Sedona Sunset
Page 21
Alex’s willingness to save her was genuine, but she also understood him well enough to know he would risk his life to save anyone. He would see it as his duty…the same duty that kept him silent while he completed his investigation. Alex was a man of duty and honor. An honorable man would be determined to do right by her even if he didn’t love her. Minutes before, she was convinced of Alex’s feelings for her. Now she doubted again. Why didn’t she know her own mind?
Milly’s words floated back at her. Maybe if you know the Lord’s plan for you, then you can trust your own heart.
Her father took a deep breath, preparing to lash out at Alex again.
“Dad,” Lara said. “Dad.” This time she spoke louder.
Her father paused and turned his gaze toward her.
“I appreciate your concern, Dad…I do. But whatever is between Alex and me, it’s up to us to resolve it, don’t you think?”
Taken aback, her father blinked. Then his posture wilted. “Yes. Yes, I should leave it in your capable hands.”
She turned back to Alex. “Will you walk with me to the pool?”
Alex nodded.
Her father gripped both of her hands. “Lara,” he spoke softly, for her ears only. “When this is settled, I’d like you to come back to New York with me. I want to take some time off to spend with you. We have a lot to talk about.”
“I’d like that, Dad. It sounds wonderful.”
Alex waited for her at the pool. The water sparkled as it flowed over the infinity edge. The canyon sprawled out before them, rolling into the plain below. Just looking at the rippling waves gave Lara a measure of peace.
Alex looked as troubled, as guilty, as he had when her father flung accusations at him.
“You didn’t have to stand there and take my father’s criticism,” she said in a low voice.
“Yes, I did. It was my fault.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I guess you would think that.”
Alex studied her. “What happened out there on the road, Lara, didn’t change my feelings. It convinced me even more of my love for you.” Alex sensed her doubt and grasped her, pulling her into his arms. “I’m expected in Madrid in two days. I have to get on a plane tomorrow. Come with me, Lara. Marry me.” He held her closer, murmured in her ear. “I have a villa on the outskirts of Madrid. It’s been in my mother’s family for generations. There’s a courtyard and a fountain surrounded by orange trees. In the evening, we can sit by the fountain while the scent of orange blossoms fills the air. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Lara nodded. New York. Spain. The two men she loved most devoting their time to her. A wonderful dream come true.
So why did she feel such a disquiet? Why did the images of those two places seem so wrong? If she didn’t want to be with her father or Alex, where did she want to be?
“I promise, Lara, the sunsets in Spain are as spectacular as the ones in Sedona.”
Unbidden, an image came to her. A cliff. Red rocks below. In the distance, the sun set in an orange sky of fire. On the plain, cars sparkled like diamonds.
Lara knew where she wanted to be.
Once again, Alex had suspected, had known the secrets of her heart even before she did. Smiling, she stepped out of his embrace.
“You know where I need to be, don’t you?”
He tried to pull her back. She shook her head. “No, Alex. From the beginning, you’ve told me to be true to myself. You were right. For the first time in my life, I’m going to find my path, where I belong.”
He started to protest, but she pressed two fingers to his lips. “Don’t try to change my mind or convince me, Alex. You might actually succeed because you’re so very good at it. But if you love me as much as you say, you’ll let me find out where the Lord wants me to be. You’ll leave me, go home, and do the same for yourself. When you know that, and if you still want me, you’ll know where to find me.” Standing on her toes, she kissed where moments ago her fingers had touched. Then she turned and walked back to the house.
Epilogue
Lara crawled up and over the cliff. Rising to her feet, she brushed the dirt off her hands and jeans. Easing her body to the ground, she sat, flopped her legs over the edge, and released a deep sigh. Every day after she completed her work, she climbed the cliff for a workout, and then sat and watched the sun set.
Soon, it would be too hot to climb. June was just around the corner. The summer months would be busy as they prepared for the school’s opening in the fall. So much had happened, not just for the school, but also for her family.
These last months had been the most rewarding of her life. Only a few things were missing.
Feeling he had failed, Brett resigned his position. No matter how hard her father protested, Brett insisted he’d lost his sense of purpose and direction and needed time off. Determined to find himself, he packed his things in boxes, loaded them into the back of his black Porsche, and drove into the sunset. He was headed to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Lara missed her best friend, but she understood.
She finally convinced her father she was staying in Sedona, so he offered her Brett’s position. Instead of returning to New York, he spent a month with Lara, helping her settle into her new job. They talked and laughed and remembered. It was one of the happiest times Lara had ever experienced with her father, and the time together gave her an even greater sense of purpose and confidence.
A popular architectural magazine interviewed Troy. As soon as the full-page picture spread appeared, their home was nominated by the magazine and won the honor of “best of the year.” After that, design offers and requests for consultations poured in. The extra money helped pay off Troy’s debts.
Eliza was able to scale back her work schedule. She and Troy had decided to adopt another child.
Christy had joined a horseback riding club and made some new friends, but she was especially close to one cocky young cowboy/race car driver. And no matter how busy her new friends kept her, she declared she would have plenty of time to be a good big sister.
A long black limo drove into the parking lot below. Milly and Avery climbed out. Milly paused, turned, and waved up at Lara.
Lara waved back, closed her eyes and lifted her face to catch the last bright rays of the sun.
Her mother’s dream. Her father’s money. Lara’s vision. It had taken all three for the Fallon School of Art to take shape.
Milly and Avery had dedicated the funds to build dormitories and small bungalows for the families of underprivileged children. They’d broken ground on the buildings last month and every day they were in town, Milly and Avery drove out to see the progress.
Business Solutions, the computer company, created an endowment for scholarships and Dr. Jerome’s curriculum was in place.
All the school needed now was to choose a director of education. Lara had received applications from many sources and from all over the world…except from the one place she wanted to see. She’d hoped she’d find one from Madrid. But none had come.
The past months had shown her what she could do, what she was meant to do. Below her was the evidence of what God had planned for her, and it was good.
She found her new life rewarding but not complete. She missed Alex, and hoped he missed her, but as the months passed with no word, she began to feel her suspicions were true.
Alex’s feelings for her had been based more on duty than love.
They hadn’t spoken since the day they said good-bye at the airport. Their last kiss had been tender, sweet…bittersweet. It seemed their love, like Juan’s and Luisa’s, was not meant to be.
She avoided any reminder of him. She could not listen to his music…nor any Flamenco music. She rarely danced. But she couldn’t stop coming here. Sometimes as she sat on the edge of the world to watch the sunset, she’d close her eyes and hear the haunting strains of a gypsy song and smell the smoke of a campfire.
Today she heard footsteps and turned.
Alex stro
de across the cliff top.
She blinked several times, not certain he was real. She started to jump up, but he was already beside her, easing down, his long legs slipping over the edge. Lara was speechless, motionless. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
The setting sun touched his skin with a golden glow. His hair was shorter, his dark eyes alive with humor and pleasure.
Finally, she touched his cheek to make sure he was real.
He grasped her fingers and kissed them.
“How…how did you get here? I didn’t see a car.”
“I rode up with Milly and Avery. They dropped me off where the fire lane meets the road.”
Below, Milly and Avery stood hand in hand. Milly gave Lara another small wave, and then they walked back to their limo.
“It’s obvious you found your purpose. This is amazing, Lara.” Alex gestured to the grounds.
Lara smiled, devouring the sight of him. His beautiful, long fingers grasping her hand. His firm jaw. The full lips with a little tilt on one side.
“What about you?” she murmured. “Did you find your purpose?”
“Well, I’ve resigned. I wanted to fill out paperwork for a new position, but I preferred to apply in person.”
Lara’s heart leapt, and she cupped his face with her hands. Oh, how she loved that smile. She wanted to kiss it, to cover it with her mouth, but his words were too important. She needed to hear them. “What about your work with UNESCO?”
“Now that everyone knows about my work, I’m not as valuable to them. I doubt I’ll be doing any more investigations.”
This time, she couldn’t stop herself, she kissed him, covering his delicious half-smile with her lips. A thought occurred to her, and she pulled back slightly. “What about your villa?”
“It’s been there for generations, Lara. It’s not going anywhere. It will be there when we’re ready.”
Lara smiled. “We?”
“Absolutely. I learned exactly where I’m supposed to be. By your side. Watching you. Waiting for your next awakening.”
She gave a little laugh. “I don’t think there’ll be many more of those.”
Alex threaded his fingers through her hair. “Oh yes, there’ll be many more, sweetheart,” he murmured. “I can’t wait to see your face the first time you hold our child in your arms. I want to watch you cry as I walk our daughters down the aisle and when our sons throw their graduation caps in the air.” His voice was so low and tender it sounded like a song. “But most of all, my love, there are sunsets all over the world just waiting for us.”
Lara needed to hear nothing more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
Thank you…
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