could feel my heart racing.
“I forgive you, Connor.”
With bloodshot eyes, he finally met
my gaze as if he wasn’t sure what he just
heard, so I repeated it.
“I forgive you.”
He closed his eyes and raised his
face to the sky. Feeling the sun shining
down upon him, I could see the weight
lifting off his soul. It only took three
small words to change his whole world
in a split second. He swiftly pulled me
into a tight embrace, and I consoled him
as his chest rattled in quiet weeping.
“Thank you, Violet.”
As we broke apart, he gave a half
smile while looking at the house.
“He worships the ground you walk
on; he told me how he got this for you.”
Stunned for a moment, I never
stopped to think what was really
happening. Shepard came here to get
back the ranch. How he could afford it
never crossed my mind.
“How?”
Connor looked at me and started to
laugh. “The man sold his
Maserati
and
had the money wired in from Austria. It
arrived at the bank a few days ago.
That’s true love.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t believe
Shepard actually sold Violet. The
thought made me laugh myself.
“What’s so funny?”
“You know what that car’s name
was? Violet.”
His face dropped a little when he
heard what Shepard named his car and
instantly I knew why. Shepard told me it
was a poor substitute for the real thing.
Now that he had me, he didn’t need the
car.
Nothing more was said as I walked
Connor back to his Jeep. Before driving
off, he rolled down the window and
kissed me on the cheek.
“I’ll love you forever ,Violet
Phillips.”
Then he was gone. The others had
moved to the kitchen and had a few
bottles of champagne out, waiting for me
to return. Between the three of them, two
bottles were already gone. Shepard
poured a glass and asked me if I was
okay. Nodding yes, I took the glass and
held it for a moment. As we went to
raise a toast, everyone looked at
Shepard in expectation.
“Since you told me not to ever buy
you any crappy jewelry or expensive
purses, I hope this key ring will serve as
a decent engagement ring.” Dropping
down on one knee, he slid the silver
beer bottle opener with a house key
attached over my left ring finger. “I’m
kidding; I have a real ring for you.”
He winked at me, and I heard the
stairs creak as heavy footsteps made
their way down. Everyone turned around
to see who was coming and I heard
Vivienne let out a whimper. My father
approached us, holding a small velvet
box and handed it to Shepard. His eyes
were red and misted over at witnessing
his little girl being proposed to.
“I asked your father for permission
first, and he’s here, so I am pretty sure
he consents, right?” He turned to my dad
who was holding onto Vivienne’s
shoulders; he smiled and chuckled out
“yes.”
I frowned and looked down at
Shepard. “Isn’t that supposed to be my
response?”
Seeing how nervous he was made
me disintegrate on the spot. He wanted
my heart to be open and unburdened so I
could give it wholly to him. His fingers
slid the beer opener key ring off my hand
and into his pocket. Cracking open the
small black box, he pulled out a simple
gold band, shaped like a double helix
with micro pave diamonds as the sugar
backbone.
To
the
untrained
eye,
someone would simply think it was a
pretty infinity style ring. To me, it was
the blueprint of life, and it couldn’t have
been more perfect.
“Violet Phillips, will you be my
wife?”
After sliding the ring on my finger, I
tackled him on the ground and kissed
him with abandon. I could care less
about forcing the others to watch us
frolic sensually on the tiled floor. They
grabbed the champagne and sat on the
porch until we were finished having our
moment. A little while later, we idly
wandered outside as the sun was starting
to set behind the hills.
Vivienne came up behind us, a little
uneasy on her feet and holding the bottle
in her hands, no longer using the small
plastic glass. “You should get married
here tomorrow. We can have a big party
and invite everyone down. C’mon,
Shepard needs to know what he’s getting
into. I can do your henna in the morning;
it will be dry in time. Get you laced up
again.”
Shepard’s eyebrows quirked up
immediately with the biggest grin and I
knew it was over. The next day, Alessa
and Vivienne worked furiously to get
everything ready. Fortunately, it simply
required a call to the local pastor, a
catering company, and a lot of alcohol.
Shepard and my father dug a giant pit in
the back yard and collected enough
wood to last through the night. Hay bales
were pulled from the barn for seating
and an area was reserved for tents if
people wanted to camp.
As the sun started to set, I called
for Vivienne to assist me in getting
ready. She braided my hair into an
intricate, four strand, coiled design and
tucked in wild flowers along the plait. I
laced up in a sheer white shirt with a
cream colored bodice that had gold
paisley designs swirling around it and a
long filmy skirt. For a touch of humor, I
duct taped my breast to enhance the way
they popped out of the top of the bodice,
knowing full well Shepard would be
distracted the entire evening looking at
them.
Vivienne told me it was time, and
not a sound could be heard aside from
the bells attached to my ankles and the
crackling of the fire. His face glowed as
I walked out of the house down the
makeshift aisle to where he was standing
in front of the warm embers. I had to
keep from laughing as he kept looking
down at my chest while the pastor
spoke. I was pleasantly surprised that a
woman had taken over the town church.
Reverend Cole was more than happy to
accommodate the last minute request.
Being
familiar
with
the
town’s
temporary guest and customs, she didn’t
bat an eyelash at being summoned.
As the multicolored ribbons were
tied around our wrist, the internal dam
broke as Reverend Cole spoke.
“No
one
is
ever
promised
tomorrow. Therefore, today we must
greet each other with love and patience,
trusting in the plan God has for every
one of us. As Violet and Shepard make a
promise to each other before you today,
they willingly accept a life of sacrifice
and eternal devotion. Therefore, what
God has joined together, let no man
separate.”
Although she continued to speak, I
was lost in the vortex of adoration.
Never had I imagined standing in this
place, feeling the overwhelming love
bursting forth and all around me. As I
blinked, her final statement before we
exchanged vows rang through my soul.
“I cannot promise you that it is
going to be easy, but only that it will be
worth it.”
Tambourines banged loudly along
with drums and whistles as we sealed
the agreement with a kiss.
Forever
. We
broke tradition and entertained the
crowd for the first dance, knowing we
wanted to escape as soon as possible.
Shepard played nothing in particular yet
kept the tempo
molto vivace
, while I
danced around the fire, pulling up the
bystanders to join in. Later disappearing
off to the spot by the creek, he unrolled
the blanket from earlier that was tucked
next to the trunk along with another he
brought to ward off the chill. Off in the
distance, drums could still be heard
echoing loudly in the valley under the
light of the moon.
As he lay on his back, I hurriedly
lifted my skirt to make love to him for
the first time as Mrs. Shepard Leone.
Dropping my head back in ecstasy, I
opened my eyes to the sugar coated night
sky, stopping at the bright beam of light
twinkling down on me. It was Shepard’s
star. Sated by exhaustion and bliss, his
fingers trailed aimlessly along the top of
my arm as we looked out over the water.
“You better be here when I wake
up.” Resting my head on his bicep to
curl further into his embrace, I watched
his chest rise and fall, my hands tracing
the shadows of the leaves along his skin.
Feeling sleep beginning to overcome me,
the breeze started to blow lulling me
even further. Just as I closed my eyes,
his lips touched my forehead.
“I’m right here, Violet.”
Acknowledgements
First, I want to thank God for giving
me the talent and drive to pursue writing
with a passion and to experience life
beyond anything I could ever imagine.
My husband for allowing me to
chase whimsy no matter how absurd it
appears.
My friends and family for the love
they give.
And of course, you…
___________________________________________
(Your name here)
Thank you for being a part of my
story!
There were also some very special
people who encouraged this journey
from conception to what you now hold in
your hands. Despite starting as a bet,
(thanks Lisa), to changing the entire
course of my life, I am forever grateful.
My amazing editor Audrey Harte,
thank you will never be enough, Snyder
Smith at Regimental Design for making
my vision a reality, Kimberly Knight for
months of guidance and no bullshit, Lisa
Sax for being the best partner in crime
ever, Nichele Reese because science is
amazing as well as our friendship,
Nacole Stayton for helping me to stay
humble and trusting in God, my fellow
Tasty
Crew
hotties:
Jenn
Cole
Besterman, Megan Hoelscher, Melanie
Dawn, Kelsie Leverich, Jaimi Mac,
Elaine Brenson and Janessa Osborne-
you ladies rock, Shana Shaffer-Ficks for
teaching me about strength, Weston
Roodhouse-your
input,
humor
and
encouragement carried me often, Holly
Malgieri at I Love Indie Books for
giving me a stage, Erika Taylor for
giving me the push to come out of the
writers closet, E.k.Blair and Tania Penn
Hernandez for giving me tools to share
this story, Laura Tepedino Hampton for
keeping me accountable, Mike Gleason,
Rory Benson, James Turlington, Justin
Adair and Corey Robertson-thank you
for many years of honest friendship and
unwavering support, Rachel White and
Nicole Brooks for embracing this side of
me, Julie Bryant, JoEllen Noble,
Rebecca Bilby, Kim Kretzer, Linda
Fultz and all the other incredible ladies
at the HD who have cheered me on, All
of the talented Indie Chixx who give me
a reason to smile on an hourly basis, the
fantastic authors, bloggers and readers I
have met over the past year, and last but
not least, my mama, Rev. Peggy Brooks
for always being proud, no matter what I
do.
Thanks dpgroup forum.
About the Author
JL Brooks lives with her active
family along the Ohio River at the
foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
A former columnist turned novelist, she
spends most of her time engaged in
women’s health issues and education.
Believing everyone has a story to tell,
chances are she will encourage you to
tell yours.