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lived where gentle kisses and warm bodies lovingly
intertwined once dwelled.

To save herself from that misery, Karyn no longer
allowed herself the opportunity to feel any of it. Instead,
she distanced herself from the desire and the people
who might offer it. She could find no other way to cope.
It was for this reason that she loved Jacob's land so
much. There was nothing here to cope with.
Everything was easy and simple. This place gave her
the illusion that somehow, she could muster the courage
to try again.

Jacob held Karyn close until the storm raging
inside her subsided, and then he eased her gently into
the house and upstairs to his bed. She made a feeble
attempt to apologize for her emotional flood, but he
would hear none of it. Drawing her beside him, he
snugly enveloped her in the warmth of his body and a
fluffy quilt. Jacob assured her that she was okay.

"I'm here. You'll make it through this. I'll take care
of you. Nothing will hurt you."

****

Gillian remembered those words spoken to her just
after the crash... in a morphine-induced haze... she
remembered Thomas' voice. He had been there. And
now, if she let him, he would be there again. The
thought of it scared her and comforted her
simultaneously. She thought for a moment but could
not imagine it, what that might be like, to have him in her
life again. As she continued reading the letter, she soon
learned that Thomas could. Gillian sketched his words,
testing the possibility.

Diana Kathryn Plopa 17 A Tryst of Fate