Surrender to Fate (Fate's Path Part One: A New Adult Romance Series) (7 page)

They had thought about meeting in the pines, but then decided to meet at first light next to King’s Creek instead. Sarah had tossed and turned all night long, weeping into her pillow so as not to wake Matty. He moaned and mumbled throughout the night too, but Sarah was thankful that he was at least able to drift off to sleep, even if it was restless.

When her bedroom window framed the first hint of pink sky, she slipped out of her bed and quickly dressed. Her tears felt cold as they silently dripped down her cheeks. She could not make herself stop asking the question that she had no answer for.
I have to tell him goodbye. I’m going to him…and I have to tell him goodbye. How? How can I possibly do this?
She never once not looked forward to being with Will, and as much as she couldn’t wait to run to him and fall into his embrace, she knew that when she did, it would be to tell him goodbye, whether she knew how to or not.

How many tears can one girl cry? How many before she just can’t cry anymore?
The dawn had just barely broken, but she could’ve found the creek in her sleep. She once again ran her hand around the aspens as she past by them.
I’m here to tell you goodbye, too, my dear trees. I hope that this will not be the last time I am with you.

As she approached the creek, she could hear the familiar babble of the shallow water over the rocks. It was such a soothing, quiet sound, but in the still of the morning, it rang out so clearly. She walked to the bank of Coon’s Cove and stared into the depths of the dark water. The morning light was reflecting in the ripples, and the reflection of the willow tree left distorted shapes of the branches on the water. Her life used to be the willow tree: Strong and resilient, reaching for the limitless sky. And now her life was the branch on the water. Jagged and broken by the ripples of an uprooted life and a love plucked before it could fully bloom. She was just a reflection now of what used to be, and a reflection isn’t anything real. She stared into the pool for how long, she didn’t know. She would’ve kept her gaze there if it hadn’t been for the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. Will. He was here, he was right behind her, but she couldn’t turn around. She fought against every force in her body telling her to turn to him. She couldn’t bear the thought of turning to see him, to look at him, knowing that she was turning to tell him goodbye. If she could just stand perfectly still, he could stay behind her forever, and she wouldn’t have to tell him. She could be happy to just have him right behind her, touching her shoulder, never leaving her.
I can’t William. I won’t turn to see you for the last time.
She closed her eyes and gulped as her body succumbed to the uncontrollable sobbing. She dropped her chin to her chest and her entire body shook with the revolt of the inevitable.

William wrapped his arms around her shoulders and laid his head against her. She reached up with her hands and wrapped them around his arms. Such strong arms, yet she could feel him shaking against her as he too lost control of his ability to stifle his tears. Sarah closed her eyes tightly, still not wanting to believe that this was her reality.

The two stood standing at the cove until Sarah could no longer avoid the fact that she would have to turn and look into his eyes. She slowly let go of his arms, and his embrace around her loosened. She slowly turned to face him.
Oh Will, let me look at every detail of your face. Every detail to hold in my memory, in my heart.
Her eyes met his and the pain in his expression caused her lips to begin to tremble. She could only bring herself to whisper, “Will,” before she shuddered again and fell into his shoulder crying. “I can’t tell you, Will! I can’t tell you good…good…I can’t! I won’t, Will!” She sucked in a deep breath of cold air if only to keep shouting her refusal.

In a forced whisper, William replied, “I can’t either, Sarah. I can’t even think of saying those words to you.”

She lifted her head and looked at him once again. Her eyes darted from one beautiful blue eye to the other, begging for them to look at her like they had when everything was okay and this wasn’t happening. But she could not find that look.

William swallowed hard. “Sarah, we don’t have to say…we don’t have to say it. Don’t you remember? Remember what we told each other?” He took her hand and led her across the fallen log to the stump, their stump. “Remember?” he asked as he pulled her down to her knees with him. He put her trembling hand over the carving, and his hand over hers. “Sarah, this is ours. We told each other that someday, we would make each other happy. That we would be together, and I would take care of you. Tell me, tell me, Sarah, that you remember. I have to know that you’ll always remember,” he looked pleadingly into her eyes, begging her.

In her strongest voice possible, Sarah looked into his eyes. “Me Ware Wo, Will. I remember.”

He pulled her into his embrace. “That’s all we need to say. We don’t need to say…you know. We don’t have to say that. All we need to remember is Me Ware Wo.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “Do you know how much my heart is aching right now? Will, I don’t know how I’ll stand not being able to see you every day.”

William reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wooden box no bigger than a deck of cards. “I want you to have this. I made this for you.” He placed the smooth box made of pale yellow wood into her hands. She turned it over to reveal the carving--the same carving on the stump. Four perfect circles touching with the lines going half way through the centers, carved beautifully onto the lid. She took in a short breath and looked up him.

“I don’t know what to say, it’s beautiful. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” She gently lifted the lid of the box, and what she saw inside made her eyes blur with tears. Resting on a bed of rusty pine needles lay a three-cent postage stamp.

William looked at the stamp, and then into her eyes. “I have one, too. Remember the money I had saved to buy you a soda for your birthday? Since we didn’t have to pay for the soda, I used the money for an even more important gift. This is the gift you can give me, and I can give you. Please tell me that you will write to me? I promise you, I will write to you.” He cupped her hand, brought the box up to his lips, and kissed the carving. “You, Sarah, are the most beautiful thing. When you need me, when you want to see me, you have my kiss right here, right here with you. I will always be with you, Sarah.”

Any other time, and Sarah would’ve soared to the stars and back with Will’s declaration. His words to her affected her so profoundly, in a place in her soul she hadn’t known to exist before this moment. The realization that he had no intention of hiding how he felt, he had no hesitation. He loved her, whether he said the actual words, or not. Sarah could feel it, and the ache in her chest swelled knowing that she could not stay.

She wanted to bury her face in her hands and sob until her tears could wash away this pain. But this moment was too imperative to waste. Will had to know what she felt. Suddenly she felt time with him slipping through her fingers, and didn’t want to squander the precious seconds she still had with him. “I have something for you, too.” Sarah reached into her pocket, held William’s hand open, and placed a small, white stone in his palm. She closed his fingers around it and said, “But…you’ve always had it.”

He opened his hand to reveal a pure white quartz stone in the shape of a heart. He smiled and looked at her quizzically. “How did you do this?”

She smiled warmly back, delighted at his reaction. “I didn’t make it, I found it. The day I came looking for rocks. The day of the bear. I found it and knew that someday, I wanted to give it to you. I just never thought that I would have to give it to you…like this,” she trailed off.

She reached for his hand, closed her eyes, and gently kissed the rock. “And now you…you have a reminder that you have my heart.”

Will swallowed and looked up into her eyes. “I’ll never let it go, Sarah. And with every beat, you are in my heart.”

Sarah managed to get back home from the creek. As she walked up her road, she could not recall one detail of the trek home. She had passed through the aspens again but this time did not notice the bark or the leaves that were drifting down all around her. She had walked past the pines, but did not smell the evergreens or hear the dry pine needles beneath her feet. All she knew was that she was back home.
No, I’m not home. Not anymore. Tomorrow this will just be a house in the rearview mirror.

Matty was sitting on the ground on the side of the house with Riley. Riley was nipping at Matty’s fingers to throw the stick, which Matty was half-heartedly doing. Sarah walked past them, which got Riley’s attention, and he ran up to her, jumping and yipping. Maybe he thought Sarah would be a livelier playmate. But he was sorely mistaken and ran back to Matty, jumped on his chest, and began licking his face. Usually this would result in a huge fit of laughter from Matty as he tried to thwart the kisses, but today, Matty just clung to the Riley’s neck and let him lap up the silent tears that he couldn’t hold back any longer.

Anne was in the nearly empty house. Most of their belongings had already been packed in the bed of the truck, and only the few items that were needed to get them through one more night were left. Anne was scrubbing something off the kitchen floor, and Sarah thought that by now, surely a hole must’ve been worn through. She couldn’t see where her father was, but she could hear him pounding something from behind the chicken coop. Sarah stared at the coop. The little shed that was usually bustling with the clucking hens, was stone silent. There would be no eggs to collect today.

That night was nothing short of torture. The four Ellises and Riley slept on a make-shift bedroll on the living room floor. Even though everyone was silent, Sarah was certain that the only one who was asleep was Riley. They would be leaving at first light to begin the thousand-mile trip to California. Sarah stared at the moonlight shining in through the window pane and had only one last thought before she closed her eyes.
A thousand miles, might as well be a million.

Sarah awoke to the worst pit in her stomach that she ever had. The moonlight on the floorboards had been banished by bright sunlight. She closed her eyes, willing the sun to just go away. Darkness is all that Sarah could feel, and it was all she wanted to see. The sunlight today brought only the dreaded news that it was time to go.

Within a couple of hours, despite every last thing that the four of them could think to do, it was time to get loaded up in the farm truck. The Harstons had said they would come over and help with the last-minute chores and packing, but her parents had declined their offer. Edward and Anne had said that it would be just be too hard to get in the truck and actually drive away from them, so the four best friends had said their goodbyes the day before. Sarah knew it would be heartbreaking for all of them, and the two couples parted ways, with everyone knowing that the pieces of their hearts would be scattered on the road all the way to California.

Matty was the first to get into the truck. He sat silently staring at the floorboards. He had seemingly run out of tears and now just seemed to be numb.

“Matthew! Where are you?” Edward yelled from the behind the truck.

“I’m already in the truck.”

“Well, get out here. I need your help, son!”

As if his little body weighed a ton, he dragged himself over the seat and practically fell out of the truck. Dragging his feet in the gravel as he walked around the truck, he slowly yelled, “Coming.”

“Over here,” directed Edward, “help me lift this last thing.”

Matty looked at the wooden contraption that his dad was pointing at. Clearly not recognizing it as a piece of their furniture, he looked at his dad with confusion. “What in the world is that?”

“It’s Riley’s doghouse. Now, are you going to help me load it up, or not?”

Matty’s eyes lit up and he looked at his father with cautious optimism. “Riley’s…doghouse? You mean…Riley is coming?”

“Well, I’m sure as heck not bringing a doghouse and no dog! What kind of sense would that make?”

Sarah could see that Matty still couldn’t be sure that he was understanding his dad and she knew that his heart couldn’t take it if his hopes got dashed simply because he misunderstood. Matty just stood, looking back and forth from his dad to the doghouse.

“Ah, for the love of Pete, Matthew! Are you going to help me, or not?”

Snapping out of his bewilderment, Matty screamed, “Yes, sir!”

“Well, welcome home, everyone.” Edward’s hoarse voice broke the silence in the farm truck. Sarah had been jolted out of her fitful sleep expecting to see their house, their yard, the pines. Something, anything, that was actually home. But instead, the old farm truck rumbled past a weathered sign reading “Welcome to Bakersfield.” Despite the immediate disdain that Sarah felt for her new place of residence—she refused to call it home—she was relieved and thankful that the expedition was coming to an end.

It had taken the Ellises three days of almost nonstop travel to finally arrive. The old farm truck argued almost the entire way, barely able to climb the hills. The flat tire in Barstow just added to the already miserable trip and Edward had to count on the goodwill of strangers to help get it fixed and changed. Everybody was in their own hurry to get to California, but finally a family traveling from Oklahoma stopped and offered their help to get Ellises back on the road.

Edward tried to drive at night to avoid the heat of the day, and when they would stop, it wouldn’t be for too long. Camping along the road, eating very little, and getting hardly any sleep became the reality for them and hundreds of other families as they set their sights on a better life in California. Sarah knew that the four of them did their best to survive it without too much complaining.

Sarah and Matty had learned the best way to contort their bodies to create the most comfortable sitting positions, and they did their best not to bicker. Sarah tried to pass the time by sleeping because it always seemed to make the miles go a little quicker. But she had to wonder what was worse; the dragging miles or the intermittent flashes of Will, or the aspens, or King’s Creek in her disturbing dreams. Either way, the trip was wretched.

The fields on both sides of the road that the farm truck passed went on for as far as the horizon would allow. Sarah became mesmerized by watching the rows slip by them. If she let her eyes go blurry, she almost felt like she was on a carnival ride, until she forced them to focus again on the alternating brown and green colors. In the distance, several large outbuildings dotted the landscape, breaking the monotony of the crop rows.

Pointing his finger from the steering wheel, Edward nodded, “I believe that’s it.” The silence was deafening in the cab of the truck, and Sarah wondered when everyone would take a breath. He guided the truck down a long straight road as the buildings got larger and Sarah could make out what they actually were. The main house was the most striking. A square, two-story white house with a wraparound porch was the most impressive thing Sarah had ever seen. It almost seemed out of place; it was too white. Surrounding the house was manicured green grass and flower beds filled with orange poppies that lined the base of the house. Fifty yards beyond the yard was a small brown house with a sloping roof on one side. Although not nearly as grand, the little house was quaint and held promise. It was well kept but definitely void of any of the decorative touches of the main house.

Across from the little house, an impressive vegetable garden was in full swing. Sarah admired the neatness and organization of at least a hundred hills of potatoes, rows and rows of corn, lettuces, squash, and various other flourishing plants. Adjacent to the garden was an equally impressive chicken coop, filled with dozens of red hens.

And beyond the chicken coop were at least a half dozen large farm buildings and sheds. A few men walked in and out of the barn, and from one of the buildings, a tractor sputtered awake.

Edward stopped the truck in front of the main house and turned off the ignition. It was one of the most awkward moments Sarah had ever encountered. It was almost as if all four of them were thinking about if they should actually get out of the truck, or start it back up and get back to Colorado where they belonged. Edward’s fingers lingered on the keys, until he gave in, or at least gave up, on the thought of going back home. He dropped his hand to his knee as he looked to Anne, and then to Sarah and Matthew. Taking a deep breath and unsuccessfully putting on a brave face, he announced, “Well, I guess we better get to gettin’.”

Whether it was the sound of the truck tires on the gravel or the barking dogs, their arrival had been announced and a family of three came down from the porch of the main house. Sarah first took stock of the man leading the trio. He was tall, maybe the tallest man Sarah had ever seen. He had sandy-blond hair that was neatly parted on the side and combed into place. Sarah immediately picked up on his friendly demeanor, as he began waving his arm hello. Following him, a woman with a petite frame and dark, chocolate-brown hair looked a bit less enthusiastic than her husband, but wore a welcoming and gracious smile nonetheless. And bringing up the rear, another man, but much younger than the first. To Sarah, he looked to be slightly older than herself. He was tall with broad shoulders and had the same sandy-blond hair as his father. “Edward. Good to finally see you!” The genuine gladness in the man’s voice seemed to prompt all of them to file out of the farm truck. For as cramped as Sarah and Matty been for a thousand miles, they decided that a little longer wouldn’t hurt, and practically seemed joined at the hip as they stood next to the truck, awaiting the introductions.

Edward took a few steps forward and Sarah couldn’t help noticing the sincere smile he wore and realized how long it had been since she had actually seen her father smile like that.

“Oscar,” Edward said extending his right hand. “How are you, my old friend?”

Returning the handshake, Oscar’s expression held an indisputable esteem for Edward. “I am well. Better now that you all have gotten here in one piece.”

As the rest of the Ellis family and the two others in the Somerton family stood by and watched the salutations, the two men realized that proper introductions were in order.

Oscar stepped back to join his family. “This is my wife, Eleanor, and my son, Adley.”

Anne smiled warmly and stepped forward to shake hands. “Nice to meet you, Eleanor, I’m Anne. This is our daughter, Sarah, and our son, Matthew.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Oh, but please, call me Ellie, everybody does. And that goes for you kids, too. I don’t want anybody sayin’ ‘Miss Somerton this’ or ‘Miss Somerton that.’ Welcome to California!” Right away, Sarah liked Ellie.

“And I’m Oscar, but everybody calls me Oscar,” the new host teased with his hand on his chest. Sarah and Matty stepped forward and politely shook their hands. She looked to Adley. The moment his eyes met hers, he pulled his hands from his pockets and straightened his posture. He stepped forward, offering his hand to Sarah.

“I’m Adley,” he said with the slightest hint of a smile, and looked into Sarah’s eyes so deeply that she couldn’t help but to stare back. She could detect surprise and intrigue in his expression. She didn’t know why, but she felt her skin grow warm and she wondered if she was blushing. She had to admit, meeting Oscar’s son took her by surprise as well. She was amazed at the level of comfort she was able to feel with the Somerton family in only a few short minutes—except for Adley. There was something about him that made her stomach nervous. From what she could tell, he seemed to be at least three or four years older than her. He had a confidence about it him that was obvious in the way he carried himself. She felt conflicted, however, and she couldn’t quite feel settled about what her emotions were doing to her. The entire trip out to California, Sarah stewed about leaving William and leaving the home that she loved so dearly. She had made up her mind that California was going to be a miserable place, and she was fully planning on being just as miserable. There was no doubt that she would give anything to be back home, but for the first time in the weeks since her father’s announcement, Sarah felt the slightest glimmer of hope. Within a few minutes of meeting her father’s new employers, she was finding it difficult to keep her irritable outlook. She hadn’t considered that there might be good people surrounding her here, like at home. Even so, Sarah was hell bent on never calling California home. Colorado was home, and even if she wasn’t actually in Colorado, her heart still was.