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Declan didn’t laugh. Instead he gazed at her intently, his eyes flashing with an emotion she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Suddenly everything hushed and stilled between them. It felt to Annie as if they were the only two people at Deer Run Lake.
He grabbed her hand. “Seeing the northern lights is completely out of our control. There’s no way of predicting whether they’ll be visible or not. But I know the perfect place to view
them if they decide to come out and entertain us.”
Adrenaline raced through Annie as Declan led her toward higher ground and a spot on the hill that provided an unobstructed view of the celestial universe. Annie let out a sigh as she gazed up at a velvety sky illuminated by glittery stars and a luminous, fat moon.
“I forgot to tell you my big news.” Declan felt as if his chest might burst with pride.
Annie clapped her hands together. Her brown eyes grew wide in her face. “Oh, tell me, Declan. I love happy news.”
“I heard from the FAA about the crash. It wasn’t my fault. I’m officially cleared,” he announced. “It was a bird strike, not pilot error.”
Annie let out a hoot and jumped up and down. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in ages. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks,” Declan said, unable to stop himself from grinning ear to ear. “I have to admit, it’s a huge relief. I finally feel as if I can start moving forward and putting all this behind me.”
“It’s perfect, Declan. Almost as perfect as this Alaskan view. Sky. Moon. Stars. It makes me feel rather insignificant in the scheme of things,” Annie said.
He reached out and placed his hands on both sides of her face. “That’s the last thing you could ever be, Annie. From the moment I met you, I had a feeling you were going to turn my entire world upside down.”
Annie gulped. “Is that a good thing or a bad one?”
“A very wonderful thing.” Declan grinned. “This is way overdue. I’ve been wanting to kiss you since we crash-landed in the Chugach National Forest.”
“You have?” she whispered, bowled over by his admission. If Declan had known how many times she’d thought about being kissed by him, he would have been speechless.
“Yes, I have, Annie,” he said with a nod, just as he dipped his head down and placed his lips over hers. Declan’s lips were warm and inviting and filled with a tenderness that made her soul soar. He tasted like apples and cinnamon. She kissed him back, caught up in this wonderfully romantic moment. A tidal wave of emotion crashed over her as his lips slanted over hers. It had been years since anyone had kissed her. And this wasn’t just an ordinary kiss. And Declan O’Rourke wasn’t just your average man. He was everything she’d every hoped for wrapped up in the dreamiest of packages.
She would remember this wondrous kiss for the rest of her life. After being duped by love once, Annie had been afraid even to dip her toe into the pond. This kiss...this soul-stirring, amazing kiss...swept her up and carried her to a place she’d only dreamed about. She was soaring way up in the clouds, flying above the earth in a place where nothing could touch her.
As the kiss ended, Annie kept her eyes closed. She didn’t want this moment to end. For just a few more seconds, she wanted it to linger so she could savor it all the more. She knew that once she opened her eyes, it would be over and reality would set in. Suddenly she felt Declan’s lips tickling her lashes. She let out a giggle. He was kissing her eyelids. When she opened her eyes, he was staring straight at her, a look of wonderment radiating from his eyes.
At that exact moment, Annie knew she was a goner. The kiss had cemented it. There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind that she was falling happily, crazily, madly in love with Declan O’Rourke. And it confounded her, because she knew he was the last person in Love who believed in or wanted his own happily-ever-after.
* * *
As Declan stood side by side with Annie, gazing up at the vast universe, a feeling of peace settled over him. He’d spent most of his life chasing this feeling. As a kid, he had wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by calm. Yet his world had been filled with chaos. And now, out of the blue, he’d found serenity. It was strange to know with such a deep certainty that God had planted you exactly where you needed to be at exactly the right time.
Raw emotion grabbed him by the throat. It had been such a long while since he’d allowed himself to believe that he deserved happiness. But joy had been all around him tonight, hovering in the air like a promise. Somehow, God was still showing him grace. Maybe if he stepped out on a leap of faith, he could reach for that elusive dream—home, hearth, a family of his own.
Even though it didn’t seem possible, there was a tiny kernel inside him that believed it was possible, after all.
Lord, I need Your grace. I’m so tired of feeling as if the past has already determined my future. I want to be hopeful, not just for everyone around me but for myself as well. I want to be so secure in my faith that I won’t question any blessings You bestow on me. And I want the smile on my face to reflect true joy, not just serve as a mask to hide my hurts. I want to be healed, Lord. I want to be hopeful rather than feeling broken.
“Look! A shooting star. I’ve never seen one before,” Annie shouted, pointing up at the onyx sky scattered with stars. “It’s on my someday list.”
“Your what list?” he asked with a frown. He’d never heard of a someday list.
“My list of things I want to do in my life. It’s about two pages, give or take.”
Declan smiled. Something told him her list might be a bit longer than two pages. “Well, I guess you can check that one off, huh?”
“Coming here to Love was on my list,” she said.
“To find love, huh?” he asked. A tight pressure landed on his chest at the idea of Annie finding love right here in Alaska with an Operation Love participant. He couldn’t even pretend that it wouldn’t eat him alive.
“Among other things. Starting up the library was very important to me, as is tracing my roots. I’ve been trying to fill in the blanks ever since I was a kid.” Her voice sounded wistful. As light and airy as a fluffy cloud.
