Epilogue
Cressida’s hands shook as she ran her brush through her hair, sitting in front of her vanity. Diver snored at her feet, his tail thumping against the floor, lost to whatever dream was running through his mind.
She wished she could feel as peaceful as he did, but she had spent most of the night tossing and turning.
Etta burst into the room with a smile and a cup of coffee, setting it down in front of Cressida. “You need to drink up, get your bones all nice and warm before we head outside.”
“Thank you.” Cressida sipped the coffee, butterflies in her stomach. “How does everything look out there?”
“Mrs. Agatha and I spent the morning putting the final touches on the decorations. The flowers are all blooming and beautiful.” Etta grinned and looked at the pretty dress hanging over the wardrobe.
“I can’t believe Susanna got the dress done in time!
And look at all those beautiful little flowers embroidered all over it! ”
“She really outdid herself.” Cressida finished brushing her hair, setting the brush to the side before reaching for the first strands to braid.
“Let me do that. If you braid your own hair, you’re just going to go plain and simple, and your wedding day calls for something more fun.”
“Simple is fine.”
Etta came over and swatted Cressida’s hands away when she reached for her hair again. “You’re going to let me do this for you because you deserve to look absolutely stunning on your wedding day.”
“Thank you.” Cressida looked at her in the mirror, smiling, her heart fluttering with anticipation. “Is anyone annoyed that we asked the pastor to come out here instead of marrying us at the church?”
“Not in the slightest. People have already started arriving, and all any of them are saying is how happy they are for you and how excited they are to see you.”
Cressida nodded, trying to process that.
She thought this was going to be another one of those things she got opinions on, but she didn’t care. All that mattered to her was marrying Ronan.
“Are you sure you’re going to be fine with me moving to Ronan’s?” Cressida bit her bottom lip.
“You act like you’re moving to another town. It takes me ten minutes to walk from this house to yours. Sure I don’t love the hill, but that’s nothing.” Etta gave her a teasing smile. “Remember when I told you that you have to promise to not put yourself on hold for me anymore?”
Cressida reached out and took her by the hand. “And I’m not, am I? I’m about to be married, and then I’m going to spend the afternoon moving my things to his home.”
“Tobin already took care of that.” Etta grinned, putting some pins with pearls on the ends of them in Cressida’s hair. “He wanted to make sure you got to enjoy your wedding day without worrying about all the other things that needed to be done.”
Tears gathered in Cressida’s eyes. Even though it had been a couple of weeks since Tobin dragged her down to the sheriff’s office and told her that it was for her own good, she still wasn’t used to people caring for her. It felt foreign in a way, making her pause.
But this was what family was. They took care of you. They held you close through the hard times, and they lifted you up in the good ones.
“You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen,” Etta said, stepping back and admiring Cressida’s hair. “Now, let’s get you into the dress so you can marry the man of your dreams.”
Cressida grinned, but the tears started flowing when she saw the little emerald pin Etta had tucked in amongst the pearl ones. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Edmund gave it to you, and I know he would want you to be wearing it while you find your new happiness. All he ever wanted was for you to be happy.” Etta hugged her tight. “He’d be so proud to see you now, just like I am.”
Tears rolled down Cressida’s cheeks, but they were happy tears. Having a little piece of Edmund there with her felt right. It felt like she was merging her past and her present into a future that was brighter than she had ever imagined.
With Etta’s help, she got into the dress without ruining her hair. Mrs. Agatha stepped into the room with white flowers, her eyes glistening with tears as she tucked flowers into Cressida’s hair.
“I’m so happy for you!” Mrs. Agatha smiled, wiping away tears of her own. “I promised myself I wasn’t going to cry, and now look at me. You’re going to hear me sobbing in the middle of your ceremony.”
Cressida hugged her tight. “Thank you for always being there for me. I don’t think I could’ve gotten to this point without you.”
“You would’ve gotten here on your own just fine. You’ve always been stronger than you give yourself credit for.” Mrs. Agatha kissed her cheek before heading for the door, disappearing through it.
“Diver,” Etta called, pulling out a ribbon from her pocket. “We need to get you all dressed up, too.”
Diver raised his head, his tail wagging faster. Etta tied the ribbon in a bow before straightening up and offering her arm to Cressida.
“Let’s get you married.” Etta smiled, leaning into Cressida.
They walked arm-in-arm through the house and down the stairs, outside to where an aisle lined with flowers led to a simple arch.
Ronan stood beneath the arch with the pastor. Cressida’s heart skipped a beat when she saw her future husband standing there in a suit, his hair cut shorter and groomed back, his face clean-shaven. His smile spread wide when he saw her, tears in his eyes.
Cressida’s cheeks ached from her own smile as she walked down the aisle to him, her future laid out in front of her.
“Hello, love,” he whispered as he took her hands from Etta.
“Hello,” Cressida said, nearly breathless as she felt his warm hands beneath hers.
“Any second thoughts?” he asked, his smile teasing.
“Not a single one. This is everything I’ve ever wanted.” Cressida brushed her thumbs over the sides of his hands.
The pastor read through the ceremony, everything becoming a blur. Cressida had heard from other women she knew that you didn’t remember much about the ceremony, that you were too full of bliss to pay that much attention.
It hadn’t been that way when she married Edmund, despite the love they’d shared, but now, marrying Ronan, she felt nothing but bliss.
She had met her soulmate, of that much she was certain.
And when Ronan leaned in and kissed her after their rings were exchanged, the rest of the world came to a stop. There was nothing in that moment but the two of them and the soft feeling of his lips on hers.
“I love you,” Ronan said, pressing his forehead to hers, looking down at her. “How are you doing today, Mrs. Thorne?”
“I’m feeling better than ever and entirely in love, Mr. Thorne.” Cressida laughed as he picked her up and twirled her around, their friends and family clapping.
Diver barked, bouncing around and wagging his tail, making everyone laugh as he darted from one person to the next and licked their hands.
“That dog of yours is something else,” Ronan said with a teasing smile as he twirled her again, making her laugh.
Cressida’s stomach rumbled when he set her down, sausages and bacon already being cooked over the fire, pancakes being flipped in their pans.
“Let’s get you some breakfast and then perhaps we could have that dance we never got to have at the festival,” Ronan said, taking her by the hand and leading her over to a table.
He pulled out her chair and waited for her to sit, tucking her in before turning and going to get food. He came back with two stacked plates, sitting beside her and digging in, pausing every couple of minutes when someone came up to their table to congratulate them.
Once the food was done, the musicians began to play.
Ronan stood and offered his hand to Cressida. “May I have this dance?”
Laughing, she let him pull her to her feet. “You may, but if you plan to waltz with me, I have to warn you that I’m terrible at waltzing.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist, taking her free hand in his, the steps bright and lively as he spun her around the yard with the singing of the fiddles.
“It’s a good thing I don’t know how to waltz either.” He gave her a roguish smile, spinning them faster as they danced.
More people got up, skirts twirling, laughter loud in the air. One song changed to the next, and they kept dancing, Cressida out of breath from laughing so hard.
She couldn’t remember the last time she had enjoyed herself like that, but as Ronan spun her away from the party, walking toward the river, she knew that there were many more of those days to come.
They walked quietly, hands joined. Cressida turned her face to the sun, basking in the warm rays shining down, soaking up the beautiful day.
Ronan turned to her when they reached the edge of the river, reaching out and twirling one of the loose strands of her hair around his finger. “I didn’t think I was ever going to find someone like you. I didn’t think that I was going to get this happiness for myself.”
Cressida leaned into his touch as his hand cupped the side of her face. “I didn’t think I was going to do anything other than take care of the home ever again.”
“You’ve got the freedom to do whatever you want now,” Ronan said with a smile, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone. “If you want to go back to teaching, I’ll support that, and if you want to do nothing but play with Diver and sit beneath the sun, I’ll support that too.”
“I want to go back to teaching. I miss the children, and with the town growing, there’s need for another schoolteacher, I think.”
“And with a new mayor, they might listen to you.” Ronan grinned, leaning in to brush his lips over hers.
“Sheriff Bothwell told me earlier, when I was getting food, that Conrad has been putting up a fuss in jail since he’s the mayor.
Bothwell has been appointed the temporary mayor, and he’s already asking me when you want to come back to teaching. ”
“And what are you going to be doing?” Cressida asked, her tone teasing.
“I’m tired of hunting criminals. He looked around at the land surrounding them. “I think I really do want to try my hand at being a rancher.”
Cressida laughed and threw her arms around him. “You are something else entirely.”
“Thank you.” Ronan kissed her cheek, making tingles dance along her skin. “All of Ambrose’s men had been gathered up, too. Trials are due to begin in a week, but Doctor Millwood is confident they’ll be spending years behind bars at one of the forts.”
“We’re free then,” Cressida said with a smile as she looked up at him, the river bubbling to their side.
Ronan’s arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close. “We’re free.”
As she stood there in his arms, listening to the birds chirping, feeling the sun on her skin, more hope flowed through her than she’d had in a long time.
Her life was changing, but this time it was because she chose the change. She picked her future.
She chose to love Ronan with every fiber of her being, and now she was looking at a lifetime of happiness she had never dared hope for.
It was perfection.
THE END