Love Finds You in Martha's Vineyard (36 page)

“Yes.”

“Well, you meant where did I want to live, didn't you?”

“Maybe.” He sighed. “But then I realized that wasn't a fair question.”

“Why not?” She sounded slightly affronted now.

He shrugged. “I don't know, sweetie. Maybe it's because kids don't usually get to say what they want in these situations, so it's not fair to ask. But I guess I was just curious. And I suppose I was worried that I've put you in a bad position by relocating myself so far away from your mom. That's not fair either.”

“Yeah, maybe not.” She picked up a stick and began to drag it through the sand. “Well, I have an idea, Dad.”

“An idea?”

Now she stopped and, without explaining herself, started to draw in the sand. He stood and watched as she made a very large heart shape. Then she wrote the word
Daddy
on top of it, which made him smile. Beneath
Daddy
she placed a plus sign. Now he felt worried. Hopefully she wouldn't write
Mommy.
That would break his heart. To his relief, she wrote her own name and looked up at him.

He smiled. “I couldn't agree more, Sicily. You and me forever.”

“Meaning you and I can stay together—always? Not just summers or holidays?”

The light went on now—the hidden meaning behind her little exhibition here. “I would totally love it, Sis! It would be a dream come true for me. The question is, would your mother ever agree to it?”

She nodded somberly. “Yep.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“Because I already asked her.”

He blinked. “You
asked
your mother if you could live with me?

When?”

“Awhile ago.”

“Seriously?”

“Uh-huh.” She looked slightly embarrassed now.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“I—I was worried.” She fidgeted with the stick, rolling it between her hands. “I, uh, thought you'd say no.”

“No?” He knelt down now, taking her into his arms and hugging her so tightly that she dropped her writing stick. “Why would I say no to what I want more than anything else in the world, Sicily?”

Her serious face broke into a huge smile now. “Really, Daddy? You want that more than anything else in the world?”

“Absolutely.”

“Cool.” Now she extracted herself from his hug and picked up her stick again. With a mysterious grin, she turned her attention back to her beach drawing, making another plus sign under the name
Sicily.
Beneath the plus sign she carefully wrote
Waverly.
Then she looked up at Blake with wide blue eyes. “Daddy plus Sicily plus Waverly…whaddaya think?”

He stared at the heart and their three names inside. “Do you really mean that, Sicily?”

She nodded eagerly.

“You're not just saying that because you think it's what I want to hear?”

She firmly shook her head. “Nope.”

“But you didn't seem very enthusiastic the time I brought up my feelings for Waverly,” he reminded her.

“That's because I was afraid.” She looked down at the heart again.

“Afraid of what?”

She raised her head. There was a slight quiver in her chin. “You want the truth?”

“Yeah, sweetie. It's always the best way to go.”

“I was afraid that you'd love Waverly more than me, Daddy.”

“Oh, Sis—”

“I didn't want you to choose her instead of me.”

“Never, sweetie.” He bent down and picked her up in another big bear hug. “Never in a million years. I mean it with my whole heart.”

“I know.”

After he finally put her down and they were walking hand in hand back toward the barbecue, Sicily got serious again. “But there's still a problem, Daddy.”

“What's that?”

“What if Waverly doesn't like you like that? What if she says no?”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Yeah, that could happen.”

“Will you be brokenhearted?”

He shrugged, unwilling to admit this likelihood to her or himself. “Hey, I'd still have you. How sad could I possibly be?”

She didn't say anything, but as they returned to the party, he wondered how he'd really handle it if Waverly said “no,” and he knew that was a real possibility. But he also knew he'd prayed about this whole thing. He'd put it all into God's hands. What would be, would be—and he'd simply have to accept it.

Having just experienced that moment with Sicily on the beach like that—well, it had been even more than he'd hoped for. So he decided to put his worries out of his head and simply enjoy the day.

And that's what he did. He ate good food and visited with people and played some games and spent as much time as he could with Waverly. She appeared to be enjoying herself too. But then, as the afternoon shadows were lengthening and he knew the sun would be down before long, he made a hasty decision. It might also be a crazy decision, but he knew that nothing was going to stop him.

“Care to stroll on the beach, anyone?” he said to Sicily, Waverly, and Vivian, as they sipped cool drinks in the shade.

Vivian declined, and Sicily said “no thanks” with a knowing twinkle in her eyes.

“A walk sounds lovely to me,” Waverly said as she stood to join him.

He made small talk with her as he led Waverly down the beach, going in the same direction that Sicily had taken him earlier. Finally he could see it up ahead—the heart drawing was still there, with enough light remaining to make it visible.

“You know Sicily wants to be an artist like you,” he said nervously. “You've been a good influence on her, Waverly.”

“I'd say the influence was mutual,” she said lightly.

“And Sicily actually did some art up ahead, right here on the beach.”

“Really?” Waverly cupped her hand on her forehead to see better in the late afternoon sunlight. “A castle? Or a sand sculpture?”

“No. A drawing.”

“Well, I definitely want to see it.”

So, taking her hand in his, he led her over, stopping right next to the heart. “There it is.” He glanced nervously at her, trying to read her expression as she stared with wide eyes at Sicily's heart drawing.

Waverly's mouth was in an odd line, and he couldn't tell if it was a smile or grimace, but she wasn't saying a word. Although he couldn't remember ever feeling this anxious or worried about anything, he knew he was not going to back down. Not now.

“I have to admit,” he said slowly, “I was a little surprised when Sicily showed it to me. But I was also deliriously happy.”

She turned to look at him. “Deliriously happy?”

“Yes.” So then he quickly recapped what Sicily had told him.

“Really?” Waverly's aqua eyes looked misty now. “Sicily said
that?”

He nodded, swallowing against the lump growing in his throat. “She did. And I have to admit she definitely helped fan the flames already going inside me. But even if she hadn't given her blessing, so to speak, my feelings for you would've been the same.”

“The same as what?”

“As what I told you the other night, Waverly, in front of Janice and God and everyone. Although I'll admit my timing was pretty pathetic. Just the same, I meant every word I said…and more.”

“You did?” She stepped closer to him now. “And what about that stolen kiss in my apartment the night the stairway fell? Did you mean that too?”

He smiled. Then, gathering her into his arms, he kissed her again. This kiss was more tender and gentle, but just as sincere. As she returned his kiss, the intensity increased—and he knew the warmth and the passion was coming from both of them. It was electrical and amazing—like it was meant to be.

Finally he pulled himself away from her and, cupping her face in both of his hands, he said, “Waverly Brennen, I love you. I think I've loved you since we first met. And even though it hasn't been that long, I know I've loved you more each day since then. The question is, do you love me?”

She smiled into his eyes. “I do love you, Blake. I never expected to experience a whirlwind romance. Not like this. To be honest, my head's still spinning a little. But I do love you, Blake. It's a relief to finally say it out loud.
I love you!”

They kissed again, for several minutes this time. And when he stopped, they were both a little breathless. He could hear some firecrackers going off somewhere, nothing compared to the fireworks he felt they were experiencing right there on the beach. The sky was already starting to turn periwinkle with pink around the edges. Then, shot from one of the boats out on the Sound, a sky rocket exploded out over the water, sending a starburst of white light into the sky. Just like that, Blake knew it was time. Or maybe he was crazy. But he just couldn't stop himself.

Right there in the gritty sand, not far from the water's edge where more fireworks were being shot out, and right next to Sicily's carefully drawn heart, Blake got down on one knee and looked up at her.

“I don't want to shock you,” he said as he took her hand in his, “and it's fine if you need to think about this, Waverly, but I want you to understand that I have absolutely no doubts about what I'm about to do here.”

Her ocean eyes were wide, but her lips were still smiling.

“Waverly Brennen, I love you. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

She dropped to her knees as well, taking both his hands in hers, holding them tightly. “
I will.
I totally will. I will marry you, Blake. And Sicily too.”

They laughed, then kissed again—this time longer than the previous time. Meanwhile more fireworks were exploding around the island—as if all of Martha's Vineyard was celebrating with them. And then, as if jolted by electricity, they both jumped to their feet.

“Let's go tell them!” Waverly said eagerly.

And together they ran down the beach to break the good news to the others.

M
ELODY
C
ARLSON
is the bestselling author of more than 150 books for readers of all ages, from adult women to teens to children. She has written two previous titles for Summerside Press,
Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon
and
Love Finds You in Pendleton, Oregon.
When she's not busy writing award-winning fiction and nonfiction, Melody enjoys camping, biking, hiking, and skiing in the beautiful Cascade Mountains surrounding her hometown of Sisters, Oregon. She and Chris, her husband of more than thirty years, have two grown sons and a granddaughter.

 

WWW.MELODYCARLSON.COM

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