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“There once was this Irish lad I knew. Couldn’t have been more than twenty at the time. Fell deeply in love with a girl named Abby. Abby got spooked and ran off. O’Ryan wasn’t going to have it. He packed a bag and began searching for her. Took him four months before he finally found her. It took some winning over, but O’Ryan ended up marrying her and they popped out six kids.”
“How did he know where to look?” I asked as I watched my uncle down his beer. Wiping his mouth, he looked at me like I had just asked the stupidest question ever.
“He knew all of her favorite things. Her favorite places. He kept going until he found the one where she was.”
Pulling my head back, I let my uncle’s words sink in. “Favorite places, huh?”
Nodding, he pulled out his phone and showed me a picture. “Seems to me there was a beautiful young lady who you brought in a few months back. First thing I noticed was all of the New York Yankees shit she had on.”
Smiling, I let the memory of that day fill my body with warmth. “Uncle John, she’s been gone over a month. What if…”
Holding his hand up, he shook his head. “I’ve seen the way she looks at you, Preston. She’s waiting for you to find her. She may not know it, but she’s waiting.”
Chapter 25
Letting Go
Harmony
Standing on the beach, I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep cleansing breath. The time I had spent on Nantucket had been good for my soul, but terrible on my heart. I hadn’t slept more than four hours a night and woke up at least twice a night sweating. The nightmares hadn’t returned, thank God, but the feeling of loss seemed even greater.
Sitting down on the cold sand, I glanced over my shoulder at the lighthouse. I’d come to the lighthouse almost every day since coming to Nantucket a little over a month ago. I wasn’t sure why; it was as if it was drawing me to it. There was something there for me to find, I just hadn’t found it yet.
Standing, I slowly made my way back to the hotel. As I walked, I noticed couples walking hand in hand along the beach. Families running and playing chase with their kids as their laughter echoed off the waves crashing on the shore.
Wrapping my arms around me, I buried my face in my scarf as I walked back to the boardwalk. A little girl ran up to me, letting out a squeal. “It’s Princess Elsa from Frozen!” Stopping, I quickly turned and looked behind me. The next thing I knew, I had little arms wrapped around my legs. Laughing, I glanced down as big brown eyes stared up at me.
“Why, hello,” I said with a giggle.
Smiling the biggest grin I’d ever seen, she said, “Wow. It’s really you. Let’s sing ‘Let It Go’!”
My mouth dropped open as I said, “Um…” Glancing around, I saw a couple walking up laughing.
“In her defense, you do kind of look like Princess Elsa,” the father said with a chuckle.
Reaching up, I played with my braid as I smiled back at the little girl. My heart ached with thoughts of TJ, but something else happened as well as I looked into her brown eyes. It was as if she was searching my soul and trying to tell me something. Bending down, I tapped her nose and said, “I love the movie Frozen, but alas, I am not Princess Elsa.”
Jutting out her lower lip, she stomped her foot on the ground. “Drat. Can I still tell my friends at school I saw a princess?”
My heart melted as tears formed in my eyes. Preston’s whispered words from the last night we spent together flooded my thoughts.
“I love you so much, princess. I’d climb the tallest tower just to hold you in my arms forever.”
“Someone once told me I was a princess. If he said it, it must be true.” Jumping up and down, the little girl took off running again as her father went after her.
“Hey, don’t run off! Pumpkin!”
Laughing, she called out, “Daddy, try to catch me.”
Laughing too, I turned back to the mother. “She’s adorable. Her daddy sure does love her.”
Nodding, I saw the happiness dancing in the mother’s eyes. “Thank you. Her daddy died a few years back and Scott has been so patient waiting for her to open up to him. Really, he’s been patient with both of us.”
Swallowing hard, I looked back at them. The man was spinning the little girl around as she laughed. “I’m so sorry for your loss. She seems very happy, though.”
Letting out a chuckle, she said, “She is happy. I’m so glad I took the leap of faith and opened my heart again to love. It’s an incredible feeling once you let the walls you build up after such heartache fall down.”
My head jerked back to look at her. “What?” I whispered.
