Jillian stayed one last day to help put up the quilts. The curator claimed it was the finest exhibit they’d ever had in the county. Each quilt had its own story printed and framed beside it, and pictures of the shop lined the backdrop like wallpaper.
As people walked into the exhibit, they’d have the feeling they were stepping into the shop on Main.
Jillian stood back in the shadows, watching the opening begin. Everything was perfect and folks came dressed up for the special occasion.
She thought she saw a white-haired woman reach out to touch Helen Harmon’s quilt. Maybe, just maybe, the old lady’s hair had once been red and she’d made the quilt as a wedding present that was never given.
A man about the same age as the lady brushed her arm and they smiled at each other as if the worst day of Helen’s life had turned out to be a blessing.
Two middle-aged women hugged in front of the cheerleader quilt, and Jillian wondered if they’d once been part of the squad. No one would probably know why the names disappeared.
Jillian guessed one of the cheerleaders did it. Or maybe each wandered into the shop over the years and simply pulled the thread that marked their name.
An entire family laughed and pointed at the going to Florida quilt, which showed a childhood memory of traveling across country every summer.
Sometimes five generations posed in front of one of the pioneer quilts and a little girl stood before the butterfly quilt in a dress made of material that looked just like one of the flour bag prints.
The quilts were blankets, heirlooms, memory keepers, and works of art. Connor had been right. They were also the story of the town.
Jillian circled the displays again and again as if saying farewell to the quilts. She saw Connor and Gram and Joe and Sunnie, but they were always surrounded by people.
All but Connor hugged her and said they wished her well on her journey. Several of the quilting ladies were being treated like stars, and gave impromptu lectures during the show on the art of quilting.
Reese finally found her in a corner and stood next to her. “Quite a show.”
“It is.” Jillian fought down a grin. The kid was tall, almost a man. In a few years he’d be a heartbreaker if Sunnie wasn’t careful. “How are you and Sunnie getting on?”
“Fine. Trying to hold on to her is like grabbing a stripped live wire. I know I’m going to get burned, but it’s a hell of a jolt.”
Jillian laughed. “You thinking of backing away?”
“No. I’m full into this. I’d rather die shaking than live without feeling like I do when she’s around.”
Jillian envied the boy. She watched it all, knowing that she couldn’t leave her memories behind this time. There were too many.
Connor treated her politely, almost like a stranger, but the memory of him holding her that last night in the shop would be with her forever. He hadn’t said a word, but she’d read his heart with every beat.
He’d held to their agreement. He hadn’t asked her to stay again. When she left the museum, he walked her to her car, opened her door as always, and said good-night as if it were just an ordinary night.
Not the last night she’d see him. Not her last night in town.
Jillian couldn’t sleep when she got back to the bed-and-breakfast. For a while she simply stood at her window and looked out over the sleeping town. When she went back to bed, she didn’t even bother closing her eyes.
She’d finally gotten up and packed at dawn. Her car was loaded by the time she sat down to her last breakfast with Mrs. Kelly.
The sweet owner must have been dreading this day, too. She had to have been up cooking since five. She made all her recipes.
They sat before the feast and both tried to make small talk, but it was choppy.
Finally, Jillian hugged the dear lady whose apron read I’ll fry if I want to. “I’ll miss you.”
Mrs. K patted a tear away with the corner of her apron. “You’ll stop by when you pass near here?”
“I will,” Jillian lied.
They walked to the door, arm in arm. Jillian kissed the innkeeper’s rosy cheek and stepped out of the house for the last time.
To her surprise two cars were blocking her in. Reese’s old pickup and Connor’s Audi.
She walked to the end of the porch. “What’s going on?”
Connor climbed out of his car and walked toward her wearing hiking boots and a fishing jacket that had at least a dozen pockets. He looked like he’d ordered one of everything from the travel catalog. A compass even hung off his belt and a huge hunting knife was on his side.
Sunnie and Reese sat in the old pickup, windows down, looking like they thought they were at a drive-in movie.
Connor stopped in front of her and looked up at her three feet above him on the porch. “I figured if you won’t stay with me, I’m going with you. I bought all these clothes and another bag full so I’ll be ready for any climate.”
“No, you’re not going with me,” she said calmly.
“Then I’ll follow you. It’s a free country. I can drive behind you.”
“You can’t do that. It’s called stalking.” Before her words were out, the only police car in town pulled up on the grass of the bed-and-breakfast’s front yard. A few other cars parked at the curb.
Connor didn’t seem to notice anyone but her. “I asked the sheriff. He didn’t seem to think there was a problem. Even offered to lock us both up in the horse trailer so we could talk out our problem.”
“He can’t do that. It’s illegal.”
Connor said, “You could call the judge and a lawyer. I talked to them, as well. The lawyer said the sheriff’s got a right to hold us for a short time, and the judge said he’d marry us so we wouldn’t be living in a horse trailer in sin.”
She smiled. “You can’t make me stay, Connor.”
“You’re right. I’m packed and going with you, because I’ve figured out something. I don’t want to go through this life without you, Jillian James. I want you by my side. One way or the other, here in Laurel Springs or on the road, I’m with you.”
“What about Sunnie?”
“I told Reese he could finish raising her. Kid’s got a lot of sense. They’ll be fine.”
Jillian laughed. “You’re crazy, Connor.” This kind, even-tempered, logical man had lost his mind, and she knew she was the cause.
“I love you, Jillian. I think I have since the day you walked into my office. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. If I didn’t know you loved me, too, I’d walk away, but you do love me.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because I’m the one memory you packed with you. I’m the one you’ll never forget. I’m the one you run to when you’re afraid or you need a hug. I’m the one and only man you’ve ever loved and you know it.”
She stood her ground. “I don’t want you loving me just because I need loving.”
Connor smiled. “I don’t. I love you because I need loving and you’re the only one who can do the job.”
Several more cars had pulled up by the time he finished his speech. A dozen cars and pickups were blocking her in both directions.
“You’re right. I do love you.” She wanted to add that he was the only one who ever needed her so badly he couldn’t, wouldn’t let her go. Why had she wasted time looking for the people who’d thrown her away when a man was standing right in front of her, ready to give up everything to keep her?
“But, Connor, you’re not going with me. I’m staying right here. There are too many things I have to do here. The district’s just getting started and we’ve got to rent Gram’s shop, and you haven’t put out a paper in weeks, and...” She stopped and smiled, knowing the list could go on the rest of their lives. “We don’t have time to go traveling around the country.”
He ran up the steps and folded her into his arms. “All right, I’ll stay with you, but you’ve got to promise we take a month of vacation every year. I want to see the world before we check into the Acres and no matter what country we’re in, I want you sleeping beside me every night.”
She smiled. “You drive a hard bargain.”
He kissed her while fifty onlookers cheered. One long kiss that promised a lifetime of loving.
As he pulled away to look at her, Jillian swore she could see her forever in his eyes.
Then, Mrs. Kelly invited everyone in for breakfast, just as she’d planned to do all along.
* * * * *