Heywood Equestrian Stables

Epilogue

Five Years Later

"Are you ready?" I asked, stepping into the room where Georgiana sat on her bed and stared at herself in the mirror against the wall. Georgiana was beautiful in her lace dress with ruffled sleeves and matching ruffled short skirt. The dress was simple. Nothing about it screamed wedding, but that's how Georgiana wanted it. She was a simple girl who wanted simplicity even on the biggest day of her life. She kept her hair down, letting the tight curls hang loosely and opted to not wear a veil.

After five long years of dating, despite being in two separate colleges, Georgiana and Luke were getting married on the ranch. Luke was in his first year of medical school while Georgiana graduated from college with a degree in psychology and was planning to move where Luke was going to medical school. Georgiana had plans to become a counselor for kids. After going to counseling herself, she found that her life experiences could be used to help others. She wanted to help kids who needed support. Even throughout college, she found a great program to be a mentor to children who had also lost a parent at a young age. Georgiana found it very rewarding and therapeutic to hear other's stories and be able to help them through those tough times. Everyone was extremely proud of her and Luke as well.

Despite the distance between them for the five years they were apart, Luke and Georgiana made their relationship work. Sidney and I helped as much as we could to make sure they could see each other. Both of them were flying back and forth at least once a month to spend a weekend together. It wasn't perfect, but they made it work. It came as no surprise that once Georgiana graduated college Luke asked her to marry him. We all suspected it was only a matter of time. In a few short weeks, Roberta and Mary put together a wedding.

The process of planning her son's wedding became an emotional ordeal for Roberta. She wanted everything to be perfect, but neither Georgiana nor Luke cared much about the details. They just wanted to be married so they could move on with their lives and finally be in the same place as they continued to pursue their careers.

"I think so," Georgiana answered, letting out a loud sigh. "Were you this nervous on your wedding day?"

I laughed. "Yes. I was a ball of nerves until I saw Sidney standing at the end of the aisle waiting for me. Once he smiled, I knew I was in the right place and my nerves eased up."

Georgiana nodded her head and looked in the mirror one more time. I reached for her hand and squeezed it for encouragement. We walked out of the room and joined Sidney who was waiting in the living room for us. He had our sleeping three-month old baby girl, Sophie in his arms dressed in a beautiful pink dress. Sitting on the couch with a toy horse in his lap was our four-year-old son, Dominick who was the spitting image of Sidney as a boy.

Sidney grinned proudly when he saw Georgiana. He stood up and adjusted Sophie in his arms. Once again, Georgiana breathed heavily. "You look beautiful. Ready to get married?" Sidney asked. She nodded her head and took a deep breath. I slipped my arm through Sidney's and joined him in looking at Georgiana with pride.

Mary came rushing in and nearly began to cry when she saw Georgiana. She gave Georgiana a big hug and told her how beautiful she was. Georgiana was very much a daughter to Mary just as she was to me and Sidney. This was a joyful but emotional day for all of us. "Everything is ready outside," Mary informed us. "All we need now is the bride."

Georgiana nodded her head. "I'm ready."

"Are you still planning to walk the aisle alone?" Mary asked.

"Should I go saddle up one of the horses?" Sidney asked with a small chuckle. I playfully smacked him across the chest since he was poking fun at our own wedding.

"Actually, I was hoping you might walk me down the aisle," Georgiana asked of Sidney with a hopeful expression. I heard Sidney's breath hitch in his lungs. "I can't imagine walking down the aisle without you supporting me. You've always been there for me even when I tried to push you away and we butted heads. I can't think of anyone else better than you."

I could feel Sidney trembling, trying hard to hold back his tears. He failed. He couldn't find the right words as I was sure the lump in his throat prevented words from forming, but he nodded his head in agreement as a few more tears were shed. I could see in his face just how much the offer meant to him. He always worried he wasn't good enough as a guardian for Georgiana. He was sure he failed her while she grew up. But with that simple gesture, Georgiana was letting him know he was exactly what she needed. He had been her rock, her safe place, her support, her father-figure. I took Sophie from his arms and gave him a quick kiss, before giving Georgiana another hug and taking Dominick's hand to lead him outside.

I took my seat in the front and sat Dominick at my side while Sophie continued to sleep in my arms. I gave Luke an encouraging smile right before Sidney walked Georgiana down the aisle. When they reached the end, a minister asked who gives this woman away. "Her father and I," Sidney said proudly. Georgiana hugged him tightly as a tear streamed down her face. Sidney encouragingly turned towards Luke and shook his hand before placing Georgiana's hand in his. Sidney sat down next to me and placed Dominick in his lap before quickly taking my hand in his and squeezing it tightly. He leaned over and kissed my forehead in a sweet gesture.

We watched with pride as Georgiana and Luke said their vows and were married in front of the small crowd of family and friends. Afterwards, everyone stayed for food provided by Sam. Everyone was having a good time and enjoying the evening. When it got late, I put Dominick and Sophie to bed and asked Alicia and Jenny to listen for them while they stayed in the house. I walked back out to where the party was coming to an end and a few people were helping to clean up. Georgiana and Luke were in her room packing the rest of her stuff. They were leaving in the morning to head to their new home and start their lives together.

I couldn't find Sidney anywhere, but I had a good idea where he was. Heading out towards the barn, I could hear him rustling around and checking in on the horses. With even more foals on the way, Sidney was always busy and constantly checking in on them. I walked up behind him and slipped my arms around his waist. He relaxed and linked our fingers together.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said nonchalantly while he turned in my arms. He took my face in his hands and kissed me deeply, letting his lips linger against mine.

"Want to go for a ride?" I asked. He looked down at me with a skeptical look. I raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"What about the kids?" he asked.

"They're asleep. Jenny and Alicia are inside keeping an eye on them while Mary and Tom are helping to clean things up."

"Shouldn't we be helping them clean up?" he questioned with a chuckle.

"I'm sure they can manage without us for a while."

The smile that spread across his face was all I needed for an answer. We quickly ran to the tack room and gathered the saddles. Once Onyx and Blaze were saddled, we led them out into the pasture under the starry sky before taking off running across the field.

AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER

THE END