fragile and looking to protect myself, protect my heart. There was no protection against Sean, though. He was determined to win me over, and eventually I succumbed.
“You knew, didn’t you?” I asked, not expecting a reply but knowing she had one. “The first time you saw him, you knew Sean was the one for me.” My sister had known intuitively long before I had.
That wasn’t all Harper knew, I suspected. When I’d shared my worries for her with my brother all those months ago, some inner warning, some deep-seated fear, told me Harper was unconsciously aware her time was short. It was all so very clear to me now.
“Dad is doing well,” I continued, updating her on our lives. “You’d be proud of the turnaround he’s made. He faithfully attends his AA meetings and is making new friends. He loves his job and has already gotten a raise. He’s working full-time now. It’s good for him. He’s happier now than at any other time since Mom died.”
Although I hated to move out of the apartment, it had been for the best. There were far too many memories of Harper tied up there, so Dad and I made the big move to the rental house. It was small but adequate. Dad loved the garage and had turned it into a woodworking shop. When I asked him what he was building, his reply was always the same: sawdust.
I enjoyed how he lavished love on Snowball, who was often found in his lap while he watched television. Growing up, we’d never had a cat, as Mom was allergic. It seemed my dad was a real cat person. Snowball didn’t have much to do with me these days, and I had the feeling it was because of Bandit, whom she chose to ignore whenever he was around.
I smiled and looked down at my sister’s gravestone and the Bible verse we’d had etched there. “But the greatest of these is love.” It was love Harper had spoken of in her last words to me. Love. I felt surrounded by it. Besieged by love from Sean, who refused to give me up. From my brother and Chantelle and of course our father. Love was all around and I could feel it, just as Harper had whispered in her final word to us.
My visit complete, I stood up from the bench, running my finger over the metal plate Sean had placed there. In loving memory of Harper Lakey.
“You ready, boy?” I asked, as I tugged at Bandit’s leash, leading him back to the car.
The sun broke out, rare for a February day, and, wanting to take advantage of it, I headed to the beach. It’d been a while since I’d walked there, and I’d missed the exercise, the feel of the wind on my face, the call of the seagulls, and the rushing sound of the waves as they broke over the sand.
I parked and Bandit jumped out of the car, eager to stretch his legs. I released him from his leash and off he took, bounding over the first sand dune and toward the water with an enthusiasm that had me laughing.
The sound of my laughter carried in the wind and came back to me almost like an echo. After my sister’s death, I wondered if I would ever really feel joy again. I could laugh, and that was a start.
I called out to Bandit and he turned at the sound of his name. He raced back to me, his tongue falling out of the side of his mouth in his excitement. I shook my head at his boundless energy. He immediately raced off again, chasing a seagull.
With the sun out, a few others had ventured onto the beach, taking advantage of the afternoon. Feeling the warmth of it, I lifted my face to the sky, letting it spill over me. This was exactly what I needed in the middle of a dreary winter that seemed to go on for far too long.
To think that just a year ago Harper had announced she intended to climb Mount Rainier come summer and had signed up for conditioning classes. A year ago, I hadn’t known Sean.
What a difference a few months could make.
“Willa.”
Sean’s voice came to me and I whirled around to see him walking along the beach, toward me.
I immediately started toward him, my heart leaping with joy. “I didn’t think you were due back until tomorrow,” I said, holding my hands out to him. He gripped hold of them and brought me close for a hug.
“I wasn’t, but the shoot went better than expected.” He slipped his arms around my waist and kissed me.
I would never tire of this man’s kisses. Oh, the things he did to me made me forget we were in full view of all of Oceanside. I looped my arms around his neck and gave myself over to him, welcoming him home.
Bandit raced to Sean’s side and Sean bent down to pet his faithful companion. “Did you miss me?” he asked, glancing up at me.
“I always miss you.”
“Good. Missed you, too. Did you sleep?”
“Like a newborn.” How could I not? Sleeping in Sean’s bed while he was away, surrounded by his scent, was all that was necessary. Feeling close to him was all the comfort I needed for my weary body to give way to blissful rest.
“I’m thinking you should make sleeping in my bed permanent,” he said casually, although the look he sent me was serious.
“You want me to move in with you?”
“I can think of nothing I want more. But there are conditions.”
“Conditions?” I asked, wondering at his mood.
“I want you there as my wife.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder as we walked arm in arm, the salty scent of the air filling my senses. “Are you afraid I’m going to have a change of heart about us?” I asked. I’d hoped by now he knew how deeply in love with him I was.
He squeezed my hand. “I know what I want, Willa, and it’s you at my side for the rest of our lives. You as my partner, the mother of my children. I’ve had my time in the limelight, entertained a certain amount of fame.”
“And beautiful women,” I reminded him.
He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “I have a beautiful woman now.”
I looked up at him and smiled. Until Sean, I’d never thought of myself as beautiful. Harper was the one in the family who got all the beauty, but who was I to argue.
“You’re the one I want, Willa. You’re the one I love. Say you’ll marry me.”
“Yes,” I whispered, tears in my eyes. His eyes held mine as he removed an engagement ring from his pocket and slipped it on my finger.
Sean turned me into his arms and squeezed me hard. “Thank you. I promise to be the husband you deserve.”
The diamond shone in the sunlight and I whispered, “But the greatest of these is love.”
He stared down at me quizzically.
“That’s the Bible verse on Harper’s marker. Life is all about love.”
“Yes, it is,” he agreed. Bandit bounded back to us, kicking up sand.
We kissed again, sealing our commitment to each other, and then continued down the beach.
Walking together hand in hand toward our future.
In memory of Roberta Stalberg,
my beloved friend
BALLANTINE BOOKS FROM DEBBIE MACOMBER
A Walk Along the Beach
Window on the Bay
Cottage by the Sea
Any Dream Will Do
If Not for You
A Girl’s Guide to Moving On
Last One Home
ROSE HARBOR INN
Sweet Tomorrows
Silver Linings
Love Letters
Rose Harbor in Bloom
The Inn at Rose Harbor
BLOSSOM STREET
Blossom Street Brides
Starting Now
CHRISTMAS NOVELS
A Mrs. Miracle Christmas
Alaskan Holiday
Merry and Bright
Twelve Days of Christmas
Dashing Through the Snow
Mr. Miracle
Starry Night
Angels at the Table
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DEBBIE MACOMBER, the author of A Walk Along the Beach, Window on the Bay, Cottage by the Sea, Any Dream Will Do, If Not for You, and the Rose Harbor Inn series, is a leading voice in women’s fiction. Thirteen of her novels have reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller lists, and five of her beloved Christmas novels have been hit movies on the Hallmark Channel, including Mrs. Miracle and Mr. Miracle. Hallmark Channel also produced the original series Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove, based on Macomber’s Cedar Cove books. She is also the author of the cookbook Debbie Macomber’s Table. There are more than 200 million copies of her books in print worldwide.
debbiemacomber.com
Facebook.com/​debbiemacomberworld
Twitter: @debbiemacomber
Instagram: @debbiemacomber
Pinterest.com/​macomberbooks
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