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rejected her. She led a lonely life here. I was in the
inidst of a very bad time myself, convinced I would
not live long. I was bitter and withdrawn. Your
mother and I met, and for a time she filled my life
with hope and happiness. We talked about marriage
and made wonderful plans.
"Then Heaven left to pursue her lost family,
and while she was away, as you know from the letter
you read, Jillian told me the truth: Tony was Heaven's
father; she was my niece. Knowing we could never
marry, I wrote her a letter and left Farthy to travel and
try to forget.
"I returned while she was away- and, as you
know, rode Jillian's horse Abdtilla Bar into the ocean,
convincing everyone, even Tony, I was dead. "And I was dead, dead to anything warm and
hopeful, just wandering about, waiting for the inevitable end of my wretched existence.
"But it didn't come. I lived on past the time I
had drea4t I would die. Once again, hopeful, even renewed, I returned, dreaming of some kind of existence
with Heaven, but by then she had reunited with Logan
and they had married. I was living in the cottage
secretly and secretly watched their wedding receptite
at Farthy, my heart shriveling.
"For a while I wandered about the grounds and
even entered the building surreptitiously, behaving as
one of Rye Whiskey's spirits, just so I could see her
ueobserved. Your mother sensed my presence and
carne to the cottage. I tried to hide from her in the tunnels, but she pursued and . . discovered me, dis
covered I was really still alive.
"We both mourned the love we had lost, but"--
his eyes lifted to gaze upon my face--"we didn't leave
