Isaac leapt from the wagon and helped me down. My feet were barely on the earth before I was running toward my sister.
She met me halfway, on the street, and we embraced. The force of our hug was so intense, it took my breath away. I felt whole again—even if my heart was being torn in two.
“You’re here,” she said.
“Oh, Hope.” Tears cracked my voice. “Something horrible has happened.”
Isaac moved past us to the people in the house who had bags for him.
“There was an accident,” I whispered, unable to comprehend what I was even saying. “I died in California. One moment, I was taking off—and the next, I woke up with a start in Salem.”
She pulled me close again, her arms more comforting than any other. I melted into her embrace, drawing strength from her. “I’m so sorry, Grace. That was how it happened to me, too.”
I wept against my sister’s shoulder, not caring what Isaac’s friends thought of me. It was still dark, and the sky was filled with countless stars.
Hope whispered soothing words to me, but all too soon, Isaac was there with his friends, speaking softly.
“We must hasten away.”
Hope led me to the wagon, and we climbed into the back, where some blankets covered a bed of hay. Isaac instructed us to lay on the wagon bed, and his friends moved some of the trunks around us to create a barrier. Then they laid several warm blankets above us, cocooning us in a safe little haven.
I lay facing my sister, my eyes adjusted enough to see her. I was certain my face was red and splotchy, but I didn’t care. Hope had seen me at my best and my very worst, and she loved me no matter how I looked.
The wagon began to move, bouncing over the uneven road, as Isaac took us away from Massachusetts and all the madness.
“You love him dearly,” Hope said as she reached out and put her hand on my cheek.
A sob shuddered through me. “I do, with all my heart.”
“I’m so sorry, Grace.” She was crying, too. “I wanted to talk to you—to tell you—” She paused.
“What?”
Shaking her head, she said, “It doesn’t matter now. It will only hurt more.”
“Tell me, Hope. I don’t want any more secrets between us.”
“’Tis not a secret, and you will soon know. Isaac has askedme to marry him, and I’ve agreed—but only if you give us your blessing.”
“Do you love him?”
She nodded. “More than I thought possible. I was wrong about him. He’s not boring or a rule-follower. He’s passionate and adventurous and so very faithful.”
“I would never come between you,” I said, tears in my eyes. “You have my blessing.”
“You—” She paused and then tried again, “You do not love Isaac anymore?”
Despite my heartache, I clutched her hand. “I do love him, very much. But I’m not in love with him.” My heart belonged wholly to Luc.
She let out a soft cry. “I realized that I was being selfish to ask you to give up what you have with Luc to stay with me. I was going to tell you that you had my blessing to choose him.”
She was right. It didn’t matter now. The words were bittersweet, knowing Hope wanted my happiness above her own. Her sacrificial love meant more to me than any other. Mama would be so pleased to see this side of Hope blossom.
Thoughts of Mama and Daddy made my sorrow deepen.
All I could do was lay in my sister’s embrace and try not to think about everything I had lost.
Because I still had Hope.
