Knitted Hearts by Amber Kelly
Sonia
Six Months Later
“What do you think? Can you see us living here?” Foster asks.
We’ve been looking at houses since the birth of his daughter, Gracie. We don’t want anything huge, just something with a yard for children to play in and a home with room to grow.
“It’s perfect.”
He wraps his arms around me. “I agree. I think we are home, Mrs. Tomlin,” he says as he kisses me on the nose.
We married in a simple ceremony at Poplar Falls’ town hall on New Year’s Day. It was just us with Truett, Elle, and Bellamy in attendance as our witnesses. Doreen and Ria hosted a small reception for us at Rustic Peak afterward. It was intimate and exactly what I’d wanted. We had both been married before, and with my momma gone, I had no desire to have a big wedding. So, I wore the dress that she had worn the day she married my daddy and her pearl earrings, and I gave myself to the man of both my dreams and her dreams for me.
The house we are currently touring is a quaint stone cottage. It has three bedrooms, two baths, a wraparound porch, and five acres of land, and it’s half a mile from Walker and Elle’s house, which is perfect because Elle announced to all of us last week that she is expecting their first baby. Her child and Gracie can grow up together, riding bikes, playing in the woods between our homes, and carpooling to school, just like we did when we were kids.
There is even a guesthouse in the back for Don. I’ve been subtly hinting that he should sell the home he shared with Momma because it is too much for him to keep up himself. He might be my stepdad, but he’s mine forever. Momma loved him, and now that she’s gone, I’m his family. He’ll be my children’s grandfather. He’s already head over heels for Gracie. He calls her his itty bitty ray of sunshine.
And she is a ray of sunshine for us all. I couldn’t love that baby girl any deeper if she were mine by blood. Wendy allowed Foster and me in the delivery room when she was born, and it was the most surreal moment of our lives. Dallas was right. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first or second or third time watching a new life come into the world; each one is precious. And someday, when we make Gracie a big sister, it will be the same.
Foster and Wendy agreed to joint custody with Foster being the primary caregiver for their daughter, so she’ll be living with us and spending every other weekend and two weeks every summer with her mother, who moved to Denver after her birth. So far, it’s been an amicable situation, and we will do all in our power to keep it that way for her entire life.
After holding on to Momma’s shops for a few months, I decided to sell. It made me sad to see her storefronts on Main Street deserted, especially with the influx of visitors Poplar Falls had been experiencing with the opening of the cider mill at Henderson’s Farm and Apple Orchard. Downtown is flourishing.
Who would have thought when Sophia Lancaster landed in Colorado that she and her crazy friend from New York City were going to come in and turn our sleepy little town on its ear? Life sure is full of surprises.
Foster and I are using the proceeds from the sale of the shops to purchase the house. It’s just like Momma to still be taking care of me and my future from heaven.
Brandt’s mother, Elaine, purchased one of the shops for her homemade soap and lotion business, and the other side was sold to a lady who is keeping the name The Cottage Boutique for her specialty clothing store. It warms my heart to still see the sign hanging proudly above the door.
I kept the apartment because I couldn’t let it all go. I’ll rent it out or let Truett live there, so he’ll stop trying to bring his dates to our house. Maybe I’ll keep it as an office or workspace, so I’ll have an excuse to go there and feel close to my mother.
I miss her every day, and I always will, but something I know for sure is that family isn’t made up solely of the people you’re related to by blood.
Like Myer always says, all it takes to be family is love. And I sure do love my extended family of friends.
There is no place on earth like Poplar Falls, Colorado.
The End