CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Fallon
ONE OF ELLIE’S NINETIES POP PLAYLISTS FILLED THE AIR AS every woman in my family bustled around the primary suite of Kye’s house.
Sutton had somehow managed to get a few temporary makeup stations so she and Ellie could help us all with hair and makeup.
Everyone chatted as they got ready, donning dresses accented with sweaters since it was only about sixty degrees outside.
“I still think we could’ve had a bachelorette party at the cowboy bar last night,” Lolli grumbled.
Rhodes pinned our grandmother with a hard stare. “You got your round of pin the penis on the man candy last night. Just be glad we let you have that.”
Thea choked on a laugh. “You make it sound like she put an actual penis on a stripper or something.”
“Dear God, please do not give her any ideas,” Mom begged.
Lolli beamed. “I bet I could find some gents in Vegas who’d be up for that game.”
“Someone tell Linc to lock down his private jet,” Sutton called from where she was working on Mom’s eye shadow.
Arden grinned as Ellie wove tiny braids through her wavy strands. “Unfortunately, I think Linc would be an enabler there. He loves Lolli’s shenanigans.”
“Have I told you that you have the best taste of all my granddaughters?” Lolli asked.
Arden’s gray-violet eyes twinkled. “Pretty sure you’re not supposed to say that at your other granddaughter’s wedding.”
Lolli just harrumphed. “I used to be able to count on Kye, but he told me I couldn’t get Fallon a stripper last night, so he’s on my shit list.”
Sutton stilled, makeup brush still in hand. “I’m not sure the male strippers you could find around here are ones you’d want, Lolli.”
Arden let out a cackling laugh, her hand resting on her small belly. “It would certainly be interesting.”
“I could’ve gotten Linc to send his plane to Vegas to bring some back. Only bougie strippers for my Fallon,” Lolli argued.
I shook my head and adjusted my robe. “I think I’ll pass on anyone shaking their junk in my face. But I appreciate the sentiment.”
Thea giggled as she worked on adjusting my bouquet. “What if he could airplane propeller it?”
“Or make it dance?” Rho pressed.
“Make it stop!” I begged.
Mom laughed as she rose from her chair, her makeup done. “All right. Enough appendage conversation for one day.”
“Never enough,” Lolli protested.
Mom sent her a stern look and then crossed to me. “I know you were planning to wear the pale pink dress, but I wanted to give you another option.”
I studied her, confused. I hadn’t exactly had time to buy a wedding dress, but the pale pink one I’d worn to a friend’s wedding last spring was nice enough. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I didn’t.” Mom took my hand and led me into the still-empty walk-in closet—well, empty except for a single white dress hanging there. “I won’t be offended if it isn’t your style, but this is the dress I wore when I married your dad.”
“Mom,” I whispered, moving to the gown. It was simple but beautiful, with delicate cap sleeves and tiny embroidered flowers scattered across it.
“You’re about my size, and this dress has so many happy memories already etched into its fabric.”
I turned to find her eyes misting and pulled her into my arms. “Are you sure you want me to wear it? It was yours, and—”
“Nothing would make me happier.”
She released me and lifted the gown off the hanger. I slipped out of my robe and into the dress, turning so she could help zip me up. I couldn’t stop gazing down at the way the blooms were a part of the fabric itself. It was like being dressed in a field of wildflowers.
As my mom finished zipping me up, I turned. Her hand flew to her mouth. “Fallon,” she rasped. “You’re breathtaking.” Her breath hitched. “I’d give anything for your dad to see this.”
Tears pooled in my eyes. “I miss him.”
She wrapped me in her comforting embrace yet again. “He’s here. Because we carry him with us in everything we do.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d think if he knew what I was really doing. That the vows I’d speak today would be as fake as the coloring on a snow cone. But as someone who would’ve given everything in the service and protection of others, some part of me felt he’d understand.
And, in many ways, the vows weren’t a lie. This marriage might end on paper in a handful of months, but it would stay forever etched on my heart. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Mom released me and cupped my cheek. “He’d be so proud of the woman you’ve become. Jacob would be, too.”
I swiped under my eyes, careful not to disturb the makeup Sutton had applied. “No compliment could mean more.”
“It’s true, my sweet girl. And so am I.”
“I love you.”
“More than all the stars in the sky,” she whispered.
“What’s taking so long?” Lolli called. “I want to see my girl.”
A laugh bubbled out of me. “We can’t keep her waiting.”
“Patience is a virtue you could work on,” Mom called back. “Along with some decorum.”
Lolli made a pssh sound. “Where’s the fun in that?”
I walked out of the closet, prepared for more of Lolli’s antics. Instead, her hands flew to her face to cover her mouth.
“You’re perfect,” Rhodes whispered, her eyes filling.
Thea dabbed at hers with a tissue. “The most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”
“Kye is gonna lose his damn mind when he sees you,” Arden said with a grin.
Sutton waved both hands in front of her face. “How dare you make me cry and ruin my makeup?”
Ellie laughed at that, her smile impossibly wide. “You’re glowing from the inside out.”
Lolli crossed to me then, her hands lifting to my cheeks. “You are the most precious gift. You make this world a better place, and I know you bring light to Kye’s.”
“Lolli,” I croaked.
Her thumbs tracked over the swells of my cheeks. “Can’t imagine anything better than seeing you happy.” She tipped her forehead to mine. “Love you to the ends of the Earth.”
“Love you, too.”
As she released me, it was to find everyone in the room misty-eyed. Rhodes reined us in. “Okay, everyone but Lolli and Nora downstairs so we can get started. Fal? Kye asked me to give you this.”
She handed me a small box and a card. My heart stuttered as I took it. I was oblivious to the girls leaving as I opened the note.
Sparrow,
I know you always imagined your dad walking you down the aisle.
I wanted to remind you that he’s always with you—now and wherever your path may lead.
Thank you for the gift you’re giving me.
It’s something I’ll never be able to repay.
But I’ll live every day trying. It’s an honor to be your husband, even if only for a little while.
Kyler
My thumb traced the artful script of his name—the one he was to me then, now, and forevermore. A teardrop splashed, soaking into the thick cardstock. That familiar ache lit in the center of my chest again as I moved to open the box.
My hands trembled as I pulled the white ribbon free of the black box and lifted the lid. Inside lay an oval pendant in rose gold. It looked old, as if the metal itself had a story, and the intricate design made it absolutely stunning.
I struggled to open it, my fingers fumbling with the clasp.
But when I finally did, more tears came, even as I smiled impossibly wide.
A photo of my dad hoisting me in the air filled the locket, my blond hair tumbling around me as I laughed full-out.
There was so much life in the image, so much love.
“He asked me for my favorite photo of the two of you,” Mom whispered. “I hope I chose right.”
I touched the image as the memory hit. “It was my first rodeo. I got third place in barrel racing in the kids’ division, and he was so proud.”
“He cheered so loud I thought he might blow out our eardrums,” Lolli remembered fondly.
“Will you …?” I swallowed the emotion trying to break free. “Will you put it on me?” I asked my mom.
“Of course.” Her fingers deftly fastened it around my neck, stilling on the clasp for just a moment.
Lolli handed me my bouquet. “You ready?”
I let out a long, shaky breath. “As I’ll ever be.”
My legs trembled as we descended the stairs, soft music wafting up. At the base, Ellie was waiting with Keely in a fairy princess gown from her dress-up collection, and Luca wore a tiny suit. Keely’s eyes widened, and she clasped her hands under her chin. “Auntie Fal, you’re a princess!”
I laughed, and it felt like all the nerves fled me in that moment. I crouched low so I was on her level. “Thank you. And thanks for being my flower girl.” I glanced at Luca. “And my ring bearer.”
“You look super pretty,” Luca mumbled, pink hitting his cheeks.
“Thank you. You both look amazing.”
Kye and I had decided to forgo bridesmaids and groomsmen since the wedding was so small, but I couldn’t resist having my niece and nephew, in all their adorableness, walk down the aisle. I just wished Hayden, Clementine, and Gracie could’ve been here, too.
Ellie beamed at us all. “Okay, my beautiful people. Are we ready to make some magic?”
“We’re ready,” I said, pushing to my feet.
Ellie signaled to someone I couldn’t see, and all of a sudden, I heard Arden’s smoky voice begin singing along with a guitar. Within a handful of seconds, I recognized the song as “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes”, a nod to the movie I’d watched countless times with my family growing up.
Luca and Keely started around the corner to head down the aisle, but their path was hidden by a wall. So, I just had to wait. I heard a couple of laughs and cheers as they went and hoped the photographer was getting some good shots.
Then the music changed. Arden’s beautiful rasp started the lyrics to “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele, and it was all I could do not to lose it again. Lolli looped her arm through one of mine, and Mom took the other. I gripped my bouquet so hard it was a miracle I didn’t snap it in two.
And then we started walking, rounding the corner into the living room with all its new furniture, and through the open French doors to the patio.
I should’ve taken in all the people we loved standing for us—our siblings and their significant others, Rose from work, Jericho, Bear, Serena, and Evan for Kye, and even Walter in a dapper suit and bow tie.
I should’ve taken in the stunning arch that Rhodes, Thea, and Shep had spent hours on, and the beautiful floral arrangements that adorned my path.
But all of that paled in comparison to the man waiting for me at the end of the aisle, dressed in a black suit complete with cowboy boots that had just the right amount of edge. His scruff was tamed but not gone, and those amber eyes glittered in the afternoon light.
My breath caught as the whole world disappeared until it was only Kyler and me.
In that moment, I knew there would never be another for me.
He was the only man I wanted to marry. His was the only ring I wanted to wear.
He was my everything. And while this might have an expiration date in the eyes of our legal system, he would always be my forever.