by Linda Ford
"Haven't found either one yet."
"Why not?"
He sighed. She said it like he'd personally been responsible for the delays. "We'll be there soon." He'd managed to track down the address of the race. It was only a few blocks away.
He jerked to a halt at a red light. Four more blocks to go. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. How long did this run take? He had no idea.
The light changed and he edged forward, was cut off and slammed on the brakes again. He struggled to keep his frustration under control.
He screeched the tires as soon as the way cleared. He had come to a barricade. "This must be it." A few people hung about but not the crowd he'd expected. He drove around the block until he found a parking spot. "Come on, Amy, hurry up."
She struggled a moment with her seatbelt, then joined him. He locked the vehicle and strode toward the race route, practically dragging Amy along. He saw a knot of people ahead and hurried to them.
"Is the race over?"
A pretty young woman nodded. "You missed it."
"Who won?"
"Darcy Hagen. She blew away the competition."
Blake grinned. "Way to go. Where is she?"
The woman looked Blake up and down. "Who wants to know?"
Amy bounced up and down. "I'm her sister."
The woman turned her gaze toward Amy and smiled slowly. "You look like her." She looked again at Blake and seemed to study him more closely.
"Any idea where I can find her?" Blake asked.
She shrugged.
Now what? People still milled around. He and Amy returned to the car. He pulled out his cell and called Darcy's home number. A recording came on. He didn't want to drive to her address if she was around the race route somewhere.
"Come on. Let's ask around. Maybe someone will know where she is."
He asked several people if they knew where he could find Darcy Hagen. Some gave him blank stares. One woman looked him up and down before she said, "She left."
Amy tugged on his hand. "Blake, I'm hungry."
"Okay." They might as well grab something.
He found a fast food joint and ordered egg burgers for them. While Amy used the washroom, he called Darcy's number again. Still nothing but the machine.
"Where's Darcy?" Amy demanded as she joined him, revitalized by her breakfast and bathroom break.
"Let's find her apartment and see if she's there."
He pored over the map figuring how to get from the restaurant to her address. A few minutes later he found the place and knocked on the door. No answer.
A woman in pants way too tight for her bulging figure and a man's plaid shirt, yanked open a door down the hall. "You looking for Ms Hagen? You're too late. She checked out this morning."
"Checked out?"
"Yup. Didn't give me a month’s notice like she's supposed to, but she gave me the money so what do I care?" The woman shut the door.
"Blake. Where's Darcy?"
"Honey, I don't know." Had she run again? Afraid to take a chance on a relationship?
"I guess we might as well go home."
"I want to see Darcy."
"Me too. But we'll have to wait for her to contact us." He clung to Amy's hand. This little girl would surely be enough to bring her back to them.
"Can we see the ocean?"
"Sure." No reason to rush back only to stare aimlessly out the window wondering when Darcy would contact them.
They spent two days in the city, then took their time on the return trip. Amy enjoyed herself, though Blake often caught a hint of sadness in her expression. "I miss Darcy," she confided every night as he prepared her for bed.
"I do too, little sister. But she'll come back. I know she will." He had to believe it. And if she didn't, he would turn the world upside down until he found her. He would hire a private investigator. He would never stop looking. And when he found her, he would beg her to give him another chance. He would tell her every day, in every way he could, how much he loved her until she finally believed it.
It was mid afternoon when they turned down the driveway to home.
Amy screeched. Startled, Blake slammed on the brakes. "What's wrong?"
"Darcy. Darcy," she squealed.
Blake followed her gaze. Darcy's car stood in the sunshine at the side of her house. A grin threatened to split his face in two. "She's been painting." The trim was bright pink.
He headed back to town.
"Where are you going? I want to see Darcy." Amy started to cry.
"Kid, you'll have to wait your turn. I get to see her first. And I'm going to her bearing gifts."
Amy slammed her crossed arms over her chest. "Why do you see her first? That's not fair."
"You already know she loves you. And she knows you love her. I want to convince her I love her too."
Amy laughed. "I knew it. I just knew it."
"What exactly did you know?"
"That we would all be together like a real family."
He hoped Amy was right.
He couldn't decide on flowers or candy and in the end, with Amy offering her advice, he bought a large bouquet of mixed flowers. Roses just didn’t seem right for Darcy, so he got daisies and chrysanthemums and forget-me-nots. He bought a large heart-shaped box of chocolates, a wind catcher that twisted and danced, a lawn ornament of a girl smelling roses, and a coffee mug with the words, Love Makes the World Go Round written in large pink letters.
"I can't carry any more," he told Amy.
The child allowed him to drop her off at their house without protest. She smiled and patted his arm. "Of course she loves you," she told him in a wise, grown-up voice.
"I hope you're right."
He drove to Darcy's house and parked beside her car. She turned from painting the trim around the kitchen window and seeing who it was, put her brush on the paint tray and climbed down from the ladder.
She wore an old shirt of his he'd outgrown and left in the house. A slash of pink crossed her nose. He grinned. His heart picked up speed. He slipped out of the truck and filled his arms with his gifts. "Welcome home. I brought you something."
"Thank you." She took the flowers and chocolates, her expression uncertain. "Where were you?"
He explained how he’d gone to the city. "When I couldn't find you I spent some time wandering around the city. I wanted to see your home."
"I decided to come back. No more running."
"You saved me from hunting you down."
She laughed. "Why would you do that?"
"Because I love you and I'm prepared to spend the rest of my life proving it."
She buried her nose in the flowers. "I should put these in water."
"Wait." He returned to the truck and got the wind chimes and lawn ornament. He put the statue beside the door and hooked the wind catcher on a nail by the window.
"What is all this?"
"I just want to show you how much I love you." He moved closer, admired her saucy little mouth, her fine eyebrows that arched upward in surprise, her big blue eyes watching, waiting. He touched the slash of pink on her nose. "I love you, Darcy Hagen. I need you. Not to take care of Amy but to fill the spot in my heart reserved for you. Nothing else matters to me as much as you. I'll sell the ranch if you don't want to live here. All that matters is we're together."
She pressed her fingers to his lips. "Don't you dare sell the ranch. I would never forgive you."
He caught her hand and kissed her fingertips. "I'm glad. I don't know any other life. Darcy, will you share my life with me? Please say yes and end my misery."
"Blake, I love you."
He cupped her face and kissed her gently. This kiss was different. It was two hearts becoming one.
He lifted his head to smile down at her. "You didn't answer my question."
A teasing light filled her eyes. "You haven't guessed?"
"Maybe, but I want to hear it from your lips."
"Somehow I didn't think that's what you
wanted from my lips."
He kissed her again to prove her correct.
She broke away. "Blake, I will marry you. I will love you for now and always."
"Hurray!" Amy's shout pulled their gazes toward her, hiding around the corner of the house.
Blake shook his head and laughed. "You were supposed to wait."
"I couldn't."
"Come on." He and Darcy opened their arms to invite her into a three-cornered hug. For the first time in his life, Blake felt complete and whole.
Epilogue
Darcy's mother helped her adjust her veil, pulling the shimmering material back from a satin comb tucked into Darcy's hair. Darcy had opted for having her face uncovered. "I don't want to miss one thing today."
"You're beautiful," her mother whispered before she took her husband's arm and let the usher take her down the aisle.
Darcy stood at the back of the church out of sight of the guests but where she could see them. She'd insisted they marry in the church Blake had attended all his life. Her friends had come from Seattle. Mrs. R sat right behind Darcy's mom. The rest of the guests were people who had known Blake forever and whom Darcy was learning to know. She'd been accepted into the community so quickly it amazed her. They'd welcomed her with invitations to dinner, or coffee, or quick chats when they met in town. They'd thrown a nice bridal shower. She'd been surprised when Blake informed her it was for both men and women. It had turned into a wonderful time of hearing stories about Blake she was certain he'd never have told her on his own.
She sighed deeply, her heart full to overflowing.
"What's wrong?" Amy asked.
Darcy turned her attention to her little sister. "Everything is perfect." She adjusted the pretty tiara in Amy's hair. Bright bits of rhinestone fell in narrow ribbons from the tiara like raindrops in the blonde hair. She and Amy had shopped together for all the bridal finery. The more time she spent with the little girl, the more she grew to love her.
The same with Blake.
"Are you ready?" she asked Amy.
The child nodded, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Then let's go." The girls held hands as they stepped through the doors to the sounds of the wedding march. Darcy faltered just a tiny bit as she found Blake's eyes and read the love. He'd opened his heart to her, filled her thoughts with his adoration, made up for all the years she'd wondered why she didn't measure up.
"You make everything worthwhile," he said often. "I will never stop thanking God for you. And thanking Rob for arranging for us to meet."
He made her feel whole and adored.
She and Amy reached the front of the church. As they had practiced, Amy stepped in front of them as Darcy and Blake took hands. And then everything else faded into the background as she turned to Blake, her heart so full of love and gratitude she wasn't sure how to control it.
When she saw the same love and gratitude reflected in Blake's eyes, she silently promised she would spend the rest of her life pouring out her love for him.
And then they exchanged vows and kissed amid the clapping approval of friends, family, and neighbors.
As they made their way to sign the register, Blake whispered for her ears only. "Our life together has just begun. Just think how much better it will get with practice and with God's help."
Dear Reader
Children from divorced homes struggle to not feel separation pain and even rejection. It was my pleasure and joy to bring healing to the hero and heroine of this story and give, not only them, but a little girl a happy-ever-after ending.
I hope you enjoyed this story. If you did, you might like other stories I have written. You can learn about them and things about my life and family on my website (link below). Or connect with me on Facebook.
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Blessings,
Linda Ford
LindaFordauthor
www.lindaford.org
Also by Linda Ford
Montana Skies series
Cry of My Heart
Forever in My Heart
Everlasting Love
Inheritance of Love
Copyright © 2017 by Linda Ford
All rights reserved.
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