Love, Artifacts, and You by Sarah Ready

20

Emma

I haveto accept the fact that the interview didn’t work. Andrew hasn’t come, hasn’t called…hasn’t anything.

I sit in the old recliner chair in the cabin, my arms wrapped around my legs and my chin resting on my knees. Everything’s quiet except for the radio playing Vivaldi. On the TV tray next to me is a grant proposal I’m working on. Even if Andrew doesn’t come, I want to move forward with my project. I’m going to create a living history museum and active dig site for people to explore for generations. I want others to feel the love and the awe that I felt when I first saw Sol’s Cavern with Andrew.

That’s a gift I can give.

I sigh and lean back in the recliner. It creaks and groans in protest.

I wonder where he’s at right now. I wonder what he’s doing, what he’s thinking and feeling. I wonder if he misses me.

I sigh.

I wish I could go back in time and change the past. I’d start with the night we found The Heart. I wouldn’t stay hidden in the bushes. I would’ve fought. Then, for the next five years, I would’ve torn apart heaven and earth to find him. If I didn’t find him, then when he finally returned I would’ve married him that day. Demanded it. I wouldn’t have left him and I wouldn’t have let him go.

I stare at the wall of travel knickknacks and the old TV. Then I realize that’s my answer. The interview wasn’t my last hurrah. It was just the beginning. Just because I can’t change the past doesn’t mean I can’t change my future.

I’m going after him.

I’ll find him. Wherever he is.

I jump up from the couch and run to my suitcase. I throw on the cleanest, least scruffy pair of shorts I have and a billowy top. I finger comb my hair then grab my phone, purse and suitcase. I can call a cab and head to the bus stop. The first place to look is NYC, at Suffolk Auction House headquarters.

Determination fills me. I won’t give up.

I rush to the door. Just as I’m about to throw it open, someone knocks.

It’s Andrew.

I’m stunned. No words come out. I was prepared to chase him around the world, and here he is at my door.

“You’re leaving?” he asks. His mouth compresses and he looks…concerned. He eyes the suitcase in my hand.

I give him a wobbly smile. He’s here. He’s here.

My eyes rove over his features, taking him in like a drink of water in the scorching desert. The sun bathes him in gold, painting his skin a luminescent hue. He’s in jeans, boots and a t-shirt—his explorer look. The scars on his arms are visible and my heart gives a sharp pang. He’s not hiding anymore. His dark eyes are wary, I’d say almost fearful, but I’ve never known Andrew to be fearful a day in his life. Except…when he thought he was going to lose me. I let out a sharp breath and blink up at him. Does he think he’s lost me?

He clears his throat and runs his hand over his mouth and down his jaw. “Are you going?”

His eyes shift to my suitcase and purse. I shake my head. My heart thunders in my ears. “No.” I drop the suitcase and my purse and step back into the cabin. “Do you want to come in?”

His eyes shift to a darker shade and I can’t read whether it’s relief I see or fear. He closes his eyes for a second and I take the time to study his face. He looks tired. Like he hasn’t slept in days. There are dark circles under his eyes and the scar over his eyebrow seems more pronounced. Then I notice that he has fresh cuts on his face, his hands, and his arms. It’s from the explosion—my dad. I flinch, and when I do, he opens his eyes and sees my reaction to him.

When he does his expression shutters and he turns his face away. He thinks that I’m flinching away from him.

Never.

Well, now’s the time to start living my future—the one where I run to what I want.

“Andrew?”

He looks back at me and gives a small smile. “I saw your interview.”

My mouth goes dry. “What did you think?”

His gaze heats, and he can’t hide the yearning in his expression. Not from me. The warmth that started when I found him at the door grows and grows.

He looks to my mouth, the freckle above my lip, then into my eyes. “I thought you were radiant. More radiant than the sun.”

Joy bursts inside me. I fling myself into his arms. He lets out a surprised huff and catches me.

Then he’s kissing me, and I’m kissing him back. I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. He holds me up and crushes me to him.

“Emma,” he whispers against my mouth. “My Emma.”

I clutch him and nod. “Yours.”

Then, instead of continuing the kiss he pulls away and looks into my eyes. I give a dissatisfied squeak. But he slowly pulls me away from him and gently sets me on my feet.

“I was hoping you’d come with me,” he says. He nods his head back toward the door. There’s an eager, hopeful expression on his face.

“Where?”

He smiles. “It’s a surprise.”

I can’t help but give an answering smile. “Will we be gone long?”

He shakes his head no.

“Is it far?”

Again he shakes his head no, but his smile grows.

“Alright.”

He takes my hand and leads me out the door. There’s a rental car in the drive. He holds the passenger door for me and then we’re off.

He pulls onto the country road and heads away from town, toward the forest. Honestly, it doesn’t matter where he takes me, as long as I’m with him.

I reach over and rest my hand on his. He looks at me in surprise and then gives me a warm, satisfied look. One I want to see on his face every day for the rest of his life. Less than a minute into the drive he pulls into the fire access road and heads toward the meadow.

I swallow down a nervous lump in my throat. He’s taking me to the cavern. I’ve only been back once, days ago, when I was frantically looking for him. It was rubble-strewn and I haven’t had the heart to go back since. I don’t know why he wants to show it to me.

Maybe to help me understand what my dad’s done?

Andrew parks at the tree-line and gets out of the car. The sun has nearly set and the sky is tinged purple and denim blue. We have maybe fifteen minutes of light left. There are swallows flying over the field in swooping formations, catching their insect dinner.

Andrew comes around and opens my door then helps me out. Even when I’m standing he doesn’t let go of my hand. He starts to walk toward the trail head. We’re not far from the cavern, but…

I pull to a stop. Andrew looks back at me.

“I’ve seen the explosion. You don’t have to take me. It’s awful. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he did it. I never imagined he’d do the things he did. I didn’t know you were trapped. I didn’t—” Once I start, I can’t stop. All my fear for him, the fear that I felt after I found out about the explosion, even though he was already free, comes pouring out.

Andrew wrinkles his brow and shakes his head. “No. Emma. That’s not why we’re here.”

“What?” I stop and stare at him.

“I’m not here to show you a ruin.”

“You’re not?”

He gives a small, secret-filled smile. “Definitely not.”

After that I’m quiet as he tugs me quickly through the darkening forest. We make it to the mouth of the cavern minutes before sunset. I stop, completely shocked by what I see.

“What? How?”

All of the rubble is cleared and piled into a large stone stack ten yards from the entrance. There’s a construction vehicle parked next to the rock pile.

Andrew gives a sly smile and shrugs. “When you offer a hundred times the going rate, people are motivated to work fast.”

I let out a surprised laugh.

“You’re happy?” he asks. Suddenly, he looks nervous.

I press my hand to his cheek. “Happier than you can know.”

He turns his mouth to my hand and presses his lips to my palm. Then he pulls away and his eyes are heated. “Then in you go,” he says.

I look at him in surprise. “Are you sure?”

I know how he feels about the dark, and he just spent four days trapped in that cavern.

“More sure than you can know.” He gives me a look full of meaning and unspoken words. Then, “Go on.” He nods at the cavern.

I will, but before I do, I stand on my tiptoes and place a quick kiss on his lips. Then I drop to my knees and crawl into the cavern. The entrance is taller by a good two feet. It’s no longer smooth, but jagged. The explosion did quite a bit of damage. I hear Andrew coming in behind me, then feel his hands brushing against my heels. The cavern smells different than before, sweet and floral rather than earthy. I don’t know what to think about that.

Ahead, the room is dark. I imagine we’re about a minute until the sunset will bathe the room in golden light. I reach the opening and stand up. Andrew’s right behind me.

He comes and stands next to me.

When he does, the sun hits the tunnel and light floods in.

I gasp.

The room lights up and I see what Andrew wanted me to see, and exactly how much he loves me. The cavern is full of white roses. There are hundreds of them in crystal vases, and thousands of white rose petals covering the ground in a fragrant, soft, carpet. The sunlight hits the crystal vases and prism rainbows dance along the cavern walls. I spin in a circle and take it all in. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I feel like I’m in a fairytale.

“Andrew, it’s…” I trail off. I’ve spun back around, and instead of standing next to me, Andrew’s kneeling on the ground.

I stop and my heart kicks against my chest. He smiles up at me, but his mouth shakes and his eyes are filled with questioning hope. I want to drop to my knees next to him and wrap him in my arms, but instead I hold still as he takes both my hands in his.

He swallows, and I gently squeeze his hands and hold back my tears.

“I had what I was going to say memorized.” His voice is rough from emotion and unshed tears. “But I’ve forgotten it all.” He shrugs and gives me the rueful smile that I love. “I wanted to give you the roses that you love. And the gold of the sun. And rainbows as beautiful as all the gems buried in the earth. But most of all, I wanted to give you me.” His mouth trembles again and he gives me a look, like perhaps giving me himself was the smallest gift of all. He still doesn’t realize how much he means to me.

I drop down to my knees in front of him. The rose petals cushion the ground so it feels like I’m kneeling on a plush carpet.

“I’ve never, not ever, in all my life, wanted anything else,” I say.

He closes his eyes, and his shoulders relax. “Thank you, God,” he breathes.

When he opens them again, I’m smiling at him.

The sunlight is still flowing into the cavern, the roses and petals sparkle like snow on a sunny day, and little rainbows flicker on the walls.

He peers at me, like he’s reassuring himself that I’m really here. Then, “I did a lot of what the newspaper article said. I did try to ruin you.”

I nod, once, in acknowledgement. “I know.”

He swallows nervously. “I’m the reason you lost your family business, your home, your reputation. I wanted you to lose everything. I wanted you to feel as much pain as I did.”

A single tear falls from the corner of his eye and tracks down his face.

I reach up and catch the tear, wipe it away. “I know,” I say again.

His shoulders shake and he drops his head. I kneel forward, wrap my arms around him. I never cared about any of it, I only cared about him. I press my lips to his face, his neck, his brow.

“Forgive me,” he weeps, and my heart breaks.

“You came home. That’s all that matters to me. You came home.” I wrap him in my arms and keep repeating that phrase. He came back to me. Finally, he hears me. He leans into me and presses me into the rose petal-strewn floor. The light is almost gone, but there’s still enough for me to see the love in his eyes. He covers my body and presses into me.

“Will you love me?” he whispers. He presses his mouth against mine and I taste his tears, but also his hope. “Will you?”

I lean up into him, rock my hips against him. “I never stopped.”

He lets out a defeated groan as I pull his clothing off and strip him naked. I pull my own clothing off and settle back into the rose petals. They’re silky and cool on my skin. Andrew rises above me, props his arms around my shoulders and looks down at me as if I’ve given him the best gift in the whole world. He spreads my knees with his legs, opens me to him, then settles himself at my entrance. He rests his forehead to mine and grasps my hands.

“I love you,” he says.

“I love you,” I cry out. He thrusts into me, pushes me into the bed of rose petals. He cries out into my mouth and I cling to him. He buries himself in me, deeper and deeper as I am swept up in a sensation so amazing, so earth-shattering, that I don’t have any word for it—expect love.

Andrew drops down next to me and pulls me into his arms. He’s breathing hard and I rest my head on his chest and listen to his heart race. He runs his fingers through my unruly hair and I run my hands along his shoulders.

Then, he stiffens and shifts me down to the floor.

“Stay there,” he says. He kisses my forehead and goes back to his clothes. When he returns, he kneels next to me.

The light is nearly gone and I can only see his outline. But in his hand I can make out the shape of a jewelry box. I sit up and lean into him. When I do, the rose petals send up a floral scent.

“Come here,” he says.

I smile as he pulls me into his lap and wraps his arms around me. “I’m not letting you get away,” he growls into my hair.

I turn and kiss his mouth.

“Do you have something to ask me?” I settle back into his chest.

“No,” he says.

I turn to look at him, taken completely by surprise.

He rubs his nose against mine. “I’m not going to ask. I’m going to tell you. Emma Castleton, you are my soul mate, my one true love, I’ve known it for nearly twenty years and so have you. You’re mine and I’m yours. Nothing can keep us apart. You’re going to marry me. You’re going to be my wife.”

“Yes,” I say. “And I’m not asking either. You’re mine. Only mine.”

I wrap my arms around his chest and hold him tight. He opens the box and pulls out a gold ring that barely glints in the fading light.

“With this ring, I thee wed,” he whispers. He takes my left hand and slips it on my finger. As he does, the world shifts, and I feel as if everything has come into alignment.

“Now you’re my wife,” he says.

“And you’re my husband,” I agree. Because this is exactly how they wed in many ancient cultures, with bodies and hearts joined in love, and with a promise of forever. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. And forever starts right now.