Page 78 of Destiny Reclaimed
Gwen propped herself up slightly to look at the man who slept beside her, the father of their son, her soulmate. She’d never thought she could love someone so much, but Jack and her son had taught her differently. The magnitude of love she felt for her family was indescribable.
She reached over and lightly touched the scar that started low on his forehead above his left eye and extended upward over his temple, then higher on the side of his head. His injury from Vietnam.
A lump rose in her throat. He’d been on the edge of death, so close to not making it home. If he hadn’t made it home, she’d never have come to realize the depth of love one could feel. The power of it. The lump in her esophagus enlarged. Her brothers, Marvin and Gary, were never afforded such during their short lives. She hated this war. Hated it.
If only she could go back in time and change things—save him—she would. She’d do anything to make that happen. But, that was just nonsense and wishful thinking. Time travel. Impossible.
She closed her eyes in an attempt to realign her thoughts. She’d just shared a wonderful emotional experience with her husband and wanted to relish in that rather than painful memories of loss.
Inhaling deeply, she took in her lover’s tantalizing, woodsy scent lined with a hint of leather. It brought her back to her pleasant, present moment.
Opening her eyes, she refocused on her husband who still rested comfortably. Her gaze drifted to his left earlobe, and she touched it lightly with her fingertips exactly as she’d done years ago when she’d first noticed it. Warmth saturated every cell of her being as she recalled him taking a knee in front of her. At the time, she hadn’t realized he would be proposing because her attention focused on his stitched-up ear. She almost laughed out loud.
She pulled her fingertips from him as to not wake him, but continued to watch him. So much love. Reaching down, she gripped the hem of the blanket and pulled up. When she went to tuck it up to his neck, she noticed a scar on his shoulder she’d never seen before. How in all this time had she not seen it? It was faint, but still... A round, purplish scar with jagged edges. She studied it for a few beats before her lips drew to it like a magnet. She kissed it lightly and lingered as she closed her eyes.
As she drifted off to sleep, a dream-like vision of her twin materialized. Her pulse ratcheted up but she froze in place, fearing she’d lose sight of her brother if she made even the slightest of movements.
Her brother stood a small distance away from her. Gazing at her. Smiling. How could he be smiling with that scene of war behind him? And how could she be standing here with him amid a war?
“Hey, sis. Can you do something for me?”
“Yes. Anything,” she whispered, or was that response just in her mind.
He closed the gap between them as he reached out to her, lightly gripping her upper arm with his warm hand.
“I know your heart is heavy. But, we’re all where we need to be. This is our destiny. I know you don’t like it, but this is where I’m meant to be. Marvin is where’s he’s meant to be. You are where you are meant to be. Jack is where he is meant to be.” Love emitted from his caramel gaze. “I love you, and I’m so proud of you. And your son.” He paused and drew in a breath. “My nephew is destined for great things, and though I wish more than anything I could meet him in person, this is how it needs to be.”
Before the last words were hardly out of her brother’s mouth, a beam of white light shone down from the sky, cutting through the haze of war and encircled him. He floated up as if he had the wings of an angel, and disappeared through clouds.
Her eyes fluttered open. A calming, peaceful sense washed over her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gabriela finished herconversation with her daughter and hung up the phone receiver. Though they lived only a couple of miles apart and saw each other nearly every day, they still ended their night with a phone call.
She smiled as she recalled her granddaughter’s coos as she sang her a lullaby over the phone. She could hardly carry a tune, but Ariel didn’t seem to mind. She couldn’t wait for her husband to get home from his business trip so she could tell him in person their granddaughter had taken her first steps today.
