A Rocky Path (23 page)

“I missed you, too.”

Dinner was a pleasant affair that evening.
They all had questions for Emily, and she told them about the book
she planned to write.

“I think that’s a great idea,” said Rebecca.
“I’ll be glad to help you any way I can.”

“Me, too,” said Sam.

Jamie grinned sheepishly. “I would offer my
help, too, but I’m the one that’s
not
a writer!”

Everyone laughed, and the rest of the meal
was devoted to discussion about Emily’s book.

That night, as she got ready for bed, Emily
started feeling the despondency she had felt before. She tried to
shake it off, but it threatened to overwhelm her. Determined not to
let despair take over, she went downstairs and worked out in the
gym. After her workout, her feet, seeming to have a mind of their
own, took her to the little room with all the paintings. She picked
up the one of Patrick and looked at it fondly. Then, making a
decision, she carried the painting upstairs to her room. She put it
down on the bed, then went in search of tools. She found a hammer
and nails in a drawer in the kitchen, and she took them up to her
room. There was already a wire on the back of the picture. She knew
she wouldn’t have to worry about finding a stud in this old house
because the wall was solid wood. She pounded in the nails as
quietly as possible and hung the painting of Patrick on her wall.
She smiled as she studied this man whom she loved so dearly. She
had every feature memorized already, but it was better to see him
in this painting. She lay back down in the bed, leaving the light
on. Her eyes stayed on the painting of Patrick until she fell into
a dreamless sleep.

* * *

The next day was when Ian McCulloch was
supposed to arrive. There was a room prepared for him and a nice
dinner planned for his first night here. Emily wasn’t that excited
about having to make nice with a stranger, but she would be on her
best behavior and try to feign interest, although she was really
itching to get started on her book.

She and Rebecca only worked half a day, since
Ian was coming at about one o’clock. Emily went to her room to pick
out something suitable to wear for dinner. She chose a simple blue
cotton dress, not worrying too much about her appearance. Little
did she know that she looked adorable already, in her low rider
blue jeans and white lacy tunic style long shirt.

She heard the doorbell ring at a little after
one and heard voices down in the foyer. She knew their guest was
there and decided it would be polite to go downstairs and greet him
with the rest of the family. As she came down the stairs, she saw a
man standing there, wearing jeans and a royal blue button up shirt.
His face was turned toward Rebecca and all she could see was his
profile, but there was something familiar about that profile. His
hair was cut short and she could see a tiny silver hoop in the left
earlobe that was turned toward her.

She was on the last step, a smile on her face
in greeting to their visitor, when he turned. Her heart started
beating hard in her chest and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
This man, who looked exactly like Patrick, came toward her and
stopped close in front of her. As he took her hand in his and
looked at her with puzzled sapphire eyes, he asked, “Have we
met?”