Between Two Worlds (34 page)

“I can’t believe Charlotte’s dead,” she said. Her eyes were damp
and rimmed in red.

“She had a weak heart.” Gabriel was sensitive to her loss. “She’d
been having chest pains for some time and tremors in her hands, but she didn’t
tell a soul.”

“I saw her hands shaking,” Delaney recalled. “I wish I’d known.”

“I did what I could to ease her suffering,” he told her. “Lucy,
Donovan and I were all with her at the end. Thank God Lucinda had come by when
she did. She’s the one who found Charlotte on the floor of the kitchen.”

“I’m glad you were all with her. How did Donovan come to be here?”

“I knew Charlotte didn’t have much time. Her face was ashen, and
her breath was shallow. There was no sense in moving her to the clinic, so I
put her in her own bed. She whispered that she wanted me to fetch Donovan. She
told me to hurry, because she had to tell him something urgent. So I sent Lucy
for him while I administered morphine to ease her pain.”

Delaney nodded, imagining how it all had transpired. “What I don’t
understand is why she didn’t she tell me she was an O’Reilly before I left. She
could have said something when she found out who my mother was. We were
becoming close. I’m at a loss as to why she didn’t want me to know we were
related.”

“Maybe she was waiting for the right time to tell you,” Gabriel suggested.
“Whatever her reasons were for not saying anything, she followed the O’Reilly
tradition in the end and exercised her right to a wish. Her final words were spoken
to Donovan.”

Delaney smiled and placed her hand over Gabriel’s.

“She brought you back to me,” he said. “That was her gift to you.
Perhaps whatever is in that envelope will explain more.”

Delaney ran her finger under the flap and slipped the letter out
of its skin and skimmed the page before reading it out loud. She cleared her
throat and willed the tears not to fall.

“I, Charlotte O’Reilly Quinn, being of sound mind and body, do
hereby put on paper my Last Will and Testament on this thirteenth day of June,
1888. I leave my home on Washington Street in Phoenix, Arizona, and all my furnishings,
and the money in my account in the National Bank of Arizona, to my great,
great, great niece, Delaney Marshall, to do with as she pleases. Signed,
Charlotte O. Quinn.”

Delaney stared at Gabriel. “Oh, my gosh. Can you believe this?
She’s left it all to me.”

“Is there no personal note?” he asked.

“No. I wish there was. I wonder why she didn’t write a letter to
me.”

“She probably hoped you’d find your way back here somehow, so she
could tell you the truth about your family herself. I’m sure she didn’t expect
to die so soon. I suppose she thought you and she would have some time to get
to know one another.”

“Then why did she write out her will? It’s signed the day after
Georgia, Fletch and I crossed the bridge.”

Gabriel shrugged. “She must have decided right then that she
wanted you to have it all. She was an organized person, as you know, and a real
stickler for detail. Once her mind was made up about it, I suppose she wanted
it written down and sealed, and that was that. After all, you were the last of
her kin.”

Delaney folded the paper and slipped it back into the envelope.
She pushed back from the table and stood up and glanced around the room. “I
can’t believe this is all mine.”

“I’m so happy for you, Delaney.” When Gabriel grinned, her heart
skipped a beat, and it was like she’d never left. She tugged on his arm, urging
him to stand, and then she wrapped her hands around his waist and kissed his
lips.

“You know, it will be awfully lonely living in this house all by myself.”

“That’s true,” he said. “Maybe you can take in borders, like
Charlotte did.”

“Nope.” She wagged her head. “I have a better idea.”

“What’s that?” He nibbled on her neck, causing a pleasant
sensation to roll through her torso.

She ran the tip of her finger along his stubbly chin and rubbed the
palm of her hand over his five o’clock shadow. “Why don’t we get married, and
we’ll live here together.”

He pulled back and smiled. “Are you proposing to me, Delaney
Marshall?”

“Yes.” She smiled.

“This is 1888, darlin’. The man’s supposed to do the asking when
matrimony is involved.”

“Well, I’m a modern woman, Dr. Whitman. You should know by now
that I do things differently.”

A wide smile split his lips, and he laughed. “Yes. I
do
know.
That’s one of the reasons I love you.” He kissed her
eyelids, the tip of
her nose, and the arch of her neck.

“That’s the first time you’ve used the L word,” she said quietly.

Gabriel looked deep into her eyes. “I love you more than you’ll
ever know, Delaney. I’ll tell you I love you every day from now on, if that’s
what you desire to hear.”

She grinned and ran her hand down his muscular thigh. “That
is
what
I want. I love you, too, Gabriel. Does this mean you’ll marry me?”

“How can I refuse such a beautiful, feisty, modern woman?” he
answered, chuckling.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

He nodded. “You can take that, and all the rest of me. I’m yours
for life.”

Delaney flung her arms around his neck and branded him with
scorching kisses. When they parted, she told him, “I’d like to have the wedding
ceremony here on the front porch of our home. Would that be all right with
you?”

“Whatever you want, my love. I’m sure Charlotte would approve.”

“Then we can set up our practice and move the clinic here,” she
said with unbridled enthusiasm. “The house is so large it can serve as a
hospital, too. We’ll have plenty of rooms for patients who need to stay, and an
operating room for you to do surgeries. We’ll each have our own offices, too.”
She gazed into the parlor, imagining the possibilities.

“You’ve planned this all out, haven’t you?” he said, grinning.
Then he stopped and raised a hand. “Wait a minute. You said
we
can set
up our practice here, and have our own offices.”

“That’s right. I want to be your partner in life,
and
in your
practice. I don’t want to be a nurse or your assistant, Gabriel. I want to be a
doctor, like you. It’s my calling. I know that now.”

He hugged her close. “Oh, Delaney. I never imagined I’d ever meet
a woman like you. We’re going to have a wonderful life, you and me—with our
medical practice, and our house full of children.”

She kissed him again. “I don’t need the O’Reilly second sight to
know that’s one dream that’s definitely going to come true.”

Epilogue

“Wake up, Samuel!”

What is it now?” inquired the grumpy old leprechaun.

“I thought I’d congratulate ye on a job well done. Delaney and
Gabriel are gettin’ hitched today.”

“Oh. Isn’t that some fine news,” Sam said. “Thank ye, laddie for
lettin’ me know. You did a splendid job yerself, as always.”

“Thank ye, grandda.”

“If ye don’t mind, I’ll get back to me sleep now,” Sam said,
yawning. “Wake me when it’s time to go to work again.”

“Aye,” Donovan replied.  “Sweet dreams.”

About the Author

Stacey Coverstone is a multi-published author of western romance,
romantic suspense, Gothic romance and ghost stories. She lives in Maryland with
her husband and their dogs, cats, and a paint horse named Bill. They have two grown
daughters and a baby granddaughter.

When Stacey’s not writing, she enjoys traveling, photography, reading,
target shooting, fishing, camping, and making scrapbooks of her adventures. 
She also likes to watch her husband and Bill team-pen cows.

For more information on Stacey and her many books, please visit
her website:

http://www.staceycoverstone.com

Feel free to join her Announce Only Newsletter if you’d like to be
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