He put his arm around her waist and looked into her eyes. “You were the only woman in the world who ever understood me.”
“I know,” she whispered. “That’s why I left.”
Julia and Seth continued to look into each other’s eyes.
•♥ •
Andrew felt like an intruder. Something was happening between these two people. Something he knew he was witnessing, but something he couldn’t see or hear or understand. He wanted to get up and leave, but he was unable to move or speak. The spell was around them all.
Andrew knew in this moment he’d been privileged to be present at the joining of two souls. Two special souls that were meant to be welded together until the end of time. The only thing he could think about was the Bible verse he’d heard many years ago and now he was paraphrasing it into ‘a man shall cling to his woman and the two shall become one.’ These two people were one and they always would be and as they probably always had been, regardless of who they were married to.
•♥ •
Seth’s cell phone rang and broke the spell. He took it from his pocket and to them said, “It’s Hunter.” Into the phone he said, “Yes, son. What’s going on?”
“Dad, we’re getting threatening calls. The girls are scared to death, and I’m a little jumpy myself. In the last one, the woman said she was coming to get Lance and Lilly. She said she was going to play Hansel and Gretel with them and wondered how you’d like baked grandchildren.”
“Call Richard, then have Theo wake all the hands and double the guards. Post more men at the barns, and have plenty of them guard the house. One on all four sides and a couple on the back. One near the house and one farther into the woods. Take your sisters and the kids to the upstairs playroom. The windows are higher there and it’s less accessible than the other rooms. Don’t use any more lights than necessary. You know where my guns are if you need them, but try not to scare the children.”
While he was talking, Julia eased out of the room. “I’m going to get dressed,” she whispered to her son.
Andrew nodded.
Seth was still giving orders. “I’m going to make a couple of calls and I’ll be right home.” He looked at Andrew as he dialed. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to help them all I can.”
“Of course you do.”
Into the phone, he said, “Did I wake you, Jimmy?... Good... I know this sounds crazy, but I want you to go over to the house and spend the night. I’m in Asheville and I’ll be coming home shortly. Someone is threatening the family, and I thought with your military background, you being there would be helpful… That’d be great… Thanks, son.” He hung up and looked at Andrew. “I’ve got to go. Where’s your mother?”
“I’m right here, Seth.” She came out of the bathroom wearing beige slacks and a turquoise cashmere sweater set. “Just give me time to put on my boots. I’m going with you.”
“We both are,” Andrew said. “I just learned today I have siblings. I don’t want to lose them before we’re introduced.”
Seth looked as if he wanted to protest, then he saw the way Julia was looking at him. “Okay,” he said and reached for her beige cashmere coat. “We’ll head out. It’ll only take forty-five minutes or so.”
As Seth opened the door, Julia said, “Just a second. I have to get something.” She ran to the shelf where the coffee sat and grabbed her rose.
Seth and Andrew both smiled, but neither said anything.
Andrew tucked his mother in the front seat of Seth’s Escalade and climbed into the back. He still felt a little like he was intruding on their time together, but he decided to stay as quiet as possible and let them talk.
They were on the open road when he saw Seth reach over and take his mother’s hand. “I never stopped loving you, Julia.”
“I’ve always loved you, Seth. With all my heart.”
“I think, somehow, I’ve always felt your love.”
“I hoped you would.”
There was another pause then he said, “Thank you for naming our son Andrew.”
“Since I couldn’t give him your first or last name, I thought your middle name was appropriate.”
“Very appropriate. It makes me proud.” He glanced over at her and smiled. “Did you have a good life, Julia?”
“Yes, Seth, I was content. Woodrow was a good man, and he was wonderful with Andrew. He truly thought of him as his son.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for Andrew. You know I would’ve been if I’d known about him.”
“I know you would have. That’s why I kept him a secret from you. I didn’t want to cause you any more trouble with Eve and your children.”
“Andrew had a great mother and it sounds like he had a good Dad. Since I couldn’t be there, I’m glad he had Woodrow.”
“He was the next best thing for Andrew. I knew you’d love him if you knew about him and his adopted father loved him very much.” She smiled at him. “Maybe someday, you and Andrew will be good friends.”
“I don’t see why we can’t. I can tell he’s a wonderful young man.” He chuckled. “Want to know something?”
“What?”
“I already think of him as my fourth child. Have ever since I realized who he was at the concert the other night. Someday, maybe he’ll see I love him, too.”
“I’m so glad you feel that way.”
“How could I not love him? He’s a part of you and me. Maybe the best parts of both of us.”
“I’ve always known your capacity to love your children, Seth. That’s why I couldn’t let you know about Andrew. I knew you’d somehow try to help raise him. It would’ve been an impossible situation for you. I couldn’t stand to see you pulled apart like that and I knew Eve would make it hell on earth for both of us if you tried.”
“Oh, Julia, how I wish I’d been able to get custody of my three and then we could have raised the four of them together like we wanted to do. We would’ve been an awesome family.” He glanced at her. “Who knows, we might have had more children together.”
“I’m sure we would’ve.” She leaned back on the seat. “Do you remember when we stood on that little bridge that summer and said our vows?”
“Of course I do. We pledged our undying love and devotion forever. I said I wanted you as my wife and I wanted you as the mother of all my children. The two I already had and the ones we’d give life in the future. I didn’t know about Hunter then.”
“I know.” She pulled his hand to her lips and kissed it. “It was a beautiful ceremony. Witnessed by only us and God and that made it special.”
“I know we’ve been separated for over twenty years, and I know I’m not offering you the man you used to love. Those bullets left me a cripple for life, and I know it isn’t fair, but I still want you, Julia. You’d be getting a poor bargain, because of this leg and the limitations it has put on my life, but I still love you as much or more than I did all those years ago.”
“I feel the same, Seth.”
He grinned. “Do you really?”
“Of course I do. Don’t you remember we always said our love was a forever love and how a rose represented it?” She held the rose toward him.
“It was certainly forever for me.” He squeezed her free hand. “And I never looked at a rose without thinking of you.”
“That makes the years we were separated all melt away. I know I’ll love you forever.”
“Then when all this mess is settled and we catch the person who is doing this, would you consider marrying me again? Legal this time?”
•♥ •
He sucked in his breath and Andrew knew Seth was scared Julia would reject him. But Julia didn’t reject him. “Yes, Seth I’ll marry you legal, but I want you to know that I felt married to you that day on that little bridge those many years ago. In my heart I’ll always think of that as our wedding day, because from the moment we said I do and tossed the roses in the water one by one, a part of me has been married to you. Nothing ever changed that. N
ot even my legal marriage to Woodrow.”
“Thank you, my one and only love.”
She kissed his hand again and Andrew looked out the dark window. He didn’t want them to guess he had tears running down his cheeks. Tears brought out by the touching words he heard and tears of thankfulness because the mother he loved was at last going to have the happiness she deserved. She’d never have to settle with only being content again.
“Julia, this is a silly thing, but something I’m curious about.” She looked at him and he went on. “I know I was clean shaven when we were together, so does it bother you now that I have a mustache?”
She laughed. “No darling, it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, I think it’s sexy.” She leaned over and touched his cheek with her rose. He grinned, and she added, “I’m actually wondering if it’ll tickle when you kiss me?”
“As soon as we get the chance we’ll try it out and see.” He squeezed her hand again.
They passed Bed, Breakfast and More, and in a few minutes, turned up the winding side road that led to the farm. About a quarter-of-a-mile up, there was a loud crack and a bullet sailed through the windshield and exited the back glass.
Seth grabbed the back of Julia’s neck and pushed her head down in the front seat. “Get in the floor, Andrew. Somebody’s shooting at us,” he shouted as he fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone and slumped until he could barely see out the windshield.
CHAPTER 22
Seth jammed the car in reverse and began backing down the road as fast as he dared. “Here, honey,” he handed Julia the cell phone. “Dial the number under number 12. That’s the chief of police. Tell him you’re with me and someone is shooting at our car as we’re trying to come in the driveway. I need both hands to maneuver us out of here.”
She did as she was told. “I’m with Seth Armstrong and we’re trying to get to his house. Somebody is shooting at his car and one bullet has already gone through the windshield.”
“Ma’am, I don’t have time for jokes.”
“I’m not joking. This is Julia Singleton, and Seth and I are trying…”
“Ma’am, I said I didn’t have time for this. We have a serious problem, here.”
“He won’t listen to me, Seth. He thinks I’m a prank call.”
“Hold the phone over close to me.” She did, and he shouted, “Damn, it Richard. Listen to the woman. We’re in trouble, and need your help.”
“I hear you. Where are you?”
Julia had the phone back to her ear. “We’re backing down the road. Seth has me lying down and he’s trying to back us out of here.”
“Where’s ‘here’?”
“He wants to know where here is?”
“Tell him about a quarter-of-a-mile from the main road on the winding drive.”
She repeated this to the officer.
“Okay, hang tight. Are you still being shot at?”
“I think so. I heard a ping against the side of the car a moment ago.”
Seth said, “Tell him I think we’re about to get out of range”
“Seth says he thinks we’re about to get out of range.”
“Good. Stay on the line. We’re on the way.”
“He said he’s on the way, Seth.”
Another bullet went through the side window in the back. It cracked and shattered. “Are you okay, Andrew?”
“Yes. I’m fine, Seth. I’m in the floor like you said.”
“Good. Another couple of minutes and I think we’ll be okay.”
Police cars came down the driveway with sirens blaring and lights flashing. Seth slipped up a little in the seat. He could see a little better, so he sped up. There was another gun shot, but it didn’t hit them and in a minute, he reached the main road. “I think we’re safe now.” He swung the car to the side of the road and parked.
Julia raised her head and climbed over the console divider to put her arms around his neck. “You’re my hero.”
“He’s mine, too, Mom.”
“Thank you both.” He slid his arms around Julia and pulled her close to him. “If I’d known I’d get this reaction, I would’ve tried to cause some excitement sooner.”
He was about to kiss her when a police cruiser pulled in front of them and came to a screeching halt. In an instant, there was one behind and one beside them. A man bounded out of the one beside them and ran up to the window.
“Now, wait a minute,” the officer said with a laugh. “I came down here to rescue two people in trouble, not walk up and find they’re just making out.”
“We can’t make out, Richard. Our kid’s in the back seat.” Seth laughed. “Thanks for coming so fast.”
“Looks like you had it under control before we got here. Good driving, buddy.” He looked in the back seat. “Hello, Hunter.” He then frowned. “I just talked to you at the house. How’d you get in this car?”
“My friend, that isn’t Hunter. It’s my son, Andrew.”
“What? You don’t have a son named Andrew.”
“Yes, I do. I just didn’t know it until recently. Don’t worry about it. You need to concentrate on who the idiot is threatening my family. I know your brain can handle only one task at a time.”
He glanced at Julia. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do, but you owe me some explanations later.”
“You’ll get them.”
“We heard the shots as we were coming down here. I left a couple of your employees on the drive in the direction we think the shots came from. I’ve sent for the dogs, but it may be morning before they get here. Your men are still guarding the house, so I think everyone is safe there. We’ll escort you home and I recommend you stay in with your family.
“Whoever this fool is, they’re slipping around us the same as a black snake through weeds. I’m going to check all the buildings and everything else on your farm. They may be holed up on your property. You may have to help with that, but we’ll talk about it later.
“Now, get on up to the house. Your girls are scared to death. They want their dad.” He turned his head and spat tobacco juice on the ground. “By the way, hello, Julia. Good to see you again.” With that, he turned and got back in his car.
“How did he know my name?”
“I’ll explain later,” Seth said. He started the Escalade as the marked cars pulled from in front and in back of him. Richard’s car led the way up the drive, Seth followed and the other two fell in and followed him.
Andrew couldn’t help wondering why his mother didn’t insist on an explanation of how the police officer knew who she was and why he was telling her it was good to see her again. Was she satisfied when Seth said he’d explain later? If so, this was a part of her personality he hadn’t seen. Usually, when something like that came up she was like a newspaper guy she had to know the five W’s. Who, what, when, where, and why. Tonight, she simply buckled her seat belt and smiled at Seth. Andrew shook his head and buckled his own seat belt.
Both Julia and Andrew were impressed with the size of Seth’s house when it came in sight. It was a three- story colonial with large columns and expansive porches. There was a glassed-in breezeway on the left side connected to a four-car garage. It looked as if there was an apartment above the garage. Seth pulled the car up and flipped the button to open the garage.
“Sorry I have to take you in this way, but it’s safer.” He was looking at the door to be sure nobody slipped in before it closed. “I’d like to welcome you home at the front door with a glass of wine and a roaring fire in the fireplace.”
“Don’t worry about the front door, but maybe we can enjoy the wine and the fire at a later date.” She smiled at him.
“You bet we will.” He touched her cheek then turned and opened his door.
Andrew was out of the back and opening his mother’s door when Seth came around the car to escort her out. “I guess I’ve got to get used to another man opening doors and taking care of my mother.” He stepped back.
“Don’t worry, my boy.” Jul
ia kissed his cheek. “I love attention from all you men.”
“Oh, you do, huh?” Seth took her hand. “I’ll change that to say, both of my men.”
“You may have to change that to your three men, soon. Hunter was quite taken with you when he interviewed Andrew at the concert. At the time he had no idea who you were, but when he came back to his seat he said he’d like for me to find a woman like you.”
“I hope your children will all accept me, Seth.”
“I have no question about that. I’m only concerned that they’ll be jealous of Andrew because he got to grow up with a mother like you.”
“I’m sure your children wouldn’t want to trade their own mother for me.”
“Oh, yes, they would, but that’s something else I’ll explain later.” He put her on his left side and put his hand on the small of her back. “We need to get inside before I grab you and start putting passionate kisses all over your face. It might embarrass the son we have with us.”
“For two cents I’ll send him inside alone and collect those kisses.”
“Come on, woman. I don’t have a free hand to search for those coins. Kisses will have to wait.”
“Want me to loan you the money?” Andrew said with a laugh.
“Hear that?” Seth chuckled. “Not only is he my physical son, he thinks like me, too.” He opened the door into the breezeway.
At the door into the house, they had to knock because it was locked. When Hunter’s voice asked who it was from the other side, Seth said, “It’s us, son. Let us in.”
The door opened, and Hunter’s face spread with a big grin. “I’m glad you’re home, Dad.” He hugged his father quickly then turned to Julia. “I’m glad you’re here, too. I never dreamed you were the woman my dad loved when we first met, but I must say he couldn’t have picked a nicer lady.” He held out his hand to her.
“Hello, Hunter.”
He turned to Andrew. “Do you feel as much like a fool as I do because we didn’t have enough sense to realize we were brothers?”
“I guess we were pretty dense, weren’t we?” He took Hunter’s outstretched hand.
Her Forever Dreams Page 15
