Page 93 of Captured By the Billionaire Cowboy
“It looks like they’re still around, and they must know us. Did you tell anyone we were coming?” Rowan seemed about to say no, then stopped. She knew that look. “Do you know who it is?”
He exhaled lowly. “I’m not sure. Do you want to open it?”
She hesitated. After all these years, it seemed strange to solve the mystery. Yet how could she ignore the chance to learn the truth? She tore open the crisp linen envelope, removed the scented note underneath. She read out loud, “Dear Ciara and Rowan. It warms our hearts to share our magical garden with you. It’s been our special place this last half a century.” She blinked. “Half a century?”
He shook his head. “Read on,” he urged.
“We spent many wonderful moments here, each one stolen. We’re so happy you’ve found this place, and each other. For years we wondered if you would.”
“They know us well.” Thoughts swirled, possibilities and impossibilities as she returned to the letter. “Your future is brilliant, forged from the beauty of the past. Always remember what is truly important. All our love…” Her voice trailed off. “Oh my goodness.”
“What?” Rowan leaned over her. “Who wrote it?”
His eyes widened when he saw the letter, then he smiled softly. “Frank and Caleigh.”
“The initials,” Ciara murmured. She searched out the tree, traced the letters carved so long ago. “When Grandma Leigh signed the contract for catering, she used her full name – Caleigh.”
Her uncail never married, and he certainly never talked about romance. Yet all this time, he’d had a secret love. “Did you know about this?”
“No idea,” Rowan admitted. “Frank knew I was bringing you here today, however. He must have snuck in so it would be waiting for us.
She reread the letter, stopped atstolen moments. “I wonder why they never got together,” she mused quietly. She picked up the smooth box. So many mysteries, a love lost… or found?
“Open it.”
She carefully unwrapped the paper to reveal a simple white box. With only slight hesitation, she lifted the top, revealing a thick book with a rich burgundy cover and gilded pages. She grasped the heavy volume, removed it from its cradle and turned to the first page.
“Wow,” she breathed at the stunning photographs. They were faded with age, yet preserved with love, carefully tucked in handmade borders. The first was a larger version of the picture in her locket, showing Rowan and her blossoming with the innocence of youth. They wore oversized overalls, brilliant smiles and pure happiness. She turned the page to another snapshot with the same exuberance, this one showing them splashing underneath a small, natural waterfall. She turned to another photograph and then another, reflecting so many memories, a hundred moments captured in time.
The photographs showed not just one summer, but all the summers she’d visited, encompassing years of her childhood. They showed lazy days, fun adventures and festive celebrations. She and Rowan were the sole subjects of the pictures, for Frank had been the photographer, and such fun usually occurred when Rowan’s father was away. Yet nothing could mar the beauty of those childhood summers spent with the best of friends.
She turned to the last page and stopped, smiling softly in sweet nostalgia. It depicted that very last summer. Rowan had grown to a lanky teenager, just hinting at the powerful man he would become. He was down on one knee, smiling up at her as she preened above him.
Ciara closed her eyes as hazy images from long ago drifted back. Even though summer’s end was imminent, it had been an especially warm day, as if the sun were giving one more brilliant performance before the coolness of autumn. She would soon return to school and desperately wanted a part in the senior play. Somehow, she’d convinced Rowan to practice with her, toplay the part of adoring prince to her princess. Frank had shown up just as they reached the scene where he proposed.
Rowan commanded a powerful presence even back then, bearing an expression of serious intent. Young Ciara gazed back at him, an adoring smile on her lips. They may have been practicing, yet there was nothing pretend about her reaction. She had not been that good an actress.
She had already been in love with him.
“Such sweet memories.” Softly she closed the book she would always treasure. She turned to Rowan, only he was no longer standing behind her.
He was down on one knee.
“Oh.” With a soft cry, Ciara brought her hands to her lips. Rowan reached into his pocket and removed a small cherry wood box. He opened it to reveal a symbol to represent a lifetime of dreams, a sparkling faceted diamond surrounded by a halo of round emeralds. It glinted every color in the Irish sun, shining like the love in her heart. Rowan’s mask had vanished, replaced by a single emotion:
Pure Love.
He took a deep breath… and began. “Ciara, I loved you from the moment I spotted you talking to that horse, insisting she could understand. You are kind, compassionate and so very strong. You do so much for everyone you meet, like how you defended my brother, and how you fought for your horses. You touch countless lives.”
Ciara blinked at the man who always saw the best in her. She would do the same for him. “You do as much with your charity work, and by helping your family and friends. You’ve just always hidden it.”
“I’m no longer hiding.” Strength championed his words. “Most of all my love for you. I am sorry for what happened so many years ago. I kept telling myself it was to protect you,because I couldn’t give you what you deserved. Yet you proved I was nothing like my father.”
Moisture glistened in her vision. “Not even a little,” she whispered.
“You were, and have always been, my first love. I am no longer willing to give up what I love for fear. Even if I have to move across the ocean, I’ll do anything to be with you.” He stood tall, powerful, unwavering. “Our lives are intertwined by love, driven by destiny. There is nothing I want more than to have a family with you. I love you.”
Ciara’s heart soared.
