Epilogue
Tally
HOPE HARBOR TOWN CHAT
RAYNA: Don’t forget to get your tickets to the Spring Fling! Last chance!
BABS: You can also get them at the door right? My son wants to come but his wife isn’t. Wink wink, Penny Darling!
ROSIE: This is a public chat, Babs! Reign. It. In.
ROSIE: Also can you confirm my hair appointment for 11?
BABS: You’re all set.
STEW: Mayor, I thought this was for announcements and emergencies only!
FLETCHER: Ladies, please start your own group chat.
RUBY: Has anyone confirmed that Walker is coming? He’s not on the list.
BABS: Walker?
RAYNA: It’s not optional.
TALLY: We’ll be there!
BABS: Did you hear that ladies? She said WE!
* * *
“You know we don’t have to go,” I hear Walker say as I touch up my lipstick.
“You’re going,” Billie replies.
Their voices get closer, and when I spin around, Billie is walking into the kitchen, rolling her eyes.
Walker follows just behind, and I clamp my teeth down on my bottom lip to keep from laughing at his yellow tuxedo.
Walker was stupid enough to tell Eli that yellow was his favorite color, and this is the result.
Walker cursed seven different ways when he saw it, but he has no choice but to wear it, seeing as there are no spare tuxes lying around the farm.
And we can’t buy a new one because, hell, I’m not even sure we’ve got a hundred bucks to rub together right now.
But we’ll be okay. Walker’s plan to turn the rest of the cottages into rentable Airbnbs means we’re only a season away from turning some sort of profit.
Even if it’s just breaking a dollar above even for a bit.
“You could come,” Walker suggests.
Billie smiles. “Next year. Tonight Quinny and I have a date with the sunset and some ice cream.”
“Mom!” Quinn calls from outside, embarrassed.
Quinn’s taken over Penny’s room, and Billie is in my old one. Walker and I moved out to the cottage last week, and my mother is getting ready to move back into her room. She’s just waiting on Walker to finish her shower, which he plans to do next week.
Things are changing, but for the better. The farm has more life now. I like to think that would have made my dad smile.
“But you better promise me that the moment he’s crowned Daffodil King, you’ll get videos and pictures,” Billie continues, bumping my hip conspiratorially. “I need every second of it documented.”
Walker lets out another curse. “It’s Grand Marshal, not Daffodil King.” Both Billie and I glare at him, and he holds up his hands in surrender. “Fine. Whatever. I’ll wear the damn crown.”
“If you’re lucky enough to get selected,” my mother reminds him as she appears in the kitchen.
I smile at her. She’s finally starting to look like herself again. She’s dressed up for the event in a pale blue chiffon dress that drops to the floor, and her hair is in a pretty updo since we all visited A Breath of FresHair earlier in preparation for tonight.
The moment I saw how Babs was doing my mother’s makeup, though, I said I’d do my own. The eighties style is strong with that woman.
The back door swings open, and Quinn appears with a gust of wind. The moment he sets his sights on me, his eyes go wide.
Walker chuckles as he settles beside me, squeezing my hip. “Think you’ve got him dumbstruck, Wildflower.”
Quinn’s eyes narrow. “I’ll let you borrow her for tonight, but remember, she’s my girlfriend.”
It takes everything in me not to giggle. But somehow I manage to maintain a straight face as both Walker and Billie begin to object. Billie’s been trying to let Quinn down easy, and clearly Walker doesn’t know what to do. I, on the other hand, find his crush adorable.
“You tell him, Quinn.” I hold out my arms, and he rushes into them. From my crouched position, I spin us both and look up at Walker. “Doesn’t your uncle look handsome?”
Quinn shrugs. “The yellow is a bit weird.”
—
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Walker growls as he spots Fletcher and Eli walking toward us.
“What?” Eli’s wearing a wolfish grin along with a dark navy tuxedo with black accents.
Against his golden hair, chiseled jaw, and blue eyes, he looks nothing short of dashing.
Fletcher’s in a classic black tuxedo, the curls on his head giving him a boyish charm that I still can’t quite figure out how Rosie resists.
“You said we were wearing matching tuxes.” Walker points at Eli’s classic navy tux and then back at his bright yellow one. “This is not matching.”
“And you said we needed to wear different colors. It’s the same brand, same style.” Eli stretches his arms, showing off how good he looks. “I just happen to wear it better.”
“Bright side?” Fletcher cuts in with a reassuring smile.
Walker glares at him. “My suit. Yeah. Ha. You’re hysterical.”
Fletcher shakes his head. “Nope. The bright side is that no one will be looking at a single one of us with Tally around. You look gorgeous.”
My lips tip up in a surprised smile. “Aw! Fletcher!” I throw my arms around him in a hug. “I have no idea why my best friend hates you so much. You’re the best of the bunch.”
“Jeez, thanks,” Eli mumbles as Walker growls, pulling me back to tuck me beneath his arm and into his chest. “Stay close.”
“Because you want me to distract everyone with my beauty?” I bat my lashes up at him.
Walker doesn’t take the bait, though. His eyes are warm as he stares down at me.
This is how he looks at me all the time now.
As if, since the weight of all the secrets has been lifted, since we all just agreed to start being honest—even when it hurts—he’s lighter.
“Because I love you and I don’t like peopling unless I’m with you. ”
My chest grows tight, as it does every time he says those words. “That’s ’cause I handle the talking.”
He arches an unimpressed brow as I press a kiss to his chin. “I love you, too.”
When I pull back, I take a moment to look around the brewery. The whole building is covered in flowers from the farm, and as my eyes focus on the end of the bar, I spot my sister talking to a man. “Is that Jake Montgomery?”
Rosie appears out of nowhere and leans across the bar, whispering, “Yeah, he came in here all depressed because his book flopped. He didn’t realize we were closed for a private event, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Don’t let Rayna know he got in here without a ticket.”
“Wait, he told you his book was a flop?”
Rosie snorts. “I’m a bartender. I overhear everything.”
“I actually liked his book,” Eli offers.
“You read it?” Rosie asks.
“It was our bowling team’s read last week.” He turns to Walker. “If you ever showed up, you’d have read it, too.”
Walker rolls his eyes and bends down to murmur in my ear. “Want to go over and say hi?”
I glance in Penny’s direction again. Her cheeks are flushed, and she’s beaming. I haven’t seen her smile that big since—I bite my lip—actually, I haven’t seen her smile that big since prom, when she spent the entire night sitting in the corner with Jake Montgomery.
“Nah.”
Walker shrugs just as we’re interrupted by a hollering Rayna.
“Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor!” Behind her, the Liberty Ladies stand with my mother in tow, each of them in a different color to celebrate the many flowers of spring.
My mother chose pale blue to represent the blue irises that were always my daddy’s favorite.
My dress has splashes of all different pastels as a symbol for the wildflowers.
“What can I do for you, Mrs. McGovern?” Fletcher replies, all business.
“It’s time to announce the grand marshal.” She winks in Walker’s direction, and I feel my heart leap.
There’s no way this crazy town didn’t vote this man in.
If only for the fact that they love to make him talk when they know it’s his least favorite thing to do.
But truly, I think it’s because they saw a man who needed people.
Who needed community. And that’s what the residents of Hope Harbor do when they see people in need. They act. They provide.
Fletcher makes his way to the stage as I turn toward Walker and fiddle with his suit, making sure his tie is properly done.
Then I kiss him, because from the way he’s looking around, like a deer in headlights, I can tell he’s considering bolting.
Fletcher calls all the nominees up and talks about what an honor it is to stand next to the men and women who represent the best of this town.
“Enough dillydallying,” Babs hollers. “I want to see them take it off!”
Fletcher flounders for his words while Rayna gives Babs a swift smack to the back of the head. “No spicy jokes here. This is a sacred ceremony.”
Babs rolls her eyes. “Buncha prudes.”
Penny sneaks in between my mother and me. “What did I miss?”
“They’re about to announce the winner,” I whisper.
“But Babs told them to take it off,” my mom explains.
“And then Rayna hit her,” I finish.
Penny nods. “Cool, cool. Business as usual.” Then in a louder voice she yells, “Let’s give the people what they want, Fletch! Announce our Daffodil King!”
Fletcher blinks down at the piece of paper in his hand and shakes his head before opening it. “It is my great honor,” he says, a huge smile spreading across his face, “to be the first to congratulate Jesse Walker as our grand marshal.”
My sister, my mother, and I all let out loud whoops of excitement as Fletcher motions for Walker to come up to the mic to address the room. Walker steps up and Fletcher holds out the daffodil flower crown that my mother made this afternoon. He stares at it before shaking his head, dumbstruck.
“Come on, Walker. Say something,” I mutter aloud.
“Hi, Walker!” Rosie screams from behind the bar.
Walker’s chin falls down as he chuckles.
Eli follows with it up with another “Hi, Walker,” and then suddenly the entire room is greeting the man who always claimed he doesn’t like peopling. Too bad for him.
His gaze searches the room, and when it settles on me, his face brightens.
“Hi, everyone. Thank you for—ugh—making my girl-friend’s dreams come true.
” He motions toward the daffodil crown in his hand and finally places it on his head as everyone laughs.
“As most of you probably know, I didn’t grow up here.
I didn’t know my neighbors. People didn’t say hello to me; they didn’t really say hello to one another, either.
And I thought that was good thing. And I suppose it was until I came to Hope Harbor and you all refused to let me by without acknowledging me. ”
Penny nudges me in the arm. “Look at Walker with all the words.”
“Right? Who knew! By the way, Jake Montgomery!”
Penny’s cheeks pink right up as my mother shushes us. “Girls, pay attention.”
We look back to Walker, whose attention is still on the three of us.
“Meeting Peter Darling was the greatest thing to ever happen to me.” My hand goes to my chest. “Because he introduced me to this town; he gave me community, a purpose. And now I’m lucky enough to live on a farm doing the things I love, with the woman I love by my side. ”
Walker closes his eyes for a second, and when he opens them again, it’s as if something settles within him. “So thank you all for making me your grand marshal. It’s an honor.”
The entire room erupts in applause when he steps back and then it takes him a good twenty minutes to make it through the crowd as everyone congratulates him.
“Want to get some air before you speak to anyone else?” I ask him when he finally reaches me.
He presses a kiss to my forehead. “You know me so well.”
“Hey,” my best friend calls. “Before the two of you disappear, we’ve got to do a toast.”
Walker and I look at each other nervously. If the expression on Rosie’s face is any indication, she’s about to hit us with a doozy of a cheers. I shrug. “Make it Fireball.”
Walker’s hand settles on my back, and he pushes me toward the bar, where my sister, Fletcher, and Eli sit.
Rosie lines up the shots and then waits until we each grab one. “To going after our dreams, each and every one of us.”
“I’ll cheers to that,” Walker says as he holds up his shot glass. He tips his against mine and winks.
Smiling, I watch as every one of my friends hesitates to do the same.
Guess I’m not the only one who struggled with figuring out what my dreams were before I started chasing them.
I nudge my sister in the shoulder. Her eyes have already circled the room one too many times searching for her long-lost friend.
“Remember, the only thing worse than no sex is bad sex.”
She coughs out a laugh, taps her glass against Rosie’s, and says, “Okay. To chasing our dreams.”
And because I’m not about to risk being called a liar, as soon as I finish my shot, I grab my dream by the hand and tug him out into the warm spring night.
We don’t return for the dance marathon, but I do spend the night in Walker’s arms with only the moonlight as our witness.
Amidst the pink and yellow tulips, the lavender lilacs and bourgeoning white hydrangea, we sway in the fields I’m lucky enough to call my home as I make a whole list of dreams I still want to achieve.
And I tell Walker every single one of them.