‘What do you want?’ Her voice was barely a whisper.
He turned to her. ‘I want the caboodle.’
Her heart soared.
‘I want to build a life with you Joy, I want to wake with you in my arms every morning, I want to grow old and grey with you. I want to be your constant, I want marriage and kids, the whole caboodle.’
‘A happy ever after?’
‘Yes, I want that more than anything. We could live here, raise our kids here, make new memories together. Or if you want a fresh start for us both, we can sell this place and find somewhere else.’
She looked round at the kitchen, the early morning sunlight drifting through the windows, spilling over the large granite topped breakfast bar and across the warm terracotta floor. Could she build a future for herself here when it held so many memories of the past? Would it be taking a step back, to live here again? Beyond the window lay what used to be the back yard, it was now much more than a scrap of land – it was a garden, with paths and benches and places to sit in the sun and the shade. Finn had created a home here.
‘Say something.’ He stepped closer to her.
She turned back to him. He was her future now, regardless of where they lived.
‘Yes.’
‘Yes, to living here?’
‘Yes to the happy ever after, wherever that is. I love you, that hasn’t changed.’
He smiled hugely and took her in his arms and kissed her, deeply, sweetly. Finally he pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers.
Holding his face, she stepped back. ‘Oh I have something to tell you. How do you feel about the pitter patter of tiny feet?’ She pulled out the pregnancy test she had taken the day before. ‘It’s not conclusive but…’
His face was a picture – his smile slid off as he looked down at her belly. He rested his hand on her stomach gently. ‘God, I will carry you everywhere, I will massage your back every day and night, I will rub cocoa butter into your bump so you don’t get stretch marks. I…’ He trailed off as she giggled.
She circled her arms round his neck and she kissed him briefly. ‘That’s very sweet, and I’ll remember that when I am pregnant, but you might want to direct that lavish attention about two feet to your right.’
He stood confused for a moment, then his eyes cast down to look at Darcy fast asleep in the sunlight. His smile grew again.
‘Oh thank god. I want kids, loads of them, but I was kind of hoping to have you to myself for a little while.’
She pulled herself against him. ‘And what will you do, now that you have me to yourself?’
He scooped her up and she giggled as he walked towards the stairs. ‘I’m sure I can think of something.’
She wrapped her arms round his neck. She had spent years looking for home, but in his arms she had finally found it.
‘Finn, I’m thinking of getting my nipple pierced.’
He groaned with desire against her throat and she laughed.
Epilogue
One Year Later
Joy bent to slip on her silver heels then stood to admire herself in the mirror. The silvery dress showed every curve of her body, she ran her hands over her hips and stomach, loving how it clung to her.
She looked down at the local paper again and smiled. The Dark Shadow, into her third year, was still making the news. Though more recently, her more astute followers had deduced that The Dark Shadow had fallen in love. Several of her more recent carvings had shown a couple entwined, arms and legs wrapped round each other, so you couldn’t tell where one body ended and the other began. She had been careful not to reveal her or Finn’s identities in the carvings, but the amorous creations had actually gained more coverage than her previous attempts of unicorns and dragons. Many people who were getting married or celebrating anniversaries had contacted her asking for miniature versions to be carved as gifts. It was a new road she had not gone down before and she loved the freedom of being able to carve in one of the barns at the farm as well as travelling the country. It also meant she could properly finish the pieces, sand them, polish them and stain them before she posted them out. That was something she could never do with her strikes because the finishing process took days.
Her latest strike had made the front page of the local paper, not only because it had been a local one, but also because there was now speculation that The Dark Shadow was expecting a child. She looked at the picture and smiled hugely, the entwined couple, kissing, with the very obvious bump between them.
She stroked her belly fondly as another smaller article caught her eye.
‘Bramble Hill wins Most Miserable Village award for the second year running.’
She smirked at this. The day after she had fled Bramble Hill the year before, she had decided she wanted to fight back somehow, hitting them where it hurt the most. She had phoned Casey to say she wanted to take him up on his offer for revenge. It had been childish, she knew, to tell Casey’s mum all about the vendetta that the villagers had exacted against her, when Rose Fallowfield had called to gather details. Rose could practically be heard rubbing her hands together with glee on the other end of the phone.
When she put the phone down she felt a huge sense of satisfaction, but doubted that anything would be done.
Joy had clearly underestimated Rose. On the day Bramble Hill was supposed to be crowned Britain’s Friendliest Village for the tenth year in a row, Rose turned up with a thirty strong committee and the local press and loudly awarded Bramble Hill, Britain’s Most Miserable Village.
Things turned ugly, with many of the villagers throwing cakes and throwing some of the committee into the pond. Their wrath was captured for all to see the next day in the local paper, showing the village in their true colours.
Unfortunately, things didn’t stop there as the national press also got hold of the story. Bramble Hill was even listed in several national newspapers and magazines as the worst place to live.
The national press turned up to take more pictures and interview people – and the grumpier they appeared in the papers, the more press turned up to capture it.
Bramble Hill took the huge, bizarre and expensive decision to make their village private. Rather than waiting for the furore to die down, they erected an eight foot fence around the entire village and put a gate across the entrance so only the villagers could enter.
This of course did nothing to dispel the rumours and stories of rude, grouchy villagers – and one humorous documentary showing the villagers at their worst went viral, with over two million hits on YouTube within the first week. That was probably in part the reason for The Most Miserable Village award being awarded again this year.
Joy felt no guilt at all.
She put the paper down and turned to face Alex who was struggling with his cravat, trying to arrange it artfully. She smiled and stepped forward to help him.
‘You look lovely.’
‘So do you.’
‘Thank you for giving me away, you don’t know what it means to me to have you standing next to me today.’
‘I wouldn’t have it any other way. Are you nervous?’
‘Excited.’
She finished the cravat just as a knock came on the door. Leaving Alex to fiddle with his cufflinks, she went to answer it. Finn and Casey were standing there, she quickly scooted outside, closing the door behind her.
‘You’re not supposed to be here,’ she said.
Casey, grinning hugely, rolled his eyes as he walked through the door that led to the barn where the wedding was to take place. She caught a glimpse of flowers entwined with fairy lights, before the door closed behind him.
‘How you doing?’ Finn asked, running his hand over her ample belly.
She smiled. ‘Reminds me of my own wedding day.’
‘Happiest day of my life, followed almost immediately by the announcement that we’re expecting a baby girl. I do so love you Mrs Mackenzie.’
‘I love you, I always will. You make me so happy.’
She leaned up to kiss him and knew she would never tire of doing so. ‘Go and look after Casey and make sure Rose is ok, though she hasn’t stopped grinning all day. We’ll be through in just a second.’
He kissed her, his eyes meeting hers intently and then he disappeared through the door.
She went back in to see Alex and, seeing he was no longer faffing, she offered him her arm.
‘Are you ready?’
He grinned and took it.
‘I’ve been waiting all my life for him Joy, I’m more than ready.’
She smiled and to the beautiful strains of Pachelbel’s Canon she escorted her brother down the aisle.
The End
CARINA™
ISBN: 978 1 474 00839 6
Beneath the Moon and the Stars
Copyright © 2014 Amelia Thorne
Published in Great Britain 2014
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