Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me. This writing is purely for entertainment purposes only.
Author's notes: Here is the next chapter of the story. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 3 - Answers
It had been two weeks since Victoria's wish had been granted. She was happy that her children were once again happy and secure in the knowledge of what their father represented.
It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and she was feeling a little tired, so she decided to take a nap before dinner.
As she prepared for her nap, her thought turned to Heath, and she wondered what could have possessed him to come to the ranch. He had to have known it would hurt them. She gazed at Tom's picture and wondered, if he had loved her as much as he said he did, how he could have cheated on her with another woman. She lay down on the bed, with thoughts of Heath, Tom, and the woman who was Heath's mother, the woman her husband had bedded, swirling around in her brain.
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A short while later, Victoria awoke to find the same woman as before at the foot of her bed. Victoria asked, "Why are you here now? You said my wish was granted. Are you here to make me forget?" She got out of bed and slowly approached the woman.
The woman smiled and said, "Yes, your wish was granted. And no, I'm not here to make you forget."
When the woman offered no further information, Mrs. Barkley asked, "Then why are you here?"
"I'm here to help you get the answers to your questions," the woman offers.
"Questions, what questions?" the matriarch asked, not sure what the woman means.
"You wanted to know why Heath had come here when it would hurt your family. I'm going to show you," the woman answered.
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Their surroundings suddenly shifted, and Victoria and the apparition were standing in a small house. The first thing she noticed was how clean and simple the house and furnishings were. The next thing she noticed was a very pretty young woman tending a man in the bed. Upon taking a closer look, Victoria realized it was Tom. She realized the young woman helping Tom must be Leah. She turned to the woman accompanying her, and said, "I don't want to see this."
"You must. In order to understand how Heath could choose to come to you when it would hurt you, you have to understand what he made him the man he is," the woman responded.
"THIS has nothing to do with Heath," Victoria said, her tone clearly showed her distress.
"Yes, it is true that what happened here in this house before he was born has nothing to do with his decision to come to you, but it is something you must see to find peace. As you can see, they can not see or hear us," the woman answered.
Victoria could do nothing but watch as Leah tended Tom. It didn't take her long to realize Leah was young, probably a little over twenty. Her light brown hair was long and beautiful, and Leah usually kept it pulled back in a ponytail. Her big brown eyes and small round face clearly showed her care and concern for her patient. Victoria watched restlessly as Leah tenderly tended to Tom, and urged him to do his best and get well.
Victoria watched spellbound as Tom slowly opened his eyes, looking around the room. He doesn't seem to recognize anything in it; his face began to reflect his confusion.
Tom Barkley, although he doesn't realize that is his name, attempts to rise from the bed, but Leah enters the room at that moment, tries to stop him. She runs over to him, saying, "You need to stay in bed. You've been hurt, and need to rest."
She helps him lie back down in the bed.
Tom's uncertainty of the situation is reflected as he asked Leah, "Who are you? Do I know you?"
"My name is Leah, and no, you don't know me. I work in the hotel, and I found you in the alley one night. Someone had beaten you very badly. I brought you home to help you get better," she explained.
Tom thought about what Leah had told him, but could not remember anything about being beaten. In fact, he found he could not remember anything. He looked into the concerned eyes before him, and said, "I can't remember. I can't remember anything. I don't know who I am." His voice began to reflect his growing discomfort.
Leah placed her hand on his arm, and said, "It'll be okay. You had a very bad head injury, and I'm sure your memory will come back soon. I found this in the alley with you, and figured it must be yours." She reached over on the nearby dresser, and picked up a wallet. She handed it to Tom.
He looked at the wallet, seeing the name "Tom" stamped on it, he considered this information for a few moments and the name right. He looked up, and gave his caretaker a tentative smile, and said, "I guess my name is Tom. Thank you Leah for going out of your way to help me."
Leah smiled at his brave attempt to accept his current situation, and replied, "You're welcome and I'll go get you some broth."
Victoria watched as the scene unfolded before her eyes; she knew he had survived the traumatic head injury and found herself inexplicably worrying that Tom would die. When Tom first opened his eyes, she was overjoyed. Her Tom was going to be all right. But her heart plummeted the next minute when he revealed that he had lost his memory. When he had returned after being gone those months, she knew he had been hurt, but never suspected that it had been this severe. She was shook by how close she had come to losing Tom, and was grateful he had survived to return to her.
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As Victoria watched the days pass, she could see the growing attraction between Tom and Leah. Before long it was obvious to her that Leah loved Tom very much, and that Tom was developing feelings for her as well. When Tom kissed Leah for the first time, Victoria felt as if her heart would break.
When Tom took Leah's hand and led her to the back room, Victoria was sure that what had been left of her heart was now shattered. I know of the affair now. Why do I have to watch this? What can possibly be gained from me watching my husband with the other woman? Victoria thought as felt her faith in her husband die again.
The woman standing beside her offered no answers. She just stood there as if offering silent support.
The next scene Victoria saw was Tom asleep in the house, while the others were out. A short while he woke, and sat up, his face contorted in pain. As he lowers his hands from his face, she hears him whisper, "Oh God, Victoria. What have I done?" The horror on his face wiped away any doubt that he had truly forgotten his family. She watched as he paced the small room, and mumbled to himself about the mistake he had made.
Victoria watched while Tom quickly packed his saddle bags, and prepared to leave. As he gripped the doorknob, she thought, No Tom, not that way. She loves you, she deserves better than being left like this. She relaxed when she saw him release the knob, walk dejectedly to the table, and sit down. He looked so lost that Victoria wanted to go to him and ease his troubles. As she stood watching the man she had loved for all those years, she felt her love recover. She understood his actions, knowing now, he had not set out to hurt anyone. She now understood how her husband had come to father another child, and finally felt the remainder of her doubt and anger subside.
A few hours later, Victoria watched as Tom explained to a silent Leah that his memory had returned. He told her he was married with two small boys. He told Leah that he loved his wife dearly, and that he would have never betrayed his vows had he not suffered from amnesia. He told the devastated woman he needed to return to his family, and that he is very sorry for hurting her such as he did and taking advantage of her in the state he'd been in. He told her that he could have very well loved her forever, but he had other obligations that he must attend to; that she was wonderful, caring person and that he would miss her dearly.
Leah walked him to the door stoically, and watched him leave the house they had shared for those precious few months.. The entire time Tom had told her about his family, and now as she watched him ride away, she did not shed a tear. It is only once he is out of sight and she reentered the house, and lets her heart to break. She sat dejectedly on the bed, crying for the dreams she has lost.
As Victoria watched the scene play out, her heart went out to the young woman. She knew what it was to love Tom, but she had had him for many years. She could not imagine how much it would have hurt to love him as Leah did, and then watch him leave to return to his other life.
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The scene shifted again, and Victoria found herself in the same house, but months later. At the table sat a very pregnant Leah, fingering an unaddressed letter.
Another woman, who Victoria had learned was a close friend who now lived with Leah, walked over, and sat beside the younger woman. "Leah, why don't you mail that letter? You wrote it, why not mail it and tell him about his baby?" the woman asked, putting an arm around Leah.
"I can't Rachel," Leah stated simply.
"Why not?" Rachel asked.
"I can't because he loves his wife and children, and telling him won't change anything. All it will do is hurt the ones who had no part in what happened. I love him too much to hurt them," Leah replied.
Rachel studied her friend for a long moment, but said nothing. She knew she couldn't win this argument, but had felt the need to try again.
Leah looked to her friend, and said, "I'll raise the baby myself. He'll always be a reminder of the only man I have ever loved and the only man I'll ever love. Although it wasn't meant to be for us to live together as husband and wife, he, still, gave me this precious gift, and I will always treasure this baby boy." Her hands had moved to caress her swollen stomach where her precious child grew.
Rachel smiled at Leah's insistence that it was a boy. She had been calling it "he" since she realized she was with child. "Oh, Leah, do you have any idea how hard it will to have and raise a baby alone?" Rachel posed. She didn't want to see this gentle creature destroyed by the cruelty of the world.
"I don't care. He's worth any pain or difficulty," Leah replied, her face set with determination.
"All right, I'll not ask again. I just wanted to be sure you know what to expect. Hannah and I will be here for you, of course," Rachel stated.
"I know. Thank you," Leah said, and hugged her friend.
Victoria felt some begrudging respect for the young woman. She suddenly realized that Heath's mother was very strong and accepted the possibility Leah had acted in the Barkley's best interest when she took on the burden that would scare anyone without complaint. And her question was answered on whether Tom knew about his son, and if not why. It was because of her and her children that Leah never told Tom about Heath.
