Page 47 of A Fella for Frances
Epilogue
“You may kiss your bride,” Reverend Pearce said to Luke.
As her brother leaned down to press his lips to Judith’s, Frances had to blink rapidly. She’d hoped being back in Wyoming would have cured her of all the excess emotions. Evidently not. Since Nick didn’t seem to mind, Frances decided not to worry about it.
“Congratulations.” she said as she approached Luke and embraced him. “I know you two will be as happy as me and Nick.”
“Who would have thought my kid sister, who hated the very idea of marriage, would provide such a great example of how to make a contented one?” Luke kissed her cheek and then extended his hand to the viscount who’d approached.
Frances turned to Judith. “You sure do know how to throw a party, sister.”
“Thank you.” Judith’s eyes had swelled with tears, and she pulled Frances in for a hug.
Other well-wishers pressed forward, so Frances stepped back.
“Don’t they look happy?” Doris asked, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.
“They do.” Maude sniffed, not doing much better than Doris at keeping up with the tears.
Frances rubbed the knot in her throat. She refused to blubber in front of all these people. Why did everyone have to cry at weddings?
“Her step-grandfather has been so sweet.” Doris gave a happy sigh before hurrying to join Marshall who was now talking with the viscount.
The man had ended up being just a regular guy. Things had been a bit awkward the first day, with no one knowing quite how to behave around him. Then Luke had started treating him just like he did one of his rich dude guests. The older man had loved it. He was looking at land to purchase to set up a house for Judith’s mother Mildred, who’d had a lonely time of it at his country estate in England.
Aunt Ann had moved to Wyoming after Uncle William’s arrest. The two older ladies had become friends and were talking about Ann moving in with Mildred once the home was complete.
As for Uncle William, they wouldn’t know how long he’d spend in prison until his case had gone through the courts. Frances and her sisters had cried when her father’s exhumed bodyhadshown signs of poisoning. She found she almost didn’t care if he got life in prison or the hangman’s noose. It was time to turn it over to God. She was done letting William Lancaster haunt her life.
“Your family’s sure had a lot of weddings in the last year,” Nick said as he put his left arm around her shoulders. He still had trouble extending the right one all the way, but Doctor Weston had said regular ranch work would force him to work out the kinks.
“Don’t you meanourfamily?” Frances turned to face her husband, who was truly her husband now, and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I have a confession to make.”
“Uh, oh.” He winked at her.
She looked up and met his gaze, her heart swelling with the love that wanted to burst out and wrap him up in it.
“Remember when Reverend Pearce was having them repeat their vows?”
“Yes.”
“Since I’m wearing the same dress I wore when we were married, I repeated them again.”
“Why?” The corner of Nick’s mouth quirked up as though he knew what she was going to say.
“Because I wanted to mean them this time.” Embarrassed, Frances dropped her gaze, but Nick put a finger under her chin and made her look up again.
“We must have been sharing one brain again because I did the same thing.”
“There’s nothing better than being married to your best friend.” Frances slid her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
Nothing better at all.
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