A Winter Dream - By Richard Paul Evans Page 0,56

you away.”

“You didn’t scare me away,” she said. “I needed to go back. I needed to take care of my past, so I could have a future.”

I stood there, still frozen, afraid to ask. “Am I a part of that future?”

She looked into my eyes with a peculiar light, then slowly shook her head. “No.”

My heart fell. “No?”

“Not just a part,” she said. “I was hoping you would be my future.”

She fell into me and we kissed. Passionately. Fully. This time there was no past to suppress, no secrets to steal her away, no guilt to own her. This time, for the first time, she was mine. I would never let her go again.

EPILOGUE

Life’s greatest lessons are often those we most wished to avoid.

Joseph Jacobson’s Diary

The day I graduated from college my father gave me this letter.

My Dear Son,

I am so very proud of you. Now, as you prepare to embark on a new journey, I’d like to share this one piece of advice. Always, always remember that—

Adversity is not a detour. It is part of the path.

You will encounter obstacles. You will make mistakes. Be grateful for both. Your obstacles and mistakes will be your greatest teachers. And the only way to not make mistakes in this life is to do nothing, which is the biggest mistake of all.

Your challenges, if you’ll let them, will become your greatest allies. Mountains can crush or raise you, depending on which side of the mountain you choose to stand on. All history bears out that the great, those who have changed the world, have all suffered great challenges. And, more times than not, it’s precisely those challenges that, in God’s time, lead to triumph.

Abhor victimhood. Denounce entitlement. Neither are gifts, rather cages to damn the soul. Everyone who has walked this earth is a victim of injustice. Everyone.

Most of all, do not be too quick to denounce your sufferings. The difficult road you are called to walk may, in fact, be your only path to success.

I’ve read that letter many times throughout my life. I never could have imagined how prophetic my father’s words would prove—especially the last line. Had it not been for the difficult circumstances I was thrown into, I never would have been in the position to ultimately save those I cared most deeply about. I never would have found my true soul. And I never would have found her. A philosopher once wrote that we “understand our lives looking backward, but we must live them forward.” He was right. Looking back, the journey all makes sense. At the time, none of it did.

I am indeed a blessed man. April and I were married in June, six months after our reunion. If I had to go through all I did just to have her, I would. In a heartbeat.

My father is now officially retired, and he and Mom are traveling the world. They’ve made a goal to see every country. I’m sure they’ll accomplish it. My father never fails at what he sets out to do. What a legacy he’s left his children.

The Leo Burnett/Jacobson Advertising Agency is thriving. It’s now the largest agency in Colorado. Rupert is the acting CEO. I’m proud of my big brother. My own career is doing well. Mr. Ferrell has been good to me. Advertising has been good to me. Chicago’s a nice place to live. Maybe someday the Cubs will win the pennant. I’m not holding my breath. There might be something to that goat curse.

One more thing. April and I are going to be parents. She’s due next October. If it’s a girl, we’re thinking of naming her May.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

© DEBRA MACFARLANE

Richard Paul Evans is the #1 bestselling author of The Christmas Box. Each of his twenty-one novels has been a New York Times bestseller. There are more than 15 million copies of his books in print worldwide, translated into more than twenty-four languages. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Mothers Book Award, the Romantic Times Best Women’s Novel of the Year Award, the German Audience Gold Award for Romance, two Religion Communicators Council Wilbur Awards, the Washington Times Humanitarian of the Century Award and the Volunteers of America National Empathy Award. He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children. You can learn more about Richard on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RPEfans, or visit his website, www.richardpaulevans.com.

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