Now and Forever (103 page)
He loved her and she loved him back.
Life just didn't get any better than that.
"You sure you can catch me?" she called down to him. "I'm not exactly a feather."
"Madam, cease your infernal talk and
jump
!"
She climbed to the top of the basket and jumped headlong into their future.
Epilogue
Christmas Day, three weeks later
Patrick Devane and Dakota Wylie paused at the top of the main staircase before joining their guests.
"The whole town is here," Dakota said, amazed by the sizable crowd milling about. "I can't believe it."
"The news has spread, madam. They all wish to meet you."
"Funny how quickly things change. A few weeks ago they wouldn't let us in their houses."
"'Tis different now," he said, drawing her close to his side. "Your magic has worked wonders."
"It wasn't magic," she said, wrapping her arms about his waist. "It's you." News of the spy ring and Patrick's bravery had spread throughout the countryside. His ability to move with secrecy and dispatch was gone, but he had gained the respect and admiration of the townspeople.
He arched a brow. "I am the same man I was, madam."
"You're a hero to them, Patrick. The stuff of legends."
Of my dreams.
He kissed her soundly. "'Tis you who made it happen."
She leaned her head against his shoulder and thought about the past three weeks. Cook had been marked as the traitor she was and carted off to jail. Ironically, Joseph and Will looked happier than ever, and their gratitude and loyalty to Patrick for keeping them in his employ knew no bounds. Dakota suspected that some of that gratitude had to do with the fact that Cook no longer ruled their lives with a wooden spoon.
Poor Molly had been so distraught over her part in her aunt's treachery that she had fled the area the night the balloon had returned for Dakota. Wherever she was, Dakota wished her godspeed, for the young woman had been a pawn and not a willing participant.
His Excellency General Washington had personally arrested McDowell, and it was rumored McDowell would meet his Maker before a firing squad when the New Year dawned. The list Dakota had found her first night in Patrick's house had been a list Patrick had confiscated from the British. The names had represented men whose loyalty to the thirteen colonies was thought to be suspect. The Redcoats had planned to approach Patrick about winning the men over to the side of the king. Rutledge and Blakelee had been on that list; Benedict Arnold had not.
So much for the best-laid plans.
It warmed her heart to know Andrew McVie had indeed fulfilled his destiny as the history books had reported, especially since she had played a major part in revealing that destiny to him. Zane Rutledge and Josiah Blakelee had been seconds away from death at the end of a British rope when Andrew had managed to save them.
One week later Shannon and Andrew had been married at the First Presbyterian Church of Franklin Ridge. Dakota didn't need psychic abilities to know their future was as golden as their auras.
"Papa! Dakota!" Abigail appeared at the foot of the stairs. "Reverend Wilcox says it's time to start!"
Patrick lifted Dakota's chin with the tip of his index finger.
"You have sacrificed much to be with me, Dakota Wylie," he said, his eyes filled with love. "I will never give your reason to regret your decision."
"I know that," she whispered.
"Second sight?" he asked, kissing her mouth.
"No." She placed his hand over her heart. "Some things a woman just knows."
"Hurry!" Abigail cried, rushing up the stairs to the landing. "Aunt Shannon and Aunt Emilie say they'll come up here and drag you, Mama, if you don't hurry."
Mama.
Dakota's heart did a little tap dance. Life just kept getting better than better.
"You're crying," Abigail said, eyeing her.
Dakota bent and hugged her daughter. "Only because I'm happy."
"That's silly," Abigail said, smoothing Lucy's yarn hair.
"Just you wait until you're grown up," Dakota said, chucking her under her chin. "I bet you'll cry on your wedding day, too."
And so it was time.
Harpsichord music drifted toward them from the front parlor. A line of Continental soldiers formed an honor guard in the hallway. People she didn't recognize swarmed about, eagerly vying for a glimpse of Patrick Devane and his bride-to-be. But there, at the foot of the stairs, were the friends who would share the adventure with her. Emilie and Zane. Shannon and Andrew. Rebekah and Josiah. The friends with whom she would share her life.
"Madam." Patrick sounded anxious, appealingly vulnerable. She had never loved him more than she did at that moment. "'Tis time we were wed."
"'Tis time," she agreed softly.
Abigail stopped them. "There are for you." A pair of dangly silver earrings glittered in her small palm.
They were the earrings Ginny had been wearing the night Dakota made the decision to stay.
She slid the earring wires into her lobes and gave her head a shake. "Thanks, Ma," shewhispered.
Next to her, Patrick started with surprise and touched his left cheek.
"Patrick?"
"It is not possible," he said, eyes wide with surprise, "but I believe someone kissed my cheek."
Welcome to the family, Patrick.
"Did you hear that?" he asked Dakota.
Dakota and Abigail looked at each other and laughed.
"That's Grandmama Ginny," Abigail said.
"My mother," Dakota explained. "You'll be hearing a lot from her."
Patrick nodded as if the explanation made perfect sense. "Whatever you say, madam. Life with you will never be dull."
She had an eighteenth-century husband and daughter to love and cherish, and her twentieth-century family to make her crazy . . . and keep her sane. And as if that weren't enough she had friends from both centuries to share the joys and sorrows that life sent her way. Somehow she'd stumbled into the best of both worlds and she wasn't about to let go.
Dakota slipped her right arm through Patrick's, then took Abby's hand in her left.
It was going to be a wonderful life.
She could feel it in her bones.
~~The End of Now and Forever~~
Readers are everything.
Seeing your name in print is terrific. Good reviews put a smile on an author's face.
Royalties help keep the wolf from the door. But the absolute best thing about being a writer is being read.
Knowing that your words are making someone you're not even related to happy. Knowing that your story is helping to make a bad day better for a stranger who needed to escape for a few hours. Knowing that the imaginary friends you've spent the last few months with are out there in the world becoming just as real to a reader you'll never meet but know and love just the same.
See what I mean?
Readers are everything.
So this one is for the wonderful readers (and knitters) who have taken time over the last few years to let me know how much they enjoy my books.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And if you're new to my work, welcome. I hope you'll check out these other titles and excerpts and let me know what you think. You can always reach me on Facebook or Twitter, or directly at [email protected] or [email protected]
Happy reading!
Barbara Bretton
If you liked
Now and Forever
, you'll love my Sugar Maple series of magic, knitting, and love.
CHARMED -
a
Sugar Maple short story
Can you keep a secret?
Growing up in Sugar Maple, Vermont, knit shop owner and sorceress-in-training Chloe Hobbs learned to keep a secret before she learned to tie her shoes. When your town is home to werewolves, vampires, trolls, sprites, and everything else the real world is told doesn't exist, you learn quickly how to hide in plain sight.
And now she's keeping the happiest secret of her life: she and 100% human chief of police Luke MacKenzie are going to have a baby.
But when a quiet young knitter at an afternoon workshop blurts out a warning about Chloe's unborn baby girl, Chloe and her magickal friends quickly discover just how hard it is to keep the biggest secret of them all.
Charmed
introduces new readers to the magical town of Sugar Maple and provides a little something extra for loyal fans.
The Sugar Maple Chronicles in order:
1.
Casting Spells
2.
Laced with Magic
3.
Spun by Sorcery
4.
Charmed – a Sugar Maple short story
5.
Spells & Stitches
All of the titles are available in e-book format.
Praise for USA Today best-selling author Barbara Bretton
"Bretton seamlessly blends a playful world of eccentric and meddling supernatural creatures." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Bretton spins an imaginative and charming tale." Booklist (starred review)
"Bretton has created a paranormal series that is both engaging and timely; for those who like their fantasy with a down-home flair." Library Journal
#
Chapter One
What is it about plans anyway? It seems like the second you get your life all figured out, fate steps in and turns your world upside down.
We were finishing up the last workshop in a week-long series of master knitting classes and I was on top of the world. If the comment cards were any indication, we had hit the knitting equivalent of a grand slam home run. Steeks. Bohus. Dressmaker-quality finishing techniques. Every variation on grafting you could think of and some you couldn't. I had worked long and hard to put together a powerful five days of classes and been rewarded with a full cash register and depleted stock.
Even better, we had a great group, especially our workshop veterans who had returned for another series of sessions. Amy was a dark-haired lawyer whose hobby was marrying (and quickly divorcing) men young enough to be her son. Claire the physical therapist and part-time stock car race racer. Allen the former pro-NFL player and his husband Jake, a playwright with a dry sense of humor and major fiber chops. And, to my delight, Liv Jenssen was back again. Liv had taken at least a dozen workshops with me over the last few years and we considered her one of our favorites. And then just like that she stopped signing up for classes and commenting on our Ravelry forum and placing orders for way too much Malabrigo.
Over the years favorite customers have moved away, moved on, even left this world for whatever awaits humans in the next. That's just the way this business is. But every now and then a customer comes along who touches your heart in a way you can't explain. Not that we'd ever had a heart-to-heart or anything even close. Liv just wasn't a talker. But the connection--at least for me--was there just the same even though the only thing I really knew about her was the fact that she lived in New Hampshire and was one wicked Bohus knitter.
