“Another reason why I’ve fallen in love with you,” he said.
“Because I’m a cheap date?” She laughed.
“No, because you are a planner, and you think of others all the time.” He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed each one. “And, honey, you didn’t have to put the phone call on speaker.”
“Yes, I did, or else I would have had to tell you what she said. Why waste what time we’ve got alone in this back seat repeating conversations? Except this one important conversation—I haven’t told you about Skyler’s last call. The short version is this.” She told him all about Ray Don, the courthouse marriage, the pregnancy, and that they wanted to visit over Christmas. “You got a problem with that?”
“No, ma’am. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy. Now let’s talk about us. I told you that you could have my cabin, but I would really like for you to move into the big house with me when we get back. If you’re not comfortable doing that, I understand, but . . .”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I thought you’d never ask. Let’s get out of this big city and go home.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned. “You’ve made me a very happy man, Jayden Bennett, by calling Piney Wood home. For the first time since getting out of the service, I’m at peace with the world and within my heart. It’s a wonderful feeling and I have you to thank for it.”
“Home isn’t really a place.” She laid her head on his shoulder. “It’s a feeling, and as long as I’m with you, I’m home.”
“We should write that down and frame it for our children to see,” he told her.
“Oh, we’re going to have children?” She raised her head and stared into his face.
“I thought four would be a good number,” he answered.
“I always wanted six,” she said. “Are we going to have these kids before or after we stand before the preacher and say our vows?”
“Are you proposing to me?” He grinned.
“Maybe.” She leaned forward a few inches and kissed him on the cheek. “If I am, what would your answer be?”
“It would be ‘Yes, ma’am, thank you. I love you. Just tell me where to be,’” he answered.
“Well, since I was raised not to be so brassy as to propose to a guy, you’ll have to take care of that, but my answer would be ‘Yes, I love you, and is Christmas too soon?’” She smiled.
“Not only do I love you, but I’m in love with you.” He could see ahead forty years and the future looked beautiful.
Epilogue
December 18
Jayden was totally exhausted from having so much company for the past week, but she wouldn’t have changed a single moment or memory for a million dollars.
All of her original girls had stayed in their old cabins for most of the week. Mary and Henry had arrived yesterday, and Novalene and Diana had flown in that morning for the weekend. Henry and Mary were going to hold down the place for Elijah and Jayden while they flew to Panama City Beach for a short three-day honeymoon after the wedding.
The girls had insisted that Jayden stay with them in Daydream Cabin the night before. After all, it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride on the day of the wedding.
The ceremony was to take place in the dining hall at two that afternoon, and the girls had done a fabulous job of decorating with poinsettias, holly, and even a few sprigs of mistletoe that they had hung from the ceiling. Jayden was helping Mary put the frosting on the three-tiered wedding cake when Tiffany got her by the hand.
“It’s time for Ashlyn to do your makeup, and for us to get you ready,” she said.
“Go on. These other girls can help me finish up here.” Mary shooed her out of the building with a flick of her wrist.
“Come back even more beautiful,” Novalene called out as the three girls ushered Jayden outside.
“We walked down to Dynamite’s grave and put out poinsettias for him this morning,” Carmella said. “I didn’t see any bugs, but I did spot a pile of horse poop, and we all wondered where Lauren wound up. Remember how she got so mad when she stepped in it that last day she was here? We’d have googled her, but we couldn’t remember her last name. I’m glad we stayed the whole time and got some help.”
“Me too,” Jayden said, “and before things get too crazy, let me say that I’m proud of every one of you and the way you have turned your lives around. I can see the pride you have in yourselves and that makes me happy.”
“Thank you.” Ashlyn dabbed her eyes. “But don’t say anything else all sentimental or we’ll all be crying and ruining our makeup.”
“All right, changing the subject here.” Tiffany opened the door and stood back to let the others go inside before her. “We’re glad you saved our caps and we get to wear them to the ceremony.”
“Well, I did do a little decorating on them.” Jayden led them into the bedroom and pointed to their cots. The caps had been taken to the cleaners, and then she’d put a puff of illusion at the back and glittered the clouds on the front. “After all, my bridesmaids should have a little bling to go with their pretty velvet dresses.”
When the girls finished with her makeup and hair and she was dressed, Jayden looked at her reflection in the floor-length mirror Mary had brought into the cabin, and gasped. “My Lord, I look . . .”
“Beautiful,” Skyler said from the door.
“You made it!” Jayden squealed and hurried across the floor, then stopped dead and gasped again. “And sweet Jesus, girl. Are you having a baby or an elephant?”
“Twins,” Skyler laughed. “Keeping that from you has been tough, but I wanted to surprise you. Looks like I did. Identical girls. Ray Don says he hopes they’ll be more like you than me. He doesn’t think he could handle three of me in the same house, but I’m a lot easier to live with now. Matter of fact, I even like the new me better.”
“That’s because you’re happy.” Jayden hugged her and then stepped back. “I felt a baby kick me.”
“Which one? Harriet or Emma?” Skyler asked. “One’s named for our grandmother, and one for Ray Don’s granny.”
“I don’t know, but I’ll love both of them, and”—she leaned down to whisper for Skyler’s ears only—“they’ll have a cousin next June.”
“Does Elijah know?” Skyler asked.
“Of course, but so far, he’s the only one,” Jayden said.
Carmella poked her head inside the door. “Five minutes until the ceremony starts.”
“I’m going to go on and get a seat,” Skyler said. “I’ll see you there.”
“I’ll be the one in the white dress, and Elijah will be the handsome one waiting for me,” Jayden said.
Carmella held her head up high as she went into the building first. Ashlyn adjusted her cap just slightly and followed her inside. Tiffany handed Jayden a bouquet of poinsettias and baby’s breath and gave her a peck on the cheek before she straightened her back and went inside the dining hall.
“This is it,” Jayden muttered as she smoothed the front of her formfitting white velvet dress and tightened her grip on the bouquet. She glanced over her shoulder at the Daydream Cabin, closed her eyes, and sent up a brief prayer of thanks for everything.
“Family, both biological and adopted, and friends and the man I love. Life don’t get no better than this,” she whispered as she opened her eyes and took her first step toward a beautiful future.
Dear Reader,
A year ago, my husband, Mr. B, our son, Lemar, and I took a road trip to Texas to research new books. This is the first of the three books that we all brainstormed and talked about. By the time we got back home, I could clearly see Piney Wood in my mind—and knew a little about Jayden and Elijah. However, it wasn’t until I started writing the story that Jayden and Elijah began to confide in me about their insecurities, and I began to really get to know them. Sometimes they even popped into my dreams to tell me more of their stories. Now the story is told, the end is written, and I miss those ornery girls and t
he new friends I made with these characters.
As always, I have many folks to thank for helping me take this story from a rough idea to the book you are holding in your hands today. Hold your applause until the end, please, because the list is long: to my agent, Erin Niumata, and my agency, Folio Literary Management, thank you for taking a chance on a nobody author all those years ago and helping me build a career; to my Montlake editor, Alison Dasho, thank you for continuing to believe in me; to my developmental editor, Krista Stroever, bless your heart for drawing every emotion out of me and then pushing me for a little more; to all my team members at Montlake, from copyeditors and proofreaders to cover designers, know that you are appreciated and loved; to Mr. B, who is willing to do whatever is needed so I can continue to write, I love you with all my heart and soul; to my son, Lemar Brown, for all the brainstorming sessions; to all my readers and fans, y’all are the best in the whole universe, and your support means the world to me.
A very special thanks to Tiffany Samis, who won a contest and loaned me her grandparents’ names for this book. I couldn’t have written the book without Henry and Mary.
And now let me hear the applause all the way to Oklahoma!
As always, I hope all of you enjoy reading this story as much as I did writing it.
Until next time,
Carolyn Brown
About the Author
Photo © 2015 Charles Brown
Carolyn Brown is a New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a RITA finalist with more than one hundred published books to her name. They include women’s fiction and historical, contemporary, cowboy, and country music romances. She and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma, where everyone knows everyone else, including what they are doing and when—and they read the local newspaper on Wednesdays to see who got caught. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren and great-grandchildren to keep them young. For more information, visit www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
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