Three hands reached out to grasp hers and pull it forward to examine the ring.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Wish it were mine.”
“Wow, you are so lucky.”
Katie smiled at her co-workers.
“So when’s the wedding?” the questions started all over. “Where’s it going to be?” “Oh, you should get married at the beach, that would be so great.”
Katie again held up her hand and the everyone quieted. “We’re not sure when we’re getting married, but we definitely know where and you will all be informed, when we know more details ourselves,” she told them. “But we really should get to work because I don’t think being engaged to the boss is going to get any of us off the hook if Dean comes out here,” she told them.
They all smiled and went off to their respective duties. Katie smiled and walked away. A few minutes later she walked past Dean’s door and suddenly couldn’t resist the urge to go in.
“Hi,” she said.
“Miss me that much?” he teased.
“As a matter of fact I do,” she replied.
“Good, I miss you too and I’m likely to make love to you right here if you don’t get out there and get to work,” he said.
Katie smiled at him. “Maybe we should try that later,” she said.
Dean crossed the room quickly and took her in his arms. He kissed her until she was breathless and then let go of her. “That’s a reminder for things to come later,” he told her.
“I think things already did that this morning,” she said.
“Don’t go there,” he warned her.
“Already did,” she said jutting her chin out. She walked out the door and went to work smiling as she did so.
She decided to go into the public records room and see what records she could find about the short-lived MacKays. She began a search through the old records and meticulously examined each one. Finally she found a birth record and right after she found a birth announcement that had been placed in the paper.
MacKay, Annabeth, born to Frieda and Mark MacKay, little sister to Steven, Faye, and predeceased by brother Donald. Thank you to Grace, who saw us through every trial and tribulation of this unexpected gift.
“Grace had a little girl,” she said quietly.
“Pardon?” Dean asked.
Katie gasped and spun around. “Oh, it’s you,” she said relieved.
Dean nodded. “So what did you find out?” he asked.
“Grace had a little girl. Of course the birth announcement states that she was born to the MacKays,” Katie told him as he examined the yellowed papers.
“But what’s this?” he asked as he scanned a little further down the page.
“What?” Katie asked. “I stopped at the birth.”
“There is a death record here for Annabeth as well,” he told her.
“What? What happened?” Katie said. She looked at the date and started searching through the other papers. She stopped when she found it and they both bent their heads to read it.
MacKay, Annabeth. It is with great despair that we say goodbye to our little angel, Annabeth. She is survived by parents Frieda and Mark, siblings Faye and Steven and predeceased by her grandmother, Mary and older brother, Donald. She was with us only a short time but we will love her for all eternity.
Katie gasped. “What happened?” she wondered out loud.
“Could have been anything. Lots of babies died in those days. Only midwives delivered babies in the home and Grace was pretty stressed out, maybe the baby was just malnourished or something,” Dean said.
“I feel terrible for her,” Katie said. “First she loses the man that she loves, finds out she’s pregnant with his child and then loses her baby. Looks like she was giving it to the MacKays—it would have been awful enough watching someone else raise her child,” she said as tears streamed down her cheeks.
Dean pulled her into his arms. “It is awful but you can’t let this get to you this much,” he told her as he ran his hand over her hair.
“I know, but I just can’t imagine it,” she replied.
“Why don’t you go home, get some rest and I’ll be home as soon as I can,” he told her.
“I… well…” she stammered.
“You were tired, and sick, this morning, why don’t you go home.”
Katie smiled and nodded slowly. “Can you make copies of these?” she asked.
Dean nodded and led her to the staff room so she could get her coat. He helped her into it and when they got to the door she stopped.
“We came together this morning,” Katie said.
“Yes we did and I plan to again later,” Dean whispered in her ear.
“You’re bad,” she told him.
“I know,” he grinned.
“I’ll stay, I’ll just curl up on the sofa in your office and wait,” she said.
“Okay, but I’ll finish up as soon as I can and take some work home with me” he said and led her to his office instead where he helped her back out of her coat and hung it over his own.
Katie nodded, appreciative that he would do that for her. She stretched out on the couch and Dean covered her with the blanket he kept draped over the back. He knelt down beside her. “I’m going to go make those copies for you, you go to sleep,” he said. He bent his head and kissed her gently. It took all of his energy to leave her as he had the overwhelming urge to make love to her right then.
Katie nodded and closed her eyes. It felt better than she thought it would and she heard him leave the office, turning out the light behind him.
Chapter 7
Grace couldn’t believe what was happening. She had been so happy when she had found out she was pregnant with Donald’s baby. She would have a part of him with her always and she was sure it was meant to be. She had grudgingly agreed with the MacKays that it would be best if they raised the baby as if it was theirs as nobody would believe what had happened to her and they didn’t want her to get a reputation. She had also decided to not tell her parents about the marriage so she couldn’t tell them about the baby either. The pregnancy had gone well and everyone was shocked when, only a few days later, the baby got gravely ill and died. With the death of her baby, she just couldn’t stop crying. She had never felt so desperate, never felt as low as she did.
Mrs. MacKay had reassured her that it was just how new mothers felt after they had a baby. It was the change in sleep. Grace knew it was more than that. She had lost everyone that had ever mattered to her and her parents were forcing her to return home now that they knew the baby that she was supposed to be looking after had died. They had no idea that it had been her daughter, their granddaughter and they would likely never know.
She was packing her things and kept walking past the window. She had come to like looking down at the little cottage as her belly had grown larger over the months. She would sit for hours trying to imagine how Donald would be reacting to all of this. Her ever growing belly, the result of their love for one another. She would cry sometimes but she also seemed to sense Donald nearer to her and she sometimes thought it was just the pregnancy causing that. Now she wondered if it was him coming to take their baby home. She didn’t want to live any longer and she hated the thought of returning to live with her parents for the first time in almost a year. She had been so free to do what she wanted here. She also knew what would greet her when she went home. Her parents would want her to marry some rich, spoiled kid, settle down and have babies. How could she ever do that?
“Are you ready?” Mr. MacKay asked.
Grace turned and nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Mr. MacKay pulled her into his arms and held her. “It will be alright and we’ll be here if you need anything at all. You just send a message and I’ll be there, OK?”
Grace sniffed and nodded.
She was right though. As soon as she got home, her mother and father informed her there was a very nice man and his son coming to dinner that night.
Don’t waste much time do they? she thought to herself as she unpacked the few clothing items she had. They hadn’t noticed she’d gained weight while she was away. She also wondered who the young man would be. It could be Peter, from down the road, his father raised cattle, or it could be Matthew because his father was a lawyer. That would be about right. She dressed as best she could with the limited wardrobe she had that still fit and went downstairs and tried to act gracious and grown up towards her parents. Her time away was meant to mature her and prepare her for being a terrific housewife and mother. Of course rich mothers actually didn’t raise their own children but Grace wouldn’t broach that subject.
A short time later the lawyer and Matthew were led into the room and Matthew and Grace were formally introduced. He was an intriguing young man and she felt surprisingly at ease with him. They had quite a bit in common and he was very gentle and kind. Soon they were off on their own playing a game of chess and laughing in front of the roaring fire Grace’s father had built.
Grace looked towards the fire once and just stared. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and she thought perhaps it was the wine she’d had to drink or the fatigue but she swore she saw Donald there. And it appeared he was cradling something in his arms. He smiled at her, mouthed the words ‘I will always love you’ and then looked to Matthew. He gave a nod of approval and said ‘everything will be okay’ before he gave one last wave and disappeared.
“Grace, are you alright?” Matthew was asking her. He had watched all the colour drain from her face.
Grace snapped her head back around and looked at him. “I’m uh…, I’m fine, why?” she asked.
“Thought you had seen a ghost,” Matthew replied.
“The fire got really big just then,” she explained trying to use her arms to describe it. “I don’t know if my father has ever built a fire this big.”
“It is huge, I’m not sure I’ve seen one that big either,” Matthew agreed with her.
It wasn’t long after that Matthew had to go but he assured Grace he would return to see her soon. He even gave her a kiss on the cheek.
She ran to her room and cried herself to sleep. She knew this was going to be her future and she had to get over Donald, she had to bury him in a special place in her heart and throw away the key. When you find true love keep it.
When you find true love keep it. The words once again echoed in Katie’s head as she woke up and looked around the room. “Oh God, no,” she said out loud.
“What?” Dean asked. He had been watching her sleep for the last little while and knew she had been dreaming.
“The dream. Grace. Her baby died, she had to go home, that’s when she met Matthew, my great-grandfather, well, he would become my great-grandfather anyway. Oh poor Grace,” she said.
Dean held her. “At least we know how it ends,” he told her.
“But she was never happy, not truly happy. She would have learned to love Matthew but carried a torch for Donald her whole life and never once told anyone about it but me,” Katie said as the realization hit home.
“I’m ready to go home any time,” Dean told her. “I’m going to stop at the store to get some steaks for the barbeque.
Katie looked at him quizzically.
“My parents are coming over remember?”
Katie’s face fell. Not that she didn’t want them to dinner, just not tonight.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing, really,” she replied.
“Well it’s going to be a great dinner and a nice visit with them and then you’re going to put your feet up and I’m going to rub them while we watch a good movie with a fire going and we’ll have some wine and be grateful we’re together.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Katie said.
“And then I’m going to take you to bed and make love to you again and again,” Dean said with a boyish grin on his face.
Katie kissed him before she stood up. “I can’t wait.”
It was a fantastic visit with Victoria and Ryan MacKenzie that was anything but quiet when they were told the news Dean and Katie were getting married. They were funny and kind and definitely competitive when it came to cards.
Later that evening, after they left, Dean built up a roaring fire and they sat on the couch, cuddling under a blanket watching a movie. Dean rubbed Katie’s back and offered her another glass of wine. When she sat up to take a sip and looked over her glass at him, Dean just watched the reflection of the fire in Katie’s hair, and the shadows as they danced across her face, the reflection in her eyes. She smiled at him and he could tell she’d had a little too much wine. She set her glass on the coffee table and turned again to look at him. He smiled at her knowing what she wanted and made a mental note of how far into the movie they were before he stood, took her hands in his, pulled her of the couch and led her upstairs, wine in hand, to the bedroom where he did just as he’d promised her that afternoon before they fell asleep exhausted.
Chapter 8
“Grace, will you marry me?” Matthew asked. He had taken her out to dinner and then back home again where they now sat in front of the fire. Her parents were out and had planned it that way being well aware of his intentions for the evening.
Grace’s eyes filled with tears. All she could think about was Donald and she felt horrible about that because she had promised herself she would bury those feelings so she could move on with her life. “Yes,” she whispered. This was how it had to be.
Matthew slid a giant diamond onto her finger and hugged her. “You’ve just made me the happiest man alive,” he told her.
Grace thought again of Donald and how happy they would be right now if he’d lived. They would be living in the cottage with their baby girl. Now it was over a year since they’d said ‘I do’ and made love only once at the cottage before ‘the tragedy’ as it was now referred to as. Her mother and father had only agreed to her going to stay with the MacKays because they figured it was the only way she’d ever really get Donald out of her system for good. Of course they thought learning some domestic skills wouldn’t hurt her either. Matthew was a good man who would definitely take care of her. She just hoped that he wouldn’t notice that she wasn’t a virgin. So far he hadn’t even kissed her and she was grateful for that as well except for this hug. His arms felt warm and welcoming and she was suddenly scared of falling in love and being hurt again. She knew her heart couldn’t bear that and would never bear losing another child.
“I will love you forever Grace,” Matthew whispered in her ear. Then, for the first time, he kissed her.
His lips were soft and pliable but yet they weren’t Donald’s. Grace parted her lips in reaction to Matthew’s tongue pressing against them. He felt so secure and she couldn’t help feeling safe in his arms.
They parted but Matthew didn’t let Grace out of his embrace. He held her, fearful that she would run. “So, should we set a date?” he asked her trying to get her to say something.
“I think we should and I have thought about this and I would like a fall wedding,” Grace said.
“Really?” Matthew said both surprised and relieved. He was happy to know that she had been thinking more about their relationship than she ever let on.
“Yes, really,” Grace replied feeling much more like her old self than she had in a long time.
“Then a fall wedding it is,” he declared. They chose a Saturday in October and made it official telling both sets of parents who were ecstatic with the news.
Grace decided then that there could be no more mourning over her losses. She had the world ahead of her and at least Matthew was a decent guy.
A few weeks later, there was a huge engagement party. All of Matthew’s and Grace’s friends and family were there. It was held at Matthew’s house and Grace was escorted by her parents. She entered wearing a beautiful new gown in a deep red. It accentuated all the right places and Matthew was speechless when he saw her.
He led her to the dance floor
after everyone had arrived and they shared their first dance as everyone watched. “You are absolutely beautiful tonight,” he whispered in her ear.
“Thanks, but you don’t look so bad yourself,” she replied.
He kissed her and when the dance ended he led her off the floor to a quiet corner. “I’ve noticed such a big change in you the last few weeks Grace,” he said. “And I like it.”
“I’m really sorry about all of that Matthew, I’ve had a lot on my mind the last while and no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t bring myself to open up,” she told him.
“You know Grace, you can tell me anything. I love you and whatever has happened in the past you can trust that I’ll still love you,” he reassured her.
“Maybe I will, when I feel I can,” she said.
He kissed her then and pulled her against him. She suddenly realized how badly she wanted him. She hadn’t realized it before and wondered only for an instant if it was because she had been with Donald.
“Do you think we could escape from here for a short time?” he asked.
Grace looked around the room. Everyone was happy, busy dancing and chatting. “I’m sure if we’re not gone for long we might be able to get away with it,” she replied.
Before she knew it, Matthew had grabbed her hand and they were heading through an almost hidden door out of the main room. He led her to a flight of stairs and took her up. They stopped at a door on the left at the end of the hallway and he opened it. Inside was his bedroom. He pulled her inside and closed the door behind them. He left her standing there and within a moment he had lit a lamp and the room filled with romantic light.
Matthew pulled her to him and he kissed her. He began undoing the back of the dress. He wanted her so badly it hurt and he fumbled with the ties.
“Wait,” Grace said stepping back.
Matthew was afraid he’d scared her off. “I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?” she asked him. “Let me turn around so you can see and you can take your time,” she said.
Til We Meet Again Page 6
