23. Epilogue
One year later….
”In the cases of Andrew Travers Jr. and Pine Crest’s own John Carter, both defendants have filed appeals for new trials. Just a year ago, Silverpine was stunned by the horrifying news of the two men”s crimes against the defendant”s own daughter, Emma Carter.
The community was outraged to learn John Carter helped plan the drugging and kidnapping of his own daughter, intending to force her into marriage.
Carter and Travers are being held in the county jail until their transport to state prison next week…”
Abby appeared before me, taking the TV remote from my hand and switching it off. ”Okay, my friend, enough. Today is supposed to be a good day. We don”t need Daddy Moneybags spoiling it.”
I smiled at my friend, grateful she was here. Actually, both of my best friends were here for the ribbon-cutting of the new Lydia Carter Park, formally known as that big chunk of land that sat behind the resort.
After everything had gone down with my father and Andrew Jr., I decided it was time to do something with that land. My mother would have wanted people to have access to it, but not through strip malls and parking lots. She would want people to enjoy the beauty of it, just like she did.
So, besides being appointed the new president and CEO of Pine Crest Resorts by the board of directors, Jaime and I had been busy working on the park, getting all the proper permits and installing walking trails, as well as hiring park rangers to patrol the land to make sure it stayed as pristine.
Abby and Caroline had arrived a couple of days before and today we were having Sunday dinner with Jaime and his family. Well, my family too.
It was the same house Jaime had grown up in, but now it belonged to Maria, her husband Carols, and their baby girl, Esme.
Sadly, a few months after everything went down with my father, Jaime”s mother passed away, but not before she got to hold of her first grandchild… named Esmeralda, in her honor.
”I”m excited about tonight. I”ve been hearing about this Sunday dinner all year, and it”s essentially the merging of two families,” Abby said.
I smiled at her fondly. ”I”m excited about it, too. You and Caroline will hit it off with his sisters and,” I drew out the word, ”that means you would have even more friends if you were to, you know… move to Silverpine permanently.”
Abby rolled her eyes. ”Not this again, Emma. Look, I know this is your home, and it”s lovely to visit, but you’re talking to a hard-core SoCal girl. Are you seriously trying to convince me that snowy winters are a good thing? How am I supposed to acclimate to this?”
”Easy. One Christmas in the snowy mountains, and you”ll be hooked, believe me. Call me selfish, but I want you here and you both have been saying you need a fresh start. Plus, it will give you some much space you”ve been saying you need from your mother.”
Abby growled. ”Don”t even get me started with her. She”s hard to deal with on a good day, and now that it’s election season… she’s damn near unbearable. If you think she”s going to let me go anywhere during an election year, you’re out of your mind.”
”Okay,” I said, ”I’ll pester you again in six months.”
She rolled her eyes. ”Why don”t you focus on Caroline? You have a better shot at getting her to move out here.”
I wasn”t sure about that. Caroline had gone back to her soul sucking job in LA. She insisted she valued the security of being an employee over the uncertainty of starting her own firm.
But she has been waffling since. She toyed with the idea of opening her own consulting firm, but something was holding her back. I felt like I was wearing her down to come work for Pine Crest, but I could tell there was a part of her that didn’t like the appearance of nepotism, even though she was the most qualified candidate I knew for the job.
Besides, the current CFO of Pine Crest was an old pal of my father. He”d been grumbling about retirement, and I would be happy to get him out of here. It was time for a new guard in the C-suite, one that stood a more ethical ground.
”Where is Caroline anyway? She knows we have to leave soon,” Abby grumbled, checking her watch.
”She told me a couple of hours ago she was going for a walk.”
Abby stopped, looking at me with wide eyes. ”A walk? Our Caroline?”
I laughed. ”She said she wanted to check out the park after seeing all the improvements we made after the ribbon-cutting yesterday. Plus, I suggested it was a good way to clear her head.”
Abby nodded. ”I wonder how many walks it”s going to take for her to figure out she needs to quit that job.”
”I don”t know,” I said, shaking my head, ”but I hope she comes to that conclusion soon. I hate seeing her so unhappy.”
”Seeing who unhappy?” Caroline said, breezing back through the hotel door.
She was slightly out of breath and her hair was disheveled and… ”Caroline? Are those twigs in your hair?”
She looked at me, startled. ”Uh, maybe. Why?”
”Did you get into it with a bear out there or something?” Abby teased.
A smile overtook Caroline”s lips. ”You could say that,” she said, picking twigs out of her hair. ”I apologize for being late. Let me go clean up and then we can be on our way, ladies.”
”Caroline? Why do you look like you just took a tumble in the hay?” I asked.
She shook her head, ”I don”t know what you”re talking about… now taking a tumble in the dirt… maybe against a tree? That’s a whole other matter.”
”Wait. What? With who?” Abby gasped.
Caroline grinned at us. ”That”s the beauty of it. I have no clue. He was big, he was hot, and it was amazing.”
Abby and I had a plethora of questions, namely how Caroline went for a walk in the woods and ended up getting fucked against a tree.
”Look, before you guys start mothering me, I can assure you I was safe and no plant life was harmed,” she said, pointing to me. ”We might”ve traumatized a few squirrels that were watching but it”s nature, so it”s natural, right? ”
Abby and I looked at each other in shock. This was Caroline, our buttoned-up Caroline admitting to having sex in the woods.
We followed her into the bathroom as she fixed her hair.
”I have so many questions,” Abby said, as we helped Caroline put herself back together to get ready for dinner.
On the ride to Maria”s house, we got quite the story.
***
As soon as we arrived at Maria”s house, Abby and Caroline were instantly embraced, quite literally. Sofia and Maria hugged my best friends like they were long-lost sisters and were introduced to Esme as her new aunts.
Caroline looked at me, slightly alarmed, but I nodded to both of them. ”Just go with it. This is good.”
All of us took turns cuddling baby Esme. Jaime was convinced she was never going to learn how to crawl or walk, because no one would set her down for more than two seconds.
But her chubby little cheeks, and big brown eyes, were hard to resist.
”I am delighted you could come to Sunday dinner. We”ve been waiting a long time to meet you,” Maria said as she set out dish after dish of steaming food.
”Same could be said for you two,” Caroline said, smiling.
”Yeah, I think Mama would”ve loved this. New friends coming together as a family under her roof around her table.”
”Yes, no doubt she”s thrilled watching us right now, because more than all of us here together, she wanted her children to be happy, and I think she got her wish,” Sofia said, looking over to Jaime pointedly with a small smile playing her lips. ”Well almost, right Jaime?”
I”d noticed when I walked in that Jaime was extra nervous, and I wondered why because he loved Caroline and Abby, and Maria and Sofia were equally remarkable, so I didn”t see why they wouldn”t all get along famously.
But his sister”s words were met with a nervous smile. ”Right, that”s my cue,” he said, turning to me.
”Jaime? Is everything alright?” I asked, concerned.
”Not quite, but I think it will be,” he said, a nervous smile still in place.
”It”s been a big year with a lot going on, so it never seemed quite appropriate to do this, but I don”t want to wait any longer… Emma Carter, I don”t want to spend another day not being your husband. You”re the only woman I”ve ever loved, and the only woman I will ever love. We were apart for so long, and I tried to move on, but I always knew deep down it was too late for me. My heart belonged to you and I would remain yours, no matter what. And then fate brought us together again, and I won’t be an idiot and throw this opportunity away. Spending the past year with you has been the best year of my life. The only thing that could make it better is if you would be my wife.”
He got out of his chair and scooted it back, getting down on one knee and pulling a black velvet box out of his pocket. Snapping it open, I saw a beautiful princess cut solitaire set in white gold. Sharing this moment with our friends and family took my breath away.
”Jaime… of course I’ll be your wife! Now get up here and kiss me,” I insisted, yanking at his shirt to get him off the floor. Sofia urged him, ”You heard the woman, kiss her.”
When our lips met, our family broke out into applause. I didn”t even realize tears were streaming down my face until Jaime pulled away and wiped them away with his thumbs.
”You”ve made me the happiest man on the planet, Emma Carter,” he whispered against my lips.
”You just wait, Jaime,” I teased before kissing him again to whoops and hollers from our family. “Get a room,” Carlos goaded.
We stayed in our embrace for a long time. I wasn”t about to let go of my Jaime, never again.
***
It was a glorious night, and wedding plans were already being made. Before the proposal, I had already planned to break ground on a little piece of land close to ”our lake.”
I was going to surprise Jaime with the deed so we could start building our dream house. Technically, he was still living with Maria in his mom”s old house, but most of the time he was shacked up with me in the Carter family suite.
After dessert, Jaime pulled me aside and whispered in my ear, ”Hey, I hate to leave you, but the girls and I are going to go light a candle for Mama and say a prayer.”
”Go,” I urged him. This was something he and his sisters did frequently, usually after Sunday dinner. Normally, I would make small talk with Carlos and play with Esme, but tonight I went out onto the front porch with my best friends and we hugged and celebrated the night”s events.
”I am so thrilled for you,” Abby said, nearly shaking with excitement.
”No kidding, it”s about time. I was wondering if he’d ever pop the question,” Caroline exclaimed.
I was tearing up again. I was doing a lot of that lately. ”Jaime and I have already decided we don”t want to wait a long time to get married, so we”re going to need to plan this thing fast… and I”m going to need my best friends here to help me.”
”I will fly in as much as I can around my mother”s campaign schedule,” Abby promised. That just left Caroline.
I looked at her in anticipation and she finally said, ”Well, I can fill in for Abby when needed… besides, I was thinking about staying a little longer.”
Abby and I examined Caroline”s face carefully. ”Longer?” we asked in unison.
She gave me a nervous smile. ”Still got that job for me?” she asked.
”Hot damn, Emma, you did it. You got one of us to cave,” Abby teased as I hugged Caroline.
”Oh my God, yes. Yes, of course, and even if I didn”t, I’d make one up. Welcome home,” I squealed.
She laughed and, in true Caroline fashion, told me pragmatically, ”Calm down. This is more of a trial basis. I still might go back to LA. We”ll see how things go.”
I looked at my friend of many years. She was giving herself an out, but I knew Silverpine had charmed her… and perhaps whoever happened in those woods earlier had too.