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Surprisingly, the boys don’t get too grumpy with me even when I take dozens of selfies that I’ll print out later. It’s one of the things I love about living at Greer’s house. Well, it’s my house too. Greer had my name added to the deed the day after we moved in. He said he didn’t want me thinking that the boys and I would ever get kicked out again. We have a home now.
I take photos all the time and I’m always printing out my favorite ones. They get framed and hung around the house. I have pictures of the boys learning to ride horses, of Greer cheering them on at their sports games, and even a photo of the four of us back at the arcade where he took me on our first date.
Finally, we drive back to our house. Well, I think that’s where we’re going but Greer passes his driveway and continues until he stops at his mom’s house. He leads me and the boys to the backyard where a grill is set up.
There’s a table stacked high with food as a thumping country song plays. Everyone in the Maple family is here including Greer’s mom, his brothers, his sister, and even her husband. The moment we round the corner, the music stops and a hush falls over the crowd.
I turn to Greer. “What’s going on?”
“We’re here to celebrate the signing today, and because I have a question for you,” he says as he pulls a velvet box from his suit coat. He gets down on one knee and opens his mouth.
I glance at Chase and Parker who are standing on either side of him. They both have big grins on their faces. Suddenly, it makes sense that they went along with the suits today. Normally, they would have thrown such a fuss that I would have given up. But Greer must have talked to them.
“Evie, you’re the love of this cowboy’s life. Today, you made it official that your brothers are yours, and now I want you to be mine. All three of you. Would you marry me and be mine forever?”
I throw my arms around his shoulders and pepper him with kisses.
“I think that’s a yes, folks,” Greer says when I finally let him breathe. He’s smiling at me, his eyes shining with love. I can’t believe he asked me to marry him.
He slides the ring on my finger. It’s a diamond engagement ring with two stones on either side of it. “I talked to the boys. Seemed right to have their birthstones since we’re becoming a family.”
“It’s perfect,” I tell him just as his family swarms me. They take turns embracing me and welcoming me to the family with hugs and kisses and well wishes. The boys are smothered with just as much love as I am.
I can’t help looking over at them and smiling. After years of hardship, we’re no longer on our own. We have a family now. A family that will always protect and love us.
Epilogue
Evie
“What do you think?” I twirl around in my bedroom to let my brothers see the wedding dress I’m wearing. It’s been a little over two years since we moved in with Greer.
Last month, I officially became a registered nurse, and I’m now employed as a nurse in Cash’s office. Martha is still working there, and she’s helped me learn so much. At some point in the next few years, she’d like to cut back to part-time hours. She hasn’t made any firm plans. When the time comes, she’ll coordinate it with Cash. He’s made it clear I’ll always have a job at the clinic.
There are still two more important things that I want to do this year. The first one will be done today and the other one, well, I hope to get started on it tonight.
“It looks like a wedding dress to me,” Chase says from his place where he’s leaning against the doorway. He’s twelve now, and his voice cracks when he talks. He’s changed a lot in the past two years. He’s not as angry, not as disillusioned with life. Greer’s influence is a big part of that.
“A very pretty wedding dress,” Ginger says, rubbing her swollen belly. She married a mountain man a few years ago, and he always keeps her pregnant. Not that she seems to mind. She loves the big, bearded man who lets her boss him around the camping store.
“Pretty,” Parker agrees and nudges Chase.
He quickly nods. Like most boys, all wedding dresses look alike to them.
“You guys look so handsome,” I exclaim. They’re wearing suits again. They tried to talk me into going with a camouflage wedding theme which I quickly vetoed.
“You promised you wouldn’t,” Chase groans when I sniff. He’s already taller than me with lanky limbs he still hasn’t adjusted to having. He’s at the age where he’s caught between boy and man and isn’t quite confident in his skin yet.
“I’m not crying.” I dab at my face with the blue handkerchief from Ginger. I pause to readjust the pearls around my neck. They’re genuine pearls, a gift from Mrs. Maple who I now call Mom. She gifted them to me as my “something old”.
“Let her alone for a minute. Evie, dear, let me see that face,” Mom chides the boys. She rolls close in her motorized wheelchair. She takes the handkerchief from me and cleans up my face. “There now. You’re ready.”
I smile at her and take a deep breath. The thing that surprised me the most today is how at peace I am. I expected to be nervous on my wedding day. I know a lot of brides are, but Greer makes me feel completely safe. I know I’ll never regret marrying him.
The bedroom door opens, and Lizzy pokes her head through. “Time for everybody to get in place.”
She and several other girls from the book club are my bridesmaids while Chase and Parker are giving me away. It was Chase’s idea. Noah offered to walk me down the aisle, told me he thought of me as another little sister, and he’d be honored to give me away.
Chase scowled and told him if anyone was giving his sister away, it would be him and Parker. I loved the idea and now here we are, the three of us walking down the back porch. At the edge of the lawn is a carpet of rose petals.
