Written In Stone

stay away from him and let him find someone else to court and marry. Angie knew she wasn't the one for him.
    Perhaps she wasn't the one for anyone, any more. Perhaps she ruined her one chance when she had truly been happy. Perhaps God only gave each man and woman one love, and if they did something so decidedly stupid as get their spouse killed in a carriage ride, then they just spent the rest of their lives with it eating away at their insides. Perhaps… Angie stopped herself. This was far too painful to continue.

Chapter Seven
Father Knows Best
     
    Gavin paced the floor of his father's s tudy, a snifter of brandy in hand. A snifter he'd been holding for the better part of an hour and from which he had yet to take a single sip. The cigar in his other hand had burned itself out. Deep in thought, he considered what he could do to get Angela to accept his invitation to the party on Friday night. He had thought the party itself, and hand delivering the invitation, would be the answer. He hadn't thought she would flatly refuse him like that. That made twice she had refused him, then disappeared. What was the matter with her? With him? It had never been this difficult with any other woman. Gavin thought, and made a face. Of course, he mentally shrugged; no other woman had been Angela Elliott either. Nevertheless, didn't she just make him want to spit!
    "Gavin, sit down. You're making me tired," his father sighed wearily. He had been watching his son pace for some time now and it was terribly distracting.
    "Father, I don't know what to do. She turned me down flat," Gavin said with exas-peration evident in his voice.
    "Well, all for the best, I say. I never did enjoy those parties your mother is so fond of throwing."
    "What are you talking about? The party is still going to happen," Gavin informed his father.
    "Why? What's the use? You already said she isn't going to attend."
    "She'll be there, don't worry about that," Gavin confirmed, nodding his head confidently.
    "Perhaps we were wrong, son, and she's not your mate. Move on, I say, find another woman. You've certainly never been at a loss to find one in the past." Gav winked at his son and sipped his brandy.
    "What? No," Gavin said flatly. "She's mine. Forever. She just doesn't know it yet. And she's going to find out at the party."
    "Well," Gav said off-handedly and he took another drink, "if you're sure that's what you want, son."
    "I'm sure," Gavin declared, setting down his drink and cigar. "I'll see you later." With that, he left the house.
    Gav only laughed after heard the front door shut loudly behind his son.
    "You're awfully proud of yourself," Mattie said with an amused smile upon entering the study.
    "I am at that, woman. Now come here and let me remind you that yo u are mine forever," he growled. She giggled when he pulled her onto his lap and sank his teeth into her throat.
    ~ * ~
    Once again, Gavin stood in Angie's room watching her sleep. He didn't want to do things this way, but if the woman was going to be so stubborn, he had no choice but to pull out all the stops and get to the heart of the matter. Placing a hand on each side of her face, his middle fingers resting gently against her temples, he closed his eyes and quietly whispered, "Dream."
    He had to know her better, had to know why she feared going out. It couldn't simply be the fact she was in a wheelchair, she was too strong a woman for that to keep her home. She was vibrant and alive, even in her sleeping state, but in her subconscious she was truly free. Memories ebbed and swelled like the waves of the sea, and he could see her as she was before the accident. He could see her riding a roan mare across a wide field, could see her low in the saddle, riding fast and fearlessly into the forest. He could see her stripping out of her clothing and diving into a pool of clear water below a tall waterfall. She was beautiful, and Gavin's breath caught at the sight.
    Watching her through her own memories, he saw her wedding day, her happiness at discovering she was pregnant. He saw her belly grow round, and saw her with her husband on the carriage. Then he saw the horrible accident that killed Jonathan and her child, and robbed her of the ability to walk.
    Gavin pulled his hands away and stepped back. He took a few breaths to calm the panic he had felt when he watched her fly through the air. They were only memories, he knew, but he hadn't known how she lost her ability to walk, hadn't known she also