When she walked through her front door, both Kylie and Doug were stretched out in front of the fireplace, sound asleep. The flickering flames bathed the room in a golden glow. She stared tenderly at the two of them, engraving on her memory the picture of the two people she loved most in the world.
“Hi,” Doug called out quietly, his voice groggy with sleep. “How’d your tutoring session go?”
“Great. I’m making a lot of progress, though I spent the last half hour tonight signing copies of our book for my tutor and ten of her closest friends.”
“What do you expect when you’re the coauthor of a bestselling book?”
“I expect to help a lot of people, since most of the proceeds go to the Tommy Montebello Literacy Foundation.”
“I have to tell you again how proud I am that you named your foundation after Tommy. It was very generous of you.”
“It was the very least that I could do. He and his family deserve the recognition and much more.”
“But I know how hard it was for you to go public with his story.”
“It was worth it. At least everything is out in the open. Anything new here?”
“You got several calls. Lois left a message for you to call her about your rehearsal schedule for Soul Survivor.”
“I have to admit that as apprehensive as I was about doing the screen test for Lexis, I’m looking forward to shooting the picture.”
“I’m not sure if I like the idea of you doing love scenes with Jonathan Bradley.”
“Hey, Jonathan may be a Hollywood heartthrob, but his face doesn’t make my heart skip a beat. Yours does,” Gabrielle said, smiling.
“Felicia wants you to call her, and Gil from the prosecutor’s office phoned. The case has gone to the jury, and he’s expecting a quick verdict. It looks like Stephanie’s trial could be over in the next day or two.
“I hope they nail her to the wall.”
“The case against her is strong, especially with Bea’s testimony. Between arson, kidnapping, and murder, I think we can safely count on Stephanie and her picture-taking accomplice being put away for a very long time,” Doug said.
“That will give her plenty of time to stew over the dismal failure her book turned out to be. I still can’t believe that Target Press published it even after Stephanie’s arrest.”
“It’s all about the money, though the publisher, Russell Shockley, won’t have much left once the lawsuits are settled.”
“I don’t know about Salvatore, but I didn’t sue for the money. I sued because I didn’t want Kylie growing up thinking that the things said in Stephanie’s book were true. Stephanie wanted so badly to be somebody famous. In the end, she’s famous all right, but for all the wrong reasons,” Gabrielle said.
“I feel absolutely no sympathy for that woman. In fact, I’ve had enough of Stephanie Bancroft to last a lifetime.”
“Ain’t that the truth. How about Kylie? Have you had enough of her this evening as well?” Gabrielle asked, happy to move on to a cheerier subject.
“No way. We had a wonderful time together. We read a few books, watched a few videos, and took about fifteen laps around the living room. I’d say she has this walking thing down,” Doug said, grinning. “Bea called to check on us, but I assured her that I had everything under control.”
“You know how grandmothers worry.” Gabrielle took Kylie from Doug’s arms and put her in the nursery.
“Are you through cuddling for the evening?” she asked, sitting down on the floor next to him.
“Not a chance.” Doug gently pulled Gabrielle to him and kissed her softly.
“I have something for you. Something I never dreamed I’d be able to give you,” Gabrielle said as she handed Doug an elegantly wrapped box. “Go on. Open it.”
“It’s Kylie’s first birthday next week, not mine.”
“Not every gift needs an occasion,” Gabrielle said as Doug untied the ribbon and opened the box. Under the tissue paper, buried under a blanket of delicious-smelling rose petals, were several large white puzzle pieces.
“I could use a little help here, Jigsaw,” Doug requested after several unsuccessful attempts to solve the puzzle. “Otherwise it might be Kylie’s sweet sixteen before I get this together.”
“Amateur.” Gabrielle sighed happily, and in less than a minute assembled the puzzle. She took a deep breath and, for the first time in her life, began to read her own handwriting:
My dearest Doug,
Life is Strang. Now that I can rite them, there are no words to tell you how much I love you and how much your love meens to Kylie and me. Plese don’t ever stop.
Love forever,
Gabrielle
Doug found himself crying as he focused his attention on Gabrielle. He didn’t notice her halting recitation, as it was his heart, not his ears, doing the listening.
“This is the first love letter I’ve ever written,” she told him as her tears flowed.
“It’s the first one I ever received that mattered,” he answered, pulling her into a loving embrace. “You and Kylie mean everything to me. There is no way I could, would, or will ever stop loving you.”
Safe in Doug’s arms, with no more secrets and lies between them, Gabrielle felt her soul quiet and at peace. For the first time in a very long time, all was right with the world.