Epilogue
Sierra stood in the foyer with her arm linked through her older brother’s. The church was packed with every seat filled, and an overflow crowd watched on big screens set up in other rooms while some just waited outside.
She looked at the row of bridesmaids. The last one was going down the aisle now.
They were in pale yellow silk dresses and carried bouquets of spring flowers.
Her oldest sister, Ginger, was her matron of honor, and there were eight attendants.
The groomsmen were two of Blake’s half brothers and his friends.
Cade was the best man. Two five-year-old nieces, Viola and Tina, were flower girls.
Sierra’s gaze slipped past them and went to her tall, handsome rancher fiancé.
In a black tux, Blake took her breath away.
She wanted to be finished with their vows and the party and to be in his arms. She thought of all the joy Blake had brought into their family and the families of others through his donation to the agency, and she thought of how he had stopped holding on to the hurt he had experienced as a child.
On the groom’s side of the church, she saw Blake’s father sitting straight backed, facing his son. He was a solitary figure, and he looked as frail to her as he must have looked to Blake. She was surprised he was present.
Brad Benson squeezed her arm. “You look beautiful, Sierra. Dad told me to tell you that he just hopes you have what he and Mom do. He told me that when I married, too.”
She smiled at her older brother and looked at her father, standing near the altar rail in his robe, waiting to say the vows that she and Blake would repeat.
She was filled with love for her dad, thinking what a contrast he was to the father Blake had.
“Blake’s a good guy,” Brad said, and she smiled.
The wedding planner shook her veil lightly. “Now, it’s time,” she said, and Sierra walked down the aisle with her brother to have her hand placed in Blake’s.
Blake smiled at her as she stepped beside him, and they moved forward to face her father, who smiled at her before beginning the ceremony.
When they were man and wife, trumpets and organ music filled the church. Then they walked back up the aisle and into the foyer.
“Now we circle around to come back for pictures,” she said, leading him through the church that was as familiar to her as her home.
The reception was at the country club. Blake had reserved the entire place. A band played in the ballroom, and there were tables of food in various rooms. People filled the club—friends and people Sierra had helped, relatives and employees, cowboys from Blake’s ranch.
The party commenced, and Sierra only saw Blake across the room until it was time to cut the cake. Then they were again separated to talk to guests until the first dance.
Music became lively as the dance floor opened to the crowd, and arms waved in the air while people danced and sang.
Blake took Sierra to one side. “Think we’ll be missed if we step into the library?”
She laughed. “Yes, we’ll be missed. Let’s go back and party for the next hour, and then maybe we’ll disappear.”
He glanced around. “There’s no one out here right now.” He kissed away her answer, and she kissed him in return.
“I can’t believe we’ve been here alone this long. C’mon and join the fun,” she said, taking his hand and returning to the dance floor to join the festivities.
Later she stood in a big circle with Blake’s arm around her waist. Cade was there, and Gabe. She had finally met Nathan, but he and Lydia had left early to take baby Amelia home.
She was glad for Blake that his half brothers had made him part of their family, and she was thankful that their own baby would be welcomed by her big family.
Her sister Lenora came to get her. “It’s time to toss your garter to the bachelors,” she told Sierra.
“All right,” Gabe said, laughing. “C’mon, Cade. That’s us.”
“Not me,” Cade said, laughing with him and shaking his head. “No marriage in my future, bro. Sierra, throw it right to him, and we’ll get my wild little brother married off.”
She nodded and turned, feeling her white satin skirt swirl around her ankles.
When she tossed it, Gabe jumped into the air and grabbed it, grinning and waving it while he whooped with glee. She had to laugh. He had an exuberance that seemed to run in the family.
Friends turned to talk to her, and she forgot about Gabe. When she rejoined Blake, he slipped his arm around her waist as they stood in a circle talking to friends.
“I’m not the only one to make peace with my dad—there’s my mom sitting by him.”
Sierra had just met Veronica Callahan, Blake’s mother, the previous week because she had finally arrived in Texas for the wedding.
Now Sierra looked at the slender woman, whose white hair was turned under to frame her face.
She was tall and attractive, with dark brown eyes that Blake had inherited. She sat at a table with Blake’s father.
Nearby, Crystal Callahan, divorced from Dirkson and mother of Cade, Nathan and Gabe, was with a group of friends at another table.
“Let me see if I have this straight. Your dad’s first wife isn’t here, and they had no children.”
“That’s right.”
“Your mom was his second wife, and she’s sitting with him now. And she’s very nice, Blake. I really like her.”
“She likes you, and she is so excited to become a grandmother.” He looked to where his mother sat with his father. “I don’t think they’ve spoken since I was a little kid. Maybe he’s made peace with her, too.”
Sierra smiled. “I know your mother is very excited to be a grandmother. I’ve already received half a dozen presents for the baby. And back to wives—your half brothers’ mother is Crystal, enjoying herself with friends and divorced from Dirkson.”
“That’s right. After all these wives, he’s alone now. He had mistresses in that lineup, too. He just had no interest in his children.”
“He made that choice,” she said. “Blake, we’re alone and the party is in full swing, and has been for hours now. Do you still have a waiting limo?”
“Do I ever, darlin’,” he said, taking her hand. “Walk slowly, as if we’re moving to find some friends, and we’ll slip out and be on our way.”
Smiling, she did as he said, and in minutes they sat in the limo as it pulled away and left the club, heading for the airport and Blake’s waiting jet.
It was night when they entered the penthouse apartment Blake kept in New York.
He turned to embrace Sierra, who had changed into a pale blue dress and matching heels.
Blake was still in his tux, but he paused to shed his coat and tie while she unfastened the studs on his shirt.
Before she finished, he wrapped his arms around her to kiss her, and she held him tightly, returning his kiss.
Joy filled her as she began her marriage to the rancher she loved with all her heart. His hand slid over her still-flat stomach. “Our baby, Sierra. This baby will have a world of love.”
“Yes, this baby and our others, Blake. I love you with all my heart,” she declared, gazing up at him with a faint smile, knowing life was good and they would have a marriage filled with love.