Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Wyatt
We push through the heavy barn doors, and the familiar heads of our friends and family snap round to greet us.
I’m fighting my own smile as we make our way in, trying not to give the game away too soon.
I’ve replayed the last few months a thousand times in my head, and I realise I’ve never felt this happy, this fulfilled.
I love this girl so fiercely that it’s bordering on manic.
“Oh, here comes trouble! Where did you two sneak off to?” Mike hollers above the thrum of the music. Trust him to notice we were gone.
I look down at my beautiful fiancée with a boyish grin, giving her a subtle nod.
Emily bites her lip, a shy, radiant flush climbs her cheeks as she slowly raises her hand.
The light from the illuminated rafters catches the incredible emerald-cut diamonds, sending a flash of brilliance across the room.
My ears are practically ringing from the shrill scream my sister and Sarah let out in unison. Before we can even draw breath, we’re being pulled into the biggest, loudest group hug known to man. My brother, my best friend, my sister, and the whole damn crew envelop us in a bone-crushing embrace.
When we’re eventually released, I reach for Emily again, only to find her wrapped tightly in Kassie’s arms. My sister is sobbing, her shoulders shaking.
The sight of her crying shouldn’t warm my heart, but it serves as a final kick in the balls reminder that my entire family is just as all-in as I am.
Kassie pulls back, holding Emily’s delicate hand to admire the ring through a blur of tears. She turns to me, a sly grin breaking through despite the wetness in her eyes. “Baby brother, I am so glad you finally pulled your head out of your ass.”
“Uh, I think the word you’re looking for is congratulations,” I retort sarcastically. But she’s right. It’s been a long time coming.
She shakes her head, grinning, and pulls me into a frantic hug. “You deserve this, Wyatt,” she mumbles emotionally against my shoulder.
God, even I’m getting a little choked up.
My tough cowboy image is taking a real hit right now, but I’m too dang happy to care. I’m not the only one on this ranch who’s had a rough fucking few years, but seeing my sister show this much genuine affection for the woman I love makes me feel something I didn’t expect.
“What’s happening?” a small voice cuts through the celebratory noise.
I turn to see Alex standing there, his face twisted in a look of pure bemusement as he watches the adults around him lose their damn minds. I reach for Emily’s hand, our fingers lacing together instinctively as we head toward him.
“Buddy, we’ve got some good news,” I say, crouching down so I’m eye level with him.
“Your dad and I are going to get married...if that’s okay with you?” Emily asks. Her voice is tentative, but the grin hasn't left her face for a single second.
The smile that lights up my boy’s face gives the string lights overhead a run for their money. “Seriously?” He beams, eyes wide.
“Seriously, bud.” I grin.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he plows into Emily, throwing his arms around her waist. Her hands hover for a split second in disbelief before she clutches him tightly to her chest, her bottom lip beginning to wobble.
“Does that mean you get to be my mom for real?” His voice is muffled against her dress.
The words hit me square in the chest, the impact so sudden it makes my eyes sting. I realize how much he’s needed her this whole time. I notice a single tear tracking down Emily’s cheek as she presses a fierce kiss to the top of his head.
God, now I’m about to break.
“Of course, baby,” she whispers. “For real.”
I don’t think there’s a dry eye left in the barn. I even catch the glazed, watery look in my father’s eyes as he steps forward, pulling us both into a massive, weathered embrace.
“I’m proud of you two,” Dad says, his voice a low rumble. “You’ve both been through so much. I’m just glad you finally found your way back to one another. Your parents would have been so damn happy. Your mother, especially Wyatt.”
I pull back, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder. My throat feels tight, but the words need to be said.
“I think I should be the one thanking you, Dad,” I choke up again, “for bringing her home.”
My father looks down at the floor, inhaling deeply as he tries to blink away the tears that are finally threatening to spill. He’s saved by the sharp pop of a champagne cork behind us.
“Let’s keep this celebration going, guys!” Sarah beams, waving the bottle at the room.
Emily suddenly hurries over to her, clutching Sarah’s hands with a look of genuine guilt. “Sarah, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to steal your thunder today.”
Sarah laughs, giving her a mock stern look. “Are you kidding? Emily, this is the most perfect day. I’m so glad you get to share it with us.”
She pulls Emily into a tight embrace, and I can see that the sheer outpouring of love is starting to overwhelm her. As the party hums along around us, I catch her glancing down at her ring every few minutes, her eyes wide as if she can’t quite believe the way her life has turned out.
Little does she know, she’s the one who saved me.
We’re consumed by the celebration and each other.
Before I know it, I’ve lost all track of time.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Alex sitting on a hay bale, eavesdropping on Mike and Jackson’s conversation.
He tries to look like one of the men, but his eyelashes are starting to bat heavily against his cheeks.
Dad clocks it at the same time I do. I nudge Emily with my elbow, and she turns with a soft smile spreading across her face.
“Aww, poor baby’s all partied out.” She giggles.
“Okay, young man,” Dad says, clapping a hand on Alex’s back. “How about you and I call it a night and let the grownups get into trouble?”
“Oh, man...can’t I just stay a little longer?” Alex whines, finishing the sentence with a jaw-cracking yawn.
I check my watch. “Bud, it’s almost midnight. Way past your bedtime. Tell you what—we’ll celebrate tomorrow night, just the three of us. We’ll head into town for burgers.”
He nods, the fight finally leaving him. “Okay.”
I huff a laugh as my father ushers him out, Alex practically dragging his feet across the barn floor. With the kids and the older guests gone, the crowd thins out until only the inner circle and the ranch crew remain. The late September air is definitely cooler than it has been lately.
“Okay, losers!” Kassie proclaims, jumping onto a chair and throwing her arms wide. “I think what this night needs is a midnight dip in the creek!”
Oh God, here we go.
Kassie’s post-party tradition usually involves an alcohol fueled swim in the freezing creek, which inevitably ends with half the crew passed out on her living room floor.
I look at Emily, raising an eyebrow in a silent question. She looks back at me, her eyes dancing with mischief and the kind of happiness I never thought I’d see again.
“Well, Future Mrs. Miller,” I murmur, pulling her flush against my chest. “You heard the lady. You up for a swim?”
“Oh, hell yes.” She nods, a wickedness in her grin.
The crew files out of the barn in one rowdy, drunken rush, heavy shoes and high heels crunching through the tall, silvered grass toward the creek. The cool night air starts biting at us immediately, a sharp contrast to how hot that barn had gotten.
“We’re going to freeze, Wyatt.” Emily laughs, shivers already hitching her breath. Her small frame shakes as she rubs her arms.
“Nah, I’ve got a bottle of Jack here that says the water won’t feel half as cold once you’ve got a head start,” Mike says, appearing at her elbow and handing over the bottle.
Emily takes a decisive swig, the whiskey bringing a fresh flush to her cheeks. My own bloodstream is fizzing with more than alcohol. I reach out, catching her firmly by the chin to bring those whiskey-soaked lips to my own for a searing, claiming kiss.
When I pull back, I can’t help the smirk that tugs at my mouth. “Baby, you do realize we’re all going in there in our underwear, and you aren’t wearing a bra under that dress?”
Whilst there’s nothing more I’d enjoy right now than the view of my fiancée wet and topless, that’s a fantasy I don’t plan on sharing with my entire ranch family.
Her eyes snap wide in horror. “Shit.”
She drops my hand instantly, hitching up her skirt to sprint ahead and catch up with my sister. “Kassie! Kassie, I need a favor!” Her voice trails off into the darkness as she scrambles toward the porch.
Mike claps a firm, heavy hand on my shoulder, his expression uncharacteristically soft. “Pal, it’s good to see you like this. It’s been a long time coming, but you finally made it to the other side.”
Emily disappears through the front door of my sister’s house, undoubtedly heading in to raid a drawer for a swimsuit. I can’t fight the grin that splits my face as I look at him, the weight that’s been sitting on my chest for years finally lifting.
“Honestly, Mike? I still can’t believe she walked back onto this ranch,” I admit, my voice dropping honestly. “I think someone up there finally decided my luck was due for a change.”
“Care to share some of that luck?” He laughs.
Mike Brooks has got his own share of baggage to work through, but it never seems to weigh him down the way I’ve let mine do.
To avoid risking too much sentimentality with my best friend and dampening the celebration, I loosen my tie and start yanking at the buttons of my shirt.
“You’re gonna need more than luck if you think you’re beating me into that water,” I bark, breaking into a dead run and leaving him in the dust.
“Oh, you son of a bitch!” he yells, his boots thudding against the earth as he tries to close the gap.
At the water’s edge, I kick off my shoes and shed my suit pants in one frantic motion. I don’t give myself time to think, I dive headlong into the creek before the freezing mountain air can talk my body out of it.