Chapter 2 #2
I feel all eyes turn to me. “I’ll sign whatever Micah sends through and I’m sure Em will have no issue with it.
I still say we won’t need it. This is not Sully’s latest scheme to steal the ranch.
” I stare at Will and Case. “You didn’t see him.
He’ll be lucky to see the week out. He’s dyin’.
He’s just a father who wants to see his little girl taken care of. ”
“What if she doesn’t want to be taken care of?” Case asks matter-of-factly.
I don’t answer that, mostly because I can’t. I’m marrying a stranger that I believe the mountain spirit has brought into my life for this reason. None of that seems logical or even common sense. And that says a lot coming from a man like me who acts on impulse often.
Sutton and Case share one of their silent conversations before Sutton turns to me. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Jude. But—”
“Just say it,” I tell him.
“There’s a lot more to this than the Call. In fact, I think the Call is goin’ to be the least important part of it,” he continues and I can tell he has his therapist hat on.
“I know…”
Sutt shakes his head. “Thank God we’ve never had to experience the loss of a parent, but we have lost Gramps, and Gran before that.
Em’s goin’ to be grievin’ and it’s not goin’ to be a short thing, it’s goin’ to last a while.
Gettin’ married and dealin’ with that on top of everythin’ else, is a complication she won’t want to deal with or maybe even think about. Not straight away, anyway. If at all.”
“I know, Sutt. I may seem like I’m a scatterbrain sometimes but when it comes to this, I’m fully aware of what I’m signin’ up for. And I’m doin’ it anyway,” I tell him.
“It’s goin’ to be a battle—” he continues.
“Not for me and her. With her brothers? Maybe. But Em and I are goin’ to be just fine,” I reply before he can finish.
“I’m walkin’ into this with my eyes open and my heart sure.
My soul is all in, Sutt. Whatever happens, whatever it takes, I’m prepared to be patient and see it through.
I believe in the Call and I want to honor the promise I made Sully.
He might’ve been the one to ask, but I didn’t have to think before I said yes. ”
“For the record, Em didn’t take long to agree either,” Sutt adds.
“She’s doin’ this for her dad,” Will says quietly. “We’re just lookin’ out for you, brother.”
“That’s how I know I can do this, Will. I’ve got all of you.”
“Damn. That’s deep,” Case replies.
I shrug. “The way I see it, the best thing we ever did was move to this mountain. Y’all have found your Ones, and I’ve—”
“Got Wyatt,” Case replies with a smirk, making us all laugh.
“Yes,” I agree, “but this is my chance to give back to the mountain, to this family. To Em.” I look around all of them feeling even more certain than ever that getting married today is the right thing to do.
No, not the right thing… It's what I need to do.
It’s destiny, after all.
I’m cleaned up and dressed in the best clothes I could find—or borrow from my brothers. On my feet are my lucky boots I brought with me when we moved here. It’s the first time in a long while they’ve been shined within an inch of their life though.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I’m struggling to get my wavy brown hair to cooperate—or at least stay in one place—when there’s a knock at my door.
“Come in.” I know it’ll be one of my brothers. They’ve been conspicuously quiet since our talk on the porch but I’m still expecting a last-ditch effort to change my mind—or one last check that yes, I really do want to do this. News flash, I’m not changing my mind.
Moments later, Will’s head pops around the corner. “Are you decent?”
I arch a brow with a laugh. “Bit late to ask now, don’t you think?”
“Good point,” he chuckles, stepping inside. In his hands is a nondescript but dusty as hell wooden box. It looks a lot like the one he found under his floorboards when we first started renovating. That one had been hidden there by Gramps.
“Why are you bringin’ me your box from Gramps?”
He sits on my bed before holding it out to me. “It ain’t mine. This one’s for you.”
I stare at the box. It has my name carved roughly into the wooden lid. I jerk my gaze back to Will. “More secrets from Gramps?”
“Thinkin’ this might be the last one, but you never know with him. We might end up findin’ treasures and trinkets for years to come yet.” He’s not wrong there.
“OK. What’s in it?”
Will shrugs. “Beats me. I wasn’t goin’ to open it without you. If Gramps wanted you to have this, you know there’s a reason.”
I look at the box again, equally scared and curious about what might be inside. Given the day I’ve had—and what’s about to happen in a few hours—it could be anything. “Where’d you find it?”
“At the back of the bunker under the shelves with the expired medical supplies. Don’t know how we didn’t spot it sooner, but I caught sight of it last week when I was down there checkin’ how much space we have left.”
My brows furrow. “It was just sittin’ there? We’ve all been down there so many times. How could we have missed it?”
“I’m startin’ to think that place is haunted.”
“By our grandfather?” I shudder. “It wouldn’t surprise me. Case better watch his back. We always said Gramps would come back and visit him if he put a satellite on the mountain.”
Will laughs. “I still believe that Grumps is Gramps incarnate.” He nods to the box. “You goin’ to open this thing or do you want me to?”
“You’re the one still holdin’ it.”
“OK. OK,” he replies as I move closer.
“Well, huh,” my brother says.
I lean forward to see. “What is it?”
“There’s a letter with your name on it.” He holds out a ratty looking envelope before pulling out something else that’s wrapped in a yellowed silk handkerchief.
Opening the letter, I instantly recognize Gramps’s messy handwriting.
I know it well because after spending my last summer here when I was twenty, Gramps and I promised to write to each other once a month.
And we actually did, every month without fail, six letters each a year, until he passed.
Seeing his unmistakable scrawl again has me swallowing down a growing lump at the back of my throat.
As soon as I start reading, I realize that this letter isn’t like the light and breezy ones we used to share.
Jude,
If you’re reading this it means two things—I’ve gone to be with my One, and it’s time for the mountain to heal.
I’ve learned many things in the years I’ve spent on this earth, but there are only a few that I know to be absolutely true.
Death and loss are inevitable. Then again, so is true love. The kind that you can’t deny or ignore. The kind that you feel deep down in your soul. The kind that consumes you in all the ways that count.
This mountain and the spirit that lives within her has been heartbroken for a long time—generations, in fact. And only the calling together of two soulmates dedicated to the mountain where their family roots were grown, will unite what was once torn apart.
I can’t tell you how I know, but you were chosen to carry the Henley name for a reason. I hope it was so you could find your Marion just as fate intended.
I hope the letters and diary notes my great grandparents wrote about each other will help guide you to finding a place in your own love’s heart.
Because you, my boy, are special. You were born special and you always will be. Only a magical, spectacular woman with unknown strength and a heart big enough to rival your own will ever be able to fulfill that busy brain of yours. Or be the calm in your storm.
She’s out there, Jude, and I know you’re about to find her. It’s been written in the stars before you both were born. You two together are the only ones who can bring the mountain back together again, even if you end up needing Sully Wilson’s blessing to make it happen.
Then again, though we spent our whole lives as rivals and I’m writing this letter knowing my time is coming to an end, I know that Sully and I were not all that different.
We only did what we were taught to do—hate each other.
I hope you and your brothers can turn the page and start writing your own story, rising above the past and making it right again in the way only you will know how to do.
Love and miss you always,
Gramps
P. S. The silver hairpin was a gift that Henley gave Marion on their wedding day. He wore a white shirt he borrowed from his brother paired with his church pants and a black leather strap fashioned into a tie, all because he wanted to look the best he could possibly be for his beloved bride.
They were married on the grass lawn outside the front of the Wilson farmhouse where I believe a flower garden full of daisies still grows to this day. Though since Coopers are banned from the Wilson homestead, they might’ve been dug up and covered in manure for all I know.
When you find your Marion, give this gift to her just as my great grandfather gave to his One.
Share their love notes about each other with the love of your life too. It will help guide you along the way.
“Jesus,” I say, rubbing a hand over my mouth as the words on the page in front of me turn blurry.
“What is it?” Will asks, startling me. I’d been so engrossed in Gramps’s letter that I’d actually forgotten I wasn’t alone.
“It’s… shit… it’s a lot.”
“OK…” He looks down at his hand, unwrapping what I now know is a vintage hairpin that holds so much history and significance.
“He says I need to find my Marion and give that to her,” I nod at the silver heirloom.
“Your Marion? Wait… Henley… you’re Henley.”
I hold the letter up. “Accordin’ to this, Em and I are the only ones who can heal the rift of history's past.”
“That rift died along with Sully and Gramps,” he replies. “Things are fine between us and the Wilsons now.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t feel like we’re two families united by marriage generations ago, does it? There’s still a big gap between neighbors and family.”
Will shrugs. “It’s a hell of a lot better than when we first arrived in town.”
“It is, but the mountain is still split in half.”
“There ain’t no way we’re mergin’ the ranches. Gramps would literally come back and haunt us if that happened.”
I look back at the words on the page.
She’s out there, Jude, and I know you’re about to find her. It’s been written in the stars before you both were born. You two together are the only ones who can bring the mountain back together again, even if you end up needing Sully Wilson’s blessing to make it happen.
Gramps was wrong about one thing. I didn’t need Sully’s blessing. Sully needed me.
Will cocks his head. “What is it?”
“Me and Em. This confirms it. I knew before but this just proves I’m right.” I look down at him. “Em Wilson is my One.”
“And what are you goin’ to do about that?” Will asks, curiously.
That’s when I remember what Gramps said about Henley dressing in his Sunday best for his bride. “I need a black leather tie.”
“What?” he says with a laugh. “That’s… random.”
“It’s what Henley wore when he married his Marion. I’m goin’ to do the same. If ever there was a time to court favor with the mountain spirit, this is it. Besides, I’m gettin’ married. This calls for a tie.”
He frowns. “OK… then what are you goin’ to do?”
“Then I’m goin’ to marry my One.”
It’s only after I read the first letter Henley Cooper wrote about his Marion Wilson, that I realize there’s one last thing I need to do before we leave the ranch and head over to the other side of the mountain.
I need to write to my One.
Unsent Letter - Henley to Marion.
Today I saw my future laid out before me.
It wasn’t because of a plan or even a decision I made. It was the sight of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen you before, but today your beauty shot through me like a bolt from the sky.
Your long blonde hair was swept down to brush your hips. Your gorgeous crystal blue eyes were shining in the sunlight like a beacon to my soul.
You walked tall, shoulders back, looking elegant and worldly. A woman—a person—worthy of everything she could ever want. Yet you were kind and polite. You even helped an old lady who’d dropped her purse on the ground.
Somehow, today I knew that I was going to be the man that would make you smile every day for the rest of your life.
I can’t seem to escape the memory of you and I don’t want to.
I already know that I’ll be visiting town more often now, just for the chance to see you again. But next time, I’ll make sure to talk to you… or at least try.
I remember you. There’s no way I could ever forget you. It’s just that today, my heart didn’t just skip a beat at the sight of you, it galloped like a wild horse that couldn’t be tamed.
I’ve never felt anything like it—and it’s all because of you.
So, even if all I ever get is today, that will forever be enough to tide me over.
But I’m not one to give up easily. Not when it’s something this important. I will find a way for us to be together. I honestly believe it was meant to be.
A Cooper and a Wilson, who would’ve thought.
Henley