Already it was clear they would have a good crowd. Sylvia had reckoned correctly that phones would be ringing all over Hidden Falls with the informal invitation to anyone who could come on short notice. They wouldn’t have all the out-of-town guests who had held tickets to the original occasion, but the room would fill, and every person there would be glad to see that Quinn was home safe.
Sylvia watched Quinn, in gray cotton trousers and his signature plaid shirt, this one with a touch of yellow running through the pattern. He didn’t need a tux to look dashing. He never had.
Quinn lifted his eyes out of the swelling huddle and found Sylvia’s gaze. She moved slowly toward him, no longer mindful of the preparations and people. Quinn was all she wanted to see. He patted a few shoulders and emerged from the mingling to take her elbow in his gentle touch. Everything around her fell away.
“You did all this, didn’t you?” he said.
“I had some coconspirators.” Sylvia remembered his touch that morning when he’d wrapped his fingers around her hand after giving her the ring. His skin had been cool and smooth, and Sylvia would never forget the soft pressure and his reluctance to let go.
“How much time would you need to plan the wedding you’d like?” Quinn looked into Sylvia’s eyes, unblinking.
Sylvia smiled. “I don’t imagine it would take too long.”
“I want it to be everything you want,” he said.
“You’ll be there,” she said. “What else do I need?” Thirty years ago, Sylvia probably would have worn a puffy dress and mailed dozens of invitations. Her mother would have pressed for a stylish reception, arguing that Sylvia would only marry once. The flowers and the cake would have brought a minor economic boon to Hidden Falls. Now Sylvia wanted a simple ceremony, an intimate gathering of the man she had loved so long and the people closest to them.
“You pick the time and place and I’ll be there.” Quinn kissed Sylvia’s cheek. “Now what am I supposed to do tonight?”
“Nothing you haven’t already been doing. Enjoy your friends. Be glad you’re home. Eat some good food.”
Cooper approached them. “Sorry to interrupt, but the word from the kitchen is that everything is ready.”
Sylvia glanced toward the kitchen and saw Patricia sticking her head out the door. Lizzie, Sylvia’s assistant from the shop, and Marianne, her assistant from her office, were there, too, all of them with cockeyed grins on their faces.
“Is the sound system ready?” Sylvia asked.
“Henry says it is,” Cooper answered.
“Then let’s do this.”
Quinn cleared his throat. “I don’t have to stand on an X, do I?”
Sylvia laughed. “I am not taking the risk of putting a curtain between the two of us this time. Cooper, don’t let him out of your sight.”
She strode to the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. Please find your seats while we cover the preliminaries.”
The buzz of conversation subsided in exchange for the shuffling of chairs.
“This time,” Sylvia said, “we don’t have fancy menus and name tags and programs. We’re not even going to have flowery speeches. But we have what matters most. We have friendship. We have hearts full of gratitude. We have the pride in Hidden Falls that binds us together. We have an abundance of food to share and an abundance of love that gathers us around these tables tonight. And we have Quinn, whose life of service has touched all of us at some time or another.”
Sylvia swept one arm wide toward Quinn. “Before we begin the meal, let’s welcome the guest of honor.”
Applause thundered as every person in the room stood. Palpable joy rose from hands and faces. Nicole leaned on Ethan. Cooper had an arm around Lauren’s shoulder. Dani and Liam gave each other playful punches. Jack and Gianna Parker smiled at their daughters. Even Colin was there. Emma. Henry and Patricia. The Gallaghers with their wiggly little girls. Gavin. Sammie. Benita. Pastor Matt. Lizzie. Marianne. And so many more—hundreds more. Sylvia knew the name of every person in the room and was certain Quinn did also. Stories crisscrossed through decades and neighborhoods and joys and sorrows.
Such love. Such richness of life.
Such beauty in the fullness that was Hidden Falls.
About the Author
Olivia Newport’s novels twist through time to find where faith and passions meet. Her husband and two twentysomething children provide welcome distraction from the people stomping through her head on their way into her books. She chases joy in stunning Colorado at the foot of the Rockies, where daylilies grow as tall as she is.
Also by Olivia Newport
VALLEY OF CHOICE SERIES
Accidentally Amish
In Plain View
Taken for English
AMISH TURNS OF TIME SERIES
Wonderful Lonesome
Brightest and Best
Meek and Mild
Hope in the Land
Hidden Falls Page 64