Page 66 of All I've Waited For

A stream of heavy breath hit the phone, crackling over the sound waves. “I’ve decided to adopt Noah Robinson.”

“What?”

“I know. It’s a huge decision, but his grandma’s been moved to a memory care facility. Social services has tried locating his mother and other family members and they just can’t find anyone. Mary’s nearest neighbor up the road is still keeping Noah, but she’s moving away in a few months.” Shannon’s voice trembled. “Ash, he’s the sweetest kid, and I just can’t sit by and let him go into the system. He’d probably have to leave Walker Beach, be far away from the one family member he has.”

“Oh, Shan. You’re the most generous person I know.” Ashley bit her lip. “Are you sure about this? You’ll be a single mom. That’s hard work.”

“It’s much harder to think that I could have done something and didn’t.”

“What did your parents say?”

“They’re still kind of hesitant, I think. But I’m hoping they come around.” Shannon grew quiet. “What doyouthink?”

The front door of Derek’s house opened and Heather stepped out. She waved when she saw Ashley sitting in the car.

Ashley returned the wave. “I think you’ll be a great mom, and I’m happy to help you any way I can.”

“Thank you, cuz. That means the world.”

After they said goodbye, Ashley blew out a breath. Wow. The thought of being a single mom—that was tough. But Heather Campbell rocked at it, as did a few others Ashley knew. Shannon would be great.

Speaking of Heather, she was still standing on the front porch.

Ashley shut the car off and climbed out. “Hey, girl.”

“Hey, yourself. Derek asked me to tell you to head to his cabin after all. But he wants you to walk. Oh, and you can leave your purse with me.”

Smiling, Ashley lifted a brow. “Mysterious.”

Derek’s sister strode forward, gently took the purse Ashley held out, and pointed toward the vineyard. “Go that way.”

Ah. Derek wanted to meet in their special spot. They’d been there several times since they’d finally stopped beating around the bush and declared their love for each other. “Thanks, Heather.”

Heather winked and disappeared back into the house.

Ashley started her trek through the vineyard. The moon’s light made the young grape clusters visible. Sooner than she could imagine, they’d be maturing into full-grown fruit ready for harvest.

As she approached the clearing in the middle of the vines, Ashley curved around a bend and pulled up short. Her hand flew to her mouth as her heart thudded against her ribs.

Luminaries lined the path in front of her.

As if on air, Ashley walked between the first pair, eyes peeled for anything else that didn’t belong.

And there, fluttering on the breeze, was a note clipped to a clothesline that had been tied to stakes in the ground—a line that traveled into the distance, beyond where Ashley could see. Next to the note hung a small flashlight no bigger than Ashley’s hand, which trembled as she reached for it. After clicking the light on, she plucked the note from the string.

Derek’s neat, uniform handwriting filled the page.

I remember the first time we were on the same team.

It was Ben’s thirteenth birthday party, and he invited me to go bowling with your family. You and I got paired together, and I remember groaning because I was sure I’d lose with a little girl on my side. But you showed us all.

I’ll never forget your victory dance when you scored the winning shot. Even at the age of ten, you were teaching me not to underestimate you—and also, that I loved being on your team.

She folded the note and held it against her heart. Oh, this man.

Moving down the lane, she came across another note. And another. And another. Each one spoke of precious memories of their early friendship.

Her chest expanded at the implications of what was happening. Was this real?

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