Stolen Miracles (8 page)
11
“You’re early.” Rebecca sat back in the chair as Cole entered her office at Precious Miracles. “Kimmy’s on the playground with her class.”
“I know. I saw her out there. She’s having a blast. She really likes it here.”
“I’m glad. She’s adjusted fine.”
“Yes, she has.” He slouched in the doorway. The way he drank her in with his slate-gray eyes made Rebecca’s nerves dance. “But, I’m not here for Kimmy. I’m here for you.”
“Me?”
His voice was low, husky. “Can you get away for a bit and take a walk with me?”
“I’d like that.” She nodded. “I think the teachers can manage without me for a while.”
“Good, Bec.” Cole stepped over to the desk and reached for her hand. “Because there are some things I really need to say to you.”
“And things I’d like to share with you, as well.” She left her purse, taking only her sweater and Cole’s hand.
They slipped from the building and crossed the street, making their way through the park and toward the landing. A slight breeze rustled through the trees, and drying leaves crunched beneath the soles of their shoes. Rebecca loved the smell of fall—mums and hay dancing with the swirl of wood smoke. She tilted her head to watch light spill through the colorful treetops. When the park opened at the far side, the Tennessee River beckoned with a sun-dappled current that kissed the shore.
“Kimmy wants to go skating this Saturday.” Cole paused to look at her. “Would you like to come with us, Bec?”
“Does she want to try out the figure skates I bought her for her birthday?”
“You guessed it.” He gave her a sly grin. “That was awfully sneaky of you—making the skates a gift that can’t be returned.”
“It worked, didn’t it?”
“You could say that.” He shook his head. “Kimmy’s begged to sleep with those skates every night for the past week.”
“Are you serious?”
“Dead serious. But I convinced her that cuddling with the blade guards was a whole lot safer.” He smiled at her. “All she talks about is how you braid her hair and the stories you share with her. I thought all of this would be hard on her, but I think she’s adjusted really well. She already loves you.”
“You know, Cole, you’ve been an amazing daddy. And Leah, well, Kimmy may not look like her, but her personality shines through. If I’d chosen you both myself, I couldn’t have done a better job.”
“Shh…” He pressed a finger to her lips.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Rebecca murmured as she gazed over the water.
“Not as beautiful as you.” Cole traded her hand for an arm around her shoulders as they started along the greenway trail that followed a section of the river.
Rebecca’s pulse sang. “You’re in a happy mood.”
“That tends to happen when a person falls in love.”
“Are you saying…?”
He turned to her. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’ve fallen in love with you, Bec. Do you feel anything…like that for me?”
“I do. I have…since that first afternoon we spoke at the rink so long ago, and again when you walked into my office to enroll Kimmy.”
“You could have fooled me.”
“I was embarrassed. I never thought you could feel—”
“The same?”
“Yes, the same.” She shook her head. “And then, given the circumstances, how could I expect you to feel anything but contempt, or possibly pity, for me?”
“Knowing what I know, Becca, only makes me love you more.” He tucked a knuckle beneath her chin. “You’re the most amazing woman. I never imagined…”
“And, Kimmy…what does she think?”
“She thinks along the same lines as her daddy. She wants to know when you’re coming back to read her another bedtime story.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Tonight?”
“I’d like that. I love reading her stories, braiding her hair, watching the plays she orchestrates for your poor, poor cat.”
“Washing dishes together is fun, too.” Cole winked. “You look good in an apron.”
“And you’re attractive elbow deep in soapy water.”
“Touché.” He delved into the pocket of his suit jacket and brought out a legal-sized envelope that he handed to her. “Here’s something for you. It’s just a copy, but all the same…”
She took the envelope. “I don’t understand.”
“Open it.”
She ripped and tugged and gasped at what she found inside.
Adoption papers…five years old. Signed with a flourish of legalese.
“Those papers can say what they want.” Cole’s eyes were round with a mixture of love and understanding. “But I know, in my heart, what the truth is, Bec. Kimmy is your daughter—”
“And yours.” She smiled through her tears. “There’s no easy answer here, is there, Cole?”
“Wait. I’ve been busy. There’s more. May I?” He took the silver chain from her neck and paused to sit at a bench along the riverside. Opening the locket, he drew a small photo from his pocket and pressed it into the folds of silver. Satisfied, he nodded. “It looks perfect.”
A photo of her and Kimmy, hugging in front of the birthday cake, fit neatly into the case.
“But, how did you know?” Rebecca’s breath caught.
“I have my ways.” He slipped the necklace over her head once again and smoothed it back into place along the collar of her blouse. “I’m not saying I understand God’s plan in this, Bec. But I do know one thing—no heart should be empty.”
She swallowed hard to force tears back. “Is yours…empty?”
He shook his head. “Mine’s so full of love, I think it’s going to burst.” He leaned in, his breath warm on her cheek. “May I?”
“Please.”
His mouth claimed hers, and the kiss held all the promises Rebecca longed for.
“You know, Becca, the answer we’re searching for might be closer than you think.”
She could hardly draw a breath. She longed for him to kiss her again. “How so?”
“God’s given me a second chance, Becca.” His fingers slipped beneath her hairline and stroked the scar hidden there. “I loved you once, a long time ago. But it wasn’t meant to be—at least not then. But now, all I can think…”
“He’s given me a second chance, too.” Rebecca took his hand and pressed his palm to her cheek. “I never, in all the years I hoped and prayed, could have imagined how wonderful this—you—would be.”
“Life has been a wild ride for both of us, Becca. Things have changed in ways neither one of us could have imagined. Twists and turns, a detour here and there, don’t have to be bad things. They can be whatever we make them.”
“I understand that, now.” She leaned in. “Kiss me again, Cole.”
He did, lingering until she was breathless.
“I have one more thing for you—for us.” He kissed her once more as he slipped to one knee and tucked a hand into his pocket. When he withdrew it, something caught the sun’s reflection, refracting into a brilliant rainbow of light.
It was a diamond set in a delicate gold band. A hand fisted at Rebecca’s mouth as she gasped. “Cole…oh, my!”
“Becca, I love you in a way I never dreamed I could. Will you make my life—our family—complete? Will you marry me?”
Epilogue
Sunlight danced over the Tennessee River as Cole drew Rebecca close, his fingers twined with hers. The breeze carried the familiar scent of his aftershave…clean evergreen and spices she’d grown to love.
“You look beautiful, Becca.”
In his eyes, she saw all the love she’d ever hoped for—love she never thought she’d find again. A small crowd had gathered to watch them exchange marriage vows—Patty and her husband, Derek, along with their twin boys, now two months old, nestled beneath a blanket in a stroller. They were a handful, but Rebecca thought she’d never seen a happier mom than Patty.
Except for herself—every time she looked in the mirror. Against all odds, she’d found Kimmy. Tests had confirmed Kimmy was truly her daughter. Who would have imagined Cole would be the man she was searching for, as well?
He stood beside her, handsome in his black tux, his hair just a bit unruly and his hand strong in hers. She knew, as long as she lived, she’d love him with her whole heart. The months had proven his love surpassed all she could have hoped for.
“Mama, are you a princess?” Kimmy shielded her eyes from the sun as she eased in and gazed up at Rebecca.
“I sure feel like one.” Rebecca smoothed a hand over the folds of her silk dress. It rustled in a slight breeze that brought the first hint of spring. “You look beautiful too, honey.”
Kimmy’s burnished hair was woven into a neat braid laced with baby’s breath. Rebecca had fixed it merely an hour ago. “Now Daddy has two princesses, right?”
“That’s right.”
“And I’m your princess, too, aren’t I, Mama?”
“You will always be my princess, honey.”
“Forever and ever?”
“Amen.”
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AMDG