Stardust Valley (Firefly Hollow Book 9)

by T. L. Haddix

  She touched his chin. “Then why don’t we just keep it to who you listed, have Emma come take pictures, and let the rest sort themselves out? They’ll forgive us eventually.”

  He captured her fingers again. “Would you be okay with that?”

  “More than. I feel the same way you do about the ceremony.”

  His sigh was full of relief. “Thank you.”

  As they made plans, Sophie still felt as if she was in a waking dream. A year ago, she’d never have believed she and Noah would be curled up together in bed, much less discussing a covert wedding. She was terrified something would come along and interfere with their happiness. But at the same time, she had more hope in her heart than she’d had in a very long while, and she was looking forward to whatever the future held.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Noah was positively giddy on Friday evening as he, Sophie, and Danny—Sydney’s best friend who was also an ordained minister—waited for everyone to show up. Because the weather was still bitterly cold, they’d decided to have the wedding at Noah’s. It would mean less traveling for Owen and Sarah.

  At the same time, he was nervous. As he paced from the front door to the back wall of the living room, he rubbed his hands together. Sophie was in Eli’s room getting dressed, or at least Danny had told him she was. In keeping with tradition, he’d not seen her when she came in, ducking upstairs at her request.

  Danny looked on with amusement as Noah paced. “You’re going to wear a path.”

  Noah made a face at him, making Danny laugh. “How mad do you think everyone will be?” The sound of a vehicle pulling up outside had him rushing to the door. “It’s Emma.”

  “I’d say you’ll ruffle some feathers, but I don’t think anyone will really mind,” Danny said.

  “Even Syd?”

  Danny shrugged. “She’s still under the weather. And since Molly’s not here either, I think you’ll be okay.”

  Sydney had come down with the sniffles earlier in the week, and given her advancing pregnancy, Sawyer was pampering her. Molly had tagged along to Georgia with Jack and Gilly’s daughter Michelle, saying that if she couldn’t get a potential employer to make a decision, she’d take a few days and have a vacation. Since they were keeping the wedding a secret from everyone except Danny, Noah hadn’t been able to call her back.

  Noah let Emma in. “Thanks for coming. I appreciate this.”

  She set down her camera bag and handed him her coat, taking in the scene with a glance. Noah’s suit, Danny’s presence, the creamy white and pale pink flowers that festooned the open great room… “Oh, my God. Eli and Haley are getting married, aren’t they?”

  Noah grinned. “No.”

  “Then who… Noah James Campbell!” Her eyes grew wide. “No! Really?”

  He nodded. “It’s a surprise for everyone. We’re eloping. Kind of.”

  Emma threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight. “Oh, you silly boy. Oh, goodness. Where’s Sophie?”

  “Changing into her dress. Mom and Dad and everyone should be here shortly.”

  “Just who is everyone?” she asked as she hugged Danny.

  Noah told her. “The folks are picking up Grandma and Grandpa so they don’t have to drive. They all think they’re coming to dinner.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know when I’ve seen you look so happy or so handsome. I hope you have tissues ready. You’re going to need them. How in the world did you keep it a secret from Eli?” She straightened the boutonniere pinned to his chest.

  “Sophie stored all the flowers at her house, dropped them off with Danny this morning. And Eli thinks he’s going to Haley’s to pick her up for a date, but I called her and asked her if they’d come back up here for dinner. Swore her to secrecy so he wouldn’t know something was going on until he got to her house.”

  Emma, the daughter Owen frequently referred to as his favorite hellion, grinned at Noah. “That’s my boy. I’ll go check on Sophie.”

  Eli and Haley were the next to arrive. He was scowling when they walked in, but as soon as he saw the decorations, his face went blank. He hesitated, his hands on his jacket to remove it. “Noah?”

  Drawing in a tight breath, Noah crossed to them. “Hi. We, uh, well, we have a little surprise for you.” He searched his brother’s face, anxious to see approval. Given all they’d been through, he suddenly felt a bit of trepidation about just springing this on Eli.

  “How long have you been planning this?” Eli asked, handing Haley his coat.

  “A week.”

  Eli laughed and rubbed his face, then he opened his arms. “Come here, you sneaky… geez, Noah. You’re really getting married tonight? To Sophie?” He hugged Noah tight, his laughter turning soggy. “This isn’t some elaborate joke? Danny, is this really happening?”

  “It is.” Danny turned toward the oven when the timer went off. “Want me to get that?”

  “Please and thank you.” Noah hugged Eli just as hard, then he pulled back. “No joke. She actually agreed to marry me.” He hugged Haley. “Thanks for helping get him here.”

  “You knew about this?” Eli asked.

  “No, just that we needed to come to dinner and I needed to dress up.”

  Eli chuckled. “Who else knows?”

  Noah had just finished explaining when John and Zanny’s car pulled up. And then his heart was in his throat, nerves threatening to overwhelm him as Noah waited for his parents and grandparents to get out of the car.

  Haley excused herself to go to Sophie, but Eli stayed beside Noah.

  “I wouldn’t miss seeing this for all the world,” Eli said.

  “Think they’ll be happy?”

  Eli studied him for a second, his smile warm. “Oh, yes.”

  And they were. They were ecstatic when they came in and saw what was going on. As Emma had predicted, a lot of tissues were needed as the joy spread, and by the time everyone was ready, the house felt full to bursting with happiness.

  But that joy was eclipsed by what Noah felt when the door to Eli’s bedroom opened and Sophie stepped out on Eli’s arm. Though her dress was simple with an understated elegance, it was classy and feminine, a fine cream-embroidered silk that held the barest hint of pink. Her blond hair was pulled back off her face, the heavy tresses cascading down her back in soft, loose curls. She was positively glowing with happiness, and she ducked her head shyly when she saw everyone.

  Noah’d never seen a more beautiful sight in his life, and all the nerves he’d felt were gone.

  He’d never been more sure of anything in his life as he stood in front of his family and pledged his life and his heart to Sophie.

  By the time they finished, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. As they shared their first kiss as man and wife, he couldn’t help laughing. He picked her up and carefully twirled her, grinning at her with delight. The move made everyone laugh and cheer, but Noah only had eyes for Sophie.

  “I love you so much,” he told her as he set her back on her feet. “So very much.”

  Sophie’s smile was radiant, and she laughed. “I love you too. My husband. I can’t believe it. I never could have dreamed this, but I’m so glad I found you again. That we found each other again.”

  He kissed her softly. “So am I.” And he had every intention of spending the rest of his life proving just that.

  Epilogue

  When Noah awoke the morning of the third Saturday in February to see the sun shining brightly, he breathed a sigh of relief. Even though the weather forecasters had promised the day would be sunny and warm, he’d been concerned they’d get it wrong.

  But if the morning was any predictor, the day of Eli’s wedding would be just about as gorgeous as a day in February could be.

  Beside him, Sophie was curled into her pillow, ju
st the tip of her head visible above the covers. When he rolled over and embraced her, she hummed happily. Noah buried his face in the warm curve where her shoulder met her neck, and he kissed her skin softly. If he lived a thousand years and woke up with her every morning, he didn’t think he’d ever get tired of the feel of her, her warmth, or the sheer pleasure of her presence in his bed and in his life.

  That she was here with him still felt like a dream. He still found himself jolted awake some nights, certain the last few months hadn’t been real. But unlike all the nights before when he’d gotten up and pace or go play music to try to push aside the haunting nightmares, now he could reach out and touch her to assure himself that everything was okay.

  He still had sleepless nights when he had to get up and move, nights when the dead sought him out and wouldn’t let him rest, but thanks to the peace Sophie brought with her, he was better able to cope with those visits.

  “What time is it?” she asked sleepily, stretching under the covers.

  “Not quite seven. We have to get up soon.”

  “Mmm, yes. It’s going to be a long day. I can hardly wait.”

  Noah smiled. “Me too.”

  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you had a thing for weddings.” She rolled over and hugged him, sighing against his neck. “I love you.”

  “I love you too. And as long as they aren’t my own? Yeah. Though I thought ours was perfect,” he whispered.

  After a few minutes of lazy cuddling that was on the verge of turning into more, his phone buzzed. Groaning, he rolled onto his back. “Duty calls. I’m sure that’s someone needing something.”

  The last few weeks had been hectic, what with the wedding planning and Eli moving into Jack and Gilly’s old house shortly after Noah and Sophie’s wedding. There hadn’t been much work to do to the house, so Noah and Eli had gotten it ready in record time.

  “I’ll give you a rain check,” Sophie said, trailing her hand down his body as she sat up.

  As he watched her pad into the bathroom, he could hardly take in the changes in his life. Today he’d stand beside his brother and serve as witness as Eli pledged his life and heart to Haley. A lot needed doing between now and one o’clock though, he thought as his phone buzzed again.

  “Better get at it, huh, Fig?” he asked the cat as he got up.

  It wasn’t just the wedding festivities he was looking forward to, however. Today marked the last day Sophie would take her birth control pills. After lengthy discussions, they’d decided they didn’t want to wait to try for a baby. Noah was excited and terrified about the idea. He knew Sophie felt the same way.

  The sprite had come back a couple of times since they’d gotten married, though its visits had been brief. The visits had been cathartic for Sophie, who’d admitted her pregnancy had been an accident.

  “We just slipped up. It wasn’t planned. I didn’t mind though, because I thought I’d finally have someone to really love. But after the wreck… it took a while, but I realized things happening the way they did wasn’t a bad thing necessarily. To have been tied to Eddie for the rest of my life as a co-parent… no. I still grieved, but knowing that made it a little more bearable.”

  They didn’t know what to expect, whether it would take a while or be difficult to become pregnant. But they planned to take things one day at a time and not focus on getting pregnant as a job that had to be done.

  “I’ve seen how hard that can be on a couple, you know? It took Mom and Dad a long time to have Molly, and they’d basically given up on it ever happening. Even though I wasn’t that old when they were trying, I remember how painful it was for them,” he’d told Sophie the day they agreed stopping her birth control was the right decision. “I want to have fun with you and let things happen naturally. If it doesn’t happen right away, that’s okay.”

  “I know you want kids though,” she’d said, lacing her fingers through his. They’d been walking home from the farm after Sunday dinner. “I don’t want you to be disappointed if it doesn’t happen right away.”

  He’d tugged her to him and danced her slowly in circles. “I do want kids. I want to have that experience with you. But I’m perfectly happy enjoying being married to you. I don’t want you to think there’s any pressure to ‘perform your duties.’”

  Sophie had grinned at him. “But I so enjoy performing my wifely duties, Mr. Campbell.”

  He’d kissed her lazily. “Well, then, let’s get home and get to it, Mrs. Campbell.”

  Now, as he stood in the decorated chapel of Danny’s church shortly before one o’clock and watched the rest of the wedding party make its way down the aisle, he placed his hand on Eli’s shoulder and leaned in. “We’ve finally made it, you know? We’ve come full circle.”

  Eli laid his hand over Noah’s. “I know, and I thank God daily. In case I haven’t said it lately, I’m glad you’re here.”

  As the last bridesmaid took her place, Noah smiled across the altar at Sophie, who was acting as Haley’s matron of honor. She smiled back, pure love and happiness in her eyes, and Noah felt the last shadows of the past disappear. “No place I’d rather be.”

  Also by T. L. Haddix

  The Firefly Hollow Series:

  Firefly Hollow

  Butterfly Lane

  Dragonfly Creek

  Cattail Ridge

  Cricket Cove

  Stormking Road

  Fern Valley

  Snapdragon Way

  Stardust Valley

  The Shadows Collection:

  Secrets in the Shadows

  Under the Moon’s Shadow

  Shadows from the Grave

  Hidden in the Shadows

  In the Heart’s Shadow

  Deception in the Shadows

  Seduction in the Shadows

  Redemption in the Shadows

  Writing as Mallory Love:

  Capturing Colleen (Sunset Motel, Book One)

  Seducing Samantha (Sunset Motel, Book Two)

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