Chapter 35
Savannah Calloway woke on her wedding day to the sound of the wedding march blasting through her house.
Today was the last day she would wake up in this bed alone. Today was the last day she would live in this house with her mother and her twins. For today, she was becoming Mrs. Wilder Glover.
She smiled as the door creaked and the twins came in.
“Momma,” Gal whispered in a not-so-whisper. “You awake, Momma?”
“It’s time to get up,” Sequoia said. “Gramma says.”
“I’m awake,” she said. “Come here, my beauties.”
Little feet pattered across the floor, and Sequoia and Gal climbed into bed with Savannah.
“It’s wedding day,” she told them.
“It sure is,” Sequoia said.
“Gram said we gotta give you breakfast and a kiss,” Gal said. “And then we get to go get our nails done.”
“Mm, that’s exciting.” Savannah tucked her girls close, one on each side. “Then you’re going to go with Daddy for a week or two.”
She and the girls would be moving into their new home once she and Wilder returned from their honeymoon.
Wilder had first suggested taking the girls with them, which had made Savannah fall in love with him all over again.
But they still had the end of their kindergarten year to finish, and selfishly, she wanted her new husband all to herself.
So, with that idea vetoed, Wilder had booked them a twelve-day river cruise in Europe.
Savannah had protested because she had two dozen chickens, twelve llamas, and a whole flock of ducks to care for, but Wilder had simply cocked an eyebrow and asked, “Really? You don’t think there are enough Glover cousins to handle a few ducks and chickens?
” He’d laughed and wrapped her in his strong arms, and Savannah had agreed to the cruise.
Link, Gun, and Rock, along with Fawn, Pearl Jo, and Chaz—had all agreed to make sure her animals not only survived while she was gone, but thrived. The twins would go with Jack; he would keep getting them to school on time, and her mother would help if he was driving the cement truck and couldn’t.
Once she and Wilder returned, the twins would have a month of school left, and Savannah would have to make the long drive from the outskirts of Three Rivers to their current elementary school.
She and Jack had met at a coffee shop a couple of months ago to work out a new custody schedule for after the wedding.
She wanted to enroll the girls in the Three Rivers elementary school, which meant they’d be with her on weekdays.
Jack had agreed, and they’d both signed a paper stating she would drive the twins to his house for his custody times, and he would bring them back.
He’d talked about getting a job in Three Rivers to be closer to them, but so far he hadn’t. Honestly, Savannah wasn’t sure she wanted him to; she simply wanted him to be happy. The girls loved their father, and he was very good to them.
“You got in bed with her?”
Savannah giggled at the sound of her mother’s incredulous voice. “Oh, you girls are in trouble,” Momma said. “You were supposed to wake her up, not steal snuggle time.”
Savannah grinned over to her. “Can’t we just have a few more minutes? It’s so nice and warm in here.”
“It’s a nice day outside, Momma,” Sequoia said. “We feeded the chickens already.”
“You did, huh?” Savannah smiled as her mom perched on the edge of the bed. “My alarm hasn’t even gone off yet, so you guys are early.”
“Well, the girls and I have manicure appointments,” her mother said. “You just need to get to Shiloh Ridge.”
“True.” Savannah kissed Sequoia’s head and then Gal’s. “All right, you two go with Grandma. Get your nails all pretty and I’ll see you up at the ranch.”
“Okay, Momma,” Gal said, as she loved all things girly, from sequins to sparkles to dresses.
They’d gone shopping for the wedding with Oakley’s mother, who had bought Gal an actual tiara, something that had endeared the woman to Gal immediately.
Of course, Gal loved everyone, and everyone loved her too.
Sequoia, the more serious and quieter twin, sat up, leaned over, and hugged Savannah properly. “We’ll see you at the wedding, Momma. Love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
She watched Sequoia slip from the bed and skip to her grandmother. “I’ll see you up there, Mom. Thanks for taking them this morning.”
“Yep, no problem.”
Savannah listened to her mother herd the girls down the hall, the front door click, and then the house—once her complete solitude—settle into silence. The quiet rang through her soul, and she needed it badly in that moment.
I love Wilder, and he loves me. All she had to do was think of those few weeks when he’d left town last summer to know she didn’t want to go that long without him again. That thought alone got her out of bed and on her way to getting ready for her own wedding.
She showered, and an hour later she pulled up to the house Wilder had designed and built on a corner five-acre parcel of Shiloh Ridge Ranch.
He’d consulted with her every step of the way—closet space, barns and sheds, stables and pastures for the llamas, ducks, and chickens she relied on at Llama Mamas.
They’d talked about having more kids. Savannah wasn’t sure she wanted to run big weekend events and have a newborn. Wilder had told her she could do whatever she wanted, and he would facilitate the coming true of her dreams.
She was getting ready here at their new house, which Wilder himself hadn’t even moved into yet.
Electricity and plumbing were on, but there were still a few finishing pieces to complete.
Trap Walker, one of Wilder’s best friends, had assured him it would all be done before they returned from their cruise, so the date they’d set months ago had held.
Before Savannah could get out of the minivan, the front door opened and Wilder’s sister Fawn spilled out of the house. She jogged over as Savannah got out and said, “You are not to do anything today. My brother’s orders.”
Savannah blinked as Fawn opened the back door and lifted out the dress bag.
More Glovers came out fast and furious. Gun’s wife, Camila, smiled and picked up her makeup bag.
“Is this hat box coming?” Pearl Jo asked.
Savannah nodded, because she’d loaded the van with everything she needed for today and the next twelve days.
“Hey, how’re you doing?” Glory Rose asked. Savannah had been out with her and Conrad several times over the past months.
She reached for the baby boy in Glory Rose’s arms. “If I can’t lift anything, does he count?” She kissed the four-month-old’s chubby cheek and grinned. “He is the cutest thing ever.” Chance’s dark hair and eyes glowed in the April sunlight.
“You can have him,” Glory Rose said with a smile. “But I’m pretty sure my momma will take him from you in a few minutes. He’s teething, and we don’t want drool on your wedding gown.”
“Today is definitely a drool-free day,” Oakley Glover said as she approached. She wore a wide, warm smile and opened her arms to Savannah. “Hello, my dear. Are you ready for this?”
“I think so,” Savannah said, giving her a quick side-hug with Chance between them. “I’m more worried about Wilder than anything.”
“Oh, we always worry about Wilder,” Oakley said, smiling as she stepped back. “But he’s proved to be more than capable in a great many things, and I’ve stopped underestimating him.”
Savannah blinked and mentally backpedaled. “I didn’t mean I was underestimating him.”
“I know you’re not.” Oakley tilted her head, taking in Savannah’s shoes and luggage for twelve days—one large suitcase to check, a carry-on, and a backpack. Savannah trusted Fawn would make sure it all got inside.
“What are you worried about?” Oakley asked. “We sat with Wilder for a long time last night, and he’s not worried about anything.”
“I’m not really worried,” Savannah said. “But I’m used to having two little girls around, with their many moods and swings and attitude shifts. Wilder has seen a lot of that, yes, but it’s different when you live with them.”
“I imagine there will be some difficult days. Every marriage has them,” Oakley said. “And yes, you’re bringing two darling girls to the mix. But my son knows this, and whatever he’s not ready for can be learned—because he has you, and he has God.”
Tears pricked Savannah’s eyes at such a beautiful testament. She pressed her lips together and nodded. Oakley slipped an arm around her and guided her into the house.
“I haven’t been inside for weeks,” Oakley said. “The cabinets are amazing, aren’t they?”
Savannah’s mood brightened. “I was a little skeptical of the robin’s-egg blue, but Gal was insistent. Trap showed me pictures of it in other houses and said it could be changed, so we ran with it.”
“It’s amazing,” Oakley said.
Savannah had no trouble knowing where to go; Fawn stood next to a barstool, waving her in like an air-traffic controller. Savannah sat, and from there she let Wilder’s sister, cousins, mother, and aunts fix her hair and makeup, feed her breakfast, chat, and keep her company.
With only an hour to go, the front door opened and little-girl voices burst into the room.
“Momma! Momma, we’re here!” Gal called.
Fawn went to meet them. After quick hugs and a flash of their pretty new nails—Gal’s a bright pink and Sequoia’s a pale violet—Fawn herded them down the hall to get into their dresses.
The three of them would walk down the aisle together. Savannah’s dad had died a few years ago, and she could give herself away as long as her girls were at her side.
Things moved quickly from there. Her mother and Oakley helped her into her dress, doing up every pearled button and placing the veil just-so.
Camila rose from the couch. “Gun says the llamas are ready.”
A nervous flutter moved through Savannah’s stomach. She pressed both hands over it. “Well, if the llamas are ready, sounds like it’s time to get married.”
Oakley laughed with her, and everyone joined the exodus out of the farmhouse and up to the main part of Shiloh Ridge Ranch.