Coming Home (The Surrender Trilogy 3)

hers, and everyone else fell away.

As the last verse was sung, she was dipped back and kissed properly, in front of the entire crowd.

“Here on Gilligan’s Isle!” They burst into applause and she blushed furiously.

After that night, Lucian never made mention of wives or marriage or anything else pertaining to

wedding rings and the like. She was surprisingly disappointed, but still having the time of her life.

On their last night in Ireland, she watched the sun set over the mountains of Carlingford. Blushing

clouds settled over the peaks as the sky faded from vibrant shades of burnt sienna to deep violet. She’d miss the simplicity of Ireland, but was anxious to see where Lucian would take her next.

As she suspected, life and work called on Lucian even as oceans separated him from the city of

Folsom. He’d started using their quiet mornings to tend to business that couldn’t wait for their return.

She didn’t mind, because he also set her up with an iPad that had an interesting program that let her

videoconference with Jason.

Their online lessons were not as long, but just enough to keep her mind sharp. Jason would go over

some examples, holding a notepad in front of the screen, and then she would complete her assignment

in the workbook she packed. Lucian looked over her work and was impressed with how quickly she

was learning.

Evelyn was surprised that they didn’t return to the jet when they left Ireland. They took a boat

called a ferry, and then a train. She’d seen trains before, but never rode on one. Their next stop was

England, and it was the most magical of all.

There were castles and villages hundreds of years old. It was as humbling as the ocean. Where the

sea made her feel small in the presence of such unstoppable motion, England made her feel ordinary,

lost in some span of countless time. Such emotions might not appeal to others, but they certainly

appealed to her.

Her entire life, she only wanted to be ordinary. Lost among so much history made her feel exactly

that. Ordinary. It also made her realize how fleeting their time on this earth was. Urgency rushed at

her, tucked like a secret in those many still moments they found in England, and she wanted to

embrace life and all of its greatness.

They’d taken a tour to Stonehenge, and it was there that she found something she never knew she

wanted.

Her gaze locked on the impressive structures, wonder filling her as she tried to imagine the strong

hands that had once placed them there, hands that belonged to hearts that loved and minds that held

memories of their own.

“Do you think this is magic?” she asked, taking in the open space untouched by passing time.

“The stones?” Lucian asked.

“No. All of it.” Her hand swept out over the encompassing distance. Waves of green rolled over the

hillsides. There was so much immeasurable beauty and nature. It was so different than the structures

she’d grown up under in the city. The impressive skyscrapers of Folsom, crafted by visionaries and

demigods, paled in comparison to this impressive creation.

This openness was God’s work, and no man could ever encompass such magnificence. Perhaps that

was why these stones were so notable. They didn’t try to overcompensate or compete with what

already existed. They simply rested humbly in the presence of the greatness that already was.

“No, not magic, traces of history left untouched.”

“Do you believe in God, Lucian?”

He took a long while to answer. “I believe there’s something that created all this. But I’m not sure if I believe in a being that watches over us.”

Her gaze went to the clouds rolling in the distance. “I actually spent a lot of time in churches.

Sometimes, going to church was the only way to keep warm. People think every religion’s different,

but if you really listen, they’re all teaching the same thing.”

“What are they teaching?”

“Be kind. Be good. Be humble.”

His arm draped over her shoulder. He pulled her close and kissed her temple. “You humble me,

Evelyn.” He squeezed her shoulder.

***

They’d been traveling for three weeks. The mansion in England was breathtaking. She found Lucian

reviewing travel plans the evening before they departed, and she knocked softly on the study door.

“Lucian?”

He grinned, plucking his reading glasses from his nose. “I thought you were in bed.”

“I was.” She slipped into the room and he pulled her onto his lap. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Something on your mind?”

“Are we returning to the States tomorrow?”

“Yes, but not to Folsom.” She wrung her fingers and he stilled her hands. “Did you want to see

something else before we left?”

She took a deep breath. He’d showed her so much while in Europe, but there was one place he never

mentioned and one person she’d like to meet. “I thought it would be nice to visit Paris.”

He stiffened. “Just Paris?”

She turned in his lap and gripped his face with gentle hands, her eyes pleading. “He’s your father,

Lucian. You said he was ill the last time you visited. We’re in Europe. Why not just make the trip?”