The Memory Keeper: A Heartwarming, Feel-Good Romance(86)

“Liam and I will stay with her,” Hannah offered.

When everyone had left, Hannah stood next to Gran.

“Life definitely has its surprises, doesn’t it?” Gran said.

“It sure does.” Hannah thought about how different she felt now from the way she had that morning she’d prepared to surprise Miles at the airport.

“I’ve got a surprise too,” Liam said. “Ms. Townshend, I do hope you’re all right with Georgia manning The Memory Keeper in Hannah’s place for a week.”

“Of course, dear, why?” Gran asked him.

“Well, the airline I was supposed to be traveling with called and offered me a voucher for my next trip. I can apply the cost of the missed flight to any future itinerary. So I got two tickets to Barbados… since Hannah never got to go on her birthday.”

“You did?” Hannah nearly squealed.

Gran pressed her weathered fingers against her smiling lips.

“Yes, but you’ll have to wait a bit. I scheduled the trip for May.” He grinned at her. “No snowstorms.”

Hannah thought of the many storms that had brought her to this moment. And she remembered Gran’s advice: To get to the treasure, sometimes we have to go through the stormy seas. Hannah couldn’t help but think she’d found her treasure. And she couldn’t wait to spend the rest of her days discovering how rich her life could be.





Epilogue





“The tractor’s all ready,” Liam said, coming up behind Hannah in the kitchen of the farmhouse and wrapping his arms around her protruding belly, kissing her neck, and making her squirm with laughter.

When Liam had decided to run the farm, Mary retired, settling in a compact apartment downtown where she could lunch with her friends and pick up her own bottles of Mickey’s wine for book club. She gave the farm to Liam, Noah, and Hannah. They’d had their wedding there, the tree-lined path to the farmhouse decked out in magnolia flower arrangements that Gran had helped her design at the shop, taking a horse-drawn carriage ride to the steps of the farmhouse and to say their vows with a tuxedo-clad Noah standing beside them.

“Did you have enough hay?” she asked, leaning into him, and tipping her head back against his chest. She’d been tired lately, their growing baby taking all her energy. But today was Noah’s sixth birthday and they were giving hayrides through the farm to all the kids.

“Yep,” Liam replied. “Ethan helped me load them. He hasn’t been able to get Wesley off the tractor,” he said with a grin, turning her around to face him.

“What’s Noah up to?” she asked.

“Swinging on the tire swing outside with Mom and Georgia.”

“I should’ve guessed,” she said. Liam had hung the swing for Noah a few weeks ago, and the two of them spent every spare moment outside on it. They stayed out until the only light left was the blinking of lightning bugs at the edges of the fields.

“Hey, y’all,” Ethan said, coming into the kitchen with Wesley. “I brought my new pony over so we could give the kids rides,” he said.

“Oh, I’m so glad,” Hannah said. “I know you were worried the horse wouldn’t be ready yet.”

“I just picked him up this week,” Ethan said. “Used my first painting money to buy him. I named him Flash.”

“Oh,” Hannah said, “Flash was my favorite horse of yours to ride.”

“I know,” he said. “I remember. He was my favorite too. I wonder if Wesley and Noah will love to ride this one just as much.”

“I hope so,” she said.

“I made it,” Gran’s voice came from the hallway, before she hobbled in on a cane, carrying a gift for Noah. Maura and Chuck walked behind her to make sure she was steady. Gran sat down and ran her hand along the edge of the leather journal that sat on the kitchen table. “What’s this?” she asked.

Hannah peered over at the new book she’d bought the other day. She’d liked it because it had a butterfly etched into the leather on the cover. “It’s a journal I bought,” she said. “I thought I’d write the first entry tonight.”

Hannah wondered what the pages in that journal might hold for her own grandchildren one day. As she looked around at her family and the beautiful life she was living, she knew that her unborn baby boy would have so much love around him that she’d undoubtedly have volumes to write. But she wouldn’t start just yet. It was time for birthday cake, hayrides, and making memories.