Chapter 27 (The End)

Ophelia awoke with a sudden urgency to see her father.

During her stay the previous year, she concluded that she was never to reconcile with her mother or sister, especially if they were willing to help Giselle with her plan to hurt her and the Richards. She had seen her brother, and he had no interest in renewing their relationship. She knew this because he had never called after being told he would have to talk to her about setting up a time to visit the set. Ophelia could only assume that it was because the idea of asking her for any favor was repulsive.

But she hadn't seen her father.

Things were finally coming together in her life. The man of her dreams wanted her, the Richards family had been restored to her, and there was potential for a new career path. It was all wonderful and exciting, but her father was like a cloud over her head.

She got dressed in a pair of old blue jeans and a t-shirt then braided her hair. She looked like she had when she was a teenager. Taking a deep breath, she left her room to meet Sullivan in the lobby. It was very quiet in vast cold space, but Sullivan was waiting for her by the front entrance, which warmed her.

When she joined him, he gave her a long kiss good morning, and it made Ophelia's heart flutter and her cheeks turn pink as she blushed.

"I don't know where we are going, but would you mind if we made a stop first?" she asked.

Sullivan studied her for a minute. "Is this stop going to upset you?" he asked.

"Probably, but I need to do it, and I would rather have you by my side when I do." Ophelia gave him a lopsided smile.

"Alright," he agreed, handing her the keys.

Sullivan sensed her need for quiet as they walked through the dark and foggy morning toward the car. It was a short drive to the docks, and as Ophelia parked, she saw her father and brother on the boat. They were preparing to head out for a day of shrimping.

She got out with shaky legs and headed toward the boat with Sullivan and Polly keeping a discreet distance. When she reached the boat, she stopped and looked up at the men who had paused what they were doing.

Ophelia met her father's eyes as he looked her over, noting the changes ten years had made. Ophelia did the same, noting that he looked older and less frightening than she remembered.

"Hello, Dad," she greeted.

"Have you come to work, girl?" he asked as he returned to what he had been doing.

"No, I came to say hello and see how you are doing." Ophelia tried again.

"If you're not here to work, I've no use for you." He turned his back to her, finished with the conversation

It was what she expected to happen, but it still hurt.

"Hello, Aaron," she greeted her brother.

"Ophelia," he said. "Is that Sullivan Richards behind you?"

"Yes," Ophelia looked over at Sullivan, who had a ball cap pulled low, but even in the dim light of morning, he was easily recognized.

"Betsy!" Aaron called.

A young woman who had been a few years behind Ophelia in school stuck her head out of the cabin. "What!" she called back. She had a toddler on her hip and another one in her belly.

"You wanted to meet Sullivan Richards. Here's your chance!" Aaron took the baby from Betsy and waved in the direction of Sullivan.

"Oh my!" Betsy said. "What's he doing here?" Betsy reached up and finger-combed her brown locks as she set her eyes on Sullivan. As sad and uncomfortable a moment as it was, Ophelia still felt some amusement.

Poor Sullivan, it had to be hard to be so handsome. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. He responded by joining her and taking her hand in his.

"Hello Betsy," he greeted with his polite smile.

Betsy put her hands to her very red cheeks. "Oh my!" she said again. Then she turned to look at Aaron. '"What's he doing here?"

"He's here with Ophelia," Aaron explained before giving his attention back to his work with the baby on his hip.

"You're Ophelia?" Betsy questioned, looking at her with curiosity. "You've changed."

"It happens." Ophelia smiled. "I was sorry to miss your wedding. I didn't get an invitation, but I would have liked to have been there."

Aaron snorted. "We didn't want you there, too much drama, and we don't expect to be invited to yours either."

"We'll remember that," Sullivan said as his hand tightened on Ophelia's.

Betsy's eyes grew as wide as Ophelia's did at his statement.

"Are you ready to go, Ophelia?" he asked.

Ophelia nodded, struck dumb by what he had just said, but she was too frightened to mention it as they walked back to the car. This time Sullivan took the wheel.

"Did that go as you expected?" He asked as he drove toward the opposite end of the island.

Ophelia sighed. "Yes, but I had to do it."

Sullivan took her hand. "I know."

"Why are we here, Sullivan? Why did you bring me back here?"

"Because you love this island, but all you have are bad memories. I want you to have a few good ones, and I thought we could make those together."

They drove in silence until they arrived at the beach. Sullivan parked the car, and they walked the trail to the beach with Polly at their side. They both paused as they crested the hill and saw the beauty of the driftwood with the sun rising behind it.

"Let's walk," he suggested as he took Ophelia's hand. They didn't talk for a long while, and Ophelia digested what had happened with her father and what Sullivan had said to Betsy.

What would it be like to marry Sullivan? What would it be like to have his children? Would they be as successful in raising their kids as Pops and Reyna had been?

All these thoughts made Ophelia's legs grow weak, and she sat on a log facing the water. Sullivan found a stick and threw it for Polly, giving her some space.

Ophelia was lost in a daydream when Polly sat next to her, leaning against her leg and panting heavily. She reached out a hand and stroked Polly's head without thinking, comforted that she was there.

A few minutes later, Sullivan joined her on the log and took her hand in his.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"My future. Will it be with you?" Her voice broke at the idea that it might not.

"I pray that it will be. I know that I have messed up time and time again, but I love you, Ophelia." Sullivan looked down at her.

"Why did we sleep in different rooms last night, Sullivan. I thought we were..." She couldn't finish.

"Going to make love?" he smiled at her shyness. "Yes, I want that more than you know, but when we reach that step, I want us both to know that it will be forever, that there will be no end." Sullivan took a shaky breath. "I insulted you by that offer I made last year, and I want to make that up to you. I wanted you, but I didn't want to lose you either, and in the end, I did."

"It wasn't your offer that made me leave, Sullivan. It was that fact that my presence was hurting your family. I told you I would never let that happen. There was also the fact that I loved you but thought that you didn't love me." Ophelia shook her head.

"I'm sorry for that, but you have to know that you hurt us more by leaving, Ophelia. That's what you don't get, but then if your father's reception is anything to go by, why would you get it. You've never been taught to love or be loved."

"I'm learning, though," Ophelia smiled.

"Yes, and you're a quick study. Me, not so much." Sullivan cupped her face and dropped a lingering kiss on her lips. "I love that I can kiss you and touch you whenever I want."

"You're not into PDA, Sullivan," Ophelia shook her head. That was one thing she knew about him. He would probably only give her a quick kiss on the cheek when they were in public, and she was alright with that. She knew he was private.

"Ophelia, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, showing you how much you are loved. Will you marry me?" Sullivan asked it in a nervous hurry, and Ophelia felt his hands, which held hers, tremble.

Ophelia smiled as she rested her head against his. He was nervous to ask her.

"Yes, Sullivan. I love you, and I will marry you."

He closed his eyes and released his breath, which he had been holding.

"When, where!" he demanded.

Ophelia laughed at his urgency. It was so unlike the methodical man she knew. "Whenever and wherever you would like. I'm yours, for now, and forever."

They sat for a while longer and watched the sunrise before they headed back to the car.

"Sullivan?"

"Hmmm?" he responded as he pulled out into traffic.

"We don't have to live in your house, do we? How will we tell your parents? Can Polly be at the wedding?" Ophelia's brain had moved into planning mode.

"There's a pad and pen in the glovebox. Start making a list, and we'll work our way through it."

"You know me so well," Ophelia grinned as she grabbed the pen and paper.

"But not as well as I want to, Ophelia. I have a feeling that will take me a lifetime."

A lifetime is what they would have.

The End

*****Thank you all for reading. There is no epilogue on this one, but there are two more stories to go, and you will get to see more of Ophelia and Sullivan's happily ever after through other's eyes.