“I am yours, wife, now and forever.” James kissed her lips, and in his eyes, she saw the same promise for later.
“Pamela, it’s your turn, Granddaughter.” Grandmother Chelsea’s words, so softly spoken, nearly had her in tears.
She looked at each of her men in turn. “I had but one dream in life: to find a man who could love me, whom I would love in return. A man with whom I could have children, with whom I could build a life.
“I met the two of you in that hospital cafeteria, and my heart leapt. As I got to know you, I loved you, both of you. I didn’t understand how that could be. I, too, feared. I feared that you would think I was a little crazy, because I did love you both. As time passed, I both longed for and feared the moment one of you would make a move because I knew I couldn’t choose between you. I couldn’t, and I wouldn’t.
“And then that day came when I was so upset, and you listened to my problem so patiently and offered me, in that moment, everything I’d ever wanted. And you gave me more—this wonderful family to cherish and love and this perfect place to raise those children we’ll one day have together.
“Adam Jessop, I love you more than I have words to say. You’re my husband and the head of our family. James Jessop, I love you so much I can’t adequately express it. You’re my husband alongside your brother.
“I promise to be the best wife to you both that I know how to be and the best mother to our children. I am yours, and you, both of you, are mine. For now and for always.”
They all three turned to face the grandmothers. Grandmother Mattie met her gaze and then the gazes of her grandsons. “We’re all so blessed to have you, Pamela, as a part of our family. I’m so pleased to call you granddaughter. And now all that remains is to give you the blessing—the very same blessing that Sarah Carmichael Benedict gave to me and Charles and Samuel on our wedding day.” She spread her hands, palms up, in benediction. “And now your journey begins, and your adventure awaits. May you forever remain steadfast, one in the others, and may love light your way, always.”
There was applause and cheers and shouts of congratulations. And then there was her father, gathering her in close and hugging her tight.
Chapter Twenty
Pamela couldn’t stop smiling at her dad and her brothers. She hadn’t seen them for six months and hadn’t been sure if she and her husbands would be heading to Maryland for Christmas, or not. Now her father was here, and she had so many questions.
There were several tables set up throughout the New House to allow people to help themselves to the buffet and then sit and eat. Pamela, along with her husbands and her dad and brothers, had been given a spot at the dining room table with the grandparents and her parents-in-law. “I can’t believe you’re here! What about the farm?”
“Corey Rogers and his cousin George are cow sitting for us for a few days,” her brother Byron said. “They were happy to help, as they’ll need a hand when they head out to Colorado for Christmas next month.”
“It’s the first time we’ve gone anywhere, so we were grateful and happy to return the favor,” Joey said. “It’s a lot warmer here than it is back home, big sister.” Her brother grinned.
The Rogers farm was only a couple miles down the road from them, and Corey, though a few years older, had always been a friend of her brothers.
“You’ll stay with us while you’re here, won’t you?” Adam asked. “We have the room.”
“Thank you,” Reg said. “I think we’d like that.”
Her husbands saw to it she had plenty to eat, and then they took both of her brothers around to introduce them to the family. Not long after, Byron and Joey hunkered down with Jonathan Benedict, and all three appeared to be having a very in-depth conversation. Farmers bonding. Having spent her life on a farm until she’d moved to Lusty, it was a familiar sight.
“I think I surprised you,” her father said. “Oh, not by being here with your brothers. That was meant to be a surprise for you—Adam’s and James’s doing. But when I nodded. When I showed you that I accepted your choice to claim both men as husband. That surprised you.”
She and her father were out on the front porch, sitting side by side on one of the two benches the family had set up there. The Thanksgiving feast was over, and many of the women were in the kitchen preparing a snack for later—turkey sandwiches and salads, a relatively light fare.
Next year she’d be there, elbow deep, helping out. But this was her special day, and she let herself be pampered—for today.
She looked over at her father. “You did, yes. I felt bad because I’d meant to tell you about our lifestyle. But…”
“You couldn’t find the words.”
“No, I couldn’t find the words.”
“It’s not easy, admitting to others that what you want, what you need, is different from the norm. Pammy-pooh, I know that from personal experience.”
She met her dad’s gaze. She’d been thinking about her mother, and the words she’d said so many years before that had allowed Pamela to be at peace with the choice she made.
Something had been nagging at her about those words, though, since she’d shared them with Adam and James. “One time when Mom and I were talking
