Page 85 of Spilling the Tea

He studied their surroundings. Although the fruit grove had always been a special place for them, there was no way he would make love to her on the cold ground. He stared at her and asked. “Will you go to the cabin with me?Ourcabin?” He knew for as long as he lived, no other woman would ever share that cabin with him. He had built it for her. For them.

She nodded. “Yes, I’ll go.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“All aboard!”

The steamship conductor’s voice increased Victoria’s heart rate when she realized that she was really doing this. She was leaving Texas for Paris. She wished she could think of this as an exciting new adventure, but there was no way she could when she was leaving her heart in Houston.

Victoria would forever have memories of the day she and Waylon spent together at their cabin. She got goose bumps whenever she thought about how she’d given herself to him, totally and completely, and how he’d done the same for her, knowing it would be their first and last time. Their lovemaking had been beautiful, passionate, and special—just as she’d always dreamed.

Afterward, they held each other, not saying anything. There was nothing left to be said. However, he had made her promise that if their time together resulted in a pregnancy, to write and let him know. Promise or no promise, they would marry.

Later that day, when they re-dressed, she began crying. He’d drawn her into his arms and, with misty eyes, told her that heloved her and would always love her. His heartfelt words made her cry even more.

In consideration of her soreness, he hitched his horse trailer to the back of his truck and returned to the fruit grove for Magic. Hoping Milton and Fee had not returned from shopping, he had driven her home.

“Last call. All aboard!” the conductor’s second warning sounded, interrupting her thoughts. Scanning the crowd gathered on the dock to see the passengers off, she saw her entire family was there. Uncle QT’s visit had greatly helped with her father’s rehabilitation. He was no longer using a cane, and his facial features showed no sign he’d had a stroke.

When the steamship whistle sounded, Uncle QT, who’d gone below to check out their cabins, returned by her side. “You’re okay, Victoria?” he asked her with concern.

She forced a smile. “Yes, Uncle QT, I’m okay.”

When she felt the ship beginning to move, she waved goodbye to her family, blowing kisses to them. Suddenly, she felt an intense stirring in the pit of her stomach. Shifting her eyes from her family, she searched the crowd and saw him.

Waylon.

He was standing on a section of the dock—alone. Seeing him and the mistiness in his eyes and the look in his features, displaying all the love he had in his heart for her, nearly brought her to her knees. She also saw his pain. The same pain she felt in every part of her body. Not bothering to fight back her tears and not caring if any of her family members were watching, she raised her hand in a final wave to him, and knowing he could read her lips, she mouthed the words, “I will always love you.”

She watched him raise two fingertips to his lips to blow her a kiss. She read his lips. “And I will love you forever, Victoria.”

Their gazes held until they could no longer see each other.

Part Five

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leap fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

—Maya Angelou

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Present day…

When Zoey returned to the cabin from the post office, she tried to stop her heart from racing while opening the box. Placing the three diaries aside, she immediately opened the first of four photo albums, deciding to start with the oldest and work her way through.

There weren’t many pictures of her great-grandparents, Waylon and Deedra. The ones taken were in black-and-white and, in some instances, grainy. But still, she could tell Waylon Satterfield had been a very handsome man. In one photo, he appeared to be in his thirties, tall and muscular, with a pair of dark, friendly eyes. Deedra Satterfield stood around five-six and had beautiful features. They wore their Sunday best, indicating they’d probably gone to church that day.

There was also their wedding picture. Waylon was dressed in a dark suit, and she was in a pretty blue dress and holding a lovely bouquet. Zoey recalled Ms. Felicia saying Deedra had been a widow, which was probably why she hadn’tworn a gown. She looked young, no more than eighteen, although Ms. Felicia Laverne said she’d been twenty-two when they’d married.

There were also photos of Arabella as a little girl with her parents. They projected the perfect family.

An hour later, she placed the photo albums aside, filled with emotions after viewing numerous snapshots of her ancestors. The photos that had touched her emotionally more than the others were the ones in the album her parents had kept. It contained their wedding pictures, vacations they had taken together, her baby pictures, and pictures of various stages of her life while growing up under her parents’ loving, watchful, and protective eyes.

Numerous pictures included not only her and her parents together but also her grandparents. One such photo showed her fifth birthday being celebrated on the ranch. A table had been set up on the lawn, right in front of that giant oak tree. Was that why she remembered that tree that day she’d driven onto Chance’s property?

Zoey hoped seeing those photos of her childhood would trigger her memory. So far, they hadn’t. She was trying not to feel frustrated and not force her mind to recall anything like her therapist said. Instead, she would unwind and relax, believing the memories would come naturally. Still, she couldn’t wait for Lucky to see the albums and for Chance to see them, too.

Chance.

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