I smiled. “After everything we’ve been through, Neely Kate, this is nothing.”
“This is your wedding, Rose,” she said, with an exasperated look. “It’s only the most important day of your life.”
“No,” I said, with a knowing smile, “the most important day of my life was the day I saw myself dead.”
She shuddered. “Don’t even say that.”
But it was true. Everything had changed that day at the DMV. My life, which hadn’t been much of a life back then, had expanded to include so much good and so much bad, it was busting at the seams with it. But it was like James had said. I wouldn’t give it up for anything, because the journey here had brought so many people to me. It had brought me so much love.
Joe arrived with Hope, Mikey, and Muffy at around ten so I could nurse the baby and get her ready. He and Mikey changed and then took Muffy outside to welcome the guests.
And just like that, it was time. Neely Kate and I were gathered in the kitchen with the kids, looking out the window at the guests, seated in their white folding chairs, and Jonah, standing stood under the elegant wooden arch Joe had made for Neely Kate and Jed’s wedding. Joe stood beside him, Jed a couple of steps to his left, holding Daisy.
Then the music began to play—our cue—and we sent Ashley and Mikey out the door, Mikey skipping a little with excitement as he held Muffy’s leash.
Ashley scattered flower petals in the grass, and Mikey tried to keep up with Muffy as she ran straight to Joe.
It was Neely Kate’s turn to enter the procession next, but she stopped short of opening the door. Looking deep into my eyes, she said, “You are a beautiful bride, Rose, and you deserve a beautiful life. Dora would be so proud of you.”
I glanced down at Hope, who was cradled in my arms, before looking back up at her. “Thank you.”
She kissed my cheek, then walked out the door, leaving me and Hope alone.
After Neely Kate joined Ashley in front of the arch, the music changed, and I carried Hope out the door, both of us moving toward our future.
It struck me that Neely Kate was right. Most brides were nervous, but I wasn’t. Then again, Joe had proven himself to me time and time again. He’d been there in good times and bad. He was my partner in all ways, the kind of man who would change a diaper but also pin me to a wall to pleasure me. The kind of man who would always, always be there for me and for our children.
As I walked toward him, I did so with a full heart and a huge smile. My heart and my life were intertwined with Joe Simmons, and they always would be.
Joe watched me, beaming and with tears in his eyes. The sun hit his hair, his copper highlights glowing.
I handed Hope to Neely Kate, then turned to Joe.
He took my hands and pulled me to him, staring deeply into my eyes.
“You are the most beautiful woman in the world, Rose Gardner, and I’m so grateful you’re about to be my wife.”
I laughed with tears of my own. “And that will be the last time you ever call me that.” Then I added, “Just to be clear, I meant my name, not wife.”
Everyone laughed with us, and it felt so good to be surrounded by love and happiness. By this life we had built.
My mind and heart were so wrapped up in Joe, in the commitment we were making, that the ceremony itself passed in a blur. We’d written our own vows, but I completely forgot mine. All I could think about was that I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him, so I told him so.
When the ceremony was over, Joe grabbed my face with both hands and kissed me with a tenderness and passion that stole my breath. Jonah laughed. “Um. I think we missed a step. I now pronounce you man and wife.”
“That fits,” Joe said with a grin. “We’re used to doin’ things backward.”
Jonah graced us with a huge smile and held out his hands. “Now go and live a rich and joyful life.”
This had all started when I’d had that vision and seen myself dead, and part of me was tempted to force one now, to make sure Joe and I had that rich and joyful life, but I stopped myself. Life was messy and chaotic and full of surprises, both the good and the bad. I wanted to experience it to its fullest, not sneak to the back of the book to see how it ended. Sometimes the uncertainty of life was what made it so beautiful.
So I smiled up at Joe, the adoration and love in his eyes stealing my breath away, and I took a leap of faith. It may have all started when I saw myself dead, but now it was time to live.
And what a beautiful life it would be.
The End
What now? If you haven’t already, check out the Carly Moore series.
A Cry in the Dark
Carly Moore #1
A woman on the run witnesses a murder in a small Tennessee town. Can she figure out the killer before he ties up loose ends?
Looking for a darker mystery? Try the Magnolia Steele series.
Center Stage
Magnolia Steele #1
They say you can’t go home again, but Magnolia’s desperate when she shows up on her mother’s front porch. Soon she’s the number one suspect in a murder, and now she has to clear her name… unless the serial killer catches up to her first.
Looking for a humorous romance series? Try Asheville Brewing.
Any Luck at All
Asheville Brewing #1
When four siblings inherit their grandfather’s brewery, they find love and purpose in Asheville, North Carolina.
Acknowledgments
Wow. I can’t believe we’re here at the end.
Twenty-Eight and a Half Wishes was the first book I published, the third book I completed. While my beta readers LOVED Rose, agents did not, so I indie published it myself in July, 2011.
Rose has come a long way since that first book. In fact, I wrote it as a standalone. I had no intentions of making it a series until I pitched the book to an agent at a conference while it was still in revision. She liked my “elevator pitch” and told me to come up with plots for three more books. Then she asked me to send her the book.
I never heard from her again.
But that’s okay, because I truly believe Rose wouldn’t have been as successful if a publisher had bought it. And it wouldn’t have two series, a companion series (Neely Kate), and a spin-off series (Carly Moore).
Rose Gardner has sixteen books, four novellas, several bonus/short pieces, eleven USA Today, six New York Times, and three Wall Street Journal titles. She’s been translated into Turkish, Czechoslovakian, Croatian, German, and Lithuanian. I have given away over two million copies of Twenty-Eight and Half Wishes, and the Rose Gardner Mystery and Investigations series have sold 1.8 million copies. Twenty-Nine and a Half Reasons has sold nearly three hundred thousand.
She’s had a good run.
But all good things must come to an end.
I always said I’d write Rose until I got tired of writing her or she stopped growing, but the truth is I felt like it was time to let her have her happy ending.
They say you should always walk away leaving readers wanting more, and some would argue she went on too long. I think she’s ended just right.
I know some of my readers only read Rose, and I’ve come to terms with that. If you’re one of those readers, I hope you try one of my other series. Carly Moore is a good place to go next, especially since she was introduced in Rose’s world. If you liked the humor of the first Rose books, then you might enjoy my Summer Butler Mystery series or one of my rom-com series, Asheville Brewing, Bachelor Brotherhood, or my Wedding Pact series.
Many people helped me bring this series to life, but Rose wouldn’t have come this far without my developmental editor, Angela Polidoro. She came on board with Thirty and a Half Excuses, and she’s edited almost every book I’ve written since. It helped that she became invested in Rose’s world too. She’s given me cherished advice. Shared my joy when Thirty-Three and a Half Complications hit the New York Times list. Comforted me when I was overwhelmed and upset by readers. And whe
n I told her that It All Falls Down was the last Rose book, she assured me that it was a good time to end, and my career wouldn’t be over.
I’ve said that Rose is over for now, and I do have plan for if I ever get the urge to revive her, but honestly, I doubt I will. I’d like to imagine Rose and Joe out on their farm with Hope, Ashley, and Mikey, and at least one more baby, possibly two. I might write some bonus content from time to time and include it in my newsletter, but we’ll see about that too.
I hope Rose has given you as much joy as she's given me. Thank you for taking this journey with me.
Also by Denise Grover Swank
Carly Moore
A Cry in the Dark
Her Scream in the Silence
One Foot in the Grave
Buried in Secrets
The Lies She Told
June 2021
Asheville Brewing
Rom com series
Cowritten with A.R. Casella
Any Luck at All
Better Luck Next Time
Getting Lucky
Bad Luck Club
(April 2021)
Rose And Neely Kate reading order:
Family Jewels
Trailer Trash
For the Birds
Hell in a Handbasket
In High Cotton
Up Shute Creek
Come Rain or Shine
Dirty Money
When the Bough Breaks
It All Falls Down
Rose Gardner Investigations
Family Jewels
For the Birds
Hell in a Handbasket
Up Shute Creek
Come Rain or Shine
When the Bough Breaks
It All Falls Down
Neely Kate Mystery
Trailer Trash
In High Cotton
Dirty Money
Magnolia Steele Mystery
Center Stage
Act Two
Call Back
Curtain Call
Darling Investigations
(Humorous mystery romance)
Deadly Summer
Blazing Summer
Rose Gardner Mysteries
Novellas are bonus material
TWENTY-EIGHT AND A HALF WISHES
TWENTY-NINE AND A HALF REASONS
THIRTY AND A HALF EXCUSES
FALLING TO PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-ONE AND A HALF REGRETS
THIRTY-TWO AND A HALF COMPLICATIONS
PICKING UP THE PIECES (novella)
THIRTY-THREE AND A HALF SHENANIGANS
ROSE AND HELENA SAVE CHRISTMAS (novella)
RIPPLE OF SECRETS (novella)
THIRTY-FOUR AND A HALF PREDICAMENTS
THIRTY-FIVE AND A HALF CONSPIRACIES
THIRTY-SIX AND A HALF MOTIVES
SINS OF THE FATHER (novella)
The Wedding Pact
(Humorous contemporary romance)
THE SUBSTITUTE
THE PLAYER
THE GAMBLER
THE VALENTINE (short story)
Bachelor Brotherhood
Spinoff of The Wedding Pact series
ONLY YOU
UNTIL YOU
ALWAYS YOU
From the Ashes
Paranormal Women’s Fiction
Let it All Burn
Bluebird Bay
Women’s fiction
Cowritten with Christine Gael
Finding Tomorrow
Finding Home
Finding Peace
Young adult contemporary romance
ONE PARIS SUMMER
Off the Subject Series
(New adult contemporary romance)
AFTER MATH
REDESIGNED
BUSINESS AS USUAL
Also by Denise Grover Swank writing as D.G. Swank
CURSE KEEPERS WORLD
(Urban fantasy)
Curse Keepers Trilogy
The Curse Keepers
The Curse Breakers
The Curse Defiers
Curse Keepers Collection (box set)
Piper Lancaster Series
Of Ash and Spirit
Of Fire and Storm
Of Blood and Monsters
The Chosen Series
(Adult urban fantasy)
Chosen
Hunted
Sacrifice
Redemption
Book of Sindal
Descended from Shadows
Reign of Mist
Crown of Blood
On the Otherside Series
(Young adult sci fi romance)
Here
There
About the Author
Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomad, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.
For urban fantasy: dgswank.com
For mystery and romance: denisegroverswank.com
It All Falls Down: Rose Gardner Investigations #7 (Rose Gardner Investigatons) Page 35
