Epilogue
Emerson
There was a time I used to dream of my wedding.
Like a lot of young girls, I’d picture the dress.
I’d think about where I wanted it. Who I’d invite.
As I grew up, the dream faded. I didn’t have anyone to sit on my side and few choices for who’d stand next to me.
I didn’t have a venue that meant anything to me. And I didn’t have a groom.
Now, I have a whole-ass husband.
Fall has set in. Many of the conifers covering the hills are still green, but several of the trees around our place burst with color. A few have lost leaves already, and I asked Lane to leave them. Nature’s decorations.
Nerves flutter through my belly as I pace the bedroom. Today is our wedding ceremony. We’ll say our vows in front of all our friends and family on our property. I could’ve had a wedding at the great Hawthorne Guest Ranch, but I chose right here, on the same dirt I used to run through.
But will anyone show?
Of course they will.
I’m getting better at opening up, and I have friends now.
There’s a knock on the door and Hillary sneaks in. She wore a dress today because she wanted to look like everyone else. Brooks let me take her to Billings and shop, and we did it one of the days he was training for his delivery job with Foster House Gold.
“Hey, Bunny.” I sit on the edge of the bed. “What’s it like out there?”
“Lots of big trucks.” She plops next to me and swings her legs. “Need some facts?”
Laughter filters in from outside and my stomach goes wild. I’ll be fine, but a little prevention won’t hurt. “Yes.”
“Penny can live eight to ten years.” Penny is Hillary’s Flemish giant rabbit. Brooks found one with Prescott’s help after the house business was over. “Since she’s three, that’s five to seven years. And they can be trained to use the litter box.”
I already knew that. Hillary’s working on it with Penny. My anxiety mildly calms down.
“It’s going to be okay,” Hillary says softly. “You and Daddy are really happy here.”
I pull her close with a one-armed hug. “Are you?”
“Yeah.” Her gaze is imploring. “I don’t ever want to move.”
“If you never want to move, your dad will never want to move, and I like having you both right next door.”
“Do you think Daddy will find someone too?”
Oh. “I don’t know.” I have my own baggage from growing up, and Brooks does too. Yet I got over mine—with a lot of help. “If he wants it, he will.”
“Yeah,” she says almost sadly. “Will she like Penny and the chickens?”
“If she has any taste.”
Hillary giggles and we sit for a moment. “Daddy has Grandpa Hutch,” she says, her big eyes on me. “I like having him here.”
The urn. “Yeah. Felt fitting.” I blink rapidly. No ruining makeup. “Thought he should be here with us before we give him a proper inurnment and reception.”
“Daddy said I could help plan that.”
I smooth a hand over her hair. “Yeah, Bunny. You can.”
The door cracks open and Lane sneaks inside.
“Hey.” Hillary points a finger. “No seeing the bride!”
Lane grins, undaunted. “We’re already married.”
Hillary tips her head from side to side. “I’ll allow it.” She hops off the bed. On her way out the door, she gives Lane a hug. “You’d better make her happy, Uncle Lane.”
“You know I won’t settle for less.” When she pulls away, he bends to be at her level. “Phillip is getting worked up over all the guests while he’s locked up. Mind throwing him some feed?”
“Sure!” She runs out.
I smile at him. “You just wanted her out of the room.”
He winks. “Phillip’s been giving me the side-eye all morning. I think he’s worried about his girls.”
“The males around this place seem to do that.” I rise, but he stays right where he is.
“Let me just look at you.” He cocks his head and rakes his hot gaze down my body.
I smooth my hands down my skirt. The dress I picked for the day that I never thought would happen is a loose bohemian V-neck.
I didn’t want anything clingy or fancy for an outdoor wedding on a cool day.
It’s perfect for a night of dancing and will come off quickly when everyone’s gone.
I used the same theme with my hair. A fishtail braid with wisps left out to frame my face.
He walks toward me. “You’re beautiful, and I already know how I’m going to strip that off you.”
I trail my fingers down the buttons of the white dress shirt he paired with his black jeans and cowboy boots. “I’m trying to decide if I’m going to rip open your shirt or tease you one button at a time.”
“The choice is yours.” He kisses me, and just as the heat flames between us, he pulls back. “Your brother’s ready to walk you down the aisle when you are.”
“Tell him I’m on my way.”
“Campbell’s already got him in place.” He grins and I giggle. Campbell nearly begged me to help with the ceremony. She offered it as a gift, and she made planning seamless. “The others all promised no shoptalk.”
“I like shoptalk.” I’ve taken jobs for Elodie and Clem. Prescott and I have met for some brainstorming sessions, and my holiday campaign is in full force for Foster House Gold.
“I know. That’s why I never told them to leave you alone. They all said it themselves.”
I fix his collar. It isn’t crooked, but I need to do something with my hands. The emotions piling onto my chest are the best ones. It’s like all the years I didn’t get to experience them are coming back, floating me away on a cloud of giddiness. “I’m ready.”
“I’ll let them know.” He gives me a slow, lingering kiss and then he’s gone.
I take a few slow and steady breaths. The old fear is still there. I’ll walk out and everyone’s gone. They’ve all found a nicer wedding and a better bride.
Shaking my head, I square my shoulders. Time to show that little girl inside me that everything is okay.
I leave the bedroom. Campbell’s waiting by the kitchen.
She grins when she sees me. “It’s time,” she says in a singsong voice.
We go outside. Vehicles are lined up and down the drive. She leads me around the house to the backyard where we have chairs set up. Everyone who’s become a part of my life since I returned to Huckleberry Springs is seated and turns to look at me.
None of them get up and leave.
It’s going to be okay.
Hillary’s waiting for me at the decorated firepit. Brooks is standing behind the chair. After he walks me to my husband, he’ll stand up there with me. The same two people who were there the first time are standing with us again.
I meet Lane’s gaze. Pride makes him glow with a full-bodied halo. His grin is wide and welcoming and the heat hasn’t left his eyes.
Campbell gives my hand a squeeze and finds a seat next to Durban.
“You can still run.” Brooks cocks his arm out. “But I think it’s a bad idea.”
I take in all the people who came to support us on our big day.
We’re already married, but they don’t care.
My chicken shed looks twenty years newer with new shutters and shingles.
A goat pen sits not far from the barn. The turkeys love my husband more than me, and I caught Lane cuddling a barn cat yesterday.
When I was a girl, I never imagined so much life and love on this property.
“I’m staying.” I wrap my fingers around his elbow and face my husband.
Lane gives me one of those looks, the kind I can read and know what he’s thinking. I’m not going anywhere, and that expression of his is telling me that he’s not going anywhere either. We’re each other’s home.
I really am the luckiest girl in the world.
Thank you so much for reading Lane and Emerson’s story!