My One True Love (5 page)

Chapter Seven

Jason was pretty certain he’d lost Lizzie again. Well, when he was honest with himself, he’d never really had her. The few kisses they’d shared seemed more like a dream now than reality.

Surprisingly, the gifts he’d left behind for her to find hadn’t seemed to reach her the way he'd hoped. But there was still one she hadn’t seen yet. He’d left that one for last, hidden in her bouquet. If she still married Patrick after seeing it, he’d know for sure whatever they might have had was over; that those passing moments in the cabin with her were folly.

After so many years of living without her, the taste of her still lingered on his lips. How could he sit back and watch her make such a mistake?

Was it a mistake? He’d lived his whole life loving her, and at each turn she’d walked away from him without batting an eyelash. Didn’t he deserve more than that?

The answer was a resounding "yes", but it didn’t change the fact he’d always love Lizzie no matter what. Knowing another man stood at the end of the aisle watching her walking toward him, creating the memory Jason had only envisioned over the years, curled his insides into knots.

He could go to her, stop the wedding and force her to see reason but what guarantee would he have that she wouldn’t run again? Fool him once, shame on him…but twice?

A knock at the cabin door sounded, and he knew without answering who it was. His little sister was always there when he needed a friend.

“Hi Shelley,” he greeted as he opened the door. She stood there looking so much like his mother he couldn’t help but feel another sharp pang of loneliness. He’d missed his parents since they drove to Florida for the winter.

Shelley’s dark hair fell around her shoulders and her green eyes bore into him.

“Hey. I wanted to make sure you were still here. I was afraid you’d be stupid enough to try and stop Liz’s wedding.” She stepped around him to move to the couch.

“The thought crossed my mind, but no. It’s Lizzie’s decision, not mine. I’ve done all I can.” Jason closed the door.

Shelley plumped the throw pillows, a little more vigorously than was necessary. “You’re too good for her anyway.”

“Shells…” he warned, but he was too tired to stop what he knew was coming.

“She walked out on you, Jason. I’ve watched you mope around for years because you can’t be happy without her. You need to put her behind you and move on.” Shelley plopped down on the couch and took a sip from his coffee cup.

Cocking his eyebrow, he shook his head.
“Seriously, Shelley.
I know you’re worried about me, but I’ll be fine. You can stop the mother hen act.”

“I love you, Jason. I want to see you happy. Liz Henley only makes you miserable.”

“Not true. I’ve never been as happy as I am when I’m with her.”

Standing, Shelley tossed her hair over her shoulder in habit that had been hers since childhood. “Then it’s time to redefine happiness, brother.”

When Jason didn’t say anything, she shook her head and walked to the door. “Are you sure you’re going to make it?”

“Yes. I’ll be fine.” But Jason didn’t trust his own words. He felt like crawling underneath a rock and rolling into the fetal position. Hating how weak and emasculated he suddenly felt, he grabbed the ax laying next to the door. Chopping firewood would help. “Where are you headed all dressed up?” He walked Shelley to the door and opened it for her.

When she didn’t answer him, he sighed. “
Gotta
go with Zeke so he can cover it for the paper, huh?”

“Yeah.
I’m sorry, Jason.”

“Don’t be. I brought it on myself. I should have just left her in the snow.”

Shelley gave a derisive snort and hugged him. “Hang in there. I’ll check on you afterward.”

He didn’t need her to define “afterward” to know what she was referring to.

* * * *

Liz was brought out of her deep thoughts when the doorknob of the dressing room turned.

Her mother walked through the door and smiled sheepishly. Liz hadn’t seen her much since her return to Oakley. Jason was right. Her mother’s cheeks were pink, and there was a light in her eyes she’d never noticed during her visits to Baltimore. Liz made a mental note to ask her about it when she returned from her honeymoon.

“Mom?
I thought you were in the vestibule, greeting guests.” Liz rushed forward and embraced her.

“You look beautiful, honey,” she cooed.

Liz studied her. Her dark hair had a few sprinkles of gray in it but was otherwise still the mousey brown Liz had always known it to be. But on her mother, it was stunning. Her brown eyes shined with tears, and her smile trembled.

“Mom, don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it.”

“I know you’re happy for me, but—”

“No, Liz. You’re wrong.”

The words stopped Liz short. “What?”

“I know you’ve always thought I was
a nobody
here in Oakley.”

“What? Mom, did Jason put you up to this?” Her stomach dropped, and her heart thudded. How could her mother have known what she thought about her? And why approach her about it now?

She held her hands up to silence Liz. “Listen to me.”

“Okay.” Liz sat down on the edge of the couch, and her mother joined her.

“The truth is, Liz, after your father died, I stopped living. I was depressed, and it was hard for me to watch you grow up without your father. You two were always so close.”

Liz remembered the lonely years after her father’s death, but she’d long since moved past them.

“I never meant for you to think I wasn’t happy here, or that my job at the mill wasn’t enough. I’ve made wonderful friends with my co-workers there. That place may be the only job I’ve ever had and yes, it’s tedious work, but it’s not as bad as you think it is. Oakley is a wonderful community, and if I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“It’s not what I want for
my
life, Mom.”

“Because of me.
You only saw my sadness, and you equated that with my job and my life. But in reality, it was because I missed your father.”

“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this now.”

“Because I know you were with Jason at the cabin. That boy has loved you since the day you two met. And he’s part of the reason I never stopped hoping I’d fall in love again. I saw how much he loved you.”

“Mom…”

“Don’t throw it away because you think you’ve done better for yourself up north. A career can only go so far. You and Patrick seem happy, but I raised you, Liz. I can see that happiness only goes so deep. Once you’re married, that’s it. You’ve made the final choice. I want you to ask yourself one question: Does Patrick
make
you as happy as Jason does?”

With those final words, her mother kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand before standing.

“Oh, and before I forget, Heather asked me to give you this.” She held out a single sheet of paper.

“Heather?” Heather had just been in here. Why hadn’t she said whatever it was on the paper instead of writing it down?

Unfolding the paper and reading the words in Heather’s trademark scrawl, Liz frowned.

Patrick came on to me while you were away. He’s not who you think he is.

Chapter Eight

Patrick stood at the end of the aisle as Liz walked toward him. His smile was wide with happiness.

He was so handsome; one of those men with classic good looks. Sandy blonde hair fell over his brow, and his green eyes watched her with an intensity she’d always appreciated. With him, she was the center of his world.

As she neared, she adjusted her bouquet. She smiled back at her fiancé, ignoring the sick feeling in her gut. Dread was not something she was supposed to be feeling at that particular moment.

The music died down, and the preacher cleared his throat. Before he said anything, Liz reached a finger up and gingerly traced Patrick's jaw. She tried to provoke an emotion, any emotion to tell her she was doing the right thing. Nothing but the same, dark emptiness she’d felt since leaving Jason remained.

While she touched him, Patrick's gaze darted over to Heather and Mary. She caught a subtle shake of Mary’s head as she made eye contact with him. Heather’s eyebrows furrowed, and a frown marred Mary’s lips. Looking back to her groom, the truth smacked her with the force of a hurricane.
Heather and Mary’s warnings.
The letter.
A lot could happen in the few days she had been away at the cabin with Jason. Had her fiancé made a move on Heather?

Even those revelations didn’t come close to the one her mother had given her. Her mother was
happy
in this little town. Couldn’t she be, too?

Patrick's gaze pleaded with her to understand. How could she not? Hadn’t she been making out with Jason and told him that she still loved him? Patrick knew even though she’d never really told him about Jason, yet he still stood there, ready to commit. Could she really hold it against him?
Yes and no.

The preacher began the ceremony, and Liz looked down at her bouquet. Her life was such a mess.

For years, Heather and Liz had been inseparable. They shopped together, had lunch together, even worked at the same investment firm.

If Heather didn’t trust him, should she?

She thought of all the early morning jogs, the comfort of just being together that Patrick offered. Was it possible the comfort stemmed from something Liz once thought impossible? Was Patrick seeing other women for passion, only to come back to her for commitment?

Her gaze focused on something catching the light in the bouquet. Squinting, she raised it a little higher. A small gasp escaped her, and tears welled so fast she had to blink them away to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

Nestled against a red rose, just like seven Valentine’s Days before, buried beneath the baby’s breath with a small, white ribbon in her bouquet was the engagement ring Jason had given her when she was only eighteen. A smile broke out on her face, and she held her hand up to the preacher. He stopped speaking and Liz barely noticed the uneasy shuffle of Patrick’s feet in front of her.

Her mother’s words echoed in her mind. Jason never once pretended to be something he wasn’t. He always challenged her and was so infuriatingly honest with her, it was endearing. After all these years, he still waited for her, still offered his love even though she repeatedly threw it back in his face.

Jason had loved her from the very beginning. He’d never judged her or expected anything from her except love. She’d continually rejected him, yet this one last outreach was her undoing. It didn’t matter how long they were separated or how much distance came between them, they were each other’s first and only love and nothing would change that.

She thought of his tender ministrations to her wounds in the cabin. The way they’d drunk hot chocolate together in the firelight and how Jason looked at her with all the love she knew he was capable of, causing her heart to lurch. She’d been blinded for so long over her career and leaving Oakley, she hadn’t stopped to think about what she really wanted in life.

She wanted Jason. She wanted to fight with him all the time. She didn’t want to settle for a life of mediocrity with Patrick. She wanted a life of passion with Jason, and it didn’t matter where. If he didn’t want to move to Baltimore, she’d come home.
Because Oakley
was
her home.
She’d miss the hustle and bustle of city life, but it was a small price to pay to wake up next to Jason and know their love was finally being given a chance.

“Liz?” Patrick’s voice penetrated her thoughts.

Looking up into his face, she knew she had to tell him the truth. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Patrick looked around the room.
“Now?
Here?”

“Let’s step outside.”

The crowd watched as Patrick and Liz walked down the aisle and exited the building.

“What happened with you and Heather?” she demanded, turning to face him and crossing her arms against the bitter cold.

“You stopped our wedding for this? Do you really think I’d be stupid enough to cheat on you?”

But Liz saw the deceit when he looked away and bit his lip. “Did you cheat on me or just hit on my best friend?”

With narrowed eyes, Patrick sighed. “Who told you? Heather? Mary? I asked her not to say anything; it was a misunderstanding… Mary didn’t hear the whole story.”

“I can’t marry you, Patrick,” she said quickly.

His mouth turned down in a fierce frown. “Yes, you can.”

“No, I can’t.”

Patrick leaned in and mumbled, “Look, she didn’t mean anything. She was begging for attention with that red hair and tight shirt.”

Heather might be a lot of things, but slut wasn’t one of them.

“You’re talking about my best friend, Patrick. She is a good person. Whatever happened, I’m glad to know that
she
respected me enough to say no.”

Patrick’s eyes narrowed. “Does this have anything to do with that ranger you were stranded with?”

“It has everything to do with Jason. I still love him.”

“You might want to find out if he still loves you before you go throwing me away.”

“Do you really want to be second best?”

“I’ll never be second best, sweetheart. But you need to make your choice. It’s me or him.”

“I choose him. I’ve chosen him every time, and I didn’t realize it.”

Patrick shook his head. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Gently, Liz plucked the engagement ring from her bouquet and smiled. The small diamond reflected the street lamplight.

“You’re leaving me for that? That ring couldn’t have cost more than a couple of hundred dollars. I can give you that in spades.”

“A diamond doesn’t make me happy. He does.”

“How did you get that?” Patrick demanded.

“Jason left it as a little reminder of what’s really important.”

“And what would that be?”

“Love.
You know I’ve never loved you the way I should have. You deserve someone who loves you for who you are. If it was a misunderstanding with Heather, you should apologize. I forgive you, but she might not.”

Patrick looked toward the building then shook his head and gnashed his teeth. “You’re really doing this to me?”

“I’m sorry,” Liz whispered. Without another word, she
slid
the heavy engagement ring Patrick bought for her off her finger and handed it to him. In its place, she put Jason’s ring where it always belonged. It still fit her like a glove.

With a final glance at Patrick, she gathered the skirt of her wedding dress and ran for the horse-drawn carriage down the road, waiting to take the happy couple to their reception.

A reception that wouldn’t happen now.