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EPILOGUE
“I can’t believe you pulled this all together in four weeks, Fran.” Dana lifted a hand to her brow and shaded her eyes from the sun as she scanned the meadow.
The people of Fossil Hill had been drifting in for the past half hour, chatting with each other and admiring the beribboned white chairs that had been arranged in a semicircle in front of a rocky outcropping that would soon serve as an altar.
To the west rose the magnificent Rockies, still frosted with snow, the jagged peaks a sharp contrast to the crystalline blue sky.
Francie snipped a last stray thread from the hem of Dana’s gown. “Simple, classic, perfect,” she said. “You look absolutely elegant. And the kids—it almost makes me cry just looking at them.”
A few yards away, Alex stood straight and tall in his midnight-blue tux, talking to Zach. Molly, her pretty pink skirts bunched in her hands, raced past, with little Katie hot on her heels.
Both girls collapsed in the soft grass, giggling and flushed and looking as if they might have always been sisters...except for the contrast of Katie’s pale-blond hair to Molly’s long, flaming tresses.
How things had changed in a short time.
With Dana’s heartfelt prayers for his success, Zach had flown to New York with Katie to meet with her grandfather. The man had been all too relieved about avoiding any involvement in the raising of a young child, and his daughter Diane, with five children of her own, had swiftly agreed that Zach should have custody of Katie instead of her.
Zach had immediately asked his lawyer to begin the paperwork for adoption, complete with an updated birth certificate, though that would be a long process.
But knowing that they wouldn’t face a heated custody battle made this wedding day an even more joyous occasion.
“I wasn’t sure about the pink dress,” Francie observed. “But Katie and Molly both wanted pink. And you know what? Molly looks stunning. Before long the boys will be tying up your phone line from dawn to dusk.”
“I sincerely hope not,” Dana retorted fervently. “I can definitely wait for that.”
Francie reached over and patted at the back of Dana’s hair. “Are you ready for all of this? Are you going to be really and truly happy away from here?”
“Alex is thrilled. The girls are excited—at least now that Molly knows she can bring her horse and other pets to Dallas. And me? I took the Boards for several states when I graduated from vet school, and Texas was one of them. I can go work for someone else or maybe even start another solo practice.”
“Tom appreciates the chance to lease your ranch. He’s been wanting to expand for a long time.”
They both looked over the crowd to where Vivian stood with Ben, holding his arm. “I didn’t want to sell, but that lease will cover the mortgage payments and more. Maybe someday we’ll come back. Ben wants to stay, so he can keep up the buildings. And who knows? I never would have guessed, but maybe someday he and my mom...”
“You once told me about your dreams from long ago. What you’d really and truly like to do...”
Mystified, Dana tore her gaze from the crowd and turned to her old friend. “I don’t even remember.”
“Sure you do. Think, Dana. For once, think about what you alone hoped to do one day. You ended up out here with Ken, living out his dreams. But what about yours?”
“I’d wanted to teach, but it was never possible, living out here. Maybe someday I still can.”
Francie reached into the canvas tote at her feet. All morning, she’d been pulling makeup, safety pins, needles and thread from that tote. Now she withdrew an envelope.
“When Zach came back to town I had this sudden inspiration. Maybe it was wrong of me...but I saw the advertisement in the back of The Veterinary Journal and figured it wouldn’t hurt. You could always say no, right?” She gave Dana a nervous smile. “I don’t know what it says, so maybe it didn’t even work, which would make this a truly awful surprise instead of a good one, but—”
“Francie! It’s okay. Whatever it is, I could only be thankful that you thought of me.”
Francie held out the envelope with shaking fingers. “Open it quick—I can’t stand this any longer.”
From the other side of the meadow came the soft, haunting notes of a harp. The guests were seated now, the minister in place.
She took the envelope and slid a fingernail under the flap. She withdrew the letter inside and stared at the words without comprehension, at first, because tears seemed to be blurring her vision.
The letter had come from Texas A&M University, requesting an interview as soon as possible. Given her résumé—
