A Family to Be (Saddle Falls) Read online

  Four months later, on a warm sunny day Em and Josh were married under a gorgeous flower canopy in the Ryan family garden with the entire family present.

  Rebecca, who had given birth to a baby girl just days after Em, and Natalie were her attendants, and Jake, Jared, and Sammy were Josh’s grooms. Josh’s grandfather Tommy, beaming with pride and carrying Em and Josh’s two-week-old daughter Brie, who’d been named after his late, beloved wife Sabrina, walked Em down the aisle to meet her beaming groom.

  “You know, lass,” Tommy whispered to Em as he juggled Brie to keep her quiet. “It’s a fine, fine day for a wedding.” He glanced at her. “And you make a beautiful bride. Your father, he would have been so proud of you.”

  “Thank you, Tommy,” Em whispered, trying to hold back tears. “That means a lot to me.”

  “Aye, I know, lass, and it’s the truth,” he insisted, just in case she doubted. “I’d not lie in front of the Ryan family priest now, would I?”

  She grinned. “Nope, not you, Tommy.”

  “And he would have been so proud of this wee one, so proud,” Tommy said, glancing at the baby. “As am I, lass. As am I.”

  “I hope so, Tommy,” she whispered, praying it was true. She’d finally come to peace about her father, finally come to understand that he simply hadn’t the words, or hadn’t been able to cope with a frightened little girl when his own grief was so strong. With understanding came forgiveness.

  “Here you go, lad,” Tommy said to Josh as he handed Em over to her groom. “I’ll keep the wee one,” he said, making the assembled guests chuckle.

  “Thanks, Tommy.” Beaming, Josh took Emma’s hand, and together they turned to face the priest, anxious to say their vows, to pledge their love, forever and eternity.

  “Now, lass, what’s the problem?” Tommy whispered as Brie began to fuss. “Are you hungry, is that it, lass?” He rocked her, hoping not to disrupt the vows. “Come on, now, lass, you and me, we’ll slip into the house and see if we can’t find something to put in your belly.” Using his cane to steady himself, Tommy gingerly moved back down the aisle and out into the expanse of the garden, cooing softly in Gaelic to Brie.

  As he got closer to the house, he could hear the phone ringing and sighed. “Ah, lass, it’s another salesmen for sure, trying to sell me something I don’t need.” He pushed open the sliding glass door, holding the baby carefully. “But alas, I’m a softie and I’ll buy whatever’s he selling because I remember what it was like to be young and starting out, trying to make my mark in the world.”

  Tommy set Brie down in the ancient cradle that Mrs. O’Connor had given to Em as a shower present and reached for the phone.

  “Aye, good day to you, this is the Ryan residence.” Tommy listened for a moment, then gripped the kitchen counter as his knees buckled. “Jesse,” he whispered, clutching the receiver and the counter so tightly his knuckles whitened. “Is it true?” he whispered, tears streaming down his face. “Dear God in Heaven, Jesse, my boy, is it really you?”

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-1363-0

  A FAMILY TO BE

  Copyright © 2002 by Sharon De Vita

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.

  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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  ** Lullabies and Love

  †† The Blackwell Brothers

  † Saddle Falls

  * Silver Creek County