“Thank you so much for joining us on this beautiful morning,” Mayor Clemmons continued. “We are thrilled to unveil the new memorial gardens here in Haven, honoring all the fallen service members from Pearcy County, North Carolina. The memorial and its gardens will serve as a place for us to reflect on the sacrifices they’ve made for our country. It’s a place to pay our respects but also a place to honor the many brave folks who’ve fought for our freedoms. We hope you’ll come here to learn their names. And we hope you’ll come to sit and enjoy the beautiful gardens that have certainly added a welcome splash of color to our downtown area.”
The crowd broke into applause.
When they’d finished, Mayor Clemmons continued. “The team at Artful Blooms Landscape Design has really done a top-notch job in designing these gardens for us, and we’d like to give special thanks to owners Lucas and Mary Pratt, who’ll be retiring this fall. They’ve provided many beautiful, functional, and dynamic designs for our town over the years. We’d also like to recognize Emma Rush, who designed the gardens you see here today.”
He gestured toward her, and Emma felt her cheeks burn as the crowd applauded loudly. Mary gave her shoulder a squeeze.
“Emma’s own brother, Derek Rush, is memorialized behind us.”
Unexpectedly, she felt tears pressing at the backs of her eyes. I miss you, Derek.
Mayor Clemmons spent the next ten minutes reading the names of every serviceperson memorialized here. “And now, a moment of silence as we remember those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our great country.”
Emma dipped her head, staring down at her purple sandals and remembering the day Derek had graduated from boot camp. He’d looked so dashing in his freshly pressed uniform, so young, so enthusiastic about going into service. Without money for college, joining the Army had been Derek’s ticket out of town after their mother died. He’d served two years, and from his letters and her visits with him during that time, she knew he’d never regretted his decision. He was proud to serve his country, and he’d died doing what he loved.
After their moment of silence, Mayor Clemmons invited everyone to stay and enjoy the festivities. They’d hired a bluegrass band to play over on the commons, and there was plenty of food and refreshments ready to be served.
Emma accepted congratulations from the mayor and several other people standing nearby before she gratefully lost herself in the crowd, finding her way over to her group of friends. She slid in next to Ryan.
“Here’s the lady of the hour,” Ethan said, toasting her with a plastic cup of something pink and frothy.
“Fruit punch?” Gabby held out a cup toward Emma.
“Thanks.” She accepted it and took a grateful swallow. Her throat had gotten awfully dry up there with the whole town watching.
“You did great,” Ryan said, giving her a squeeze.
“I just stood there,” she said with a laugh.
“Well, you looked great standing there,” Carly said. “And I can’t wait to get a closer look at the memorial. My grandfather’s on there.”
“And my uncle,” Jessica said, stepping into their circle. “I didn’t realize until this morning that you’d designed the new memorial garden, Emma. I stopped by to look at it and find my uncle’s name yesterday.”
“Thank you.” Emma gulped the rest of her punch. “I appreciate it, guys.”
“We need to do this again later today,” Gabby said, holding up her plastic cup, “but with real drinks.”
“Agreed,” Carly said.
“Yeah, that sounds great.” Emma nodded. “Will you join us, Jess?”
Jessica glanced to the right, and her smile vanished. Emma followed her gaze and saw Mark staring back at Jessica, his face a blank mask, as usual.
“Please?” Emma added.
“Yeah, sure,” Jessica said finally, tearing her gaze from Mark’s. “I’ll stop by for a drink. Just let me know when and where.”
“Will do.”
They made their way over to the memorial. Ryan still had his arm around her shoulders, such a comfortable and familiar weight. She turned to look up at him. “You working this afternoon?”
“Actually, I had a cancellation. Why?”
“Let’s go to the bluffs,” she said.
His brow furrowed. “Em?—”
“The weather’s great, and I’m leaving town next week. It’s now or never.”