Harper’s voice shook a she sang right along with the lyrics that talked about hearing the angels singing and let her handful of ashes drift slowly through her fingers. Then Brook brought out a double handful and sobbed through a line that asked for the Lord to take his hand and lead him home, only she substituted Annie for Lord.

Dana knelt and let the ashes in her hand float away on the water, but she couldn’t sing or even say a word. Then Wyatt gave her the box and she gently poured the rest of Granny Annie and Zed into the lake.

When she stood up, the four Clancy ladies joined hands and sang with the music, all of them substituting Annie for Lord when he asked the Lord to lead him home. There was total silence when the song ended for several moments, and then all four of them gathered together for a group hug.

“We might be sometimes friends from now on, but you three need to be always sisters,” Brook said.

“Amen,” the other three agreed as their tears all mingled together.

EPILOGUE

One year later, Mother’s Day

It was a blustery day with tornado warnings all across the northern part of Texas. Wyatt had to cut his fishing trip short because there was no way he’d take a group of men out on the water when there was lightning, so he’d gotten up early that morning and made coffee.

“I love it when we have coffee at home,” Harper said as she made her way into the kitchen of their new two-bedroom house that Nick had barely finished in time for the new baby’s arrival. “I’ve got maybe fifteen minutes before I have to get to the café. If Clancy isn’t awake, you can bring him over later.”

“Or I can just keep him here and not share.” Wyatt grinned. “When he’s over there, I seldom even get to hold him. And before you leave, Clancy said I’m supposed to give this to you.” He handed her a lovely velvet box. “He picked it out all by himself.”

“Yeah, right.” She grinned. “He’s six weeks old, Wyatt.”

“And super smart. Open it.”

She’d remembered to get roses to take to the big rock and toss out on the lake water for Granny Annie that day, and she’d even sent her mother a card with the newest picture of Clancy in it. Maybe someday Retha would come around, but if it never happened, Harper intended to do what was right.

She flipped open the box to find a beautiful bracelet with a tiny disk attached to it.

“It’s Clancy’s fingerprint from the day he was born. Each year I will add a new fingerprint to it until we can’t fit another one on the bracelet,” Wyatt said. “I can’t love you enough. Happy Mother’s Day.” He gathered her into his arms and tipped up her chin for a long, sweet kiss.

“And what if we have a dozen kids? Do I get a dozen bracelets?”

“Yes, ma’am, you do,” he said. “When are we having a little sister for Clancy?”

“In a couple of years,” she answered with another kiss.

Dana snuggled up to Payton’s side and wished that she could spend the whole day in bed with him. But the store didn’t run itself. They planned to have dinner with his daughter, Alison, and her new boyfriend that evening. She was slowly coming around to the idea that her father had remarried—thanks to Brook, who’d taken it all in stride with cheer.

“Good morning, my beautiful bride,” Payton whispered. “Happy Mother’s Day.”

“Thank you,” she said.

He opened the drawer of the nightstand and brought out a present, all wrapped in white paper with a red bow. “This is for you.”

She tried to be gentle, but impatience got the better of her and she ripped into the package to find a necklace with entwined hearts encrusted with tiny diamonds. “Oh, Payton, it’s beautiful. Put it on me. I’m going to wear it all day.”

He pushed her thick blonde hair to one side and fastened it around her neck, then kissed that tender spot at the base of her skull. “I don’t only love you, but I’m in love with you.”

The words from Granny Annie’s letter came back to her mind, and she realized just how lucky she was. “Moving here was the best thing that ever happened to me and Brook,” she whispered as she touched the hearts.

“My deliveryman quitting was the best thing that ever happened to me, because if he hadn’t, I would have never met you,” Payton said.

“And to think we’ve got a whole future ahead of us.” She grinned as she pushed him backward on the bed.

Tawny was busy braiding Nick’s thick black hair for him that morning. Her cabin looked different than it had a year ago. Now the bookcases were lined up against a wall, and a queen-size bed had replaced the twin one. She and Nick had figured out early on that they loved spending the nights together, but after he’d fallen off the bed twice, she’d brought in the bigger one and didn’t care who knew that he spent most of his nights with her.

“Thanks, darlin’,” he said. “Here’s the rubber band for the end.”

She reached out and gasped when he held out a rubber band and a diamond ring. “Nick, is this . . .”

He slipped off the edge of the bed and dropped down on one knee. “I’ve been in love with you since you threw pizza at me. Will you marry me, Tawny?”

“Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”