Pushing a trolley loaded with suitcases, Anne’s parents rounded the corner. Mum’s golden hair, trimmed in a bob, was pinned on one side with a jeweled clip that sparkled in the sunlight streaming through the mass of windows surrounding them. Dad towered over her, his dark hair as thick as ever. He appeared far younger than his forty-five years, and shining from his eyes was a well of love as they met hers. They were alive, and they were here.
Arms open, she raced toward them, her heart near catapulting out of her chest. They swept her up, their arms banding around her like steel.
“We’re together,” Dad rumbled in her ear.
“And I never want to be parted from you again.” She clung to them. “I love you.”
“We love you too.” Mum’s tears mingled with hers. “It feels like forever since I’ve held you.”
“It has been.”
Beaming, Annie ducked around the roped partition. “Welcome home.”
“Come here, Annie.” Mum kissed her cheek then Annie’s as she joined them. “Thank you for being here for Anne. Tor and I love you for it.”
“It’s as if we have two daughters, Morainne,” Dad said.
“Yes, and they’ve both granted us the ultimate wish. Life and love returned.”
Annie squeezed Anne’s hand. “I’m so glad my wish led to this moment. I could never have envisioned this when I made it.”
“Your wish led to far more than this moment.” She hugged Annie back. “And if I could choose a sister, hands down it would be you. Right now, I can’t even imagine having never met you.”
“Sisters.” Annie tightened her hold on her. “Forever.”
“Deal.” Anne gazed at her parents. “These past weeks I’ve learnt so much, to never give up, history can be changed, and that love should always prevail.”
“Your mother and I are living proof it does. You’ve always been so tenacious. I shouldn’t be surprised you’ve managed to travel back through time and do what you’ve done.” Dad tweaked her chin. “Let’s go home. We have so much to celebrate and catch up on.
“You’ve got it. Home.”
Family was all that mattered, and she finally had hers back.
Dad pulled into the driveway as the sun sank over the ocean horizon, yellow melding into dusky pink then inky-blue.
Mum gripped hers and Annie’s hands and rushed them inside. In the center of her kitchen, she twirled around. “Someone needs to pinch me.”
“Allow me.” Dad nipped Mum’s cheeks. Oh, she’d missed seeing her parents together. She still had to keep pinching herself too, to make sure it was all real.
Mum nudged Dad toward the barstool. “Sit. I’m going to make dinner for us all and enjoy this moment.
“Please let me help.” Annie patted the oven. “I’m fascinated by this woodless stove and need further instruction.”
“We call it an oven.” Mum laughed as she opened a drawer.
“Oven. Wonderful, that’s what I’ll call it too.”
“You can be my sidekick, Annie.” Mum flapped out an apron, looped it over Annie’s head and tied it at the back. “Wait until I show you the beater which fluffs up the mashed potato. Now that is a miracle.”
Mum adored her kitchen, and the house had always carried the scents of whatever she’d cooked or baked that day.
Anne couldn’t wait for the evening meal. Her appetite had well and truly been restored with her returned parents. She plunked herself on the stool next to Dad. “Watch out, Annie. Being Mum’s sidekick is a prime spot, but it means you’ll have to do the dishes too.”
“You shouldn’t have warned her yet, Anne.” Dad wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “And talking of sidekicks, you’ve yet to tell us of the man you handfasted with.”
Hmm, she hadn’t told them about the baby either. She hadn’t wanted to mention it over the phone, or in the car, but now they needed to know. “Alex MacDonald leads his clan in his uncle’s stead. From the moment I met him, I sensed a connection. I trusted him, felt safe and protected. We bonded quickly, as if somehow I’d already known him.”
“Donald and William spoke to us. We know why you were hospitalized.”
She squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry. I wanted to be the one to tell you and Mum.”
Mum bustled around the countertop and hugged her. “It’s okay, honey.”
“I’m keeping Alex’s child, Mum.”
“I didn’t expect anything less. Your baby will be greatly loved, by us all. Has your morning sickness eased?”
“I’m taking meds, and I’m much better.”
“Good. I wish we could have met—oh, I clear forgot. All this talk about Alex has reminded me of his letter. How could I have forgotten? Annie, grab my purse from the table.”
Annie snatched the red leather bag and passed it across. “Here you are.”