AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had to take a breath to calm the emotions that the thoughts of Piper and Lincoln caused. “Yes.”
My mom placed a hand over her chest and walked over to sit next to me. “How … how did she find you?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I haven’t talked to Lincoln yet. I wanted to talk to him in person.”
She nodded, her hazel eyes full of emotion again. “Are you going to meet her?”
“I want to.” My face heated, and my eyes stung with tears. “But I’m not sure if I’m strong enough.”
The wall I’d been holding up to keep my emotions at bay crumbled, and I fell into the open arms of my mother with a sob. She held me tightly as I cried, letting the pent-up sorrow escape me.
After a few minutes, my tears stopped. I pulled back and wiped my moist cheeks. My mom’s face was once again streaked with tears as she looked at me with so much guilt and remorse. She gripped my hands tightly with hers. “You are strong enough. Many women wouldn’t have been able to overcome what you have. Even after losing Piper, you still went to college, got a great job, and made your own life, all on your own.”
I nodded but didn’t speak.
My mom squeezed my hands. “We shouldn’t have forced you to give her up.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. After the adoption, my dad refused to talk about my pregnancy or Piper. He didn’t want anyone in the community to know about my sin. When I’d started showing, he’d forced me to wear baggy clothes to school and church, and denied any rumors or questions about me being pregnant. Lucky for him, I didn’t really start showing until the summer when he could keep me confined to our house.
Pulling my hands from my mom’s, I cleared my throat. “I need some air. I’m gonna go for a walk.”
I needed to get out of there and away from the memories suffocating me. My chest tightened with emotion, aching for the only person who ever had my heart.
Lincoln.
My mom nodded. “Of course. I’ll be here when you get back.”
I stepped out onto the porch and inhaled deeply. The air was so much fresher in Beaufort than in the city. I closed my eyes, letting it soothe my ragged emotions.
I needed to get my thoughts together before I went to Lincoln’s, which I wanted to do sooner rather than later, so I decided to take a walk to my favorite place when I was younger so I could think.
A wooded area behind our property had a creek running through it. Lincoln and I had carved our initials into a tree overlooking the water that had a rope swing hanging from it.
As I came upon our spot, I couldn’t help but smile. The rope swing still hung from the same branch, but it was more frayed and worn than the last time I’d been there. I took the thick rope in my hands as I remembered swinging over the creek on hot summer days, then letting go and plunging into the cool water.
Back then, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Lincoln had made sure of that. Presently, those smiles were few and far between, and almost always halfhearted.
I let the rope go, then moved to the trunk of the tree. I searched for our carving, then ran my fingers along the aged bark.
I sighed as the memories of the day we’d carved our initials into that tree flooded me; both of us had been so full of love and hope. We’d promised each other forever, and I’d broken that promise.
My eyes stung with tears as I dropped my hand. On that day, there’d been no doubt in either of our minds that we could make each other’s dreams come true and have our very own fairy tale.
We were so young and naïve.
I stared at our initials a few seconds longer, then turned and made my way to Lincoln’s. His farm wasn’t too far from my house, and the fresh air helped ease some of my nerves as I walked. I hadn’t seen him in so long, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. From his letter, he still sounded like the good-natured country boy I fell in love with. There didn’t seem to be any hard feelings or anger, but written words only conveyed so much.
As I neared the gate to his property, a dog rushed up to the fence, barking and jumping with excitement. I couldn’t help but smile as it whined for attention.
I reached over to pet its head. “Hey, buddy. Where’s your owner?”
The dog frantically licked my hand, causing me to giggle.
“Liv?”
My heart stuttered at the sound of my name. I glanced from the dog up to Lincoln, and my breath caught as our eyes met.
He was the same yet different. Same stormy eyes, same attractive face, but he was more rugged. More man. I couldn’t help but stare. His shoulders were broader, his muscles more defined. My sex clenched in appreciation of the good-looking boy who I’d left behind that had become a handsome man.
