Epilogue
The church was aglow with candlelight, and the heavenly scent of flowers filled the air as Tessa slowly made her way down the aisle. The full skirt of her lace and satin bridal gown swayed gracefully about her hips as she moved ever forward.
She was getting married.
At last, she was getting married.
All around her were her friends and family. They were smiling as she passed them, their gazes warm and approving upon her as they whispered among themselves.
“She looks so lovely.”
“I always knew she’d make a beautiful bride.”
Tessa lifted her gaze to the altar. She could see the reverend waiting for her, Bible in hand. At the end of the aisle and off to the side, with his back to her, stood her future husband.
Tessa smiled. Her mother had been urging her to find a good man and settle down for several years now, and it seemed the time had finally come. Getting married to the man she loved was every woman’s dream, and her groom was her dream man. He was tall and dark and handsome and . . .
Her heartbeat quickened as she reached the end of the aisle. Anticipation quivered through her.
This was her wedding day. She was going to live happily ever after.
Tessa stopped before the minister, who was gazing down at her, his expression serious. The moment had come. She was to be married.
The minister began the ceremony, “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today . . .”
Tessa started to turn, to look up at her future husband as the minister went on. She wanted to gaze into her beloveds eyes and let him know without words just how much she loved him.
“ . . . to join in holy matrimony . . .”
This was the man she had dreamed of. This was the man she’d been waiting for. This was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
“Tessa Sinclair and . . .”
Tessa’s gaze met Jared’s and she smiled serenely. He was so handsome, so strong and powerful—and he was hers.
“Jared Trent,” the minister said.
Tessa’s heart was pounding a frantic rhythm and her pulse was racing, but it had nothing to do with fear. It had everything to do with love. No longer was her dream man a faceless phantom. Jared was real. Jared was her love.
They repeated their vows, each word heartfelt, as they pledged themselves to each other.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister announced. “You may kiss your bride.”
Jared stared down at Tessa and thought she had never looked more beautiful than she did now in her bridal gown. With utmost care and tenderness, he gathered her close and kissed her. His lips moved over hers in a cherishing exchange that sealed the vow he’d just made. Tessa had never known such happiness.
“I love you, Jared,” she whispered when he released her.
He smiled down at her. “I love you, too.”
The music started up then. Tessa took Jared’s arm, and he walked her down the aisle. They looked blissfully happy, and all who’d gathered for the wedding were delighted at the match.
Jared glanced down at his bride as they emerged from the church into the sunlight. He had not known that he could ever be this happy. In the inside pocket of his jacket, he carried his father’s Bible. The weight of it so near to his heart reminded him that there was no greater gift than to love and be loved.
Steve looked down at Julie as Jared and Tessa passed by their pew.
“You aren’t sorry we didn’t have a big wedding like this, are you?” he asked, frowning slightly, worried.
Julie gazed up at her husband and smiled. “Not at all. A wedding was never important to me. What was important to me was marrying the man I love—and I did.”
Her words touched him deeply, and right there in front of everybody, Steve bent to her and gave her a sweet kiss. The day they’d returned to town from tracking the outlaws, he hadn’t even bothered to stop at the boardinghouse and get cleaned up. He had ridden straight to Julie’s house to propose. She’d accepted and had insisted that they go find a justice of the peace right then. Steve had never regretted their haste, and he knew he never would.
“I didn’t know life could be this wonderful,” he told her seriously.
For years before he’d gone to prison, he’d moved from town to town, never staying in one place long enough to make any friends. Now he had Julie, her parents had accepted him without reserve, and Jared had given him the deputy’s job permanently. They would have a good life together. He was going to see to it.
Trace and Elise had looked on in delight as they’d listened to Jared and Tessa exchange their vows.
“Thinking of another wedding, love?” Trace asked.
“I was thinking of several weddings,” she told him, slanting him a conspiratorial smile. She remembered how she’d first met Trace and how she’d bribed him to “marry” her so she could finish investigating the story she’d been writing for the newspaper. “I liked our second wedding the best.”
“So did I,” he agreed.
“Do I get to tell Jared that I told him so?” Elise asked as she watched the couple walk down the aisle on their way out of the church.
“There’s no need. They’ve found each other, and they’re happy. That’s all that matters.”
They started to file from the pew to congratulate the newlyweds.
Della Emerson attended the wedding and watched with pure love in her heart as Tessa and Jared were married. She had never known two more wonderful people. She thanked God for Jared’s and Tessa’s help in her time of trouble and prayed that their life together would be blessed.
It was after dark when Jared and Tessa finally escaped from the reception given by her mother. The house had been crowded with well-wishers, and they’d had a wonderful time enjoying the delicious food and friendship. But they had also been eagerly awaiting the moment when they could escape and be alone together. Any number of times, their gazes had met across the room, and they’d both known that soon, very soon, they would be man and wife in all ways.
“We could go to the jail,” Jared suggested as he drove the carriage to his house.
“Don’t tempt me,” Tessa replied, giving him a very suggestive smile. “I want to disturb your peace tonight, and I’m definitely looking forward to doing some trespassing.”
“So am I,” he said, his voice husky with emotion.
“Can you go a little faster?” Tessa asked, resting her hand on his thigh and smiling when she felt him tense beneath her touch.
Jared just slanted her a devilish grin and slapped the reins on the horse’s back. When they drew to a stop before the house, he climbed down and tied the horse up, then came back to help her out of the carriage. Tessa leaned forward and braced her hands on Jared’s broad shoulders, giving him an unrestricted, enticing view of her bodice. Her breasts swelled temptingly before him, and her body made contact with his as he lifted her down.
Heat jolted through Jared and settled low in his body. Excitement pulsed to life within him at the thought that soon—very soon—she would be his in all ways. He wanted to kiss her right then and there, but he feared that if he did, he wouldn’t be able to control his desire for her until they got inside. She was just too irresistible.
They made their way to the porch, and without saying a word, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her over the threshold.
“Welcome home, Mrs. Trent,” he told her as he kicked the door shut behind them and locked it.
Slowly Jared lowered her to her feet and pulled her to him. His mouth claimed hers in a passionate kiss that spoke of love and need and burning desire. Tessa met him eagerly in that exchange, wanting him to know that she needed him as much as he needed her.
“I love you, Jared,” she whispered when they finally ended the kiss.
Jared’s eyes had darkened with the power of his emotions. He slipped out of his jacket and tie and began to unbutton his shirt. He did not want to waste any time. They had waited long enough for this moment.
Tessa felt decidedly brazen. She went to him and brushed his hands aside, finishing the buttons for him and then caressing the hard, golden width of his chest. He started to grab her and kiss her, but she gave a low laugh and took his hand to lead him toward the bedroom.
She was smiling, for nothing was going to interrupt them this time. Steve and Tom were in charge of things around town tonight. Jared was hers, alone.
“I need your help,” she said softly as she went to the bed and then turned back to face him, leaning slightly against it. She gave him a sensuous look as she lifted her skirts to give him a view of her legs. “Can you slip my garter off?”
Jared was staring at the beauty of her legs, bared to him for the first time. He’d always known they would be attractive, but he hadn’t dreamed they would be this beautiful. He went to her and knelt before her. He ran one hand up her thigh, caressing the silken length, then paused to toy with the garter. He lifted his gaze to hers, and she could see the fiery passion burning there. Ever so slowly he slipped the garter lower and lower. His hands trailed fire upon her willing flesh, and she gasped at the erotic sensation. When at last he’d slipped the garter from her leg, she shivered in anticipation of what was to come.
“Was I trespassing?” he asked, rising to stand before her.
“No, you have my full permission,” she said with a smile as she reached out to help him slip his shirt off.
Jared stood still, letting Tessa have her way with him. She drew back and reached up to take off her veil. He took her by the shoulders and turned her so he could help remove the hairpins that held the veil in place in back. When she’d set it aside, he began to work at the buttons at the back of her gown.
Tessa waited in breathless anticipation as Jared unfastened the gown, and she gasped as it fell from her shoulders. She stood before him clad only in her chemise and petticoats. Turning to face him, she could see the hunger in his expression. She slowly and deliberately slipped off her voluminous petticoats and then went to him, not wanting to wait any longer to love him.
Jared gave a low growl as he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. He lay with her upon the welcoming softness, savoring her nearness. All thoughts of reality vanished as they were caught up in a world of love.
They came together in a rush of desire—wanting, needing, loving. Each caress, each kiss took them closer and closer to the sweetness of love’s perfection.
Tessa was an innocent, and Jared knew he had to be gentle with her. With the utmost care, he taught her the beauty of loving and introduced her to the ecstasy that would be theirs forever. She proved an apt and eager pupil, responding to him fully and without reserve.
When the last of their clothing had, at long last, been stripped away, Jared moved to make her his own. Tessa cried out her love for him and trembled with the force of the emotions that filled her as his body joined with hers.
They were one.
A long time later, they lay together enjoying the peace and beauty of the moment.
“Are you sorry we had the big wedding, Jared?” Tessa asked as she raised herself up on one elbow to look at him so she could read his expression. “I know you wanted to elope.”
“I only wanted to elope so I could make love to you sooner,” he told her with a sensual smile.
“If I had known what I was missing a few weeks ago, I would have agreed to elope with you in a minute.”
Jared gazed at her lovingly. He lifted one hand to gently touch her cheek. “Every time I think about what you’ve suffered . . .”
“It’s over now,” she said softly, thinking of Michael and missing him. “You were wonderful, Jared. You caught Will and his gang. They’ll never hurt anyone else, thanks to you, and you saved me from Boyd, too. Sometimes I think you’re my guardian angel.”
He smiled up at her. “I think I like being your husband better.”
Jared drew her down to him and kissed her. They loved long into the night, sharing the exquisite beauty of their passion and desire.
Dawn found them wrapped in each other’s arms, watching the sun rise. The eastern horizon was a breathtaking rainbow of pink and gold and glowing vibrant light, and they knew their future together would be as beautiful as the beginning of this new day.
They would live happily ever after.