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They walked out to a sea of expectant faces, including Joel’s mother and grandmother. He squeezed her hand and turned her towards him.
“Ready for this?” he asked cupping her cheek with the other.
“I was born ready,” she stated reaching up as best she could with the boot on and kissed him. Catcalls and whistling finally drove them apart but she refused to let go of his hand even as he moved behind her and hugged her tightly to him.
“Well,” Cord said looking expectantly at them. “Would one of you like to tell us what that display meant? We all know the two of you have been going back and forth between you are and you aren’t but until now you haven’t done that, at least not so publicly.”
“We’d like to invite you all to stick around town because next Saturday we’re going to be throwing a party,” Paige stated.
“What sort of party,” Jesse inquired.
“A sort of engagement, wedding shower and wedding all rolled into one,” she said flashing her ring to them. “Tami, Hil, Kendra…how would you like to be bridesmaids?”
“Are you kidding?”
“It’s about damned time…”
“I just might win the pool after all…”
“Hold on,” Jesse stated quieting everyone. “What the hell changed your tune so quickly? It was just the other day that you were telling me you weren’t going back to him ever.”
“I did say that, didn’t I?” she sighed. “Well, I found something while I was out of town that made everything fall into place.”
“Okay what is that supposed to mean?” Sam asked.
“That means she found me,” a new voice stated, and all eyes turned to stare.
“Sweet mother of god…Grant?” Elaine gasped.
“Elaine…Rebecca…Joel my god you’ve grown.”
“What the hell?” Joel said turning to her. “How did you…”
“I have some really good connections,” she told him. “You’d be surprised at what I can get accomplished when I put my mind to it.”
“But…no…this is impossible…” Elaine said still in shock.
“Where have you been for the last twenty years?” Joel asked tensing.
Paige stilled him with a gentle hand to the arm. “Joel, listen to him…for me?”
“You kept this from me in there,thisis what else you wanted to tell me before we got sidetracked?”
“Joel, just listen.”
“Okay Dad, where’ve you been?”
“In prison…” Grant began but Joel cut him off.
“Ooohh that’s rich…”
“Joel, it’s not what you think,” Paige warned.
“It’s alright Paige. I understand Joel being angry. It’s what’s kept me going during the long years. I was in prison in some obscure Middle Eastern country after being captured when our plane went down. There was two of us who survived, and we were held for the past twenty years until last week when the cavalry showed up.”
“Last week?” Joel asked.
“How did you get out?” Elaine questioned.
