Wildfire (14 page)

T
he first blush of sunset cast the meadow in a rosy glow, as the wedding party gathered beneath a cathedral of towering pines. The Rockies, peaks still frosted with winter snows, soared skyward on the horizon.

From the edge of the meadow, where four surries and a number of saddle horses waited, came the sounds of jingling harnesses and soft whinnies. Children, impatient for the ceremony to begin, frolicked through the bowed grasses, picking bouquets of wildflowers. Off to the side, two members of the Wolf Creek Community Church played a violin and a portable Celtic harp, and the haunting, heart-breakingly perfect notes hung in the air, so beautiful and pure that Tessa felt her eyes burn.

Josh put his arm around her waist and drew her closer. “In October,” he whispered, “it will be our turn.”

“Can you imagine how lovely it will be, with all of the blazing fall colors out here?” She smiled up at him, her heart overflowing with love and joy.

Who would have thought, just a year ago, that life would change so completely when she and her sisters came together to help their mother? Claire had always been a divisive force in the family, yet now her health had brought them back together in ways none of them could have predicted.

Tessa looked across the small crowd to where Janna and her husband stood talking to Pastor Lindsberg. Rylie and Ian, their blended family, were both excited about Janna’s announcement last week—she and Michael would be welcoming a new little one in December.

Leigh—who had taken an emergency vet call this morning and who had just arrived at the meadow ten minutes ago, was now dressed in an ivory, antique Western-style wedding dress from the 1800s, with a matching, feather-trimmed hat and ivory lace-up boots. The wonder was that she didn’t have a matching stethoscope draped around her neck, but she’d certainly found her perfect mate in Cole, whose new horse ranch was already prospering despite several setbacks. With their mutual interests and the obvious love they shared, Tessa had no doubt that their union would last forever.

Cole’s young daughter Brianna was dressed like Rylie, in full-length, rose-colored lace bridesmaid dresses that matched those worn by Janna and Leigh, and watching the girls giggle and pirouette in their outfits made Tessa smile.

“Could there be a more perfect day?” she looked up at Josh and felt as if her heart could burst. “I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. Look—even Claire seems to be enjoying this. Who would’ve guessed?”

Sure enough, Claire stood with Sofia and Gus at the far edge of the small meadow, near the rocky cliff that would serve as backdrop for the ceremony. And she was
smiling…
a rare expression that took years from her face.

When Josh just looked down at Tessa with compassion in his eyes, she knew what he was thinking, and it added a melancholy note to her joy. Claire had been increasingly forgetful lately. The doctor had warned the family that she could become more temperamental as her Alzheimer’s progressed. But though she’d been irritating and demanding all her life, it was ironic that now—with her faculties fading—she was becoming more pleasant than anyone could ever remember.

Only those changes marked the grim progress of an enemy she couldn’t defeat with her customary, hard-edged determination.

“Look!” Rylie shouted, pointing skyward. “Eagles!”

Three of them circled low overhead, soaring in intertwining circles, riding the thermals in a graceful ballet before finally disappearing over the treetops.

“That felt like a blessing,” Tessa said, squeezing Josh’s hand. “For all of us.”

“Did you ever memorize that verse from Isaiah about eagles?”

She grinned, trying to pull the words together correctly. “But they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.”

“Good job!”

She tilted her head. “It was a favorite, when I was a kid, and I just looked it up this week. I’ve been thinking about my journey lately—I spent so many years angry at God about my pregnancy, and about losing the baby. I guess I wanted to make everything His fault. When really, I should have turned to my faith for strength and healing and comfort.” She looked up at Josh with a rueful smile. “I would’ve been so much better off.”

“I went through the same thing after Lara died. God was there, offering everything I needed to get through it all, but I turned my back on Him just when I needed him most. The one good thing was that it made me really look at my faith…and now I feel closer to Him than ever. It’s given me a feeling of peace that I can’t begin to describe.”

The music faded. Then, after a heartbeat of silence, the pure, sweet notes of “Beautiful Savior” echoed through the clearing, sending shivers dancing across her skin—the perfect hymn for this glorious setting.

The crowd moved toward the chairs that had been set up facing the rocky altar. The pastor took his position in front of them, and behind the small congregation, Cole took Leigh’s hand, ready for their walk down the aisle.

“I guess we’d better get over there—they can’t start without their wedding party,” Tessa murmured. “Ready?”

“Not quite.”

Their gazes met. Locked. And in his eyes, she saw everything she’d ever wanted. Love. Soul-deep acceptance. A relationship that would surely last until the end of time.

He kissed her gently, reverently, as if she were a fragile treasure, a kiss filled with the promise of everything that was to come.

And then they went to join the waiting crowd.