What Love Can Do

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Copyright © 2023 by Katharine Hope Levy Romance Without Borders Publishing All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at www.katharinehopelevy.com First Romance Without Borders Publishing edition March 2023 For signed copies, visit www.katharinehopelevy.com Cover Design: Graphics by Stacy Library of Congress Control Number: 2023900001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available. ISBN: 979-8-9874570-0-9 ISBN: 979-8-9874570-1-6 (e-book) This book is dedicated to everyone who has ever wished on a star and wondered if their wish would come true. With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls, For stony limits cannot hold love out, And what love can do, that dares love attempt… ~Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, II.ii.66-69. CONTENTS Prologue Part I Chapter 1: “It’s been a while…” Chapter 2: Facial Recognition Chapter 3: A Little Spark Chapter 4: The Weekend Chapter 5: A Day at the Beach Chapter 6: The Plan Chapter 7: Where to Begin Chapter 8: Tom Collins Chapter 9: Misunderstood Part II Chapter 10: The Message Chapter 11: All the time… Chapter 12: The Gum Wrapper Chapter 13: Seven Dates Chapter 14: The Red Cardinal Chapter 15: Cassie Chapter 16: Orange Peel Debacle Chapter 17: At Last Chapter 18: Burnt Marshmallows Chapter 19: Obligatory Shower Scene Chapter 20: Always Chapter 21: Chloe Chapter 22: Birthday Surprise Chapter 23: The Proposal Chapter 24: Fiancée to Fiancé Chapter 25: The Ring Chapter 26: Girl Power Chapter 27: The Wedding, Part I Chapter 28: The Wedding, Part II Chapter 29: Wedded Bliss Chapter 30: The Wedding Night Part III Chapter 31: A Bad Penny Chapter 32: The Truth Chapter 33: What Love Can Do Chapter 34: The Reckoning Chapter 35: The Story of Us A Final Note to Readers and Acknowledgments PROLOGUE LOOKING BACK IN TIME can be a mysterious undertaking. It’s a little like being a detective in your own private mystery story. While we would like to believe that our memory of prior events is accurate, even the clearest of minds can distort the past. We painstakingly search for the clues that will aid us in recovering the secrets of our past: the Who, the What, the When, the Where, and the always elusive Why. Ideally, we would prefer that our past fit neatly into our own self-narrative and, to the extent that it does not, the mind has a convenient way of whitewashing and even erasing any incongruities. This the mind will often rationalize for the sake of our sanity, sense of morality, or perhaps to protect our fragile hearts. If we are unaware of such trickery, we may be able to go through life without shame, regret, or remorse over prior transgressions, and without conscious awareness of painful experiences. On our mind’s side is time. The more time that passes, the hazier the unpleasantness becomes, until finally the unpleasantness is—well—gone. Or so it would seem. For some memories are never truly forgotten. They simply lie dormant until the right person comes along to revive them. For Jennifer Bantam, today was that day. Part I CHAPTER 1 “It’s been a while…” ~ Present Day ~ “TRAINS, MOMMY, TRAINS!” a little boy exclaimed as he pulled his mother’s arm towards the toy store window, a popular destination in Shelby Falls. But the boy’s mother was on the phone, so he released her arm and rushed to the toy store window to get a closer look. The window display contained a colorful array of model trains that wound their way around hills and valleys and through a miniature town center which resembled Shelby Falls. The diorama was extremely realistic and even went so far as to contain a miniature version of the toy store, including the train window display itself. The little boy watched the trains with fascination alongside a woman who appeared equally enthralled. Upon realizing there was another avid spectator beside him, he looked up at her with wide-eyed excitement. She smiled down at him cheerfully and together they watched as the trains made their way through an elaborate set of tracks. The boy looked to be about five years old and the woman recalled that she was probably around his age when she first started coming to this very toy store with her father. The boy was particularly mesmerized by a shiny red locomotive that was rounding the bend and when the locomotive made its characteristic loud whistle, he jumped back with surprise. “That scared you, huh?” said the woman, smiling sweetly down at him. He nodded slowly, eyes still wide with wonder. The boy’s mom winked appreciatively at the woman but nevertheless remained on her phone call. “Why does it make that whistle?” the boy asked the woman with the seriousness of a curious child. “Hmm…That’s a very good question. I think maybe it’s trying to warn everybody that it’s coming. What do you think?” “I think so too,” he said confidently, his eyes now glued to the red locomotive as it scooted into a tunnel under a mountain. As the caboose disappeared into the tunnel, the boy became worried, but the woman reassured him that it would return and they waited expectantly for it to reemerge. “See, there it is!” she said, kneeling down and pointing out the red locomotive to him as it traveled back towards them. He was delighted and immediately ran