Chapter 19 - A QUIET SANCTUARY|
Six months later.
Spring arrived in the green mountains of Burlington, Vermont.
Elena sat on the wrap-around porch of a charming, white-shingled farmhouse overlooking a quiet blue lake. She wore a soft cream sweater, a mug of warm tea held between her hands, watching the morning mist rise off the water.
Her leg had healed completely. Her color had returned. She spent her days painting, volunteering at the local library, and rebuilding the quiet peace she had lost during her years in Chicago.
Every Tuesday morning, a small box of fresh white roses was delivered to her front porch without a card or a name.
She never threw them away. She placed them in a glass vase on her dining table.
She knew Adrian lived three miles away down the lake road. She knew he worked as a mechanic at a local boat yard. She knew he spent his evenings sitting on his dock, looking across the water toward her lights.
He had kept his word. He had never called. He had never approached her at the market. He remained a quiet, distant guardian, floating on the edge of her world like a ghost waiting for permission to exist.
One evening, as a sudden rainstorm rolled over the mountains, Elena stood on her porch, watching the heavy drops hit the wooden steps.
Down at the end of her long gravel driveway, parked under the pine trees, sat a familiar dark pickup truck.
Through the rain-streaked windshield, she could see the silhouette of Adrian sitting inside, making sure the storm didn't damage her property.
May you like
Elena looked down at her hands, then looked back at the truck in the rain.
She picked up an umbrella, pushed open her screen door, and began walking down the driveway into the storm.
