Harper

It was a bitter feeling leaving my parents behind. I knew there was no life in their bodies, but the last earthly parts of them were six feet under. I was comforted knowing they were beside one another and finally reunited. As I left the graveyard and walked toward my car, I got a phone call from my lawyer. I thought the worst at once.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hey, Harper,” Howard said. “Am I catching you at a bad time?”

“No. Not at all. Is everything okay?” I asked him.

“Well, I just wanted to tell you that the bank has accepted the final payment for the mortgage, so you are no longer facing foreclosure,” he said. I could tell he was excited based on his tone of voice, but I was confused.

“I thought I had six more payments to make,” I said.

“Well, your friend came up to my office to make a donation today and pay off the remainder,” Howard said. “He told me not to tell you until the bank had processed the payment.”

“What is this friend’s name?” I asked him, already knowing the answer.

“Lincoln Heatherton,” Howard said.

I quickly ended my conversation with Howard and made my way home. I was half angry and a little flattered that Lincoln had paid off the debt, but he hadn’t talked to me about it first. He must have known I would decline such a generous offer, because he’d gone behind my back to do so. I drove the half hour to my home and made my way up the dirt road that was my long driveway. As I drove, however, I noticed Lincoln waiting for me about halfway there. I raised an eyebrow and peeked my head out of my car window.

“What are you doing standing in the middle of the road, Lincoln?”

He looked at me and made his way over. “I want to show you something.”

“Can it wait? We need to talk about what you did,” I said. He knew what I was talking about, because a sly smirk grew on his face.

“That can wait until later. I have something special for you.”

I hesitated before sighing and nodding. “Fine.”

He opened my car door for me and held out his hand. I turned off my car, grabbed my keys, and got out of the car without taking his hand. I didn’t know what he was planning, but I knew he had already done something big. We walked in silence up the remainder of the dirt road that lead to my house. Once we got close enough, Lincoln turned to me.

“I need you to close your eyes,” he said.

“Why do I need to close my eyes?” I asked, getting defensive at once.

“Please, Harper. You’ve been working so hard, and your parents would be proud to see how far you’ve come. Just trust me and close your eyes. You deserve what I have for you.”

I searched his eyes for a moment. I hesitated but reluctantly closed my eyes. He grabbed my hand and guided me forward. While walking, I attempted to figure out exactly what was going on. What had he done that was such a huge surprise?

We walked for a few more minutes before he stopped me. He moved in front of me and placed his hands on either side of my face. His action made me open my eyes. It was the first time he’d been that close in a long time, and I found myself hypnotized. I had noticed how well he had been working and how devoted he was to making sure everything was just as I wanted it. Lincoln didn’t boast or talk down to Eric, and he genuinely seemed to be the man I had fallen in love with.

“What going on, Lincoln,” I asked.

“My lease is almost up,” he said, “and I don’t know if you want me to stay with you or leave, but I wanted to give you one last thing.”

“You’ve already done more than enough by paying off the mortgage,” I said.

“Stop fighting and just hush for once,” he teased. “My family and I wanted to make this home special once more. We wanted it to be the place your family loved so dearly. So, while you were away, we decided to put the finishing touches on the property before you got the rest of the animals and opened for business again.”

I looked at him, confused until he moved to the side. When he did, I felt an overwhelming gust of emotion. The house paint had been touched up and there were flowers along the fence and in front of the porch. I teared up as I looked over everything. I didn’t let the tears fall until I saw the ugly green 1969 Pontiac Firebird with its hood popped. There was a sign that read “Welcome, Y’All, to the Callahan Family Bed, Breakfast, and Barn” holding the hood up.

“You did all of this?” I asked him, unsure of what to make of it.

“I didn’t do it alone. My family helped a lot,” he said. “But there’s more.”

“What more could there possibly be?” I asked, completely baffled.

He took my hand and walked me around the house. I had already seen the pig pens and the fences that Lincoln had built with Eric, but now they were painted to match the color of the house. The stables and the garage had been repainted as well. It looked like a new farm entirely.

“This is all too much,” I said. “I don’t know how I can pay everyone back for all of this.”

Lincoln remained quiet as we continued to walk. We walked for a while, and we wound up by our special tree. I felt a flurry of butterflies dance in my stomach as we stood under it once more. I turned to look at him, but Lincoln was looking out in the distance. I turned to follow his gaze and saw a beautiful garden by the once empty lake. All the flowers had been dead and the lake had been drained the last I’d seen it, but Lincoln and his family had turned it back into the beauty it had been so long ago.

“I-I can’t believe this,” I whispered.

“Everyone wanted you to be happy again,” Lincoln said. “I wanted you to be happy again.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to make this up to you guys,” I told him. “I can’t believe all of this is actually real. How can I make this up to you?”

Lincoln turned to me. Right there under the tree where we had shared our first kiss and our first night together, he gazed deeply into my eyes. He cupped my cheeks and looked at me with nothing but genuine, raw love and adoration.

“I have broken your heart two times too many. From the very first time I laid eyes on you, I knew I was in love. You have always been the only thing I’ve ever wanted, even after leaving for the city. I will do anything and everything it takes to show you love, to make you feel loved, for as long as I live. I love you, Harper Marie Callahan. Please, can I have a second chance?”

“What about New York? What about your business?” I asked him. “I don’t want you to leave me again.”

“I sold my business shares to the co-founder. I still have my investments, but I can stay here for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Do you swear it, Lincoln?” I asked.

He nodded. “I swear. I will be by your side for the rest of my life.”

I couldn’t contain myself. I leaned up and kissed him. The entire day had turned into something so magical, so special, and so enchanting. I felt like I was Cinderella and my family’s business was my ball. Lincoln’s lips on mine were soft like pillows and sweet like sugar. He was everything I wanted, and, as we made love under the tree where we’d shared our first night, I knew he was never going to leave me again.