A Memory Worth Dying For (39 page)

“Matty, listen to me. You lost so much time with your baby, but there’s something to be happy about. Your baby is alive.”

Marti’s knees gave away, and she sank to the ground. Daniel sat down with her.

“My baby? My baby is alive? You know where he is?”

“It’s Chris, Matty. Chris is your little boy.”

The air left her lungs in a single breath. “Chris? Veronica’s brother? Chris is
my
baby? But I thought—”

“The night of the accident, Mary took your baby to the clinic and switched him with a baby who died that day.”

“Can I have him back?”

She looked so pitiful that Daniel pulled her into his arms again. “Yes, Matty. We’ll get him back. Brent’s already promised.”

“But, where will he live?” Marti’s voice broke. “You sent me away. You called me a—” She choked on the word, but Daniel put his finger on her lips.

“Shhh.” He breathed in the cool mountain air and hoped it would infuse him with strength to say what he needed to say—in a way Marti would understand, in a way she could forgive him.
Lord, please give me strength and the words to say.

He gently let her go and twisted to look at her, holding both her hands in his.

“Matty, when I heard you were in an accident, I was frantic. I caught the first flight home, rented a car at the airport, and drove to the hospital faster than I’ve ever driven in my life. When I saw you in that bed, all hooked up to tubes and machines . . . then I thought how it was going to kill you to hear we had lost our baby.” His voice broke, and he cleared his throat to continue.

“All I could think about was how you were my life. You meant everything to me. I vowed then to protect you, to help you through it all, to love you, to give you another child.”

He paused and rubbed his eyes with his hands. “Then the state patrol officers . . . and Mary Duke . . . walked into the hospital room. They told me you were responsible for the wreck. That you’d been drinking. That Vinny was dead, and Angie probably wouldn’t make it through the night. I couldn’t believe it at first, but the officers said they had an eye witness who said you’d been drinking and that’s what caused the accident. I was devastated. They told me they’d have to take you into custody when you were well enough to leave the hospital. When they left, Mary stayed. She pretended to comfort me through the pain, but when I told her you and I would get through it together, that’s when she told me she had proof that the baby wasn’t mine . . .”

A sharp intake of breath made Daniel look at Marti’s face. Wide eyes stared back at him. She tore her hands from his and placed them on her pale cheeks. Tormented eyes met his. “What?” That one word was barely above a whisper. She didn’t wait for him to answer. Sobs shook her body, and she turned away from him. “No, no, no.” Every word bled with pain. She stood up and shuffled back a step. “That’s not true.”

As quiet as her words were, Daniel heard them as if they had been shouted at the top of her lungs. He stood up beside her and continued, hesitant because of her gut reaction. “She said she had a witness who said you’d been spending time at . . . a man’s house in Cossio County. She said you had a blood test at the clinic and that he was the father.”

Marti seemed to gasp for air. “Who? Who did she say?”

“She didn’t say, at first. Then right before she died, she named Stanley Baxter.”

“Stanley Baxter? The carpenter in Pike?”

Daniel nodded. “She said she saw you in town with him at the café and that you were at his house at least one afternoon each week.”

“Of course I was—but with his sister, Chelsea. She was unmarried and pregnant. She was taking Lamaze classes here in Carson and needed a coach. Don’t you remember, Daniel? I told you about it. And I was in town at the Lamaze classes with his sister. Stanley drove her there. He picked her up at the café every week after Chelsea and I had lunch.”

“But, I saw you with him in town the other day. You had lunch with him.”

Marti shook her head. “No, Daniel. I ran into him there and asked him about Chelsea and the baby. He told me what she’s doing now, and we walked into the restaurant together, but I ate with Skyler and Cynthia. He had a business luncheon with a client.”

The air escaped Daniel’s mouth in one lung-collapsing breath. He stared at her, and the truth hit him like a blow to the chest. Mary had lied about this as well. All the pain he had inflicted on Marti because of Mary’s accusations. No, he couldn’t blame Mary. It was because of his own bull-headedness and pride and willingness to listen to gossip. He’d been embarrassed to find out that he’d been scorned by Marti in front of the whole town. He should have talked to Marti first—let her have a chance to refute the accusations. And Chris. All this time, and he hadn’t known Chris was
his own son
.

He raised his eyes to hers but dropped his gaze to the ground when he saw the pain reflected in her eyes like blue pools of crystal clear water. The horrible things he had said. Anguished moans tore through him, and his stomach roiled with nausea. He turned away from her then, too full of shame to face her. He turned his back on her and walked toward the falls, staring at the mountains. What kind of person would listen to gossip and not even ask his wife for her side of the story? Marti had endured such agony because of him. She was so special. He didn’t deserve her.

There was no physical touch, no sound, just a sense that she came up behind him, and when she spoke, her voice was close and soft like an angel’s voice. “Daniel? It’s okay, Daniel. It’s all in the past. We can forget it now and get on with our lives.”

Daniel turned around then. He took her hand in his and captured her gaze. Tears blurred his vision and spilled onto his cheek.

“I have no life without you, Matty. I know I have no right to ask you, but I don’t want to live without you. All this time when I couldn’t remember who you were, I still had this feeling, this closeness, this longing to be with you. Now that I remember what we had, I can’t face giving it up.”

Unexpected tears filled her eyes, as they searched his for truth. “What about Veronica?”

“Veronica has always been . . . just a friend. I’m not even sure she’s that anymore. I don’t know why she told all those lies, but I never felt the same way about her as I did you. Even when I couldn’t remember you, Matty, I couldn’t put my finger on it, but deep down, I knew the relationship between Veronica and I wasn’t what it should be.” Daniel softly rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “I gave my life to God, Matty. Not long after you left, I turned to your God for comfort. Dad kept telling me to pray about the marriage to Veronica, but after the accident, I couldn’t remember how to pray. Now I see why my dad wanted to bring you here. He knew if you were around, I couldn’t help falling in love with you again. And, he was right.”

Marti rubbed her cheek against the palm of Daniel’s hand. “Maybe this was God’s way of bringing you and your father to Him.”

Marti stilled when Daniel reached inside his pocket. He pulled out the wooden horse-head necklace she’d left on the sink at the hospital.

“Matty, my sweet Matty. I love you, sweetheart. Can we put the past behind us and make a whole new wonderful future together? If you can show me the forgiveness that the emerald in this necklace represents, I’ll spend the rest of my life making you the happiest wife in the world.”

Marti laughed. “I always loved you, Daniel. I’d feel honored to be your wife.”

Daniel looked at her eyes and saw the unexpected compassion, the complete forgiveness. She leaned toward him.

This kiss was the sweetest he’d ever remembered. The love of her heart spilled into his with that kiss, and he knew everything would be all right. She pressed her cheek against his, and the tears running down her face mingled with his. They held each other and cried together—their hearts blended into one for the first time in three years.

EPILOGUE

TWO WEEKS LATER

“I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU HUSBAND
and wife. Daniel, you may kiss your bride.”

Daniel leaned toward a beaming Marti and kissed her deeply. Marti heard hoots and hollers from among their friends and family, but what broke them apart was Chris pushing between them.

“Mama and Daddy. That’s enough kissin’. Can I have some cake now?”

Everyone laughed, and Marti leaned down to kiss Chris on the cheek. “In a minute, sweetheart. First let’s give Grandpa his present, okay?”

Chris jumped up and down. “Yes, yes, yes!” He ran to the corner where a large object was hidden beside the huge fireplace in the den of the ranch house. There, Chris stood beside the object, which was draped in black velvet, and held the cord as he had been assigned.

Daniel and Marti each grabbed one of Gerald’s arms and led him to the velvet-draped object.

“What’s this?” Gerald protested.

Marti turned to Gerald and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Dad, this is for you.” She nodded to Chris, who pulled the golden cord hanging from the velvet. One tug slipped the velvet off to reveal a portrait displayed on an easel. The wedding guests gasped collectively.

Gerald remained frozen. His stood transfixed by the gorgeous face of his daughter, Angie Rushing Welsh. Tears formed in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks, and his face twisted with strong emotion. He pulled Marti to him and squeezed her tightly.

“Oh, Marti. My sweet Martha. It’s beautiful, and it’s exactly like her. How can I thank you? You are so special to me and so sweet to think of painting this for me. I love you, Marti.” He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes. “Now I have a portrait of each of my children, but my collection is not yet complete. I need one more painting of one last family member.”

Marti’s brow drew together in a frown. “One more? Who?”

“You, of course.”

Their friends standing around them were moved.

“
Awww
.”

“How sweet.”

“Isn’t that special?”

Marti didn’t know what to say.

Stella walked up to her and gave her a hug. “I agree, Gerald. She has to do a self-portrait to hang with the rest of the family.”

Gerald hugged her again. “You’re my daughter, Marti, and your picture should be on the wall with the rest of the family.”

Now tears formed in Marti’s eyes, and her throat felt tight. “Thank you, Dad. Thank you.”

Daniel wrapped an arm around Marti and kissed her on the cheek. “I agree, Dad. The family wouldn’t be complete without my Matty.”

Sandra stepped up and put her arms around Marti. “Well, love, it looks like the Lord gave you your ‘amigo del alma’ after all.”

Marti hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Sandra, for nagging me back into God’s arms. You’re so special. I’m going to miss you.”

“I might be around more than you think. I’m moving the gallery to Carson. Running a business in a big city is running me ragged. I’d like to settle down in a nice little town like Carson. Would you be interested in helping me get it started? I seem to remember a promise to hang my next exhibit if I prayed for you, and you know I’ve been doing that for years.”

Marti giggled. “Would I! Oh, Sandra, how wonderful. I’d be able to see you and Wade often, and I’m so happy you’re moving.”

Sandra gave her another hug.

“Wow, Marti. I’m so happy for you,” Alana remarked with a hug as she and Jaydn walked over to the group.

Jaydn shook hands with Daniel. “Congratulations, my friend. You married a very talented young lady. Looks like we both lucked out in the wife department. They’re both pretty special.”

“You’re right, Jaydn. They are. Hey, let’s keep in touch.”

“Most definitely. Alana will miss having her new friend around, so we’ll be visiting back here often. Marti’s got her hooked on horseback riding now. We may get some advice on buying horses for the orphanage.”

Marti sucked in an excited breath. “That’s a great idea. Horses are therapeutic—especially for children.”

Brent Simmons and Amber Pike walked over to offer their congratulations.

“I’m glad everything worked out, you two,” said Brent. He nodded toward Chris, who was patiently standing beside the cake table. “He seems to have adjusted quickly enough.”

Daniel nodded. “He’s doing great. We redecorated the bedroom next to the master suite, and he’s thrilled with the choo choo trains Marti painted on the walls.”

Amber laughed. “It must be nice—having an artist in the family.”

Daniel smiled and gave Marti a kiss on the cheek. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Marti touched Brent’s sleeve. “Brent, what about Parker and Anita’s little boy, Gavin? Daniel told me that Mary arranged an illegal adoption for them at the same time she adopted Chris and that Parker and Anita were afraid they might lose their son.”

“No, everything turned out okay for them. When Parker found out about Mary’s deception concerning Chris, he had
a lawyer check into Gavin’s adoption. The lawyer was able to legalize Gavin’s adoption, so Parker and Anita have nothing to worry about.”

“So that’s why he acted so strange. I guess he was worried sick.”

Brent nodded and leaned in. “I also wanted to tell you that we’re positive Veronica had no knowledge about her parents’ activities concerning Chris. We conducted an extensive investigation and confirm that she was completely innocent of the whole thing—had no idea Chris was your son.”

Daniel looked at Marti. “That’s good to know. Poor Veronica. I actually feel sorry for her. First she lost her mother. Now she’s lost her father and Chris all at the same time. She has nothing and no one.”

Marti leaned close to Daniel and looked into his eyes. “She can visit Chris anytime she wants.”

“I love you, darling. Did you know that?”

Marti nodded and kissed him again, reveling in the wonderful, joyful emotion filling her.

“Nuff kissin’, Mama. Nuff kissin’, Daddy. I want some cake!”

Everyone laughed.

Marti leaned over and touched Chris on the nose. “All right, sweetie. Let’s go get cake.” Daniel and Marti each took one of Chris’s hands. As Chris walked between Marti and Daniel, Marti’s heart was completely full—full of acceptance and love. The Lord had indeed “restored what the locusts had eaten” . . . over and abundantly. What a wonderful ending for a new beginning.