Forget Me Never by Sable Hunter (spicy books to read .TXT) 📕

the day in a daze.  Agony and total, utter despair squeezed at her heart like a vice.  To think that she would never look into his eyes again, never hear his voice whisper in her ear, never hold his hand – never feel his touch again – just ate at her soul like acid.  Of course, Savannah had no legal status.  They were only engaged.  Revel was the executor of the will, but he made no move without consulting her.  He let her choose the flowers.  When she made her request, the florist balked.  But with Revel’s special brand of persuasion and an additional fee, a spray of blue forget-me-nots were ordered.  Savannah chose the songs.  Patrick had left no specific instructions, nor was he deeply religious, so she chose songs for herself more than anything.  ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ perfectly described what he was for her.  Patrick had stepped into her life and walked with her through the storm, he had held her hand until they had passed through the turmoil and he had given her glimpse of the life they could have shared together.  ‘Danny Boy’ almost brought her to her knees.  She didn’t know how she would sit and listen to these two songs and maintain any sort of decorum, but she would try.

Revel had suggested that he and Jayco and Hawke speak instead of bringing in some preacher than none of them knew to say words of comfort where no comfort could be had.  But Savannah had asked for that privilege herself.  It would be hard – but he was her Patrick and she wanted to do it.  All of the events of the past months when she had been traipsing through cemeteries and calling out to the dead, now seemed almost blasphemous.  Every one of those ‘dead’ had been precious to somebody.  The next time she approached an investigation, it would be with a completely different attitude.  And she would – because now she had the greatest reason in the world, for the one that she loved best now resided beyond her touch.  So tomorrow, when she spoke at the service, she would be speaking to Patrick.  Because she was convinced he would hear every word she was saying.

When she went to the nursing home, Paddy didn’t remember her.  And when she tried to tell him that Patrick had been killed in the war, he only smiled and told her that his Patrick was sitting in the chair beside him.  Savannah stared at the empty chair and hoped he was.  In fact she ran a shaking finger over the back of the cushion, longing for just one touch.

Savannah told Ciara like she was telling a close relative.  She had no idea if anything she said sunk in – how could it?  But she told her.  And Revel had cleared it with the funeral home that the lab could be brought in to be near her master.

Mechanically, Savannah got ready to go be with Patrick.  Walking through her house was impossible.  He was everywhere.  She wasn’t crying anymore – Savannah was frozen.  She had shut down.  If it wasn’t for the promises she had made to him, she would have gone to say goodbye to him, then come home and shut her doors.  But Revel was right; there were things she could do.  The grief was so overwhelming that thinking about doing something for Patrick seemed to help.

“Are you two girls ready to go?”

Revel’s voice caused her to jump.  She had gladly put him in her guest room and she would have thought hearing a man moving around the house would have given her comfort – but it didn’t.  Revel was a good man, but not the right man.

“Yes, we’re ready.”  She wasn’t ready.  How could she ever be ready to let Patrick go?  She placed a leash on Ciara and walked with Revel to the car.

“You do know that Patrick left instructions for me to give you all of his insurance and savings.”

“He told me.  I’d say that I don’t want it, that all I want is him but that would be insulting him.  Besides, I think I may have an idea.”  She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “I want Patrick to be remembered.  I’m going to try and think of ways to do that.  Maybe I could use his money to start a scholarship or a memorial for those lost in service in Afghanistan.”

“Savannah, those are beautiful ideas.  But I think he would have wanted you to use the money for yourself.”

“There’s nothing I want,” she whispered softly.  Just Patrick.

“I would never put in; it will be your money.  But there’s quite a bit of it and the one thing he told me, the last time we talked was that he wanted to make sure you were taken care of.”

With that revelation, Savannah broke down and cried.

When they arrived at the funeral home there were a few other people there. Not many.  Two of them she recognized from photos that Patrick had sent.  They were standing at the casket, deep in conversation, but Revel took her over to introduce her to them.  “Hey, Guys.  This is Patrick’s Savannah.”  Her heart broke anew.  “Savannah, this is Philip Hawke and Jayco Johnson.”

Savannah held out her hand, but Jayco didn’t take it.  Instead he pulled her close and hugged her.  “Patrick was right.  You are absolutely lovely.”  She hiccupped a sob.

Hawke hugged her next.  “I bet you don’t have any idea how much he loved you.”

“Yes, I do.  He had told me countless times and he shows me in more ways than I can count.  I have no doubt about Patrick’s love.”  There was no way she could speak in the past tense – not yet.

Ciara recognized the men and she wagged her tail in greeting.  Savannah watched her carefully knowing how sensitive animals were.  She fully expected the lab to react to Patrick’s presence in the casket.  Several times she had seen photographs