Epilogue
Carter
The Valentine’s Day dinner is an absolute success, so much so that I can barely take it all in.
“Well, you did it,” Jo says as she joins me near the bar.
“No,” I correct as I snake out an arm to draw her close. “We did it.”
“Yeah, we did,” she agrees, grinning back at me.
Despite her smile, I’m suddenly nervous. Trying for a nonchalant tone I say, “So. I, uh…I think we should start planning our next event.”
“Really?” Jo eyes me curiously. “Okay. What did you have in mind?”
“Well, what I was thinking,” I begin, then immediately stop again when she clutches my arm.
“Wait. Just, please, whatever you do, don’t say St Patrick’s Day, okay? Because that’s not a lot of lead time, and I don’t want to have to scramble. Maybe next year we can do that. But, this year, I’m still settling in.”
“Uh, no, that wasn’t…” My thoughts stall out a little at the unexpected reassurance. She really is planning on staying. Which is good—it’s great, in fact. It’s exactly what I needed to here. I clear my throat and start again. “No. What I was actually thinking was…maybe sometime in June?”
“In June,” Jo repeats, frowning a little. “Okay. Sure. If that’s what you want. We can do that. But…is there a reason? I mean, you know that’s already a big graduation month, right? And then there’s Father’s Day, but?—”
“But it’s also a traditional month for weddings.” I drag in a quick breath, reach into my pocket and pull out the ring box that’s been burning a hole in my jacket all night—not literally, obviously. “So, how about it?”
Jo’s eyes are wide. She claps a hand over her mouth as her gaze travels back and forth from my face to the box, from the box to my face, over and over again.
“D’you wanna marry me again?” I pop open the box and show her the ring. “For real this time?”
“I do.” She throws her arms around my neck and hugs me tight. “I really, really do.”
“You know you really ought to save all those ‘I dos’ for the wedding,” I tease as I hug her back.
“Oh, right. Of course.” She’s blinking back tears as I ease her away, just so I can slide the ring onto her finger. “I was just practicing.”
“Well, practice does make perfect,” I agree. “And I can think of a few other things we might want to practice for, as well.”
She flashes me an absolutely filthy grin and says, “D’you mean like… the honeymoon?”
“That’s exactly what I had in mind,” I reply as I return her grin.
“Hey, what’s going on?” a familiar voice inquires from behind me.
The smile slips from Jo’s face. I grab her hand and squeeze it reassuringly. Then I turn to face my brothers. “You might as well be the first to know,” I tell them. “Jo and I are getting married.”
“What, again?” Cash asks. “I didn’t even know you’d gotten divorced.”
Camp shoves an elbow into Cash’s ribs to shut him up. “I suppose you mean you’re going to renew your vows? That’s cool.”
“Thanks,” I say. “But no. Last time?—”
“We never filed the license,” Jo says. “We were never actually married.”
My brothers stare at us, eyebrows raised, stunned into silence, for a long, long moment. Then Cash turns to Campbell and asks, “Do you wanna be the one to tell ’em, or should I?”
Campbell shakes his head. “Sorry to disillusion you. And I don’t know why you think the paperwork didn’t get filed. But I can assure you that the state of Texas does not agree. You two are definitely married.”
“What?” Confused, I glance at Jo. She glances back, looking equally confused. Then we both turn to my brothers. “Explain.”
“Dad didn’t believe it either,” Cash says. “He was convinced you were both were lying about it. So he made us look up the records. They’re online now. Did you know that?”
“I… Uh… No?” I shake my head to clear it. “But…”
“Yeah, he was going to send me all the way into Austin to look it up,” Camp says. “’Cause it’s the capital, right? And he figured if it happened anywhere in the state, there was bound to be a record of it there. But then Cash went online. And, wouldn’t you know it? It didn’t take him more than a couple of minutes to find it.” He shrugs and says, “But, you know; congratulations. In case I didn’t say it before.”
“Yeah, same,” Cash says. He glances at Jo and adds, “And…welcome to the family, I guess? Again.”
Jocelyn
We all exchange hugs—some of them warmer than others. And I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t just a little bit weird. But it’s also really, really nice.
Eventually, Carter’s brothers wander off and he and I are left staring at each other. From the look on his face, I’m guessing he’s still as stunned as I am by the news. “
So, I guess, since we’re already married, maybe we don’t need to make such a big event of it, after all?” he suggests, after a moment.
“What?” My mouth drops open. Is he serious? “Oh, no, you don’t. No need to make a big event of it? Yeah, I don’t think so. Fuck that noise. This time around we are doing it right.”
His lips quirk. “All right. If you say so.”
I swear to God, if he’s having me on… But maybe he means it? “Don’t you want that, too?” I ask. “I mean, we’re only gonna do this one more time. Don’t you think we owe it to ourselves to throw the biggest party anyone in Heartwood has ever seen.”
Carter’s smile comes unstuck and spreads across his face. “Darlin, I think every day with you is going to be a party. But, if that’s how you want it, that’s how it’ll be.”
“That is definitely how I want it,” I assure him. Then a new thought occurs to me. “So, help me out with something. What’s the opposite of a dream denied?”
“Beats the hell out of me,” he says. He’s silent for a moment, and then. “Maybe…a dream realized? Or a dream come true? Or…”
“Yes.” I tell him—my hero, who’s smarter than he knows and always comes to my rescue. “That. A dream come true—that’s what I want this to be. Can we do that?”
“We can absolutely do that,” he says. “D’you wanna know how I know that?”
“Very much so.”
“I know because that’s already what it is. To me.”
I nod and blink back tears. “Me, too.”
Then he sweeps me into his arms and kisses me until we’re both absolutely senseless.
“Oh, fuck’s sake, y’all,” an annoying voice grumbles from somewhere in the distance. “Not this again? Get a room.”
But it’s only Cash, so we just ignore him.