June 29
Jesse’s Ridge
THE CLEARING ON TOP OF the mountain was jammed with people in wedding-going clothes. Some had ridden up in SUVs, others in horse-drawn buggies and carriages. A few had even traveled on horseback.
Jesse and his lovely bride, Cheyenne, stood with their backs to the assembly, facing the minister, a long-time family friend of the McKettricks.
“Dearly beloved,” the preacher began. “We are gathered here…”
Rance and Keegan stood proudly at Jesse’s left side, looking wonderfully out of place and breathtakingly handsome in their tuxedos. Rance glanced back at Emma, who was standing with Cora, Dr. Swann, Rianna and Maeve, and winked.
She smiled, and her face warmed.
Rance’s diamond glinted on her left hand, and she took a moment to admire it.
A soft breeze ruffled the branches of the ancient pines lining the clearing, and the sky overhead was a heartbreaking shade of blue.
The ceremony passed in a blur—Emma heard little of it.
She thought of her estranged uncle, who had passed away peacefully in his sleep a few days before, at the care center, and been buried without any fanfare at all.
And then there were Della and Bud Willand. The prosecutor had decided to give Bud a second chance, and according to Della, he’d started his new job as a welder and was behaving himself.
The Ademoyes called regularly, with updates on the puppies. All was well with Snowball.
Scrappers was proving to be a challenge, but he was Emma’s dog. Nobody could come and take him away.
The bookstore was thriving.
Emma loved Rance McKettrick, and he loved her.
A person couldn’t ask for more.
“…I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister said. “Jesse, you may kiss your bride.”
Jesse kissed Cheyenne, and gave a whoop of joy afterward.
The wedding guests laughed and applauded, and the sounds echoed off the surrounding hills, hills that had witnessed the births, marriages and deaths of countless McKettricks.
Emma closed her eyes for a moment and breathed in the sweet mountain air. Jesse and Cheyenne would add to the family history, and so in time, would she and Rance. Eventually, Rianna and Maeve would, too.
The story would go on, weaving like a bright, strong ribbon through the present and into the future.