EPILOGUE
Crickets sang in the summer night. Jeremy and I swung in the hammock of my parents’ back yard. It was out of the main part of Wilder River, away from the few city streetlights of the town, and the best, most comfortable view of the Perseids.
I’d waited for this night to tell him what was on my mind—as he did seem to still have a penchant for the theatrical moment. Sure, he’d blamed it on Penelope all that time, the wacky grand gestures, but at least some of it was rooted in his own preferences.
“Remember when you proposed to me?” I leaned my head against him. “All those balloons tied to the top of my house?” On Valentine’s Day. And the entire front yard was filled with late-summer flowers he’d imported just for me. Jeremy knew me. And having a zillion dollars aided his flair for the dramatic.
“I had to make up for the balloon release that spooked the horse and nearly killed your dad. Tied-down balloons were the apology.” He snort-laughed.
“We forgave you for that a long time ago.” The proposal had been darling. And romantic. And I’d said yes without fanfare. I regretted that now. Jeremy did things big—it was his love language, and I’d been remiss at reciprocating in kind in the past.
But not after tonight. Oh, he’d get his big fanfare in a heavenly way tonight.
I could hardly wait.
My mom came out the back sliding door of the house. “You two look ravenous. And not just for each other on this hot summer night.”
“Mom.” Ugh. Not the type of thing you want your mom to say to you and your husband, even if it was probably true.
“Do you want some snacks?” She placed a tray of sandwiches on the table near the pool. “I made tuna on wheat and there’s also chopped ham on white.”
“Yes!” Jeremy jumped out. “Thanks, Mom.”
He called her Mom. One of the best things about Jeremy was how well he won over people who had previously thought of him as a clod. Including my parents. Including me.
Angelica harbored some doubts. She really hated being upstaged. The stork hadn’t been a welcome addition to the baby shower last Christmas. Everyone had talked more about the ice sculpture than they had about her.
“I’m so glad you two came for the weekend. We miss having Danica around all the time, since you whisked her away to Reedsville.”
When Jeremy had proposed, my whole world had opened up. I’d looked around Constant Energy and thought about the possibility of a life without trying to live out my parents’ dream for Angelica.
“I miss teaching the kids.” Giving up the daily interaction with the kids had been my biggest regret of moving to Reedsville. I’d kept Constant Energy, but the day-to-day of running a gymnastics program, I’d turned over to a recent college graduate, who handled all the business aspects. Tennille, who’d dumped and then reconciled with Liam on the condition he quit drinking, had returned to town. She and I had repaired our relationship, and she’d asked to continue working at Constant Energy. It had taken some stretching for me to give her another chance, but she’d seemed truly penitent and changed. These days, she interacted with the tumblers’ mothers, giving martial arts classes to the moms.
Lucky assistants did all the teaching of the kids. Jeremy had invested some money in the business, upgrading from swamp cooler to real live air conditioning. So modern! And I didn’t even get to enjoy it, alas.
Sigh. As it turned out, I hadn’t been living out Angelica’s dream—I’d been living my own.
Of course, I loved being with Jeremy every day. We were building a great life together. That was what mattered. I can’t wait to tell him. The moment the first shooting star—
“Well”—Jeremy filled a paper plate with sandwiches—“I have good news, then.”
“What good news?” Mom and I spoke almost the same question at once.
“You’ll be happy to know that Hotston Properties bought the Wilder River ski resort and will be relocating our headquarters to Wilder River as of September first.”
“And you’re moving back?”
“We’re moving to Wilder River?” I blinked back tears. I’d been crying so easily lately. Similarly, the thought of chopped ham sandwiches turned my stomach. “When? How soon?”
“I didn’t want to buy it without consulting you, but a house near the golf course came up for sale, and I made an offer on it this afternoon.”
The golf course! “Jeremy.”
“It has a tennis court.”
Tennis. I’d fallen in love with him while playing tennis. I’d shown my affection for him while playing golf. I’d never asked him to give up Reedsville, but I’d never dreamed he’d make my dream come true, as well.
“Jeremy, you did this for me?”