Love Immortal (43 page)

He motioned towards a comfortable looking,
well-worn leather chair. As she sat, she asked, “What do you want
to talk about?”

He pulled an ottoman that didn’t match the
chair closer to her and sat down so that he could rest his hands on
her legs. “I’ve been thinking, about us. I mean, about what us
would mean to you.”

“What do you mean?”

“My uncle was right. If you and I were to
stay together you would have to give so much up. I don’t know if I
could take that away from you.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed, tiredly as if he had been thinking
about this for days. “Jewell, if you were to stay with me, you
would need to give up everything. You couldn’t stay here. You
couldn’t keep your job, your friends; even your dad. I don’t know
how often you would be able to see him, or even talk to him on the
phone. It’s my way of life. It’s how I’ve always lived so I never
really thought about it, but lately…” he shook his head. “I can’t
give you what you deserve. I can’t be what I want to be.”

Jewell sat quietly for several minutes. “So,
this is it? You’re leaving?”

“My uncle won’t let me stay with you, and he
won’t let me take you with us. But it’s your decision. In the end,
I can’t decide for you because if I do, I will take away from you
the last thing that I can offer; your right to choose.”

“Do I have to make a decision now?”

“No. Right now, we don’t have any definite
plans to leave, but we won’t stay long; maybe a couple of months at
the most.”

“Right now then, I just want to spend time
with you.” She looked around. “It’s really late. I don’t want to
drive an hour and a half home. Do you mind if I just crash here for
a couple of hours?”

Collin looked startled at the sudden shift in
the conversation. “No, not at all. You can take the bed,” he
started to walk toward a door on the other side of the room that
Jewell hadn’t noticed earlier. “I’ll just sleep in one of the rooms
inside. Or you can sleep in the main house if you feel more
comfortable; there are plenty of rooms.” Collin was babbling. He
was nervous because for the first time in his life, he really
wanted something. He had never wanted anything before in his life,
but now he wanted, needed, something and whether he got it or not
was no longer his decision.

“No, the bed is fine, but I don’t want to
sleep here by myself.”

“Of course not.” Collin answered. “I wasn’t
even thinking. The couch in here pulls out. I’ll sleep in here so
if you need anything…”

“I’m really tired. I just want to sleep, but
right now, I don’t want to be alone.” She took his hand and pulled
him toward the bedroom. She pulled down the covers, and crawled in
on one side of the bed. Collin pulled the sheet over her, and lay
on the bed next to her, cradling her head on his arm, and wrapping
his other arm around her waist. “Thank you.” She whispered as she
dropped off into a peaceful slumber.

Jewell woke up with the sun sneaking in
between the slits on the window blinds. She was in the bed alone.
She got out of bed and walked to the door, where she saw Collin
sitting in the old leather chair. When he heard her he looked up
from the book he was reading. “Good morning Honeysuckle. Did you
sleep well?”

“Wonderful. I would love to wake up like this
every morning.” She smiled as he stood up.

“I’m sure Gladys has breakfast. She makes the
best biscuits and serves them with cane syrup.” He took her hand
and led her into the main house and down the long hallway to the
kitchen in the back. True to his word, Gladys was taking a pan of
biscuits out of the oven.

“Hey kids. Everyone else has already eaten.
Sit down and have some biscuits. There’s sausage on the table, and
cane syrup is in the pitcher.” Gladys smiled as she shuffled around
the kitchen, pouring glasses of juice, getting plates and
silverware, and making sure Collin and Jewell had everything they
needed. When she was satisfied that all was in order she sat
down.

Gladys sat at the table, watching them eat.
“I want to talk to you two.” She sat studying their faces. Reaching
across the table, she took one of each of their hands and placed
them together on the table, with hers covering theirs protectively.
“Don’t let anyone tell you what to do.” She looked at them
seriously, making sure that they were listening to what she said.
“The Family can take care of itself. And the Family can and will
take care of you too. No matter what you are told, Family protects
Family and if you decide to bring Jewell into your life, then she’s
Family too. It won’t be easy, but if you love each other,” she
paused, smiling, “it’ll work itself out. If you need anything, you
come to me and I’ll take care of it.” She stood up and left the
room before either Collin or Jewell had time to process what she
had said and formulate a response.

Jewell and Collin sat together quietly in the
kitchen without saying anything for several minutes before Jewell
finally broke the silence. “I really need to get home.” Collin
nodded and taking her hand, he led her back to the servants’
quarters to collect her things.

Jewell drove Collin back to the hospital so
he could pick up his car. As he started to get out of the car, he
grabbed her hand. “It will work out.” Jewell nodded without saying
anything and watched him as he walked to his car.

CHAPTER 54

Jewell sat alone in her house. It was her day
off, her father was at work, and Ashley was on a date with Ray.
Jewell heard Collin’s car when it drove into the driveway and she
met him at the door. She didn’t move to the side to let him in;
instead, she stood blocking the doorway. What she had to tell him
had to be short. If she let him in, if he sat down, she would lose
her nerve.

Collin leaned forward to kiss her and she
turned her head so he kissed her on the cheek. She suppressed a
shudder as the electricity of his touch shot through her. She knew
she would never find that again; she knew that she would never love
anyone again. She was going to die an old spinster; a crazy cat
lady. Her lips curved into a tight, painful smile at the
thought.

“You’re not going to come with me.” It was a
statement. Somehow, he knew all along that this was the choice she
would make. It was almost a relief that she had made the decision;
that he didn’t have to tell her that it would be better for her to
stay with her family. He didn’t have the strength to leave her on
his own, but he didn’t have the heart to subject her to a life on
the run, to take her away from everything she had everything she
had ever known. He nodded, and started to turn to leave.

As he turned, she reached out, grabbing his
arm to stop him. “Wait. It’s not what you think. I can’t bear the
thought of you having to watch me grow old. Percy…well, the longer
we’re together the harder it will be for you when I…” she swallowed
the tears that were trying to push through to the surface. She
couldn’t bring herself to say die. “…when I can’t be with you
anymore. I can’t bear the thought of you suffering for centuries
like your uncle. This way, you can remember me as I am and that
way, I’ll always be alive in your memories. I don’t want your last
thought of me to be of holding me when I die.” She stepped back to
close the door. “I just wanted you to know my reasons.”

As she started to close the door, Collin put
out his hand to stop it from closing. “I’ll wait for you until the
end of time. If you ever change your mind, I will be there. You
will always be mine, Honeysuckle. I’ll never love anyone else.” He
stepped back, dropping his hand to his side and turned to leave not
wanting to see the door close.

As she watched him leave, she heard a single
word echo through her mind, “forever.”