Forget Me Not, Books I, II and III

Not Forgotten -- End of Series

Two Years Later

His warm breath tickled her skin before his lips brushed against the same spot again. He lifted his hand to her cheek, letting his thumb flick gently behind her ear. Then ever so slowly, he placed a kiss on her cheek. His hand slipped beneath her chin as he moved his face away from hers. His eyes were closed. She could hear him taking shallow breaths. He looked scared.

"Calvin," she spoke softly, and in a shockingly freedom-filling moment of exhibition, she, Theodora Donovan, kissed Calvin Wynne.

She opened her eyes and moved toward the window. Below, Brooklyn had fallen asleep, accomplishing a task she could not. And she needed her rest. Tomorrow began a long journey across the ocean, away from the only country she'd ever known. She was grateful Matthew curled up and drifted off so easily. The trip would be even harder on him. Then again, he had his older cousin to keep him amused. She turned back toward her empty bed and wished she'd brought Matthew in to sleep with her that night. She hated being separated from his father. After Calvin had come home, he'd promised not to leave her again.

"Hey, kid," a quiet voice came with a creak of her bedroom door. "Can't sleep?" Her sister looked tired and worn but happy and content. The trip to France did not mean the same thing for her. Liza was going home. Teddi was leaving it. It was time to try something new. It would be okay.

"I miss him so much," said Teddi, folding her arms around her middle. She was being silly.

Liza stepped into the room, shutting the door with a quiet click. "We'll see him soon."

Teddi sighed. "We're leaving her, Liza. We're leaving Grandmother."

"Teddi, she's resting in peace now."

A tear slipped over her cheek. That bastard Richard had driven her grandmother's life to an end. It was true she had been old and waiting to join her husband. But it was also true that the pain of seeing her son go to jail for what he had done had been too much. Teddi couldn't help but think if she had left everything alone that her grandmother would still be with them.

"Honey, you have to stop thinking it was somehow your fault. I've said this a million times. So has Calvin. If Richard hadn't been caught, her life would have been sour, worse than death." Apparently, Liza was a mind-reader.

"Of course." She knew this was true, but nevertheless, Teddi blamed herself. Blocking out the blood she'd seen sputter from Frank's skull had been much easier. She'd never fired a gun at anything other than a tin can with Grandfather Donovan during those years she'd been so sad without her mother. The old judge hadn't known what to do with his sad grandchild. He said learning to shoot would make her feel better. Now, she never wanted to see another gun in her life. But at least Liza was alive.

Teddi looked up at her sister. The scar on her neck from Frank's knife stared back at her, pale and dull, no longer angry and raw like it had been for so long after that night. "You can always ask Calvin to give his job up with this Nigel person and come back here."

Teddi shook her head. Their imposing Queen Anne Victorian house had been sold. Harper had not come back to Brookhurst; she married a soldier she'd nursed and moved with him to San Francisco. Ben, like her grandmother, was gone, leaving shells of who his parents once were. He'd been lost on the frontlines like so many others. Teddi's heart ached for his family, and surprisingly enough, for Samantha Chatfield. The memorial service had been almost too much to bear. The blonde girl whom she thought of as cold and heartless silently cried as if her world had completely been lost. Teddi closed her eyes, shutting out the memory of Samantha's raw eyes. Thank God, the war was finally over. She looked up at her sister. Liza was ready to move on with her life. Like Laura had with Riley. They were happy together in California while Anthony continued to live in the bottom of a bottle. She wondered if the war would ever truly be over for him.