damned if they hadn’t parted enough to let a ray of sunshine filter through. When he looked back at the tombstone, it sparkled in the fresh sunrays.
“I had the urge to kiss Jolene this morning,” he whispered.
More sunshine, but nothing, not even a faint whisper, from Melanie.
He touched the tombstone. “I guess that means you aren’t jealous. You’re okay with it?”
The clouds covered the sun, casting everything back into grayness—like shades of a black-and-white movie.
“Okay, I get the message. I’ll do my best.” He removed his wedding ring from his finger and his knife from his pocket. Digging a small hole at the base of the tombstone, he buried the gold band. “You gave me yours back in my dream last night. I’m giving you mine this way. I love you, Melanie. I’m not sure where this is going with Jolene, but I’ve got a good feeling about it. She’s a good woman. You’d like her a lot if you . . .”
A loud clap of thunder rolled across the sky, and huge drops of rain began to fall. He rolled up to a standing position and started to run back to his truck when a horn blasted right in front of him, much closer than where his vehicle was parked. He shaded his eyes against the rain and could see an arm waving to him to come that way.
He dashed over there as Melanie’s dad pointed for him to get into his truck. Tucker hopped inside and shivered.
“Cold rain is the worst,” he said.
“Amen to that.” Luke patted his shoulder. “How are you doing? We were sad not to see you at the birthday.”
The story of the dream poured out. Then he went right on to tell Luke how he’d felt that morning when he was close to Jolene.
Luke nodded through the whole story. “Has she talked to you about Jolene?”
“She told me that Jolene was a good woman and I should give her a chance.” Tucker rubbed the place where his wedding band had been. “But it seems so final. Like I can’t go back, but I’m not sure I know how to go forward.”
“It was final the day that we lost her. It just takes a while for us to get that settled in our hearts,” Luke said.
“But how can I be sure that it is settled?”
“I think what you put in the ground says that. I saw that you were burying your ring.”
Tucker glanced down at his finger and the pale line of skin marking the ring’s absence. “Is it possible that there’s more than one soul mate for some of us?”
Luke clamped a hand on Tucker’s shoulder. “Listen to Melanie, son. You’re too young to go through life alone and lonely. I’m sixty-five years old and Carla is the same age, but I told her to find someone when I’m gone. With her family history, she could live past ninety. She could have another thirty years with someone who adores her,” Luke said.
“But . . .” Tucker started.
“You look at things different when you’re lookin’ the Maker in the eye, just like Melanie looks at things different from the side she’s on now. If she said this Jolene is a good woman, then believe her.”
“Yes, sir,” Tucker said.
“Carla and I’d like to meet her,” Luke said.
Tucker couldn’t answer for the grapefruit-size lump in his throat.
“And it would have to be pretty soon. As you know, I’ve got a deadline to meet. Let’s go for ice cream on Sunday afternoon. Meet you at the Dairy Queen here in Marshall at four?”
“We’ll be there.” Tucker opened the truck door and ran to his own vehicle. He was soaking wet when he got there and shivering from his ears to his toes. Whether it was from closure or the weather, he had no idea.
Jolene hoped that by the middle of March the new website would be up and running. That would be a perfect time to start taking reservations and to join the ads for the tour of homes. She had made several phone calls to wedding photographers, florists, and bakeries. As soon as she’d compiled all her materials, she and Tucker would discuss how to price wedding packages. The way she saw it, they could range from simply renting the place for a few hours to a full-fledged turnkey wedding where all the bride had to bring was her dress. As she closed her laptop, the doorbell rang. She and Sassy both rushed to answer it.