Epilogue
KYRA - TWO YEARS LATER
“Jazzy! Jazzy, where’d you go off to now?
” Kyra searched the main house for her two-year-old daughter, though she’d already heard a small giggle coming from under a pile of throw pillows on the couch.
She had enough time to play the game, even though she kept saying, “Oh, no. Where could she be? We’re going to be so late. ”
Little Jasmine — or Jazzy so no one confused her with her grandma — was probably the most mischievous toddler Kyra had ever met.
Over the last couple of months, Kyra had learned to go with it.
If Jazzy was allowed to have her pranks, she was the happiest kid around.
Other than these little rebellions, she was easy to amuse and hardly ever cried.
It didn’t hurt that she was always surrounded by animals, which she absolutely adored, if the way her eyes lit up every time she saw them was any indication.
Kyra sat on the couch and leaned ever so gently against the pile of pillows.
“Hmm… where could she be? I’ll just sit here and think of places for a while.
Wow, these pillows are extra comfortable for some reason.
” She patted the top of the pile. “Let’s see.
I looked under the beds. I looked behind the curtains.
” The pile of pillows giggled again. Then, Kyra played her winning card.
“I know she can’t be with the chickens because they haven’t been fed yet, and Jazzy always feeds the chickens when they’re hungry. ”
At that, the little girl leapt from her pile like a jack-in-the-box, screaming, “Chickens!” in a way that no one other than her parents would understand.
“There she is!” Kyra picked her daughter up and swung her around. “Such a clever little girl. Do you want to feed the chickens before we go?”
Jazzy nodded, and Kyra carried her to the back door and helped her put her boots on.
One of Jazzy’s favorite chores was feeding the chickens.
Kyra understood completely. There was something so satisfying about scattering that feed and watching them all come running, scratching and pecking at the ground excitedly.
On their way out the door, they met Adam, who was on his way inside. “Where are you two going?” he asked.
“Chickens!” Jazzy repeated, as excited as she had been the first time.
“We’re going to feed the chickens before we leave,” Kyra clarified their daughter’s brief answer, even though Adam no doubt already knew exactly what it meant.
Kyra could not have imagined a more attentive father than Adam.
Why he ever doubted himself was way beyond her.
He cared so much about every step his daughter took, every new word she learned, every single milestone.
At times, he even appeared to care more than Kyra did, though that felt downright impossible to her, as much as she hyper-focused on her little girl.
Essentially, little Jazzy Sage was surrounded by love — the love of her parents, her grandmother, and all the animals on the ranch. As they finished feeding the chickens, Jasmine pulled up in her car. Jazzy recognized the car at once, and left the chickens to run toward it, shouting, “Grandma!”
Again, her adorable, little voice left the word barely understandable.
Jazzy was a great talker for her age, according to her doctor.
She understood so much and spoke quite a bit, too.
Her pronunciation would improve as she got through the toddler years.
But it hardly mattered. Everyone who loved her understood her perfectly well.
Jasmine stepped out of her car and lifted Jazzy into her arms. “Hi there, cutie,” she said. “What have you been up to?”
“Chickens,” Jazzy answered.
“Feeding the chickens, huh? I bet you’re their favorite by now, right?”
Jazzy nodded.
Kyra finished putting the feed away and made her way over to greet her mom. “Hi, Mom,” she said.
“Are you two ready?” Jasmine asked.
“Beyond ready,” Kyra said.
“And Adam?”
“He’s following right behind us. There are a few more things to do around the ranch.”
Jasmine nodded. “It’s always easier for the men. Well, get your shoes. Let’s head out.”
Kyra gathered everything she needed and went back out to her mom’s car.
Jasmine had already buckled the little one into her car seat.
She’d insisted on having another car seat especially for her car as she intended to be a big presence in Jazzy’s life, and Kyra could not have been happier about it.
After kissing Adam goodbye, she hopped into Jasmine’s passenger seat, and the three of them took off.
Kyra could barely contain her excitement on her way to the venue, and when they arrived it only intensified. Jasmine carried Jazzy and led Kyra into a dressing room where everything was set up and ready for them. “Are you nervous?” Jasmine asked.
“I can’t tell,” Kyra answered. “I’m so excited I think it’s drowning any nervousness out.”
“Perfect.” Jasmine leaned in and kissed her daughter. Then she helped Kyra get into her dress. Kyra stood in front of a mirror and fought back tears.
“You look like the beautiful bride you are, honey,” Jasmine said.
Though she’d dreamed of her wedding day many times when she was a little girl, as she aged, Kyra had begun to give up that fairy tale.
It felt like it was never going to happen, not because it was too late, but because she had seen no way out of her predetermined life.
To her, it was better to let go and try to make a different dream come true.
How could she have predicted that becoming a ranch hand on a whim would make all her dreams, even those she’d long given up on, come true?
Her wedding dress was traditional, sleeveless with lots of sparkles. When she’d picked it out, she’d asked her mother if it was too much.
“It’s gorgeous,” her mom had said. “If you can’t go all out on your wedding day, when can you? I love it.”
As Kyra watched her own reflection, Jasmine pinned the veil on her head. “He’s going to lose his mind when he sees you,” she said. “You’ve never looked more beautiful.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Kyra dabbed at her eyes so her makeup wouldn’t run.
Next, Jasmine got little Jazzy into her bright pink princess dress.
They had let the toddler pick one of the wedding colors, and she’d gone straight for pink.
Adam had shaken his head but given in immediately.
He could never say no to his daughter when she gave him a very specific big-eyed look, and she had turned that look all the way up to get her way this time.
Kyra hardly minded. She loved the color.
When Jazzy was dressed, Jasmine handed her a basket of rose petals and had her stand in front of the mirror. “You look so pretty, too, little one.”
Jazzy’s face broke out into a massive smile. “It’s me!” She pointed to her reflection, a little gleam of pride sparkling in her eyes.
“Yes, it’s you.” Jasmine turned Jazzy around and kissed her face until the little girl squealed and squirmed out of her embrace.
It was getting close to time, and butterflies were finally making themselves at home in Kyra’s stomach.
But she was ready. She’d been ready to walk down the aisle the moment she knew who was going to be waiting for her at the other end.
And now, as she stood waiting for her turn to walk, she risked a quick peek when no one else was looking, just to see him standing there.
The venue was as gorgeous as she knew it would be, too.
They’d chosen a countryside location because they wanted a view of the sunset, and that’s where they were both most comfortable.
Just in case it rained, they had the ceremony indoors and planned for the reception to be in an enormous, fancy barn that was often rented out for weddings.
The ceremony venue had floor-to-ceiling windows that gave everyone a perfect view of the setting sun.
Kyra couldn’t have imagined a better day or a better location.
Finally, the flower girl walked down the aisle.
She scattered petals as they’d practiced for the first half of the walk and then quickly got distracted by the audience.
Adam crouched down at the altar and beckoned to his daughter.
All the cameras in the room were pointed at Jazzy, watching her antics, and Kyra imagined showing these videos to her when she was all grown up.
When Kyra finally walked down the aisle, it felt like walking on clouds.
Her mother was giving her away, and Adam waited for her, his eyes wide and welling up.
He had not seen her in her dress. They wanted to be traditional about it, and his reaction right now was worth all the trouble they went to in order to keep it from him.
Adam looked like he was seeing a vision of beauty, and he confirmed it when she finally reached him. He took both of her hands in his and murmured, “You look so beautiful.”
“Thank you,” Kyra whispered back.
They read the first part of their vows, which each had written themselves, and the last part was more traditional. It was all so surreal, and it went by too quickly. Kyra was happy they would have pictures of the ceremony because she was feeling dizzy with joy and couldn’t seem to take it all in.
At one point during the vows, Jazzy grabbed Adam’s hand and started dangling from it.
She threw her whole weight into swinging from her father’s arms, trusting him completely to keep her from falling.
As disruptive as some people might have found something like this, the sight of it made Kyra’s heart happier than it had ever been.
It was a brief visual representation of something huge, something that meant so much.
Adam’s daughter already trusted him implicitly.
She trusted him to hold on and not let go.
No matter how much he may have feared fatherhood a few years ago, he had turned out to be the best kind of father.
The reception, of course, was even more beautiful than the ceremony had been.
There were lights strung in zigzag patterns overhead.
Rustic tables surrounded a hay-covered dance floor, each one with a floral centerpiece in a little silver bucket.
There were beautiful fabrics draped on the walls and a live band at the front of the barn.
For the father-daughter dance Kyra danced with her mom, and Adam danced with his daughter, who stood on his shoes the whole time. It was as beautiful a wedding as Kyra could have ever wished for.
After the dances, cake cutting, and all the speeches and toasts from friends and family, they were finally able to sit down together and relax.
Kyra sat beside Adam, and Jasmine sat beside her granddaughter to keep an eye on her so her parents could enjoy their wedding.
They looked like a family, and Kyra was so glad she could hold onto them this time. She would never have to let go.
Jasmine leaned across the table to say to Adam, “So, how does it feel to be officially part of the family now?”
Adam smiled. “I’ve never felt not a part of it, Mom.”
Jasmine nudged Kyra. “He called me Mom.”
“Of course, he did. Because you’re his mom.” Kyra decided to side with her husband on this one. It was too fun to watch her mom be shocked and delighted. “He’s been calling you mom for two years, you know.”
“He has?”
“Well, maybe not to your face,” Adam admitted. “I didn’t know whether you’d like it.”
“I told you she’d love it,” Kyra said, piling food high on her plate.
They had family style platters on each table, and she had taken a little of everything.
She couldn’t be happier than she was right now, and Kyra’s appetite was always a good indication of her mood.
“I have no idea why you didn’t believe me, I’m always right. ”
“I do love it.” Jasmine grinned from ear to ear. “I love it even more now that I get to hear it. You do know we’ve considered you part of the family for a long time, right?”
Adam nodded. “I know. It’s so different from how things were for me for so long. I don’t think I’ve gotten used to the idea. It feels too good to be true, but I love being part of a family. I never want to not be in a family again,” he admitted.
Kyra grabbed his hand and lifted it to her lips to kiss it. “I hope things stay too good to be true for the rest of our lives,” she said. “And even if they don’t—”
Jasmine finished for her. “Even if they don’t, we’ll still have each other.”
“Yep,” Kyra said. “That’s the whole point of family.”
Little Jazzy put her two cents in, too. “The whole point,” she echoed.
And they all spent the rest of the reception together, a tight-knit group that looked like they must have known each other their whole lives. No one who watched them eating, laughing, and repeatedly hugging one another would have doubted it for a second.
The End