“Sounds great, Pop.” He hated to ask, but the question was vital. “Have you talked to the doctor about this?”
“I did. He told me to go with his blessing. I’ll be back, son. You don’t need to worry.”
As if it was possible not to worry. Daniel disconnected and thought about his dad. Gus, a dying man, had something like this trip to look forward to. Daniel rolled down his window and let the cool air blast his face. Shake it off, Daniel, he said to himself. Take a lesson from your father, who is living every day to its fullest while you can’t seem to think about getting through tomorrow.
In the past week Daniel had taken to counting his blessings. And there were many. He had a job he loved. His future in politics looked bright. And, best of all, he had a daughter. Any one of these should leave a man grateful to be alive. And yet he couldn’t stop thinking about the one thing he didn’t have. Alex.
He knew he’d disappointed her, taken liberties by discussing things with Lizzie without her, like the talk they’d had about colleges. Perhaps she still resented his interference. But Alex had disappointed him, as well. She’d adapted the past to suit herself and gone on with her life as if he didn’t exist. They’d both made mistakes, and was it really so important to weigh whose were the worst?
He reached Birch Shore and was surprised that the gate was open. Usually after the Midway closed, the gate was kept locked. Maybe someone had just driven in, and the front desk attendant at the hotel had forgotten to close it. He entered and drove to the front of the building.
He’d been back to the resort several times, sometimes because political conferences were held there, sometimes for a quick getaway, once in a while just following a sentimental journey. Tonight he was here hoping to heal the part of himself that still didn’t have answers.
He left his car and wandered down to the shore. The breeze was crisp and strong. Whitecaps rolled on the horizon where low clouds hinted of coming rain. He thought of the last time he’d been caught in a rainstorm. A covered bridge, a picnic, Alex in his arms and a kiss that had left him breathless. Could they get those feelings back? Could they go on from here, as a man and woman, as a family united after all that had happened?
Maybe. Like his father, he needed his trip to the West. He needed something to believe in. He needed Alex.
And then he saw her. A lone figure seated on a boulder near the pier. She sat cross-legged, her collar turned up, her hair wild in the wind. The nearest dock light reflected off her blond hair, and Daniel knew instantly that it was her.
His heart pounded. His blood flowed like melted silver through his veins and thrummed in his temples. He should have been surprised to see her, but he wasn’t. In the dark, at the end of a special day with their daughter, at this special place, they should meet again where they met the first time. She was here. He was here. Being together seemed as natural as the waves washing on shore.
He walked quietly up to the rock where she sat. With a light hand, he touched her shoulder. She started but did not make a sound, as if fear was the furthest thing from her mind. She turned and looked into his eyes. “Daniel... How? What?”
He glanced down at the small space next to her on the rock. “Is this seat taken?”
“No.” She made room for him.
He settled next to her and took her hand. “It’s been a crazy day, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, and the craziest part of it is happening right now. I can’t believe you’re here.”
“I didn’t think about it,” he said. “I left the campus, started driving and ended up here at Birch Shore.”
“The same thing happened to me. I should be halfway to Chicago by now.”
He threaded his fingers with hers and brought her hand to his lips. He kissed each knuckle, opened her palm and kissed her there. He’d never seen an image as beautiful as Alex on this cold end-of-summer night, her hair blowing about her face as free as his heart felt now. Her blue eyes held his with a force more powerful than any he’d ever known. He couldn’t have looked away if he’d tried.
“I guess I came here because I have something to say to you,” he said. “And maybe you’re here because you had to hear it.”
“All right,” she whispered. “What do you want to say?” Her voice trembled, hinted of her uncertainty.
He held her hand more tightly. “I love you, Alex,” he said. “I suppose I always have. That’s why I’ve never married. No one ever measured up to that sweet, bright, innocent girl from Fox Creek who stole my heart on the sidewalk in front of Pelican House.”
She swallowed, blinked hard. “Even after...” She stopped, swallowed again, unable to get the words out.
“Yes, even after. And now that we share Lizzie, maybe even a little because of all that history.”
“But I lied to you about being on the pill.”
“Yes, you did.”
“And I kept Lizzie a secret for so long.”
“Yes. That, too.”
“And still you love me?”
He smiled, tucked her closed fist against his heart. “Madly, thoroughly, eternally. I’m not saying our path will be easy. We have some things to work out. But I want you by my side, Alex, through the pain that is to come, the joy that Lizzie will bring us, the trials of public life and the passion of every day together.”
She bit her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.
He traced her mouth with his fingertip. “I’ve poured my heart out to you, Alexis. You can’t just leave me sitting on this rock, not telling me how you feel.”
“I think you know, Daniel. But in case there is a doubt...” She wrapped her free hand around the back of his neck and brought his mouth to hers. The kiss was worthy of philosophers and poets, lasting long and tasting sweetly of the salt from her tears. When at last they drew apart, she said, “Daniel Chandler, love of my life, you have my heart, my support in all things, my deepest trust...” She gave him an impish grin. “And my vote.”
He laughed and she cried until, emotions spent, they walked back to the grand hotel where they would sit at one of the romantic candlelit tables and plan the next fifty years of their life.
EPILOGUE
MARTIN PULLED HIS shirt cuffs so a gleaming rim of white appeared at the end of his tuxedo sleeves. He glanced at the door to the private room next to the sanctuary where brides dressed for their special day. Then he checked the time on his watch. Alex was only three minutes late, but even minor tardiness was unusual for her. Her whole life she’d been on time or early.
Always in a hurry, young people today, he thought. People should slow down, appreciate what they had. Thanksgiving was a mere few days ago, only a little more than two months since Lizzie went off to Ohio State, and her mother and father were getting married already. Thanksgiving. What an affair that had been. Alex and Jude insisted on fixing the meal. Carrie, home from her woodlands wandering, had supervised and kept the appetizers and wine flowing. Aurora was there, and of course, Wesley and Daniel.
Sadly, one person wasn’t at the table: Gus Chandler. He’d passed away ten days before the holiday, but Daniel said a lovely blessing for his father before the meal.
What a real shame, Martin thought.
The door to the dressing room opened and Lizzie, dressed in flowing burgundy, came out. “She’s ready, Grandpa.”
Jude and Carrie, in dresses that matched their niece’s, held the door for their sister. Alexis appeared like an angel in white. “It’s really true,” Martin whispered to Lizzie. “Brides really do glow.”
The ladies formed the front of the processional line, waiting for their musical cue. Alex stood by her father. “You are beautiful, sweetheart,” Martin said, choking on the words.
“Thank you, Daddy, and thank you for all this.” She peered into the sanctuary where family and friends waited. The ceremony
would be simple and elegant, like Alexis.
“You didn’t have a real wedding last time,” Martin said. “I can just imagine what your mother would say if I didn’t give you one now.”
The processional started, and the Foster women began their short walk down the beautifully decorated aisle. Alex looped her arm through her father’s, and all heads turned.
Martin felt blessed to be able to share in his daughter’s happiness. And blessed to welcome Daniel into the family. It’s all good, he thought, and then he caught a glimpse of Liam Manning and smiled.
Jude probably wouldn’t remember Liam. They’d met only once when they were children. But she was about to meet the Wharton business school graduate again today; Martin would see to it.
Ah, his stubborn, hardworking, impractical Jude. She wouldn’t give in easily to working with Liam. But it was time to get his middle daughter’s charities in order and maybe, at the same time, have her set her sights on her future happiness.
* * * * *
Don’t miss Jude’s romance coming next in THE DAUGHTERS OF DANCING FALLS miniseries from acclaimed author Cynthia Thomason!
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ISBN-13: 9781488008894
A Boy to Remember
Copyright © 2016 by Cynthia Thomason
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