EPILOGUE—Eight months later
Today will be hectic, dear Libra. But also full of joy. Friends and family will play an important role. Stay away from water .
Faith clicked off the horoscope app. It had been weeks since she’d checked it, but today was huge, and she thought it prudent to make sure there were no surprises.
It wasn’t that she’d given up entirely on starry divination. It was just that life had been so busy she didn’t have time for it. Crazy busy, actually. There was no other way to describe the last eight months.
Nick had sold his Boston house and moved back to Green Valley Falls. Soon after that, he quit his FBI job and ran for GVF sheriff, winning easily.
Faith, while continuing to pour her heart and soul into the bookstore, had planned and supervised the major renovations of the Ashford house. Once they were done, she’d added the finishing touches to make their house a home.
And of course, there was the nuptial planning. Nick had proposed on Christmas Day. Faith had immediately accepted.
Today was the culmination of months of hard work—the wedding, followed by their first night in the Ashford home.
“Hope, you ready?” Faith yelled down the hall of her childhood home. She’d stopped by to pick up Hope so she could drive Faith’s car back later.
“Yes,” Hope said, emerging from her room wearing a bubblegum pink dress. “You had to go with pink, huh?”
“You look lovely, honey.” Faith bent to kiss her cheek. “Where’s Dad?”
“He didn’t come home last night.” Hope arched an eyebrow.
“Gross,” they said in unison.
“Mrs. Hickman?” Faith guessed, and Hope nodded. “Well, good for him. Think she’ll become our new mom?”
“No one can replace Mom, but she’s all right, I guess. It’s not like you’ll be affected. You’re about to marry the perfect man and move into the perfect home.”
“I told you, it’s important to dream. Come on, let’s go.”
“Slow down. I’m still recuperating from last night.” Hope had spent the evening celebrating the last day of school with her friends.
“I don’t want to know what you did.” Faith waved a hand. “Plausible deniability. But did you have fun?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“I can’t believe the school year’s over already. And you, with the highest GPA in your class.”
“Top of twenty isn’t saying much,” Hope said, but her cocky smile belied her poo-pooing of the honor.
“Still, I’m so proud of you. Mom would be too.” Tiger jumped onto the chair back next to them and nudged Hope’s arm with his furry head. “See?”
“Faith, Tiger is not Mom. You know that, right?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Hope rolled her eyes.
Faith pulled into the venue parking lot. It was a hundred-year-old barn on the outskirts of town, recently renovated specifically for weddings and other large events.
“I’m going to find Rex,” Hope said. “Let me know if you need anything. P.S. Grace and Joy are approaching from your six,” she whispered before giving Faith a quick hug and running off.
Grateful for the warning, Faith took a deep breath, plastered on a smile, and turned to meet her older sisters.
“Hey, guys,” she gushed. “Long time no see. Glad you could make it.” She hadn’t seen them since their mother’s funeral almost a year ago.
“Glad this is a happier occasion,” Joy said.
“We won’t keep you,” Grace said. “You’re busy, I know. But I have to get something off my chest. I owe you an apology, Faith. I said some things that weren’t nice or true at Mom’s funeral, and it’s been weighing on me ever since. From what I hear, you’ve done a marvelous job with Page Turners.”
“Me too,” Joy added. “I went in there yesterday, and it looks amazing. The changes and upgrades you’ve made are fantastic.”
“Thank you,” Faith said. “That means a lot to me. You were actually right at the time. I had no idea what I was doing. But with some help from my friends and a few good ideas, things are running smoothly now.”
“That’s great.” Joy smiled. “Really. Congratulations.”
“On the store and the wedding,” Grace said. “We’ll see you after.”
They each hugged her and returned to their families.
It shouldn’t have mattered what her sisters said. She’d written off their criticisms for years, but a tiny part of her felt vindicated and basked in the glow of their praise.
Faith found her own friends gathered in a back room. Maddie and Holly had flown in for the occasion. They all wore matching dresses and had already started on the mimosas.
“Had to go with pink, huh?” Holly said in greeting.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Faith chuckled. “You guys look so beautiful.” Her eyes welled.
“No waterworks today,” Tess said, handing her a champagne flute. “Today, you become my sister!”
“We’re already sisters,” Faith said. “All of us.”
Thirty minutes later, Faith had just slipped into her dress—a strapless, formfitting, hip-hugging elegant thing of beauty—when Hope burst in. “So, nobody panic, but we’ve got a teensy-weensy situation…”
Faith’s gaze snapped to Holly. The last time someone uttered those words, it had been Faith, informing Holly that her groom had taken off.
“Please don’t tell me we’re dealing with another runaway groom fiasco,” Alex said.
“Nope. Nothing like that,” Hope said. “Just need everyone to scooch on outside for a bit.”
“What? Why?” Juliet asked. Sirens wailed in the distance.
“Small kitchen fire. Nothing to worry about. We are evacuating though, so, come on. Let’s go.” Hope clapped her hands twice and started shooing everyone out.
“I smell smoke,” Maddie said. “Should we take our stuff?”
Hope looked over her shoulder as if the fire might be closing in behind her and nodded empathetically. “Yeah, that’s probably not a bad idea.”
They quickly gathered their things and vacated the building. Once outside, they stared wordlessly as black smoke billowed from the left side of the barn.
“This can’t be good,” Holly quipped.
“Did not see that coming,” Faith said. Stupid horoscope .
“Ah, man,” Alex said. “The cake’ll be ruined. I ran an extra mile this morning just so I could have a piece.”
The firefighters arrived and herded everyone into a fallow field nearby. Many of the guests thought to drag out their chairs and had arranged them to watch the show. Faith spotted Nick and went to him. “Well, hello, handsome,” she said, coming up behind him. “Got any marshmallows on you?”
“Can you believe this?” He turned to face her and froze. “Faith. You look gorgeous,” he said reverently, taking her in from head to toe. “But isn’t it bad luck for us to see each other?”
She jutted her chin toward the barn, where flames sprouted from the rooftop. “I think that ship sailed.”
“True. Got a plan B?”
She shrugged. “After the fire’s out, we do it here on the lawn. Then hit The Rusty Nail for burgers?”
He slipped an arm around her. “Thank you for not going all Bridezilla on me.”
The firemen did their thing, packed up, and left, leaving a pile of smoldering, wet wood in their wake. The old barn had lit up and burned down like a box of dry matches.
“Well, that’s a real kick in the nuts,” Max said. “What now?”
“We carry on,” Tess said, taking charge. “We’ll do the ceremony under that tree. Alex and Juliet, you’re with me. Let’s get everyone organized. Chairs point that way, and we need an aisle.”
Alex, who could give Tess a run for her money on organizational skills, saw Tess’s vision immediately. “Maddie and Holly take Faith behind the well house and get ready. Max, find someone with a Bluetooth speaker and queue up the wedding march.”
“I’ll handle Faith’s dad and the minister,” Nick said.
“Break,” Tess said, as if dismissing a basketball huddle. Everyone took off to fulfill their assignments.
Within minutes, Faith stood beside her father, waiting for the music to start.
“So, you and Mrs. Hickman,” she teased.
“Is it too soon?” he asked.
“No, Dad. Mom would be happy you found someone. Do you love her?”
“I don’t know about that.” He shrugged. “But she makes a mean chocolate cake.”
“So I’ve heard.” Faith laughed. Despite everything, she felt relaxed. In a matter of minutes, she would be Mrs. Nicholas Walker, and nothing could dampen her excitement.
Looping her arm through her dad’s, she waited patiently while the wedding party preceded her. Holly and Cole went first, followed by Max—Nick’s only groomsman—and Maddie. Alex, Tess, and Juliet brought up the rear.
While the building smoldered nearby, Faith and Nick took vows to love and cherish each other. Till death would they part. After kissing her new husband and turning to face the crowd, she noticed Tiger sitting at the end of the aisle. And Faith would swear the cat was smiling.
The End