One year later…
“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” Emily told Dylan as she took her place in Maisy’s saddle, the voluminous folds of her white lace-and-satin wedding gown floating out about her.
Her groom-to-be grinned and climbed onto the magnificent Hercules. Resplendent in his tux, Dylan mugged at her seductively. “Yeah, you can.”
Emily reached across and clasped his hand. She smiled, too. “Yeah. I can.”
“It has been quite a year, though,” he murmured.
Yes, Emily thought, it had.
They had secured proof linking Xavier Shillingsworth to the scandal in the cafe. An out-of-court settlement had been reached, both with her and the county health department, compensating them for their losses.
After that, her café had been remodeled in record time.
Emily’d had to scale back on the daily specials a bit in order to keep the books nicely balanced in the future, but thanks to an expanded, updated menu and additional seating, customer satisfaction was at an all-time high nevertheless.
Dylan had accepted her family into his heart as readily as they had taken him into theirs.
Andrew had plenty of friends and was now a ranch hand on the Last Chance, working at Dylan’s side whenever he wasn’t in school or out socializing.
The only difficulty, if there was one, was the fact they’d had to take all three of the mustangs on to the Libertyville Boys Ranch, as promised.
Saying goodbye to the three beloved mustangs had been hard—until Emily saw how much the boys there loved horses, and how much Salt, Pepper and Ginger loved them back. She’d had to admit that the once-wild mustangs would have great lives as therapy horses.
And so now, it was on with the future. Their future, Emily thought, as Dylan stopped, atop a ridge. In the valley below, their family and friends waited.
He turned to her. “Before I give the signal for the musicians to start, I want to talk about the wedding gift.”
He reached into his pocket and withdrew an envelope. Inside were photos of two beautiful mustangs.
Emily knew immediately what he had done. Entranced by the love of her life’s generosity and acknowledging the unique challenges ahead—she asked, “When are they arriving?”
“The day after we get back from our honeymoon in Wyoming,” Dylan reported proudly.
Emily chuckled. “And now my gift for you.” She reached down and removed the envelope she had taped to the inside of her white satin cowgirl wedding boot.
She handed them over with a comical wrinkle of her nose. Dylan studied the photos—of two more mustangs—and began to laugh.
“Four mustangs,” he said in awe.
Emily grinned, thinking how exciting it was going to be to start all over again. “Apparently.”
Dylan slipped out of his saddle and pulled her out of hers. He wrapped his arms around her. “Think we can handle it?”
Emily wreathed her arms about his neck, rose on tiptoe and kissed him soundly. She looked deeply into his eyes. “Cowboy, I think we can handle anything as long as we’re together.”
Dylan murmured his agreement. He kissed her back leisurely. “So what do you say we ride on down there and get married?”
Emily hugged him with all the love in her heart. “I think that’s the best idea ever,” she beamed.