Epilogue
Six months later
Joelle chose a dress made of white eyelet, and a circlet of white baby roses rested in her hair.
Ford wore jeans, a white shirt, and his cowboy boots that morning as they stood before the judge at the Grayson County Courthouse in Sherman, Texas.
In just a few minutes, he pronounced them man and wife, and Ford gave Joelle a true Hollywood kiss.
Ford scooped Joelle up in his arms and carried her outside into snow flurries while Billy Joe, Sharlene, and Nita tossed red rose petals over them all the way to the VW bus. Ford set his new wife down on the sidewalk and opened the door for her, then drew her into his arms and kissed her once more.
“I can mark something off my bucket list now,” he said.
“Me too,” Joelle said breathlessly. “Now let’s get this honeymoon on the road. Disneyland waits for us, and besides, I’m freezing.”
Ford reached into the vehicle, brought out a denim duster, and draped it around Joelle’s shoulders. “I’ll make sure to warm you up to the steaming-hot point tonight, darlin’.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she told him as she slid into the passenger’s seat.
“I can’t believe you’re letting us go on your honeymoon with you,” Sharlene said as she settled into one of the chairs in the back seat.
Joelle turned around in her seat and smiled at the three of them. “A trip in the hippie wagon wouldn’t be the same without y’all. We’re all chasing dreams together.”