Page 56 of No One But You
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
There were delicate gold chains, chunky gold rings set with colorful jewels that twinkled as the light touched them for the first time in more than a hundred years, and so much more.
The contents of that box must be worth a fortune.
All around me were exclamations and excited gasps, but I was distracted by Corie’s frown as she extricated a flat, waxed sheet of… something.She unfolded it, revealing a letter written on thick, hardy paper—or perhaps a type of textile.It was difficult to tell.
“It’s an apology letter,” Corie whispered, her gaze flitting down the paper.She cleared her throat.“‘To my darling daughter Pearl.You will never know how much I regret making you choose between your family and the man you love.I have wished a thousand times that I acted differently.’”
My chest ached, and I inhaled sharply.I’d been so preoccupied that I’d forgotten to breathe for a few seconds.
“‘I should have been less determined to make an advantageous match for you and listened when you told me your heart was elsewhere.I should have met the man you love and welcomed him into the family.I am sorry that I let you down.’”
My throat tightened, and I blinked rapidly, hoping no one noticed that my eyes were a little shiny.
“‘I can only hope that you find some comfort in the knowledge that your father recognized what a fool he was and wanted to make recompense.I was never able to do so in life, and this offering is meager compared to the reparations I’d give anything to grant to you.’”
Corie sniffled and swiped at her eyes.“‘Please know that I loved you until my last breath.I pray that one day, you will be able to think of me fondly.All my love, your father, John McIntyre.’”
Silence descended.
My heart cracked, bleeding for the father who’d made a terrible mistake and for the daughter who might never have known how much he regretted it.
It seemed wrong that she’d never been able to read this letter.
“At least the treasure is back with its rightful owner,” Grace said, her voice uncharacteristically loud in the hush that had fallen.
“Amen to that,” Heather muttered.
I nodded, as did several others.Hopefully, wherever they were, John and Pearl could rest easy.
“What are you going to do with it?”Toby asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet, clearly unable to remain quiet for a second longer.
Corie thought for a moment.“I want to have everything appraised, but I think at least one piece ought to stay in the Heritage Museum so people know the full story and celebrate how incredible the power of love can be.”
A murmur of approval swept through the clearing.
A hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned to find Max standing behind me, smiling down at me with a wealth of affection in his eyes.
“Are you ready to go?”he asked, gently tucking my hair behind my ear.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and drew him down for a kiss.“Ready when you are.”
He took my hand, and I stayed close to him as we picked our way around the others and started the hike back to the parking lot.
I gave his hand a squeeze.“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Warmth filled me.While Pearl and Charles had married and lived together happily, they’d sacrificed a lot for each other.
Max and I didn’t have to do that.
We loved each other with our whole hearts, and our families adored each other too.Life would never be without challenges, but I couldn’t wait to walk through ours together.
We’d always find our way.
Because with each other, we were home.
THE END
