Here is the final chapter in this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

"There," Ruthie said, "your hair is done."

Lucy turned and looked at herself in the mirror. "Thank you so much, Ruthie!! It looks gorgeous!"

Ruthie smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Are you nervous?"

Lucy turned to Ruthie and looked at her with huge eyes. "I'm terrified! You'd think that since this is my second wedding I wouldn't be nervous, but I am." She reached up and fingered the necklace that she had on; it was a simple gold chain with Kevin's wedding band on it. "When Kevin died, I never would have dreamed that I would be standing here in a wedding gown, getting ready to walk down the aisle to marry Ben. At that time I couldn't see myself ever falling in love again. Had someone told me then that today I would be standing here, getting ready to marry Ben, I would have laughed and said it was impossible."

Mary, who was also in the room to help Lucy get ready, spoke up. "Lucy, can I ask you a question? Do you still love Kevin? I mean, I know that you love Ben, but do you still love Kevin at all? Do you still miss him?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh, Mary, I do miss Kevin. There are still days where I think of him; there are still days when it hurts, but my love for Ben and Ben's love for me has helped to lessen that pain; it's helped to heal what I thought could never be healed. Yes, I still love Kevin; I'll always love Kevin, but that love is different now. I'm not really sure how to explain. Kevin was my first husband, the first person I had ever really, truly, deeply cared for. That's not going to change, but he's dead now. I can honestly say that I love Ben as much as, if not more than, I ever loved Kevin."

Savannah came bursting into the room just then. "Mommy, Aunt Roxanne said to tell you that someone wants to see you. She said to let you know that it's not Ben."

Lucy laughed. Ben had been trying to see her all day, which is why Roxanne had told Savannah to make sure her mom knew it wasn't Ben. "Okay, tell whoever it is that they can come in," she replied.

Savannah nodded and then rushed back out of the room. She had only two speeds: fast and faster. She never sat still, which kept Lucy constantly on her toes.

A few moments later, Lucy, who had been watching the door, trying to figure out who it was that wanted to see her, squealed. She rushed towards the doorway. At the same time, the visitor rushed towards her. They met halfway.

"Sandy! I can't believe you're here! How did you know? How are you? Are Aaron and Jonathan here? When did you get here? Oh, it's so good to see you!" Lucy rushed out all at once, her face flushed with excitement.

Sandy laughed. "Believe it or not, Ruthie called Martin. She knew how close you and I were, and she figured that you would want me to be here for this. Ruthie had called Martin when Kevin died, and he called me. According to Martin they've been keeping in touch occasionally since then, so I knew that you were dating Ben. When Ruthie called to tell Martin that you were engaged, I was there dropping Aaron off for a visit and I was thrilled. I wanted to call or send a card or something, but Ruthie insisted that I keep it a secret. She wanted me to be able to surprise you today."

Lucy turned to thank Ruthie, but discovered that she and Mary had slipped out sometime during all the commotion. "I'm so glad you're here!" she exclaimed again.

"It's so good to be back. We were here for Kevin's funeral, but there were so many people around you that I never got a chance to say hi. That was the first time since Beau moved that we'd been back. With Martin off at college and Beau living somewhere else, there was no longer any reason for us to visit." Beau Brewer had moved from Glenn Oak shortly before Reverend Camden died. "We wanted to come to your dad's funeral, and we were planning on it, but I was pregnant with Leah at the time, and she decided to make her appearance the day before the funeral."

Sandy and Jonathan had gotten married about a year before Reverend Camden had died. They had moved to Crossroads about a month later so that Sandy could be the pastor there, and she had gotten pregnant about two months after that. Lucy had received the birth announcement in the mail, but things had been in such turmoil then that she'd forgotten about it.

"I remember getting her birth announcement now; things were so hectic and in such an upheaval that I never got a chance to send you a card or gift."

Sandy gave her a smile. "I understand. I didn't expect anything; I knew how upset and busy you were. I should have kept in better contact than I have; it's been six years since I moved away, and since then I can count on one hand the number of times I've called or written you. About the only correspondence I've had with you lately is the yearly Christmas card and letter I always send out."

"It's as much my fault as it is yours, Sandy. I could have just as easily picked up the phone and called you or written you an email or letter. But never mind that now. I'm just so glad you're here!"

Their reunion was interrupted by a knock on the door followed by Matt poking his head in. "Hey, Luce, Sandy, it's almost time to start. Are you ready?"

"Yes, I think so," Lucy replied.

Lucy, Sandy, and Ruthie walked out of the room. Sandy went into the auditorium and Ruthie, Lucy, and Matt went to join Mary, Rose, and Sarah, who were standing by the doors waiting until it was time to go in.

Soon it was time for the bridesmaids to start down the aisle. As they did so, Matt turned to Lucy. "Are you ready, Luce?"

Lucy took a deep breath and then let it out. She then nodded her head. "Yes, I'm ready," she replied.

They watched Savannah, Erin, Allison, and Eric, who were the flower girls and ring bearer go down the aisle, then the wedding march began to play and Lucy and Matt started down the aisle.

As Annie watched Lucy walk down the aisle towards Ben, she thought of how proud she was of her daughter. Four years ago, when Kevin died, she had wondered how Lucy would make it without Kevin because of how heartbroken she was. She never would have imagined then that she would be watching her walk down the aisle to marry anyone, much less Ben.

Lucy and Matt reached the front of the church where Ben was waiting. Matt leaned down and gave Lucy a kiss on her check. "I'm proud of you, Lucy. We all are," he whispered in her ear. He then gave her hand to Ben

Lucy smiled at Matt and then walked with Ben the rest of the way to where Chandler was standing. Before she knew it, it was item for the vows.

"I, Ben, take you, Lucy, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I promise to stand by you in sickness and in health, in joys and in sorrows, in good times and in bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you when you are saddened, encourage you to achieve your goals, laugh with you, and to cry with you. Most of all, I promise to honor and respect you and to love you as long as we both shall live."

"I, Lucy, take you, Ben, to be my husband, my best friend, my love. Together we will build a home. I promise to be true to you, to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy, and when it is hard, when our love is simple, and when it is an effort. I promise to be a faithful and true partner to you, to love you, to honor and respect you, and to obey you. From now until the end of time, I pledge my heart, my soul, my life, to you."

Chandler said, "Before he died, Eric wrote a letter to whomever would be doing Ruthie's wedding. He asked that the following passage of scripture be read right before the rings are exchanged. Although he had no idea at the time he wrote this that Lucy would be widowed and then get remarried, I'm sure he would want it to be read at here at her wedding as well: 'Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.' Eric wanted me to challenge you to remember the words that were read here today, and live them each day in your love. May I have the rings?"

Eric stepped towards Chandler and held up his pillow to him. Chandler leaned down and took the rings off of the pillow.

Chandler handed Ben Lucy's ring. "Chandler, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed," repeated Ben as he slipped the ring on Lucy's finger.

Chandler then turned to Lucy and handed her Ben's ring. "Lucy, repeat after me. With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed," recited Lucy as she slipped the ring onto Ben's finger.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. Ben, you may kiss your bride," Chandler instructed, smiling.

Ben pulled Lucy close to him, leaned down and kissed her.

When the kiss was over, Chandler said, "Ladies and gentleman, it gives me great pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Ben Kinkirk."