EPILOGUE

D UB

I looked around at the crowd of people who were enjoying themselves out on the grass beyond the barn. We had tents strategically placed with tables and chairs arranged for people to sit and enjoy the food that was catered by a man Elizabeth knew from her life in Rojo.

The cake we were about to cut was currently being set up under another tent, and I watched as a gruff-looking man put the finishing touches on it as he assembled the tiers. When Elizabeth mentioned that she wasn’t sure where to buy the cake for our wedding reception, I called my club brother and asked him if he knew of any bakeries in the area since his job was to travel around and try out popular restaurants. Stamp insisted that the best cake he’d ever eaten was from a little bakery in Marlboro, Texas and had managed to convince the bakery owner, a surly guy named Ransome Donovan, to make a delivery all the way to Colorado just for our wedding.

It just so happened that one of my club brothers, Dante Pardo, was from Marlboro and had a hand in convincing his wife’s cousin to make the cake for us and promised to help him deliver it since he was coming to the wedding too.

I looked around and found Dante sitting with his wife and their children, talking to Stamp and one of his sons who had business in the area and had accompanied them to the wedding today. Bernadette had worked with a woman named Bella Conner from Rojo to help Elizabeth and Charlotte pull off what they considered the wedding of the century. It seemed like a whole lot of effort for one day, but I appreciated all the work they had put into making it special.

My cousins had made it to the wedding en masse along with so many of Elizabeth’s friends from Rojo that I’d lost track of all the people I’d met. Lisa and Addie had laughed when I asked them how they knew all these people. They insisted that Rojo was a small town, but if that were the case, the place must be a ghost town this weekend.

I heard Elizabeth’s laughter and looked around to find her. She was standing between Sway and Sobie with Mary and Laura in front of them, making sure not to block the photographer’s view of her belly as she rested her hand on the bump that announced the impending arrival of our son. I knew the picture the photographer was snapping right now would be displayed prominently in our home because it showed the full circle of love that Elizabeth had created - two men who she’d given life to and then had the strength to let go of, the two young women she had nurtured and helped find their way in a world that was completely foreign to them, and the baby she’d longed for but wasn’t sure she would ever have.

My world would be forever changed because of Elizabeth, and I knew her strength and love would see me through to the end of my days on earth.

My life was complete now with a family I loved and a profession that gave me the chance to share the art I loved with the world, and Elizabeth was at the center of it all, right where she belonged.

THE END