Chapter 16 – Epilogue
The way Kade and Cassie were attached at the hip, anyone would think he would be returning to active duty on the other side of the world and not the state of Texas. Even Brady had once again abandoned Alice to lie at his master’s feet.
“They look good.” Alice’s sister Vicki came to stand at her side.
“They all look so happy. Reminds me of Charlie and me.”
“Yeah,” Vicki agreed. “You two were one heck of a match.”
Some days, Alice could swear Charlie was standing at her side, smiling as their family grew.
Other days, she’d completely forgotten what it was like to live and work at his side.
It shouldn’t be like that. Charlie was the love of her life and she should feel him in her heart every second of every day, but he seemed to be slipping away.
“Ever ask yourself why those two stayed married?”
The million-dollar question. With an easy answer. “For the money.”
Vicki eased back her gaze shifting from Kade and Cassie on the back porch swing, hands threaded together, her head on his shoulder, and enough love oozing to shower the entire great state of Texas. “Money?”
“The trust.”
“Oh.” Vicki returned her attention to the couple simply enjoying sitting side by side. “So he drank too much, married a stranger, and decided to stay married for the money, and just happened to fall in love?”
“Yeah.” Alice smiled. “That pretty much covers it.”
“They told you that?”
“Of course not. None of them did.”
“None of them?” Now Vicki’s eyes were practically falling out of her head.
Chuckling, Alice put her hand on her sister’s arm. “Come on, Vick. Six kids, six sudden marriages, and a sudden river of money to save the ranch. Really?”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
“But they all look so in love.” Her sister’s gaze shifted across the yard to all her nieces and nephews.
From the croquet that had Preston and Sarah teamed up against Carson and Jess in a heated match that had each couple slapping high fives and swapping quick intimate kisses.
Over to Garret and Jackie playing corn hole with Rachel and Jim and Jillian and Blake.
All of them stealing kisses and hugs as if they were besotted teens with their first love.
And of course, Kade and Cassie who hadn’t moved off that swing for hours.
Just watching the family welcome home barbecue unfold before them.
“That’s because they are.” Alice rocked on her toes and bit back a huge smile.
She never would have agreed to such a plan, but since her children thought it worth trying to pull the wool over her eyes, the least she could do was play along.
Especially since in each case cupid’s arrow had struck.
“You know what they say: life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. ”
“I don’t know. One couple maybe. But six? No. I vote for love at first sight and happily ever after.”
Alice certainly wasn’t going to argue the happily ever after, and maybe there had even been a little love at first sight.
No matter how it played out though, her family was happy, and growing and she was sure Charlie was smiling down on them all from heaven.
She’d actually asked herself a time or two if maybe Charlie had somehow had something to do with all these perfect matches.
Then again, she was probably being silly.
All that mattered is that everyone was happy.
And maybe, soon, she’d have a yard full of her kids’ kids running and playing.
Yep, she could hardly wait to see what else life had in store for all of them.