Epilogue
One week later
“Stop fussing,” Julie said.
Lizzy tilted her head to one side. “How can I? It’s my wedding day, and I don’t know how I look because we don’t have a mirror that’s bigger than my palm.”
“Would you trust me? You look lovely,” Julie said in amusement.
It was all happening so fast, and Lizzy was thrilled.
She couldn’t wait to be Troy’s wife and to move into their tent together.
Tim would have his own tent right next door.
Still, it felt odd to have even that amount of space between herself and her brother.
All of this was going to take a lot of getting used to.
The best part of this was that she loved Troy more than anything. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for him, and that made this whole situation easier.
“Are you sure I look okay?” she asked. She smoothed the front of her dress with both hands, nervously wiping her sweaty palms on it.
It was a plain dress with little green and pink flowers on it.
The neck was lace, and so were the cuffs, and it was the prettiest dress they had been able to scrounge up.
All of Lizzy’s few dresses sadly bore evidence of her time spent at the forge.
They had holes and frayed hems, and she really needed to make some new ones.
There simply hadn’t been time for that before the wedding.
A week was barely time to organize anything.
The only good thing about it all was that Father Summer had agreed to come to the camp to marry them.
That was a blessing. The whole camp wanted to attend the wedding, and there was no way to pack them all into the little chapel the priest usually worked out of.
“Lizzy, you’re a vision,” Julie said. “I’m more worried about Tim. He’s taking a long time to put a suit on.” She said this loudly, her voice carrying to the tent next door.
“I’m coming!” Tim called through the wall. “Hold your horses.” He sounded annoyed.
The women exchanged questioning looks. What could have him in such a state?
He was healing nicely from the bullet that had almost ended his life.
Still tender and sore, he had been weak and lethargic for a while but was starting to show a large improvement.
Julie put it down to his youth. They tended to bounce back from injury faster than adults did—although it was doubtful if he or Kyle would be joining in the dancing later.
They would most likely have to content themselves with sitting on the sidelines and watching the festivities.
It was better than nothing, and Lizzy said another prayer of thanks that they would both be at her wedding.
Tim entered the tent and sighed. “I can’t get this wretched thing to work.” He held out his bowtie.
It was one of several that Walter, the camp’s accountant, had brought with him. Poor Tim had never had occasion to wear anything like that before. Lizzy had no idea how one tied one of them anyway.
“Oh, don’t worry about it then,” she said with a smile. “You look handsome without it.”
“But I want it to be special,” Tim protested. “I want to look nice for you and Troy’s special day.”
“You do look nice. And I don’t think a bowtie is going to make that much difference,” Lizzy said with a smile.
“How people look is important,” he insisted. Then he eyed her dress. “Oh. You look pretty. You oughta dress like that more often.”
“While I’m working a forge day and night? Really?” She laughed and kissed her little brother’s forehead. She had to tilt her head up a bit to reach his forehead now. He was growing up so fast. One day in the not-too-distant future, she would be getting ready for his wedding.
The thought almost knocked her backward. Where did the time go? In her mind, Tim was still a little boy playing with stick boats in the creek. But here in front of her stood a young man, and just as she was embarking on something new, so was he.
“Step aside,” Julie said with a wave of her hand. “You’re just lucky that I know how to tie a bowtie. My grandfather liked them, and when his fingers couldn’t manage, I took over.”
In a moment she had tied Tim’s tie, and he looked dashing, if Lizzy said so herself.
They fussed a while longer, and then Kyle came to the tent. He hobbled a little. There had been a lot of internal damage done during his beating, but he was smiling all the way.
“It’s time, if you’re ready,” he said.
Lizzy’s stomach spawned several dozen butterflies in an instant. One moment she’d been relatively fine, and now she thought she might faint or throw up. How was it possible to go from being fine to nauseated in the blink of an eye? It shouldn’t be possible.
No doubt seeing her distress, Julie took Lizzy’s hand and helped her out of the tent. Her knees were wobbly.
And then Tim was there, holding her hand, and they were off to get her hitched, as he liked to say.
The wedding took place at the campfire, where everyone sat on stumps and stools, all dressed in their Sunday best. Father Summer smiled as she walked down the aisle with her little brother all the way to the hastily set up altar.
Troy waited for her in front with Michael beside him.
The brothers looked dashing in their suits, but Lizzy thought she had gotten the most handsome of the two of them.
Troy’s smile was happy and infectious. She was smiling when she met his eyes, and when he winked playfully, that was the end of her nerves.
She knew this was right. God had brought them together.
Father Summer had prepared a nicer version of the vows than he usually did, and the ceremony was delightful. It had all the markings of a proper wedding. At that thought, Lizzy realized that it was a proper wedding. Her wedding. How surreal it all felt.
After vows and rings were exchanged in what felt like a blur, she and Troy kissed in front of their friends and family. And just like that, they were married. Her heart leaped with joy as everyone stood up and cheered.
“Now comes the best part,” Michael said as he came over to congratulate them. “The party!”
“I thought marrying the woman of my dreams was the best part,” Troy said with a chuckle.
“Yes, yes, but this bit is also good,” Michael said, taking a blushing Emily by the hand and leading her off. They had sat next to each other, and Lizzy wondered if there was a little love blooming there. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if there was.
They had a band of sorts. It turned out that Ethan wasn’t half bad at the guitar, and Walter played the fiddle—only he called it the violin.
“Mrs. Wellan?” Troy held out his hand to her and winked. “May I have this dance?”
She beamed as he whisked her off to have their first dance as husband and wife. They lingered on the dance floor in each other’s arms until their stomachs rumbled and forced them both to separate long enough to go find food.
Everyone got a plate full of brisket and sat with the plates balanced on their laps, eating and laughing and joking around the fire until the sun set and the stars came out.
Then Ethan and Walter picked up their instruments, and as the cider and wine and beer flowed through the camp, the dancing resumed.
It was magical, and Lizzy could hardly believe it was all for her and Troy.
She wondered if her folks were looking down on them from heaven, enjoying the festivities from afar.
“I’m sorry your parents couldn’t be here,” she told Troy regretfully as they took a short break from dancing, stealing away to the shadows to hold one another close in a way that was now proper as they were married.
He grinned and rested his forehead against hers. “One of these days you’ll meet them. And they’re going to love you, Lizzy. How could they not? You’re everything.”
He kissed her gently, and she knew without a doubt that she had finally come home.
The future would have its trials and challenges, but with Troy by her side and these good people around her, Lizzy was certain that she would never lose her home again.
She would fight for it, and she knew they would too.
So come what may, so long as they were united and put their faith in God, nothing could stand against them.
Thank you so much for reading our book. We sincerely hope you enjoyed every bit of reading it. We had fun creating it and will surely create more.