Epilogue
“Looks like we’re all set.” Jess stood beside her sisters-in-law at the kitchen sink.
“Mom has a way of pulling off things that no one else could and making it look easy.” Jillian gathered the squeezed lemon and lime rinds into a pile and heaved them into the trash. “It’s going to be a great party.”
From where Gideon Baker sat in the den tinkering with a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, everything in this household seemed so normal and at the same time totally extraordinary.
For days, his sergeant had been flittering around his wife like a moth to a flame.
Only from what Gideon could see, the attraction was not only mutual but intense.
He wasn’t completely convinced he hadn’t fallen down a rabbit hole and all of this was just one crazy dream.
So many of his buddies all injured in the same blast that seared his lungs, all of them head over boots in love and glowing like fireflies in the dark of night.
“How’s it coming along?” Josh patted his buddy on the back and picked up a piece while glancing at the expanse of the puzzle.
“The blue sky is going to be a bitch.”
“Hmm.”
“You as surprised as me that the Sarge is celebrating his first anniversary by renewing his vows?” he asked.
“I’m still surprised that any of us are happily married.” At that, Josh lifted his gaze to search out his own bride, smiled and then went back to the puzzle.
The Sweet Ranch was decked out for the big celebration tomorrow.
He’d arrived a few days ago after trying every excuse under the sun to stay home.
When his sergeant told him that all of his buddies he hadn’t seen since the blast would be coming, it made it really hard to say no.
In the end, he decided a week in ranch country wouldn’t kill him.
“I still can’t believe Hanson is going to try his hand at being a cowboy.”
That actually made Gideon chuckle, and very little made him laugh these days.
But his friend was right. Something about Sapper Hanson in leather boots and a Stetson hat wrestling cattle seemed…
odd. Of course, no more odd than watching him and his fiancée together.
At his feet, the Sweet’s German Shepherd Brady nosed the table.
For a second, Gideon thought the dog was trying to help.
The animal leaned against him and Gideon had figured out that was a subtle signal to scratch the dog’s ears.
He had to admit, he’d been surprised when the dog seemed to have taken a liking to him, following him around, but now, he appreciated the quiet tranquility that came with the canine companion.
Car doors slammed out front and Gideon looked up. The guests were starting to arrive. Soon he’d have to forget the puzzle and join the crowd. The noise. The activities. His hand dropped to his pocket and he patted the inhaler he hadn’t needed today—yet.
Backing away from the table, he glanced through the living room windows.
Side by side, oblivious to the arriving guests, Hanson and Kat sat on the front porch swing, their heads close together, their eyes sparkling, and every so many words, the conversation paused for a tender peck on the lips.
If Gideon hadn’t seen it for himself, he wouldn’t have believed it.
But there they were, two completed besotted people planning a spring wedding.
Gravel crunched and an SUV came to a stop.
Three doors sprang open. A man and woman climbed out from the front seats and a young boy with a massive German Shepherd came out the back door.
Music spilled into the yard and sure enough, no longer seated, Kat and Hanson were dancing.
Dancing. Really? He most definitely had fallen down a rabbit hole.
The music had stopped almost immediately and yet there they were, arms looped around each other, swaying on the porch to music of their own making.
Maybe he was wrong. Maybe the whole world had just gone completely crazy.
“Okay.” Alice stood in the doorway between the kitchen and family room. “The guests are arriving. Time to head outside.”
Bodies began making their way toward the back door. Gideon took his time, waiting till the others were all ahead of him. He couldn’t help but notice just about every couple making their way toward dinner, held hands. The front door closed behind him and hand in hand, Hanson and Kat came inside.
“You won’t be sorry you made the trip.” Hanson was smiling like a carnival caricature. “Clint smokes the best brisket on the planet.”
“So I’ve heard.” Gideon smiled, actually surprised that it wasn’t forced. He was genuinely happy for his buddies. For how they’d overcome their injuries, pivoted their life plans, and found the love of their lives. Soulmates. Too bad Texas didn’t have any miracles for him.
Outside, the set-up looked straight out of a bridal magazine.
The flowers, the ribbons. Everything. He had offered to help set up the chairs for the ceremony, but Kade had insisted he was a guest and should stay inside.
While he appreciated the sentiment, he knew it was because of his lungs.
Taking in the whole scene, his gaze fell on the little boy and his German Shepherd.
“That’s Valor.” His sergeant’s mother stood beside him. “Hearing loss from all his deployments.”
Gideon nodded.
“Luke there is on the spectrum. He and Valor took to each other like white on rice. We taught Valor sign language and it turns out that Luke learned basic sign language before he learned to speak.”
“Really?” He’d heard of using sign language to teach infants to communicate before they learned to speak—made sense that it could work for children with other issues.
“We were going to adopt him out once he adjusted, but Luke and his folks came over one day to visit and when we all saw how well Valor and Luke got along, we knew that’s where Valor belonged.”
So even the dogs got their miracles in Texas.
Gideon’s gaze drifted over to where Kat and Hanson now stood by the smoker helping carry trays.
Even with jobs to do, the two kept looking at each other and smiling.
Yep, Gideon was very happy for his friends, and even happier that someone had found their miracle.
So glad you could join Hanson and Kat on their adventure in the Honeysuckle Texas series.