The au pair brought Willie over with all his belongings late that afternoon, and Ophélie and Pip were waiting for him when he arrived. It was an emotional moment for Ophélie, because the baby was not only Ted's, but Andrea's, and they had been friends for eighteen years. He had grown a lot, they hadn't seen him in four months, and Ophélie asked the woman if she would be willing to stay and work for them, and she agreed. The household was getting busier and more crowded by the minute. But Ophélie wasn't up to taking care of him herself yet. And it would have been a full-time job. For Pip and Matt's sake, she wanted help with him, or she wouldn't have enough time or energy for them.
She did some quick thinking and spoke to Matt for a few minutes, and he was willing, if she thought it would be all right with Pip, which she was sure it would be. She asked him to move into her bedroom, since they were getting married anyway. And she gave Ted's den, where Matt had been sleeping, to the baby and the au pair. It worked for the time being. Chad's room was still considered sacred ground and offlimits. But she had to agree with Matt, they were going to need a new house soon. She wanted to have guest rooms too for Robert and Vanessa. As things were now, Vanessa would have to sleep with Pip when she came to visit, which delighted Pip, and was certainly possible. But they were beginning to burst at the seams. And the house at Safe Harbour, with its single bedroom and cozy living room, was only going to work for Matt and Ophélie as a romantic retreat, which didn't seem like such a bad idea.
By late that night, once the baby and au pair were settled, and Pip was asleep in bed with Mousse at her feet, Matt was in bed next to Ophélie, and he turned to her with a grin.
“Things are certainly changing around here quickly, aren't they, my love?”
“You can say that again. Imagine if I get pregnant!” She was only teasing him. With Willie's arrival, their family seemed big enough, and she had no intention of adding to it, now or later. Before they fell asleep, she thanked Matt for what a good sport he'd been about everything.
“You never know what's going to happen around here from one day to the next,” he said happily. “I'm beginning to enjoy it.”
“Me too.” She snuggled down next to him as she said it. And a few minutes later, all the residents of the house on Clay Street were sound asleep.
29
THEIR WEDDING DAY IN JUNE DAWNED BRILLIANTLY sunny. It was a perfect day, with bright sun and a gentle breeze. There were little fishing boats on the horizon, and the beach looked swept clean. Safe Harbour had never looked better.
The priest had arrived at eleven-thirty, and the wedding was set for noon. Ophélie was wearing a simple white lace dress, to her ankles, and carrying a bouquet of tuberoses, and Vanessa and Pip were wearing white linen dresses. Matt and Robert were wearing slacks and blazers. And Willie, in the nanny's arms, was wearing a little blue and white sailor suit. He had just started walking and was wearing his first pair of shoes. And Ophélie couldn't help noticing he looked just like his mother, which was something of a relief. The alternative would have been harder to explain, although he did look a little like Pip. There was a definite family air. And when people commented on it, Pip was pleased. She had no idea, and wouldn't for a long time, her mother hoped, that it was true, that Willie was in fact her family, although not Ophélie's.
They were all in good spirits, and they were leaving for France the next day. They were going to spend a week in Paris, and then two in Cap d'Antibes, at the Eden Roc. It was an extravagant honeymoon that Matt had insisted on treating them all to, but he said he had hardly spent a penny in years. And they were all looking forward to it. And as soon as they got back, Ophélie and Matt had agreed to look for a new house. The house on Clay Street was about to burst at the seams.
Robert was his father's best man, and Vanessa the maid of honor, Pip the official bridesmaid. They had thought of using Willie as a ring bearer, but he was teething again, and they were afraid he'd swallow the rings.
The priest spoke briefly and touchingly about bringing lives and families together, about the resurrection of the spirit, and the sorrows of past lives being healed. He spoke of hope and joy and sharing and family, and the kind of love and blessings that brought and kept families together. And as Ophélie listened to him, her eyes drifted down to the beach, to precisely the place where Matt had been working when Pip must have found him almost exactly a year before. It was impossible not to think of the serendipity and good fortune and blind luck that had brought them together. All because of one little girl walking down the beach with her dog.
Matt saw Ophélie's eyes wander toward the beach, and thought of exactly the same thing, and as he looked at her, she looked back at him and their eyes met and held. It had been remarkable good fortune that had brought them together. But it had taken more than luck and happy accidents or even love. It had taken wisdom and courage to put their lives back together, and to have the sheer grit it took to reach out and hold on tight. It would have been so much easier to never try, to never touch at all, to run away and hide, while protecting old wounds. Instead, they had dared, they had danced, they had trudged on through the dark and the cold, defied the demons, faced the terrors, and refused to run away. It was more than just an act of love they were celebrating that day, it was an act of courage, and of faith, and hope and belief. All the bits and pieces had come together, the tiny threads, loosely bound at first, and now carefully threaded and woven into the fabric of their new life. It was above all a choice they had made, not to give in to death, but to embrace life. A choice not so easily made. It was a tightrope Ophélie and Matt had walked, a delicate balance to reach safety on the other side. They had found what they wanted, and fought for it, until they reached safe harbor, and escaped the storms at last.
And when the priest asked Ophélie if she took this man for the rest of her life, Pip spoke up softly and whispered in unison with her mother, “I do.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DANIELLE STEEL has been hailed as one of the world's most popular authors, with over 530 million copies of her novels sold. Her many international best-sellers include Second Chance, Ransom, Safe Harbour, Johnny Angel, Dating Game, Answered Prayers, Sunset in St. Tropez, The Cottage, The Kiss, Leap of Faith, and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina's life and death.
Visit the Danielle Steel Web Site at
www.daniellesteel.com.
a cognizant original v5 release october 16 2010
SAFE HARBOUR
A Dell Book
Published by
Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2003 by Danielle Steel
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002071585 No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law. For information address: