Epilogue

 

“You look beautiful.” Savvy’s fingers trailed along the gauzy veil and then down the back of Rori’s wedding gown.

Rori studied Savvy’s reflection in the full-length mirror standing against her bedroom wall, saw the longing on Savvy’s face and the tears dwelling in her eyes. The silky material rustled as Rori turned and grasped both of Savvy’s hands in hers. “Thank you, Savvy.” She pulled her in for a hug then stepped back, smiling. “Soon I’ll be dressing for your big day.”

Savvy scoffed and flicked moisture from her eye with the back of her finger, smearing her mascara. She shook her head. “Not anytime soon, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

Rori reached for a tissue from the nightstand and handed it to her friend.

“Thanks,” Savvy took the tissue, “but I think I need more than this to fix my face. I need to slip into the bathroom before we head out. I’ll be back.” Savvy pulled the door open and stepped outside.

Her mother squeezed in and stepped behind her to adjust her veil. She wore a smile similar to Savvy’s, minus the longing. “You look as beautiful as I knew you would, honey.”

“Thanks, Mom. Can you help me with my necklace? My fingers are shaking too much to work that clasp.” Rori handed her mother the strand of pearls.

“You think mine will be better?” Lessa chuckled, but took them from her with trembling fingers.

Rori turned back around, felt the cool touch of her mother’s fingers on the back of her neck, and then they moved to her shoulders.

“There you go, honey. Turn around. Let’s see.”

Rori pirouetted, stopping to face her mother.

Her mother nodded, her chest swelling as she took a deep breath. Her fingers trailed a wisp of Rori’s hair until it disappeared under the veil. “You’ve come a long ways over the last few months, honey. Graham is good for you.”

“Who’d have thought I’d ever marry a racecar driver?”

“God knew what He was doing when He brought Graham into your life.”

Rori smiled, thinking back to that first meeting. And when Graham had said basically the same words.

A knock sounded on the bedroom door.

Lessa cracked the door open, whispering to whoever was outside, then swung it wide.

“I’m heading outside, Rori. Love you.” Lessa blew a kiss in her direction and kissed Ryan’s cheek as she passed him.

Ryan stepped into the room. “Whoa! I’m not used to seeing you all gussied up. You look beautiful.”

“Meaning I don’t look beautiful in jeans?” Rori teased.

Ryan scratched the back of his head, his brows furrowing. “Uh, that’s not quite…you look beautiful in whatever—”

Rori decided to let him off the hook. Smiling, she rubbed the back of his suit jacket. “It’s OK, Ryan. I knew what you meant.”

It wasn’t often he saw her wearing a dress. Or makeup. Or with a silly grin plastered on her face.

Relief swept across his features, and his brows lifted. “It’s time, Rori.”

A heavy lump crawled down her throat. It wasn’t that she wasn’t ready to marry Graham. After more than five months of seeing him every day, of falling deeper in love with him, she was more than ready to dive into the next chapter of their lives.

They’d only invited a few guests, mostly family and a scattering of friends. But the media had their ways of sniffing out events like this. She wanted this day to be special, without worries about media hounds and paparazzi barging in to spoil this precious occasion with their endless questions and clicking cameras.

Graham had taken every precaution to keep the news from spreading, and the ceremony private, including hiring a security firm out of Charlotte.

Ryan patted her arm. “It’s all right, honey. You don’t need to worry. Everybody who showed up was on the guest list. Graham made sure of it. Every time I turn around, I’m bumping into one of those security folks. They’re scattered all over the animal sanctuary.”

Relief flowed through her veins like a cool glass of sweet iced tea on a scorching summer day. She nodded. “OK, then. I’m ready. Let’s do it.” She circled her arm through the crook in his and allowed him to lead her out of the bedroom.

The house was quiet.

The only sound she heard was the faint music filtering in from the reception tent set up on the grounds.

They reached the front door.

Ryan stopped and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “I’m proud to call myself your father, Rori.”

A tear leaked from her eye, and she sniffled. “Let’s go before I chicken out.”

He shook his head. “Not likely. You’ve overcome so much to get to this point. You’re brave and courageous, and Graham knows what a fine woman he’s marrying.”

“You made sure of it, eh?” Smiling, she gazed up into the eyes of the man who’d brought the sunshine and laughter back into her mother’s life.

His tone was serious, along with his expression. “I would have a problem with you marrying the fella,” he flicked his head towards the door, “if he didn’t love and honor you like you deserve. I might not have birthed you, Rori, but I love you as if you were my daughter.”

“I love you, too, Dad.” There she said it. The first time she’d ever called him by that title.

He sucked in a breath, and she ignored the moisture leaking around his eyes. He patted her hand, and then tugged the door open. “Come on. There’s a great guy out there waiting for you.”

Graham was more than a great guy. He was the guy for today, tomorrow, and the next day after that. “Yeah. He is.”

Savvy stood on the front porch, waiting, two simple bunches of roses in her hand. She turned around, her sandy brows arched. “Ready?”

Five o’clock and the sun dazzled against a bright blue sky, not a cloud in sight. A perfect afternoon for a wedding.

“What are we waiting for?” She grinned. Now that she knew there weren’t any photographers or media hounds hanging around, her tummy felt lighter than it had in days.

“You, but now that you’re here, we can get this show on the road.” Savvy handed her the bridal bouquet.

“Thank you, Savvy.” Rori slid an arm around her neck, gave her a quick hug, the scent of roses mingling with the sweet smell of cake and punch that drifted from the reception table. “See you at the front.”

Savvy blinked and nodded. Her jade gown swirled around her bare ankles as she pivoted, starting the short procession. She reached the bottom of the steps and waited for the signal, poised in front of the carpet runner leading to the area where the wedding ceremony was to be performed.

Ryan kept pressure on Rori’s arm tucked through the crook in his. Was he afraid she might bolt?

Not a chance. She wanted the handsome prize at the end of the runway.

Graham Decker.

A racecar driver. Who’d have guessed? A smile teased the corners of her lips. God had used a celebrity to work a miracle in her life, freeing her from the bondage of fear and shame.

The first strains of music sounded, and Savvy stepped onto the carpet.

At least a hundred chairs packed with guests lined both sides of the path, but Rori only had eyes for the man standing tall and proud, his powerful shoulders stretched wide over long legs, hands folded behind his back, a handsome, enticing smile on his lips. His warm eyes beckoned her forward like a sandy beach drew an ocean’s wave.

Burk stood next to him with the same pose, just taller and thinner.

Goliath sat on his haunches next to Graham, a black bow tie draped around his furry neck.

Just ahead of them, Savvy stumbled, almost fell forward, but recovered by extending her arm. Her blonde head swiveled from left to front, and her movements became awkward and gangly, uncoordinated, unlike her usual graceful, athletic style. What was wrong?

Ryan tightened his grip on her arm, frowning, and turned his head sideways.

Rori leaned around him, following his gaze.

A man strode towards them, his long-legged gait eerily similar.

Her jaw dropped, and then she let out a tiny squeal. “Beck!”

She tore away from Ryan’s grasp and, lifting the bottom of her gown, took the couple steps to reach him with lightning speed.

Her brother swallowed her in his arms, his grizzly face resting on the top of her head.

“You came.” Joy filled and expanded her heart to overflowing.

“Did you think I would miss my little sister’s wedding?” His jaw rumbled against her head, tugging on her veil, and she knew from the sound of his gruff voice that he was trying to compose himself. Her arms reached all the way around his back, with length to spare. He was so thin.

She gave him a moment, and then pulled back to look at him.

A scruffy black beard covered his face, and his jeans were worn, his shirt ragged and too thin for the cooler spring temperatures. A book bag hung from one boney shoulder.

“Did you just get here?” she whispered.

“Yeah. Took me two weeks, but I made it. Just in time, by the looks of things.” Brown flakes speckled in green eyes, looking more weary than adventurous after more than ten years of wandering, as his gaze looked longingly at the converted stable. “I suppose I don’t have time to shower or change.”

She loved her brother, but she wasn’t willing to wait one minute longer to become Mrs. Graham Decker. “Not on your life, Beck Harmon. It might have taken you two weeks to get home, but you had more than ten years, and I’ve made this sweet guy—” Rori swiveled her head in Graham’s direction, and then back to Beck “—wait far too long, already. You’re fine just as you are.” And he was. She was so happy to see him. She didn’t care how he was dressed. “Go on up to the front row and sit with Mom.”

Ryan clapped a hand on Beck’s shoulder. “Your mom will be thrilled to see you, Beck. I’m glad you came home.”

“Ryan?”

“Yeah.”

Tears leaked from Rori’s eyes as the two embraced. She swiped at them with the tip of her finger.

When Beck pulled away, his cheeks were moist, too.

The music changed to the “Wedding March,” and guests from both sides of the aisle stood.

Beck slipped off to the side, behind the last row of guests. Far enough that he wasn’t visible from the smiling faces pointed in her direction.

“Would you like me to walk with you to the front?” Ryan offered her brother.

Rori held her breath, her fingers almost crushing the long rose stems she clutched in her hand.

Beck tugged a chair from the last row. “Thanks, Ryan, but I think I’ll just take a seat in the back for now.”

Rori hesitated. Would he slip away again before she had a chance to talk to him?

“Go on, Rori. I’m here to stay. We can catch up later,” Beck whispered, his expression solemn and weary as he nodded towards Graham.

She let out the breath she’d been holding, releasing Beck back to God. How easy it was to give a problem to God, but then try to take it back. She didn’t need a second invitation to marry the man who’d stuck close through tough times. A man who showed her that he wouldn’t give up or wave the white flag of surrender. A man who, through his patient love, had encouraged her to stretch her boundaries and freed her from the chains that had taken over her life. She’d become stronger, braver, than she ever thought possible.

Yeah. He was a man she could depend on. Yet he was so much more.

A soft breeze ruffled Rori’s dress and she shivered, but it was more from peace and contentment rippling through her body than the cool air. If she could wake up every morning for the rest of her life tucked in Graham’s arms and gaze into his sweet, adoring face, it wouldn’t be long enough.

They shuffled up the aisle.

Faces of friends and family watched quietly, their mouths forming silent “ohs.”

She practically floated to the front. Ryan stopped in front of the preacher and kissed the top of her head. Then he took a seat next to Lessa, who was dabbing her cheeks with a tissue. He wrapped an arm around Lessa’s shoulders and drew her tight against his side.

Rori turned to face her beloved.

His brown eyes simmered with love and tenderness, warm and velvety as roasting coffee. His rough palms cupped her cheeks, and he leaned down, taking his time kissing her.

When he pulled back, she could barely breathe, so much raw emotion filled her lungs.

“I love you, sweetheart, forever and always,” he whispered.

Her free hand reached up to graze his jaw, and she smiled into his adoring face. “I love you, too.” She loved him more than she dreamed possible. Loving Graham meant prying loose the iron hold that fear held over her heart for too long. While Graham had shown her that love was worth the risks, God had showered her with an everlasting love and given her promises that if she trusted Him, she had no reason to be afraid. Nothing the media printed or people whispered about her could ever hurt her. The only way for that to happen would be if she allowed it.

Life was all about choices. Some people, like her father, chose death over life. Chose a release from the pain and temporary suffering, over living through it and becoming better and stronger for it.

She couldn’t change her father’s decision, any more than she could change what people thought or what they said, but she refused to live under that murky shadow another day.

This day, she chose love and life. Joy and peace. Sunshine and laughter. Healing and freedom from the chains of fear. She chose God and Graham.

“Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today…”