Epilogue
MAC
Two Months Later
Grandpappy’s was closed on a Saturday afternoon in August for the first time in twenty years.
But today was an important day.
Chloe and Jordan were getting married. While the bride had asked to use the gazebo at the pond for a small ceremony during the week, Aunt Maggie had taken over and insisted on a Saturday wedding so that all the people who loved Jordan and Chloe could attend. Chloe was Maggie’s Bake Shop assistant, after all, and Maggie loved the woman like the daughter she’d never had.
It was hot as hell, even at six in the evening, but there was nowhere else I’d rather be.
I shook my head and fought a grin as Brady caught my eye and winked from his position under the gazebo roof. The guy had gotten himself ordained online and begged Jordan and Chloe to let him marry them. He was ridiculous.
But when, a few minutes later, he went slightly off script and spoke about second chances and how true love—like Jordan and Chloe’s—was worth waiting for to get the timing right, I had to fight the wobble in my chin as I reached over and squeezed Bonnie’s hand.
My sister was ... doing fine since the split with Danny. She’d become the hyper-efficient, best version of herself that I’d been worried about. She showed up to staff and committee meetings at the elementary school with homemade snacks for everyone. She was all smiles at family dinners. She nailed all the art history and pop culture trivia questions on Monday nights without missing a beat. And she didn’t do a single thing for herself.
Aside from that first horrible, frightening night, I hadn’t seen her shed a tear. It was only because I’d known her my whole damn life that I got the distinct impression she was trying to fake it until she made it.
Jordan drew my attention as he struggled through his vows. He wore suspenders, along with the rest of the wedding party, and I was sure Brady Judd was to blame. But the emotion was evident on Jordan’s face. His brother, Seth, and Will stood at his side, and those of us gathered gave a sweet chuckle when Will passed his best friend a handkerchief.
Chloe looked radiant in her cream wedding gown. It was strapless and sleek and wrapped around her thin frame beautifully. Her bright red hair was pulled into an elegant low bun. And she looked at Jordan like there was no one else in the world.
I was happy for them. They had a long history, too. Best friends through childhood and adolescence until Jordan’s best friend, Keaton, had swooped in and stolen Chloe away. They’d married too young, and Keaton spent the next ten years controlling her every move. He’d hoarded her time and isolated her until her friendship with Jordan—and nearly everyone else—faded away. But all that ended last spring when Chloe left her cheating husband and started working at the Bake Shop. She’d reclaimed her life and found love with the man who’d never really forgotten her. The one currently choking back tears under the August sky.
Finally, Brady announced the pair partners in life, and the groom dipped his bride low and kissed the hell out of her.
The crowd cheered, and I let loose a whistle that had Brady looking my way with undisguised love, right there for everyone to see. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be long before he started casually mentioning marriage-adjacent things. He wasn’t subtle, and I knew him better than anyone. Except for maybe Abby. He’d been the one to recognize what was going on between me and Brady in the first place. And after we’d publicly admitted at a Friday night bonfire that he, the wise and intuitive Cole Abernathy, had been right all along, he’d forgiven us for keeping our relationship a secret behind his back.
Men were dramatic creatures, bless their hearts.
The reception was being held in the big barn in the center of the property. We’d spent the last two weeks prepping and cleaning it out, setting up chairs, a dance floor, and decorations. The doors were open wide on either end. And with the sun setting over the mountains in the distance and the twinkle lights sparkling overhead, it looked otherworldly.
I was already planning my pitch to keep it like this to host weddings and add it to our event-planning repertoire. Mom usually handled small-scale events for locals—book clubs, the Kirby Falls women’s league, the festival planning committee, and fellowship groups from around the area. But I was actually looking forward to expanding what we offered. We could bring in a part-time event planner to manage things, and we could host folks who appreciated the magic of our tiny mountain town. I kind of liked the idea that some happily-ever-afters might start right here.
“Here you go,” Brady said, passing me a glass of sparkling wine.
“Nice job up there, minister.”
He made a face. “Ew. Don’t call me that. I’m not into it.”
I laughed.
I knew now that his goal had always been to make me laugh. It was a relief not to have to hide it anymore.
“Countdown?” he asked out of nowhere, as was his way.
“Only 145 days,” I answered without checking my phone.
“Nice,” he said, clinking his glass with mine.
We had a running countdown to our first trip. We were going to Iceland in January. Seeing the northern lights surrounded by snow and visiting the black sand beaches on the southern coast had been on the top of my list for years. And I was excited that Brady hadn’t been yet either. It was something we could experience together.
We stood shoulder to shoulder, watching folks sway on the dance floor. We’d get out there soon enough, but right now, I just wanted to take in the beauty of the place—my home—and the people I loved.
My eyes drifted to a spot of stillness at one of the tables.
Larry was wearing black, of course. But she’d ditched the combat boots for sparkling stilettos. Her dark hair was loose and curled, hitting the tops of her shoulders. The longest I’d seen it in years.
She was unmoving, and I followed the tilt of her head to where her attention was focused.
Kayla stood in the circle of someone’s arms—a guy I didn’t recognize and had never seen before. My heart sank as the man leaned in and whispered something. She smiled in response and kissed him in a way that would have had me covering the eyes of anyone under ten. Jesus .
Larry visibly stiffened, and I fought the urge to go to her, to comfort her. I didn’t know how to make things better. I’d never loved someone from afar the way she did.
Oh, I had experience with secrecy, but the one-sidedness of her feelings broke my heart. She was still unwilling to talk to Kayla or come out to her, certain that the truth would push her friend away, and she’d lose her forever. To Laramie, that would be worse than never having her the way she wanted.
“Well, would you look at that,” Brady murmured.
I looked over, but his attention was focused on a woman who’d approached Larry. She was holding a camera and smiling down at my cousin.
I recognized her as the wedding photographer, someone Chloe had hired out of Greenville. She was tall and curvy and beautiful, her black maxi dress flaring dramatically around her hips.
After a brief back-and-forth, the newcomer pulled out the chair next to Larry and perched on the edge of the seat. Her body curved toward Larry, and they looked like parentheses closing in on one another .
The woman angled the back of her fancy digital camera and showed my cousin something, scrolling through several images I couldn’t make out from here.
“What do you suppose—?” I cut myself off as the photographer passed Larry a card, smiling widely the whole time. Then, she looped the camera strap around her neck once more and stood.
Larry watched the woman walk away, then quickly glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Her wide eyes collided with mine, but I smiled reassuringly and offered a wave.
She waved back awkwardly, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, turning back to face the dance floor. Kayla and her date were nowhere to be seen.
“Very interesting,” Brady said quietly, shooting me a sly smile.
Larry had come out to him a few weeks ago. She’d said it was because he and I were in a “committed relationship” and she didn’t want me to have to lie to him and “be responsible for turning us into idiots again.” But she’d said it all with a teasing tilt to her lips, and I suspected she was testing the waters to see how it might go should she decide to come out to the rest of the family.
“Very interesting indeed,” I replied.
The music changed, and the opening beat of “Love Shack” came from the speakers next to the dance floor.
“That’s our cue.” Brady held out his hand.
I took it, grinning.
“Let’s snag Larry on the way,” he said, as we maneuvered around tables and chairs.
I drained my glass and looped my arm through my cousin’s despite her protests. But by the time Becca dragged Will out to join us, Larry was laughing as Brady spun her around and around.
We stomped our feet in time to the lyrics. Jordan and Chloe hurried out to the middle of our circle from where they’d been making the rounds and garnering well-wishes. The dance floor filled up as we danced and sang. The deejay kept things going with “Y.M.C.A.” and “Celebration,” classic reception songs that we all knew by heart. Candace and Mercer then made their way out, as did my sister, Bonnie.
When the tone shifted and “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey filtered through the barn, Brady didn’t hesitate. He held out a hand for Bonnie and spent the next four minutes making her laugh.
“Do you ever just hate how charming he is?” Larry chuckled.
We had our arms on top of each other’s shoulders and were swaying like middle schoolers.
I laughed. “Yes.”
She raised a single dark brow. “You know it wasn’t hate all that time, right?”
I’d gotten a fair amount of I-told-you-so-ing from her as well. Nothing as ridiculous as Abby’s public acknowledgement, but it was still pretty annoying.
“I know,” I said. “But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Whatever we were doing, no matter how unhinged or absurd, brought us together.”
And that was the beauty of it. I never saw my twenty-five-year feud with Brady as wasted time.
He’d been right today, standing under that gazebo. Timing mattered. Love might find you when you least expected it, but it was undoubtedly meant to be. And I was tired of regretting my life away over missed opportunities and misplaced expectations.
I’d never try to undo the pranks and the public spectacle. Couldn’t even if I wanted to. It was who we were, and I loved it almost as much as I loved Brady.
Our rivalry was what lassoed my heart. Sure, there might have been a little rope burn. At first, I’d been dragged along, kicking and screaming. But I never claimed I wasn’t stubborn.
Brady and I had history—boatloads of it. But we weren’t supposed to fall in love until it happened. Like a lightning strike or a flash flood. A kiss in the front seat of a truck that changed my life forever.
I’d never wish it away, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about the path we’d taken .
Except for the Elmer’s-glue thing.
We could have maybe skipped that one.
The fun in Kirby Falls continues with Bonnie’s story in Leaf You Hanging, c oming November 4, 2025. Preorder your copy today ! Keep reading for a sneak peek excerpt.
Leaf You Hanging Sneak Peek Excerpt!