Epilogue

September

Bliss had a surprise waiting for Gil when he arrived at the lake cottage. He’d just texted to say he was on his way. It was kind of funny, at least to her. She wasn’t sure if her surprise would make him laugh, but he’d still like it. He loved it when she wore red.

She spun in front of the dressing mirror, stifling a shiver at the memory of being locked inside a casket in the dress she had on. Though she’d told Gil she was going to torch it, she hadn’t followed through with the threat. It had also been the dress he’d rescued her in. And kissed her in. And made their victory ride back to Heart Lake in.

Sometimes, moving forward involved embracing both the good and the bad.

For the fun of it, she’d pulled her hair back in a ponytail, leaving several dark tendrils waving against her cheeks and neck. The last few days of summer were proving to be unseasonably warm in Heart Lake. A ponytail would keep her cooler during the mayor’s presentation in Town Square this morning.

Gil knocked on the front door when he arrived, but it was only to alert her that he’d made it. His key scraped in the lock as he let himself in. “Honey, I’m home,” he called out teasingly.

She smiled. It was obvious he missed living here, but that was about to change. He’d finally put his town house up for sale a few days ago, and he’d already received a bunch of offers on it. Each one was more money than the last. It was turning into a bidding frenzy among newcomers anxious to secure one of the hallowed spots on Heart Lake.

Regardless of how long it took him to sort through all the offers, they would be married a week from today, and he’d finally get to return to the cottage he already called home.

Our home. She couldn’t wait.

“Bliss?” Gil’s voice took on a note of urgency as he made his way across the living room. “Are you here?”

Instead of answering, she made her appearance in the doorway of the guest bedroom, striking a pose for his benefit.

He stopped short, removing his Stetson and tossing it on the sofa. “You kept the dress.” His hazel gaze glinted with pure male appreciation as he drank her in.

“I did.” She glided his way. Even in heels, she had to stand on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his hard mouth.

His arms came around her, drawing her closer as he deepened their kiss. “I’m not going to be paying attention to one word the mayor has to say this morning.”

“Shame on you, sheriff,” she chided against his lips.

“Hey, I’m retired now.” He dragged his mouth over hers again.

“Is it official then?” With a squeal of excitement, she leaned away so she could scan his rugged features. The election for a new sheriff had taken place yesterday. They were still awaiting the final tally on the vote. Or so she’d heard.

“Oops! Don’t think I was supposed to tell anybody.” He didn’t look the least bit repentant.

“I’m not just anybody,” she protested, just now noticing there was no badge clipped to his white dress shirt.

“Nope. You’re the world renowned Dr. Hawling.” He reached up to thread his fingers through the hand her engagement ring was glinting on. “Archeologist extraordinaire and the woman who owns my heart.” Joy rang in his voice.

“Soon to be Dr. Remington,” she reminded, adoring the way his eyes went all soft at her announcement.

“You’re gonna take my name, huh?”

“I want it all, Gil.” She snuggled closer. She mostly wanted his love, but taking his name was part of that. There’d been enough division in Heart Lake over the years. She wanted to show the town that she and her husband-to-be were part of the new wave of unity sweeping their midst.

“All of me belongs to all of you, babe.” He pressed his face to her neck for a moment, just breathing her in.

He kept a firm grip on her hand during the short drive to Town Square. All the street parking was taken. Fortunately, the mayor had instructed her staff to cordon off a few spots for VIPs. One of them had Sheriff Gil Remington’s name on it.

“Enjoy it while it lasts.” He grinned. “I might not get this kind of treatment after today.”

Though she doubted that was the case, she didn’t mind one way or the other.

He laced his fingers through hers as they made their way across the sidewalk to the gazebo.

People kept stopping them to say hello, and Gil knew everybody. Literally every single person they passed, even the children. Bliss wondered again why he’d never had any children. He would’ve made such an incredible father. Instead, he’d become like a father to the entire town. He loved the citizens of Heart Lake, and they loved him back.

As they approached the gazebo, Heavenly beckoned frenziedly for them to join her there.

Bliss flicked a surprised look up at Gil. “Does she really expect us to…?”

“Yep.” He dropped her hand so he could place it on the small of her back. He kept his warm fingers there to guide her up the short set of stairs.

Heavenly gave Bliss a quick hug and shook hands with Gil. “Luke’s on his way. Hold on to your hats. What I have planned is going to be huge!”

She wasn’t kidding.

The moment Luke and his wife, Willow, joined them, Heavenly gave her aide the signal to turn on the sound system. She leaned toward the microphone mounted to her podium and issued a joyful greeting to everyone.

“I know what you’re really here for.” She waved a teasing finger at the crowd gathered around them. “All you want are the election results so you can shoot over to the food trucks.”

Her words were met with chuckles.

“But I have an announcement to make first.” She signaled someone to her right, and a loud beeping sound ensued as a flat-bed delivery truck slowly backed up toward the gazebo.

Bliss had noticed it earlier and wondered why it was parked in the grassy median. She’d also wondered what the large, bulky-looking item was sitting in the back of it. It was covered with a massive black cloth from top to bottom. Not an inch of it was showing.

After the truck came to a standstill, Heavenly started speaking again. “We’re going to do a countdown together to unveil something very, very special that was commissioned for you, my beloved fellow Heart Lake citizens, through private donations only. It’s been hard keeping this project a secret from you. But from the puzzled looks on your faces, I think we succeeded.” Another round of chuckles erupted. “Okay. Are you ready to count with me?”

Children all across the square shouted yes and started jumping up and down.

Heavenly began the countdown. “Ten,” she shouted into the microphone. “Nine! Eight!” By the seventh number, she was able to back away from the podium and continue the count in a normal voice while the audience hollered their way through the rest of it.

“Three! Two! One!”

A set of firecrackers exploded over a distant building, sending a shower of sparks above Town Square. At the same moment, the city landscaping crew yanked off the black cloth.

People oohed and aahed at what lay beneath it. It was a stone monument that commemorated their rich mountain heritage. Remington and Hawling cowboys in Stetsons were mounted on rodeo horses with tossing heads and flying tails. A Comanche on a Mustang galloped between them. All three men had their right arm raised in the sign of victory. An engraved sign below the monument read, Our Town.

Someone started to clap. Then another person. Then a whole bunch of people. Gil and Bliss were among them. Eyes grew damp across the square. Several people linked arms with the person standing next to them.

When Heavenly finally stepped behind the microphone again, her eyes were shining with unshed tears. “As your mayor, I am also officially declaring an end to the feud between our founding families. We settled this town together. We built it together. And after the string of tornadoes that tore through the southern half of it a few years ago, we rebuilt it together. Heart Lake belongs to all of us!”

Thunderous clapping and cheering erupted. It went on and on. Heavenly had to coax them several times to get them to quiet down. “Do you want to hear the election results or what?” she teased.

It finally grew quieter.

“It is my greatest honor and pleasure,” she continued without any further ado, “to introduce to you the next Sheriff of Heart Lake. Let’s hear it for Sheriff Luke Douglas Hawling!”

There was no getting the crowd quiet again after that. Heavenly didn’t even attempt to give a formal dismissal as the citizens thronged the gazebo to express their congratulations to Luke and his wife. He’d have his chance to give his formal acceptance speech at the next Town Hall meeting.

Right now, the people of Heart Lake were acting like they always did. Like family. And they were ready to celebrate the first-ever Hawling who’d stepped into the office of sheriff.

Since Gil and Bliss were standing the closest to Luke and Willow, they got to be the first to congratulate them. Bliss watched Gil and Luke face each other with their hearts in their eyes. In the end, they didn’t say anything. They simply clasped each other in a gigantic bear hug.

“Congratulations! Gil keeps saying he’s leaving the department in the best of hands.” Bliss held both hands out to Willow. Luke’s wife was a boyishly slender woman in her early to mid-thirties. Her dark shoulder-length hair was streaked with sassy blonde highlights. From what Bliss understood, she’d made quite a name for herself on the dirt bike circuit. To her fans, she was known as The Striker.

“Yes, he is!” Willow reached out, clasping Bliss’s hands in her own. “But it’s largely because of all the mentoring and training Gil has poured into my husband’s career. We’re so grateful. Luke is hoping like crazy Gil intends to still accept all of his late-night calls for advice.”

“He will.” Bliss was sure of it. And as his wife, she’d be in the position to help make sure of it.

“Bossy,” Gil muttered in her ear a few seconds later. “I like it.”

She made a face at him. “You heard that, huh?”

“Yep. You sounded so wifely.” He kissed her earlobe. “I like it a lot.”

One week later

Church bells were ringing across the lake as the limousine Bliss was riding in pulled up to the side entrance of a lovely old cathedral overlooking the water. Summer and Ava were seated across from her. Because it was mid-September, she’d chosen a shade of shimmering autumn gold for her bridesmaids dresses. Both women looked amazing in their strapless gowns of pearlized tulle.

“It’s time!” Ava clapped her hands excitedly, sending Bliss a misty smile that was every bit as proud as that of a daughter.

In some ways, Bliss had begun thinking of her as a daughter. They’d grown very close very quickly — aided, in part, by their many slumber parties. At first, it was because Gil was so reluctant to leave Bliss alone at night after her abduction. Their most recent slumber parties, however, had been just because.

“Are you ready to become Mrs. Sheriff?” Summer, who was serving as her matron of honor, leaned forward to gather the length of Bliss’s wedding train in her arms.

“Mrs. Sheriff Retired,” Bliss amended with a chuckle. She was thrilled about Gil’s willingness to turn in his badge. It had made it so much easier to plan a wedding and honeymoon. The co-owners of Lonestar Security, however, had wasted no time in making him a job offer. He told them he was only looking for part-time hours and that he wouldn’t start until after their honeymoon. Though they’d agreed, she was starting to get the distinct impression that they had more in store for him — much more. Like offering to bring him on as a third partner.

“I’ve never seen Uncle Gil happier.” Ava’s wistful voice pulled Bliss’s wandering mind back to the present. “He deserves this. You both do.”

“Thank you.” Bliss inwardly vowed to do everything in her power to keep Gil that way as she popped open the door. Or started to. Wheeler rushed forward in a beige tuxedo to do it for her.

Together, he and her bridesmaids bustled her into the church and secreted her in the room designated for her final wedding preparations. Heavenly was waiting for them there. She’d had to take care of a few mayoral things on her way to the church.

“I’m so glad you made it.” Bliss held out her hands to the mayor.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Heavenly pressed her fingers. “I’m over the moon about getting to be part of your wedding. You make Gil so happy!”

The way people kept saying that wrenched her heart. Apparently, those closest to her groom-to-be hadn’t missed how unhappy he’d been for the past three decades.

Wheeler and the other Heart Lake deputies bustled around the church, escorting wedding guests and directing the musicians and caterers to their positions. They employed the same police precision and organizational skills they used while in uniform.

Bliss’s big moment arrived when Luke appeared in the doorway to walk her down the aisle. Like the other men in their wedding party, he wore a beige tux. Like them, he’d also kept his boots and Stetson on, and Bliss wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Pride and affection glowed in his scarred features as he crooked an arm at her. “May I have this honor, cuz?”

“Yes!” Her gaze misted as she took his arm. “Thank you for doing this.”

His dark gaze swept her wedding gown. “In case no one’s told you yet today, you’re beautiful, Bliss. Not just talking about your dress, which is a solid home run. You have a beautiful heart.”

“So do you, sheriff.” It tickled her to death to call him that.

“Never seen the boss so happy,” he added gruffly.

There it was again. “He makes me happy, too,” she declared softly.

“I should probably get you down to the altar, pronto.” Luke patted her hand. “He’ll send an entire posse after us if we’re late.”

He led her to the entrance doors of the sanctuary. They were propped wide open. The organist struck the opening chords of the wedding march, and the classic piece of music wafted from hundreds of hidden organ pipes in the walls of the cathedral.

The church was packed so full that Bliss doubted they could fit another single body inside. They stood en masse and drenched her with smiles as she sashayed past them. The train of her crushed white velvet dress, compliments of Modello’s, rustled on the floor behind her. A feeling of overwhelming joy swelled through the room, propelling her ever closer to the man waiting for her at the front of the church.

Gil’s gaze burned into hers as Luke led her to his side and placed her hand on his arm. “May God bless both of you.” Luke’s voice was infused with infinite respect as he inclined his head at Gil. “I love you, Bliss. Be happy together.” Luke kissed her cheek and returned to his wife’s side in the front row.

Though Bliss was a bundle of nerves from head to toe, Gil’s strong arm beneath her fingers remained steady. She said her vows to him in a breathless voice, hardly able to believe that everything she’d ever dreamed of was coming true. Right here. Right now.

She swayed a little on her feet as he slid on her wedding band. Then he drew her into his embrace and sealed their union with a kiss. With his love surrounding her, the world stopped spinning so crazily on its axis.

When he lifted his head, they faced their family and friends as Sheriff and Dr. Remington. Retired, of course, though her heart told her a man like him would find plenty to keep him busy. Lonestar Security had sure stepped to the plate pretty quickly to claim a piece of his time.

So would the new charity foundation D-Dave was in the process of helping Bliss create. A girl had to have some place to stash over five hundred million dollars that she’d jokingly informed Gil she’d decided not to burn after all. They were already spinning dreams together about funding the last of the rebuilding projects on the south side of town, as well as making some very generous donations to the poverty-stricken reservation next door —money that would improve the Comanche schools, roads, and infrastructure.

She was harboring one more very big dream, one she hadn’t yet gotten around to sharing with her new husband. It would involve renovating and rebuilding the former south side high school that had been destroyed by the tornadoes. From the rubble would rise the Heart Lake Anthropology and National History Museum.

She could already picture the galleries and collections on display there. Heart Lake was rich in history — from the town’s mini gold rush, to the capture and training of the wild mustangs across the mountains, to the vast herds of longhorn cattle the local ranchers had been herding and pouring their blood and tears into for over a century, to the rise of one of the greatest rodeo rivalries in the west, to the culture and customs the neighboring Comanche tribe celebrated to this day.

But that could wait.

This deliriously happy fifty-three-year-old bride is going on her honeymoon!

She and Gil walked up the church aisle with their arms wrapped joyfully around each other to receive the well wishes of friends and family on the dock overlooking the lake.

A few short hours from now, they would be in the air. He was taking her to Morocco, one of her most favorite cities in the world.

Second only to Heart Lake.

Christmas morning

Bliss stared at herself in the bathroom mirror, growing more alarmed by the second. She hadn’t felt like herself for the past twenty-four to forty-eight hours. She was getting sick or something. It was so unfair.

After inheriting bazillions of dollars and living like a queen for three straight months with the man of her dreams in his cozy little lake cottage…

Ugh! She combed her hair away from her face with both hands. No storybook in the world would’ve served up a chapter in which her first Christmas with Gil was destined to be shared with a flu bug. Or food poisoning. Or worse.

Maybe I’m dying. She moaned out loud, hoping like crazy that wasn’t the case. She was having way too much fun being Gil’s wife. He was so sweet and romantic, always bringing her gifts and composing ridiculous lines of poetry that didn’t rhyme at all but never failed to make her laugh. It was like he was doing everything he could to make up for all the time they’d lost.

And now I’m going to completely ruin our first Christmas together by being sick.Another moan escaped her, even louder than the first one.

A light knock sounded on the bathroom door. “You okay in there, babe?”

“No,” she quavered.

He rattled the door handle and found it locked. “Did you fall? Are you hurt?”

“No.” She shuffled a few feet back to unlock it, unable to stop the tears from spilling down her cheeks. They dripped onto her red silk PJs, leaving dark splatters around the V neck.

Gil cracked open the door. He took one look at her and pushed it the rest of the way open. “Bliss!” He reached for her, looking alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything!” She spun his way, feeling dizzy. “I’m coming down with something, so our first Christmas together is officially ruined.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” He took her in his arms, cuddling her against his chest. “There are worse things in the world than enjoying Christmas in bed.”

“Do I have a fever?” She reached for his hand and pressed it to her forehead.

“Doesn’t feel like it.” He stroked his hand tenderly down her cheek. “I thought you said you were going to see the doctor yesterday.”

“I did.” Bliss snickered damply at the memory.

“Well?” he prodded. “What did she say?”

“She did the usual swabs for influenza and strep.” Bliss snickered again.

“What’s so funny?” He looked more concerned than ever.

“She made me take a pregnancy test.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Can you believe it? Seriously, Gil. I’m fifty-three.”

His eyebrows rose higher than she’d ever seen them rise. “And?”

“And what?” She shook her head at him, surprised he didn’t look the least bit amused. What a stick in the mud! She’d thought the whole pregnancy test thing was kind of hilarious.

“Are we about to be parents or not, Bliss?” He gave her shoulders a gentle shake.

“What?” She gaped at him. “Of course not!” Now that he was asking, though, she hadn’t read the test results yet that the doctor’s office had emailed her. Nor had she listened to the voicemail they’d left her yesterday.

“You mean you don’t know?” A helpless brand of hope crept into his voice.

“Oh, Gil,” she sighed, hoping he wasn’t honestly thinking what it looked like he was thinking. He’d finally admitted to her a while back that he’d always wanted a family of his own, but surely he didn’t expect her to fulfill that particular dream. Not at her age. She hated seeing him get his hopes up, and she hated the fact that she was the one who’d inadvertently done it. On Christmas morning, no less, a double whammy.

Dude, your wife is sick. Oh, and she’s NOT pregnant.

“In my defense,” she raised her hands as she slid from his embrace and stepped around him to move into the bedroom, “I got called away from the doctor’s office before the results came in. I’m a very busy philanthropist these days.”

“Bliss!” There was a warning note in Gil’s voice as he followed her to the small desk by the window where she kept her laptop.

“And afterward, I was so busy cramming in all of my last-minute Christmas shopping…” She flipped open her laptop and booted it up to check her email. The one from the doctor’s office had a red alert flag next to it, indicating it contained urgent news. Oh, dear heavens! Her insides shuddered. Please, God, don’t let it be cancer. Or a tumor. Or…

Her hands started to shake as she clicked open the email.

Gil stooped to press his cheek against hers and read it over her shoulder.

They both grew still.

She gasped. “That’s not possible! It’s not. There has to be some mistake?—”

Her words were drowned out by the loudest whoop of delight she’d ever heard come out of another human being. Gil spun away from her with his fists in the air, bellowing to wake the dead.

“Gil!” A fresh round of tears tumbled down Bliss’s cheeks. Cautiously happy ones. Wildly disbelieving ones. Utterly terrified ones. “I’m not sure there’s cause to celebrate.” The increased risks that accompanied a pregnancy for a woman her age were downright breathtaking, everything from premature birth to Down Syndrome.

Gil returned to the desk to take a knee beside her. “I know you well enough, Bliss, to know that valedictorian mind of yours is busy calculating the odds of every risk.”

“How could I not be?” she choked. The fact that he was so happy about their unplanned pregnancy was going to make any future bad news they received about it that much harder to bear.

“Abraham and Sarah did it,” he reminded huskily. “And they were a lot older than we are.”

“That was a miracle from start to finish,” she reminded in a strained voice.

“So are we.” He reached out to splay one large hand over her still flat midsection. “Every day with you is a miracle.”

With a sobbing laugh, she cupped his face between her hands. “Well…I wrapped some really cool gifts for you in the living room, but I guess this is the first one. Merry Christmas, Gil. You’re going to be a father.”

Happy tears trickled down his cheeks. “We’re going to be the grand-est parents in the world, Bliss.”

It was a dig at their ages. “Just stop.” She couldn’t believe how much new material she’d just handed him for heaven only knew how many more poems, puns, and bad jokes he’d come up with between now and their baby’s due date.

“You know better than anyone else how to shut me up, babe.” His gaze glinted wickedly as he hovered his mouth over hers.

So she did.

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