we forego the next dance?”

  “Only if you promise me another later.”

  She like his playful smile, but couldn’t manage one of her own. “I promise.”

  They paused for refreshments, but a dark cloud had settled about Rebecca, one not even Adam’s presence could lift. She ached inside to think that her head injury might create problems in his life as it was in her own. She couldn’t bear such a thing. Adam was too good a man with too many dreams and plans to be burdened by a woman with irrational thoughts and inappropriate behavior. He was a partner in her father’s sawmill business. Adam would need to meet with other business owners and host dinner parties and be a leading man in their community. He couldn’t do that with a mentally unstable woman at his side who roamed the house all hours of the night and said inappropriate things.

  She felt so flattened at the thought that she wanted to sneak away home and hide out on her back porch with Jojo in her lap. But she and Adam were chosen as one of the head couples for one of the quadrille dances, with Leo and Mary serving as a side couple. Unable to refuse without eliciting questions she didn’t want to answer, Rebecca did her best to stay engaged with the dance and to be happy, for Adam’s sake.

  The dance required her to change partners from Adam to Leo. “Good evening, Sir Leo,” she said, attempting a lightness she didn’t feel.

  Leo slightly bowed his head to acknowledge her playful greeting. “What troubles m’lady this eventide,” he said with a ridiculous British accent.

  Rebecca laughed and wrinkled her nose. “That was dreadful, Leo.”

  “I know, but it made you smile.” He gave her hand a light squeeze as they executed the movements of the dance. “Are you all right?”

  “I just have a little headache,” she said. “It’ll pass.”

  “It’s seems more than a headache is bothering you,” Leo said. “Considering the way you still look at Adam, I assume you’re not having second thoughts about him?”

  “Of course not.”

  Leo shook his head. “What’s so special about that beggar?”

  “If you don’t know then you’re not his friend,” she said.

  Delighted laughter burst from Leo. “Touché, Miss Grayson. I can assure you that I know your dashing knight as well as the chinks in Adam’s armor. He’s like my brother and a man worthy of your heart. Just be careful with his,” he said, but the dance required him to pass her back to Adam, leaving Rebecca no time to query about his warning.

  As if sensing her inner turmoil, Adam danced her off the floor away from the blaze of gaslight—and straight into darkness lit by moonlight and the sparkling light of the stars. He didn’t say a word; he merely slowed them to a walk and tucked her left hand into the crook of his right elbow.

  They were on the promenade now. To their right, beyond a line of bushes, lay the bay; to their left, the huge lawns of the Grange hall. They stood there a long moment, his hands at her elbows, their foreheads nearly touching as they gazed into each other’s moonlit faces.

  “Please marry me,” he whispered.

  Rebecca could see her future in the dreamy depths of his gaze. She just had to say yes.

  “I want to marry you when we return to Fredonia. If you have any reservations tell me now because I can’t bear to wait any longer.”

  She had reservations for his sake, but she couldn’t find the words. And then he was gathering her in his arm and covering her mouth with his own in a kiss so tender and filled with love it made her eyes tear.

  “I love you, Rebecca.”

  “Adam...” She had so much to say and yet couldn’t find the right words. Adam wasn’t ready for her truth. And she wasn’t ready to let go of the slim possibility that she could find her way back to a healthy mind and the girl he loved so deeply. “I... I thought you had a surprise for me,” she said, taking his arm. She would enjoy this night with him—and make her decision when they were back home in Fredonia.

  “I do indeed.” As they strolled, Adam’s sturdy presence helped calm her, as did their leisurely pace. He was giving her time, she knew... time to wrestle with whatever haunted her.

  Soon the landscape on their left changed from lawns to a grove and then to a face of rock with a natural ledge, while to their right the bushes ended, giving way to a breathtaking moonlit view of the bay.

  It was here that Adam came to a stop. “This is it. I’d wanted to share this with you at dusk, but now is a better time, I think, although our climb might be a bit precarious.” He nodded at the ledge of rock above their heads. “You told me you wanted adventure. Think you have what it takes to navigate this rock in the dark?”

  “I’d like to think I do, but what if I don’t?”

  “You’ll end up in the ocean and be carried off by the waves like a mermaid.”

  “Hmmm...” She tappe
d her lip with her finger as she considered the climb. “Since I can’t swim as well as a mermaid, I suppose I shan’t fall then. Help me get up there.”

  With a laugh, Adam supported her and told her where to place her feet and hands. It was a short climb of three or four steps, but one that had them laughing and scrambling to keep their footing.

  Finally atop the rock, Adam sat beside Rebecca on the large shelf, their feet hanging above the crashing waves below. “This is called the Wishing Rock. See down there, where the moonbeam paints the water?”

  Rebecca looked—and caught her breath at the sight. “How magnificent,” she breathed.

  Adam nodded. “I heard once that if you toss a pebble into moonlit water and make a wish, it will come to pass within a year.” He reached into his right pocket and withdrew two small stones and passed one to her. “Shall we make a wish and toss them on the count of three?”

  Rebecca smiled at him, feeling the ache in her heart ease. “No skipping them, right?”

  “Just toss them straight in,” he said, and Rebecca knew that’s what they would be doing if she agreed to marry him. No matter how captivating and inviting the water looked, they would be jumping in with both feet with nothing to hold onto but each other. “On three,” he said.

  They counted together and tossed their stones into the shimmering water. Rebecca wondered if he wished her memory back, and hoped with all her heart it would come true—because she had spent her wish on something entirely different.

  A boom echoed across the bay, startling her. A burst of red, white, and blue against the night sky formed an umbrella above their heads.

  “Oh, my... What a perfect place to watch the fireworks,” she said, her voice filled with awe as she gazed at the night sky painted with color and light. “Thank you for this wonderful surprise.”

  “I had a hunch you would like this,” he said. And then he smiled, driving away her fears and opening her mind to the possibility of love and life with a man who made her believe in forever.