She was just about to shut the safe door when she spotted the jewelry box again. Perhaps it contained an heirloom ring once belonging to Tom’s mother. Or maybe a lovely pair of diamond earrings Tom had gifted Tammy for one of their anniversaries. That was probably more likely since the jewelry box looked newish. Her curiosity got the best of her. She scooped up the box and lifted the lid.
She gasped at the sight of an oval diamond engagement ring. The glimmering central diamond was rimmed by a halo of smaller sparkling diamonds. It was beautiful—and obviously new!
Why would the Landrys have a new engagement ring in their safe?
Even as the question formed she knew the answer. It was Jonah’s. He had bought it forher. The ring was just to her taste. It was exquisite. Breathtaking.
She clutched her chest. Jonah had been planning to propose—and then she’d fallen and lost her memory. Her heart ached for him all over again. She wanted to find him immediately. All these weeks he’d been so sweet, so patient with her. He was an extraordinary man and he loved her enough to spend the rest of his life with her.
The ache inside bloomed until she couldn’t even look at the ring anymore. As if the jewelry box was burning a hole in her hand, she snappedthe lid closed and shoved it back on the shelf. Then she slammed the door closed and yanked the lever until it locked with a heavy clank.
If only she had locked her heart so thoroughly. Because seeing that ring and feeling his pain, she realized now what she hadn’t known only a moment ago.
She’d fallen in love with Jonah Landry.
Her eyes burned with unshed tears. How had she allowed this to happen, not once but twice? The first time she’d given in to the feelings and surrendered everything she’d worked so hard for.
Only now did she realize how that had happened. The feelings roiling through her were as powerful as a riptide. But undertows were dangerous and so was love. It was seductive and spellbinding. It held the power to drag you away from what mattered most.
Hadn’t her own mother taught her that very lesson? Hadn’t Lauren suffered for years because of her abandonment? No matter how hard it might be to leave Jonah behind, Lauren would not make the same mistake.
Chapter 33
From the moment Jonah awakened at dawn, he was filled with dread. He lay in bed feeling miserable. Lauren was leaving Pinehaven around nine o’clock. He’d have to leave soon—he’d insisted on coming at eight to help pack her car because he was just a glutton for punishment like that.
He glanced out his bedroom window, hoping for an unforecasted snowstorm to delay her departure. No such luck. Just a dusting. Less than two hours from now he’d be saying his final good-byes. He didn’t know how he would hold it together. It felt like his heart was being ripped from his chest.
Lauren had been a little more guarded the past couple days. Had even avoided him on a few occasions, possibly hoping to put some distance between them before the actual separation. That sounded like her. He’d tried not to take it personally.
His stomach was churning with acid—had churned all night, in fact, and the familiar pain kept him tossing and turning. He got up and went to retrieve his heartburn medication. He chewed up three tablets and hoped they helped more than they had yesterday.
His last class was complete, finals taken. He was all set to assume management of the resort. And somehow his future had never seemed so bleak.
Jonah had a long pep talk with himself on his way to the resort. He would put on a good face. It wouldn’t be fair to burden Lauren with his heartbreak. It wasn’t her fault she didn’t love him anymore. She deserved the bright future awaiting her. She deserved that dream job for which she’d worked so hard. She deserved to have the life she wanted.
Even if it didn’t include him.
He clenched his teeth against the rising tide of anguish. He would send her off well if it killed him. And it just might.
He pulled into the resort drive, the happy faces of the Christmas cutouts mocking him. He couldn’t see them without remembering their road trip—that dilapidated motel and the mouse that had sent her soaring into his arms. Her beaming smile and melodious laughter as she sailed across the parking lot in those Heelys.
A band tightened around his heart until he feared it might strangle him to death. How could something hurt so much and not kill him? He didn’t know it was possible to feel this much pain and go on breathing.
All these weeks he’d been telling himself she could still get her memory back. But it had been more than three months now and not a single memory had resurfaced. He had to let go of that fantasy or he’d drive himself crazy, hoping. It was time to accept reality and learn, somehow, to be okay with it.
He pulled into the lodge parking lot ten minutes early. He would gather himself on the walk to her cabin, then distract himself by loading her belongings. And then afterward, the good-bye...
He glanced in the rearview mirror and tried to assemble his features in a way that didn’t betray his every feeling. “This is what she wants,” he said to his reflection. “What she’s earned. She deserves your support.”
Loving her before the accident had been so fun. So easy. Falling for her had felt like the most natural thing in the world. He wanted her, he wooed her, he won her. Of course she’d wanted the relationship too.
That was what made this so hard. She didn’t want it now, but that didn’t erase his love for her. This kind of love—the sort that involved letting go—felt unnatural and impossibly difficult. But he loved her enough to do just that. Through this trial his love for her had grown and stretched, like the roots of a scorched plant searching for water.
The realization didn’t feel like much of a parting gift.
It was time to see her off. He schooled his expression. There would be time for grieving once she was gone. He exited his car, his footsteps weighted with dread as he started across the property.
***
