Epilogue
EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER: ANNA
Anna stepped off the airplane into the air-conditioned Houston airport with one great big sigh of relief.
In the old days, she would have been disappointed to finally be going home, but now, not only was it her sanctuary, it was also the place where her family was.
Even though she’d only been gone for a few days, she missed them as much as she would have if it had been months.
As soon as she turned her phone off airplane mode, a text came in. It was from Charlie. Already got a cab for you, he said. See you soon.
She never got tired of how thoughtful he was.
She really did win the boyfriend lottery in that respect.
He was the most supportive man, a lovely father, and her closest friend.
He hadn’t even hesitated when she told him she needed to be in Canada for a few days to scout for locations in Toronto.
She rarely left the continent these days, and she had an understanding with her boss that she would not be available to stay on set for the duration of the shoot—at least, not until her daughter was much older.
Thanks to Charlie, Anna hadn’t needed to give up her career at all. It had only slowed down a little, which wasn’t even a compromise as far as she was concerned. She was happy to slow down for a while. It gave her more time to spend with her brand-new family.
She made her way to the curbside area where rows of cars waited to pick up travelers, and she expected to have to search for whichever taxi Charlie had gotten for her. Instead, she found him standing outside, waiting for her with their baby in his arms.
“Ah, you’re the best!” she cried as soon as she saw him. “How did you know I needed to see my little bug right away?”
“Because you can’t stand being away from her for an hour let alone several days. I knew you’d be anxious, so little Bobbi Jo and I came to pick you up.” He handed their baby to Anna, who immediately nuzzled into Bobbi’s wispy white hair, taking in the smell of her daughter as she always did.
“I need to make you some kind of World’s Best Fiancé trophy or something,” she said.
“Already have one,” Charlie countered. “And in a couple of weeks, I’m going to be wearing it.” He gestured to the ring finger of his left hand, and Anna had to smile at that. Their wedding was coming up so quickly. Anna honestly couldn’t wait.
“How did you have time to come all the way out here to pick me up, though?” she asked. “Who’s looking after the ranch?”
He got that broad smile on his face when he heard her question. It was the kind of smile he always got when he was being sneaky in the best possible way. “Well, that’s my first wedding present to you. The ranch is being looked after by our two new ranch hands.”
“Ranch hands? No way! How can you afford that?”
“It’s all thanks to you, honey,” he said.
“With all the changes we’ve been able to put in place since the reshoot fees came in, we can afford to hire help.
Now, I’ll be able to spend more time with you and little Bobbi Jo.
We can go on vacation, too. Wait until you see what I’ve planned for our honeymoon. ”
She couldn’t wait. If Charlie had planned it, it was going to be amazing.
She already knew that much. The way he remembered everything she liked and kept track of every little comment or hint she gave him made all his gifts consistently perfect.
She could only begin to guess at what he had planned for their honeymoon.
But whatever it was, she knew, as soon as she saw it, she would understand why it was the perfect choice for both of them.
On the way back to the ranch, Charlie stopped at one of Anna’s favorite restaurants to get her a lemonade and a quick lunch because he knew she hated airplane food and never snacked on her flights.
She accepted gratefully and cracked her window to smell the familiar Texas air.
It was the air of home now, she realized, and she loved it.
She came home to a cozy, clean(ish) cabin.
Nothing was ever perfectly clean with a baby around, but the effort Charlie put in every day made her decision to say yes when he finally asked her to marry him the best decision she’d ever made in her life.
It was second only to her decision to keep and raise her daughter.
These were two things she never doubted, not even a little bit.
On the day of Charlie and Anna’s wedding, the weather was absolutely perfect.
It had rained earlier in the day, and Anna had been mildly concerned.
She was certain, no matter what the weather, the ceremony was going to be beautiful.
Rain didn’t bother her. Lots of people even said it was good luck if it rained on your wedding day, but she wasn’t as superstitious as her soon-to-be husband was.
Anyway, the rain would please him. She was just worried about the camera equipment.
Charlie wasn’t aware yet, but the director of Texas Sunrise had sent some of the film crew that had worked on the ranch over as a gift to film a wedding video for free.
It would be professionally shot, as beautiful as the movie itself.
And it was only for Charlie and Anna to enjoy.
The perfect gift, Anna had decided. Hopefully, Charlie agreed.
Her dress was simple and long, not too fancy, but on her, it looked exquisite.
It had a quiet elegance to it, and fit the scenery perfectly.
This wedding dress was one of those dresses that looked like an antique, and that’s because it was.
It had been passed down by the women in Charlie’s family, from his great-grandmother on down, altered to fit each woman perfectly.
Anna turned this way and that in the mirror, admiring the dress and how beautiful it made her look. She wore her hair in long curls, just the way Charlie liked it, but he hadn’t seen her yet. He loved following old traditions, and she went along because it made him smile.
The ceremony, just like the dress, was understated and elegant.
There were under twenty people present, including the camera crew.
The band from the Jolly Ram played the bride’s song, which was hilarious because it was far from the genre they usually played.
Anna thought they did a beautiful job, though.
And Shelly carried Bobbi Jo up the aisle to act as a kind of flower girl, scattering rose petals on behalf of the infant in her arms.
Anna couldn’t have imagined a more perfect wedding.
As she walked up the makeshift, mowed aisle toward her new husband, who waited under the tree in which their initials were carved, the sun began to set.
And when Charlie spoke his vows to her, there were tears in his eyes.
She had no doubt he meant every word of every promise he made.
The newlywed couple had a small reception in the old barn, which Charlie had finally been able to repair properly. It was beautiful, too, with flowers everywhere and western-style candelabras made of antlers lining each wall. They had been a surprise to Anna, too, and she loved them.
The song the band played for their first dance was one that had been playing when Charlie proposed to her.
After she agreed to marry him, he’d proudly proclaimed it as their song and told her he’d selected it to be playing when he proposed on purpose.
It was adorable how much he cared. She never would have guessed that such a masculine individual would turn out to be so caring and so romantic.
And she had told her cousin all about it.
And Ellie had been exactly as jealous as Anna predicted she would be.
While they were dancing their first dance as a married couple, Charlie bent down and kissed her forehead, a sweet gesture that she knew would be replaced by a far more passionate one later that night. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he asked her.
She smiled and shook her head. “Probably not. But I figure you have the rest of your life to convince me, and if I say yes, maybe you’ll stop trying.”
“I will never, ever, ever stop trying, Anna Greene. For the rest of your life, you’re going to see how much I love you. And every time you see it, you’re going to realize it was more than you thought it was. Even more.”
Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead against his chest. She could not have predicted the way her life would turn out—that she would marry a cowboy, live on a ranch, and find a community in a small Texas town like Denson Oaks.
But here she was, and she couldn’t be happier.
If Charlie was going to spend the rest of their lives proving his love for her, then she was determined to do the same.
They’d probably have their spats, sure, like all married couples did.
She knew better than to expect a fairy tale.
But then, so did he. They’d started out on opposing sides, and so she knew they’d survive being on opposing sides again.
No matter what happened, they would find a way to come together again, because this was no fairy tale.
It was so much better. It was real, and that was what made it perfect.
The End
I hope you’ve enjoyed Charlie and Anna’s story!