When the accident had happened ten years ago, Finbarr had thought his life was over. That he wouldn't be able to live on his own. That he wouldn't be able to get married because no woman would want him. That he would never be able to have children one day. But here he was standing outside the church in the chilly air, attempting to steady his nerves before he walked inside. Today, he would marry. Today, he would start his life with Emma by his side as the most magnificent, supportive, and incredible wife. Life had sent him so much heartache, but it had also sent him so many blessings, Emma being one of them.

He checked for the hundredth time that day to make sure the ring was still inside his pocket before he entered the church, his cane guiding him forward. The low buzzing of voices hushed at his appearance before they began again in a frenzy. He couldn't make sense of what was what and who was who.

"I was wondering when you'd get here," Tavish laughed as he took his elbow and guided him toward the front of the church. "We very nearly sent out a search party."

"And miss my own wedding?"

"You're Finbarr O'Connor," Tavish chuckled, slapping him good-naturedly on the back. "You don't go looking for trouble. Trouble finds you."

"Oh, how I wish that wasn't true," he grimaced, absently rubbing the back of his head where he had hit it against the rock while being swept downstream. It was only a dull cut now instead of the throbbing pain a couple weeks ago.

Thankfully, Tavish stood close, which helped him not feel quite so disoriented in the din of the church. On Sundays, he usually kept to the back as much as possible to avoid chaotic circumstances. The last time he had been at the front was several days ago when he had surprised Emma during classes. Eimear had hugged him so tightly that he nearly broke a rib.

A smile broke through his expression as he imagined Marianne sitting in the pews, her little arms holding Grady as they waited for the wedding to begin. The scene wasn't difficult to imagine. He almost expected to hear Grady's bark at any moment.

All at once, a rumble filled the room as everyone stood. The entire floor vibrated, and for one horrifying moment, he thought the church was collapsing. He instinctively flinched, fearing that the church was on fire, but he didn't smell any smoke, nor was he crushed by heavy pieces of wood.

"Are you alright, Finbarr?" Tavish asked quietly.

He nodded, placing a hand against his racing heart. "I suppose we should have thought to ask the audience to stand quietly. I almost had a heart attack."

"Well, you're about to have one now. Here comes Emma and Joseph. She looks beautiful, Finbarr."

As if on cue, a violin began playing The Irish Wedding Song, and to Finbarr's surprise, a voice accompanied the violin, one that he had never heard sing before.

Ivy?

He listened to the voice, mesmerized by the sound. Like Emma, Ivy, too, had a beautiful voice. One that likely melted more than one heart in the audience.

"What does Emma look like?" he asked, turning his attention back to where Emma was likely making her way down the aisle.

"Stunning," Tavish answered as he leaned a bit closer, not a trace of his usual jesting. "She's wearing a long white dress, a blue ribbon sash tied around her waist. She's wearing a thin veil with a beaded crown circling her head. Her hair looks nice." That was about as detailed as Tavish could get about her hair. He likely didn't know what kind of hairstyles were what. Then again, neither did Finbarr.

"She's carrying a bouquet of winter plants," Tavish continued. "Pine needle branches. Red berries. Not my kind of berries, but the poisonous kind."

"Tavish," Finbarr warned, giving him a look. Oh, how he wished he could see Emma for himself. He remembered bits and pieces of Ian and Biddy's wedding. They had been so poor that they had held the wedding in their cramped flat. But what had struck him the most was the way Ian teared up when he saw Biddy for the first time. Finbarr wouldn't experience that moment. He couldn't see her. He couldn't see Emma.

At long last, Ivy and Katie ended the song, which allowed him to hear two pairs of footsteps stop only several feet away.

"I am proud of you, Finbarr," Joseph said. "You have always felt like a son to me, and I couldn't wish for better for my Emma. You take good care of her."

"I will," he replied. "I promise."

He listened hard to pick out the sound of Joseph reaching for Emma's hand, and then he placed her fingers in Finbarr's. The touch brought an immediate surge of emotion that gripped his heart and squeezed it, pushing the tears right to his eyes. He loved Emma. He loved her so much, and he couldn't imagine his life without her in it.

Joy filled his entire being when he realized that he didn't have to see Emma to experience that special moment. All it took was a touch of her hand.

"Don't cry, Finbarr," Emma said. "You are going to make me cry too."

He wiped at his eyes before lightly touching the top of her head, carefully trailing his fingers down the veil she wore. It didn't cover her face. That was good to know for when he was supposed to kiss her at the end of the ceremony.

"You're beautiful," he said, running both his hands from her shoulders and down her arms. No one appeared to be shocked at him being hands-on with her—it was the only way he could see her. It seemed that the guests understood that.

"You can't even see me, Finbarr," she laughed. "How can you know that?"

"Tavish described to me what you look like."

He smiled and took her hand, relying on her to help orient him to face the preacher. All during the ceremony, he was filled to the brim with elation. He didn't release her hand, not even for a single moment. He grinned from ear to ear when they made their vows. Happiness radiated outward from his eyes as he slipped the ring onto her finger, and when he pulled her into a kiss, tears of joy pricked at his eyes once more. Unsurprising, the entire O'Connor clan burst into cheers of excitement and congratulations, and they even got a whistle from who Finbarr assumed was Patrick.

When they broke the kiss, he felt as if he floated on a cloud. He and Emma were married now. Married. And how wonderful a feeling it was. She filled his life with so much light, he was so grateful to be able to have her by his side for the rest of his life.

They exited the church hand-in-hand, both of them full of smiles, laughter, and plenty of kisses. He hardly felt the cold air as they hopped in a wagon that took them to the Archer's. The celebration of their marriage lasted all day, filled with music and dancing and food, and plenty of O'Connors. Finbarr didn't let Emma go for a single second. He held her in his arms and danced with her, this time monopolizing her time. Everyone else could have her any other day, but today, she was his exclusively.

As they began yet another reel while Ryan led with the pipes, Finbarr laughed as he swung Emma down the line just like he had done all those months ago that day he had accidentally kissed her for the first time. Now he only regretted not "accidentally" kissing her sooner. Little had he known that his kiss would have been more welcome that he had thought.

"I love you, Emma," he whispered into her ear when he found a spare moment during the dance.

Emma giggled, and he was so awestruck by the sound that he completely lost count of the beats and crashed into Ian when he attempted to continue the dance.

"Alright, I'm putting an end to this dance before someone gets hurt," Ian chuckled as he roughed up Finbarr's hair.

"Time for gifts?" Patrick asked someone in the room, and as if someone nodded, he said, "Time for gifts! You two come sit over here."

Both Finbarr and Emma were ushered to a set of chairs, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hardly able to go more than a few moments without touching her. He still could hardly believe they were married, and feeling her next to him helped make it more real.

The first gift came from Finbarr's family, presented by his da to Emma. "It's an ancient Irish tradition to gift a horseshoe to a new married couple. What you do is place it upright in a room in your house and it brings good luck."

"Are you superstitious, Finbarr?" Emma asked amusedly.

He shrugged. He wasn't, but that was likely because he hadn't grown up in Ireland like the rest of his family. "A little good luck never hurts anybody. Heaven knows I need all the luck I can get."

A rumble of assent circled around the room. Fate had dealt him far too many blows, but he did get lucky in one area of his life—Emma. He could hardly wrap his mind around the fact that she was his wife. He felt like the luckiest man alive.

They received other gifts from family and friends, but he couldn't have been more surprised than when Ivy approached and placed something small into his hand. His heart leaped into his throat as he ran his thumb over the surface, recognizing it as the locket he had lost to the river.

"Ivy..." he whispered, emotion lodging itself into his throat. "Wherever did you find this?"

"Papa told me you bought a locket along with Emma's ring, and I kept waiting to see Emma wearing it, but she never did. So I searched for it in the river."

He pulled his new sister-in-law into an embrace. "You could have gotten hurt fishing it out."

Ivy laughed, and he felt her shake her head against his shoulder. "I didn't fish it out. Aiden helped me, as he was passing by at the time..." She opened the locket in Finbarr's hand. "I know you can't see it, but I took a picture of you and Emma and placed it inside."

"Oh, that is wonderful," Emma breathed, leaning closer as if to get a better view of the image. "How did you get the picture so small?"

"It wasn't too difficult, really."

With a grateful smile, he clasped the locket around Emma's neck and lovingly kissed her cheek. He was completely overwhelmed by everyone's kindness. He loved his family so much. He loved the people of Hope Springs. And he especially loved the Archers, one former Archer in particular.

"Thank you, Finbarr," Emma said, giving his hand a squeeze. "It's beautiful. I hope it didn't cost too much. I know you bought this ring already, I would hate for you to be short on your note because of me."

"Now that you've brought it up..." Joseph said, his voice deep in the crowded room. He handed Finbarr a piece of paper, and he was surprised to find it written in Braille.

He ran his fingers over the raised bumps of the document, a lump of emotion forming in his throat. Finally, he lifted his head to turn his attention toward Joseph. "You're gifting my land to us?"

Excited gasps filled the room, followed by incessant chatter.

"On behalf of me and Katie," Joseph said as he clapped Finbarr on the shoulder, "we would like to gift the land to you, and that means no more notes. It's yours, Finbarr and Emma, to do with it what you will."

Emma flew out of her seat and into what Finbarr assumed was Joseph's and Katie's arms. "Thank you so much, Papa."

"Yes, thank you," Finbarr said, also joining the embrace.

They embraced each of their family members and friends before Joseph and Katie drove them to Finbarr's—and Emma's—house. When the wagon started to roll away, he turned to her and pulled her into the embrace he had been waiting all day to give her. He kissed her cheek, her nose, and finally her lips.

"I can hardly believe it," she sighed as she rested her head against his chest. "To think we're married... It feels surreal, doesn't it?"

"I'm a simple farmer, Emma," he reminded her with a chuckle, smoothing back her hair. "I don't know all those fancy words."

"It seems too good to be true," she laughed, reaching up to kiss him on his jaw.

He smiled down at her, tracing her cheek with his thumb. "I'm glad you didn't give up on me, Emma. Life is hardly life without you in it. You are a gift, grá mo chroí. Truly a gift."

"I love you, Finbarr," she whispered.

He tipped her chin and brushed a feather-light kiss against her lips. "And I love you. So very much."