Epilogue

Isat in the back of the car while Charles drove me out to the country house. My mother insisted I come out to the country house to have dinner with her. I hadn"t planned on going until Zechariah had an emergency Lariece Park meeting and wouldn"t be home until late.

It really was a beautiful drive, and I needed to do it more often. Zechariah and I talked about spending more time at the house in South Carolina and at our country house. We just needed to work some downtime into our schedules.

After months of research and looking into the Edmonds" businesses, Matthew finally found the proof we needed to support our claim to our family"s recipe.

An old copy of Tessa Edmonds"s last will and testament was filed with the county before she died. We don"t know how the family had the will voided or paid someone to lose it, but Matthew found it among the old filings.

Tessa"s last will and testament outlined that Rory, Frank and Tessa were all partners. Rory had a fifty percent profit split while the couple split the other half. Rory made the product, and the Edmondses sold it since they were white and could get into more places. Rory also designed the label, which, upon closer inspection, we saw her initials in the background of the design. She also created the bottle"s hourglass shape.

Apparently, when Tessa passed away, Frank reneged on the deal. Rory didn"t have anything in writing. She only had their word. She couldn"t fight him in court because it was the word of a black woman against a white man. She would"ve never won. Frank patented the recipe and left Rory behind.

When all the evidence was presented to the Edmonds family, they tried to fight it initially, but I called in a favor with Quinn Grant, whose news show had become wildly popular, in part because of her scoop on Zechariah and me, but also because she was a damn good journalist. I planned on having an exclusive one-on-one conversation with her during a primetime slot about the whole ordeal.

Once the Edmonds" knew I meant business, we sat down with our attorneys and came to an agreement. They would pay us reparations for the years they"d profited from our family"s recipe. Rory"s name would be added to the history of the company as a founder and master distiller.

A portion of the tour of the distillery would be dedicated to Rory"s contributions, and we would receive royalties in perpetuity.

Every Juneteenth, a special batch of bourbon would be produced and sold as a collector"s item featuring a picture of Rory on the label.

We still did a primetime interview with Quinn, but it was a joint interview with the Coutures and the Edmonds" discussing our mutual discovery of shared heritage.

* * *

When we arrivedon the property, Charles made a left turn instead of going to the main house.

"Mommy"s not at the main house?" I asked.

"I was told to take you to the helipad," Charles answered.

"Okay."

I didn"t think anything of it until we pulled up to the helipad, and the entire area was decorated with large bouquets of red roses, a symbol of our love and the promise of something special.

Charles opened my door and handed me an envelope.

"You should read this," Charles instructed.

B,

I promised that we would ride in a helicopter again. Please follow the pilot. I will meet you soon. -Z

A smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I read theletter, a surge of joy filling my heart.

Charles extended his arm and walked me to the black helicopter.

"Enjoy your evening, Ms. Couture," Charles said.

"Thank you, Charles."

After going through the familiar safety briefing, the copter lifted into the air. I had no idea where I was going, but as long as Zechariah was on the other side, I was content.

I anticipated the flight over Kandake waterfall, but we began to descend before we made it there.

I looked out the window and saw a beautiful sea of red roses and white fabric blowing in the wind, their sweet scent filling the air. In the middle of the scene stood Zechariah, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

The pilot opened the door and helped me beyond the helicopter. Zechariah met me, took my hand and led me into the center of the rose display.

My heart began to race, a mix of excitement and nervousness, because I knew exactly what was about to happen.

Sunni sat in a chair to the left of Zechariah. She played an acoustic guitar and sang:

Under the velvet sky, where dreams dare to fly, I stand before you with a heart so true. It"s more than love that brings me to my knee,

it"s a shared purpose in you, I see.

In this moment, my intentions are pure. Together, there"s nothing we can"t endure. As partners in purpose, in love, and in life, I ask you now, will you be my wife?

Will you walk with me, as my purpose partner, through every season, finding our way, with love as our reason? With this ring, a journey we start. Together, in mission, heart to heart.

The song was absolutely beautiful. The sound of the water rushing down the falls in the background created a beautiful soundtrack for Sunni"s amazing voice.

After Sunni finished singing, I wiped my tears as I watched Zechariah get down on one knee. He opened a small blue ring box with a dazzling square solitaire ring and said, "You said you wanted a poem, so I gave you a song. Wilhelmina Couture, we found each other when neither of us was looking. We started out as sworn enemies, but now you"re my best friend. I couldn"t imagine going through the rest of my life without you next to me, pushing me, encouraging me and irritating me just a little." Zechariah used his thumb and first finger to illustrate. "You are my wish, my fantasy and my answered prayer. Will you marry me?"

"Absolutely. Yes!"

"I love you, Billye."

"I love you, Zechariah."

We kissed.