Four Months Later

Gage flinched and swore under his breath as a firm knock on the door broke his concentration. He was trimming a photograph, prepping it to be matted, and he’d just sliced off a fraction too much. He slammed his fist down on the table and drew in a deep breath to calm himself. It didn’t take much to anger him these days.

He dropped the knife on the table and walked to the door. Three more hard knocks sounded on the other side just as he grabbed the handle to pull it open. “Chill the fuck out! I’m com—”

His eyes widened in surprised disbelief, and if it was even possible, his boiling point rose to a precarious edge. “What do you want?”

“I’d like to talk if you have a moment.” He watched as Robert Yorke shifted uncomfortably in his doorway. “I think it’s long overdue.”

“I’d say it was about six years overdue.” Shaking his head in disgust, he stepped back out of the doorframe and motioned for Robert to come inside. As much as he didn’t want to be within ten feet of this man, he was curious as hell to hear what he had to say.

“Thank you.” He walked past and gasped out loud, “Oh!”

Gage regarded the man’s shocked expression and shrugged. “It’s the only way I can be close to her.” His gaze swept around the room, following the path Robert’s eyes took. Every wall was covered in framed photographs of Hope—her laughing, looking straight at him, on the bridge, of them on the hill together, her sleeping. She was everywhere.

The older man’s eyes fell back on him. “You love her.”

“Does it matter?”

“Very much indeed.” He walked further into the room, unbuttoning his coat before shrugging it off. He moved to set it over a chair and then pulled another one out to sit in. “May I?”

Gage waved his hand in the air to indicate he should do as he pleases. “What can I do for you, Mr. Yorke?”

“Please, call me Robert.”

“I’m not planning on getting friendly enough to be on a first name basis with you, so let’s just keep this formal.”

He watched a small frown appear on the man’s face as he nodded curtly, and Gage was surprised at how amenable the man was attempting to be, causing his curiosity to grow. “Again, what do you want?”

“I’d like to explain. Something I should have done a long, long time ago.”

Scoffing loudly, Gage moved to stand across the table. “Why now? I begged you years ago, and you would tell me nothing.”

“Something I regret very much and have come to learn was the wrong thing to do. I thought I was protecting the ones I love, but, well, it seems I’ve done much more harm than good.” He motioned toward the chair Gage was leaning on. “Won’t you sit down? This might take a little while.”

Curiosity getting the best of him, and his desire to finally have more information about what happened to his sister, had him sliding down into the seat. “I’m listening.”

Gage focused all his attention, his emotions swirling in different directions, as Robert Yorke detailed the same story he had told Hope back in October. When he was done, both men sat in silence, each taking the other in across the table.

“Why are you finally telling me this now? Why couldn’t you have told me this years ago?”

A long, exhausted sigh fell from Robert. “I truly thought I was protecting my wife. She didn’t deserve to have her name dragged through the mud because her husband’s lover was in the car with her… Let alone, her husband’s pregnant lover. Can you imagine what the newspapers would have done if they’d gotten hold of that?”

“Do you actually think I would have gone to the papers if you’d told me and my family the truth?” Gage spat out angrily.

“At the time, I couldn’t see past my own immediate family and needs. I had no idea that you knew your sister and I had a relationship, or that you knew the baby was mine. Then, when you confronted me, I did what I always did in that situation. I lied, and for that, I’m sorry. I’m very sorry that I’ve caused you and your family the pain I did. But, son, it was an accident. We all lost that day, and I do know that it may be hard to swallow, but I, we, would have done the right thing by Faith. My wife would have it no other way.”

Gage stood up and paced around the room, not sure where this conversation was supposed to be headed. He turned and faced Robert. “What are you looking for then? Forgiveness?”

“No, not today. Maybe someday, though. I know this is something that may never come, or at the very least, something that has to be earned.”

Gage watched as Robert stood and walked to one of the photographs of Hope. She was in the canoe and staring out at the water, a look of serenity on her face. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

He nodded but said nothing.

“She hasn’t quite forgiven me yet. But, I think, well, I hope, perhaps maybe soon. She did let me visit her for Christmas.” Gage watched as the older man turned back to face him. “She’s living up at the house in Vermont now. Did you know that?”

He shook his head. “She’s not in New York?”

He watched as Robert walked back to the table, pulling his coat off the chair he had hung it on earlier, and began to put it on. “No, she left in November. She’s writing, if you can believe that.”

A small smile appeared across his lips. “I can, actually.”

“You should go see her, son. My secrets and lies have caused enough heartache. Don’t let it come between what you obviously still feel for her.”

Gage watched him silently, absorbing everything he had just learned, and could only nod his head.

Robert approached him and extended his hand. “Thank you for listening. I truly wish that I had done this sooner, but I hope having the complete story eases some of your pain.”

He stared down at the hand stretched out before him and, without conscious thought, reached out and grasped it firmly in his own, pumping it once before letting go. He watched the man who had scarred so much of his life walk out his door and wondered what he was supposed to do now.

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Four Days Later

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Hope watched as a light snow fell outside and left another clean layer of white, fluffy powder on the already growing drifts at the window. It had been snowing most of the morning, but curled up under a blanket in front of the fire left her little cause for concern.

She was working on a coming of age story that had always prickled in the back of her mind. Writing had always been a long-term goal for her, but given all the events that had occurred over the last few months, the timing of things had been turned up a notch. Lord knows she had enough money, between the trust fund her father had established for her long ago and the money she had earned while working.

Thinking of her father and all they had gone through over the last few months drew a long sigh out of her. She missed him, but she still needed more time to forgive him. And she knew she would eventually. Time did, in fact, heal all wounds. Well, maybe not all wounds. Thinking about Gage still caused an ache in her heart that compared to a knife piercing through its very core. But at least she didn’t cry anymore whenever she thought of him. That was progress, she supposed.

She turned her attention back to her computer and stared again at the words she had typed out over the last few hours. She was about to begin typing again when a knock came from the door. Placing the laptop on the cushion beside her, Hope lifted the covers off her as she rose from the couch. She slid her feet into the comfy pair of fur-lined slippers lying next to the couch and scuffled to the door.

Walter always liked to stop by and check on her when the snow began falling. Opening the door, she yelped in surprise when the last person she expected to see stood before her.

“Gage! Oh my God! What are you doing here?”

She watched as a huge smile bloomed across his face, the adorable crinkles she’d come to love lifting and lining the corners of his bright green eyes.

“Are you going to let me in? It’s fucking freezing out here.”

She stepped back and waved her arm, indicating for him to come in, her mouth still hanging open. He entered and shut the door behind him, stomping his snow-covered feet on the rug. He looked up at her and winked. “I know you hate when I drip over all your things.”

“I don’t. I just… What are you doing here?” she stammered, having a hard time getting anything else out.

“Well, I would think that would be obvious. I came to see you.” He unwrapped the scarf around his neck and then removed his jacket, his eyes never leaving her as he did. Finally, he pulled his boots off and stood in front of her. “I’ve had enough of this.”

“Enough of what?” Her face held a bewildered expression as she tried to process the fact that he was standing in front of her.

“Enough of not seeing you.” Then he swept her into his arms and crushed his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. It took only a second for her to recover before her arms wrapped around his neck and she was kissing him back. She clung to him as if he were her next breath, her fingers clutching onto the hair that fell over the nape of his neck. His hand moved to her face, his fingers caressing her cheek gently, before he pulled his lips from hers, his forehead resting against hers as their heavy breaths collided.

“I’ve missed you so much, Angel.”

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers again but only for a moment before pulling away again. “I want to take you upstairs right now and strip you naked, but…”

“But we should talk.”

He nodded against her forehead. “We should talk.”

She let go of him and stepped back, her arms wrapping around herself in protection. She went to turn, but his hand reached out and threaded through her hair and around her scalp, pulling her close, as he bent down and pressed his lips to hers again. She whimpered when his teeth nipped her bottom lip, and he let go once again and backed away.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed out. “I just had to do that one more time.”

She turned and walked back to the living room, him walking beside her. She went and sat on the couch and couldn’t help the smile that formed when he stopped to put more wood on the fire before he joined her.

He pointed to the laptop. “You’re writing?”

Her brows furrowed quizzically. “Yes, how did you know?”

“Your father.”

Eyes widening, she stammered, “My father?”

He nodded. “He came to see me a few days ago.”

She asked again, not sure if she heard him correctly. “My father came to see you?”

“Believe me, I was just as surprised.”

She moved to adjust the blanket over her body nervously. “What did he want?”

“To tell me the truth, I guess, about your mother and Faith, about what happened the night of the accident.” He ran a hand through his damp hair and shrugged. “Better late than never, right?”

She frowned. “And, so, you thought you should come see me now?”

He shifted so he could move closer to her and rested his hand on her thigh. “He told me to come see you.”

“He what?”

He nodded. “He said he’d caused enough heartache and if I still loved you to come see you.”

“Oh.” She stared at him, dumbfounded by her father’s actions, watching as he shifted uncomfortably. “And do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Still love me?” It came out on a whisper.

He shook his head. “Do you really have to ask?”

“Gage, what about your family? They could never accept me.”

“I flew here from Pennsylvania. I spent the last two days with them, telling them what your father shared with me, but mostly telling them all about you.”

“And they are okay?”

He shrugged. “It’s a lot for them to accept and understand in a short amount of time, but, yes, I think they’ll be okay. More than anything, they know you are a victim in everything that happened.”

“What about you?”

His eyes narrowed. “What about me?”

“Will you be okay with everything that’s happened? Can you be with me, knowing who my father is and what he did?”

A scowl crossed his features and then vanished. “I was angry at your father, at your family, for a really long time. Mostly because I wanted to understand what happened and wanted answers. Your father finally gave me some of that when he spoke to me the other day. Am I ready to be sitting across from him at a family dinner?” He shook his head. “Not yet, but I don’t want to kill him anymore. Over time, I’m hopeful it will get easier.”

She turned her head and watched the flames lick over the logs, teasing and tickling the wood that would soon be burned to dust. She was so afraid opening her heart up to Gage again could very well cause her the same fate.

She twisted her head back to him as he moved to slide up against her waist on the couch. “Hope, over the last four months, all I’ve done is think of you—every time I walked into a coffee shop and heard someone order more cream than coffee, every time I saw a white Range Rover drive down the street, or saw a woman with long blonde hair, or any time I smelled lemons. Do you know that you smell like lemons?”

She shook her head, eyes locked on his.

“And every single time I closed my eyes, all I could see was you—in my arms, lying back in the grass, kissing your lips, tasting your skin. I heard your laughter in every smiling picture I took of you. You’ve invaded my soul. You want to know if I still love you?”

His hand moved up and cupped her cheek, and he brought his face even closer to hers. “Baby, I never stopped.” Then, their lips were fused together as one as tears rolled down her cheeks.