For the ceremony, Cara bought a cream wool suit with matching coat trimmed in faux white fur around the collar. Instead of a veil, she sported a fascinator with one black feather, a stark contrast against the cream. She’d told her mother the black was merely for a bit of flair, but it did have meaning. It was the symbol of a helpful omen. The shadow of that soaring crow would forever dwell in her memory.
Despite the crush of the holiday season, Hannah had insisted on a bridal shower, which Cara initially resisted.
“Drake and I don’t need a thing,” she’d reasoned one day when Hannah had invited her to lunch at The Rickhouse to discuss planning a shower. “We’ll be combining households and have to get rid of stuff.”
Cara, Nate, and Vera were all moving to Drake’s mini-estate along Brush Grove Pike after the wedding.
“I’ll bet there’s at least one thing you need,” she said, taking a sip of Garnet on the rocks. “What about a trousseau?”
Cara shook her head. “We’re just going to the beach for a week. Nothing big.”
“Cara! It’s your honeymoon! Drake’s gonna expect a little sizzle!”
“Sizzle?”
“How about a girls-only bridal shower? I can reserve a special room at Booty-Teke in Lexington.”
“What’s that? A stripper joint?”
“No, no, no,” Hannah through giggles. “It’s a nice lingerie shop in Lexington. I could arrange a private shower. Interested?”
Cara was. She certainly didn’t want to use the few pieces of lingerie she still had from her honeymoon with Todd. In fact, it was past time to dump that stuff.
So Cara had relented, and a quick and very fun shower at the lingerie shop—complete with plenty of Old Garnet—was arranged by Hannah. She got more goodies than she could possibly use on her honeymoon, but that only meant she could use them when they returned home to keep the fun going.
Drake had offered to pick Cara, Vera, and Nate up on the wedding day, but the gesture was politely declined.
“Not supposed to see the bride before the wedding,” Vera said.
When Cara arrived at the gazebo with Vera and Nate, all the guests were already there.
Rachel, Brady, Hannah, Kyle, Bo, Lila, Goose, Harriet, Walker, and Jorrie were present, along with Jon and Pepper Buckler, whom Cara and Drake had invited since Jon was on the campaign committee and a fellow attorney. CiCi was her matron of honor, and Mack was Drake’s best man.
Hannah gushed over Cara’s suit.
“You look lovely!” she said, holding Cara’s forearms and looking her up and down. “And Nate is quite the dapper little fellow.”
Sitting on the built-in bench, Nate was holding a stick he’d picked up on the walk across the grass from the parking lot. He was wearing a small gray coat over a suit, the ensemble purchased on the same day and in the same place Cara had bought her wedding attire in Lexington. While her suit was nice, it wasn’t terribly expensive. Cara didn’t need a flashy wedding gown. She just wanted her groom.
Cara looked around.
“I thought you mentioned that Miranda and her husband might be coming along? Or are they going to meet us at the distillery for the reception?”
Hannah shook her head. “Nope. Miranda’s doctor put her on bed rest.”
“I didn’t know that!” cried CiCi. She was wearing a bright green coat, but Cara noticed she could no longer quite get it comfortably buttoned over her tummy, and it hung open around her midsection.
“Yep, there’s karma for you,” said Hanna.
“It’s not her fault you had to go on bed rest,” sniped CiCi.
“Still, karma. Now she’ll know just what a pain it really is,” Hannah said, sticking to her guns. “But it’s not like she won’t really get it. She’s due in two more weeks, not two months like I was when she threw me in the dungeon. Just two more weeks until little Prentice Oakes IV arrives in this world. Anyway, you’d better hope bed rest doesn’t happen to you, Madam Clerk. How are you feeling?”
The fact of CiCi’s pregnancy was now widely known in Bourbon Springs. Harriet’s was still a secret.
The mention of her condition made CiCi smile at once. “I’m feeling great.”
“Yeah, you feel great today,” Walker said. “Yesterday she was either in bed or in the bathroom.”
“True. But I’ll take the bad days if it gets us a healthy baby.”
“You do look great,” Cara said, giving CiCi a big hug.
Cara had been worried that CiCi might decline to be her matron of honor when she told her that Garner was going to be the officiant. Instead, CiCi had said that she was happy Cara and Garner could get along so well.
What CiCi had left unsaid was that she wished the same for her sister-in-law, Nina. CiCi had shared that she’d mentioned to Nina during Christmas that Garner was going to be doing the honors and that Nina had almost smiled at the news.
“Hey, here comes the judge,” called Jon, pointing up to the parking lot.
“As well as the groom!” Pepper added.
All eyes turned to see Drake and Garner making their way down a path across the sloping field to the gazebo. Drake carried a huge bouquet of white roses.
Beaming at his betrothed, Drake stepped up into the gazebo, followed by Garner. He handed Cara the bouquet and gave a slight bow before taking her free hand. Dangling from a blue velvet ribbon around the bouquet were the two personalized Christmas tree ornaments Hannah had given them at the distillery.
Cara thanked Garner for coming.
“And you’re coming back to the distillery for the reception aren’t you?”
“If you’ll have me.”
“Of course we will,” said Walker. “You don’t want to miss the Bluegrass Bubbly.”
When Garner looked confused, Walker explained the bourbon-and-cider beverage.
“Actually, we could have a little toast here if you’re so inclined,” said Hannah.
“But we don’t have a bottle,” Drake said.
“A Davenport is never far from a bottle of Garnet,” Bo said. “Where’d you bury it?” he asked his sister.
“Bury it?” asked Cara, looking from Bo to Hannah. “You buried a bottle here?”
“Of course,” Hannah admitted. “I didn’t tell you two because I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“When did you possibly have any time to get out here and bury a bottle of Garnet?” Drake asked.
“I made it a priority. We did it for Rachel and Brady’s wedding. I figured we definitely needed to bury one during the winter to ensure we didn’t get some sudden snowstorm and to make sure we had at least sunny skies today, although it’s colder than a frog’s rear at the bottom of a well.”
“And we can attest that the good-luck thing does seem to work,” Rachel said. “No bad weather on the wedding day.”
“So where is this bottle?” asked Bo, moving to the edge of the gazebo.
“Did you see that pile of leaves just by the stairs?” Hannah asked, and Bo nodded. “Well, when the ceremony is over, I’m sure the newlyweds will find something most interesting and tasty underneath. I wasn’t about to try to actually get a shovel and dig into this hard earth with it so cold.”
“But what about glasses?” asked Harriet.
“Do you really think she’d come unprepared?” asked Kyle, pointing to his wife. “We’ve got shot glasses in the car.”
“Actually carry them with me wherever I go,” admitted Hannah, smiling. “Along with a bottle of Old Garnet—sealed, of course. No open containers to satisfy the law here,” she said, patting her husband’s arm. “You just never know when you might be called upon to do an impromptu tasting.”
“Especially when you own a distillery,” cracked CiCi.
“I have the same kit in my car,” Walker said.
“Hey, people,” Drake said, raising his hand. “I love Old Garnet just as much as the next Craig Countian, but I’d like to get married now if you don’t mind.”
The small crowd laughed
and gathered around the couple. Garner positioned himself with his back to the creeks, and Cara and Drake joined hands.
With Vera and CiCi beside her and Nate still hugging her hips, Cara gazed into Drake’s eyes as they recited their vows and became husband and wife.
She had no idea how long the ceremony actually took; it was short, it was long. It was timeless and perfect.
Garner pronounced them husband and wife, but Cara didn’t hear the judge give permission to kiss the bride.
And apparently he didn’t actually have the chance, judging from the laughter around them as Drake swept her into his arms and kissed her, the first time as her husband, their first kiss for eternity.
The wind flowed around them, tousling Cara’s hair in a whirling, frothy mass about both their faces. Family and friends laughed and clapped congratulations, their good tidings mixing with the sound of the rushing waters of Old Crow Creek, joy carried away and shared in the winds and along the waters of Craig County, Kentucky.
Also by Jennifer Bramseth
THE BOURBON SPRINGS SERIES
SECRET BLEND
(Bourbon Springs Book 1)
SECRET SAUCE
(Bourbon Springs Short Stories #1)
FILTERED THROUGH BLUE
(Bourbon Springs Book 2)
STANDARD EQUIPMENT
(Bourbon Springs Short Stories #2)
(available exclusively to newsletter subscribers)
ANGELS’ SHARE
(Bourbon Springs Book 3)
DISTILLER’S CHOICE
(Bourbon Springs Book 4)
CEDAR AND CINNAMON
(Bourbon Springs Book 5)
DISTILLED HEAT
(Bourbon Springs Book 6)
LITTLE TREASURES
(Bourbon Springs Short Stories #3)
(available exclusively to newsletter subscribers)
BOTTLED BLUEGRASS
(Bourbon Springs Book 7)
TOAST AND CHAR
(Bourbon Springs Book 8)
WATER OF LIFE
(Bourbon Springs Book 9)
THE BOURBONLAND SERIES
SINGLE BARREL
(Bourbonland Short Stories and Novellas #1)
(novella; free to newsletter subscribers)
SHARP PRACTICE
(Bourbonland Book 1)
STAVE AND HOOP
(Bourbonland Short Stories and Novellas #2)
(novella; free to newsletter subscribers)
NOTICE OF APPEAL
(Bourbonland Book 2)
BACKSET
(Bourbonland Short Stories and Novellas #3)
WHERE THE FIRE IS HOTTEST
(Bourbonland Book 3)
(late 2017)
BARREL PROOF
(Bourbonland Short Stories and Novellas #4)
(early 2018)
BOTTLED IN BOND
(Bourbonland Short Stories and Novellas #5)
(2018)
BOURBONLAND BOOK 4
(title to be announced; 2018)
WHITE DOG
(Bourbonland Short Stories and Novellas #6)
(2018)
BLISSFUL THINKING
(Bourbonland Short Stories and Novellas #7)
(2018)
Afterword
Thank you for reading my book!
And thank you for reading the Bourbon Springs Series. This is the last book I have planned in the series, although I don’t rule out a short story or novella in the future.
And speaking of the future…
The next series I am working on is called Bourbonland. It is set in the same world as the Bourbon Springs Series, but in various locations around Kentucky (with visits back to Bourbon Springs and appearances by Bourbon Springs characters from time to time).
The first Bourbonland story is Single Barrel, a novella that bridges the two series; it features a couple from Bourbon Springs and a couple from Bourbonland. It is currently free to newsletter subscribers, along with two free exclusive short stories. Sign up here for my newsletter.
The Bourbonland books start with Sharp Practice. You just saw the hero and heroine in the Epilogue of this book. Yes, Nina Cain finally gets her own book.
BITS ABOUT BOURBON
Evan Williams Experience and Bulleit
The last two members of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail round out the series.
The Evan Williams Experience is in downtown Louisville, across from the Kentucky Center for the Arts. The location is distinct—in the building the Shapira Brothers used for their dry goods business. The Shapiras bought Heaven Hill in the 1930s and revived it after Prohibition. Evan Williams is a Heaven Hill brand (so Heaven Hill gets two stops on the Bourbon Trail, one in Louisville and one in Bardstown).
Bulleit is the most recent addition to the Trail. Located in Louisville, it is in the famed Stitzer-Weller location (the website calls it “one of the true cathedrals of American whiskey industry.”)
Cara’s Names
Names have meaning in this series, and Cara’s continues that tradition.
Her last name, Forrest, is a nod to Old Forester, a bourbon brand produced by megadistiller Brown Forman.
Her first name, “Cara,” means “face” in Spanish. One interpretation of her name is therefore “face of the forest,” an image I like since she finds herself so often in this book enjoying or dealing with the elements of nature. And Diana was the Roman goddess of the forest or hunt, so her middle name completes her personal mythology.
Distillery Tours—Now More Than Sips!
Until recently, distilleries could not offer drinks, only limited samples of their wares. The law finally changed in 2016 to allow distilleries to sell drinks. Thus Hannah’s comment about the law changing is reflected in reality—although when I wrote the book, it was not. It took another year and session of the Kentucky General Assembly to change the law. So I guess I was being very hopeful when I wrote Hannah’s words.
Kentucky’s Oath of Office
The oath of office Cara takes when she becomes a member of the Court of Appeals is not a figment of my imagination. The oath of office is directly from Kentucky’s Constitution. I took this same oath of office when I was sworn in as a member of the bar, and every officeholder in Kentucky takes it. When I clerked for a judge, he often swore in officeholders on a local level. He knew the entire thing from memory.
And, yes, people do laugh, snort, giggle when the “duel with deadly weapons” part gets mentioned.
And since the duel has to be “with deadly weapons,” I would argue (lawyer that I am) that pillow fights, water guns at ten paces, and ticklemonsters are not disqualifying events from holding office in the Commonwealth.
Kentucky’s Court System
When the book opens, Cara Forrest is a district court judge. This is the lowest court level under Kentucky’s judicial system. District courts handle minor criminal offenses (misdemeanors), probate matters, traffic and DUIs, small claims, child support and paternity (like Prent’s case in Toast and Char). Rachel and Brady are circuit judges; they handle more serious criminal and civil cases. The next level is the Court of Appeals, then the Supreme Court. Most district courts cover a smaller geographic location than circuit courts.
Prior to 1976, Kentucky’s highest court was known as the Court of Appeals but the constitution was changed in 1976 to provide for a completely revamped court system with this four-level tier of jurisdiction.
Kentucky’s New Capitol
Kentucky’s “New” Capitol was built between 1906–1910 on the south side of the Kentucky River, some distance away from what is now known as the Old Capitol. Harriet and Goose walk the grounds of the Old Capitol in Cedar and Cinnamon and eat their lunch on the steps.
The New Capitol is a gorgeous building, sitting on a slight prominence between the palisades of the Kentucky River gorge. The money for the building was purportedly provided by federal government reparations to the Commonwealth for damages during the Civil War. Also, unused cannon balls reportedly were u
sed to line the walls of the basement when the building was being constructed.
The Supreme Court is housed in the New Capitol, and the courtroom is beautiful. I have argued a case before the Court in this courtroom (and it’s also the place where I got sworn in, like most Kentucky attorneys).
Forks of Elkhorn
The Forks of Elkhorn is a geographic location along Elkhorn Creek in eastern Franklin County, Kentucky, the same county where Frankfort is. The spot is well known among canoers and kayakers and formed part of the inspiration for Drake’s love of getting out on Brush Grove and Old Crow Creeks in Craig County.
Big Spring Park, Versailles, Kentucky
The park Cara and Drake go to in downtown Bourbon Springs is modeled on Big Spring Park in downtown Versailles, Kentucky.
Reportedly not satisfied with this water source, a local man left the town around 1812 and headed out of town with his family to Glenns Creek in the northwest part of the Woodford County. At that place, the man came upon a spring and bought the land. That man was Elijah Pepper, who established a distillery there. That distillery is now known as Woodford Reserve.
The End?
This is the last book in the Bourbon Springs Series, but I do not rule out adding short stories or novellas to the series. Then we will be off to Bourbonland.
Please note the very last word of this book. That was a deliberate choice by me to end the series with that word.
Bourbon Springs Box Set: Volume III, Books 7-9 (Bourbon Springs Box Sets Book 3) Page 83
