That Summer (35 page)
“It seems unlikely,” Liam said, still in the same flat voice.
Michael got to his feet. “Well, that's the reason I came by. I thought you should know what really happened right away, not what the gossip will conjure up.”
“Thank you, Michael,” I said with genuine gratitude. “We appreciate your thoughtfulness.”
“Yes.” Liam held out his hand. “It was very good of you.”
When Michael had gone, we turned to look at each other in silence. Then Liam said, “I can't believe she confessed.”
“It must have been preying on her mind for all of these years,” I said. “Who knows? Maybe it's one of the reasons for her continued drinking.”
“But even if they established that it was her medal that was found by Leslie's gravesite, they had no way to connect Mom to the murder itself. All she had to do was keep quiet.”
“I guess she couldn't do that anymore, Liam.”
There was a long silence.
Then he said, “I guess not.”
He was very quiet all night and when we went to bed he just wanted to hold me. I didn't think Alyssa Wellington had been much of a mother, but she was the only mother Liam had ever known and I guess the thought of your mother going to jail was pretty horrible. I tried to give him what comfort I could, and thanked God I had the wonderful mother that I did.
The next day, Alyssa was out on bail and I started talking to Liam about looking at horse farms in Kentucky. “There's nothing you can do about your mother's situation; there's no point in letting it paralyze your own life. You said you wanted to have your own farm, well now is a good time to look. If there are repairs that need to be done we'll have time to do them before the winter.”
Once he started talking to real-estate agents, he began to perk up.
“What about our getting married?” he said to me. “Do you think we could just have a small wedding, with immediate family and a lunch or something?”
“An excellent idea. It wouldn't look too good for us to be planning a big wedding right now anyway.”
So that was what we did. We had a small wedding in St. Margaret's Church, then afterward about twenty-five of us went back to Wellington for a catered lunch. Liam and I went to Bermuda for a week on our honeymoon, which was wonderful. When we got home, we got down to the serious business of hunting for a farm.
In the autumn, the plea bargain between the State of Virginia and Alyssa Wellington was finally arraigned and Liam's mom got three years behind bars. I thought that she had gotten off pretty easily and hoped that the years away from alcohol might break her of the habit.
Senator Wellington never came into the picture at all, even though everyone knew that he must have been the one who buried the body. But Alyssa stuck to her guns that she did it alone, and he got away scot-free. Well, maybe not. The chances of his winning another election look pretty slim.
In early December, Liam and I moved into our new farm in Paris, Kentucky. We had twelve beautiful thoroughbred mares, all in foal to good stallions, three really nice yearlings who would be turning two, and Someday Soon, the Triple Crown winner, Breeder's Cup winner, and Horse of the Year. Not to mention all the dogs from Wellington. And true to my word, I got a job with one of the local veterinary practices.
Our first Christmas in our new home was very happy. My mother came for the holiday and helped us decorate the tree and put the presents under it. On Christmas Eve, as we cuddled under the covers in our own bed, in our own bedroom, on our own farm, I whispered to Liam, “I am so happy.”
He smoothed my hair off my cheek. “That's wonderful. Because I'm happy too.”
I rested my head against his chest.
“Poor Mom,” he said. He had visited her the previous week.
“I know. But it won't be that long before she can spend Christmas with us, like my Mom. And maybe by then we'll have a grandchild for her to play with.”
“That would be nice.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
Thump, thump, thump.
I listened to the beat of his heart. It was as vital to me as the beat of my own heart, I thought. Life without Liam was unthinkable.
“I think you're going to like the present I got you,” he said. He sounded anticipatory, like a small boy.
“I'm sure I will,” I said. “How come it isn't under the tree?”
“I don't want you to see it until tomorrow.”
“Wow. Now you've really got me curious.”
“Good.”
“I'm afraid I got you a rather ordinary present.”
“That's okay. I'm sure I'll like it.”
I pulled away so I could look into his face. “What could it be?”
He grinned. “You'll see tomorrow morning.”
I loved it when he grinned like that.
I reached up and kissed his mouth. “I love you.”
“Now, that is something I never get tired of hearing.”
“Okay,” I said. “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.”
“Still not tired.”
I laughed. “Enough, you glutton.”
His face sobered. “It's my turn then. I love you, Annie. I love you so much.”
His head and shoulders were looming over me. “Oh, Liam,” I said. “Oh, Liam.”
We loved each other with all the youth and passion that was in us and afterwards we lay pressed against each other, hearts pounding, breaths coming fast.
“Nothing in the world is better than that,” Liam said into my ear.
“Not even winning the Triple Crown?”
He laughed. “Not even winning the Triple Crown.”
“Wow.”
We held each other for quite a while, then my eyes began to close. It had been a long day; I had made a lot of barn calls.
“Annie,” Liam said. “I think you should put your pajamas back on before you go to sleep or you're going to be cold.”
I forced my eyes open. “What?”
“Sit up.”
I sat up and he began to put my arm into the sleeve of my pajama jacket. I blinked and said, “I'll do it. I have to go to the bathroom anyway.”
When I returned from the bathroom wearing my pajamas, Liam had straightened the bed and folded back the quilt for me. I crawled in. He came around to my side, bent over me and said, “I'm going to do a little rearranging of the presents under the tree. You go to sleep and I'll see you in the morning.”
“Okay.”
He kissed my cheek. “My Annie.”
My eyes were shut, but I smiled.
He went out and softly shut the door behind him and I went to sleep.
Dear Reader,
Fate has a funny way of bringing together two people who are meant to be, whether they realize it or not. And, with a little bit of mischief and just the right amount of time, Anne Foster and Lady Anne Ellyson are about to get the surprise of their lives in our two Warner Forever titles this September.
Mary Jo Putney raves “Joan Wolf writes with an absolute emotional mastery that goes straight to the heart” and that couldn't be truer in
Joan Wolf's THAT SUMMER.
Veterinarian Anne Foster grew up in the rolling hills of Virginia horse country, helping her father train Thoroughbreds at the Wellington family racing farm and longing for Liam Wellington, the boy just out of her reach. But when a beautiful and sought-after girl in the town disappears, Anne's life is changed forever. All evidence points to Liam and his friends, but Anne refuses to accept it. Running from her own memories of that night, she leaves Virginia—and Liam—behind and vows to begin a new life. Now, ten years later, with the death of her beloved father, Anne returns to Wellington Farm and runs into Liam. Drawn into the love she could never forget, Anne is determined to clear Liam's name and risk losing her heart all over again.
Moving from the horse country of Virginia to the rolling hills of medieval Scotland, we find
THE SECRET CLAN: REIVER'S BRIDE by Amanda Scott who
Affaire de Coeur
has called “a master.” When reivers descend upon Lady Anne Ellyson one moonlit night, she is shocked to discover their leader is none other than Sir Christopher Chisholm. Long presumed dead, Kit had been betrothed to Anne's favorite cousin Fiona before his disappearance. Now, determined to reunite them and to prevent her cousin's marriage to another, Anne must risk both her reputation and her life to help Kit overcome a false murder accusation. But dare she risk her heart? With the enchanted matchmaking mischief of the Secret Clan, the wrong heartstrings are becoming entangled and romance gets more deliciously complicated each day.
To find out more about Warner Forever, these September titles, and the authors, visit us at
www.warnerforever.com
.
With warmest wishes,
Karen Kosztolnyik, Senior Editor
P.S. As you try to pick out the perfect mask for Halloween, Warner Forever offers you two titles in which things aren't always what they appear to be: Annie Soloman presents a spine-tingling romantic suspense about a woman made over into the spitting image of her long-lost biological mother in DEAD RINGER; and Shari Anton makes her mainstream debut in THE IDEAL HUSBAND, a moving historical about a woman who pretends to be married to a handsome nobleman suffering from amnesia.
