Epilogue
Five-year-old Nico raced around the room showing off his new tux, telling everyone who’d listen that he and his soon-to-be daddy were twins.
Rachel smiled at her son, shaking her head at his antics and looked at Rosie. “Your brother can be such a little devil sometimes. He has so much energy. I can’t remember you being like that.”
Rosie, now thirteen, just smiled. “Mom, you have a really short memory. Don’t you remember how you used to chase me, always teasing me about my Energizer batteries? Trust me. Nico is the same.”
Rachel stood in front of the full-length mirror and looked at herself and her daughter standing side by side.
Both females were tall and slim. Only Rosie, who took after her father with dark-hair and his family’s green eyes, had lately begun to blossom…
her potential to be beautiful obvious to everyone.
Whereas Rachel and Nico were more alike.
Undeniably, there was one defining feature shared amongst the three of them. They all smiled in the same way with their eyes as involved as their lips. It was something that her husband’s brother liked to tease them about.
Rachel caught Rosie’s glance in the mirror and smiled with such love, she knew her daughter felt it too… because her hand slipped into hers and clung.
“Dad would have been very happy for you, Mom. You know he wanted us to move on.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
Rachel had never once asked her daughter to betray her father’s confidence, and she never would…
no matter how curious she became. After Damon’s death, she’d sensed a huge difference in her little girl and blessed Damon many times over for whatever he’d said to create the miracle.
She’d tried asking Lance what happened but he wouldn’t elaborate, only that Damon had died happy, smiling ever so slightly before he took his last breath.
Rachel suddenly sensed Rosie’s seriousness as she stared into the mirror at her mom.
They both wore identical long delicate pink gowns, Rosie’s a flowing bridesmaid style, and hers being that of a breathtaking bride.
Having found their matching dresses in the bridal store, they’d beamed with happiness upon finding the perfect choices…
a strapless creation that enhanced her beauty, making her feel like a true bride and a lovely youthful style for Rosie.
Each of them wore crowns of fresh flowers, with Rosie carrying a basket of the same blooms. Whereas she had a huge bouquet filled with pink roses and fresh white baby’s breath to highlight the beauty.
Suddenly, her heart began beating faster. She sensed a happy peace filling the room and felt a presence. She watched Rosie smile that secret way she did sometimes and knew the girl had sensed it too.
“Mom, Dad’s happy about today. You know that, right?”
“You mean about me getting married again?”
“Yes. It’s what he wanted. For you to move on.”
“Maybe. But I needed those two years to grieve and accept Damon’s life held meaning. He gave me two beautiful, precious gifts that I can never thank him enough for.”
“You mean me and Nico… but more me cause I’m older right?”
Rachel grinned at the standing joke her and Rosie used often. “True, but he’s prettier cause he looks so much like me.”
Laughing, they hugged, and then Rachel moved to pick up her flowers. Lifting her gown’s sheer gauzy material, she stepped carefully, heading for the stairs and the room where her husband-to-be waited with all their family and friends along with the minister to perform the ceremony.
She took a few seconds to gaze around the flower-laden staircase and hallway that led to the large living room filled with the colorful spring blossoms they’d chosen to celebrate the occasion. Their beauty made her draw in a breath of enchantment.
Purples, pinks, and whites had been used as their color scheme and looked wonderful.
But what made it all so special was the incredible scents those hyacinths, roses, azaleas and daffodils shared with the world around them.
Rachel had never felt so special. Looking around their new house, the one they’d bought and worked on together, had made these last two years fly by for everyone.
Now their home was ready and so were they.
Time to move on. Time to start a new life. She could barely wait.
***
Holding back for a few seconds, Rosie picked up her basket and used these moments alone to talk to her father.
I know you’re here, Daddy. Like you said you would be.
And Dad, I get it better now that I’m older.
You took all the blame for being bad and made me understand that I’m too good to be like you.
Know what though… I think you’re wrong. In my heart, you’re a saint. A good man.
And I’ll never forget your last words. You loved me better than anyone else, and I’m okay with that too.
Hearing her mother’s whispered call, she smilingly reached for her basket of flowers, lifted her gown, and stepped out onto the landing in front of the bride. Then she started down the stairs to where the bridegroom waited, looking so handsome and proud.
Grinning, she walked towards Lance, beaming her approval.
***
Damon watched the proceedings through his misty window into the world, and one thought gave him the peace he’d craved. His daughter not only loved him, but she also seemed proud of him too.
It was as if through her eyes, he’d been recreated into a different person… a new man.
~*~*~*~
***If you enjoyed reading this story, you might like to read another in the Single Title Series – Book #16 – I’m no Angel.
Angelina Serrano is determined to prove to her two bossy brothers, and especially her doting Papá, that she not only has the skill, but the gumption to work with their family’s accounting firm in Santiago, Chile.
To do this, she makes a bargain with her father, that in two years, she will have opened her own firm in Victoria, Canada and paid off the majority of its debt.
Little did she know everything she’d be up against.