Chapter 26
Xavier
Isat in the front row, next to Beau’s father, with tears streaming down my face. They were happy tears as I looked on at Lucas and Beau standing there, holding hands, reciting their vows to one another.
“Beau,” Lucas said, the biggest smile I’d ever seen on his face.
“I don’t know if I can begin to express how special you are to me.
When I first came to Texas, I thought I was just passing through.
It was just another place to conquer and leave behind.
But you...” He paused, his voice catching.
“You showed me what home really means. Not a place on a map, but a person who sees you for who you truly are and loves you anyway.”
Beau’s eyes glistened in the afternoon light streaming through the barn windows.
The whole place had been transformed. There were fairy lights strung across the rafters, wildflowers in mason jars on every surface.
It was simple and beautiful, just like them, and the best we could do with the entire ranch in shambles after the tornado.
I glanced at Beau’s father beside me. He sat with his weathered hands clasped in his lap, his jaw working slightly like he was fighting his own emotions.
When Lucas had first shown up on the ranch two years ago, I’d worried how this would all turn out.
The city boy and the cowboy. It seemed like something out of a story too sweet to be real.
But watching them now, I knew it was real. More real than anything else I’d ever seen.
“You taught me that strength isn’t about closing yourself off,” Lucas continued, squeezing Beau’s hands. “It’s about having the courage to open up, even when it scares you. And God, you scare me, Beau Turner. Because I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you. And I never will.”
A soft sob escaped Dolly as she stood next to Beau in her black sequin dress. She’d been crying since the processional started.
“Lucas,” Beau began, clearing his throat.
“When I met you, you scared the shit out of me.” There were a few laughs from the crowd.
“Because I wasn’t ready to admit what I wanted or who I was just yet.
But you crashed into my life, turned everything upside down, and showed me that what I wanted more than anything was not only to be true to myself, but to love you loudly and proudly for the entire world to see. ”
I watched as Beau’s voice grew stronger, more confident with each word. This wasn’t the shy, quiet rancher Lucas had told me about all those years ago. This was someone who’d found his voice through love.
“You showed me that being vulnerable isn’t weakness—it’s the bravest thing a person can do. And I promise you, Lucas Greene, I’ll be brave for you every single day for the rest of my life.”
Jack Montgomery Turner let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob beside me. I reached over and patted his shoulder, and he gave me a nod, not bothering to wipe the tears rolling down his weathered cheeks.
Sheriff Marcus Webb smiled warmly at them both from his place as their officiant.
“Well,” he said with a smile. “I don’t have any power to marry you.
” He held up a certificate so the crowd could see it.
“But this little paper says it’s a done deal.
” There were a few chuckles from the crowd.
“So, I suppose y’all better get to kissin’. ”
Lucas didn’t wait for Beau to move first. He pulled him in, one hand cupping his face, and kissed him like they were the only two people in the world. The barn erupted in cheers and applause, and I found myself on my feet with everyone else, clapping so hard my hands stung.
When they finally broke apart, both grinning like fools, Lucas raised their joined hands in the air in triumph. Beau’s face was flushed pink, but he was beaming.
As they walked back down the aisle together, I caught Lucas’s eye. He mouthed “thank you” to me, and I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.
Jack leaned over to me. “Never thought I’d see the day,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “But damn if I’m not grateful I did.”
“Me neither,” I said softly.
The reception was chaos in the best possible way.
Someone had rigged up speakers in the second barn, and music filled the evening air.
The tornado had damaged half the structures on the property, but somehow that made this celebration feel even more precious.
We were all here, together, alive, and witnessing something beautiful rise from the wreckage.
Tomorrow we could deal with rebuilding. But today was about celebration and love.
“Xavier!” I turned to see Pastor Mike heading my way, a small gift in his hand. “I just wanted to congratulate you on putting together such a beautiful wedding!”
“Uh… thanks…” I laughed nervously. “Not my best work, though. I usually don’t plan for tornadoes.”
“I don’t think anybody does,” he nodded. “But obviously this wedding was meant to be. I’ve never seen a happier pair or a town so united behind them.”
I couldn’t argue with that.
“I wanted to ask a favor,” he added quickly, holding out the present to me.
“Can you give this to Beau and Lucas with my apologies? We’ve got a handful of people in town with no place to go at the moment, so the church is playing host until their families can come get them.
I’ve got my hands full of hungry cowboys and old folks that need some of God’s love right now. ”
“Of course,” I said, taking the gift. “I’ll let them know. I’m sure they understand.”
“Thank you, Xavier.” He gave me a pat on the shoulder. “You’re a good man. I hope everything with you and the sheriff goes well.”
“You,” I said with as much sass as I could muster. “Are too observant for your own good.”
He just grinned. “I’ve been told that more than once.”
He turned to leave, but I called after him. “Hey! We had quite a few no-shows today because of the storm. Can I send the extra food down to the church for the people you’re helping?”
Pastor Mike grinned. “Yes, you can. God bless you.”
I shrugged. “Someone should eat it.”
He waved and was on his way. I delivered his gift over to the appointed table and wrote a quick note to Lucas and Beau before tucking it into the ribbon.
I pulled the head server aside and told him about the plan for the extra food and gave him the keys to my rental to have it delivered.
It wasn’t the good deed of the century, but I figured the people of Sagebrush could use all the help they could get right now.
Finally, I made my way back to the door and waited until everyone from the wedding party filed back in. They’d been outside doing their best to get some photos in the undamaged sections of the property. The last to walk in was Marcus and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Took you long enough,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.
“Lucas and Beau wanted to get photos with everyone,” he grinned, his smile making warmth bloom in my chest. “You only get married once.”
“You don’t know the people I know then,” I laughed. We both turned to watch Lucas and Beau head toward the main table, everyone clapping and cheering them on. “But for those two… I think once is all it will take.”
Marcus pulled me tight against him, his strong arms making me feel safe and wanted in a way that I still wasn’t used to. “Come walk with me,” he said. “We’ll be back in time for the speeches.”
I followed Marcus out into the cool evening air, my hand in his as we walked away from the warmth and noise of the reception.
The sun was setting over the damaged property, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange that made even the broken fences and collapsed outbuildings look beautiful in their own way.
We didn’t speak at first. We just walked, our boots crunching on gravel, until we reached the old cottonwood tree at the edge of the property. It had survived the tornado without a scratch, standing tall and defiant against everything nature had thrown at it.
Marcus turned to face me, his green eyes serious in the fading light. “Xavier,” he started, then paused like he was gathering his thoughts.
My stomach tightened. I knew that tone. It was the same one he’d used when he told me he couldn’t be with me, back when fear had ruled both our lives.
“I’ve been thinking,” he continued, reaching up to cup my face with one calloused hand. “About what you said. About your job, about traveling, about how you can’t just stop being who you are.”
I swallowed hard, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“And you were right,” he said softly. “I can’t ask you to give up your life for me. That’s not what love is supposed to be.”
“Marcus—”
“Let me finish,” he said, a small smile playing at his lips. “I don’t want you to give up your work. I don’t want you to change. What I want is for us to figure this out together. If that means you’re traveling half the month, then that’s what it means. I’ll be here when you get back.”
I stared at him, hardly daring to believe what I was hearing. “You mean that?”
“I mean it,” he said firmly. “I’ve spent too long being afraid, Xavier.
Afraid of what people would think, afraid of losing my job, afraid of being myself.
But watching those two in there...” He gestured back toward the barn where music and laughter spilled out into the night.
“They reminded me that love is worth the risk. You’re worth the risk. ”
Something in my chest cracked open, warm and bright. “I’m staying,” I said, the words tumbling out before I could second-guess them. “In Sagebrush. I mean, I’ll still have to travel for work—I’m not giving that up—but this can be home base. If you’ll have me.”
Marcus’s smile grew wider. “If I’ll have you? Xavier, I’ve been trying to have you since the day you almost irritated Dolly into homicide.”
“Her coffee still needs work,” I protested, but I was grinning too.
“You were trying to be a nuisance.”
“Maybe,” I admitted. “But it got you to like me, didn’t it?”
Instead of answering, he kissed me. Soft and sweet and full of promise. When we finally pulled apart, I rested my forehead against his chest.
“I love you,” I said quietly. “Even when you’re being a stubborn Texas sheriff.”
“I love you too,” he murmured. “Even when you’re being a pain in my ass.”
From the barn, I could hear the opening notes of a slow song starting up. Marcus took my hand again, threading our fingers together.
“We should get back,” he said. “Before they send out a search party.”
“In a minute,” I said, not ready to let this moment go just yet. “I just want to stand here with you a little longer.”
So we did. We stood under that old oak tree as the stars began to appear overhead, two men who’d found each other in the most unlikely of places, in the most unlikely of ways. And for the first time in my life, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.