Epilogue
MAC
Six Months Later
“Zye is going to kill us.”
I kiss Rainn’s knuckle right under his wedding ring. “He’ll be fine. But also stop dawdling, and we won’t be late.” We should have taken my truck, but it’s a beautiful morning, and the view is gorgeous. Fields of buffalo grass sway in the slight wind and I’m choked up for a second that I get to be a part of this beauty.
“You don’t get it. He’s sensitive about these things.” Rainn shakes his head. “Why have we stopped?” And then he looks around. “Oh.”
On one side of the hill is the farm. Everything looks new, with crisp red paint on the barn. The old Stryker farmhouse was renovated and modernized. But it still has its traditional farmhouse charm with a large covered front porch. Hard to believe Garrett lives there all on his own.
On the other side is Bishope Fields. The event center is surrounded by stunning natural beauty. The white buildings mix country charm with a touch of elegance. Thanks to the gala that raised millions of dollars to help trans kids, this place is now booked at least a year in advance. Of course, we know the owner, so we could have been squeezed in if we wanted.
“It’s stunning.” He takes both my hands and gives me a pointed look. “But we can admire this place any day of the year. Right now, we have a wedding to get to. Our wedding. And if we’re late, Zye will never forgive us.”
“Then we better make this quick.” I kiss him and pull him toward the barn. “And it’s not like we could stand each other up. We’re already married.”
“I’m sure that will be a comfort to Zye and all the work he put into this.”
The past six months have been amazing. Having Rainn by my side as my husband and friend and not having to pretend is a dream come true. I went back to therapy for a short time. I didn’t want my old fears to have a hold on me. Those tend to grow and take over. Rainn has one more year of med school, and then he starts his residency. I graduated in May, but now I’m working on my PATH certification. Equine-assisted therapy saved my life. And I want to help others have that. Maybe that’s why this is so important to me. Horses are a huge part of my life. Daisy is part of my family. Our family.
“Hey, girl.” She’s hanging out by the fence, waiting for me. I stroke her warm, silky neck as I hold out a sugar cube for her. I nuzzle her cheek, and she nickers and bites at my shirt. Her look is accusatory.
“I know, Daisy. But you wouldn’t like it. Tons of people there. Well, not tons, but more than you’d enjoy.” I kiss the side of her face.
Rainn sighs. “Do you want me to talk to Zye?”
“It’s fine.”
“We should have had the wedding here.”
I don’t answer that because he knows why we didn’t. Barrett is booked for the weekend. And having it at his house would be too much.
“Zye just wanted to plan the perfect wedding without anything going wrong. No disasters.”
“In this family?” I snort. “Is that possible?”
Daisy pushes against Rainn’s face, demanding attention. He strokes her muzzle as he talks sweetly to her. Is there anything more romantic than your man being sweet with your horse?
I’m all choked up again.
The wedding planning has been a nightmare. Depending on who you ask. Zye is in his element, designing things. Arranging flowers and cake and food and what to wear. I get why he wants to do this right, but I just want a simple ceremony with my husband and my family.
And my durn horse.
“The emu gets to be there.”
Rainn nudges me. “I thought you didn’t care.”
“I don’t.”
“Justine lives there. We can’t kick her out just so we can get married.” The wedding is at Zye’s house. Lots of room for an outside wedding. We tried to keep it as simple as possible. And I could have gotten it even simpler, but Rainn wants this.
I rescue Rainn from my horse, who is absolutely in love with him, and cup his face in my hands. “Let’s go get married before your brother puts out a search party.”
“Too late for that.” Garrett laughs as he joins us, giving Daisy a hello pat. “Zye’s freaking out. But I figured you’d be here.”
We say goodbye to Daisy. And I promise her that when we get our own place in Mule Creek, she will be with us all the time. “And no emus allowed,” I whisper, giving her one last kiss.
“Are we good?” Rainn asks Garrett.
“We’re good.”
And I have no idea what that’s about.
We make it back in plenty of time. At least as far as I’m concerned. We don’t have a big wedding party. Zye is Rainn’s best man. And Casey is my dudette of honor. My dad will walk me down the aisle, and Rainn’s mom will walk him. They aren’t giving us away. It’s more of a blending of families. Kylee is the flower girl. And Simon is the ringbearer. He takes his responsibilities very seriously.
The Sheriff of Breckin County is here. But that title now belongs to my dad. The county commissioners were not impressed with Sheriff Harding’s hate speech. And while it’s an elected position, they convinced him to step down.
Rainn and his mom still have a ways to go. But they’re working on being in each other’s lives. They offered to pay for Rainn’s medical school, but he refused. He wants to do things on his own, which I appreciate, but when he talked about getting a job, I had to remind him we barely get any time to ourselves now. He has a trust fund since Hal and Joy released his money. And most of all, he has people who love him and want to help and to stop being a stubborn horse’s behind.
While we tried to keep the ceremony simple, we have a large family now. One that includes a prince.
“Do we really need this many bodyguards?” I ask Rainn.
He shrugs. “Are you ready to get this started?”
“Ready to get it over with.” I wink at him. “And ready for our non-Vegas honeymoon.”
The procession starts out fine. My dad leads me in and then pats my back with tears in his eyes as he takes his place among the guests.
Kylee is next, and she happily throws flowers around. I’m barely paying attention until I hear a grunt and a scream.
Justine pecks at the flowers in Kylee’s hair, and Zye yells at Miles to take care of his damn bird. I don’t say anything, but I’m thinking lots of things.
Everything gets back on track. And even with the chaos, I’m happy to have all these people here to support us.
Isaac and Adrian sit near the front with Reginald a row behind. Miles gets Justine settled and gives Zye a thumbs-up. Cher and Slade are cozy side by side. My mom is already crying. Belinda sits with Hettie and Mama Gladdie and Hal and Joy. Levor sits with Reginald and Zye’s dad, who managed to be in the country for once.
Casey nudges me.
Rainn approaches the archway with his mom on his arm. Olivia Jaine is beautiful, their green eyes shining with tears. But my eyes are stuck on the man by their side. My husband-to-be. Again. We’re both wearing matching gray suits, and he looks so gorgeous it takes my breath away. It reminds me of the non-wedding almost a year ago. But this time, Rainn is my groom.
Liv hugs Rainn and then me. Once we’re standing together under the archway decorated with wildflowers, some of my nervousness goes away.
“Is it too late to run off to Vegas?” I ask low enough not to be heard.
He smiles and pulls something out of his pocket. A keychain of Elvis holding a taco. “I’ll go wherever you go. You and me, Eddie McVay, we belong taco-gether.”
“You’re such a goof.” I start to kiss him, and the preacher clears his throat.
“Are you guys ready to start? Or did you want to go on without us?”
We nod for him to go on. And he does. The ceremony is beautiful and romantic. Or at least I assume it is. I’m so nervous I don’t remember much about it. It’s mostly a blur.
Except for the moment when they ask if anyone knows of a reason this couple should not be joined… I almost expect Frank Harding to jump up, but he doesn’t, and the moment passes. Or almost does, anyway.
“Stop looking for drama, Rainn Harding, and marry the guy already,” Mama Gladdie yells, and I laugh.
Rainn and I exchange vows and the rings we picked out and promise to love and cherish each other forever. I almost blurt out I love you more than once because the feeling is too big to hold in. And then, when the preacher says we can kiss, I pour all of it into the kiss. How much I love him. How much he means to me. He’s the best thing to ever happen to me. My best friend forever.
We’re both crying by then, but so are all the guests.
“I now present to you Mr. and Mr. Harding-McVay.”
The crowd cheers. Casey worked with us to get the name changes since we were already married. All I knew was I wanted to be linked to this man forever.
As we make our way out to be greeted by guests, they blow bubbles instead of throwing rice. The reception is at the VFW hall since Bishope Fields was already booked, which was fine with me. No live-streaming. No reporters. Nothing but family.
The plan is to take my truck to the VFW hall. But when we get where my truck should be, Daisy is there instead with a Just Married sign hanging over her. Wildflowers are braided in her mane. I gasp at the sight. “Rainn?”
“I wanted it to be a surprise. If I’d known you’d be so upset—I’m sor?—”
But I kiss him. “No apologizing.”
I pat Daisy’s side, and she neighs. “Glad you could make it.”
We’d taken some photos before the wedding and now we take more. This time, Daisy is included. We wave to the family. So many people here for us. My heart is full. I get on Daisy, and Rainn sits behind me, his arms holding me tight.
“I love you, husband,” I whisper.
“I love you too. So much.”
“But I feel like I was deceived.”
“Mac—”
“I was promised tacos, Rainn.”
He laughs. “Getting Zye to be okay with our grand exit being on a horse was nothing compared to the effort it took to convince him tacos were the perfect food for a reception. But I managed it. We have tacos, babe. So many tacos.”
“Then I guess everything is just about perfect.”
The reception is relaxed and fun and there are so many tacos.
Christy made the cake. And Garrett is there, but he and Christy aren’t speaking to each other. We do the usual. Cut the cake and feed each other. One of my favorite parts. And the first dance. I enjoy that a little too much if Zye’s huffs are anything to go by.
Rainn and I are almost ready to depart for our honeymoon. Adrian suggested the place. And the plane to get there. I’m getting used to air travel. At least I’m trying. We thank Isaac and Adrian for their help.
“When’s your wedding?” Rainn asks.
“Not sure,” Isaac says, giving Adrian a side-eye. “Since I haven’t even been asked.”
Adrian frowns. “You know I’d propose right now, but?—”
Isaac puts his hand over his mouth. “I know. I was kidding.” He kisses him and turns to us. “Royal family protocol. Historic precedence. All that.”
“Your Highness.” Reginald rushes up to the prince, his eyes wide. I’ve never seen Reginald flustered before. “Sir, we need to leave.”
“There’s still cake to eat.”
He glances around and lowers his voice. “Not the reception. The country. I just received a call from the palace. Prince Phillipe has been abducted.”
“What?” Adrian grabs his arms. “How? When?”
“I’m not sure on the details, but it seems Luka Weiss is somehow involved.”
Some of the tension leaves Adrian’s body. “None of this makes sense, but I don’t think Luka would hurt him.”
“Those were my thoughts as well, however…”
“What?”
“There’s a ransom note.”
With the excitement around Prince Phillipe’s disappearance and the loss of our transportation, our honeymoon is delayed.
But a week later, when things are settled down, Rainn and I find ourselves on a beautiful Caribbean island, hiking through the lush wilderness, soaking up the sun, enjoying fruity mocktails by the sea and hot nights in each other’s arms.
And the best part?
There are no ex-girlfriends or slot machines in sight.
Thank you for reading!