The rest of the ceremony was a blur. All she remembered was saying “I do” and hearing Sam repeat it. She saw his father take a ring out of his pocket and hand it to Sam, and then it was on her finger.
The preacher pronounced them husband and wife, and then in front of God and everybody, Sam Youngblood kissed her.
It was the best day ever.
And every one of their tomorrows would be the next best day.
Epilogue
The party was over. The girls were gone with grandparents. Lila and Jack were on their way back to Memphis. And Sam and Katie had snuck out the back of the church and were already almost home.
The house on Rawls Street was alight through every window, with the light on the front verandah spilling all the way down the steps onto the lawn.
The newlyweds were riding a champagne high, with the taste of wedding cake still sweet on their lips as they got out of the car and ran up the steps.
Sam paused long enough to unlock the door and push it inward, then swept Katie up in his arms and carried her across the threshold, kicking the door shut behind him as they went.
He set her down on the welcome mat to lock the door, and then danced her across the floor all the way to the grand winding staircase.
Then, just as Sam put his foot on the first step, he had a sensation of déja vù that was so strong he lost his breath.
Katie saw the look on his face.
“I feel it, too,” she said. “They’re just welcoming you home.”
Sam shivered, then reached for her hand.
“Welcoming us home, my love. There’s a red bed and a lifetime of love just waiting. Are you ready?”
“I was born ready,” Katie said, and let him lead her up the stairs.
THE END
Keep reading for an excerpt from the first book in Sharon Sala’s beloved Blessings, Georgia series
Available now from Sourcebooks Casablanca
Chapter One
Blessings, Georgia
November
LilyAnn Bronte already knew how fast life could change. Her past was a road map to prove it. But on this particular Friday in the first week of November, she experienced one of those déjà vu moments as the Good Lord hit Rewind on the story that was her life.
She was sweeping the front sidewalk of Phillips Pharmacy, where she worked, when she heard the low, sexy rumble of a hot-rod engine. The skin crawled on the back of her neck as a shiny black pickup truck went rumbling down Main Street.
Before she could see the driver, sunlight hit the windshield, reflecting directly into her eyes. At the same time she went blind, she heard him rack the pipes on the muffler, just like Randy Joe used to do when he picked her up for their Saturday night dates. But that was a long time ago, before he went away to war in Afghanistan and got himself killed.
She had no idea who was driving this truck, and when she looked again, it was turning the corner at the far end of the street and then it was out of sight.
For LilyAnn, seeing that truck and hearing the pipes rattle felt like a sign. Was it the universe telling her she was living in the past? Because if it was, she already knew that. Or was it Randy Joe sending her a message, and if it was, what was he trying to say?
As she resumed sweeping, a car drove up and parked in front of Dalton’s Fitness Center next door. It was Rachel Goodhope, who ran the local bed-and-breakfast in Blessings. She got out wearing her workout clothes and waved at Lily as she ran inside.
Lily eyed the woman’s big boobs and toned body and began sweeping in earnest. Rachel looked good for a woman in her late forties, and everyone knew she liked to stay fit. She was on her third husband, and there was talk he might be getting the boot before long. No one could actually put their finger on what the problem was with Rachel and her marriages. Some said it had to do with her choice of men, while others hinted that Rachel would be a hard woman to please. Still, she obviously saw the need to stay fit in case she was ever in the market for husband number four.
Lily was of the opinion that any woman with a backbone and the nerve to speak her mind should be difficult to please. Her great-great-grandma, Delia Bronte, had put a musket ball through a Yankee captain’s hat during the War of Northern Aggression because he had not taken it off his head when he forced his way into her house. Lily liked to think she had a little bit of that in her, as well.
Just thinking about that Yankee intruder and her great-great-grandma’s gumption made her push the broom a little harder across the sidewalk. But seeing that truck had set her to thinking about the past, and before she knew it, she was knee-deep in memories long since gone.
***
LilyAnn had been a constant source of pride for her parents through all her growing-up years. When she reached high school, she lost her braces and grew boobs, hitting her stride with a bang. She became an honor student, a cheerleader, and was voted prettiest and friendliest every year by her class. When she was chosen head cheerleader her senior year, Randy Joe Bentonfield, the star quarterback, also chose her for his steady girl. She was over the moon, and her parents rejoiced in the moments in which she excelled.
As the year progressed, she marked another milestone by being named homecoming queen, then another when the announcement was made that she would be the valedictorian of her high school graduating class—two more notches in a high school career on a fast track to success.
But it wasn’t until she won the title of the Peachy-Keen Queen that her parents broke out in full braggadocio. Lily felt as if her life could not get any better. But as the old saying goes, once you’ve reached the top, the only place to go is down.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, two planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York City and another one into the Pentagon. When a fourth one was taken down by the plane’s passengers, crashing into a cornfield killing all on board, the world suddenly stopped turning on LilyAnn’s axis. It was no longer about her.
National outrage followed the shock as young men and women from all over the country began enlisting in the army, including a lot of the young men in Blessings.
Randy Joe was one of the first to sign up. She cried herself silly, after which they made love. Randy Joe was so full of himself about being a man going away to war that he gave her a promise ring before he went away to boot camp. He came back long enough to have his picture taken in his uniform and then he shipped out, returning a month later in a flag-draped casket.
People said it had been a good thing he’d had that picture taken beforehand because he’d come back to Blessings in pieces, no longer fit for viewing.
His death devastated Lily, but at the same time, it thrust her back into the spotlight. Now she had a new status—the almost fiancée of Blessings’ first war casualty. She dropped out of college that year and wore black, which went really well with her long blond hair. She visited his grave site every day for a year, and people said what a faithful young woman she was, grieving for her lost love in such a fashion.