Epilogue

Shrieks of laughter ricocheted around the yard. I skirted to the side as Billie ran by screaming with Meatball hot on her heels. The bowl of fruit salad in my hands teetered precariously.

"I've got it." Rix plucked the bowl from my hands and walked over to the table we'd set up for the food.

He'd rigged an umbrella to provide shade but I'd waited until right before everyone was supposed to arrive to bring the food out. We were hosting our first party as a couple and I wanted everything to be perfect.

It was silly to be nervous as if I hadn't known the Evers my whole life but this was different. After Rix had declared he planned to marry the hell out of me, he had launched a full-scale campaign to convert me to all the benefits of being an Evers. We'd attended Beck's baseball games together, Tana had been happy to babysit Meatball so we could go on date nights, and we hadn't missed a Sunday dinner yet.

The man really did know the way to my heart.

After placing the bowl squarely in the middle of the shade, Rix moved a few other things over. He gestured to the table. "Does it look okay?"

"Yeah. The table looks great."

"Then why do you have that look on your face? What are you thinking?"

I turned to walk back to the house. He ran up beside me and slung an arm around my shoulders.

"Do you ever get that weird feeling like you've seen something before? Or like you've already lived this life?"

"Déjà vu?"

"Yes. That's it. This feels so familiar." I glanced over at him curiously. "If we knew each other in another life, I wonder if you still drove me as crazy as you do now?"

"Probably. Maybe we were slinging insults across a saloon in the Wild West or doing the Charleston in a prohibition era jazz club."

"If we were in the Wild West then I probably would have shot you."

He cracked up. "I believe it. Dad would say it's because we've been together before. Soul mates who found each other again. Actually he said something weird one time about how we were fated because of our names. Which didn't really make a lot of sense."

I stopped walking as I thought about it. "Oh wow. He's right. Our names match. We're both named after music legends."

He looked confused. "Charlotte?"

"Gran had a thing for jazz singers. My mom is named after Lena Horne. When it was her turn, Mom carried on the tradition but with our middle names. My sister is Elise Billie for Billie Holiday. And I'm Charlotte Ella after Ella Fitzgerald."

He stared. "He was right. I almost don't want to tell him that. He'll be insufferable."

Just then my mom walked out into the backyard. "Do you need any help?"

I waved her over and gave her the job of arranging some of the flowers Rix had brought home into bouquets for the table. She'd always had a knack with flowers and it would give her something to do. I could tell she was a little nervous about seeing everyone all at once again, too.

Things had been better after our talk. It had been a hard conversation but I think she finally got where I was coming from, and after some reflection I felt like I understood her better, too. With hindsight it was easier to see how stifled she'd felt growing up here and how she'd thought she was giving us a better life.

Now that she wasn't trapped in this town, she seemed better able to appreciate it. Ever since they'd arrived, she'd been just as excited as Billie to meet my friends and get involved in my new life.

Rix pulled me into his arms from behind and rested his head on top of mine. "You look happy."

"I am happy. I have everything I ever wanted."

As my eyes wandered over the newly fenced in yard, the scent of honeysuckle tickled my nose. Billie and Meatball ran by again.

As I watched them play, I gasped. "This is my dream."

I closed my eyes, remembering. Immediately I was swept with an overwhelming feeling of home.

"The dream that I used to have all the time. Living in this house with the smell of honeysuckle on the air and my kids running around the yard. I just realized this is it. This is the dream."

He turned and watched Billie collapse in a heap before Meatball climbed into her lap. They were both filthy and probably smelled like wet grass but they were having the time of their lives.

"Our kids, huh?"

We both laughed.

"Not exactly what I expected but I'll take it," I said.

Tana's head poked over the top of the newly installed fence. "Is this a private party or can anybody join?"

Rix chuckled. "What's the password? We don't want just any riffraff off the street coming in."

She pushed open the gate and the entire Evers family trailed behind her. In a matter of minutes there was music playing, Mrs. Evers had set up another table for the food she'd brought along and Van was playing a game of cornhole with his father. Beck and Campbell tossed a ball back and forth before joining Billie where she was trying to teach Meatball to play fetch.

"Where did all this come from?" I asked, looking over at Rix in astonishment.

He just shook his head. "You know how my family rolls. They're basically a traveling circus."

"That's because we're awesome," Tana sang playfully before pulling me into a hug.

When Billie saw who had just arrived, she jumped up with a whoop. "Aunt Tana!"

"Billie Bug!" She leaned down to hug her. "Don't let my brothers bother you. They aren't used to being civilized."

Billie looked over her shoulder. "Don't worry. I can handle them."

Tana smiled. "I bet you can. I've been outnumbered for years. We can use a little more girl power around here."

"I was supposed to move here," Billie said. "But now we're staying in New York. But I can bring all the girl power in the summer."

I hugged her close, thrilled that the custody situation was settled. Now that the Delacourts were assured Billie wouldn't be leaving the country, they'd actually been making more of an effort to see her. It turned out all they wanted was the chance to spend more time with their only grandchild, hardly an unreasonable request.

They wouldn't win grandparents of the year any time soon but I could admit to being a little biased. After Gran Grace, I had pretty high standards.

"We're counting on it," Tana said. "Your sister and I used to run wild all over this place every summer. We have so much to teach you."

I laughed thinking of all the times we'd dragged Rix and Carter into our schemes. Now Violet Ridge would have a whole new generation learning her secrets. When I met Tana's eyes, I could tell she was thinking the same thing.

She bumped my arm. "I'm really glad the Rescue Charlie plan worked after all."

"Did your friends rescue you?" Billie asked looking between Tana and Rix in confusion.

I thought about it. About everything that had led us to this moment, all the losses, all the pain but mainly, all the joy. There were hundreds of memories wrapped up in this house and these people, and we would hopefully make hundreds more.

I sure hoped Gran was somewhere watching all of this. Because this was exactly what she'd wanted for me.

"My friends did rescue me." I squeezed Billie's hand. "But in the end, I think I really rescued myself."

* * *