Eric packed a bag, put his guitar in its case, and then they went outside to find the car covered in snow. It took an hour to shovel the driveway and sweep the snow off the Lincoln. Maggie was thrilled to hear it roar to life when he turned the key. They drove to her apartment so she could pack some clothes. She grabbed any food that might perish and they added it to the food from Eric's place.
It took another hour just to get across town to the house on the cliff. When Eric parked, he turned off the key and stared at it. "It's huge. And incredible."
"It was his dream, his and Holly's. Even though they don't live here full time, they wanted to go ahead and build it right after they got married. It's a perfect house. Has everything. There will be plenty of space for everyone."
They unloaded the car and went up the steps, crossed the porch, and rang the front door bell. Holly flung open the door, yelling over her shoulder, "It's Maggie and Eric." Then she faced them and waved them in. "Come on in out of that freezing cold. We've got a lovely fire in the big room, plus the heat is on, so you'll warm up fast. What have you got there? Food? Great. And you brought your guitar? Awesome."
They followed her down a hall and into a large kitchen with copper-faced appliances and a huge refrigerator with a separate freezer beside it. Maggie could smell something delicious cooking in one of the three ovens.
"What am I smelling?"
"I have a ham in one oven, but I bet you're picking up on my double-chocolate brownies. They'll be done in a few minutes. I promised Dad and Cody brownies for when they get back."
They left the kitchen and continued to follow her through the house and up some stairs to a bedroom. "Here you go. You guys can stay in here. I call it the green room. Jason calls it the southwestern corner bedroom. It has a bathroom attached," Holly said as she led them in.
Maggie was surprised to see a queen-sized bed, with four wood posters, and a heavy brocade canopy that matched the cover on the bed. Green velvet curtains hung at the window, and there was a gold-colored sofa and chair in the space in front of a large dresser.
"It's wonderful, Holly, but are you sure you won't need it for the others? We don't need this much space."
"You're getting it anyway. Eric is new to the family so of course he would get one of the nicer rooms. But truthfully, all the rooms up here are pretty darn nice. Eventually we hope to have lots of kids filling them up--one way or another," she said with a bright smile.
"It will be terrific," Maggie said and gave her arm a squeeze.
Eric was looking around the room and appeared to be a bit stunned. "All I can say is, wow. This is beautiful."
"Thanks! Unpack or do what you want. Everyone is in the big room right now I think. Dad and Cody went out with Sheriff Jones to check on some elderly and disabled people in town."
"What about Nicky and his friends?" Maggie asked.
"They're fine. They're in the part of town that has power. They have plenty of food and their social worker will be checking on them. She told us not to worry. I'll meet you downstairs."
They watched Holly leave and then looked at each other. Maggie opened up her suitcase and tossed her clothes into the dresser.
"Who is Nicky?" Eric asked, as he too began to unpack.
"He's a really sweet guy with Down's Syndrome. Holly befriended him a long time ago, and worked hard to get the town council to provide jobs for the developmentally challenged. They have a house where they live pretty much on their own, with some assistance. You'll see Nicky in the park. That's where he works, keeping it picked up, although not during winter. I'm not sure what they do during the snow season."
"That is a really worthwhile thing for her to have done."
"Yeah, Holly is pretty cool. She can charm anyone into doing pretty much anything. She owns her own personnel agency in the city, and the story goes that she has never yet matched a job with the wrong person. She just...knows people. It's one reason why I'm going to take the tests she suggested, after the first of the new year."
"Maybe I should take those tests as well," Eric mused.
Maggie laughed. "Eric, my love, you know where you belong. Working on something to do with computers. It's what your brain is wired for."
"Maybe...or maybe I want to branch out...try something new." He looked at her, and then his lips quirked in a crooked smile. "Or maybe not. It is my first love."
"I thought I was your first love!"
"Well, darling, I met computers before I met you. What can I say? But I promise that you will always be first in my heart. No computer could compare to you."
"You are a smart man. Come here." He walked over and stood in front of her. She slipped her arms around his waist. "You will always be first in my heart, too. I promise." She tipped her face up to his and kissed him slowly, letting the desire flare up between them."
"Maggie, let's--"
"Eric, Maggie, come down for brownies," Holly shouted up the stairs to them.
"Uh, I know what I just promised, but brownies!" Maggie tugged him toward the door. "Hurry or they'll be all gone."
He growled at her, but let her bring him to the door. "Here's my promise--we will finish this later."
She shivered with anticipation.
* * * *
Eric was amazed by the 'big room' as everyone called it. There was a two-story wall of glass that looked out at the ocean. A large stone fireplace sat in the middle of the wall opposite the glass. The room was filled with carpets, sofas, armchairs, facing either to the ocean or the fireplace. It was like two huge rooms in one. A puzzle was being spread out on a table off to the side by Anna and Julia. The TV was tucked away in a quiet corner where Betsy was checking the news. Joshua was playing with cars on a track laid out on a section of wood floor. Jennifer was bouncing in a rolling baby chair that appeared to be made for bouncing. She was drooling and happy, watching Joshua and the cars. Maggie had dashed off to the kitchen for the brownies.
Jason and Sam came into the room, taking off their jackets. "We had to get some wood in the bin by the house. I hadn't had a chance to move it since it was delivered. I have a place for it right outside the door into here," Jason said as he warmed his hands at the fire.
"Do you need any more help?" Eric asked.
"Not right now. Later on, we'll go out and fill up the bin. But thanks."
"This house is incredible."
Jason gave him a big smile. "We like it. I dreamed about the house when I was getting to know Holly. Then she dreamed about it. We decided that fate was telling us something and we'd better pay attention. My grandmother, Gloria, thinks we're nuts to have such a big place. She wasn't at the Thanksgiving dinner but she'll be there for Christmas, so you can meet her then."
Eric heard noise coming from down the hall, and then Cody and Frank came into the room.
"Hey everybody," Cody said. Frank waved and went across the room to sit with Betsy.
"How was it out there?" Sam asked.
"The Sheriff has set up a shelter with the Red Cross at the high school, which has power. I thought Maelynne was going to have to go there, but we got her generator working. She hasn't got any guests this week at her hotel, thank goodness. People are doing okay. Hopefully, this won't last too long."
Maggie came in with a plate full of brownies.
"Give me those," Cody said, holding out his hand.
"No way, just take one," she replied.
"I'm taking more than one."
"Whatever. Use a napkin!"
After Maggie had passed the brownies around, she sat next to Eric on one of the sofas. "See, I saved you one," she said with a grin.
He thought she looked like a particularly fetching elf today, in her leggings and his long sweater. Her violet eyes were shining with humor, and her wayward curls looked adorable to him. He leaned over and gave her a kiss, which she immediately pulled back from.
"What are you doing?" she squeaked.
"Kissing you."
"Well, why?"
; "Because I love you."
He watched as her face went all soft. "Oh. That's okay then. Eat your brownie."
He munched on the decadent tasting brownie and was about to ask for another, when Cody and Sam came up to them.
"It's time. We need to know. Do you play cards?"
Eric frowned. "I've been known to, yes."
"See I told you he did," Cody said to Sam.
"Yes, but do you play poker?"
"I have, yes. But I don't think you guys want me to play with you."
"Sure we do. Plus, Maggie is killer at poker. You should play against her."
Eric looked at her feeling very surprised. She was good at poker? Would he ever know her completely? "Guys, I have an advantage. My brain is kind of like a computer when it comes to cards. I'll always win. I will never lose any money."
"I find that hard to believe," Sam said.
"Not always," Cody said.
"Well now you have to prove it," Maggie said.
He sighed. He guessed he did have to prove it. Might as well get it over with. "Okay, let's do it then. Who else is playing?"
"Holly and Jason. They've got a special card-playing table, covered in green felt. Ah, there it is."
They all watched as the table was set up, and surrounded by chairs. Holly announced to the room that the Keurig was available in the kitchen with a variety of coffee, teas and hot chocolate, so anyone could fix whatever they wanted, but that she would be playing poker until lunchtime. There was general laughter at that, and then they settled down to play cards.
As Eric had predicted, he won the first four games handily. There was joking and chit chat as they played, but he also knew they were taking his measure. He had decided right from the start that he would play as he always had, not going easy on them. That would just seem like a lie.
In the fifth game, he had a great hand. He knew what cards had been dealt already and he was positive he was again going to win. He glanced at Maggie in disbelief as she raised him, and then raised again. It made no sense! She couldn't have a hand to beat him. He stared into her eyes, and looked into that innocent face and began to doubt. She was not stupid and they had said she was good at cards. Could she be trying to bluff? Him? Ha. He'd show her. He saw the bet and raised--a lot. Her eyebrows flew up in shock.
The others had all folded by now. He watched as she looked at her cards one more time, and then looked back at him resolutely. She tossed out chips onto the pile and then raised him again. Dead silence had spread throughout the room as the rest of the group had come over to watch the hand being played. Why would she do this? Unless...unless he'd miscounted. But he never miscounted. Still, it was a new environment, new people he was still getting to know, maybe it was possible. She would never bet so much without a great hand to back it up. He must be wrong. He folded.
She gathered up the money in front of her, looked him squarely in the eyes and said, "Sucker."
Everyone howled. She showed him her cards and she had had nothing! He was shocked. He'd never lost a game of poker. He stood up, and everyone got quiet, watching him. He slid his chair back and walked around the table until he was standing by her. Maggie stood up and faced him. Then he reached out and hugged her and burst out laughing.
"You're wonderful!" he finally said. "I've met my match."
"You scared the daylights out of me stalking over here like that. I thought you were mad."
"I'm impressed. You've got guts."
"I keep telling people that."
The others agreed that even though Maggie had bluffed him once, it was a bit unfair the way he automatically knew what cards had been played. He left Maggie at the poker table and went to sit with Ann and Julia who were working the 3,000 piece puzzle.
"Welcome to the puzzle-makers table," Anna said with a smile.
"Thanks. I never really played with jigsaw puzzles growing up."
"Everyone approaches it differently. Some people like to go after all the edge pieces right away. Others will group like pieces together first," Julia said. "Anna and I combine the two methods."
"Do they often play cards?" he asked, looking for edge pieces.
"Most of the time at gatherings someone will bring out the cards. We've had to insist that at formal occasions and big holidays they won't spend the entire time playing. With this power outage bringing us all here, however, I imagine they'll be playing a lot," Julia replied.
"I'm pretty sure I can get Maggie away if I try hard at it," Eric said, thoughtfully.
Anna and Julia laughed, while he blushed.
"That didn't come out exactly the way I--oh, forget it."
"Do you plan on staying in Sully Point, Eric?" Anna asked as she placed a piece with a bird's wing on the puzzle.
He continued looking for edge pieces. "Originally, I'd thought I would stay here for a month or two, check out MIT, mainly goof off. The past few years have been very intense for me. Now, though, with Maggie and all, it's going to depend on her. If she'll have me, I'll stay around forever."
He glanced up to see Anna and Julia exchanging a look. Then he thought about what he'd just said.
"Wow, did I just say what I think I said?"
Anna and Julia nodded vigorously.
"That just came out of my mouth. No warning."
Anna smiled at him and patted his hand. "Sometimes what we feel creeps up on us and we don't even know what our unconscious mind has been thinking until we spit it out. It's obvious how you two feel about each other."
"Yeah, but, that's a big commitment."
Julia set a piece into the puzzle, and then looked at him, dark blue eyes staring into him. "Sounds like somewhere inside of you, you've already made that commitment."
"But is it too soon? How do you know when it's right? When it's for real? When it's forever?"
"That's a tricky question," Anna replied. "I think it varies from person to person. For me, it took Sam's ex-girlfriend shooting him in front of me to make it all very clear. Other people don't seem to need such a drastic awakening."
Julia looked across the room at her husband. The poker table had just erupted in laughter again. "Sometimes all it takes is one day seeing that person's face and knowing you can't do without them. That you want them at your side for everything to come, good or bad. Of course, you might also have that love tested, as I found out."
"As much as we love each other, Maggie and I have some major differences. We aren't alike in a lot of ways. Our thought processes vary widely from each other. She's constantly surprising me. But I like that. I can see us at seventy, and see her still startling me."
"That's so sweet," Julia said.
Eric sat up straight in his chair and looked from one to the other. "What is it with you two? I haven't babbled on without thinking of what I'm saying since--ever. Do you make everyone spill their guts or is it just me?"
They both smiled, rather smug smiles he thought, but didn't say anything. Joshua came up to the table and said, "Mama. Jenny sick."
Julia jumped up from the table to check on her daughter. Anna got up too. "Come on, Josh. Let's see if she needs any help."
Eric remained sitting at the puzzle table, staring out the window. Snow was falling again, big fat flakes. There was a hush to the world outside, while they were warm and happy in the house. He wondered at his thoughts. He'd never really thought about being with someone forever, about marriage. He'd been such a strange, quirky, nerdy teenager, and even as an adult, had had to work hard to break out of that mold.
Dating had been excruciating at times. Some women had frankly been too stupid. He needed a woman who could challenge him or surprise him. If he dated women in his field, he'd discovered they were either too much like him, or too one-dimensional. To have found Maggie felt like some kind of miracle.
He glanced over at the poker table and saw her throw back her head and laugh. She was so full of life! She would never be focused on just one thing in life. Not like he'd been with computers. No, she embraced
all of life, as much as she could get her hands on. Definitely a multi-dimensional woman. She turned her head suddenly, as if she felt his gaze. Her eyes danced and she gave him a big smile. He found his lips turning up and he just...knew. She was the forever woman.
As he held her gaze, he felt that surety slide over him, and watched a curious look cross her face. She set her cards on the table and dashed over to him.
"What is it? You look, well, I don't know. Something. Is everything okay?"
"Everything is exactly right. Will you marry me?"
"Good. I was wondering...what did you say?" Her eyes opened wide.
"Will you marry me, Maggie?"
She sank down in the chair next to him, looking very pale.
"Are you okay?"
"I--I'm just--marry? You said that? For real?"
"Yes, I did. I realized it, just a minute ago. I figured there was no way I could keep that a secret. And I don't want to. I want our forever to start right this minute."
Tears filled her eyes. "Forever?"
"Forever." He took her hand in his. "So will you? Will you promise to be with me forever?"
She looked deeply into his eyes, and smiled. Just a small smile at first, that grew, and grew.
"Yes! Yes, I'll marry you. Yes, I want forever. Yes to the promise. Yes, yes, yes."
He stood up and pulled her from her chair, lifting her up in his arms, kissing her softly, wonderingly. Happiness blazed within him.
The kiss ended when they heard applause around them. They were surrounded by the entire family, and he saw Anna and Julia crying, Holly looking surprised, and Sam nodding his head.
"Did you all hear?" Eric asked.
"Didn't you notice how quiet it had gotten?" Cody asked with a grin.
"All I noticed was Maggie's face, Maggie's eyes, Maggie's smile." He looked down at her and saw that she was blushing.
"Aw, man, slow down. You're setting the bar for romance pretty high here," Cody said.
Laughter filled the room, and then everyone was congratulating them. Hugs and kisses and tears abounded. At last Holly and Jason left and came back in the room with glasses and a bottle of champagne.
Love Promises (Sully Point, Book 4) Page 10