by Emily March
“But you’re committing to school.”
“If you’re committing to the band.”
“Under the terms I outlined?”
She pulled away, not entirely out of his arms, but far enough so that she could look up into his face. “I think for the sake of the Circle we should seal it with a kiss, Jackson McBride. A kiss to say goodbye. I don’t think we ever did that. We shouted. We screamed. We slammed doors. We were never nice.”
“No, we weren’t nice. Suing you was downright mean.”
“That one hurt, Jackson.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Sharon. I should not have done that.”
“Music to my ears, McBride.” Her mouth lifted in a bittersweet smile. “So, would she mind, your Caroline?”
“A kiss to say goodbye?” he murmured. “No. I don’t think she’ll mind. She’s a generous woman, my Caroline.”
Sharon reached up and cupped Jackson’s cheek. “She’s a lucky woman. You’re a good man. Better than I deserved. Be happy, Jackson.”
Their lips met. The kiss was brief. It was sweet. It healed something broken.
When Jackson lifted his head, two items on the wall above Caroline’s desk drew his gaze like a magnet. The first was a framed photograph from the Chamber of Commerce of Caroline at the bookstore’s ribbon cutting. She was looking right at the camera. Seemed to be looking right at him. Her sparkling eyes and beaming smile warmed him and welcomed and called to him.
The second was a framed photograph of her store’s sign.
The Next Chapter
Redemption, Texas
Funny. He’d never really paid attention to her logo. An oval encircled the words. Another circle. Welcome home, Jackson.
A few minutes later, as they stepped into the crisp autumn afternoon, Jackson had a smile on his face and more hope in his heart than he’d had in years. Thanksgiving Day had lived up to its name. Sharon had said yes to him.
They arrived at the park to find Caroline chatting with a group of parents watching a gaggle of children playing tag. Jackson introduced Sharon as Coco. As he’d expected, the parents got past the celebrity shine pretty quick and talk turned to a usual topic for November—the Texas high school football playoffs. When the game of tag broke up, Haley begged for Jackson to push her on the swing. “You come, too, Caroline,” she said. “Daddy can push you.”
Caroline glanced at Sharon.
“Mama doesn’t like to swing. It makes her tummy seasick.”
“Actually, Jackson, if you’ll loan me your truck, I think I’ll go on back to the inn. I have a tune circling around my mind. I’d like to work on it while it’s perking.”
“Sure.” He pulled the keys from his pocket and tossed them to her. “Here you go.”
Jackson didn’t let anybody drive his truck, so this unusual response left Caroline gaping at him in shock. But before he could do more than give her a sheepish grin, Haley grabbed their hands and pulled them toward the swing set.
They played for fifteen more minutes before walking home, the three of them hand in hand in hand. Haley said, “This has been the best Thanksgiving. I wish we could have Thanksgiving at your house every year, Caroline.”
Pleasure gleamed in Caroline’s eyes as she met Jackson’s gaze. “That would be lovely.”
“I’m really glad you’re my daddy’s girlfriend.”
Caroline brought her free hand to her chest. To her heart. “Me too, Haley. Me too.”
Jackson blew her a kiss, and a few minutes later he climbed the steps to her front porch happier than he’d been in a very long time.
Welcome home.
They entered the house to find Tucker asleep on Caroline’s couch. Maisy and Celeste were in the kitchen debating whether they’d try cherry or pecan pie next. Angelica barely spared them glance. The Cowboys were down by seven to the Redskins with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter.
Angelica’s loud cheer when the Cowboys intercepted a pass woke Tucker and brought Maisy and Celeste back to the living room. Angelica drew a giggling Haley into a wild dance when the Cowboys scored with seconds on the clock. “Fixin’ to be a tie ball game,” Tucker observed. “We’re going to overtime.”
Jackson watched for a moment, and then shook his head. “Coach should go for two.”
Aghast, Angelica exclaimed, “What? Go for two? You’re crazy. They don’t go for two in the NFL.”
“It’s not against the rules.”
Tucker gave him a disgusted look. “You take the point. Tie the game. Fail to make two and lose the game, your coach’s ass will be grass.”
“I know. I still think they should go for two.”
Caroline observed. “Someone has called a time-out. Something’s going on.”
“Why do you think they should go for two, Daddy?”
“Because he’s crazy,” Maisy observed.
Celeste folded her arms, pursed her lips, and thumped her index finger against them. She winked at Jackson.
For some reason, that made him want to laugh. “Because, Haley, sometimes in life, you put it all on the line and go for the win. Today is Thanksgiving Day.”
Maisy shook her head. “If this were the old days and this were the Aggies playing the Longhorns for a year’s worth of bragging rights, I’d agree with you. But the Cowboys have a possibility of making the playoffs. You can’t risk that.”
“Sure you can. Sometimes, you absolutely should. Because something I’ve learned in the past year or so is that life isn’t always about the safe play. Sometimes, you take the risk. Sometimes, you throw caution to the wind and move to a new place and open a bookstore.”
Now, finally, he’d dragged Caroline’s attention away from the football game.
“Sometimes—even if it means calling an audible—you go for the win. It’s Thanksgiving Day. A little while ago I got a yes to question that is nothing short of a miracle. I am filled with thanksgiving for my friends, my family, and because I’m back in Texas, for football.”
“Amen,” Tucker agreed.
“So it seems only appropriate that since the momentum of the game is going my way, I go with my gut and make my call. Team Jackson is going for two.”
He took hold of Caroline’s hand and went down on one knee. “Caroline, will you marry me?”
Haley gasped. Although his attention was focused on Caroline, Jackson did take note of the reactions from the others in the room. Most importantly, Haley’s eyes lit with excitement. She clasped her hands prayerfully. Tucker grinned and took a sip of his beer. Maisy’s chin dropped, and she covered her mouth with her hands.
Angelica tore her gaze away from the football game where the Cowboys were lined up without a kicker in the backfield. With a downright devilish gleam in her eyes, she winked at him and said, “Score, Jackson. Score.”
* * *
“We could elope,” Jackson suggested as he lay with Caroline in the hammock at one of their favorite places in the canyon, a picnic spot he’d named Sunset Point for obvious reasons. After his public marriage proposal on top of a day spent with a crowd, they’d both desired private time. He’d been the one to suggest Sunset Point. This evening’s sky promised to be a barnburner, and the idea of hiking after the day’s indulgence had appealed to them both. Plus, he’d promised her romance, which also appealed after a marriage proposal that had been anything but romantic.
Not that Caroline was complaining. The moment might not have been romantic, but it had been joyous. Haley’s squeal of delight had been the prettiest music she’d ever heard—and having listened to Jackson sing to her, she’d heard a lot of beautiful music.
“No, we’re not going to elope. Haley would be heartbroken.”
“Okay, you’re right about that. But June? Why do we have to wait until June? That’s a long time away.”
“Quit pouting. It’s hardly any time when it comes to wedding planning. The absolute earliest I’d want to try is April, but Maisy’s been planning her April in Paris trip for over
a year, and I want her to be my maid of honor.”
“What about May?”
“Gillian is going on her honeymoon in May.”
“I thought she’s getting married in February.”
“She is. They’re delaying their honeymoon.”
“Oh.” He turned his head and nibbled her ear. “I don’t want to do that. We will honeymoon in June, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Unless I can talk you into eloping on Saturday.”
“We’re not eloping on Saturday.”
Jackson sighed heavily. “It’s hot here in June.”
Caroline grinned. She could tell from his tone that his heart wasn’t really in this protest, but he’d given her a perfect opening for an idea she’d been mulling during the hike. “I know. So, what would you think about a destination wedding?”
“Honey, I’ll marry you anywhere you want. You’re thinking of a beach somewhere?”
“No, the mountains. Eternity Springs, to be precise. Angelica happened to mention that Celeste had an unexpected cancellation for her honeymoon cottage at Angel’s Rest for the second week of June, and it’s supposed to be a fabulous place to honeymoon. Since so much of your family has property there, it would be convenient.”
“I like it. I like that idea a lot.” He lifted his head and kissed her hard and quick. “Boone showed us pictures of the Angel’s Rest honeymoon cottage when we were designing ours at the Fallen Angel. It’s beyond awesome.”
“So we set the date for that Saturday? I believe it’s the ninth.”
“If this Saturday is out, that Saturday works for me.”
“Good.” Happiness warmed her like the summer sun. “We can drop by the inn on our way back to town tonight and speak to Celeste directly. Wouldn’t want someone else to book it.”
“Tomorrow will be soon enough. Think about it, honey. If Angelica suggested it to you, she won’t let anyone else get the jump on us.”
“True.”
“June ninth. That’s a good day for an anniversary. Wonder what day of the week it’ll be when we celebrate our fiftieth?”
“Our fiftieth wedding anniversary?” Caroline laughed. “What made your mind go there?”
“I don’t know. I’m feeling golden. Seriously. What are the chances that Sharon would have taken a wrong turn in the neighborhood on her way back to the canyon this afternoon and stopped when she saw a house for sale?”
“I can’t believe she knocked on the door and asked to see it.”
“That I can believe. When she has her Coco on, she doesn’t wait for anything. Do you think your neighborhood will adjust all right to having a celebrity on the block?”
“As long as she keeps her grass mowed, it’ll work out just fine.”
“I’ll be sure to add hiring a lawn management service for her to my to-do list.”
“Better put housekeeping at the top of the list,” Caroline advised. “The best lady in town just let her clients know that she’s quitting after Christmas. We have cleaning-lady wars going on in Redemption right now. Wow, Jackson, look at the sky.”
“Talk about golden.”
“It’s like a glimpse into heaven,” she murmured as a dozen shades of gold lit up the western horizon.
“You think Robert is up there wishing you well?”
A swish of evening breeze rustled the fallen leaves upon the ground. A smile ghosted across Caroline’s lips. “I do. You know, I really truly do.”
After that, she and Jackson fell into a companionable silence, watching the sun set behind the rim of Enchanted Canyon on this glorious Thanksgiving Day. He shifted their weight enough to keep the hammock softly swaying. They watched without speaking as the golden sky caught fire in a dramatic burst of vibrant orange and red and scarlet before fading steadily to pink and rose, mauve and purple.
The stars began to pop. Twilight faded toward night and Jackson said, “I’m gonna sing you a song, Caroline.”
“Perfect.” He’d promised romance. She couldn’t think of anything more romantic.
“I’ve debated this more than once since we started seeing each other. I’ve resisted, because I’m sure it’s not original, and I hate like hell to be hokey.”
“You’re never hokey.”
“I’m pretty sure this crosses the line. I could sing one of my own songs, but sometimes, someone else’s lyrics are just right. Someone else’s song fits the moment.”
“Then that’s the song I want to hear.”
“Even if it is hokey and it’s football season in Texas instead of baseball season in Boston?”
Caroline laughed, knowing then what he was going to do. No, it wasn’t original, but he was right. This song was as perfect as the moment. And as the stars at night popped big and bright in the sky above an enchanted canyon deep in the heart of Texas, Jackson McBride sang “Sweet Caroline” to his bride-to-be.
Epilogue
JUNE 8
ETERNITY SPRINGS, COLORADO
“I’m the flower girl and I have a basket that’s going to have rose petals in it and I drop them as I walk up the aisle,” Haley told the boy who was skipping rocks on Hummingbird Lake. “Only it’s not an aisle like in a church because we’re getting married down by the lake. They leave a gap between the chairs, and I walk down that throwing my rose petals. That’s the aisle. And River Dog is gonna be the ring bearer only he’s not carrying the real rings because my Daddy doesn’t trust him not to jump in the lake. River loves water.”
“River is a cool dog,” ten-year-old Reilly Murphy said. “I like him.”
“Thanks.”
“He’s not as cool as my dog, though. Sinatra is the best dog ever. He has blue eyes.”
“Really? I’ve never seen a dog with blue eyes.”
“He’s pretty special.” Generously, Reilly added, “Your mom sings really good. My mom is really excited that she is going to sing at the rehearsal party tonight.”
Haley shrugged. “We will see if she actually does it. She’s been bad about saying she’s going to sing and then not doing it.”
“Does your mom have a dog?”
“No.”
“Maybe she should get one. Having one teaches responsibility.”
Haley shrugged. “She needs someone to do my daddy’s job, first. She doesn’t like anyone he picks to take his place. He’s a fit to be tied.”
Reilly frowned. “What does that mean? I never understood what that means.”
Haley wasn’t exactly sure, either. Her daddy said it when he knew she was around. When he thought she couldn’t hear him, he used words she wasn’t supposed to know. “Is there a spot to find good throwing rocks? We have one of those back home by our pond.”
“Yeah. Come on. It’s just a little ways. I’ll show you.”
Haley glanced back toward the house where Caroline watched her from the front porch. She shouted, “I’m going to get skipping rocks with my new friend. It’s not far.”
“Stay within sight and listen for me,” Caroline called back. “Your dad will be here soon, and we’ll need to start getting ready for the rehearsal.”
“Okay.”
From a rocking chair on the porch of the house she shared with her “bride tribe” at the Callahan family’s compound along the lake, Caroline watched Haley follow the boy along the bank for a short distance. When the children bent and began harvesting a wealth of flat rocks for their game without appearing to be in danger of falling into the chilly water, she relaxed. Haley was a good swimmer, but this water was cold. Besides, eventually, they would begin this wedding rehearsal.
The groom would return along with his best man. The guess was would they bring her bridesmaid back with them? Or had Gillian done a disappearing act?
“Have you heard any more from Jackson?” Maisy asked, stepping outside with a steaming mug of coffee in her hand.
“No.”
“I’m so sorry, Caroline. I feel terrible. This is all my fault.”
“No. Stop it. It
is not your fault.”
“I’m the one who overlooked her bag in our tent while she was busy helping you pack up your gown after the bridal photos. I should have been the one to run back up to Stardance River Camp to retrieve it. I wouldn’t have gotten lost.”
“We don’t know that is what has happened,” Caroline said softly, worriedly.
It was however the best of the possibilities. Gillian had left here three hours ago and should have been back within the hour. They’d begun to worry when she was half an hour late. When phone calls went to voicemail, their worry escalated. Discovering the phone plugged into the charger in Gillian’s bedroom took their concern up another notch.
Gillian was not herself these days. Understandably. She was putting on a brave face, but she wasn’t fooling anybody. It would be hard for any bride who’d been left at the altar only a few months ago to be part of this weekend’s festivities. Caroline had carefully broached the subject of Gillian’s possibly skipping this wedding, assuring her friend that she’d understand, but Gillian wouldn’t hear of it.
But man, she appeared as brittle as glass these days.
“Maybe she just had a flat tire and is waiting for someone to come along and change it for her,” she suggested. “Gillian is not one to get her hands greasy.”
“True. Or ruin her manicure two hours before a big event,” Maisy agreed. “However, it also isn’t like her to go anywhere without her phone.”
Caroline chewed on her lower lip. “This isn’t good.”
“I really don’t think there’s any reason to worry, Caroline. Why don’t you call Jackson again?”
She shook her head. “He said he’d let me know the second he knew anything. He’s tense enough as it is. I don’t want to add to the stress.”
Maisy pursed her lips. “Jackson was cool as a cucumber compared to Tucker. What’s the deal with him and Gillian anyway? They’ve been sniping at each other since we left Texas.”
“I don’t know. I love Tucker, don’t get me wrong, but Jackson’s cousin is—“
