Benita looked away. “Let me go.”
“That’s just it, Benny. I can’t.”
She frowned at him. What did that mean? “What are we doing here?”
“I have something for you.” He started to take off his knapsack without releasing her wrist.
“You should let me go if you want to take that off.” A reluctant smile curved her lips.
Vaughn searched her eyes. “If I let you go, you’ll leave.”
She held his gaze. “I promise I won’t.”
Without hesitation, Vaughn released Benita’s arm. He used both of his hands to shrug off the knapsack. He reached into it and withdrew a plastic bag, which he offered to her.
Benita looked from Vaughn to the bag. She took it, then pulled out a notebook. She read its cover: Benita E. Hawkins, 1999 to __.
Benita’s head snapped up. Her eyes were wide on Vaughn. “You stole my diary!”
“I’m sorry. I—”
“You’re sorry?” Outrage flashed through her. She could barely think. “If you were sorry, you’d have returned it fourteen years ago.”
Her mind raced with all the things she remembered writing in her journal. What about the things she’d forgotten about? Oh, my word.
“Benny, I—”
“All of my most personal thoughts are in here.” She waved the book under his nose. “I wrote about the first time we . . . How could you? That was personal.”
Vaughn viced his hands around her upper arms and drew her to him. “You wrote that you’d love me forever.”
Benita stilled. “I can’t believe you read my diary.”
“I was desperate, Benny.” His shoulders slumped. “Your parents had just divorced. They were both leaving Trinity Falls and you were leaving with them. I wanted to know what would happen to us.”
“Why didn’t you just ask me?”
Vaughn released one of her arms to run his hand over the back of his neck. “I needed to be sure. I thought whatever you’d written in your diary must be true.”
“So you found my diary and kept it?” Benita’s anger drained. Now she struggled with confusion. What was he saying?
“Through all these years and all of your relocations, those words—‘I’ll love him forever’—have given me hope.” Vaughn released her arms, but his gaze still held her. “And, yes, I wrote Mystic Park about us.”
“I knew it.” Benita narrowed her eyes.
Vaughn crossed his arms over his dampened T-shirt. “And now I have an even greater reason to hope.”
“What?” Benita stepped back.
“You bought Doreen’s house.” He took a step toward her.
“It’s across the street from Aunt Helen’s.”
“You wrote that you’d love me forever. I wanted to believe your diary entry so badly.” Vaughn took her hand. “But there were times when I lost hope. When I found out you were the one who bought Doreen’s house, I felt like the governor had granted me a stay of execution.”
“Why?” Benita blinked back tears. She gasped when Vaughn went down on one knee. “What are you doing?”
“We’ve waited long enough, Benny.” He took both of her hands with his. “You’re my forever love. Marry me, please? I don’t want to be apart from you anymore.”