Epilogue
18 months later
It was a warm summer evening at Cedar Creek Ranch, a soft breeze rustled through my white dress as Ellis steadily guided me across the dance floor. I wasn’t a very proficient ballroom dancer, but Ellis made up for it. We were surrounded by our friends and family. Just a small wedding, a little over forty people, but I loved each and every one of these people and they were all watching us with smiles on their faces.
I spotted Riley in the group with a big grin on his face, looking very dapper in his suit and bow tie. He’d had a growth spurt this summer and was now half an inch taller than me. I could already tell he would be tall, like his father.
The soft glow from the string lights, hung on poles around the dance floor, reflected off the brand-new golden ring on my finger. Terry and Annette had gone above and beyond with the decorations, transforming the ranch into the most beautiful wedding venue.
I felt the warmth of Ellis’s hand against my back and smiled.
“You look absolutely radiant,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m the luckiest man alive.”
“You clean up nicely too,” I said with a grin.
That was the understatement of the year. In his black suit, Ellis looked fit for the front cover of GQ magazine, but it wasn’t his tailored suit or his impeccably styled hair that took my breath away. It was the way he looked at me with his dark-blue eyes—so full of love, so full of passion. When I first looked into those eyes over a decade before, I knew I’d found my soulmate in an instant, and that feeling had only gotten stronger since Ellis became part of my life again one and a half years before.
The music changed from a ballad to an upbeat dance tune, and the wedding guests started flooding the dance floor.
I pulled on Ellis’s hand. “Come on. Let’s grab a bite.”
Like most girls on their wedding day, I’d been so nervous and excited that I hadn’t eaten anything all day, and I was starving.
After filling our plates with cocktail sausages and cupcakes, Ellis and I took the first free table. I stretched out my legs and took off my high heels with an unceremonious groan.
I watched the guests dance for a moment, laughing at the enthusiasm Terry showed as he danced with Annette before I noticed Ellis looked surprisingly tense.
“What’s the matter? You look unusually dour, considering you just got married to me, the love of your life. Your words, not mine.”
“It’s not you, love. I don’t like the way Wyatt is ogling my sister,” he said after putting an olive in his mouth.
“You can’t be serious. Harper has been all over him since the ceremony. If anything, we need to watch out for her.”
Ellis stopped staring and laughed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. He does seem interested, though. Poor guy. He has no idea what he’s signing up for.”
“You know, I think a guy like Wyatt would do Harper a whole lot of good.”
“Maybe. Although she has managed to stay mostly out of trouble recently.”
I considered mentioning the time we had to pick up Harper at the police station because she’d tried to steal a stop sign and that other time when we had to take her to the emergency room because she’d broken two fingers while trying to go down a hill in a shopping cart, but I didn’t want to sour the mood. And at least she’d been sober during that episode, so that was progress.
I was about to return to the buffet for a second serving when I noticed my friends and neighbors, Quentin and Kelsey, leaving the dance floor. Kelsey looked a little pale, and Quentin had a worried look on his face as he guided her to our table.
“Hey guys, mind if we join you?” Kelsey asked.
“No, sit down.”
Quentin remained standing. “I’ll just get Kelsey something to drink. I’ll be right back.”
A moment later, he returned with a cup of water that Kelsey gladly took from him.
“Are you feeling alright, Kelsey?” Ellis asked. “You look a little pale.”
Quentin and Kelsey exchanged a glance.
“Your decision,” Quentin said.
Kelsey pressed her lips together like she was suppressing a grin. “We wanted to keep it to ourselves a little longer, but…”
I clasped one hand over my mouth. “Oh my God, Kelsey! Quentin!”
They both smiled and exchanged another love-filled look.
“We’re expecting a baby,” Kelsey confirmed. “I’m due in October.”
Ellis clapped Quentin on the back. “Congratulations. You guys will be great parents.”
“It was a little unexpected,” Kelsey said. “Originally, I wanted to get some work experience first, but this little one had other plans. At least I’ll be done with college when the baby arrives. We’ll make it work somehow.”
“That’s fantastic,” I said. “Call me if you need anything. It’s been a hot minute since Riley was a baby, but I still remember some tricks of the trade.”
After a brief water break, Quentin and Kelsey returned to the dance floor.
Our table saw a number of guests over the next hour. Riley, of course, but he only wolfed down a cupcake and then was ready to take off again.
“Where are you going so fast?”
To my surprise, he blushed a little “Oh, um, I promised Mia to show her the horses.”
Mia?” Ellis asked. “Isn’t that the girl you—”
“Dad!” Riley cut him off with a panicked look on his face.
I couldn’t suppress a smile. Dad. Riley had started calling Ellis Dad about three months back, but it still warmed my heart every time I heard it.
“Go off, then. Show Mia around,” I said. Not wanting to embarrass him, I didn’t mention that I, of course, knew he had a crush on the girl. Mothers know that kind of stuff.
My old landlady, Arlene, sat with us for a moment. My friend Leah came by to introduce us to her new boyfriend, a brown-haired hunk of a guy called Adrian. It was the first time I’d ever seen Leah with a man, and it was a little strange, watching her blush and giggle around him.
After Leah went off with her boyfriend, we returned to the dance floor ourselves. Terry asked for a dance, so Ellis danced with Annette. After that, I danced with Wyatt before he quickly returned his attention to Harper.
Ellis walked up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his head on my shoulder. “Do you want to get out of here for a minute? I would like a moment alone with my bride.”
I looked around. The guests swarmed between the tables, the buffet, and the dance floor, alcohol had started flowing, the music was blasting, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.
“It looks like they can manage without us for a few minutes,” I said.
With a smile, Ellis took my hand and led me away.
Hand in hand, fingers entwined, we walked away from the ranch and up a small hill, where an ancient oak tree provided shade from the evening sun.
We were high enough to spot our new house in the distance.
Riley called it “The Blue House”. It was a beautiful colonial two-story with light-blue siding and white trim. And of course, as Ellis had promised, a small stable with a paddock was built nearby, for Marigold, Jupiter, and Atticus.
It wasn’t an oversized, flashy estate, as some Brightwater residents had feared when they had heard a multimillionaire wanted to settle in their town. With its four bedrooms, it was small enough to feel homey but large enough for the three of us, with some room to grow. We hadn’t made a final decision yet, but Ellis and I were both open to adding one or two more children to our family, and Riley was eager to be a big brother.
I rested my back against Ellis’s chest and breathed in the scent. Warm summer air and freshly cut grass mingled with Ellis’s cologne.
The sun started to set and colored the sky behind our home in beautiful orange and pink.
“What a sight,” I said.
Ellis pressed a kiss to my neck. “Happy?” he whispered in my ear.
I closed my eyes, taking in the moment. My heart felt warm, like the golden light of the setting sun, and I put my hand over his to assure myself this wasn’t just a dream. I felt a deep sense of security and peace in his embrace. A long journey full of pain, regret, and doubt had ended, and the man of my past had become my future. A future full of shared dreams and happy moments.
I leaned against him, enjoying the warmth of his body. “It’s a fairy-tale ending,” I said.
“For a very long story.” He kissed the top of my head. “I finally found my way home to you.”