Cameron rubbed his face and stared at the surface of the water. "Tell me," he said to it, even though he knew there would be no answer.
Jessie. She was right. It was his choice to live or not to live.
Cameron gazed at the mountains, the trees, and finally the lake before looking at Taylor.
"So what future will you choose?" Taylor finally said.
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do."
"Life."
"Does that life include Ann?"
"I don't know. She has her choices to make. I have mine."
"Well said."
Cameron closed his eyes, lifted his head, and drew in a long breath of the pure air surrounding them.
"We need to head back," Taylor said.
As they made their way out of the valley, Taylor threw his arm across Cameron's shoulders. "You're free, my friend."
"As are you."
Taylor turned for a last look at the lake. "I'll see Annie again soon."
"But not yet."
"No, not yet."
CHAPTER 48.
I didn't hear you leave this morning." Tricia shook out the porch mat and flopped it back down next to the front door as Taylor meandered up their walkway. The setting sun framed his silhouette. And even though his face was obscured, she saw something about him had changed.
"I left rather early."
"Just you, or did you bring along a guest?"
"I brought a guest." Taylor rubbed his chin with his forefinger.
"Where did you and Cameron go?"
"I took him to see the Book of Days."
Tricia smiled and took his hands in hers. "And what did you find?"
"I made an amazing discovery." Taylor grinned and wrapped her up in his arms. "I found the Taylor Stone you used to know. Apparently there is nothing that can't be forgiven."
"I've suspected that for a long time." Tears welled up in her eyes as she squeezed him as hard as she could.
After separating, Taylor stood with his hands in his coat pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. "How would you like to go for a walk with me?"
"On a gorgeous summer evening, why is that something I'd want to take the time to do?"
"Because you love me."
She reached into his coat pocket and slid her hand into his. "Well, there is always that."
They strolled down the street, Tricia not knowing where they were going and not caring. Her husband had come home. The change in his countenance was stunning. Even the air around him seemed lighter.
Taylor slid his hand into hers and squeezed twice as they continued down the road. She kicked a stick out of their way. "So the Book of Days is is real." real."
"Very."
"And it shows you every memory and your entire future."
"No, the book shows you what you need to see. I didn't need to see the future, but I did see some things from the past."
"Like Annie."
Taylor nodded.
"And?"
"It's okay." He squeezed her hand again. "I'm okay."
"Why do I sense a hint of regret in your eyes?"
Taylor massaged his forehead, then left his hand covering his eyes for a long time.
"It looks like Kirk Gillum killed Jason."
Tricia stumbled. "No ... no."
Taylor nodded and told her what happened at the lake.
"I'm sorry." She leaned into his chest. "Are you all right?"
"I will be. Even though Jason didn't ... we didn't ... I found my peace." Taylor sighed. "Let's talk about Cameron, okay?"
"Did he see his future?"
"Yes."
"So he knows what will happen?" Tricia asked.
"He knows he has a choice."
"So will they choose each other?"
"I'd love to eavesdrop when they talk, but I don't think we're invited."
Cameron and Ann's future. It would likely be set during their next conversation. She prayed they would choose wisely.
CHAPTER 49.
The two o'clock sun warmed Cameron's back on Saturday as Ann and he sat at the top of the cliff where a little over two weeks ago, her silhouette had stopped him from trying to join Jessie early. He dug into his backpack, pulled out two blackberry PowerBars, and offered one to Ann.
"Thanks." She took it with a smile.
"Did I ever mention you saved my life here?"
"No."
Cameron unwrapped his bar and stared at the forest floor far below. "I gave considerable thought to 'losing my grip.'"
"You're serious."
"Yeah." Cameron started to put on his sunglasses but turned and looked Ann in the eye. "When I looked up and saw your silhouette, it stopped me from ... Thanks for making the climb just before me."
"My pleasure."
"Apparently I have a few more pages to add to God's book."
Cameron had led them up the face and to the top in a leisurely fashion, taking time to savor the brilliant early August morning, feeling the magnificent strain on his arms and legs as they worked together in a smooth rhythm-clipping in carabineers, roping and unroping, suggesting holds and routes, and tossing smiles back and forth across the cliff face.
Now sitting at the top of their climb, having told her how close he'd come to killing himself, he let the peace of the moment settle over him. Only one more confession to go. But not right away.
"It still amazes me that the Book of Days is real." Ann breathed deep. "It's hard to let go of how insensitive I was to Jessie about it. I refused to believe her."
"So you haven't forgiven yourself for that?"
"Are you my spiritual advisor now?" Ann punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"How about forgiving your mom for what she did or didn't do?"
She leaned back, bracing herself on her hands, and smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have. I let it go. What my mom did to me ... what I did to Jessie."
"How does it feel?"
"I feel free." Ann smiled and looked at the sky.
Cameron let the scene around him soak into his memory. A memory he might be able to hold. If not, God would hold it for him.
"Taylor says when he and Grange are gone, someone needs to be the guardian of the book. I think he handed the baton to me. I wouldn't mind having a partner in that venture."
"You're asking me?"
"Would you like to go there?"
"To the lake? Without question." Ann grabbed his hand. "Will I see anything?"
"Yes, I think so. I ... I don't know." Cameron fumbled for the words. "It's not like I had any control over what it showed me or didn't show me." Cameron smiled. "I would love to see what it would show you."
"And you couldn't see everything it contains?"
"I thought I'd be able to. I thought it would tell the story of every soul on earth. That I'd be able to access every memory I'd ever had and look into my entire future. But the book is far smarter than that. I only saw glimpses, quick scenes of what was, what is to come, and what could come. Like I said, it only showed me what it wanted to show me."
Ann arched an eyebrow and quirked her lips. "It?"
"God."
"So He's real, then?"
"Most definitely."
"What are you going to do about that?"
"Learn, explore, follow Him."
Ann laughed, threw her arms around him, and squeezed tight. "As soon as you picked me up this morning, I knew it. It's all over your face." She pulled back and studied him. "It's over all of you."
"That's a good thing?"
Ann nodded and squeezed him again. "Would you mind terribly if I called you Wesley? It sounds so much better than Farm Boy."
He knew those names. Where were they from? He laughed. Of all the things to remember. "The Princess Bride." "The Princess Bride."
"Yes." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "What did His book show you about us?"
"That we have a choice to change what might become."
"You sound like Dickens."