“Wake up, Hopey.”

She opened her eyes and it took her a minute to remember where she was. Her dad set a mug of coffee on the nightstand and sat down on the bed with a smile. “The big day is finally here. How are you feeling?”

She smiled and sat up and held her arms out to him. He wrapped her in a hug and she breathed him in. He smelled like her childhood. “I’m happy, Dad. This is the best day of my life.”

He nodded. “That’s what I wanted to hear. That’s how it should be. It’s the way I felt the day I married your mom.”

Hope nodded and buried her face in his shoulder. “I wish she were here.”

“So do I, sweetheart, but I know she’s smiling down on us today, and I know that coming here was the right thing to do. It feels good, your mom feels close.”

Hope wiped her eyes and smiled. “It does feel good. I’m glad we came. And thank you. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done to make it possible.”

“I told you, anything for my little girl. I missed too much of your life. I’m lucky that you let me back into it and I’ll do whatever it takes to see you happy.”

She chuckled. “You’ve certainly gone above and beyond this week.” She couldn’t believe how he’d pulled everything off so quickly and so smoothly. Chance had put him in touch with Ben, who ran the resort, and between them, they managed to replicate everything she’d had set up for the wedding in Montana. The ceremony would take place in the little chapel by the lake. The reception was to be held in the largest, most luxurious vacation home in the area—which Ben told them had fortuitously had a canceled booking just last week. Ben had also promised them the same menu as they’d had at home. The flowers had proved more difficult, but her dad had ended up having them flown down in a jet last night. He’d hired an extra jet to get everyone down here and had worked with Ben to find accommodation for everyone. Everything was set, as if it had been planned this way for months.

He nodded. “I’ve loved every minute of it.” He chuckled. “I even considered retiring early so I could switch careers and become a wedding planner.”

She laughed. “You should, if you enjoy it. You’d be the best in the business.”

“No, I realized that most of the enjoyment came from the fact that I was doing it for you. But now it’s done, we’re all set. All that’s left now is to get up, get on with it, and enjoy every minute of this day.”

“Don’t worry. I plan to.”

“Good, then don’t waste any of it in bed. I’ll be out on the deck, bring your coffee when you’re ready.”

Hope smiled when he’d gone. They were so much closer now than they’d been in years, but he still wasn’t comfortable seeing her in her PJs. She got up and pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt. Her phone buzzed with a text. It was Chance.

Morning, honey. I don’t know if we’re not supposed to even talk this morning, but I just want to tell you that I love you. I miss you. And if you’ve got nothing better to do, I’ll see you at the altar at 2pm.

She laughed and texted him back.

It’s a date. I’ll see you there. I love you, Chancey bear.

His reply came back a few seconds later.

This bear wants his honey.

She smiled.

And in a few hours, he’ll have her and then he’ll be stuck with her for life.

It took a while longer this time.

I hope we get the chance to live a very long and happy life.

She laughed.

Me too. I love you. You do what you need to this morning, and I’ll see you at two.

Thanks, honey. Don’t be late.

She nodded and took her phone out with her onto the deck to join her dad. They were staying in the same cabin she and Chance had when they visited. Her dad looked up. “I love it here. I wish I’d listened when Anne kept asking me to move here with you. I’m sorry, Hope. Things could have been so different.”

Hope shook her head. “Everything has worked out as it should. We’re here now, and we’re happy, that’s what matters.”

He sighed. “You’re right. We can’t change what’s gone.”

“Nope. All we can do is make the most of what is.”

~ ~ ~

Chance put his phone back in his pocket with a smile. He’d missed Hope so much last night. If it were up to him, the spending the night before the wedding apart would have been one tradition he’d have ignored. They’d talked about it, but it was important that Hope should have that time with her dad, and he understood that. So, she was in a cabin on one side of the resort and he was in another with some of the guys. She’d told him he should do whatever he needed to do, as well. He’d hung out with the guys last night and had a few beers. It’d been weird and cool at the same time for him to see Mason chatting with Pete and Jack. Shane and Smoke had hit it off immediately. Beau and Gabe had latched onto each other and gotten deep into a conversation about real estate and taxes, of all things. The matchup that had made him smile the most had been Carter and Dan. They’d sat in a corner talking for ages, and, surprisingly enough, it was Dan who was doing most of the talking.

The guy time hadn’t been what Hope meant when she’d told him to do whatever he needed, though. She’d meant he should go to the cemetery if he wanted. He’d thought he wasn’t going to go. He didn’t feel the same anymore. He still loved Chloe, part of him always would, but it wasn’t the same now. Still, this morning he was feeling that he wanted to go. It wouldn’t be right to come back here, to get married here and not acknowledge her somehow. He didn’t feel guilty; he was at peace, but everyone else he loved in the world would be there today, at the little chapel by the lake where he and Chloe had thought they’d get married. He wanted to include her in some small way. He nodded to himself and went back inside.

“What’s the plan?” asked Mason. “Do we want to get you fed? It’s too early to get ready yet, right? Is there anything you want to do?”

Chance nodded. “There is, but it’s something I need to do alone.”

“Whatever you need, bro. Do you want me to come with you and wait somewhere nearby?”

Chance’s eyes pricked with tears. “You know where I’m going?”

Mason sighed. “You thought I didn’t?”

Chance shrugged, not trusting himself to speak.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah. I’m not tearing up about going to the cemetery; I’m tearing up because a big dumb cowboy like you knows me so well.”

Mason punched his shoulder. “It takes one to know one.”

Chance nodded. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be back.”

“Okay.”

When he got to the cemetery, Chance smiled when he saw the fresh flowers. Of course, Renée would have been here in the last day or two. He set his own bunch down on the ground while he made room for them. He spotted the note, inside a ziplock bag taped to the headstone by the flower pot. It had his name on the front. He took it out with trembling hands, wondering what Renée might want him to read here that she couldn’t tell him later.

Chance,

This is probably a weird thing to do, but you already know I’m weird. I didn’t want to bring Chloe up with you today, if she wasn’t already on your mind. I know you’re focused on Hope and on your wedding, and that’s as it should be. But if you’re reading this, then I guessed right, and you had to come here today. Please, don’t be sad; I’ve been thinking about this a lot since I met Hope. I love her. I hope the three of us will be family going forward, I really do. What I don’t want is for you to feel sad anymore. I found a new way to look at things, and I hope it might help you, too. You made Chloe happy. I know it broke your heart to lose her, but her life, short as it was, was a great one because of you. You should be happy about that, you should be proud of that. The only reason your pain has been so great is because the love you and Chloe shared was so great. Focus on that. Most women won’t know in a whole lifetime the kind of love Chloe knew in her few years with you. You are such a good man that you’re going to be the love of two women’s lives. Your life with Hope begins today, but your life with Chloe should end today, too. Let her go. Wish her farewell and never look back. That chapter of your life is over. Go ahead and start your new one.

Love,

Renée

Chance finished reading and nodded. She was right. It was time to turn the page. He picked up the flowers he’d brought. Pink carnations. He’d read about them somewhere a while back; they were supposed to mean I’ll never forget you. It seemed right. Once he’d arranged them next to the others, he sat back on his heels and closed his eyes against the tears that wanted to fall.

“I’ve come to say goodbye, honey. I’m getting married today.” He swallowed—hard, but the tears started to escape anyway. “I’ve come to tell you that I’m happy now and I hope you understand that I don’t feel bad about that. I think you’d want me to be happy. I’m sorry I blamed you all these years. I said I couldn’t be happy because of you—because you were gone. That wasn’t true. I wasn’t happy because I wouldn’t allow myself to be. I’ve figured that out since I met Hope. You’d like her. I know you would. I hope you’re happy, wherever you are. I hope if you meet a guy up there you won’t put yourself through the same kind of stupid shit I did. I hope you know that I still love you. A part of me will always love you, but it’s time for me to live my life with Hope.” He nodded and stared at her headstone. He couldn’t see her face anymore. All he saw was Hope, she was smiling back at him, encouraging him.

He got to his feet and stood there for a few moments longer, but it didn’t feel the same. Chloe was gone, and he knew he should go, too. He backed away from the headstone and then stopped and blew her a kiss before he turned and walked away. He slowed when he spotted a figure sitting on a bench by the gate. It was Max Douglas—Gramps, as they’d all called him as kids. Emma’s grandfather. He smiled when Chance got close.

“I thought I’d find you here.”

“You were looking for me?”

Gramps nodded.

“Why?”

“I thought you might want to talk to someone who doesn’t matter.”

Chance smiled. “You matter, Gramps. You were always there for all of us. You helped me out of enough scrapes back then.”

“Maybe so, but what I think doesn’t matter. What I say doesn’t matter. Anything that’s on your mind and in your heart right now, will matter to the people who are in your everyday life. You can’t speak freely to them without fear of how it will affect them. I just wanted to be around in case you wanted to get anything off your chest before you get married.”

Chance went to sit down on the bench beside him. “Thanks, Gramps. I think I’m good. I came to say goodbye. I’m okay to let Chloe go. I’m okay with it.”

Gramps nodded. “I’m glad to hear it, and you can dismiss me as a sentimental old fool.”

“No. I think this was an awesome thing to do, and I’ll never forget it. Thank you.”

They sat there in silence for a few minutes until Gramps chuckled and said, “You can go anytime you like, you don’t need to sit here to make me feel better because I got it wrong.”

Chance met his gaze. “That’s not what I’m doing. I’m plucking up the courage to talk to you about the one last thing that’s bothering me.”

“Ah, in that case, take your time, but don’t take too long, we’ve both got a wedding to be at in a little while.”

Chance smiled. “Yeah, I’d better get going soon, but can I ask you something?”

“Fire away.”

“You were married for a long time, right?”

“Yep, a very long time and I still miss her every day.”

“Does it still hurt?”

“Yeah, not like it did at first, you learn to live with it, but the pain never goes away.”

Chance nodded. “Thank you.”

“Do you want to explain?”

“It’s just, Alice said that Hope’s name is an acronym, that the letters stand for: Hold On, Pain Ends. I felt like I should be happy when I heard that, but I wasn’t. It made me feel bad because my pain hasn’t ended, even though I have Hope now. And more than that, I don’t want the pain to end; that’d be like saying I don’t care anymore and I do still care, even if it’s not like it was.”

Gramps smiled and grasped his shoulder. “It’s okay, son. I get it. There comes a point where the pain is the only real thing you have left of them. You don’t want to let it go, and you don’t have to. It just doesn’t rule your life anymore.”

Chance nodded and stared out at the rows of headstones.

“How about this?” asked Gramps. Chance turned back to meet his gaze. “Instead of Hope meaning: Hold On, Pain Ends, how about Hold On, Pain Eases?”

Chance smiled. “That’s it. That’s perfect. Thanks, Gramps.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.” He chuckled. “I’m glad I don’t have to leave here feeling like I wasted both our time.”

“No, now you can leave here knowing that you just gave me the best wedding gift of them all.”

“Good, because it’s the only one I got you. Come on, you’d better go get dressed and get to the church.”