Julie Garwood - For the Roses

Travis and Douglas joined them an hour later, but Mary Rose stayed behind. She thought Adam would speak more freely if he didn't have to worry about her.

She couldn't eat anything, her stomach was too upset, and after sitting at the table all alone thinking about Adam, she finally got up and went to her room.

Her thoughts kept turning to Harrison. What in heaven's name was she going to do? He'd called her Victoria. Who did he love? Didn't he know he'd broken her heart when he'd called her that name? Why couldn't he love her just the way she was?

There was a flower on her pillow. It wasn't a rose, but a brilliant red fireweed.

She finally understood what he had been trying to remind her of from that first night in England when he'd had a long-stemmed rose placed on her pillow. He knew what it would be like for her in England, how difficult the transition would be for her to make, and so, while everyone else was diligently trying to change everything about her, Harrison had been quietly reminding her that he loved her just the way she was. He accepted her, flaws and all.

She was his Rose.

She was overwhelmed by her husband. How could she have ever doubted him? And how could he ever forgive her for not having enough faith in him?

She sat down on the side of the bed, and while she gently pressed the flower to her heart, she bowed her head and cried.

"The flower was supposed to make you happy, not sad."

Harrison was standing in the doorway. Her heart felt as if it had just done a somersault. He looked so worried and tired… and vulnerable.

"You love me."

"Yes."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"For loving you?"

She shook her head. "For putting up with my uncertainty. I love you so much, and I've been so afraid inside. Wait," she added when he started toward her. "I have to beg your forgiveness first."

A slow smile caught her by surprise. She shouldn't be smiling now. She needed to be serious so he would believe her when she promised to never doubt him again.

"You have the patience of Job," she began. "All this time you've been waiting for me to understand, haven't you?"

"No, you always understood. I was just reminding you."

"You called me Victoria."

"I did?" He looked astonished by what she'd just said.

"You broke my heart."

Harrison closed the door and went to her. He stopped just a foot away.

"I love you, Mary Rose MacDonald. I don't care what name you go by. If you want to change it every other week, that's okay with me. You'll always be my Rose."

She didn't want to hold the flower any longer. She wanted to hold her husband. She put the fireweed on the side table and stood up. "I love you too," she repeated. "I'm so sorry I doubted you. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I should have been there for you. I knew what you were going through, and I should have quit working for your father a long time ago. I shouldn't have wanted to finish everything first. Can you ever forgive me?"

"You quit?" she whispered.

"You didn't do anything crazy when you came back here, did you, sweetheart?"

"Crazy? Like what?"

"Like getting one of those divorces I read was easy to procure here."

"I'm not answering until you kiss me. Oh, Harrison, in the midst of all the confusion today, you remembered I used to think fireweed was a rose. Please kiss me."

"I'll only marry you again if you did get a divorce. Forever, Mary Rose. I meant it."

And then he finally pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the love and tenderness he possessed. The ache he'd been suffering during their separation vanished, and now he felt complete again.

She placed fervent kisses on his face. "Why did you wait so long to come to me?"

"Sweetheart, if you had looked behind you while you were on ship, I could have waved to you," he exaggerated. "I got here as soon as I could. Let me kiss you again."

They were both shaking with their need for each other when they pulled apart. Mary Rose rested the side of her face against his chest. She loved the way his heart hammered in her ear, loved everything about him. Even when he was driving her crazy with his stubbornness and his arrogance, she loved him.

She wondered if he knew how perfect he was.

"It isn't easy to get a divorce here. You've read too many dime novels, Harrison. And no, I didn't divorce you. It's forever, remember?"

His chin dropped to the top of her head. Lord, he was content. He felt whole again, complete, and all because of her magical love.

"Are we going back to England? I will go anywhere in the world with you. As long as we're together, I shall be content."

He was overwhelmed. She would give up paradise for him and do so willingly because she loved him.

"No, we aren't going back. We're going to live here. I'll buy some land close by and build a house."

She started crying again. She assured him they were tears of joy, of course. And then she pushed herself away from him and insisted she couldn't speak another coherent word until she'd taken her clothes off.

He was happy to accommodate her. He thought he set a record of some kind for stripping out of his clothes and getting her out of hers without tearing anything. One of them pulled the covers back, and then they fell into bed together.

He covered her completely and kissed her softly until he felt her mouth open under his. The tip of his tongue rubbed against hers and then gradually slipped inside. He was determined to go slow and not give in to his hunger now, but she was making it impossible for him. Her hands caressed him everywhere, and when she began to stroke his arousal, he forgot all his good intentions.

He twisted her long curls around his hands and shifted his position. His tongue thrust deep inside her mouth. With one motion, he penetrated her. The pleasure of feeling her walls squeezing him inside made him close his eyes in ecstasy.

She drew her knees up to bring him deeper inside her and let out a little whimper as the wave of pleasure washed over her. The intensity took her control away from her. She was mindless now to everything but finding fulfillment.

He had more stamina than she did. She reached Utopia first, and when he felt the tremors of her release, he quickened his pace and gave in to his own.

And it was as perfect as he had remembered.

He didn't have the strength to move away from her for a long, long while. He hoped to God he wasn't crushing her, and just as soon as his mind could get his body to cooperate, he'd find out.

She didn't cry this time. She laughed. The sound proved contagious, and he found himself smiling in reaction.

He finally lifted himself up so he could look into her beautiful eyes.

"Felt good, didn't it?"

She slowly nodded. "Better than good."

"I behaved like an animal in heat."

She laughed again. "So did I. The memory of what happened is already fading. Do you think you could remind me again?"

"You're killing me, Mary Rose."

She almost did too. Harrison fell asleep an hour later believing he had died a happy man.

January 2, 1876

Dear Mama,

Today is my sixteenth birthday and I am finally allowed to wear my beautiful locket for the very first time. I've been waiting for such a long time. Thank you, Mama, for giving me the treasure. I will value it forever. I'm so lucky to have you. Adam says that God has been watching out for all of us from the day they found me in the alley. He's right, Mama. He gave me four brothers to love and protect me, and He gave me you.

I've saved half the money I need to make the trip to Carolina. If all goes well, I'll be able to come and stay with you next year. It's my dream, Mama. Please let me. I so need to hug you.

Your daughter Mary Rose

Mary Rose awakened Harrison around one in the morning when she tried to ease out of the bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked in a sleepy whisper.

"Downstairs. I'm starving. I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

Harrison decided he was hungry too. He put on his pants, stubbed his toe in the process, and hopped around the room muttering expletives.

"Hush," she whispered in a laugh. "I don't want to disturb my brothers."

It was already too late. Harrison had made so much racket complaining about his foot, he got everyone up.

Cole was the first to join them at the kitchen table. Mary Rose was cutting slices of cheese while sitting on Harrison 's lap.

She scooted onto her own chair as soon as her brother walked in.

"I couldn't sleep," he explained. He straddled the chair across from Harrison and gave him a hard look. "You going to be able to fix this?"

"If you want a guarantee, I can't give it to you, Cole."

"Then you've got to help me convince Adam to run."

"I can't do that. The decision has to be his, and his alone. Back him up on this, Cole. He'd do the same for you."

The brother shook his head. "He wouldn't stand by and watch me die. I'm telling you here and now. If he's condemned, I'm getting him out."

Mary Rose was quickly losing her appetite. Fear tightened her stomach into a knot. "I think we need to have faith in Harrison, Cole. Trust him to do everything he can to save Adam."

Harrison reached over and clasped her hand in his. "I'm not a miracle worker, but thank you for having faith."

"The hell with faith," Cole muttered.

Douglas joined them in time to hear his brother's remark. He'd put on pants and a long-sleeved flannel shirt. He had it buttoned up all wrong. Mary Rose smiled when she noticed.

"Have you figured out a plan yet?" he asked Harrison.

"I'm going to send a telegram tomorrow to the attorney I used in St. Louis. He's with a large firm. He might know the name of an attorney in South Carolina. I'll find one, even if I have to go there myself."

"For what purpose?"

"To get a sworn statement from Livonia and Rose. Time is critical now. It will work out though. I'll make it work."

"What good will their statements do?" Douglas asked.

"They'll confirm what Adam told me. Right now it's two men against one. I'm evening the odds. I hope to God Livonia cooperates. She may be too frightened."

The brothers nodded. "Adam will balk at this. He knows what will happen to the woman when the sons get back home. I don't think he'll let you go after her for a sworn statement."

Harrison didn't argue with the men. He would do what he had to do to make certain Adam was given a fair trial.

"Let's talk about something else. Mary Rose is becoming upset."

"No, I'm not."

"You aren't eating."

She shrugged. "What would you like to talk about?"

Travis came in and answered for Harrison. "What happened after she left London? Did all hell break loose? Did that aunt call her ungrateful? Mary Rose thought she might."

Mary Rose stared at her plate. "I hurt my father, didn't I?"

Harrison didn't soften the truth. "Yes."

"I wish he could understand," she whispered.

"Sweetheart, he had plenty of time to try. He never gave you a chance. I think I might have made a sound argument. He seemed to understand when I was finished. I'm still not sure. I didn't want to wait around to find out."

"Why didn't they like her?" Cole asked.

"They wanted Victoria back. None of them could accept the fact that Mary Rose hadn't been a victim all those years. In their minds, they believed she'd been deprived because she hadn't been surrounded by riches. None of them took the time to get to know her. They were too busy trying to create someone else. It was crazy, all of it. They had this image of how she would have turned out, and they were all trying to mold her into what they wanted her to be."

"Their masterpiece," Mary Rose said.

"Why didn't you punch your aunt when she told you to think of yourself as a blank canvas?" Harrison asked.

Doing such an outrageous thing was absurd to her. She burst into laughter just thinking about it.

"My Aunt Barbara gave me that suggestion. I could never have hurt her. She had my best interests at heart."

"Are you going to take her back to England and try again, Harrison?" Douglas asked.