Mastered by His Touch-Complete Box Set (35 page)
I sobbed a while more. Caden and I kissed as the sun touched the edge of the world.
Then we just held each other, our feet making splashy sounds in the water.
"So you never went in search of the gold mine?" I said.
"No," he said.
"Do you think there ever was one?"
"No. I think Sebastian had nothing to believe in. He never understood love. So he made something up. Something higher to pursue. Likely his grandfather and great-grandfather made it up too. I don't think there ever was a gold mine."
He kissed my forehead.
"Give fools their gold," he said, "and knaves their power. Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall. Who sows a field, or trains a flower, or plants a tree, is more than all."
I lifted my head off his shoulder.
"I've heard that before," I said. "Who said that?"
"John Greenleaf Whittier," he said.
The sun was almost gone. One stream of light colored the sky in a splendor of purple-blush-gold.
"I have one more question," I said.
"Anything," he said. "I'm all yours."
"You told me you made up the name Caden Storm when you met Sebastian and Valentina. When you sat here on the dock and created a new Caden Storm, why did you keep the name? Why didn't you go back to your original name?"
"Because Caden Storm needed to find redemption. He needed to suffer and pay for his sins. He needed to reclaim his self-respect, hopefully making up somewhat for his terrible past. Plus, I didn't know how to be anything but Caden Storm. The original me was replaced by Caden Storm when I was twelve and got in the back of that Bentley in Tampa. I have no idea what he would have become if he hadn't made that choice."
I looked up at him. He was staring off at the sunset.
"Hey," I said.
He turned and looked at me with his magnificent aquamarine eyes, aglow with the colors of twilight.
"Caden Storm is redeemed," I said. "You can be yourself now."
He kissed me.
"I love you, Kiri," he said.
"I love you, Jacob," I said.
The sun dipped below the water.
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