Midnight Lily(77)

"You weren't only lost in the snow—"

"No, in my mind, I was the daughter of a family visiting Whittington that day and you were the son of a rich executive from Connecticut. You'd climbed into our trunk. The cave was my family's stable."

"You found me. And then I found you. It's where we first fell in love."

"Yes," I murmured, remembering that day, remembering how cold I'd been, how scared, how lost. Remembering the world I'd created and how he'd found me there that very first time. "The doctors who used to work at Whittington would say we're still crazy."

He gave me the barest glimmer of a smile. "Yes, I suppose they'd see it that way."

"But now Whittington is our home, it belongs only to us."

"Hmm," he hummed.

"Anyway, I think maybe they're the crazy ones. Because they can't make that forest out there San Francisco, or Boston, or . . . Hawaii," I said, smiling at the last one, thinking of the island warmth in the middle of winter.

Ryan laughed. "Wherever it is we go, that's where we'll fly. We'll just fly away."

I put my hand on his cheek. He was my fate, and I was his. "And then we'll come back. To each other. Always. Again and again and again."





The poem referred to in this story (in its completeness) is:

She Walks in Beauty

By Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron)



She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.



One shade the more, one ray the less,

Had half impaired the nameless grace

Which waves in every raven tress,

Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express,

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.



And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,

The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent.





Acknowledgements


And now to the part I love the most . . . giving thanks to those who helped me tell this story.

Huge shout-out to my storyline editor, Angela Smith, for helping me fill the holes in this complicated story, for reading it once for one aspect, and then again for the second, and then a third just because you love me. And then for untwisting your brain so you'll be available to help me on the next one. I love you dearly. (Insert many crazy face emoticons). And I miss you sitting at my counter with a glass of wine in your hand more than words can express.

Eternal gratitude to my developmental and line editor, Marion Archer. You stretch me in ways I am so very grateful for, all the while making me laugh and swoon at the comments you send back in my manuscript. Someday I'm going to read through our three-page emails back and forth discussing the plot points of this story, and I'm going to wonder how we aren't both committed. (Or are we? Wait—where am I?) I think those emails in and of themselves could be used for a case study . . . ;) Thank you for continuing to teach and inspire with each new book.

To my wonderful beta readers who read Midnight Lily first and came back with comments ranging from, "WTF," at ten p.m., to "You're lucky I don't live in your neighborhood or I'd be at your door right now to discuss this," at five a.m. And then they went on to provide such incredibly insightful comments and suggestions; Heather Anderson, Cat Bracht, Elena Eckmeyer (who read Lily three times to provide invaluable psychology advice and may now need a short "rest" at Whittington ;) ), Michelle Finkle, Natasha Gentile, and my author beta Gretchen De La O who takes the word cheerleader to a whole new level. Thank you for your friendship, your time, and your support.

My final eyes editor, Karen Lawson, who gives me such immense confidence in the quality of my final product, thank you. You take such good care of me, even when you're jet-lagged and still smelling of coconut oil!

Thank you to Amy Kehl and Sharon Broom for giving Lily one last read-through and saving me from having to do it, and in the end saving my sanity.

Huge love to A.L. Jackson and Katy Regnery who provided hours and hours of laughs, support, advice, craziness, and friendship, not to mention were really awesome promotion partners. This business can be solitary—to have "co-workers" like you two makes my whole world a brighter place. I have such immense admiration for you both as writers and as people. #SideEyesForever #TheGreatKind

Tina Kleuker, you kind, generous soul—thank you for all the hard work you put into this release, my website, and a million other things you do for me both personally and professionally. Not one of them goes unnoticed or unappreciated.

Thank you to my badass agent, Kimberly Brower, whose care and kindness, and passion for all things book-world has made her not only a friend, but my most trusted advisor.

To you, the reader, thank you for inviting my characters into your book clubs, your homes, your hearts. I know that there is a never-ending supply of new books to read. I am forever grateful that you chose to spend your precious time on mine.