“Well, a little ‘saying’ doesn’t hurt.”
“It’s just that it’s always there. It never goes away. Every time I look at you, I think about how much I love you, Joe Quinn.” She put her fingers over his lips as he started to speak. “Let me finish. When I first thought about doing this, I believed it was all about Michael and conforming to society and making life as easy for him as possible. All very good, solid reasons. But after I came here and had time to think, I realized that it was also about us. It was about remembering the past and celebrating the present and looking forward to a wonderful new future. In a way, it was Cira who taught me that, Joe.”
He kissed her fingers and moved them from his lips. “Now that’s remembering the past in a big way if you’re hobnobbing with Cira,” he said unevenly.
She smiled. “I wouldn’t presume. That’s Jane’s territory. I’ve just been thinking a lot about her and her son Marcus and her Antonio. And about all her struggles and triumphs and tragedies. Her story is all about life and how we all have to face it and make the best of it.” She met his eyes. “And how, occasionally, someone comes into your life who makes it so special that we have to acknowledge and celebrate the beauty of it.” She lifted her head and gently kissed him. “That’s what we’re going to do today, Joe.” She kissed him again. “Life will never be easy for us. That’s not the kind of people we are. But when it gets rough, we’ll be able to look back and remember the people we love who are here and one perfect day of celebration.”
“Are you done?” He was holding her close, his lips buried in her hair. “Because I’m not as tough as you think I am.” She could feel the dampness on her cheek. “Am I allowed to say how much I love you and how glad I am that you came into my life and let me join this celebration?”
“Of course.” She held him tight, feeling his heart beat against her. A golden moment.
Life. Love. Celebration.
“Because you’re the one who makes it perfect, Joe.…”
SUNSET
Caleb wasn’t here.
Jane’s gaze was roaming quickly over the guests strolling about the hillside before it was time for the ceremony. So many people from Eve’s past and present. Catherine Ling having a glass of wine with Venable, Eve’s old friend from the CIA who had first recruited her. Kendra Michaels talking to Beth Avery, Eve’s half sister, at the magnificent buffet table Lisa had spent hours preparing. Jock sitting beside Cara on the bank of the lake, smiling as he watched her tune her violin.
But no Seth Caleb.
What had she expected? He’d said that he might not make it. And she’d told him she didn’t want him to promise her anything. She was not disappointed.
It just felt that way for this one solitary moment.
“It’s going to be a beautiful wedding,” Margaret Douglas said as she came to stand beside Jane. “But why wouldn’t it be in a setting like this?” She suddenly chuckled. “Is it true that MacDuff arranged to have one of his men signal the start of the festivities by playing the bagpipes?”
“With some encouragement from Lisa,” Jane said drily. “She said, ‘What’s the good of being in Scotland if you can’t be authentic?’ But she refrained from ordering them played during the entire ceremony. However, it was only because she had other plans.” She looked around the hillside. “Where’s Juno? I saw her earlier.”
“I left her over there where Michael’s playing. She didn’t want to leave him.” She gazed at the white retriever, lying quietly beside the small boy, watching his every move. “She thinks he might be magic.”
“Don’t we all?”
“But she’s almost sure of it.” Margaret smiled. “And why not? There’s so much magic in this world that we don’t even notice. It’s nice to have confirmation that every now and then it shines brightly enough to light our way.” She met Jane’s eyes. “We were all glad it was bright enough to bring you back safely to us.”
“That wasn’t magic. It was people who cared and went the extra mile for me.”
“And you don’t think that’s magic? I do.” She glanced around her. “Speaking about the extra mile, I haven’t seen Caleb today.”
“He said he might have another commitment.” She shrugged. “His loss. There are so many people here that Eve and Joe won’t miss him.”
“No? But I understand that he makes his presence felt.” She looked out at the lake, which was beginning to glow and shimmer with the scarlet-and-gold reflection of the setting sun. “Sundown,” Margaret said softly. “It’s almost time. This is just the right hour for the wedding, isn’t it? All that golden mist that seems to be fading and then returning, swirling, and then hiding wonderful secrets.”
Secrets, Jane thought, gazing into the mists.
Cira?
Bonnie?
Trevor?
Will we ever learn all your secrets?
And do we want to know them?
Why not live life to the fullest and have wonderful secrets of our own?
Honor the past. Remember with love. Reach out for whatever is given to us every single moment.
As Eve and Joe were doing on this day.
The light was fading, only the glittering water and golden mist remained.
The bagpipes sounded. Wild. Lonely. Stirring.
And Joe and Eve were walking down the hill together, holding hands as they walked through life. They were both dressed simply, as Eve had decreed for the ceremony. Joe was in black pants and a long-sleeved white cotton shirt. Eve had chosen a rust-colored silk maxi dress that caused her red-brown hair to glow in contrast.
Wonderful. Natural. Perfect.
Jane could feel her throat tighten as she watched them approach the priest, who was waiting beside the lake.
The piper had stopped his music, replaced by Cara playing the Rachmaninoff Eve loved. The strains of the violin floated over the hills in wild beauty that touched the heart.
Jane could see the priest’s lips move, but she was only aware of Eve’s and Joe’s expressions, the love that went on forever, the serenity of certainty, the eagerness of looking at what lay ahead.
And they were all being permitted to share it with them. She could see the knowledge of that privilege on the expressions of the people who were gathered here. How fortunate to be here in this incredible moment. How lucky she was to have had Eve and Joe in her life. When so many other people had never known anything but bitterness and pain.
Caleb.
He should be here, she thought. Not for Eve and Joe, but because, in this moment, these friends who had come to be with them were also like members of their family. The family Caleb had never had. Gathered from all corners of the earth, from all walks of life, they had still become a family because of how they felt about one another. She desperately wanted Caleb to know that was possible. That if he reached out, he wouldn’t have to be alone. She wanted to tell him, teach him.
Eve and Joe were now turning to face them all, laughing as they raised their joined hands.
Applause and cheers. There was a surge as everyone moved across the hill toward them.
Jane was applauding, too, and started to rush—
She stopped.
She could feel something.…
She turned toward the slope that led to the road.
He had come only halfway down the slope and was standing there watching, alone.
Caleb.
She could barely make him out in the darkness that was falling so rapidly. He was almost a shadow figure, standing there with legs slightly parted and that easy, jaunty set to his shoulders. If she could see his face, it would probably have that mocking smile that was so familiar.
None of it mattered. He had come.
Yet he was so alone.
And he had lessons to learn.
She smiled and reached out her hand to him.