The morning after the reception, Josh felt drawn back to the falls. Despite Jean’s insistence that God was everywhere, to Josh He seemed to reside here. The grandeur of the falls and the surrounding nature were a far more fitting “church” to Josh than all the breathtaking cathedrals he had seen on his travels—not that he was in the habit of visiting holy places. Still, after watching Violet and Lyle vow the rest of their lives to each other yesterday with such bliss on their faces, this did seem like a holy place.
The chairs were still set out; the colored ribbons still fluttered in the breeze down the aisle and around the gazebo. He laughed to himself as he sat down in one of the chairs—this sort of stuff would have been gone in an hour if left outside overnight in San Jose. He remembered looking down from his hotel window at one outdoor wedding in Los Angeles to note with sad amusement that the chairs had been strung through with airplane cable and a padlock.
Not here. In Matrimony Valley, no one owned a car alarm, bicycles were never locked and he couldn’t say if people even locked their front doors. More than once, he’d ducked into a business on Aisle Avenue to find the place unattended and a “Back in five minutes” note posted to the counter. The whole town felt decent and human and caring—and that, he realized, is what drew him back. Who’d have thought decent and human and caring would win out over fast, loud and exciting? Certainly not the Josh Tyler he’d been a month ago.
A loud sound caused him to turn around, and he saw Kelly Nelson, the florist, picking up one of the large tin urns that had been set at the top of the aisle. There was a little girl with her—her daughter, he realized, having met them at the florist shop while trying to calm Violet down about the whole last-minute flower crisis.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t see you there,” Kelly said as she set the urn upright. “I can come back later.”
“No,” Josh said as he rose. “You’re not disturbing me. I just wanted to see the place again.” He walked toward her. Poor Kelly—she’d pulled off an amazing feat of logistics to make the flowers for this wedding happen. “You must be exhausted, but you did a great job on your first wedding. I know Vi didn’t make it easy on you.”
Kelly undid the string that tied a bunch of ribbon to one of the chairs. “All brides are complicated.”
“I don’t think all brides make huge last-minute flower switches on holiday weekends, though, do they?”
“Well, if you’ve got the money for it, most problems are solvable.” She gave Josh a look as she handed the brightly colored loops to her daughter. “Sorry it cost you so much to give your sister what she wanted. I did the best I could on crazy short notice like that. I didn’t gouge you, I promise.”
“I never thought you did. I was actually impressed you pulled it off in so short a time.” He undid the string from the bunch of ribbon on the chair nearest him, handing it to the little girl.
“Thanks,” she said brightly. “I’m Lulu.”
For a split second, Josh thought about all the times Jonah missed a simple exchange like this. His heart gave in to a moment’s ache for all the ways Jonah was cut off from the world. And yet, Jonah was more connected here than Josh had ever felt in San Jose. “Hi, Lulu, I’m Josh.”
“That’s Mr. Josh to you, hon. He walked our bride down the aisle, remember?”
Lulu smiled at the memory. “She was beautiful.”
“She was, wasn’t she?” Violet had glowed with love and happiness. She deserved it, and he really was overjoyed for her. Despite his error, yesterday had still been the happy day it was supposed to be. But yesterday had also unlocked a craving for love and happiness for himself.
Kelly leaned down to her daughter. “Why don’t you collect all the ribbons in a great big bouquet for me?”
“Sure!” Lulu skipped off down the aisle on her collecting mission.
“So,” Kelly said, facing him with a matter-of-fact expression. “You and Jean.”
He’d kissed her in front of everyone at the reception last night—it shouldn’t surprise him that someone was going to say something to him about it. “We...um...go back.”
“I know,” Kelly said. “I know everything, actually. About Jonah, and all.” She paused for a moment. “I realize it may be none of my business, but we all love Jean, and she’s been through a lot. No one wants to see her or Jonah hurt.”
He hoped anyone at SymphoCync would stick up for him so fiercely, but he found he couldn’t be sure. “I don’t want to hurt either of them. I just want to be part of their lives here.”
“Part? No offense, but I happened to be there and that kiss didn’t look like it had anything partial about it. I don’t know how they do things where you’re from, but here in the valley, if you kiss a girl like that in front of everybody, you’d better mean it.”
“I did mean it,” he said defensively, then realized he didn’t quite know what that declaration meant. “I care a lot about her.”
Kelly looked down the aisle to her daughter. “Lulu’s father was killed in an aviation accident. She knows he’s gone. Every day she knows it, and misses him. I’d give anything—anything—to change that, but I can’t.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you have a choice with Jonah. He’s such an amazing kid. Jean’s a rare woman. Neither of them deserves only part. Don’t lead her on to something you can’t really give. Jonah needs a dad beside him, and Jean’s not the kind of person who can ever do things halfway. She’s poured her heart and soul into this town, and I just want to keep that heart from being broken.”
“Wow,” Josh said, rocking back on his heels. “No sugarcoating in Matrimony Valley, is there?”
“We’re straight shooters, and we take care of our own.” She smiled. “And I like you. And Jonah adores you. And Jean, well, I think it’s pretty clear how she feels about you. I know you’ve got a lot waiting for you back in California. I just want to make sure you realize how much is waiting for you here.”
It seemed to just leap out of him, even though he barely knew the woman. “What if I end up hurting them? What if I do...what it might take to be with them and it...fails?”
He waited for Kelly to roll her eyes at his blurted words, but she smiled gently and thought a moment before replying. “I know it sounds cheesy, but I think the only real failure to be afraid of here is the one you’d make by not trying. You’re already his dad. It’s just a question of what kind of dad you decide to be.” Her thumb strayed to her empty ring finger, reminding Josh she was a widow and that her late husband’s choice—and chance—had been stolen from him.
Not being around to watch Jonah enter middle school, or go to prom, or go to college and fall madly in love—the thought chewed at him in ways he’d never expected. “Does it ever get less terrifying—being a parent, that is?”
She looked at her daughter with the same mix of pride, worry and affection that often sat on Jean’s face. “Actually, I think it gets worse. I mean, teenagers. And yeah, I think it will be different—harder, maybe—with Jonah. But I’ve never met a kid more up to the challenge. Ever think he might get that from you?”
It was true, he’d seen much of his own dogged problem-solving in Josh, his knack for pulling people into his world that was one of the key ingredients in SymphoCync’s success. Josh was challenged in unique ways, but he was also amazing in ways that were just as unique. Still... “I think he gets a lot of that from his mother.”
She laughed softly. “That’s just as scary, isn’t it?” Looking down at the gazebo where Violet had said her vows not twenty-four hours earlier, she continued. “Jean says weddings are the ultimate act of faith and optimism. That’s why she did it, you know. Matrimony Valley.”
“How so?”
“We were dying. When the mill closed and the jobs disappeared, so many people lost hope. We needed faith and optimism. We needed to become faith and optimism. That’s why we’re Matrimony Valley, and not ‘Golf Valley’ or ‘Antiques Valley.’”
Every time he thought Jean could not amaze him more... “She never told me that.”
Lulu had started coming back up the aisle, nearly swallowed by a huge collection of ribbons. “You should have heard her presentation to the town council. She had an uphill battle all the way, but she just kept going until she convinced them. I like to think of Violet as living proof that she was right.” She looked down at her daughter. “Look at you! You got them all.”
Lulu stuck her chin up over the mountain of satin strips. “It was hard, but I did it.”
Kelly looked up at Josh. “You can say that about lots of things in life, sweetie.” She picked up the box. “Pile all those pretty ribbons in here and you can hang them up all over your room if you like. Miss Violet—excuse me, Mrs. Davis—is done with them.” Returning her gaze to Josh, she said, “It’s the prettiest spot in the valley. Good for thinking. Take all the time you need, and just stop by the church when you’re done so Boss knows to come pick up the chairs.”
“Bye!” Lulu waved.
As he waved back, Josh remembered a wave goodbye was the same in spoken English or sign. And that way back when SymphoCync was just a bunch of diagrams on paper, people had called him an impossible optimist, too.
He’d been mostly certain up until that moment. But as he sat there in the leafy cathedral that was Matrimony Falls, Josh decided he wanted the faith and optimism that thrived here. He wanted the woman and boy who thrived here as well, and it was time to win his own uphill battle with Hal Braddon.
If You really are the God who brought me here, be the God who keeps me here.
There was something about this valley. About the people. Something that was such a polar opposite of San Jose, he couldn’t even begin to explain it.
He knew he’d only experienced it.
You can only experience it.
Josh pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed.
* * *
“Is Violet married?” Matt’s voice was sleepy. It was pretty early out there given the time difference.
“Went off without a hitch—well almost.” He decided to save the story of Violet’s last-minute floral fiasco for another day. “What’s your schedule look like for Tuesday?”
“Why?” Matt sounded suspicious.
“Because I think Tuesday sounds like a really good day for a promotion.”
Matt yawned. “The marketing campaign for the launch has been in place for weeks. We don’t need any more promotion.”
“Not SymphoCync. You.”
He could hear Matt sit up straight from wherever he was. “Huh?”
“I think I’ve found a way to do the deal.”
“There is a way to do the deal. We say yes to Braddon’s offer.” Matt paused for a long moment before asking, “Are you saying you don’t want to sell?”
“I’m saying I have a counteroffer in mind.”
“Now I’m really confused.”
“How would the title co-CEO clear things up?” Josh surprised himself to realize he was smiling.
“You want to make me co-CEO with you? Seriously?”
“You deserve it, Matt. And I’m going to need you if this is going to work out the way I want it to. Are you up for it?”
Josh could imagine Matt’s wide eyes as he ran his hands through his hair. He’d likely jumped up and began pacing the room, if Josh knew his friend. “Co-CEO. With you.”
“But we’d still have to convince Braddon to go along with it, so that’s why I’m asking about Tuesday.”
“I can do Tuesday,” Matt agreed, still sounding a bit shocked.
“Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“Is that a yes?”
“Absolutely. It’s absolutely a yes. But what am I doing Tuesday?”
“Bring Braddon to the valley. I mean it—charter a plane, charm his assistant, pull strings, whatever. Just find some way to bring Hal Braddon to Matrimony Valley for a couple of days—for just twenty-four hours, even. I can do the rest.”
“Are you crazy? He won’t.”
“Then figure out a way so he will. We’ll do it together. I’ll send him an email with the most persuasive invitation I’ve ever written. You just make sure he says yes.” Josh started walking back to town. If he could talk Bill Williams into opening up for him after lunch on a Sunday, it was time for another extravagant purchase.
“You’ve lost your marbles.” Matt laughed nervously. “You know that, don’t you?”
“No, just the opposite. I think I’ve found them. Pack your bags and call me back when you’ve got Braddon.”
Josh clicked off the line. Tonight he would sit down to write the most important email of his life.
Big Fish was about to cast a line for the biggest fish of all.