Epilogue
EPILOGUE
Skylar
A year and a half later
Ludie stood behind me in the mirror with her head cocked to the side. She lifted a hand and smoothed it over the back of my hair. “You look lovely, and you know I’m not one for compliments.”
I snorted at her honesty. She was helping me get ready for my wedding.
Dan was walking me down the aisle. While I was wearing an actual wedding dress, which was still a little shocking to me, Ludie was wearing a practical pair of slacks with a blouse.
She’d held her hand up when I saw her, announcing, “This is as dressy as I get.”
My wedding dress was simple. It wasn’t white, but I had a reason. I wanted to wear my favorite color, which I shared with Emily. It was a deep sapphire blue.
Daphne had taken it upon herself to help me find a wedding dress, clucking and shaking her head and telling me she didn’t trust me to do it myself. When I asked why, she’d said, “Because you don’t realize how beautiful you are, and you’ll try to hide it.”
The result was a silk sheath with a lovely curved neckline. The blue set off my dark hair. I’d eschewed a veil because I thought it would be annoying, which had amused Daphne.
Ludie turned me around. She rested her hands on my shoulders before lifting them to cup my cheeks. She surprised me when she leaned forward to press a quick kiss on my cheek.
In the year since Tucker had asked me to marry him, I’d learned many things about Ludie and Dan, including that they had a daughter who passed away from an accidental drug overdose. Of course, it had shattered their hearts.
Ludie had told me she felt like I was their second daughter. “The daughter of our heart,” she’d said.
Every time I thought about that, I almost burst into tears.
“You did good,” she said as she dropped her hands from my cheeks and rested them on her hips.
“Daphne picked out my dress.”
“Well, thank God for her because you wouldn’t have wanted me to dress you, but your dress isn’t what I’m talking about. You did good with Tucker. He’s a good man, and he is solid. When people are young, they don’t know what to look for in a partner,” she said with a cluck.
I knew perfectly well Tucker was the only decent guy I’d ever had a relationship with.
Of course, maybe that wasn’t fair to the guys I’d glommed onto like a barnacle in my younger years.
I’d been young and stupid, and so had they.
None of us knew what we wanted. Maybe some of them were still assholes, and maybe some of them turned out to be nice guys later on.
Tucker was a really good guy, and sometimes, I still couldn’t believe he loved me. One of my favorite things about him was his tendency to be bluntly honest. When he gave me a compliment, I knew he meant it.
“I’m glad you think so. I trust you, so I know you’d tell me if I’d fallen for the wrong guy.”
Ludie eyed me quietly for several beats before nodding firmly. “My opinion does matter, but don’t ever live your life based on the opinions of others. Mine only matters because I love you. If you’d picked the wrong guy, I’d have kicked his ass and chased him out of your life.”
I burst out laughing, which was better than bursting into tears. I didn’t want to ruin the pretty violet eye shadow Daphne had done. It was subtle, and it set my eyes off.
“Dan’s waiting for you. He’s wearing a suit.” Ludie leaned forward as if imparting a deep secret.
I still saw Ludie and Dan almost every day, although our roles had switched.
They’d handed control of the business over to me.
I hadn’t ended up needing that bank loan because they’d refused to sell it, but I’d worked with Garrett to ensure everything was handled properly on the legal end.
While Ludie and Dan worked a lot less, they still stopped in almost daily to check on things.
I loved seeing them, not to mention having them there to help steer me on the logistics helped immensely with my anxiety at taking on a business.
I smiled. “Thank you, Ludie. For everything.”
For just a second, I thought maybe I saw the glimmer of tears in her eyes.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur.
I remembered Dan’s hand on my elbow as he walked me down the aisle.
I remembered stopping at the front of the small group of friends and made family gathered for Tucker and me.
There was a trellis with flowers and the ocean glittering under the sun behind us.
I barely remembered the ceremony, except for looking into Tucker’s bright blue eyes, blue as the sky. I remembered him saying, “I do,” and me repeating the words and managing not to cry. The threat of ruining my makeup was the only thing that held me back.
I remembered the reception better than the ceremony. With my new friends toasting me, I looked around and realized I’d done it. I’d come to Alaska all by myself. I’d learned that families were made, and I had made one for myself.
I saw my dream with Emily through to fruition. I still missed her, and I always would. But I kept my promise to her and, more importantly, to myself.
That night we were staying in my apartment, and the next day, Tucker was flying us in one of his planes to Fireweed Harbor, a tiny town in Southeast Alaska that was promised to be beautiful.
We were staying in a private resort, and I couldn’t wait.
Tucker had suggested a tropical vacation, but I didn’t want one. I loved Alaska. It was home.
That night, we stepped out on the small balcony at my apartment, and I leaned my arms on the railing. When I lifted my chin, the salty sea breeze gusting off the ocean whisked across my cheeks. I felt Tucker come up behind me, sliding his arms around my waist.
“Hey there,” he murmured.
I angled my head up, glancing over my shoulder. “Hey.” I smiled.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Pretty good. You?”
“That’s it? Just pretty good?” he teased.
I turned in his arms. “Okay, amazing,” I returned lightly. That was actually the truth.
He dipped his head, brushing his lips over mine. “Perfect because I’m better than amazing,” he replied against my mouth. “You ready?” He straightened.
“For what?”
“Life. It’s day one. We’re officially a team.” I could see the twinkle in his eyes from the moonlight falling across us.
I pressed a palm to his chest, something I did often. It was a way to ground myself, to remind myself he was here, he was real, and he was mine. His heart thudded, strong and true, against my touch.
“Of course, I’m ready.”
From the day I decided to stop running from my feelings for Tucker, our path hadn’t been a straight line, not emotionally, that is.
It was hard for me to have faith in something good.
While that faith came easier to Tucker, I still saw those shadows chase through his eyes every so often.
I knew that he knew what real loss was like, that letting yourself fall in love meant putting that on the line every single day.
I silently thanked his old high school girlfriend once in a while.
I wished he hadn’t had to lose her, but I was grateful for the letter she wrote when she knew she was dying.
Without it, I didn’t know if he ever would have taken the risk.
I didn’t know if I would have without the letter from Emily.
It’s funny how people could reach through time and give you a little nudge.
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