Until the End of Time (34 page)

“They made me come back,” she told him, and he didn’t ask who.

“I’m glad they did. I was waiting for you. I’ve waited a long time for you, Lilli. I love you.” It was all he had wanted to say to her in New York. He said it clearly, and he didn’t care who heard him. He was never going to let anything bad happen to her again.

“I was waiting for you too,” she said. “You took a long time.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, smiling at her. “I’ll try to make up for it.” And then she closed her eyes, and they left her for a little while to sleep.

Henryk looked hard at Bob as they stood in the hallway, with a mixture of relief and terror on their faces. They had almost lost her, and they knew it. Two hours before, her body had started to shut down and her blood pressure plummeted, and then she came back.

“You love my daughter?” he asked him directly, and Bob didn’t waver.

“I do, sir. I have waited for her all my life. She’s a strong-minded girl.” Bob wanted to say “Like her father,” but he didn’t, and Margarethe smiled.

“Is she going back to New York with you?” Henryk asked.

“She wanted to come home to you. She never talked about staying in New York.” Henryk nodded. “She is Amish above all. I’ll bring her home to you when she leaves the hospital, if you like. She should be at home until she gets well.”

“And you’ll visit her?”

“With your permission. If she wants me to.”

“I think she will. And she has my permission. You’re a good man. Will you take her to New York when she’s well?”

“If she wants to. When she’s ready,” Bob said respectfully. It was up to Lilli, not either of them.

“She should be with you,” Henryk said quietly. He could see how much Bob loved her, and he had heard him begging her to come back.

“I hope she thinks so too,” Bob said, grateful she was alive and had survived.

“I think she will. Bring her home to us when she’s better,” Henryk
said to him. She was no longer shunned. Henryk and Margarethe left that night. The accident had brought them together. Joe Lattimer had driven them there and was waiting to take them home. He had been in the waiting room all night, not wanting to intrude.

Bob stayed with Lilli at the hospital for the next two weeks, until she was well enough to leave. He sat with her constantly, talked when she wanted to, and let her sleep. He never left her side and slept on a cot in her room. She talked to him about seeing her mother, and the couple on horseback. “They told me I had to come back,” she explained to him while he listened. “I know it sounds crazy, but I had this strange feeling they were us. But they looked different.”

“It wasn’t me if he was on horseback,” Bob said, smiling. “You know how I hate horses.”

“Do you suppose it’s true that people have past lives?” she asked him. “I never believed that before, but I knew that I knew them, and she felt like me even if she looked different.”

“Anything is possible. I’m just happy you’re here, in this life. I love you so much, Lilli.” And she knew he did. She could feel it every time she looked at him.

“I love you too.”

He drove her back to Lancaster when they discharged her from the hospital. She had made a remarkable recovery, although her broken arms hampered her. He and the nurses had to do everything for her. Margarethe was going to stay at the house to help her when she got home. They had been sending messages back and forth through Joe Lattimer at the dairy, who was more than happy to be their messenger.

Henryk and the boys and Margarethe were waiting for them when they arrived. Her brothers hugged her and danced around and told her how silly she looked with the casts on her arms, “like Frankenstein,” Markus said, imitating her and walking like a monster.

“Very funny, wait till I get them off, then you’ll be sorry,” she said, laughing. And her brothers had a surprise for her, a beautiful golden Lab puppy.

Henryk invited Bob to spend the night, or longer if he liked. They gave him Willy’s room, and Willy offered to bunk with the twins. Margarethe was going to sleep on a cot they’d put in Lilli’s room, so she could help her at night. The doctors had told Lilli to rest for the next six weeks. It would be Thanksgiving by then.

Henryk invited Bob to take a walk after dinner. It had gotten chilly, as they strolled to the barn.

“Do you have something to ask me?” Henryk looked at him with a smile.

“Yes, I do. I was thinking maybe around Christmas … if Lilli wants to … if you think …”

“Do you want to marry my daughter?” Henryk asked, laughing at him.

“Yes,” Bob said, grinning, feeling younger than Willy. “I have to ask her first.”

“No, you have to ask me first. You just did. You have my blessing. I never thought I would say that to an Englishman,” Henryk said with a startled expression. “You can’t marry her here. You’ll have to marry her in an English church. But we’ll give you the feast at the house. And then you can take her to New York. But you’d better
bring her back to visit often. We won’t come to New York to see you,” he said sternly. And then in a gruff voice, he looked at his future son-in-law again. “Margarethe and I will be getting married soon. We’d like you to come to the wedding.”

“Thank you,” Bob said, grateful for the miracles in his life. At the moment there seemed to be many of them.

They walked slowly back to the house, talking about the farm then, as Lilli and the boys watched from the window, and she looked worried.

“What do you suppose Papa said to him?” Lilli asked Margarethe.

“I think he’s trying to get rid of you again,” Josiah said to her. “To the Englishman this time.” He laughed out loud and Markus chuckled as Willy rolled his eyes.

The men looked satisfied when they returned, and Margarethe shooed the boys upstairs to bed, as Bob invited Lilli to sit outside with him for a while. Henryk and Margarethe exchanged a look and smiled, and he nodded slightly, and she looked relieved. Henryk had softened, she knew. He would never have welcomed an Englishman before this. It had taken Lilli nearly dying to open her father’s heart.

Bob and Lilli sat outside in the cool autumn air, in an old swing, just as courting couples had done for hundreds of years.

“What did my father say?” she asked with a curious expression.

“That I’d better bring you back to visit often, because he and Margarethe won’t come to New York,” he said, smiling, and she laughed.

“They’re getting married,” Lilli told him, and he nodded.

“He just told me.” And then he turned to her with a tender look. “What about us, Lilli? Are we?”

“I think we already were in another life,” she said softly. She could
still see the couple in her dream, on horseback, the handsome man and the beautiful woman with black hair riding behind him, who had sent her back.

“Maybe we should do it again, just for good measure, in this lifetime.” But he didn’t disagree with her. He had had the sense that he had known her before, since the beginning. And whenever she looked into Bob’s eyes, she saw someone she already knew.

“I suppose we could get married,” Lilli said with a slow smile. “What did my father say about it?” It was obvious from the look on Bob’s face that they had discussed it.

“He said we have to get married in an English church, but they’ll give the feast here at the house.”

“I never thought my father would let any of us marry an English,” she said in amazement.

“Neither did he.” Bob laughed. “What will our wedding be like?” He loved the idea, and the thrill of being married to her.

“Loud, busy, happy, lots of children, tons of food. I’ll wear a blue dress. And we’ll have to spend our honeymoon night here, so we can help clean up the house in the morning.” He had already decided to invite his parents and brother to a small celebration in New York. He didn’t want them here. They would spoil it for him. And he didn’t want anything to ruin the day for him and Lilli. He kissed her then, and they sat quietly rocking in the swing for a while, looking up at the stars.

“I used to think that when people die, they go up to the sky and become stars and that’s where heaven is,” Lilli said quietly. “I always think my mother is there, waiting for me.” He put an arm around her and pulled her close, in spite of her awkward casts.

“I don’t know where people go when they die,” he answered her. “And I don’t want either of us to find out for a long, long time. I don’t want to have to drag you back again. And if we were together in a past life, I’ll settle very happily for this one. I love you, Lilli, and I will until the end of time.” She felt a deep sense of peace, and she nodded.

“I know. So will I.” And just as she said the words, two bright stars drifted past them overhead and disappeared into the night sky together, as Bob and Lilli watched them and smiled.

To my wonderful, beloved children,
Beatrix, Trevor, Todd, Nick, Sam,
Victoria, Vanessa, Maxx, and Zara,
whom I love until the end of time,
and beyond.

With all my love,
Mom      

By Danielle Steel

THE SINS OF THE MOTHER • FRIENDS FOREVER • BETRAYAL • HOTEL VENDÔME • HAPPY BIRTHDAY • 44 CHARLES STREET • LEGACY • FAMILY TIES • BIG GIRL • SOUTHERN LIGHTS • MATTERS OF THE HEART • ONE DAY AT A TIME • A GOOD WOMAN • ROGUE • HONOR THYSELF • AMAZING GRACE • BUNGALOW 2 • SISTERS • H.R.H. • COMING OUT • THE HOUSE • TOXIC BACHELORS • MIRACLE • IMPOSSIBLE • ECHOES • SECOND CHANCE • RANSOM • SAFE HARBOUR • JOHNNY ANGEL • DATING GAME • ANSWERED PRAYERS • SUNSET IN ST. TROPEZ • THE COTTAGE • THE KISS • LEAP OF FAITH • LONE EAGLE • JOURNEY • THE HOUSE ON HOPE STREET • THE WEDDING • IRRESISTIBLE FORCES • GRANNY DAN • BITTERSWEET • MIRROR IMAGE • THE KLONE AND I • THE LONG ROAD HOME • THE GHOST • SPECIAL DELIVERY • THE RANCH • SILENT HONOR • MALICE • FIVE DAYS IN PARIS • LIGHTNING • WINGS • THE GIFT • ACCIDENT • VANISHED • MIXED BLESSINGS • JEWELS • NO GREATER LOVE • HEARTBEAT • MESSAGE FROM NAM • DADDY • STAR • ZOYA • KALEIDOSCOPE • FINE THINGS • WANDERLUST • SECRETS • FAMILY ALBUM • FULL CIRCLE • CHANGES • THURSTON HOUSE • CROSSINGS • ONCE IN A LIFETIME • A PERFECT STRANGER • REMEMBRANCE • PALOMINO • LOVE:
POEMS
• THE RING • LOVING • TO LOVE AGAIN • SUMMER’S END • SEASON OF PASSION • THE PROMISE • NOW AND FOREVER • PASSION’S PROMISE • GOING HOME

Nonfiction

A GIFT OF HOPE:
Helping the Homeless
HIS BRIGHT LIGHT:
The Story of Nick Traina

About the Author

DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world’s most popular authors, with over 600 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international best sellers include
The Sins of the Mother
,
Friends Forever
,
Double Jeopardy
,
Hotel Vendôme
,
Happy Birthday
,
44 Charles Street
,
Legacy
,
Family Ties
,
Big Girl
, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of
His Bright Light
, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death, and
A Gift of Hope
, a memoir of her work with the homeless.

Visit the Danielle Steel website at
daniellesteel.com
.