Epilogue
Edward, six months later
I turned down the streets of North Wixby around one o’clock on a breezy day in late May.
It was hot out, but hopefully not too hot for the activities I had planned for the afternoon.
I enjoyed the sight of the full green leaves blowing in the light wind, and appreciated that while the sky wasn’t overcast, there was an abundance of clouds. There would be plenty of shade.
“Perfect day,” I said to myself as I looked through the windshield.
I continued along until I reached Cara’s dance studio.
I pulled into a front space, content to watch her through the large picture windows as she finished up with her current class.
She was in her element. She walked around and adjusted students as they stood in position at the barre.
She talked, smiled, and laughed as she did it.
It had been awful watching her having to recover from her injury and ordeal.
What happened to her had been the biggest setback of her life.
But she tackled it with her normal drive and positive attitude.
She did so well in physical therapy that she graduated early, and they gave her a trophy that said ‘Best Patient Ever’ on it.
She keeps it with her ballet awards and says it might be her favorite one.
And she’s taken to teaching so quickly. It didn’t take long after she took over Mrs. Cason’s studio for her to tell me that she was happier doing this than she’d ever been before.
Still, I was so glad she’d gotten to experience life on stage, however brief it had been.
But I was also incredibly thankful to see that smile on her face as she worked with her students.
My own smile dimmed briefly as I thought about all we’d been through.
Losing her once to my own idiocy had been awful.
Thinking I could lose her forever because someone took her?
Or because Nora wanted her dead? That had been truly excruciating.
I didn’t know that either of us would ever be quite the same as we’d been before the horrors of what the Hart family had put us through.
Were still putting us through, I thought, as I rolled the windows down and turned off the ignition to enjoy the breeze.
Though there was no date yet for the trial against Garrison Hart, the trials for Nora and Monty were coming up in the next few months.
We’d already gone through the lead-up to Eric Hightower’s trial, fully expecting Cara to be called as a witness.
But thank goodness she’d been spared having to go on the witness stand because he’d changed his plea to guilty a couple of weeks before the trial was set to begin.
I knew we wouldn’t be that lucky in the trials of Nora, Monty, and Garrison, though, and it was going to be a major hurdle for us to get through.
We would both be on the witness stand for all three trials, however much we’d like to avoid it.
It would be worth it, though, to see justice served to that horrible family.
And we’d get through it together. I had no doubt.
With Cara’s huge family, including the Whittakers, plus my mother, we’d have a lot of support.
I straightened up in my seat and did my best to push those thoughts aside.
There would be plenty of time, too much time, to have to focus on all of that.
Today wasn’t for those thoughts.
I saw Cara hug a little boy as class was finishing up.
He said something to her that made her toss her head back and laugh, her shiny, dark hair flowing down her back and hitting the tops of her hips with the motion.
I sucked in a breath at how beautiful she was.
I nervously jiggled the ring box in my pocket.
Did I really deserve her? I wasn’t sure, but I hoped she’d say yes.
I glanced at the huge wicker picnic basket I’d borrowed from Orla Whittaker, who’d also packed a delicious charcuterie-style lunch for us.
She’d put in all of Cara’s favorite things.
A huge, beautiful quilt was folded up next to it.
Cara’s mother, Charity, had contributed that.
I think they knew that this wasn’t just a typical fun afternoon date.
They’d given me knowing smiles while gathering and preparing the things I’d asked for help with.
But I was fine with them knowing. It had helped in the long run anyway, since I’d needed them to gather the entire huge family for a special party in the grove at the Whittakers’ house later today.
As far as I knew, everyone was coming. Even Callum, who rarely put in an appearance in Wixby. I swallowed hard. It was great everyone was coming. Unless she said no.
My palms were growing a little sweaty. We’d been living together for over three months now, and it felt right, as if that was what had always been meant to happen. I didn’t think she’d turn me down, but this was still a huge step.
Jesus. I was overthinking this. If I didn’t get out of the car and get on with it, I was going to talk myself out of proposing.
I got out and stretched, trying to calm my nerves, before opening the back door and retrieving a crystal vase full of red roses from the back floorboard. Charity had known just how to pack it to ensure it wouldn’t spill. Vase in hand, I strode up the walkway and opened the door.
I pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head and waited for her to notice me.
“There’s Mr. Edward,” a little girl whisper shouted, and Cara whipped around, a huge smile crossing her gorgeous face and leaving me breathless.
“Hey,” I said, immediately wishing I’d said something better than that.
“Hey, you,” she hurried over and gave me a hug.
I thrust the flowers at her. “These are for you.” God. I sounded like a middle school kid with his first crush. Why couldn’t I be more like Lufton?
“Thanks,” she said, burying her nose in them and sniffing deeply. “I love the smell of roses. What did I do to deserve this?” She gave me a flirty smile.
I stuffed my hands in my pockets, well aware that all of the children, the high school girls she’d hired to help her run the afternoon classes, and the mothers and fathers lined up to pick up their kids were staring at us. “I’m here to take you to lunch.” I knew she typically ate after this class.
“What a great surprise, but…”
One of the high school girls stepped forward. They were in on my plan and were giggling and smiling a lot. It was making me even more nervous. “We’re teaching the rest of the afternoon classes, Ms. Cara,” she said.
Cara cocked her head to the side. “Really? I’m getting the afternoon off?” Her eyes searched mine suspiciously. She had to be catching a clue about what was going on.
“You are,” one of the other girls said, gently guiding her towards the door. “Brittany’s getting your things. She’ll bring it to the car, and Naomi will be in to lock up later this afternoon.”
“Well, okay.” Cara looked at me. “It looks like everything’s covered, then. I’d love to go to lunch.” She linked her arm with mine and we headed to the car.
“Where are we going?” she asked excitedly as she eyed the picnic supplies in the back seat.
“Someplace special.” I turned on my playlist. “Ordinary” by Alex Warren was playing, and she leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes.
“Mmm. I could go to sleep, I think. I’ve been so tired lately.”
I had to fight to keep from asking if she was overdoing things with her knee. She’d had to fuss at me to get me to stop doing that repeatedly in the early days after her surgery. I held my tongue and reached over to massage her thigh. “Just rest if you want to. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
She gave me a sleepy smile and then closed her eyes again.
The quiet gave me a chance for reflection on some of the positive things that had happened in the past few months.
Things were going well for Cara, and they were for me, too.
I’d officially partnered with Wixby River Farms. Ashton Orchards was now their official fruit producer.
This brought new clients to both of us, and I thought it was the best way to go forward for expansion in the future.
I had worried that I would feel like I was giving up something by merging with them.
Instead, it felt as if I’d added life to the orchards my ancestors had started so many years ago. It felt right.
With the inheritance I’d received from my mother’s family when I turned twenty-five, I’d purchased the huge plot of land I’d had my eye on for so many years.
I had been right; it butted up perfectly to an unused portion of Wixby River Farms. Now there was no land between our properties, and there was plenty of space for the vineyards I’d been dreaming about.
The basic bones of the winery were already constructed, and we were about to launch our first wines.
We had two that I thought were good, if not excellent.
One was made from our blueberries, and the other from our peaches.
The grapes that would eventually grow into vines and be structured around the trellis systems already placed in neat rows wouldn’t be ready for a while yet.
I had plenty of ideas for wines that would be both delicious and unique.
I looked around, proud of how everything looked so far.
I’d made sure we’d kept plenty of large oak, maple, and pine trees around to give the vineyard a natural look that fit into the rest of the orchard property.
The only cleared off land belonged to Wixby River Farms and was reserved for Declan’s part of the vineyards.
He envisioned putting in a wedding venue and a small, resort-style hotel that would specialize in bookings for weddings and wine tasting weekends.