Epilogue
It was a sunny afternoon, and almost all of the guests had arrived at Miller’s Bird Farm. They sat lazily under the shade trees, sipping iced tea as they waited for our wedding to begin.
Floss and Bobbie Jo helped me plan an intimate, non-traditional wedding, thrown together almost as fast as Jake and I’d been. It was the largest “small wedding” I’d ever seen, with over a hundred guests. But it was perfect.
Jake and I watched Cowboy, who was dressed in a new pair of Wranglers and a pressed western-style shirt, saunter over to us.
Cowboy eyeballed my body through the short, formfitting white eyelet lace dress. “Hey, beautiful! You look amazing!”
I blushed at his flattery. “Thanks. You do, too.”
He then glanced to Jake and scanned over his pressed slacks and white button-down shirt. “Nice outfit. Are you taking her to the prom?”
Jake glared at him. “Shut up.”
Grinning, Cowboy leaned over to me. “Wow, someone’s in a mood today. Cold feet?”
“Like he’s been walking barefoot through snow,” I said, giggling. I’d never seen Jake nervous before, but I couldn’t help enjoying it.
“How’s the swear jar coming along?” Cowboy asked with a smirk.
“It’s about half full already. I should probably have a five-gallon swear bucket instead.”
Cowboy chuckled. “Well, I wanted to be the first to kiss the new bride,” Cowboy said, hesitating and looking over to Jake, as if he were asking permission.
Jake became more annoyed. “You do know you’re supposed to do that after we’re married, right?”
“Well, yeah,” Cowboy said, “That only applies to traditional weddings. But it’s okay, Jake. If you’re afraid she might back out of marrying you after locking lips with me, then I can’t blame you.” Cowboy winked at me to let me know he was goading Jake.
I smiled, but it faded, along with the color in my cheeks, when Jake said, “Go ahead.”
Cowboy looked as shocked as I was. “What?”
“You heard me,” Jake said. “One kiss. That’s all you get, so you better make it good. Because after that, if you even think of putting another one of your body parts near her, I’m going to see if I can’t straighten out the bone in your nose by breaking it a second time.”
He had to be kidding, right? “Jake, this isn’t funn—”
Cowboy didn’t waste any time. His fingers dug into my waist as he cradled me against him, securing his mouth over mine. My lips froze and I tried to push my hands against his chest, but he held me tighter. He was taking this one kiss, whether I liked it or not.
Satisfied he had done the best job he could on an unwilling partner, he released me from his death grip. I swayed to the left, and Jake had to keep me from falling.
“Oh, give me a break. It wasn’t that good,” Jake insisted angrily.
A proud smile smeared across Cowboy’s face.
“Oh God! I think I’m going to be sick,” I replied, placing my hand over my mouth.
Cowboy’s grin faded and transformed into a smirk on Jake’s mouth. “Do you want to sit for a minute?” Jake asked.
“No, I think I got overheated.”
The frustration and confusion showed on both of their faces. “Okay, it isn’t funny anymore,” Cowboy said, irritated. “Did I make you sick or hot?”
“I’d like to know myself,” Jake muttered.
I groaned, annoyed with both of them. “I’m pregnant, you morons!”
Cowboy’s eyes widened. “Damn. I’m better than I thought.”
Jake’s face paled, and I realized I’d ruined my own surprise. I planned to tell him once we were alone and in bed on our wedding night, not after I had made out with his best friend.
“Hey, ho!” Gina called out. She and Dale walked over with huge smiles, obviously having seen the kiss. “How’s the big, bad wolf treating you?”
“I’m pregnant.”
“Man, that was fast,” Dale said, giving Cowboy a fist bump. “Immaculate conception?”
I sighed with frustration. “It’s Jake’s, dork.”
Momma Bell was within earshot and must’ve had her hearing aid turned up. “Did I hear you say you’re with child, girl?” I nodded, though I should’ve known better. “Well, what a blessing. Congratulations!”
“Thanks.”
“Now, I forgot what I came over to tell you. Oh, I know. My dog, Missy, well, she’s a bit of a hussy…” Momma Bell paused, and I wondered if she was going to add the word “too.” But she didn’t. “Anyway, she got herself in a bind with Dog and had herself a litter of pups. Floss said you took a liking to the lazy hound and thought you might like one.”
“Oh, how sweet. I’d love to have one of Dog’s puppies.”
“She’s the spitting image of her daddy, but I think she’s got some health issues, seizures or something. I left her over there in the shade.”
I followed her finger with my eyes. A small white puppy with speckled ears slept peacefully on her side on the cottage porch where Dog normally lay. As usual, he was nowhere to be found, but the thought of him exchanging places with his narcoleptic daughter come nightfall made me smile.
“Thanks, Momma Bell. She’s perfect.”
“Well, I guess I need to find me a seat for the wedding. It won’t be long now.” She leaned over and whispered into my ear, “My Earl used to rub milk on my boobies for me every night. He said it kept ’em nice and perky. You be sure to have Jakey help you with that.”
I glanced at her deflated breasts with nipples pointed to the ground and realized something. Earl was a con man.
“Uh…yeah, I’ll do that,” I told her.
Jake hadn’t said a word since I blurted out I was pregnant and I started to get a little worried. “Hey, guys, I need to talk to Jake alone for a minute.” Once they all cleared out, I locked eyes with him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“You’re pregnant?” Jake asked, as if he hadn’t heard anything since the first time I announced it. His reaction had been unpredictably scary.
“Jake, are you okay? I’m sorry. I thought you’d be happy about the pregnancy—”
“Sweetheart, of course, I’m happy about it.” He framed my face with his hands and gave me a quick kiss. “Don’t ever think otherwise.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I…well…” He paused, searching for the right words. “Our child won’t have any grandparents,” he said, lowering his head.
I understood his pain, but hoped he’d look at it the same way I did. “This kid isn’t going to miss out on anything. Look around, Jake. Everyone will love this baby. Our child won’t grow up feeling the way I did.”
“I want my child to have everything.”
“It will,” I promised. “It has us…and all of them.”
Something over my shoulder caught Jake’s attention and he grinned. “Since you gave me an early wedding present, then I think it’s only fair I give you one. I want you to meet someone.” He turned me around.
I recognized the man immediately. “Officer Stevens! I didn’t know you were coming. It’s great to see you again. How’s your shoulder?”
“As good as new,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. “I sure am glad everything turned out all right for you, hon. I worried about you after you left the police station that night.”
“That’s sweet. Thank you.” I looked back to Jake. “What, you thought I wouldn’t remember one of the men who took a bullet for me?”
He smiled slyly. “I wasn’t talking about Stevens. I wanted to introduce you to someone he brought with him. Detective Eric Mercer.”
“Who?”
“Turn around and see for yourself.”
I caught a glimpse of him from a distance and gasped. Fifteen years later, I still recognized the policeman who held me in his arms as a child and heroically comforted me in my time of need. No passage of time would allow me to forget his face. My breath caught in my throat, choking me, as I ran to him. He spread his arms to catch me.
The memory of curling into his lap, as he stroked my hair and soothed my broken soul, overwhelmed me. I had carried it with me all these years locked deep within. Now, the trauma I had endured came pouring out, flooding my eyes with droplets of sadness and mourning. I wept inconsolably.
Eric stroked my hair as he had before and whispered into my ear. “I’m sorry. They wouldn’t tell me what happened to you or what foster home you were in. I searched for you over the years, but you kept getting moved around. I never stopped thinking about the little girl who needed me.”
His emotions flowed from him in soft words and gentle gestures. He was still the same mild-mannered, compassionate man who had captured my heart all those years before.
“I’ve wanted to say something to you all these years and never thought I’d get the chance,” I told him. “You couldn’t save my parents, but you’ve always been my hero.”
After a few minutes, my reservoirs dried up, and Eric wiped the smudges of makeup from beneath my eyes with his handkerchief. “So I hear you’re going by Emily these days.”
I nodded. “The FBI suggested I keep the name as part of my new life. The mobsters are dead, but Jake didn’t want to take any chances that someone else from Frankie Felts’s organization would come after me. Besides, I wanted a fresh start. A new name for a new beginning…with Jake.”
We spent a few more moments together, but knew there’d be plenty of time to talk after the wedding. He went to mingle with the other guests, promising to save me a dance. Feeling more at peace than I had in years, I stood alone, looking out at all the guests in attendance.
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.
Dale and Ox sat together, grinning and laughing with their gaydar meters fully in sync. Judd showed Gina his size fifteens, and I had no doubt she’d be showing him her double Ds later. Cowboy stroked his own ego by hitting on every girl within a twenty-yard radius, offering them what he called “southern hospitality.” Bobbie Jo kept the children entertained. Hank and Floss seated guests, welcoming them, as they had done with me.
“Emily!” Jake shouted. “Don’t move!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked, though I knew the moment I caught the scent. “Oh God. Where is it?”
“Right beside you,” he said, getting ready to lunge at me.
“Jake, if you tackle me in this wedding dress, you’re going to marry yourself today. Besides, you could hurt the baby.”
“Shit. What do you want me to do, then?”
“It’s a watermelon snake! Get your gun and shoot the damn thing like a normal person.”
Jake grinned. “God, I love you,” he said, as he reached down into his boot, pulled out a .22 caliber handgun, and shot the snake in the head. Its body thrashed and twitched. Because Jake wasn’t about to let me chop it into pieces and set it on fire, I settled for moving away from it.
Junior walked over, grinning. “You two going to stand around shooting things, or do you want to get married?”
Jake winked at me. “Emily, you’ve got two minutes to get your ass down the aisle before I come looking for you.”
“Three would be better.”
“Two…or else,” Jake threatened as he made his way to the preacher.
I reached for Junior’s hand. “Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it.”
“Emily, it’s an honor,” he replied, lacing my arm through his as his eyes glossed over. “I didn’t get to walk my little girl down the aisle.”
Glossy-eyed, I smiled up at him. “Neither did my dad.”
Moments later, I stood with Jake, our hands linked under the open sky as the preacher united us as a couple. He spoke of love, and everyone smiled. He spoke of honor, and everyone swelled with pride. He spoke of forsaking all others, and everyone glared suspiciously at Cowboy.
When a gust of wind whipped across the pasture, it began snowing dandelion seeds, as if God had blown them just for us. Floss and I exchanged knowing glances, and I caught Jake watching me with adoring eyes.
He didn’t wait for his prompt. Jake kissed me, his mouth sweetly caressing mine. The kiss made me dizzy, but Jake steadied me with his firm hands and placed a protective hand over my stomach. He lingered at my lips, making my heart skip a beat.
“Jake, you’re supposed to wait until the preacher says ‘you may now kiss the bride.’”
“Why?” Jake whispered. “What does it matter?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s against the rules.”
“So what,” he said shrugging and smiling lightly. “Rules are made to be broken.”
I laughed and threw my arms around his neck. “Then you’re in for a shitload of trouble!”