Love is Silent

Epilogue

            “Are your parents coming with us tomorrow?”

            “Not this time,” I replied. “They’ll come next weekend though.” After their initial shock over being grandparents, my parents had quickly warmed to the idea and they now spoiled Matthew rotten. They were already planning on getting him his own pony when he was old enough.

            We drove for a little while in silence. I looked out at the scenery, glad it was a nice day for the wedding since it was outdoors. I was looking forward to seeing Blake and Hailey again; they’d been pretty busy the last few weeks with last minute plans, so we hadn’t gotten together as much as we usually did.

            We arrived at the park where the wedding was taking place and found a parking spot pretty quickly. I clasped Chase’s hand once we were both out of the car and we made our way to the seating area. The ceremony was due to start in half an hour, so we settled in to wait.

            When the ceremony began, I couldn’t help the few tears that escaped my eyes. I was so happy for the two of them and I knew that they were perfect for each other. Chase handed me a tissue without saying anything, and I discreetly wiped my eyes.

            When the ceremony was over, we moved to the tent where the reception was being held. We’d only been sitting for five minutes when someone came up to us. “Are you Dana and Chase?” he asked, a harried look on his face. When we nodded, he looked relieved. “Good. I’m Liam, Hailey’s uncle. She wants you to be in some pictures.”

            I looked at him in surprise. “But it’s usually only the family and wedding party in pictures.”

            “She insisted that I find you guys and bring you over. There was no way I was going to try and tell her no.”

            We followed him back outside, and Hailey’s face lit up when she saw us. “There you are! Come on, I want a picture of the four of us.”

            Chase and I posed for some pictures with them, and then waited until the photographer was done with everyone. Then we went back into the tent so Blake and Hailey could make their entrance. Once they had, the meal was served and everyone dug in.

            After the traditional bouquet and garter toss, they had everyone clear the dance floor so that they could have their first dance. As the first bars of “I Run to You” by Lady Antebellum came on, I grinned. “Somehow I knew this would be the song for their first dance,” I murmured to Chase.

            He smiled as well. “It makes sense,” he agreed. “Are you going to dance with me after this song?”

            “Of course I’m going to. You can’t go to a wedding and not dance.”

            When the song ended, everyone applauded and then other couples drifted onto the dance floor. Chase and I did the same and we danced to a couple of songs before I needed to take a break because of my leg. We sat back down at the table, and a moment later, Blake and Hailey joined us. Hailey waved her hand in front of her face. “Whew, it’s hot in here.”

            Blake smiled. “That’s because you haven’t stopped moving since the reception began.”

            “Well, I’m not moving now, so hopefully I can cool off. Are you guys having fun?” she asked us.

            “Yeah, it’s a beautiful wedding,” I told her. “I loved the song choice for your first dance.”

            She grinned. “We couldn’t not use it,” she admitted. “It’s kind of our song.”

            Blake leaned in to kiss her cheek. “It was a good choice. But that’s because it’s one of the few things I actually had a say in.”

            We all laughed and chatted for a few more minutes. “So how is your adorable little nephew?” Hailey asked.

            I dug my phone out and brought up a picture of him so I could show her. “He’s getting bigger every day. I can’t wait until he’s old enough to come for a sleepover at our place.”

            “His mom is okay with you doing that?” she asked in surprise.

            “Yeah. She’s pretty much treating us like she would if Luke were still alive. We get to see Matthew whenever we want and when he’s about a year old, we get to start having him for weekends and stuff. Cara is a really nice person.”

            “I can’t wait until we have kids,” Hailey said wistfully.

            Blake had just taken a drink of water, and now he almost choked on it. Hailey helpfully patted him on the back, and he finally got his breath back. “Jesus Hailey. Are you trying to kill me?”

            “Oh relax. I’m not saying we’ll have them anytime soon,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m just saying it’ll be nice when we do have them.”

            Blake was noticeably paler now. “Right. Nice.” He abruptly changed the subject. “You both start college in a few weeks, don’t you?”

            “Yeah, we’re moving into our apartment in two weeks. It’ll be weird not living on the farm,” I said.

            “At least you’re going to college together,” Hailey pointed out.

            “That’s true. And we’ll be moving back to the farm after we’ve graduated. My parents are already talking about all the traveling they’re planning on doing once we’re back.” I shook my head. “The only traveling those two have ever done is for horse shows. I’m not sure the world is ready for them to be tourists.”

            I heard the telltale rumble of a truck and trailer pull onto the parking lot. “Speaking of my parents, I think they’ve arrived. We’re going to go give them a hand.” Chase and I excused ourselves and left the tent to find my parents. They were just starting to unload Autumn, so we quickly moved in to give them a hand.

            Twenty minutes later, he was hooked up and ready to go. Chase and I climbed onto the driver’s bench while my parents went to let Hailey know we were ready. I clucked to Autumn and steered him to the entrance of the tent. A moment later, Blake and Hailey came out amongst many cheers and climbed into the back of the open carriage. I encouraged Autumn to move forward once more, and I maneuvered him out of the parking lot and onto the street.

            The advantage to Hailey having one of the richest people in the world as her uncle was that he could make pretty much anything happen. The park the wedding had been held in was not usually used for weddings, but he’d pulled it off. The park was in the middle of the city, and he’d also managed to get the local police force to block off all the roads between the park and the hotel where Blake and Hailey were staying for the night. Apparently the hotel had special meaning to them, which is why they were spending the night there before going on their honeymoon.

            I drove Autumn through the deserted streets, his hooves making a rhythmic sound against the pavement. We dropped Hailey and Blake off at the front doors of the hotel, then turned around and headed back. I passed the reins over to Chase for the trip back, and he held them in one hand so he could wrap his other arm around me. I put my head on his shoulder and breathed out a sigh of contentment. We didn’t speak on the way back, but we didn’t need to. We both knew what the other was thinking, and for us, our love was often silent.