When the Music Ends (The Winter Rose Chronicles) by Simone Beaudelaire Page A

But eventually she would leave, and he
would not try to make her stay.
                The
thought was painful, and they still had the rest of the school year to be
together. He hoped she would heal soon. He did want to put the mark of his love
on her heart and body and memory so that she would always remember him fondly.
                Erin wondered what Sean was thinking so very hard. He looked almost grim. She didn’t
want that, so to erase the little frown from his face, she scrambled into his
lap and pressed her mouth to his, kissing him for all she was worth.
                "Easy,
Erin," he told her, smiling a little, "you can have all you want.
You don’t have to fight for it."
                "I
want more. Can we please go to bed?"
                "Are
you sure?"
                "Yes.
Everything is fine, I’m not bleeding, my hormones are normal and
I’m on the pill. I’m totally ready for a good time. Would you like
to show me one?" She rubbed up against him with a sexy little shimmy.
                "Oh
baby would I!"
                He
scooped her into his arms and carried her to his bed and proceeded to make love
to her for so long that she was nearly late getting home.

***Chapter 12***
     
                For
a year that had begun so badly, the second half was much better, at least for Erin. The all state concert went really well, and even featured a small oboe solo for the
first chair player. Sean went to hear her, which really warmed her heart.
Warmed the rest of her too, later, when he showed her how much he had enjoyed
listening to her play.
    The rest of the time she studied, did homework, played her
instrument at the high school and the symphony and spent every possible moment
with her boyfriend. They started being seen out in public, no longer caring if
people knew. Too much had gone on between them to worry if the odd person
looked askance. They didn’t tell Sean’s parents though. The time
just never seemed right, not when the difficult situation with their own young daughter
just kept lingering on and on.
    Sheridan eventually settled on a family she wanted
to adopt her baby, a lovely couple in their mid thirties named Christine and
William Potter, who couldn’t have children of their own. There was one
final snag in the plans though.
    Erin returned home quite late one Friday just
before spring break. She’d had rehearsal after school, and then a date
with Sean, and so naturally she was feeling quite relaxed and content, a hint
of a smile lingering around her mouth. It was almost curfew, so she locked the
front door and headed to the family room to let the Murphys know she had
returned on time. She knocked and entered to see Mrs. Murphy sitting on the
sofa with her arms around her daughter. Sheridan was weeping once again.
                Erin ran right to them and embraced them both, her happy mood dissolving into concern.
                "What’s
wrong?" she asked.
                Sheridan couldn’t speak, so Mrs. Murphy answered, her voice bleak. "We got
some bad news from the attorney. In order for the adoption to be legal, both
birth parents have to sign a termination of parental rights. They sent the
paperwork to Jake, but…"
                "He’s
refusing to sign?" Erin guessed. Sheridan nodded against her
mother’s shoulder. "But why? Does he want the baby?"
                "No.
Not at all," Ellen replied with a pained sigh, "his attorney says
he won’t sign unless the charges against him are dropped. Since
he’s known to be the father of the child, if he doesn’t, the
adoption won’t be legal."
                "Hell
with him," Erin said bluntly, "There has to be some way to
terminate his rights without his signature. He’s a criminal. Surely under
these circumstances…"
                "No."
Sheridan sobbed the word rather than spoke it. "What if