"Why would I be?"
"Because I basically asked a twelve-year-old for your hand in marriage," I said, sending Leah into a fit of laughter as the reality dawned on her.
"Well, I know what you were aiming for, so it's all okay," she said with a smile. "But don't do it again."
"Yes, ma'am," I said as I smiled and saluted. "Shall we go tell the world?"
"I'd like that, Mr. Yates," she smiled as she took my hand and walked with me out to the car.
Jimmy stood next to the vehicle, beaming from ear to ear. When I'd closed Leah's door and walked around the car, he looked at me and simply said, "Your father would have approved."
I smiled, nodded, and climbed into the car next to Leah as Jimmy drove us toward our future.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Epilogue
After Jack's surprise proposal, we headed to his mother's house for an engagement party he had asked her to plan. Betty had invited a small group of friends and family. She'd convinced Patrick to come to the party and had arranged for a nurse to accompany Mama.
"This is all quite the to-do, isn't it?" Mama said when I went to hug her. "It's pretty fancy."
"It is, Mama," I said leaning down to hug her and feeling sad when she leaned away from me.
"Remind me who you are again, would you?" she said.
I didn't have the heart to tell her, so I simply smiled and repeated that it was so good of her to come. Mama stayed for a short while before being transported back to the retirement community. She'd become agitated because she was away from her familiar surroundings, and it was a reminder of how far she'd slipped away from us. I was still glad that Betty had asked her and that she'd been able to be there. Riley seemed unworried by the whole ordeal with Mama and cheerfully called, "Bye Gram! See you soon!" as the nurse loaded Mama into the car for the trip home.
Once Mama was gone, Patrick pulled me aside and said that he'd tried to find out more about the envelopes we'd found in the house. Mama had only said that she knew Molly was gone.
"How did she know?" I asked.
"I think the letters were Molly's way of letting her know she was okay," Patrick said. "Once they stopped, I think the assumption was that Molly was gone for good, but we'll never really know for sure."
"Can't we hire a detective to follow her trail?" I asked.
"Leah, I've already done
that," he sighed. "The trail went cold in Florida, and he wasn't able to find out anything more. She simply disappeared."
"I don't accept that," I said stubbornly. "There's got to be a way to find out what happened to her, and I'm going to figure it out."
"Suit yourself, Leah," Patrick shrugged. "But I'm not going to spend my time chasing after pipe dreams. I'm going to accept that she's gone and move on with my life. You really should do the same."
I turned and walked away from my brother, muttering under my breath about how I'd find our sister and then I'd show him what determination could accomplish.
"Why the sour face?" Jack asked as he caught me by the arm and pulled me into the sitting room away from the rest of the guests. I told him what Patrick had said, and he reminded me that having lots of money had its advantages. "I'll hire someone to do some checking. Now can we get back to celebrating this happy occasion?"
I laughed and assured him that we could, but before we left the room, I turned to him and said, "That was quite a risk you took planning the party before you knew my answer. How did you know I'd say yes?"
"It was a risk," he admitted. "But I had faith in you … and in us."
And with that, he leaned down and kissed me before taking my hand and returning to the party.
*
"You look beautiful, Leah," Riley said as she adjusted my veil one last time and handed me my bouquet. "You're the perfect Irish bride."
"I couldn't have done it without you, kiddo," I said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. I’d had a seamstress replicate Mama's white lace wedding gown as best as she could from what I remembered, and it fit me like a glove. The sweetheart neckline dipped just low enough to give me a hint of décolletage, but not so low that I felt self-conscious. The bodice cradled my breasts before sloping inward to give me a waist where it joined with layers upon layers of Irish lace that fell to my feet and stretched out behind me in a cathedral length train. On my head, I wore Betty's wedding veil. It was fitted on a tiara of crystals and fell just above my ankles. I felt like a Disney princess come to life when I looked at my reflection.