Epilogue
Juliet
“Is the gravy finished?” I ask, sliding a stick of butter along the tops of the rolls I pulled out of the oven.
Archer places the gravy boat on the table. “Yep.”
I finish with the rolls, then face the four place settings in his dining room as he stands beside me.
The table was set with wicker placemats, speckled blue plates, and long napkins tied together with string.
The center of the table holds lit candles, small pumpkins, and an orange, plaid table runner covered with mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, candied yams, and turkey.
A side table houses three types of pies—pumpkin, apple, and cherry—as well as cheddar cheese and whipped cream.
For our first Thanksgiving together, Archer and I are pulling out all the stops to impress Dad and his girlfriend. I just hope we succeed.
Archer pulls me in and kisses my cheek. “It looks incredible. When are they getting here?”
“Any minute,” I say with a glance at my watch.
“Are you nervous?”
“A little.”
“We’ve been around them both before.”
“I know, but this is the first time for a family event. Thanksgiving has always just been Dad and me—or Dad and me and some random neighbor or family friend. This is the first holiday dinner where we actually have boyfriends and girlfriends, and it just feels...”
“Significant?” Archer finishes, and I nod. “I have no doubt it’ll turn out great. You’re a natural hostess. Playing “House” with you sure beats playing it with my sister who used to pretend I was her baby...or horse.”
I laugh. I’ll be meeting her and his parents for the first time this Christmas, as Archer’s mom wants to surprise May Carver with a big family visit this year. While I’m anxious to be around them, I know if they’re anything like Archer, I have nothing to worry about.
I wrap my arms around his middle, and he leans down, kissing me soundly before I pull back. “You best watch yourself. Dad’s on his way.”
“Which is exactly why I need to get this in now.”
He leans down, and I wrap my arms around his neck.
We kiss until the gas stovetop sizzles, and I pull away to find the corn boiling over. I move, but he stops me, claiming my lips with his as he keeps his eye open and strains to reach the pot himself. I can’t help but smile.
“No! No smiling,” he murmurs against my lips. “No laughing or talking, either. Only kissing.”
“But we have cooking to do,” I say, our lips still pressed together.
“Nope. No more cooking,” he replies in between kisses after finally succeeding in turning off the corn. “Nothing but kissing for the rest of our lives.”
I laugh, then accept his kisses once more.
Not five seconds later, a car door closes, and Archer pulls away, his shoulders sloped low with disappointment.
A fire lights inside me. “Okay, come on.”
I pull him down the hallway away from the windows, then kiss him like there’s no tomorrow. We both feel the ending of it coming faster than we want, so our lips move frantically, and we breathe each other in until the doorbell rings.
Archer pulls back, blinking hard before giving his head a little shake. “I’ll cook for you for the rest of my life if you kiss me like that before each meal.”
I laugh, then walk down the hallway.
Archer delivers a throaty sigh, and I glance back at him. He pulls up his eyes.
“What was that sigh for?” I ask.
He smiles mischievously. “I just love those jeans.”
I’m wearing my embroidered flowers one again—an intentional choice on my part. I flip my hair over my shoulder. “I know.”
He gives me a look that tells me we really need to answer the door now, so I walk away with a little laugh.
We answer the door together.
“Hey, Jules,” Dad greets.
“Hi, Dad.” Then I turn to his girlfriend, her short dark curls wavy above a long, flowing dress. “Hi, Genevieve.”
Dad gives me a kiss on the cheek as he comes in, and Genevieve gives me a warm embrace, which I gladly accept.
My vote for who his girlfriend is had been a win—and so had Archer’s. Though to be honest, I was mostly voting out of my own desire than any knowledge I might have had.
Seeing Dad with her that night at Archer’s event had been eye-opening, and he’s been the same way every other day we’ve seen them together—the first time we’d gone on a trail ride at Horseshoe Holler, just the four of us—and now in Archer’s home.
I’ve never seen anyone make Dad so happy, and it warms me through.
The four of us sit around the table, and compliments abound about the setting and the food as we devour everything in sight until we lean back in our chairs with full stomachs and talk about the last few weeks together.
“Okay, so not to throw Dad under the bus in front of his girlfriend or anything,” I begin, and he loosens his collar as I go on. “But I’ve got to ask about the details.”
I’ve been holding my tongue for weeks now, waiting for the right moment to dive in. Now seems as good a time as any.
“Go on,” Genevieve says, holding Dad’s hand under the table like lovesick teenagers. “I want some of these answers myself.”
“So with Lisa...” I begin, “never any interest.”
“None,” Dad says. “She started those rumors herself...with probably some help from the Ednas.”
That isn’t surprising. “What about the Keller’s Bakehouse sticky buns?”
He narrows his eyes. “What about them?”
“There was evidence that you were sharing one with your secretary.”
He laughs. “No. I buy those for myself.”
“Two? Dad, that’s not healthy.”
“I can’t help it. My body craves maple-y goodness.”
Genevieve laughs, her dark eyes sparkling as she stares at Dad.
“But what about Sharon?” I ask next. “Talking to her at the football event, at the hospital when Archer first took me there. You always acted so rigid and uncomfortable.”
He shakes his head. “Ah, well that’s because I knew about those rumors and didn’t want to encourage them—especially with you. We were part of the same singles group a couple years back, but nothing ever romantic happened between us. I was just being a friend whenever I checked up on her.”
“Then explain to me the fall festival. The hospital tent?” I press. “You going in there and being late for the dunk tank?”
“Ah,” Genevieve says, holding up a guilty finger. “That was my fault. I was bumped by Edna G. when I was hot gluing my wreath and burned myself.” She turns doting eyes on Dad. “Your dad took me to the tent to make sure I was okay.”
“That’s why I spoke with Sharon at the football game,” Dad says. “I was asking her if Genevieve needed any extra help with that burn.”
I shake my head, marveling at everything I misread—and correctly read. “So when you choked on the water in the truck when I mentioned Genevieve’s name...”
He nods. “That was because she was the last person I expected you to interact with.” He smiles at Genevieve. “And the first person I wanted you to interact with.”
“All right, I’ve got a question for y’all,” Archer says, leaning forward. “How did you discover that I...paid for the barn?”
An excellent question—one I’ve thought of myself since overhearing the news in the hospital bed.
“It was Lisa, wasn’t it?” I put forth. “She must’ve snuck a look at some account or form or something.”
Dad chuckles. “Uh, no. It wasn’t Lisa.” Then he glances at Genevieve.
A blush is already across her features. “Okay, okay. I’m the guilty party.”
“You?” Archer asks. “How did you find out?”
She grimaces. “I was at Town Hall to pick up a vendor permit for the festival a few months ago when I overheard a late-night phone call from Mr. Sharrow.”
Dad nods. “He helps with community budgets and land-use—that sort of thing.”
“Right,” Genevieve continues. “Anyway, I tried hard not to listen, but I put two-and-two together fairly quickly as I walked by his office. He talked about how Archer was a godsend because the barn wouldn’t have been made without his anonymous donation.
I kept it to myself for a long time. Until...
” She glances at Dad. “Well, until Noah here needed a little nudge in the right direction.”
Dad flicks an uncomfortable glance at Archer, who does the same at Dad. But Genevieve winks at me. “I texted him while you were in the hospital. Figured it was good timing.”
I grin. “That was perfect timing.”
Archer and I give each other a knowing look before the conversation continues, and we chat more about their time dating together, as well as the other interventions Genevieve made on Archer’s behalf.
“I kept bigging you up after you purchased my candles for the wedding and your event,” Genevieve says to Archer. “It might’ve backfired since two of the women in Noah’s life were on your side.”
Archer and Dad exchange uncomfortable glances again, then Archer stands. “I think it’s time to clean up.”
I move to stand, but Dad stops me and Genevieve. “Let the men work. You ladies relax.”
“Love that for us,” Genevieve says with a smile in my direction.
As the boys stand in the kitchen, discussing Archer’s family’s upcoming visit, Genevieve leans across the table. “So how are things going between you two?”
I glance over my shoulder at Archer. “Honestly? I’ve never been happier.”
Genevieve smiles. “Neither have I.”
A look of joy passes between us, and I send a silent prayer heavenward in gratitude that Genevieve is with Dad.
The rest of the day passes by in a similar manner, Dad and Archer speaking cordially, Genevieve and I getting along even better than before, she and Dad giving each other looks across the room, and Archer and me sneaking in a kiss at every turn of their backs.
I can see a future where the four of us become a family, and it makes me wonder how I ever lived so long without Archer by my side.
Juliet
Ten Months Later, Early September
The wedding is beautiful. Exactly as Dad and Genevieve want it.
After marrying in the white church—every bench full to bursting and standing space overflowing at the back, their reception is no less crowded, though there’s more room for the town at Horseshoe Holler.
Archer was flattered when Genevieve chose the location—even more so when Dad wholeheartedly agreed.