Chapter 18 - A Clearing in the Pines
By late summer, the clearing beside Evelyn’s cabin had been transformed. Wildflowers—purple lupines, yellow buttercups, and white clover—bloomed thick across the grass where the plane had once crashed. The scorched earth was completely gone, replaced by vibrant new life.
On a warm Saturday afternoon in late August, three dozen people gathered in the clearing. Mara Whitlow was there, wearing a bright yellow dress that looked completely bizarre compared to her usual court suits. Sheriff Miller was there, eating a slice of peach pie on the porch step. Three neighbors from down the valley who had helped cleared the timber stood near the pine trees, chatting happily.
A small wooden arch stood in the center of the clearing, draped in sweet-smelling cedar boughs and white ribbon. Daniel stood beneath the arch, wearing a dark blue suit, nervously adjusting his silver tie. His face was fully healed, the scars near his temple barely visible under his graying hair.
When the acoustic guitar music started, Evelyn stepped out from the cabin porch. She wore a simple, elegant ivory lace dress. She didn't carry expensive store-bought orchids; she carried a bouquet of wild ferns and pine branches picked from her own forest that morning.
As she walked down the grass aisle toward him, Daniel’s eyes welled with tears. He tried to brush them away quickly, which made Evelyn laugh softly through her own emotional tears.
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"You promised not to cry before the vows," she whispered as she reached his side.
"I lied," Daniel smiled, holding both her hands tightly in his.
