His face was inches from mine as we stood in the doorway. There was absolutely no sound except the soft wind rustling the crops planted by the house. Half his face was illuminated by the dim glow of the fire torches of the fence posts. This was the turning point. This was the make or break. I felt his hot breath on my face and I swear I could almost hear his heart beating as fast as mine. Without saying a word, and his eyes still locked with mine, he slowly took my bandaged hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing my knuckles and fingers softly. I let myself take a small step forward until my chest was pressed against him and I could feel his warm body almost tremble. After what felt like an eternity of delicate and deliberate kisses, he moved my hand so that it rested against his cheek. I felt his rough skin and gazed into his eyes, wanting nothing more than for this moment to last forever, for us to never feel anything but this, to never make any other choices except for standing this close. He leaned in and pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. This was it; I knew I wanted every inch of his bare skin as close to mine as it could be. I felt my body take over and start to tilt my chin up to his. Suddenly he sucked a breath in and whispered.

"Grace, I'm leaving town."


I often wonder how it came to be that I ended up in that doorway with him. Of course, I do know how it happened, but sometimes the series of events that led to me wanting him, and only him, is quite blurry. Its easier if I start at the beginning. If I look back to the first moment when I knew my life was going to change. I need to piece things together one by one. This is quite a feat, and it forces me to admit the things that I have been repressing and trying to forget for too long. My life hasn't been easy, but I like to think that everything happens for a reason, and I would never have ended up so in love if things hadn't happened the way they did. It scares me to think that if one small thing had changed, then perhaps our paths would have never crossed.