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And I had everything I ever wanted, just like that.
epilogue
JESSA
One year later
It was a beautiful day for a ball game.
I sat in the stands with half of Roseville to watch the Mountaineers play in their championship game, the Smoky Mountains all around us and the sun high. Cass sat at my side with her hand in a bag of peanuts and a pile of shells at her feet, stress eating, as the game had been close. Her feet rested next to mine on the backs of the empty seats in front of us.
On my other side were my very uncomfortable parents.
They’d come to town twice now since The Ordeal. The first when I informed them I was staying indefinitely in an attempt to convince me otherwise. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded—in fact, they left happily and with respect for Remy, which was as unexpected as it was absolutely perfect. I wasn’t at all surprised that he won them over in the end.
It was his specialty, after all.
It had been an age since I’d seen them though, so when Mother had to come to America for business, Father came as well, and they decided to stay a bit and visit. I’d convinced them to come to the game with the promise that it would be thrilling, and it had been.
Father had taken to eating peanuts like Cass, his eyes a bit buggy as the innings wore on. Mother was less interested but had been a good sport. She even ate a hot dog. With an expression of disgust and a fork, but she ate it, and I’d never been prouder. Father had eaten nachos with his hands, which disgusted Mother even more than her hot dog. The sound of her giggle-shrieking when Father threatened to touch her with his gooey cheese hands was something I never imagined I’d hear. But here I was, laughing like a loon as my parents acted like children.
It was brilliant.
The whole day had left me feeling effervescent. I could have floated away.
It came as no surprise. The whole year had been like this, ever since I first saw Remy.
All we’d done was love each other desperately. Of course, he’d played baseball and we’d renovated the house—we’d even decided to buy the old abandoned strawberry farm, though we hadn’t sorted out what to do with it yet. But mostly, it was just the loving that we did. It seemed our instincts were right—we were so well suited, I couldn’t imagine tiring of him. I couldn’t imagine being without him.
The game was nearly over, and we were up by one. One more out would do it. And so we sat on pins and needles, leaning in as the pitcher threw.
Bat hit ball with a crack. We gasped and held our breath as we watched the ball drive up first and...
Straight into Remy’s glove.
The stadium erupted in noise. I shot out of my seat, jumping and cheering and grabbing Cass. We screamed into each other’s faces, pink cheeked and wild. Even Lord and Lady Hastings were jumping around, mother’s handbag swinging from her elbow. Father accidentally knocked her French twist loose, but she didn’t even notice, likely because Father dipped her for a kiss.
I grabbed Cass’s hand, gaping at my parents, then giggling, then celebrating again, singing along with the crowd to “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round The Mountain,” which I’d learned all five verses to and sometimes sang in my sleep.
The stadium calmed a little as we all sang, do-si-doing in the aisles. The teams made their way back to their dugouts, and when the song was through, the announcer came on.
“Thank you all for coming to the Southern League championship game, and congratulations to the Mountaineers for their win! We’d like to page Lady Jessamine Hastings to the field, please. Lady Jessamine Hastings—please report to the field. Everyone, say hello to our favorite Duchess as she passes.”
I blinked, then looked back at everyone. “Me?”
Cass laughed, nudging me toward the field. “Yes, you!”
People waved and said hello as I trotted down the stairs. The team had gotten me a Mountaineers jersey with Remy’s number three on it and DUCHESS across the back, and it was how everyone had come to know me. Remy had become something of a celebrity, and by proxy, so had I. So as many of our regulars said hello, I knew them by name, including some of the other wives and girlfriends of the team.
Really, I’d never felt more a part of anything.
When I reached the gate to the field, the security guard opened it up for me.
“Thank you, Dale.”
“No problem, Duchess.”
“Where am I to go?”
