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Eliza turned toward Mack and walked over to her. Mack let go of Dean and walked straight into Eliza’s embrace. “Thank you, Mack. You have no idea just how much everything you have done means to Jacob and me,” she whispered.
Mack pulled away and wiped her eyes giving both Thomas and Jacob a hug before she returned to Dean’s waiting arms.
Mack’s one wish was that she could get through the wedding without shedding any tears. No doubt, she would start up again when she caught sight of Dean standing in the gazebo as he waited for her to become his wife.
Mack turned around to take the first look in the full-length mirror.
She didn’t think she was particularly unattractive but had never been one to pay a lot of attention to preening. After all, she was a schoolteacher of small children and classes tended to be messy. But when she turned and saw herself in the mirror, she was stunned. Staring back at her was . . . “A princess,” Melinda said, as she saw Mack in her wedding gown.
“Is this really me?” Mack whispered.
“You are so beautiful. Today, though, you are simply radiant. Are you really happy, Mack?” Melinda asked, taking hold of Mack’s hand.
“Sis, I’ve never been as happy. I love Dean so much and I can’t imagine my life without him.” She paused. “I also can’t imagine living anywhere other than here.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
Mack smiled. “Thomas has given Rose Cottage to Dean and me as a wedding present. Apparently, Lucas has claimed all the Our Gang comics, and he doesn’t have anyone else to leave this to. He said that we’re his family, and he wants us to have it and raise a family here.”
“So, you’re going to move here?” Mack nodded. “This is what you’ve always wanted, Mack. A house out of the city near the beach with a good loving man and lots of kids. A huge part of your dream has come true, and I’m really happy for you,” Melinda said.
“Thank you.”
“You do realize that Lucas will always want to come and stay with you?”
“As long as there’s no school, he’s always welcome. You all are.”
They both turned on hearing the door open. “What are you girls doing in here? You’re supposed to be downstairs.”
“Mom,” Melinda winked at Mack, and then turned back to their mother, “I was giving Mack the birds and the bees talk.”
Louise walked further into the room, walking around Mack with tears coming to her eyes. “You look stunning . . . Your father is going to cry like a baby.” She then turned her attention to Melinda. “And I’m sure she doesn’t need the bird and the bees talk considering the very hot groom downstairs,” she commented, fanning herself.
“Mom! You’re not supposed to notice things like that,” Melinda said in fake shock.
“I have eyes . . . and a sex drive.”
“Eww, Mom,” Melinda said with a shudder.
“Come on, there’s a hot as hell guy downstairs wanting to make you his wife, and your very nervous father is waiting to give you away.”
Mack took another look at herself in the mirror and allowed her mom and Melinda to escort her out of her room and down the stairs to her father, and then her groom.
Dean was standing in the gazebo while he waited for Mack to appear. His nerves danced as the minutes ticked by and he was ready to go and see where his bride was. He was really starting to feel nervous. There wasn’t a huge amount of family present, but only just meeting Mack’s parents, with her father giving him the third degree, hadn’t helped any. All he wanted was his Mack.
Thomas was sitting close by, waiting to act as best man. He was still a bit shaky after his meeting with Rose. A very emotional time.
It took Mack about half an hour to calm down. Then she was mortified to realize both her eyes were puffy, so after cutting chunks of cucumber, had disappeared back upstairs saying she would see them all at the wedding.
Thomas came to stand beside him. “You’re one lucky man.”
“Don’t I know—” Dean trailed off when he caught sight of Mack in her long, fitted, white, strapless dress covered in lace. She started walking toward him. He couldn’t take his eyes from her. She truly was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but most importantly, beautiful on the inside, too. He swallowed around the lump in his throat and tried to take hold of his emotions. As he did so, Dean glanced at his grandmother and noticed her crying softly into his grandfather’s arms.
He looked back at Mack and spotted his mother with her handkerchief guarding her eyes as well. She had apologized to Mack for being so rude and had welcomed her into the family. Mack had accepted the olive branch, and even asked Dean’s mother to accompany her, along with her mother, when she went looking for a wedding dress.
Lucas came to a stop just over to Dean’s side with a huge grin on his face. Dressed in a pale grey suit, dark grey shirt, and silver tie, he looked so handsome. He leaned toward Dean. “Don’t forget, when you’re my uncle, you have to buy me a present and my birthday’s next week. And seeing as you don’t know how to play, maybe you can ask my grandma how to play strip poker. She says it’s very easy and stimulatering, or something like that. ”
Dean laughed and turned back to Mack, who was about to reach his side. He was thankful she’d decided to rent Rose Cottage for the summer. Grateful that she’d discovered ‘the diary,’ which had brought Dean to the Cottage, and eventually brought his grandmother back together with her brother, after all those years apart. They’d come full circle, and he couldn’t be happier.
