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He always
looked older than he really was, she remembered thinking, slightly
weathered, like a farmer coming home after hours in the field. He had
the calloused hands and broad shoulders that came to those who
worked hard for a living, and the first faint lines were beginning to
form around dark eyes that seemed to read her every thought.
He was tall and strong, with light brown hair, and handsome in his
own way, but it was his voice that she remembered most of all. He
had read to her that day as they lay beneath the tree with an accent
that was soft and fluent, almost musical in quality. She remembered
closing her eyes, listening closely and letting the words he was
reading touch her soul.
He thumbed through old books with dog-eared pages, books he�d
read a hundred times. He�d read for a while, then stop, and the two of
them would talk. She would tell him what she wanted in her life�her
hopes and dreams for the future�and he would listen intently and
then promise to make it all come true. And the way he said it made
her believe him, and she knew then how much he meant to her.
Another turn in the road and she finally saw the house in the
distance. It had changed dramatically from what she remembered. She
slowed the car, turning into the long, tree-lined dirt drive.
She took a deep breath when she saw him on the porch, watching
her car. He was dressed casually. From a distance, he looked the same
as he had back then. When the light from the sun was behind him, he
almost seemed to vanish into the scenery.
Her car continued forward slowly, then finally stopped beneath an
oak tree that shaded the front of the house. She turned the key, never
taking her eyes from him, and the engine sputtered to a halt. He
stepped off the porch and began to approach her, walking easily, then
suddenly stopped cold as she emerged from the car. For a long time
all they could do was stare at each other without moving.
Allison Nelson, twenty-nine years old and engaged, a socialite,
searching for answers, and Noah Calhoun, the dreamer, thirty-one,
visited by the ghost that had come to dominate his life.
CHAPTER THREE: REUNION
NEITHER ONE of them moved as they faced each other.
He hadn�t said anything, and for a second she thought he didn�t
recognize her. Suddenly she felt guilty about showing up this way,
without warning, and it made it harder. She had thought that she
would know what to say. But she didn�t. Everything that came into
her head seemed inappropriate, somehow lacking.
As she stared at him, she noticed how little he�d changed since she�d
last seen him. He looked good, she thought. With his shirt tucked
loosely into old faded jeans, she could see the same broad shoulders
she remembered, tapering down to narrow hips and a flat stomach. He
was tanned, too, as if he�d worked outside all summer, and, though
his hair was a little thinner and lighter than she remembered, he
looked the same as he had when she�d known him last.
She took a deep breath and smiled. �Hello, Noah. It�s good to see
you again.�
He looked at her with amazement in his eyes. Then, after shaking his
head slightly, he slowly began to smile. �You too,� he stammered. He
brought his hand to his chin, and she noticed he hadn�t shaved. �It�s
really you, isn�t it? I can�t believe it..
She heard the shock in his voice as he spoke, and surprising her it all
came together�being here, seeing him. She felt something twitch
inside, something deep and old, something that made her dizzy for
just a second. She caught herself fighting for control. She hadn�t
expected this to happen, didn�t want it to happen. She was engaged
now. She hadn�t come here for this. Yet.
Yet the feeling went on despite herself, and for a brief moment she
felt fifteen again. Felt as she hadn�t in years, as if all her dreams could
still come true. Felt as though she�d finally come home.
Without another word they came together, as if it were the most
natural thing in the world, and he put his arms around her, drawing
her close. They held each other tightly; both of them letting the
fourteen years of separation dissolve in the deepening twilight.
They stayed like that for a long time before she finally pulled back
to look at him. Up close, she could see the changes she hadn�t noticed
at first. His face had lost the softness of youth. The faint lines around
his eyes had deepened. There was a new edge to him; he seemed less
innocent, more cautious, and yet the way he was holding her made her
realize how much she�d missed him.
Her eyes brimmed with tears as they finally released each other. She
laughed nervously while wiping the corners of her eyes.
�Are you okay?� he asked, a thousand other questions on his face.
�I�m sorry, I didn�t mean to cry.
�It�s okay,� he said, smiling. �I still can�t believe it�s you. How did
you find