What We Find (Sullivan's Crossing, #1)(96)

“Nope. That barn is going to make a fantastic house. With Tom’s help it’s going to be a big, spacious, family home with a view of the mountains and the valley. Come on,” he said, getting out of the car.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the barn and opened the big double doors. They stood in the center of an enormous space with the remnants of previous tenants all around—stalls, troughs that had once watered animals, ropes hanging from walls, even a harness and yoke that looked as old as the barn.

He pointed to one end. “Kitchen, mudroom, laundry, dining room.” He turned. “Great room, office. I’m happy taking clients at Sully’s but I don’t know how long he’ll be happy with that.” He pointed to the hayloft. “Master bedroom and bath, two rooms for kids.” He pointed to the other side. “Guest room.”

“Kids?” she asked.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

“Are you ready?”

“I thought that ship had sailed, but then I met you and so many things became real again. All the things I thought were past became the future. I thought my one chance at happiness was behind me, and I found out I was wrong. Maggie, you’re a game changer—you’ll dangle on the end of a rope over a three-hundred-foot drop to save a kid’s life and you’ll trust a vagrant lawyer with a piece of your heart.” He pulled her into his arms. “Make a life with me, baby. I love you so much it blurs my vision.”

“It wasn’t just a piece of my heart,” she said. “You sneaked in there and took the whole damn thing.”

“Time to say yes, Maggie.”

“Are you kidding me? I feel like I’ve wanted you forever. And Calbert—I love the barn. I love it. I can’t fill it up with kids, there isn’t time. But I can put a couple of good ones in here and add pets.”

He laughed at her. “You’re a genius.”

“I love you, Cal. Like a house on fire. Will you marry me fast, before you change your mind?”

“I’m never going to change my mind, honey. You’re everything to me.”





This above all:

To thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.





—William Shakespeare





In the long run,

we only hit what we aim at.





—Henry David Thoreau





Epilogue



There were no wedding invitations. Maggie and Cal got on the phone and told their friends and family they were getting married before the glorious fall colors were over. In the old barn. Phoebe almost had a stroke, but Walter thought it was appropriate and suitable. Tom, Jackson, the other Canaday kids, Enid, Frank, Conrad Doyle, aka Connie, and some of the paramedics cleaned out the barn and decorated it with streamers, dried fall flowers and hay bales. Tom used Sully’s riding mower to cut down the pasture so cars could safely park there without sparking a fire. Maggie called her friends and colleagues from Denver and was pleased that so many wanted to be there.

A caterer from Colorado Springs brought tables, folding chairs, food, drink, floral arrangements, decorative candles, linens. Enid insisted she could make the wedding cake and it wasn’t exactly professional-looking, but it was unique—a two-tiered sheet cake with lots of fall leaves created out of frosting and food coloring. Maggie did not laugh, but she wanted to. There were no printed programs and the minister got his license on the internet. Jaycee Kent and Terry Jordan from the OR were the bridesmaids, Cal’s brother Dakota made the trip on short notice to be Cal’s best man, the other witness was Tom Canaday. Not to be left out, Sedona and her family flew to Denver and drove down to the barn for the festivities.

Aware that Cal kept in touch with Lynne’s parents, Maggie asked him if he had invited them and was rather surprised when he said he had. “They declined. They’re very happy for me and don’t want to distract me. But they’d love to meet you and asked if they could visit when we’re settled.”

“I’m sorry your father isn’t well enough to be here,” she said.

“We’ll send them lots of pictures. You’re beautiful,” he said.

“And you’re wearing that suit that makes me want to send everyone home early.”

Maggie wore a simple, short, ivory dress with lace sleeves and nude patent leather pumps. In the car were a couple of packed bags. After a night in Denver and brunch with Dakota, Sedona and her family, they’d be taking a short vacation to a warm, private resort in the Bahamas.

At a little before four in the afternoon, when the sun was casting long shadows over the Rockies, Cal and Maggie greeted their guests, introduced some of them to each other. Before long, the minister urged them to stand at the front of the barn under a beautiful fall wreath and he began. He talked very briefly about the great joy he felt in helping to bring people together in marriage. The usual vows were recited, some of them, anyway—Cal and Maggie wanted to do things their way.

“Maggie, until I met you, I was lost. There were so many times I asked myself what I would do next, where I would be, if there was anyone I could be right for. Then I met you and instantly loved you. Instantly. Those long talks by the fire, late at night, meant everything to me. The walks through the hills and valleys, not talking—everything. The evenings of intimacy when no words were needed, everything. Looking into the future with you, my heart is so full there’s no room for anything but promise. And I promise you a lifetime. The best I have.”