Epilogue
T he harvest moon was the biggest Fiona had ever seen in her life.
It hung in the night sky like a huge golden coin, illuminating Cooper Springs and the naked nymphs who frolicked in the shimmering water. Although not all of the nymphs were frolicking. Fiona and Mimi had left the frolicking to Darla, Sunny, Sophie, and the Holiday sisters while they floated in the shallows and watched.
In the last year, the Secret Sisterhood had grown from seven to eleven. The meetings were held the second Thursday night of every month in the Holiday barn hayloft. Due to the men worrying about pregnant wives and old women falling down the ladder, last Christmas, the men had surprised the sisters with a completely redecorated loft with railed stairs, new lighting, a plush rug, comfortable sofas and chairs . . . and a mini wine fridge filled with Hallie’s homemade beer and Mimi’s elderberry wine.
Which explained why all the sisters—except for Sophie who only got to drink Mountain Dew—were a wee bit tipsy now.
“Watch this!” Hallie yelled as she grabbed on to the rope Jace and Decker had tied to a low-hanging limb on Fourth of July. Since Casey had promptly broken his arm while testing the rope to make sure it was secure, Fiona couldn’t help yelling out a warning . . . at the exact same time as Mimi.
“No flips, Hal!”
Mimi and Fiona looked at each other and smiled. It wasn’t the first time they had spoken the exact same thing at the exact same time. No doubt due to all the time they’d spent together in the last year.
They had always been friends who enjoyed each other’s company when they saw each other at parties, book club, town council meetings, or church gatherings. But since finding out they were half-sisters, they had become more than just friends.
They had become inseparable.
If Mimi wasn’t at Fiona’s house, Fiona was at the Holiday Ranch. They had a lot of time to make up for . . . and not nearly enough time left to do it. Which was why Fiona was considering Mimi’s offer to come live at the Holiday Ranch. She had always wanted a big family and now it looked like she had one.
She was Aunt Fifi. A title she pretended not to like, but secretly loved.
Since finding her family, she’d even considered retiring. But after taking a week off to help Mimi with her gardening, she vetoed the idea. She was a woman who enjoyed going to an office and being in charge. She figured she’d run her own businesses for as long as the good Lord let her. When she couldn’t anymore, she planned to sell out and donate the money to charity.
She glanced out at the springs.
The Holidays didn’t need money.
Their cups already runneth over.
And so did Fiona’s. She thanked God every day for bringing Mimi to Wilder. Ima had kept her word to Mrs. Fields and never told her daughter who her father was. But she had told her daughter about a quaint Texas town where she’d once lived. It had been enough to get Mimi here. Falling in love with a Holiday had done the rest.
And if that wasn’t God’s plan, Fiona didn’t know what was.
“What are you thinking about, Fi?” Mimi asked as she floated on her back and looked up at the full moon.
She joined her sister in a float and took her hand. “How blessed we are.”
Mimi squeezed her hand. “That we are. There was a point where I thought all was lost. The ranch. My granddaughters. Now everyone is home where they belong and happily married with babies. Seven little girls to carry on the Holiday Ranch.”
Fiona didn’t doubt for a second that they would.
They might just be babies, and Sunny and Reid’s daughter only two months old, but Fiona could already tell that Holly Joy, Autumn Grace, Valentine Rose, America Hope, Glory Faith, Luna Catalina, and Spring Blossom were all going to be strong-willed, capable women like their mamas.
Mimi sighed with contentment. “Even in my dreams, I couldn’t have imagined a better happily-ever-after.”
Fiona had to agree. She had never thought in a million years that she’d have a sister and a big loving family.
“I guess that’s life for you, Mi,” she said. “It’s full of surprises.”
“It certainly is, Fi.” Mimi came up out of her float, her eyes glittering with mischief. “Have you ever tried a rope swing?”
THE END
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