The Light Through the Leaves(139)

River bent down and gently held the baby’s tiny fist. “I’d rather she have some thorns.”

“You would,” his brother said.

“Well, she’s damn pretty without them,” River said.

“You done good, Bird Girl,” Reece said. “It’s a great name.”

“Thank you,” Viola said. She carefully placed the baby in Ellis’s arms. “Mom, you get to decide whether her last name is Abbey or Gephardt.”

Ellis and Keith looked at each other, too stunned to speak.

“We want you two to raise her,” Jackie said. “And don’t ask if we’re sure. We are.”

“I can verify that,” Rose said. “They decided weeks ago. It’s been tough to keep it secret.”

“Won’t it be difficult for you to have her in the family?” Keith asked.

“It makes it less difficult,” Jackie said. “We didn’t want her to leave the family.”

“We’ll tell her the truth about everything,” Viola said. “She’ll call Jackie and me Dad and Mom and Ellis and Keith Grandma and Grandpa. We’ll just be a little different from most families.”

“We’re both hoping to get into the University of Florida so we’ll be nearby,” Jackie said. “I’ve already sent in my application.”

“He’ll definitely get in,” Huck said. “He has a great application.”

“What do you think, Grandma?” Jonah asked Ellis.

“I’m . . . I’m honestly afraid for Viola and Jackie. I know how painful it is to lose a baby.”

“We aren’t losing her,” Viola said. “We’ll be in her life. You know Jackie and I are too young to raise a baby. We have to finish high school. We want to go to college. She’ll be raised by two of my favorite people on earth—in this beautiful place. And with River, Jasper, and Huck for uncles. And Dad for a grandfather and Ms. Danner for a grandmother.”

“Don’t I get to be an uncle?” Reece asked.

“You’re officially an uncle,” Viola said.

“And Ryan is officially a grandfather,” Jackie said.

Jonah laughed and patted Ryan’s shoulder.

“And Maxine will be her aunt,” Viola said. “Do you see, Mom? We could never have found a better adoptive family.”

Ellis looked down at the baby in her arms. In her little round face, she saw newborn Viola. Viola who had come back to her less than nine months ago. Daughter of the Miraculous Universe, indeed.

A hush fell over the group as they waited for Ellis to answer. She stroked her fingers on the petal-soft cheek of Meadow Rose. A magnificent sensation overcame her. As if her heart had been a bud that was suddenly blooming, growing so big, it might not fit inside her body.

Ellis looked around at them all. She wasn’t the only one with tears on her face. “I do see,” she told Viola. “This is a beautiful family. You chose well.”

“Ellis . . . ,” Keith said.

“Yes?”

“I’ll ask you one more time. Will you marry me?”

She hesitated, but her silence had nothing to do with indecision. It was a moment of wonder. Because she was certain of her answer. Absolutely certain.

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

The family’s cheers and laughter rang out over the fields, through the forests, to the marshes. Ellis imagined the sound rippling farther. To the woods of New York, to the Ellis River where her parents had been happy and in love, to the little campgrounds of Ohio, to every western peak she had stood upon, to the Washington creek that had brought Viola to Jackie. And there was her family, in her little Wild Wood, at the heart of all that spreading joy.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


First, I want to thank my readers. Connecting with you through my characters and stories has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.

Thank you, Carly Watters, for encouraging me to write this story when we first discussed it. I’m grateful for your expertise, and your enthusiastic support of my writing.

Curtis Russell, thank you for adeptly taking the helm while Carly was on maternity leave.

Thank you, Alicia Clancy, for believing in this book and enriching it with your editorial gifts. Your komorebi brings a beautiful touch to the story.

Laura Chasen, I’m deeply grateful for your knowledgeable, perceptive, and compassionate style of editing. More thanks to Danielle Marshall and her crew at Lake Union Publishing: Gabriella Dumpit, Nicole Burns-Ascue, Shasti O’Leary, Stacy Abrams, and Rosanna Brockley.

Lots of gratitude to Gary Gillette, MD; Ernestine Lee, MD; Richard Chasen, MD; and Jennifer Tucker, NP, for bestowing your medical expertise. Additional thanks, Karen Gillette and Laura Chasen, for your help.

Thank you, Suzie Byrne, for your friendship and big heart.

Karl Vanderah, thanks for helping when I called with random story difficulties.

Stephanie Robinson, I’m sorry your childhood town got cut, but let’s pretend Keith grew up in Brockway.

Endless gratitude to every piece of earth I’ve ever loved—especially the wildish little realm behind my childhood house that helped me in so many ways.

Cailley, William, and Grant, I’m grateful for the love and laughter you’ve brought to my world. And to the worlds I create.