Ferns date with destiny, p.13
Fern's Date with Destiny, page 13
Not a soft, romantic drizzle. A full-on, sideways-blowing, windows-rattling prairie storm.
Fern had watched the clouds drench the land all morning, hoping and pleading that the weather gods might have mercy long enough for the ceremony to take place in the backyard garden as planned.
But the heavens had other ideas.
When she finally gave up and climbed the stairs to the primary bedroom at their childhood home where Rose was getting ready, she found her sister standing at the window, rain pelting the glass in sheets, a blissed-out smile on her face.
“You’re gorgeous,” Fern told her honestly, stepping close to adjust the delicate ringlet resting on Rose’s smooth black hair.
“I’m wet,” Rose said, grinning wider as she gestured to her tear-stained cheeks. “I’m probably going to stay wet all day.”
“You’re radiant,” Ivy corrected from her perch in the corner, a teacup balanced on the arm of her chair. She looked pale but content, the edges of her fragility smoothed by quiet satisfaction. “You’re all so beautiful.”
“Even me?” Tansy piped up, flopping dramatically back into the upholstered chaise. Her casted leg stuck out at a ridiculous angle. “Because I’m only wearing one pretty shoe.”
Fern snickered. “You’re beautiful, even if your July first was a bit more exciting than mine.”
Tansy nodded seriously and didn’t deny it. “I’ll take the broken leg, though, because it came with a happily-ever-after for more than just me.”
Rose turned from the rain with a soft laugh, cradling her bouquet like a talisman. “Weather aside, it still feels perfect, you know?”
“It is perfect,” Fern said, fiercely. “Every bit of it.”
For a moment, they were all quiet, four women linked by love and a thousand shared memories.
Tansy reached out and wiggled her fingers. “Four Fields sisters. A whole bouquet of happiness.”
Fern sat beside her, letting her palm rest over Tansy’s.
“Speaking of bouquets,” Rose murmured, extending hers into the circle. “Since I got to make it, I made exactly what I wanted. This is us.”
They all leaned closer to look.
Ivy was there in the trailing vines of deep green, glossy and strong. Fern saw herself in the lacey fronds tucked among the roses—delicate but impossible to uproot. Tansy’s bright yellow tansy flowers were a cheerful, unexpected burst against the softer pinks of the roses.
“I remember,” Tansy said, voice low, “when I first came to live with Mom and Dad. They told me if I wanted, I could choose a new name. Something that fit better than the one I’d had. I wanted a flower name, like all of you.”
Fern swallowed around the lump in her throat. She’d been too young for her own memories of the time, but she knew the stories and could picture it. Tansy at twelve. So wary, yet so hungry to belong.
“But I didn’t want something perfect,” Tansy continued. “So I picked a weed.”
“You didn’t pick a weed,” Fern corrected gently. “You picked a flower that grows wherever it damn well pleases. One that brightens up everything around it.”
Tansy’s eyes shimmered. “That’s nice. I’ll pretend you didn’t just call me stubborn.”
“I did,” Fern admitted, smiling. “But it’s true.”
Ivy lifted her cup in a toast. “To all of us. Stronger together.”
Rose reached over to squeeze her hand. “Thank you all for standing with me today.”
Fern’s heart felt too full to speak. She just nodded.
A knock at the door startled them. Walker poked his head in. “Showtime.”
They assembled in the front foyer instead of the garden—no one was brave enough to risk the storm.
Yet the tempest became a part of the ceremony in a unique and beautiful way. Malachi stood to one side of the open double front doors, the rain pouring down outside in a silver curtain. The foyer filled up fast, and the rooms to either side were filled with people who sat or stood to watch. Guests lined one side of the stairs and leaned on the second-story balcony, peering over the railing.
Chance waited by the entrance, mustache and beard neatly trimmed, his hair combed into place, his grin unstoppable.
Cody stood just behind him, wearing his best jacket. His expression caught somewhere between wonder and something else Fern couldn’t quite name.
Then she figured that he was staring at her.
Fern lifted her chin.
Her shoes were slightly damp in the toes. Her hair was curlier than usual in the high humidity. She didn’t care. It wasn’t about how any of them looked right then. Not really.
The love filling the four walls of her home to overflowing was the star of the event.
She crossed the foyer and took her place opposite Cody, her heart hammering.
Malachi cleared his throat, voice warm and steady as he began the vows. “To love, and to care. To hold each other through uncertainty, through every minute of every day. That’s the promise being made today.”
Her father continued, then Chance and Rose spoke. Fern heard them, she did, but she couldn’t drag her gaze off Cody.
His hand twitched at his side. Not the familiar tremor but something different.
Slowly, deliberately, he lifted it.
A small velvet box sat in his palm.
He raised one brow, eyes locked on hers in a question so obvious it made her lungs seize.
Seriously? she mouthed, her heart flipping.
His mouth twitched, the corner of it lifting.
She pressed her lips together to hold in the laugh. This man. This impossible, stubborn, wonderful man.
“You may kiss the bride!” Malachi announced.
The crowd erupted. Rose and Chance turned to each other, the whole world narrowing into that first sweet moment as husband and wife.
And Cody…
Cody didn’t hesitate.
He darted around the kissing newlyweds, straight into Fern’s space, and swept her off her feet.
She let out a startled laugh, wrapping her arms around his neck as he spun her in a tight circle, the foyer blurring around them.
Joy poured down the stairs, danced through the archways, and mingled with the claps and cheers.
When Cody set her back on her feet, his hands lingered on her waist.
His voice was quiet, rough with feeling. “I love you.”
Fern closed her fingers around the front of his shirt. “Damn right you do.”
His smile flashed bright. “I don’t have a speech ready. Or a plan. But I have this.”
He opened the little box.
Inside, a slim ring gleamed. A simple band of white gold, nothing fancy.
She stared at it, her heart thudding so hard it hurt.
“You really want to do this here?” she whispered.
“Where better?” His voice cracked. “I’m done trying to pretend I don’t know what I want.”
Fern let out a breathless, wobbly laugh. “Are you going to ask me properly?”
His thumb traced her cheek. “Marry me?”
She didn’t need to think. She pressed her forehead to his, eyes closing as the last of her fear and sadness fell away.
“Yes.”
The cheering around them swelled until it felt as if the walls might burst.
He kissed her, soft and sure, and when they finally pulled back, she grinned at him through tears.
“Someday,” she said, voice low and shaking with joy, “we’re going to have a long talk about your sense of timing.”
“Deal,” Cody whispered. His hand tightened around hers. “But before we have that talk, you want to get married right now? Since everyone’s already here?”
A giant burst of laughter escaped her. She took a moment to catch her breath before turning to her father.
“Daddy,” she said, her voice strong. “Do you have a minute?”
Malachi examined her carefully as Rose and Chance crowded closer, eyes wide.
“Fern and I would like to get married,” Cody said, meeting each of their eyes squarely. “If Chance and Rose don’t mind us stealing a little of their thunder.”
“About time, you eejit,” Chance said, but his grin flashed as bright as the lightning outside the open door. Rose threw her arms around Fern, hugging her tight.
Malachi blinked then broke into a broad, astonished smile.
“Everyone stay put,” he called to the curious onlookers. “Seems we have one more celebration to complete.”
Outside, the rain kept falling. Inside, everything finally felt right.
Fern had met her destiny, and he was perfect.
I hope you enjoyed this story for Fern and Cody. Thanks so much for reading, and if you do have a few minutes to leave a review for others, I’d appreciate.
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Next up in chronological order is Sydney and Declan. Their secret trysts have been fun, but things are about to change. Get ready for two strong silent types to find a path forward in A COWBOY’S CLAIM.
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If you’re reading your way though the Heart Falls Vignette & Novella Collection, then you have one more to go! The final collection of vignettes and short stories is HOT TIMES IN HEART FALLS.
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About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Vivian Arend loves to share the products of her over-active imagination with her readers. She writes contemporary, western, and light-hearted paranormal romances. The stories are humorous yet emotional, usually with a large cast of family or friends, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after. Vivian lives in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband of many years—her inspiration for every hero and a willing companion for all sorts of adventures.
www.vivianarend.com
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.
Fern’s Date with Destiny
Copyright © 2025 by Arend Publishing Inc.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-998508-53-2
Print ISBN: 978-1-998508-54-9
Edited by Angie Ramey
Cover Design © Damonza
Proofed by Linda Levy
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations.
First electronic publication: August 2025
www.vivianarend.com
Vivian Arend, Fern's Date with Destiny
