Heart storms, p.32
Heart Storms, page 32
Jonathan greeted her again. “Please, join us for dinner.” He led her to a seat in the middle of the long dining table. Every person at the table either smiled, waved, or blew kisses making her feel welcome. She felt loved, like she belonged there. Jonathan showed her to her place at the table.
The cool night breeze off the ocean brought a slight chill. She rubbed her arms to warm them when someone standing behind her placed a lace shawl around her shoulders. She clutched it against her skin, looking up and sideways to thank the person. Their face was not visible enough in the dark to see who it was, but she knew the person was a man. She quietly thanked him and turned back to the others.
Next, he put his hands lightly on her shoulders. His touch was familiar and warm, like the soft guitar music playing into the night. He gently brushed her arms to keep her warm. Feeling a closeness with his touch, she placed one hand on his arm. Strong emotions drifted from him into her; she knew his touch. His arms next crossed in front of her, over her heart and his cheek rested lightly against hers. Intuitively, she knew he was safe and kind, and she had no fear. His scent was of fresh air and spicy soap, well-known and intoxicating to her. Leaning closer into him, she stroked the length of his arm. Then he softly kissed her cheek.
Jade stood, pushing the chair aside, wanting to face him. But he held her shoulders steady so she couldn’t turn. Everyone at the table watched with expectant looks.
Something was placed lightly around her neck. His hands were gentle as he moved her long, dark hair to the side and clasped something, then kissed her there. She looked down and saw he’d placed a necklace on her. From behind her again, he smoothed the chain, ensuring the diamond fell toward the deep cut of her dress. Jade thought this an impossible scene; a dream or a vision. But the heat of his hands on her skin and from his face close to hers brought love so powerful it almost overwhelmed her.
He told her to close her eyes and gently turned her around to face him. She fell into him easily and naturally as if he was a soft place to land after her long, hard journey.
The man wrapped his arms around Jade, diving into the ocean of love within her where he thought he might drown. She sensed his fear and said, “I won’t let you go,” and rested her head on his chest, feeling profound love with his every heartbeat.
People watched them embrace and felt their love, when someone called out from the far end of the table. “Jade, welcome and come join us.”
The man’s familiar face smiled at her, and she was about to call back to him when he yelled, “And bring Gabriel with you!”
The voice belonged to Rick, who held the hand of a woman Jade didn’t recognize.
Overjoyed to see him, Jade ran to Rick and held him for a long time. The woman next to him watched quietly, grinning. When they moved apart, Jade realized she was standing between Rick and Gabriel, like at their wedding so long ago. She was uncomfortable, assuming she should be with Rick since he’d been her husband for so long. Her mind questioned what was going on and how could she be here with both men she loved.
Rick said, “Jade, you’re as beautiful as the day we married.” He turned to the woman at his side. “I want you to meet Leah, my first wife and the love of my life.”
Instantly, Jade accepted what she’d always suspected in their years together—he’d always loved Leah as his first love. But it hadn’t mattered because Rick’s love for Jade was the genuine, unshakeable love for a woman who shared his life and bore his children. Jade hugged Leah and said, “I’m so glad to meet you—the first founder of the Spirit of the Wind Inn.”
Jade turned to Gabriel. “Leah, please meet Gabriel, my husband for the last thirty years after Rick passed away, and Gabriel is the love of my life.”
With those words, immediate recognition and understanding came among the four of them, the scales of justice balanced, and they exchanged great love. Rick said to Jade, “I’m glad our children finally healed enough to accept Gabriel so you’d both have the happiness and love you deserved, and you could marry with their blessings. I was on your side, helping you from here.”
Jade thanked him, and Gabriel said, “I thank you, too, Rick, because the last thirty years of my life being married to Jade were the happiest I’ve ever known. I loved knowing your children and grandchildren and sharing their lives.”
Rick’s joy glowed from within. “See how things work out?” He put his arm around Leah. “The way they’re supposed to—no accidents, right?” He turned to Jade and Gabriel. “What were the ‘fated’ events that made your lives so wonderful?”
They put their arms tight around each other’s waist and Gabe kissed the top of Jade’s head. “Well, it took over a year, but the children finally came around to accepting us.”
Jade said, “I told them the truth of Gabe, how he’d been my fiancé before their father. I’d been so afraid they’d be angry and upset but they looked at Gabe with new eyes. When they realized the depth of our love, they were happy for us. The girls said they wished for one such love of their lives, let alone two like their mother! Richard had shaken his head in disbelief and said we would’ve made a great reality show except no one would believe it was real, with their journey being almost too-good-to-be-true.”
The four of them sat together at the table and while pouring wine, Rick said, “Well, let’s hear the rest of your story. Your wedding was not nearly as eventful as ours, Jade, right?”
Laughing, she said, “Oh, no. No big surprises or turn of events. I loved our sunset wedding on the beach with a gathering of our families and friends at the inn afterward. The celebration was filled with amazing food, champagne, laughing, music and dancing, fireworks, and a five-tiered cake with the message, ‘Eat, Drink, and Remarry.’” And they all got a good laugh.
“The wedding day itself and our love and happiness were perfect and continued to be throughout our lives. I moved to Charleston with Gabe while he kept his chef’s position. A year later we opened our own café—a small, intimate place with only breakfast, brunch, lunch, and Gabe’s amazing breads and pastries. We gave it the perfect name: ‘The Too- Good-to-Be-True Café: Food so good you can’t believe it’s real.’ It was a huge success and still is.” Jade looked lovingly at Gabe and took his hand. “Thanks to this wonderful man, we had a full, rich life with work, business, a beautiful beachfront home, friends, family and good, happy times. Then we retired early and traveled all over the world.”
Gabe added, “We also helped the kids whenever they needed it with the inn which is still going strong. Richard and Margo are amazing businesspeople.”
Rick beamed with pride. “They’re all great kids, and so are those grandkids, huh?”
“Oh my goodness,” Jade said, putting her hand over her mouth. “I almost forgot about my beautiful grandbabies.”
“Our grandbabies,” Rick corrected.
Gabe took Jade’s hand and kissed it, then looked at Rick. “Your children and grandchildren were like my own, I love them that much. We all spent a lot of time and holidays together at our house on the beach—your family and my daughter and her family.”
Leah leaned over and put her glass up to toast them. “Here’s to a magnificent life full of love, success, abundance, joy, and children! I was close to you all as you moved through your lives and loved you as you loved each other, and loved you as my family, too.”
“We’re all family here.” All eyes filled with tears as Rick added, “Here’s to no mistakes, no accidents, and life being so great it’s always true!”
Everyone at the table cheered and toasted them, then rose to dance and celebrate through the night.
When Jade and Gabriel danced, she pressed herself far into him as if to blend together and knew she’d hold him that way forever. They moved slowly, each taking different steps at different times as they had in life, but now they moved as one. Their arms circled each other as they joined in a dance of life that moved them all around the floor yet held them firmly together.
As everyone danced through the evening, a blanket of love covered their world. Jade saw her mother in the distance dancing with her father. Both nodded, their smiles brilliant with sending immeasurable love to Jade, silently saying they’d get together soon. They’d all be as happy and alive forever as they were on that night. Gabriel whispered, “Now we’ll always be together and it’s just the beginning of a new story, our story.”
Jade, incredulous of the events of the night asked him, “But how is all of this possible?”
“Because of this.” He kissed her and loved her to the depths of her soul, their spirits and hearts mingling, their love knowing no bounds. “In this place, there is no deception, no illusion, nothing disgraceful or immoral; no discrimination, revenge or hate, and no evil. In this place, we truly live in the paradise of our making. We’ll be here for eternity if we choose, sharing one life, one destiny and one love. Because in this place, our inner spaces are common, our language is the same, we share the same song, we have the same heart.”
We Have the Same Heart
There is a place deep inside where our individual stories cling together to form a common knowledge of humanity.
In different lands with different enemies
within and outside ourselves,
no matter the color of our skin
or the place of our birth,
our religion or god or absence thereof;
no matter our homes or cities, our jobs, or money;
our size or sex or preferences,
nor education or health or sickness,
or strengths and weaknesses of body, mind, and spirit,
no matter our beliefs or politics or culture,
we fight the same battles,
we wage the same wars.
Our lives suffer kindred loss,
our hearts echo the same grief,
our teardrops fill with collective pain.
Deep in our souls, we know the truth of who we are.
Yet we rage, fear and hate in the quest for
peace, love, and happiness.
Our spirits struggle to find the grace already there,
our lives thrash maniacally on a quest for harmony,
our hearts seek love desperately,
searching for the birthright robbed by the acts of living.
No one knows for certain why we move through
pain and loss to find healing and life;
why we go through hell to find paradise.
But we do, each in our unique way.
Underneath all the different faces, places, actions, words,
love and hatred, and lives and deaths of every one of us–
our inner spaces are common, our language is the same,
we share the same song; we have the same heart.
— by N. Christine Samuelson
~
Thank you for purchasing this book. If you enjoyed this story, I would so very much appreciate you letting others know by recommending and leaving a review on Amazon and/or any of the websites listed at the bottom of the next page. Thank you very much!
_________________________________________
Also by N. Christine Samuelson
ETERNAL SEAS
“A journey of love and life through time and tragedy
that few have the courage to take, fewer live to remember
and readers will never forget.”
Eternal bonds of love surrounding the sea have been fulfilled and broken through generations of life. They haunt Ella and Daniel with secrets, lies, spirits, and memories of living in other times with similar fates. From Key West to Maine, the love story, mystery and plot twists keep readers fascinated from the first chapter to the end.
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ECHOES OF LOVE
“What if the mysteries of your life began before you were born, and echo into your future?”
Like echoes reverberating from lifetimes ago controlling their lives and futures, a woman and man are haunted by their pasts. The unexpected power and beauty of their connection is as spectacular as the landscapes they walk through in Montana and Wyoming, but they are just as fated, unpredictable and complex.
They struggle with the reasons they were born to begin with—what makes their lives worth living? How do they move forward after losses so devastating they believe they’ll never love again? Even with best intentions, nothing is guaranteed except one thing, and only they can discover it.
Both books are available in Print and Ebook on most online retailers. Print books can also be ordered at your favorite bookstore. To read reviews, please go to online retailers’ websites, and Goodreads.com, BookBub.com, and/or the author’s website: www. NChristineSamuelson.com.
About the Author:
N. Christine Samuelson writes about the eternal bonds of love that transform lives and transcend death. Her novels reflect the challenges, fears and conflicts, tragedies and victories that manifest through time and a powerful connection of love. Her storylines are realistic but always laced with a touch of mysticism, mystery and suspense.
From living in 14 cities in 10 states, with years of formal and self-taught education through three different careers, she’s acquired a wealth of personal, professional, and life experiences which inspire the diverse settings, characters, and authentic storylines of her novels written in a unique voice.
Currently living in coastal South Carolina, the sea is a constant source of inspiration. She hopes readers of her books will be inspired to look at life and love through a different lens, expand their horizons, and learn and enrich different aspects of their lives.
Social Media Links:
Website: NChristineSamuelson.com
Facebook:
facebook.com/nchristinesamuelsonauthor/
Amazon Author Profile:
amazon.com/author/nchristinesamuelson
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bookbub.com/profile/n-christine-samuelson
Goodreads:
goodreads.com/author/show/17719601.N_Christine_Samuelson
Twitter: twitter.com/ncsamuelson
N. Christine Samuelson, Heart Storms
