Epilogue – Lilibeth
Lilibeth
When it was time to think about wedding gowns, Nellie had brought her gown over for me to see. When Vivianne took it out of the box it had been preserved in, we all gasped. It was a three-quarter-length gown of silk with a tulle overlay.
“Oh, try it on, Lilibeth!” Emeline said, as she rocked Jackson. Ensley was holding baby Nellie.
Looking at Vivianne, I asked, “Will you help me?”
“Of course!”
We’d taken the dress to my bedroom, where I’d slipped out of my clothes. Vivianne carefully lifted the dress over my outstretched hands, and we’d shimmied it down over my body.
We both just stared into the full-length mirror for a long moment.
“It fits like it was made for you,” Vivianne had said, smiling at me in the mirror.
I’d held up the engagement ring. “Just like the ring.”
Vivianne had blinked back tears. “Yes. Just like the ring.”
Now, standing and looking at myself in that same mirror, I had to place a hand over my stomach to calm the butterflies.
I lifted my arms as Emeline put the white belt around my waist. The top of the wedding dress had a scooped neckline, the white tulle that covered the entire dress draped elegantly over the tight-fitting bodice. The buttons weren’t in the back, but on the front.
“You look like you’ve stepped out of 1950’s movie,” Emeline said, her chin on my shoulder as she looked at me in the mirror. “One last touch.”
My mother walked up with a hatbox. She reached inside and pulled out a small, round hat that would be pinned to the side of my head.
My hair had been done up the same way Nellie’s had been during her wedding.
There were so many pins in my hair to keep the rolls in place, I wasn’t sure how we’d get them all out later.
I was the picture of a 1950’s pinup girl, but in a wedding dress.
Once the hat was pinned on, I turned and looked again—and blinked back my tears. The hat had belonged to my grandmother, and it was the only thing she’d kept from her wedding. Mom didn’t know why my grandmother had kept the hat, but I was glad she did. It matched the wedding dress perfectly.
I reached up and felt the diamond pendants that my parents had given me last night.
They’d also belonged to my grandmother, Rose, and had been worn on her wedding day, and my mother wore them on her wedding day.
It was my something old. My something blue was an embroidered handkerchief that once belonged to Sarah Wilde, Caden’s great-great-grandmother. It was also my something borrowed.
Vivianne handed me a big box. “It’s a tradition in the Wilde family to give this gift to each bride.”
“What is it?” I asked, feeling like a kid in a candy store.
Winking, Vivianne said, “Open it and see.”
I took the box and walked over to the bed. I opened the top and drew in a breath. It was a stunning pair of white cowboy boots. They had the lightest of blue rhinestones, and when I lifted one out of the box, the light made them sparkle like blue diamonds.
“These are beautiful!”
Vivianne looked past me and nodded. “Ensley picked them out.”
Turning, I made my way over to Ensley and hugged her. When I drew back, I had a tear moving down my cheek.
“Ugh, don’t cry,” she said, carefully wiping it away. “You’ll mess up your makeup!”
“They’re gorgeous.”
She grinned.
“Well, put ’em on!” Emeline stated.
My mother held on to my arm as everyone else helped to get the boots on, so that I didn’t have to sit down and wrinkle the dress. When they all stepped back, we turned in unison and looked in the mirror.
Ensley was the first to speak. “Caden is going to shit his pants when he sees you.”
Everyone laughed.
There was a light knock on the door, and Emeline called out, “Come in.”
My father poked his head in and said, “We’re going to be late, ladies.”
“Come on in, Liam,” my mother said. “Look at your daughter.”
When Dad walked into the room and saw me, tears filled his eyes, and he quickly started sniffling.
“Daddy, don’t cry, or you’ll make me cry.”
He walked up and took my hands in his. “You are so beautiful, Lilibeth. So beautiful.”
Vivianne clapped her hands. “Well, we need to get going. And Emeline and Ensley need to get there before you.”
She kissed me on the cheek and started out of the room. She stopped when Emeline spoke up.
“Wait! We need to add one more touch.”
I looked at her, raising a brow. She walked toward me with a small box.
She opened it to reveal wildflowers inside.
“Caden had one request. He asked that flowers be put in your hair, if at all possible.” She took out a note and read, “I can’t imagine marrying you without flowers in your hair. I picked these this morning just for you…my Flower Child.”
My mouth quivered, and I had to blink several times to keep the tears at bay.
Emeline took out the flowers and carefully arranged them in my hair. She took a step back, looked me over, and grinned. “Now you’re ready.”
Twenty minutes later, I was standing at the end of a makeshift aisle, all of our family and friends on either side of me.
Caden stood at the end, right in front of the lake.
His brother and father stood next to him.
He was dressed in a tux, wearing that lazy smile of his.
I reached up and pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
The violinist started to play, and my father looked at me. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
As we made our way down the aisle, I kept my eyes on Caden the entire time. As I drew closer, I saw his beautiful blue eyes sparkle, and I felt that familiar warmth in my chest. My father and I came to a stop. Caden held out his hand, and my dad placed my hand in Caden’s.
Turning, I looked at my father. “Thank you, Daddy.”
He kissed me on the cheek, whispered that he loved me, then sat down beside my mother.
When my eyes met Caden’s, he was grinning.
“You take my breath away, Lili.”
“The same, cowboy.”
He smiled, and we both turned to face the pastor. And under the clear blue sky with the most beautiful mountains surrounding us, Caden and I became husband and wife.
When the pastor finally told him that he could kiss his bride, Caden drew me into his arms, dipped me, then kissed me like he was a starving man. I could hear everyone cheering. When he drew his mouth away slightly, his blue eyes had turned dark with desire.
“You ready to start our future?” he asked.
Laughing, I replied, “Only if you promise it’s going to be a wild one!”
Caden lifted me back up, laughed, and replied, “Oh, you bet it’s going to be wild, Mrs. Wilde.”