by Liz Talley
Jack shouted, “It’s about time!”
Her father and Vera held hands and beamed as though life had finally found them again.
Kate looked at the graduates. “I didn’t mean to steal your thunder because this day is about you and your journey. But I took that journey with you guys, whether you realized it or not. I’m proud of what we’ve become together—people who have risen from the ashes. We are new again.”
The center erupted into applause, many of the audience standing.
Rick watched Kate as she turned to him.
“Rick?”
“What, baby?”
“I love you,” she said right into the microphone.
Those words were the sweetest he’d ever heard. And Kate taking that chance on him was the most profound moment he’d ever experienced. There was nothing to do but welcome his Kate home with a kiss.
“I love you, too, baby,” he whispered before he covered her lips with his. He picked her up and spun her around and around until the edges of the world blurred and there was only this incredibly brave woman in his arms and a future laid out in front of them like the sweetest gift.
Applause continued, stomping occurred and hands slapped him on the back. Banjo barked.
But nothing registered.
There was only Kate.
“Thank you,” he whispered against her lips.
She smiled against his lips. “For what? Donating the fifty thousand dollars to Phoenix?”
He squeezed her tighter. “No. For coming home.”
EPILOGUE
One year later
THE MUSIC SOUNDED AS KATE stood facing the French doors leading out to the balcony. She pressed her dress against her thighs and breathed a simple prayer, “Please.”
She wasn’t exactly clear what she was praying for. It might have been for the dress to stay put. The wind was blowing pretty hard and the bodice was strategically draped. Or it might have been for the grace she needed to descend the stairs. She’d counted them. Twenty-six.
Nellie appeared at her elbow and handed her a clutch of roses. “Don’t fall. I’ll be in front of you.”
Kate rolled her eyes. “Oh, thanks for the concern for the bride.”
Her friend grinned. “Well, you’re not always graceful. Plus, I’m eating for two now.”
Kate assessed her friend’s expanding bump. Nellie was five months along and the dress had had to be altered. Could her friend stand the shock? “Yeah? Well, so am I, sister.”
“Holy shit!” Nellie screeched before clapping her hand over her mouth and glancing out to the balcony. “You’re serious?”
Kate nodded and smiled. “But I still fit in my dress.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Nellie breathed, jerking Kate into a hug. She sputtered against the flowers pinned in Kate’s hair, and gave a suspicious sniffle. “Have you told Rick?”
“No. You’re the first to know. And it really should have been him, but the devil inside me pops out sometimes.” She pushed Nellie from her and wagged her finger at her. “Not a word.”
Her best friend made the lock-and-key motion and picked up her bouquet. “Of course I won’t tell.”
Kate smiled at her friend before punching her on the arm. “So don’t trip. I’ll be right behind you and I’m eating for two.”
“Whatever.”
The music swelled louder and Billie squealed. “That’s it. The cue!”
Trish appeared behind her, looking particularly regal in her seafoam-green bridesmaid’s dress. Her coffee-colored skin looked lustrous, and Billie, newly married herself, looked fresh and innocent in her pleated dress of peach. But Kate knew firsthand her artisan friend was anything but innocent—Billie had thrown the bachelorette party, complete with a male stripper and penis-shaped cookies.
“Okay, let’s rock this wedding,” Kate said, giving Nellie a wink. The daffodil dress looked good against Nellie’s tan skin and caramel-streaked hair. Her friend always looked radiant when she had a bun in the oven.
Trish opened the doors and the sound of the stringed orchestra floated inside. The sun broke through the clouds as she descended first, elegantly gliding down the curved stairs of Cottonwood like an African princess greeting her subjects. Billie followed, looking petrified and stiff. Nellie started out the doors behind Billie, but paused and caught Kate’s arm.
“I love you, Katie.”
“Love you, too,” Kate said, trying not to mess up her makeup with the dampness misting her eyes. Then she pushed Nellie toward the doors. “Hurry up.”
Jeremy emerged from around the corner. He’d been waiting outside, looking splendid in an Armani tuxedo. He’d tucked an outlandish peach handkerchief in his pocket. It perfectly matched the roses she held. “Let’s go, doll.”
And he offered his arm.
Kate took it and they emerged to a gorgeous spring day. The notes of the cello were plaintive on the breeze, but the violins livened up the traditional wedding march. Kate kept her eyes on Rick as she descended stairs that swept round the front of Cottonwood. From her vantage point, if she looked across the pristine lawn past the crowd of people sitting in white chairs, she could just glimpse the gates of the estate. The same gates she’d once sat outside of on a pink bike, picturing herself doing exactly what she did today.
Only her dress wasn’t fluffy and she didn’t wear a veil. Her gown was a gorgeous, tight Vera Wang. And her father wasn’t escorting her.
But he would.
Justus waited at the foot of the steps. Jeremy handed her to him, and she tucked his hand into the crook of her right arm.
Vera had tied a white satin bow to the back of his motorized wheelchair. Together they faced the audience assembled. Kate watched as Vera, the stepmother of the bride, stood; a tender expression lit her face. The rest of the guests rose, and together, she and her father started up the white runner that led to Rick and her future. Her father’s hand trembled on her arm and she tore her gaze from Rick to glance at him. He smiled, squeezing her arm and looking as proud as any father.
Finally, they reached Rick. He looked nervous, so she smiled. She didn’t feel nervous at all. Certainty had made a home inside Kate Newman.
The pastor who’d dunked Kate beneath the eternal waters when she was eight began the service, talking about forgiveness, commitment and love. Three things Kate already knew about.
“Who gives this woman in marriage?”
“Her father,” Justus said quite solemnly.
Then he put her hand into Rick’s.
And gave Katie Newman the family she’d always wanted.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7980-7
A LITTLE TEXAS
Copyright © 2011 by Amy R. Talley
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Table of Contents
Letter to Reader
Title Page
About the Author
Books by Liz Talley
Dedication
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EPILOGUE
Copyright
