by Yvonne Heidt
They simply waited.
Van stood and brushed the grass off of her slacks. It was time to go home.
*
Natalie opened the front door and smiled. The entire Easton family was inside, along with her parents. Food covered the table, laughing children were running up and down the hall, and everyone was talking at once, filling the home that had been empty of love for so long.
She was exhausted but strangely energized at the same time. Her mother laughed at something Van’s uncle said and her father joined in. She was struck with that sense of homecoming she’d felt the first time she’d entered the house.
The afternoon sun streamed in the open windows. A single shaft of light lit the space above the fireplace where a new painting was hung just that morning. Natalie had painted the yard she’d seen in Beth’s dreams.
Bold flowers bloomed and bright, beautiful colors seemed to leap from the canvas in a riot of hues. Larkspur feathered in beds behind bright pansies and rosebushes in full bloom. The original fountain sprayed with water depicted so realistically, the drops shimmered in the light. A picnic basket sat open, a bottle of wine and a loaf of French bread visible over the rim. A white-brimmed hat lay propped against the side. Beth sat in the grass in a lacy white dress, her legs tucked to one side. Her features, so like Natalie’s own, depicted a look of pure adoration as she looked down at her hands hidden in the clouds of Sarah’s dark hair spread about her lap. Sarah lay with her legs stretched out and feet crossed at the ankles. The painting appeared to have caught them in an intimate moment of love.
Natalie stood in front of the lovely scene and jumped when arms enclosed her from behind. She murmured in pleasure when she felt Van’s hard body press against her back. She held the hands that crossed over her stomach, and they stood for a moment, rocking from side to side.
Van kissed the side of her neck and whispered in her ear. “You did a beautiful job. They look happy and crazy in love.”
“They do. Finally.”
“Come outside with me?”
They slipped out the back door and sat on the bench by the fountain. The sun felt so good, Natalie closed her eyes and tilted her face toward it, soaking in the warmth.
She was filled with a peaceful joy. This was her happy ending.
Natalie rested her head on Van’s shoulder and looked at the pink scar across her hand. The permanent reminder of that afternoon.
She could recall staring into the empty space that held Beth and Sarah just a second before, hardly wanting to even dare to hope it was all finally over. Then she was in Van’s strong arms, laughing and crying again while people stomped the stairs to surround them.
Van refused to let go of her while the paramedics checked them over. Natalie’s father didn’t have a scratch on him, but she and Van both had several that required stitches. They rode together to the hospital.
When Van began to explain what happened with Candy, Natalie stopped her. She didn’t believe the lie anymore. Van had bled for her, for love.
There wasn’t any magic stronger than that.
Natalie turned her hand so their scars were pressed together. “When I saw you on the floor, my heart stopped. All I could think of was that I would do anything, absolutely anything to get you back.”
“It was your tears,” Van said.
“My what?”
“I was talking to my mother’s spirit and I felt your tears on my face. She told me I had a choice. I chose you.”
Natalie kissed her softly. “I love you.”
About the Author
No one ever clapped harder or louder than Yvonne Heidt did to keep Tinker Bell alive. When she was brought to a library at the age of six, she never looked back. She hardly ever meets a book she doesn’t like and considered Jack London a personal friend while growing up. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, she lived for twenty years in the Puget Sound area of Washington State and is currently living in the South with her partner of over ten years, Sandy, and their four dogs. Writing is her passion, and she considers herself blessed beyond measure that she and her muse get along so well.
Books Available From Bold Strokes Books
Speed Demons by Gun Brooke. When NASCAR star Evangeline Marshall returns to the race track after a close brush with death, will famous photographer Blythe Pierce document her triumph and reciprocate her love—or will they succumb to their respective demons and fail? (978-1-60282-678-6)
Summoning Shadows: A Rosso Lussuria Vampire Novel by Winter Pennington. The Rosso Lussuria vampires face enemies both old and new and to prevail they must call on even more strange alliances, unite as a clan, and draw on every weapon within their reach—but with a clan of vampires, that’s easier said than done. (978-1-60282-679-3)
Sometime Yesterday by Yvonne Heidt. When Natalie Chambers learns her Victorian house is haunted by a pair of lovers and a Dark Man, can she and her lover Van Easton solve the mystery that will set the ghosts free and banish the evil presence in the house? Or will they have to run to survive as well? (978-1-60282-680-9)
Into the Flames by Mel Bossa. In order to save one of his patients, psychiatrist Dr. Jamie Scarborough will have to confront his own monsters—including those he unknowingly helped create. (978-1-60282-681-6)
OMGqueer edited by Radclyffe and Katherine E. Lynch, PhD. Through stories imagined and told by youth across America, this anthology provides a snapshot of queerness at the dawn of the new millennium. (978-1-60282-682-3)
Coming Attractions: Author’s Edition by Bobbi Marolt. For Helen Townsend, chasing turns to caring, and caring turns to loving, but will love take five steps back and turn to leaving? (978-1-60282-732-5)
Oath of Honor by Radclyffe. A First Responders novel. First do no harm…First Physician of the United States Wes Masters discovers that being the president’s doctor demands more than brains and personal sacrifice—especially when politics is the order of the day. (978-1-60282-671-7)
A Question of Ghosts by Cate Culpepper. Becca Healy hopes Dr. Joanne Call can help her learn if her mother really committed suicide—but she’s not sure she can handle her mother’s ghost, a decades-old mystery, and lusting after the difficult Dr. Call without some serious chocolate consumption. (978-1-60282-672-4)
The Night Off by Meghan O’Brien. When Emily Parker pays for a taboo role-playing fantasy encounter from the Xtreme Encounters escort agency, she expects to surrender control—but never imagines losing her heart to dangerous butch Nat Swayne. (978-1-60282-673-1)
Sara by Greg Herren. A mysterious and beautiful new student at Southern Heights High School stirs things up when students start dying. (978-1-60282-674-8)
Fontana by Joshua Martino. Fame, obsession, and vengeance collide in a novel that asks: What if America’s greatest hero was gay? (978-1-60282-675-5)
Lemon Reef by Robin Silverman. What would you risk for the memory of your first love? When Jenna Ross learns her high school love Del Soto died on Lemon Reef, she refuses to accept the medical examiner’s report of a death from natural causes and risks everything to find the truth. (978-1-60282-676-2)
The Dirty Diner: Gay Erotica on the Menu, edited by Jerry L. Wheeler. Gay erotica set in restaurants, featuring food, sex, and men—could you really ask for anything more? (978-1-60282-677-9)
The Marrying Kind by Ken O’Neill. Just when successful wedding planner Adam More decides to protest inequality by quitting the business and boycotting marriage entirely, his only sibling announces her engagement. (978-1-60282-670-0)
Sweat: Gay Jock Erotica by Todd Gregory. Sizzling tales of smoking hot sex with the athletic studs everyone fantasizes about. (978-1-60282-669-4)
Missing by P.J. Trebelhorn. FBI agent Olivia Andrews knows exactly what she wants out of life, but then she’s forced to rethink everything when she meets fellow agent Sophie Kane while investigating a child abduction. (978-1-60282-668-7)
Touch Me Gently by D. Jackson Leigh. Secrets have always meant heartbreak and banishment to Salem Lacey—until she me
ets the beautiful and mysterious Knox Bolander and learns some secrets are necessary. (978-1-60282-667-0)
Slingshot by Carsen Taite. Bounty hunter Luca Bennett takes on a seemingly simple job for defense attorney Ronnie Moreno, but the job quickly turns complicated and dangerous, as does her attraction to the elusive Ronnie Moreno. (978-1-60282-666-3)
Dark Wings Descending by Lesley Davis. What if the demons you face in life are real? Chicago detective Rafe Douglas is about to find out. (978-1-60282-660-1)
sunfall by Nell Stark and Trinity Tam. The final installment of the everafter series. Valentine Darrow and Alexa Newland work to rebuild their relationship even as they find themselves at the heart of the struggle that will determine a new world order for vampires and wereshifters. (978-1-60282-661-8)
Mission of Desire by Terri Richards. Nicole Kennedy finds herself in Africa at the center of an international conspiracy and is rescued by the beautiful but arrogant government agent Kira Anthony—but can Nicole trust Kira, or is she blinded by desire? (978-1-60282-662-5)
Boys of Summer, edited by Steve Berman. Stories of young love and adventure, when the sky’s ceiling is a bright blue marvel, when another boy’s laughter at the beach can distract from dull summer jobs. (978-1-60282-663-2)
