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“I need to tell you some things about me, you may not—”
“Why are you trying to persuade me I don’t love you, Amanda Carter?”
“You know about me?”
“Your aunts told us everything. I’m sorry for what you went through, sweetheart, and what you saw, but that doesn’t stop me from loving you. Nothing could.”
“Oh dear, I’m going to cry again.”
“It’s the shock,” he said in a voice that he thought mimicked Luke quite well.
They washed,and then Ted made her some toast, which he insisted she eat every bite of.
“Do you want to go to bed now, Mandy?”
“Yes.”
He climbed in beside her and pulled her into his arms. Holding her close, he stroked her hair until she relaxed against him.
“When I realized it was due to me you’d been kidnapped—”
“No, Ted, it’s not your fault.” She moved, bracing a hand on his chest to look down at him.
“It is, Mandy. That photo of us, he found you through that.”
“He saw my aunts first on TV and remembered my father talking about them. Then he saw the photo and put things together.”
“I’m sorry, Mandy.” He pushed her hair behind her shoulders, studying every inch of her face.
“No.” She pressed a finger to his lips. “I don’t want to hear you blame yourself. It could have happened anytime. We move forward now and put that in the past.”
“I couldn’t lose someone else I loved.”
“I’m sorry you went through that again. Sorry you were reminded about Emily.”
“It nearly destroyed me losing her, but you…. I don’t think I would have recovered.”
“I love you, my Teddy Bear.”
No more words were needed as he held her close, and Mandy thought that this was happiness. To be loved, and love. To live in the light instead of the shadows.
She held it now with both hands, and she was never letting go.
Chapter 39
Outside weddings were popular at Falls Lodge, and today Ryker had turned on the weather for just such an occasion. The sky was blue, the air warm and sultry, so still he could hear the roar of the waterfall. The guests seated on either side of the aisle were buzzing with excitement.
Ted held Mandy’s hand, as he had often since the kidnapping over a month ago. Being with her had changed him. He wasn’t exactly softening—okay, maybe he was—but his fear that being in a relationship would alter his life was unfounded. Sure, there was give and take, but she was now so much a part of him, he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it any longer.
“Mr. Goldhirsh looks happy,” Mandy said, looking up at him with that special smile Ted thought was just for him.
“He does, and I know how he feels.”
“Me too.” She leaned into him as they walked between the seats to take theirs.
“Oh, Mandy,” Miss Marla said when they joined them in their row, “you look stunning, dear. You too, Ted.”
“Thank you, you look pretty hot yourself, and you, Miss Sarah,” Ted said.
