Echoes From The Past (Women of Character) (33 page)

When they reached the meadow she
and Hannah sat in the grass interspersed with the wildflowers. She needed to
sit quietly for a moment and think about this last goodbye. Did she recite
prayers? She had never really been one for praying. Was it necessary to say a
few words before she scattered the ashes? She didn’t know the proper protocol,
but something told her to speak the words in her heart.

Christie looked up at Garrett as
he stood patiently nearby. While she had been preoccupied with her own
thoughts, he had picked a small handful of flowers. He held his hand out to her
now and Christie grasped his fingers, glad of his strength as he pulled her up
from the grass.

Garrett held out the bouquet, a
solemn look of caring in his eyes. Christie was reminded of the other time he
had presented her with flowers. She stepped close to him and stood on tiptoe.
He bent his head and she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Thank you," she
whispered, blinking quickly to keep the tears back. This man touched her as no
one else ever had. She clutched the bouquet and met his steady gaze. "I’m
ready now."

"Am I too late?" Darrell
asked behind them.

Christie turned quickly, a cry of relief
escaping her. Darrell had come. She handed the book with her sister’s ashes to
Garrett and closed the space between her and Darrell. Eric was with him also.
Christie embraced Darrell, feeling the sting of tears behind her lids. He gave
her a quick hug and then Christie reached out to Eric and urged Hannah closer,
then hugged them both as a love of family rose up within her.

"We’re here, Aunt
Christie," Eric said simply, giving her a beautiful smile.

She smoothed his dark hair and
squeezed Hannah’s hand. She looked up at Darrell. "I’m very glad of
that."

Darrell shrugged. "Yeah,
well, I thought it might be a good idea for Eric, and maybe it will help all of
us," he added simply.

"Thank you, Darrell."
The words came from Christie’s heart, which felt full to overflowing.

She moved back toward Garrett.
"We’re all ready." She took the book with the ashes and moved to the
top of the knoll. As she stood there, the warmth of the sun touched her,
heating the air and releasing a sweet fragrance all around them. She opened the
book and then looked back at Darrell. "Would you like to scatter the
ashes?" she asked.

Emotions chased across Darrell’s
face. She could see the fear and uncertainty as he hesitated. Eric slipped his
hand into his father’s and Christie saw a change come over Darrell. He looked
down at his son with an almost calm acceptance on his face. Then he nodded and
took the book she held out to him.

"Goodbye sweetheart," he
said quite simply. A slight breeze moved around them as he tipped the book
upside down. The breeze carried the ashes across the meadow, scattering them
like fairy dust.

Christie held her breath and
closed her eyes as a wonderful peace settled on her. She could almost hear her
sister’s exuberant laugh, she could envision her wide smile and the devilment
that had always danced in her eyes. "Goodbye Ellen," she whispered,
squeezing Eric’s shoulder. "Goodbye Judith."

"Mommy is in heaven
now?" he asked.

Christie looked down into Eric’s
sweet face. She nodded, that was all she could manage.

"Yes," Darrell said,
squatting beside his son.

"She’ll never be sick
again?" Eric asked hesitantly.

Darrell ruffled his son’s hair.
"Never."

Eric smiled. "Goodbye
Mommy," he said solemnly, and he leaned his head against his father’s
shoulder.

Christie absorbed the emotions
surging around her. Darrell and Eric seemed held together by a bond stronger
than any she had known with her nephew. The right decision had been made,
keeping Eric with his father. Perhaps she had been slow in coming to that
realization, but now she knew it was the truth.

A knot of emotion that had been
lodged in her for what felt like forever slowly loosened and slipped away.

Christie felt the weight of an arm
across her shoulders. She looked into Garrett’s eyes and read his concern for her.
He held his daughter close on his other side and she felt included in their
circle of love.

Garrett’s eyes seemed to promise
her more caring than she’d ever dreamed possible. Her breath caught in her
throat. Was she seeing something she wanted to see?

"I need to talk with
Darrell," she told him.

"Eric can come with me and
Hannah back to the house," he suggested, looking at Darrell.

"Sure," Darrell said.
"We’re leaving tonight so it might be a good idea to say our goodbyes
now." Darrell put his hand on Eric’s shoulder. "Go on with Garrett.
Christie and I will be along soon."

"Okay, Daddy."

As Garrett and the children walked
over the knoll of the meadow Christie turned to Darrell. "You’re leaving
tonight?"

"Yeah, right after dinner.
There’ll be less traffic traveling at night. We’ll get into New York
tomorrow."

"Thank you for coming
back." She swallowed with difficultly, but knew the words had to be said.
"I’m sorry for the terrible things I said to you. I know you loved Ellen,
and she knew it too, even at the end she knew you loved her. She understood
better than I did what her illness did to you."

Darrell looked away, his jaw
clenching. "I’m not excusing what I did, but Ellen had a sixth sense about
a lot of stuff."

"I’m ashamed of the way I
treated you, but I have to deal with my own demons. I wouldn’t admit it, but
near the end I couldn’t handle her being sick any more. I cracked. Just like
when the judge awarded you custody of Eric, I knew it was the right decision,
but I felt like I’d failed."

"We both know you kept
everything together."

"I’ve made a lot of
mistakes."

"I made my own."

"I’m sorry for the pain I’ve
caused."

"I was worried about you
Christie. That’s one of the reasons I came here."

"I know. It’s like I’ve told Garrett,
it’s hard to believe someone wants to look out for me. He doesn’t understand it
takes some getting used to."

"I know your background
Christie. I know you’ve always been the strong one. But now you’ve found
someone who cares about you the way a man should."

"He wants me to stay."

"Then I guess you should.
Maybe I was being selfish. It’s not so easy caring for a kid. Sometimes I worry
I’ll make mistakes with Eric. Maybe that’s part of the reason I came after you.
I don’t want to mess him up."

"Eric is happy."

"Thanks." He squeezed
her shoulder. "This is your chance at happiness, don’t let it slip away.
Life is too damned short."

"Sometimes I wonder if I can
get past my background. It’s weighing me down."

"Have you told Garrett?"

"Not everything."

"Don’t you think you
should?"

"Yes." Christie rubbed
her palms together, suddenly cold despite the sun overhead. "The last time
I told anyone was Allen and he walked out on me."

"Ellen said he was a jerk, so
you can’t go by him." Darrell gave her a half smile. "Good luck
Christie. We both know you’re strong enough to do whatever you want with your
life."

It seemed quite natural to go into
his arms. Christie hugged him tightly, closing her eyes and biting her lip as
all the old hurts between them fell away. "Thank you for caring."
With tears filming her eyes she stepped back. "I do know one thing,
Darrell, Ellen would be proud of the father you are."

###

Dinner that evening turned out to
be a festive occasion. Garrett sat back and observed the happy faces around him.
Randy and his Mom had joined them and a big surprise had been Sam’s
announcement that he and Ruth were going to be married.

Garrett marveled at the changes in
life at the farm in less than a month. His glance lingered on Christie as she
talked with his Mom. Christie had been the catalyst. Each day he found her more
amazing. He no longer searched for comparisons between her and Judith. Christie
was her own person.

"What do you think if we have
the wedding here Sam?" Garrett said now. All eyes turned to him.
"Well, why not? Unless you have somewhere else in mind."

"I think it’s a great
idea," Christie said, smiling at him. She looked at Ruth and Sam.
"And I would love to help."

"Of course I would lend a
hand also," his mother said, throwing Christie a conspiratorial smile.

"Me too -- me too,"
Hannah said excitedly.

"I know we can depend on
everyone here," Ruth said in her usual forthright manner. "But we’ll
see what the future holds before there’s definite plans made. Who knows, there
might be a flurry of activity at the farm in the near future." Her glance
at him and then Christie was full of meaning.

Garrett watched Christie and they
shared a smile. They had all the time in the world. He was not letting her go.

###

Darrell and Eric left immediately
after their early dinner. Christie knew she would miss Eric, but she felt at
peace saying goodbye, knowing he was in good hands and that they would be
keeping in touch. She made Darrell promise to call when he arrived home.

Afterward, everyone helped clear away
the dinner dishes and they’d gravitated out to the terrace. It’d been fun to
sit and just talk companionably. Christie liked to hear Sam and Garrett
discussing strategies for the farm, the progress and setbacks. She and Hannah
had finished playing a board game when Ruth and Sam decided to leave, citing
the cool night air as the reason.

Caroline yawned and nudged Randy,
who had been uncharacteristically quiet the entire evening. "I’m ready to
go home also," she said.

"And it’s your bedtime, young
lady," Garrett told his daughter.

"I guess I’ll call it a
night, too," Christie said.

"But it’s only nine!"
Ruth declared. "I remember when I was your age, I’d be out dancing into
the morning hours."

"That’s what we were doing
last week," Sam grumbled, but his glance at Ruth was teasing.

"Ruth’s right," Garrett
said, his glance lingering on Christie. "It’s early. Why don’t you stay
longer?"

"I have to get a sweater
though."

"I’ll get Hannah into
bed," Garrett said.

Randy reached down and scooped
Hannah up into his arms. Hannah squealed and clasped her arms around his neck
as he swung her around. "Good night, kiddo."

Hannah kissed Randy, then held out
her arms to Caroline.

When everyone moved out to the
driveway, Hannah stood on the back porch steps beside her father.
"Christie?" she called.

Christie looked back at Hannah.

"When you come back can you
say goodnight?" she asked shyly.

Christie felt a burst of
happiness. "Of course I will."

Christie walked out to the cars to
bid everyone goodnight. Randy was the last to leave. As she moved beside him
she wondered at his preoccupation all night.

"How are you doing
Randy?"

He looked up, smiling
automatically.

"How’s Ally?"

"We had a fight. I told her
about the place I’m buying and asked her to marry me. She thinks I’m moving too
fast." He put his hands in his pockets.

"Well, you haven’t been going
out that long."

"We’ve known each other our
whole lives."

"It’s not the same."

"That’s what she said. I just
don’t want to lose her."

"You won’t." She touched
his arm reassuringly. "She needs some time." She paused. "Why
don’t you suggest a long engagement?"

A spark of hope lit Randy’s face.
"Hmm, maybe hope you’re right. Thanks Christie, I gotta go."

After he left, Christie hurried
toward the barn, wondering if the excitement she felt showed on the outside.
Surely her feet weren’t touching the ground. She felt as if she fairly radiated
with happiness.

She entered her apartment, hugging
herself to ward off the cool night air. She wanted to be close to Garrett
tonight, feel his hard arms around her. She had an urge to cover his face with
kisses.

Christie retrieved her sweater and
hurried back over to the house. As she entered the semi-dark kitchen she saw Bo
Peep watching her from her dog bed by the door. Christie moved over to the dog
and bent down to carefully stroke the golden head. "You’re a good dog, Bo
Peep," she whispered. Bo Peep’s tail thumped the floor.

Christie ventured down the
hallway. Peeking into Hannah’s room, she saw she was already in bed. Christie stepped
inside and crossed the room to the bed, then bent over to place a gentle kiss
on Hannah’s smooth forehead.

"Night, Christie,"
Hannah said in a drowsy voice. "Eric’s okay for a boy," she added,
almost as an afterthought. "He’s a pretty good cousin too."

Christie stifled a laugh. "He
thinks you’re pretty cool too. Sweet dreams," she told her.

Christie continued down the hall
to the living room. Only one light was lit, leaving the rest of the room in
shadow. Country music played softly as Garrett sat in his oversize recliner.

She rubbed her hands up and down
her arms, suddenly feeling nervous after her heightened anticipation of being
alone with him. "It’s getting cool outside." She carefully rolled her
sweater cuffs back one turn.

"Why don’t you sit down?"

Christie perched on the edge of a
chair across the room, kneading the material of her dress with her fingers. She
felt unaccountably nervous.

"Are you okay with Darrell
and Eric leaving?" he asked quietly.

"I’ve finally made my peace
with Darrell." She gave a deep sigh.

"So there’s nothing immediate
pulling you back to New York?" His voice sounded husky. Christie felt the
start of goose bumps along her legs, recalling the night they’d made love. His
voice had been husky then, too.