Page 13 of Her Mountain Man's Christmas Lie
He joins me on the couch. Carefully he slides a finger under the flap and pulls out a letter before tilting the envelope over his other palm. Two simple gold bands slide out.
“Shea?”
“Last time I was home, she showed me where she kept her lock box hidden. She told me then that if anything happened to her, the house and land were mine and all the information I’d need were in the lock box and that her lawyer had the duplicate information. She called me when I was first admitted to the hospital. I was pretty drugged up and don’t remember much except her reminding me about the box and her telling me she loved me and Chis like sons. Her lawyer called me when she died. He handled everything until I made it back home.”
He holds the letter so we can read at the same time.
“Did you know that Martha had been married?” I blurt when I get to the part where her husband had died in Vietnam.
He looks at me just as shocked. “No. She never said anything. She didn’t go by Mrs. at school. She was Miss Adams. I don’t remember a ring. Wait, yes I do. She wore a gold band on her left thumb.”
I slide the bigger of the two bands on my thumb. “It must have been this one.”
He takes the smaller and slides it on his pinkie. “Hers.”
The letter goes on to say that Séamus reminded her so much of her late husband, she had to set him on the right path, too. Chris and I were neglected in other ways, but she came to love us all and think of us asherchildren.
Séamus clears his throat and reads the rest out loud. “Now dry your tears and the two of you have a happy life. Chris and I will be with my Pádraig watching over you.”
We sit in silence for long moments before he speaks.
“I know it’s a little late coming, but I never answered your last letter. I couldn’t. I got it the day Chis died. You thanked me for taking care of him and keeping him safe. But I didn’t. He died in my arms.
“We were clearing buildings. When he breached the doorway of the last home we were to check, the explosion went off. A piece of debris hit him in the wrong place and went under his ribcage. I threw myself over him when the second blast hit, shooting fire everywhere. When it settled, I lifted him and ran to the medic. He didn’t last long, too much impact damage and internal bleeding. He asked me to watch over you, keep you safe from the losers out there because you were the best of all of us.
“I always felt I was one of those losers because of my upbringing or lack of upbringing before Martha took me in. She saved me and put me on the right path. I loved her as the mother I never had. I learned from her about chosen families.
“I adored you as a little kid. The way you always wanted to follow me around made me feel special. Like maybe I was lovable. Then when we were in high school seeing your mom’s neglect pissed me off. You had just started junior high and Noelle started throwing herself at me. She confided in me that you were afraid of me, and I needed to give you space, so I did.
“I could never figure out what I did to frighten you. Your letters were always friendly and light. I was confused. Then thepictures started and my feelings took another turn. I was afraid of what I felt for you.”
“That explains a lot,” I say. “Noelle told me you liked me okay for alittlekid. And that I was annoying to you and you wanted me to leave you alone. When I saw her start to throw herself at you, I realized it was just another one of her games.
“I didn’t care what she said. You were mine before she even met you. You saved me when I fell. I wasn’t letting go. So, I kept on with the letters and cherished every one you wrote to me. I carry them in my backpack so she could never find them.
“When Chris died and you didn’t answer my letters, I knew you were blaming yourself. The last time I saw Martha, she told me to give you time to get over your own pain and the grief of losing Chris. But not too long, she warned.
“Christmas was my personal deadline. I knew the holiday could heal us.” Shifting, I straddle his lap and cup his face. “I love you, Séamus Lonn. I will always love you.”
“I love you, Cady Bernard. I’m done trying to make decisions for you. You’re mom and sister will make a fuss, but will you marry me as soon as I can get you a ring and to the justice of the peace?”
“Yes, but we already have the rings I want.”
He was right, Mom and Noelle had a fit when we married at the courthouse two weeks later and didn’t invite them. We didn’t have to deal with it for long because they were arrested for attempted insurance fraud. They each tried to blame the other. Mom had to sell her designer house, and they both ended up doing time. Once they got out, they headed to Dubai learning there were a lot of rich people there and hoping their reputations wouldn’t follow.
Spring break he drove me five hundred miles so I could pick out Guinness, our adorable Rottie puppy.
EPILOGUE ONE
Epilogue One:
Five Years Later
Cady
Sitting in the bleachers at my old high school, I’m hoarse from cheering. I know Seamus’s team is going to win state this year in football. What an honor since this is his first-year teaching and as coach.
After we married, he started volunteering at the local school for sports, and with the JROTC. The following semester he went back to school to start a degree in History and Physical Education while I was finishing mine. He also mentors other soldiers with injuries.
