Epilogue
June
“Whelp,” the aging cowboy minister grinned at the family and friends gathered in Town Square, “I’ll admit this is the first time I’ve ever officiated a wedding for a couple who skipped getting engaged.”
Aaron turned around, waving his arms to encourage the deputies in the front two rows to join him in a round of hooting, clapping, and laughing.
Every single one of them had become like brothers to him and Aurora in recent months.
The citizens of Heart Lake had welcomed the two of them with open arms, inviting them to call the cozy lake town their home.
They had eagerly done so, which was why there were so many guests in attendance at Aurora and A.J.’s wedding today.
The minister chuckled at the policemen’s antics, waiting patiently on the steps of the rustic gazebo until they quieted down. White rose garlands circled the eaves above his head. A violin quartet and part of the church choir were seated behind him inside the gazebo.
At the base of the stairs, A.J. stood with Aurora’s hand curled around his arm.
They’d chosen to keep their wedding simple.
Or fuss-free, as Aurora kept calling it.
She was so beautiful in a gown of ivory chenille and lace.
At his request, she’d agreed to leave her gorgeous Rapunzel-style hair down.
A light summer breeze sent several silken strands of it across her eyes and cheeks that he was going to enjoy smoothing away before he kissed her.
She tipped her face his way, her hazel eyes glowing into his like a thousand unspoken promises. For a moment, there was no one in the world but the two of them.
I love you. He mouthed the words to her.
She mouthed them back.
Then he tuned in to the ceremony, not wanting to miss a single word of it.
“There’s a story behind what I said.” The white-haired minister took the time to spin the heartwarming tale for his listeners.
Most of them had heard it before, but no one minded hearing it again.
It was about a retired soldier who’d confessed his love to his perfect partner with nothing but a grenade clip in his pocket to bend into a promise ring.
“She has refused to take it off for five months straight,” he concluded amidst a smattering of cheers and yet more clapping.
“That kind of love is worth celebrating. I couldn’t be prouder or more honored to be a part of the joyful new chapter they’re stepping into…
though her groom personally confided in me that he’s hoping she’ll finally trade in her promise ring for a wedding ring. ”
The audience gave a collective gasp and leaned forward as Aaron produced a velvet ring box and handed it to A.J.
A.J. opened it and was rewarded by the sound of Aurora catching her breath.
“Oh, A.J.,” she breathed.
She likes it. Relief filled him. He reached for her hand, which had so faithfully worn the grenade clip he’d given her.
The minister proceeded to lead them in their vows, after which Aurora allowed him to remove the grenade clip and replace it with a perfect replica.
The wedding ring he’d specially commissioned for her was an intricate twist of white gold with an elongated marquis diamond blazing from the center of it.
His own wedding ring was a matching white-gold grenade clip without the diamond.
Their kiss was a reminder that God was still in control. Though things would never be perfect on this side of glory, the woman in A.J.’s arms had transformed his life into the next best thing to perfect.
Who needed perfect, anyway, when he had a gorgeous crime-fighting partner like Aurora Pike by his side?
He didn’t anticipate many dull moments being married to the newly crowned CEO of Diamondback Corporation, a firm that few people knew existed.
Even fewer people knew that its home office had recently relocated from Wall Street to Main Street in Heart Lake.
Further shrouding the secret was the CEO’s small office in the back of Modello’s, not too many doors down from the auto body shop where he still pulled a shift now and then when he wasn’t subcontracting for Lonestar Security.
He was the first of his kind on staff at Lonestar, since no amount of wheedling on their part had been able to convince him to give up his independence.
If they hadn’t agreed to let him serve as a PI on a subcontracting basis, he might’ve turned in his resignation.
He wanted a schedule that would allow him to be a husband, the faithful sidekick of his favorite CEO, and eventually a father.
Someday.
In God’s timing.
As soon as the minister finished the closing prayer, A.J.’s parents edged their way in front of Aaron and his deputy friends to gush over their son and new daughter-in-law. They’d prayed long and hard for this day to come.
“We’re so happy for you, son.” His mother cried happy tears all over him as she hugged his neck.
“And proud,” his father added gruffly, his eyes shining nearly as brightly as A.J.’s mom’s eyes.
In a few days, his parents would start dropping hints about grandchildren. He couldn’t wait.
Mixed feelings churned in Halle Garrett as she drove past the brick sign welcoming newcomers to Heart Lake.
I’m home.
She’d never planned on coming back, but fate seemed to have other ideas.
After her con artist ex had stolen the chicken farm that had been in her family for generations, she’d been forced to take him to court.
And now that she’d won back the farm, she was finally going to move in and run it herself.
When you want something done right, as her parents used to say, you have to do it yourself.
She blinked away tears at the memory. She missed them so much! For the life of her, she didn’t know how a kindergarten teacher like herself was going to run a chicken farm on her own, but she’d figure it out.
The lake came into view, and she momentarily forgot her troubles. The water was bluer than she remembered. Beautiful. Peaceful. She was tempted to pull over to the side of the road and run down the embankment to dangle her feet in the water. She and her friends had done it countless times as kids.
However, she’d promised the guy she’d been paying to oversee the chicken farm that she’d meet him there at three o’clock sharp. Because of the extra traffic she’d run into on the interstate, she was nearly out of time.
Gotta keep driving.
She rolled down her window to smell the fresh country breeze and suddenly wondered why she’d ever left it behind. The city air couldn’t compete with this. She filled her lungs with it as she turned onto the unmarked gravel lane leading home.
I made it!
She’d done it with only a minute to spare, too. Rounding the final curve, she abruptly slammed on her brakes. Directly in front of her was a moving truck. She’d almost crashed into it.
The FOR SALE sign in front of the home she’d grown up in made no sense, nor did the bright red SOLD sign someone had tacked to the front of it. Or the two small boys who looked identical, throwing a baseball back and forth…
She watched, stunned, as one of the boys missed his catch, and the ball flew in her direction—straight for her windshield!
A tall man leaped from the back of the moving truck and, with a superhuman twist and dive, caught the ball right before it slammed into her car. The crouch he landed in brought him face-to-face with her over the window she’d rolled down earlier.
“Um, hello.” She stared dazedly at him, wondering who he was.
He was ridiculously handsome in his navy t-shirt, faded jeans, and windblown auburn hair; and his crooked smile was one of those perfectly imperfect kinds of smiles that made it, well, perfect.
But the positive side of her assessment of him stopped there.
He was trespassing. Maybe he’d gotten lost on his way to somewhere else. She didn’t realize she’d stated the question aloud until he answered her.
“Nope. I live here.” His voice was as nice as the rest of him, all warm and husky like a guy who knew how to laugh.
“That’s impossible, because I live here!” Her emphatic response erased all signs of the warmth and laughter she was so sure she’d seen in him, making her wonder if she’d imagined it all.
“Would you like to see the real estate contract?” he demanded.
“What?” She swayed dizzily in her seat, sensing that something was terribly wrong.
This can’t be happening!
“I-I have the court paperwork proving it’s mine,” she mumbled. “I grew up here. It’s—”
She was dimly aware of the man opening her car door and asking if she was well. He offered to call an ambulance, and she refused. She closed her eyes and counted to ten like she did sometimes before attempting to calm a rowdy five-year-old.
Then she opened her eyes to face the handsome stranger and attempt to resolve the mystery unfolding in front of her.
Aurora gazed dreamily at her new husband as he spun her across the dance floor at their wedding reception. Then he dipped her over his arm and claimed her lips.
“I love you, Mrs. Pike.”
“I love you, too.” She clung to his neck and the cluster of red roses fisted in her hand. Her heart was full. A few short months ago, she hadn’t known such happiness existed. Quite honestly, she couldn’t think of a single thing that would make their wedding day more perfect.
Until it came time to throw her bouquet… Maggie caught it, Uncle Cary gave a whoop of exultation, and the look on Aaron’s face was priceless. Aurora tried to name each emotion as it wafted across his handsome face:
Astonishment.
Wonder.
Joy.
Adoration.
Hope.
Expectation.
Yeah, I know the feeling, buddy! He probably didn’t know what had hit him yet, but he would.
A.J.’s grin told her he was thinking the same thing. They kissed again to celebrate the thrill of knowing that it was only beginning. The best things were yet to come.
Thank you for reading
Barbed Wire and Burglary.
After an ugly court battle with a con artist, a kindergarten teacher wins back the chicken farm that’s been in her family for generations. Or not…when she discovers a handsome squatter has taken up residence there in
Poultry and Perjury.