Six months later
Aiden looked over at Lily. She was as radiant as ever. Her face had healed perfectly, not so much as a bruise remained. He, on the other hand, was still on the mend but doing much better, especially with the help of Lily’s ever-present nurturing.
She was sitting in their booth at the diner, looking out the window at the sun setting on a bright April day. It took some coaxing to get her to close up shop early, but he’d managed. Lily Valier was set in her ways. He turned the “Open” sign to “Closed,” and it brought a smile to him when he thought back to how he once saw her as a hard nut to crack. Turned out she wasn’t really. Lily was tender and sweet, and the walls she’d built up around her, he knew now, were constructed out of a need for self-preservation.
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” she called.
Aiden was by the grill now, doing his best to whip up something edible. “No worries. I’ve got it all under control.” Thankfully, Annie had helped by getting everything ready for him. All he had to do was throw the patties on the grill and push the start button on the microwave.
After uncorking a bottle of Shiraz, something he was good at, Aiden took it over to the table. He’d dressed up the chipped Arborite with a white linen tablecloth and a couple of candles in crystal holders. He lit them and filled their glasses. Lily lifted hers to her lips and sipped.
Aiden hurried back to the sound of meat sizzling on the grill.
“I really don’t mind helping,” she called after him.
“Order’s almost up. Just sit there and look pretty.” He threw her a smile and a wink.
Minutes later, he placed their meals on the table, a hamburger with a side of mashed potatoes.
Lily laughed. “Oh my God! The same meal you had on our first date!” She took a second to look it over. “This actually looks good.”
They enjoyed their dinner and sipped their wine, and when they were done, Aiden took Lily’s hands. “There’s something I want to share with you that you might think is crazy.”
Her eyes widened. “What is it?”
He took a deep breath. “Um, I really don’t know how to begin.”
“Just say it.” She tightened her hold on his hand. “You can tell me anything.”
He coughed then cleared his throat. There was no way around it. He was going to have to barrel right into what he needed to say or he’d never be able to tell her. “All right.” He swallowed hard, then continued, “The night when, well, when Natalie tried to kill us. Um…I had some help saving you and apparently Rex too.”
Her brow knit together and she cocked her head. “Huh?”
“I was woken up by a woman’s voice. She said, ‘Get up now’ or something like that and told me you needed help. It was as if she was there beside me, yelling into my ear. I’d lost so much blood I could barely walk. All I managed to do was find you on the floor, but I knew there was no way I could carry you out of there. I called 911 on Deluca’s cell phone and lay down beside you. I really thought we were going to die in that fire. The next thing I knew, we were both outside, then Rex came over, out of the bushes or someplace. For the life of me, Lily, I don’t have a clue how he got out of the house. Or, for that matter, how we got out.”
She was silent, starring at him, her mouth ajar.
“I think the woman…helped us.” He looked her in the eyes, holding her gaze. “Is it crazy that I think she was your sister, Sara?”
Lily pulled her hands from his and they flew to her chest. Tears sprang to life and washed down her cheeks.
“I’ve been trying to figure this out since it happened, but I can’t think of any other explanation. I saw her, Lily. I actually saw her and heard her voice just as if she was still alive. She looked a lot like you but shorter and with darker hair. I’ve seen those pictures in your office and, I swear, it looked just like her.”
Finally, she found her voice. “Aiden, oh my God. I don’t think you’re crazy at all. What else did she say?” Her eyes were as round as silver dollars.
“Nothing really, just kept telling me to help you.” He hung his head. “I did the best I could.”
She took his hand again. “Yes, you did and you’re no less my hero. What you’ve just shared brings me peace. You know I talk to Sara all the time, and I’m always looking around for her, hoping one day I’ll catch a glimpse.” She grinned, then reached across the table and caressed his stubbled cheek. “If you hadn’t called for help, we’d be dead.”
Aiden took Lily’s hand and kissed it, then thumbed away her tears. A sigh of relief escaped him as he raked a hand through his hair. “I guess there’s more to life than what we perceive with our senses. I never told you this, but I envied your faith, your belief in an afterlife. It’s frightening to think this is all there is, but now I can honestly say that I think…no, not think…I know there is something beyond this life.”
Lily’s smile filled her face. “I’m happy to hear you say that. I just wish you’d told me sooner.”
“I should have, but I needed time to reconcile it within myself. To figure things out.” He stood, then dug into his pocket. “There’s something else.” Aiden looked down at Lily for a moment and smiled, then bent to one knee. “Lily Valier, I could say I love you with all my heart, but that would be a lie, because you are my heart. Without you I couldn’t live because without you I wouldn’t want to live.
“I love your smile and the way your eyes light up when you look at me. I love that you have more books than you do jewelry. I love your generosity and the way you bring joy to your friends at the seniors center. I love the way you kiss me because that’s how I know you love me too.
“Like two halves of a whole, we were drawn to each other, coming together under the harshest of circumstances. But it was those circumstances that have taught me more about myself than I’ve learned over my lifetime. And you, you Lily, you’ve been an example of what a woman of character and integrity is. You’re not only beautiful, you’re…you’re perfection. If you’ll have me, I’d love to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” He brought his hand around and in his palm was an old-fashioned, simple ring. A small diamond set in gold. No three-carat sparkler, that wasn’t Lily’s style.
A sharp intake of breath. “Oh my God! Yes, Aiden.” She was on her feet, a smile a mile wide on her face. He slid the ring onto her finger. It fit as if it had been made for her. She brought it close to have a better look. “This was Mrs. G.’s. How did you…”
“Mrs. G. wanted you to have it. The night we visited, Gail took me aside and asked me outright if I was planning to propose. She said Mrs. G. willed it to you and when I told her I was, she said she’d hold onto it for me until I needed it.”
Lily hugged him to her and sobbed into his shoulder. “It’s perfect, Aiden. Perfect. I not only have you, but I have something to remember Mrs. G. by too. I’ll think of her every time I look at it.”
Suddenly a bustle of people clamored in through the front door, whistling and hollering their congratulations.
Lily looked at Aiden, surprise lighting her face. “You planned this?”
His smile broadened. “All your friends are here to help us celebrate.”
Annie was first to hug and congratulate them, handing Lily a large bouquet of flowers, then Gail and Sharon from the seniors center. They had a cake with “Congratulations” written on it in big red letters, the vanilla frosting dotted with tiny fondant hearts.
Then Wilkins sauntered over, a bottle of champagne in hand, and slapped Aiden on the back. “You son of a gun. You got yourself the most beautiful woman in town. Congratulations!”
“I’m the lucky one,” Lily said to Wilkins. “I’ve had a lot of loss in my life, but Aiden’s given me more than I could ever ask for.”
Wilkins smiled and gave Lily a peck on the cheek. “Glad you’re happy. Really I am.” Then he turned to Aiden. “We need a man like you in this town. I’ll be retiring in a few months and now that I know you’ll be sticking around, how would you like to be the new sheriff?”
Aiden’s eyes lit up. “You serious?”
“As serious as this ulcer I’ve been nursing for the last few months.” He tapped his solar plexus with a fist. “Just come on by the station when you get a chance, and we’ll talk some more.” He winked, handed over the champagne, and walked away.
Mr. Piccione and Irene Scott brought up the rear, making their way over in their usual slow hurry. Lily bent to embrace them and accept their hugs and kisses.
Then Rex clicked his way to her and jumped up, paws resting on her thighs. Lily kissed the top of his head, and as she did, a woman’s voice, as delicate as the flutter of a butterfly’s wings, whispered, “I love you.” She could have easily missed those words if they hadn’t caught her at the right moment, a moment when her heart was open.
Lily spun around in search of her sister; perhaps she would see her after all. But all she saw was her precious diner filled with the people she loved.
And that was good enough.