“Pleased to hear that. Plenty tired of beating around the bush. I’d like to believe I’m an easy-going fella, but keeping my distance from you is proving rather difficult.”
“Is tonight too soon to confess I’ve fallen in love with you, Bernie Drysdale?” said Janelle.
Bernie swooped her under the decorative foliage of the archway and pulled her to him. “Before I lose my nerve – will you be my sweetheart forever Janelle Rimes?”
Janelle wrapped her arms around his neck and studied his face. “You have brought me from mourning into joy and I can’t imagine life without you. The answer is yes. Please don’t leave in the spring and stay with us at the farm forever.”
He picked her small frame off the ground and spun her around as the song ended. A loud “Whoopee!” exploded into the room and while he continued to bask on Janelle’s lovely face, he addressed his new neighbors.
“Just wanted to tell you folks that the woman said yes. Bernie Drysdale will be marrying the widow Rimes and making his home in Belle, Wyoming.”
Lowering his head, he sealed the moment with a kiss, one that said far more than words could express.
Epilogue
Two weeks later, Pastor Leroy Elkins called his congregation to order following the Sunday service.
“Before we all separate to our homes, I’d like to call Bernie and Janelle to the front.”
The couple moved from the front seat where they’d sat with bated breath during the entire church meeting. Bernie squeezed her hand and glanced over at Davey and winked. The boy beamed from ear to ear and gave Bernie the assurance he sought. Not that he doubted the boy’s blessing, for the wedding was all he’d talked about since the sweetheart dance.
In just a few minutes three would become one, protected under the umbrella of matrimony – the family unit he’d always wanted to experience. He vowed to make the new Drysdale trio the happiest in Belle. He’d sent a wire to his mother, not with the expectation that she’d attend, he just wanted her to know that her son was happy. Bernie turned to face the preacher but kept his bride within his peripheral vision. She wore a glow that radiated around them, causing tingles to shoot up his arm like porcupine quills. When her gaze lingered on him alone, his heart melted to mush. She wore the same dress that he’d proposed to her in at the dance. Her hair was swept up and held secure at the sides with fancy combs. Simple, but elegant, and all his.
For Janelle this was a new beginning, with a frontier man who shared her dream and love for the land. A better fit for husband than her first trip to the altar, but her heart discerned no regrets. Jacob had given her Davey and her dream even when it took his life. And now Bernie would walk with her through that dream, renewing hope, faith and love into her grieving winter heart. Just the sight of the man next to her made her heart skip a beat. Love was a miraculous reality. She turned to the front, eager to recite the vows that would bind them together for the rest of their lives and into eternity.
When the couple were announced to the congregation as Mr. and Mrs. Drysdale, it sounded like music in her ear. The church bell chimed the celebration and the newlyweds headed to the back to greet their neighbors as man and wife.
From the Author
I hope you have enjoyed reading, From Mourning to Joy, and will return to Amazon and leave a review. It not only helps the author but gives insight to future readers who may be seeking to purchase a book.
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Check out the next Book in the series
The Teacher’s Star
by Marisa Masterson
https://www.amazon.com/Teachers-Star-Belles-Wyoming-Book-ebook/dp/B0845TVC4T
Rustlers and a forced engagement. A treasure map and a missing child. How much can a lady stand?
Forced into the role of a U. S. marshal, Delia Perkins keeps that a secret and goes on with her life as a teacher in the small town of Belle. After all, she's only a courier, waiting for someone to contact her. So why does she not trust the man who claims to be her contact? Instead, she's drawn to the man she's sure is a part of a gang of rustlers. Will any of this change when someone threatens to reveal her background
Roland Anderson juggles training both his horses and his daughter. The bad thing is that the horses are better behaved than his little girl. He has a job to do and now he's sure the new teacher knows his true identity. Will she give him away before he can find and arrest the leader of the gang of thieves? Getting close to the gorgeous teacher to find out doesn't seem like a hardship to this widower. Keeping his mind--and hands--off of her is becoming more difficult each day.
When the two are forced into an engagement, will Roland be able to catch the thieves without losing the girl? This is one Valentine's Day that neither Delia nor Roland will soon forget.
