The Moongate Wish: Chapter Fourteen-That Backstory was Important After All

Glen says that he doesn't want to intrude, but he knows that Erika's father just died and he wants to be there for her. The hospital gave him the address. Geeze it was easy to learn things about people back then. Also, is anyone else getting a stalker vibe here? It makes some sense, though: they told Glen at the hotel that Erika was at the hospital, so he drove to the hospital where they told him about Erika's father and where to find her. Erika asks why he was coming to Glenbrae Castle. He replies, “I went there to see you, Erika. What else?” Aw. Does this mean he's finally realizing that he's in love? This is the final chapter after all...

Phyllis wants to know who it is, so Erika invites Glen in and introduces him to Phyllis and Debbie. There's handshakes all around and a confirmation that he is that Glen Hunter. Glen is sympathetic, and they all talk funeral arrangements. Finally, Erika says that there's no more she can help with and she has to get back to her hotel. She asks if Phyllis will be okay, but she's got Debbie for awhile so she'll be fine. Erika and Glen leave together and they make a plan to drop off his car and take hers back to the hotel.

As they're driving back, Erika unburdens herself more than she means to and shares that she saw things the wrong way around as a child. Glen replies that he's done the same thing and he's carried some emotional baggage that's distorted how he sees the world. Then he suggests a turnoff up ahead that will give them some time to talk. Erika takes it and stops the car under an oak tree just past a steam. A perfect spot for a murder.

Glen sits there, twining his fingers together while Erika waits for him to speak. Does he want what they had in Bermuda even though she told him no? Maybe he's come to his senses. But no, he's got this grudge against being in love and forever. What is he going to say? Glen opens with: “I love you, Erika.” Well, that answers that question. He goes on to explain that Erika has been far more awesome than any other woman he's been with. No, Erika, it's not just sex. It's both sex and love. Being in love made the sex better, or something. Or, as Glen says it, “Love-making with you brought a totally new understanding of the word to me.” See what he did there?

Oh, also they're going to learn about being in love together. I didn't think these sex-crazed maniacs could be adorable. I'm kidding; they're not maniacs. Anyway, Erika asks Glen about his career. Glen explains that he was super jealous when Erika went out with Tony and he wrote a bunch of music that night which he initially threw out. He saved it from the garbage and sent it to Felix when Felix was demanding something. Glen got a message to call Felix right away when he finished his flight to England, so Glen called him once he landed. Felix loved the music and said it was the new Glen. He also realized this had to be because Glen was in love, probably with Erika. See, Erika is good for his career. Also, Glen kind of asks her to marry him sort of. It's not really phrased as a question, just the reason he told Felix he was coming to England.

Erika is super happy about this, but asks how long he'll love her. Glen promises her forever only because he can't promise any longer. Wow. This chapter is sweet enough for the whole book. Erika wonders about Glen's father and Glen explains that he's realized that he is not his father. Love does not mean the end of his career. I know. It's blasphemy. So, they kiss on being together forever and Glen offers to drive the rest of the way back. Erika lets him and as they're driving back, they both say they'll put the other person before their careers. That's right, Erika doesn't have to be a housewife.

They make it back to the hotel, the person Erika put in charge only has minor questions for her, and bathe before dinner. They find a secluded corner of the dining room for dinner and they splatter more adorableness on the page. Then Glen asks if he can come to her room that night. Erika's initial thought is along the lines of, “Really? You want sex the night after my father died and I've been on an emotional roller coaster?” Glen clarifies that he just wants to hold her. Erika agrees to this. So, she makes her final rounds and heads to her room. Glen shows up a bit later and they cuddle in bed together. Just before she falls asleep, Erika manages to tell Glen that she loves him for forever. Aw.

So, that was The Moongate Wish. Tune in next week for the sequel, which picks up right where this book leaves off. Glen Hunter and Erika Talbot have just overcome their emotional walls and decided to get married. However, the night after the death of Erika's father is not so calm as it seems. Erika and Glen are roused from a well-earned sleep by an assassination attempt. It seems Erika knew even less of her father than she thought, and he left behind a legacy that she never dreamed of. Pick up King of Ninjas to see if Erika and Glen have what it takes to claim her birthright, defeating any in their way, perhaps even Erika's stepsister...

The Moongate Wish: Chapter Thirteen-Heart Trouble

So, happy new year. Sorry for the long silence. Life decided to happen all over the place. Let's see what Erika and Glen have been up to in our absence.

When this chapter opens, Erika has been in Scotland for four weeks managing that hotel. She's visited the Montroses several times before, but this time is different because we get to see it. They get along well, like old friends, and we hear some news from Bermuda. Lalla's son, Frankie, has an apprenticeship at a flower nursery, and Lalla seems to be making great friends with the owner, if you know what I mean. Nothing under the table about it, just a budding relationship that Erika writes off as probably ending in marriage. Could this be foreshadowing? Nah.

The three of them sit down to a home cooked meal and are thoroughly enjoying it. Then the phone rings and Douglas answers it to find out he's gotta go do an appendectomy. He's a doctor, remember? I didn't. So, he rushes off and leaves the two women alone for the first time since Catrina's great unburdening. She continues her trend. She and Douglas are both trying to be a couple now, so that's working much better for them. She no longer thinks he's uncaring or blames him for their children's deaths, and it scares her to see how she could have lost him. What a good thing she decided to keep trying and make a relationship, huh?

Catrina runs out of the room to cry somewhere else for a moment, and comes back with raspberries and cream for dessert. Then she asks about Glen and Erika. Wait, Erika and whom? Erika says that she and Glen left it in Bermuda and that it's over. Catrina says that's too bad, because she's pretty sure Glen was in love with her. Erika thinks so too, but she won't say it. ...because why would she say anything about love and Glen to anyone ever? Anyway, the permanent manager of Glenbrae Castle's daughter is doing well in New Zealand and they'll probably be heading home in 10 days. The two agree to keep in touch even after Erika moves on.

As Erika's leaving, Catrina gets a chance to say what a wonderful husband Douglas is and whatnot. Then, she can't hold this in any longer: “I just have to tell you, Erika. I wasn't going to because it's really much too early, but...” Erika guesses that Catrina is pregnant and is correct. Maybe I was too busy trying to figure out how Glen was getting back in the novel, but I didn't see that coming at all. Anyway, it seems that Catrina's and Douglas' rocky relationship is in the process of righting itself. If only something like that would happen between Erika and someone else...

Erika drives back to the fancy-pants Glenbrae Castle and there's a message for her from Phyllis Talbot, her stepmother. Erika takes the call in her office, which was a good call. Erika's dad apparently has a heart issue and he's about to die. He was asking for her. So, despite the coldness she's felt for him for years, Erika recognizes when it's time to get over it and she gets in the car to see him. I didn't realize she was so close to them, but it's just four hours from Glenbrae Castle to the hospital where her father is.

Erika is shocked to see how frail her father is, but his eyes brighten when he sees her. Basically, he tells Erika that her mom was super-jealous even when there wasn't cause...and then there was. He couldn't leave Phyllis with a baby on her own so he had to leave Erika's suffocating mother. Erika didn't know this part before, so it puts that whole situation in a new light. Erika's father's wish is for Erika not to hold Phyllis accountable for this and to make up with her. Erika's dad manages to hold on until his other daughter, Erika's half sister, shows up. Deborah, the half sister, Phyllis and Erika are all around him for awhile. Then he slips away into the night.

Phyllis asks if Erika wants to come to their house before she drives back to her hotel. Mindful of her promise, Erika agrees. While she's there, she begins to see Deborah, as a sister. Apparently, Debbie is having similar emotions to what Erika had at 18. Anyway, Erika tells Phyllis what her dad wanted, and says that she's going to try to make it happen. Phyllis says that Erika will always be welcome in their home and Debbie agrees. See? This is the relationship I was talking about being mended. You guys thought that foreshadowing was about something else, didn't you?

Then the doorbell rings. Oh those neighbors, this is not the time for sympathy. Erika volunteers to get the door because Phyllis can't handle that right now. She opens the door to discover a nosy neighbor who saw their car come back and has concluded the old man has “finally kicked the bucket”. She wants to come in and bother Phyllis and Debbie but, remembering her promise and generally being a good person, Erika turns her away. No, I'm just messing with you. It's Glen. End of chapter.

All right. They've only got one chapter to make it up to each other, explain how much they mean to each other and finally make some sort of commitment. I don't think this is the type of book where they'll have to end up married, but I'm not really sure. So, my prediction: Glen looks in shock at Erika and says, “This isn't Gertrude's house.” Erika, assuming Gertrude is one of his women, slaps him and shuts the door. Because her assumption is correct, Glen walks sadly away, never to find Gertrude because she gave him the wrong address.