Chapter 22
Twenty-Two
Copeland
“So, you got the girl, huh?” Macklin asks.
I chuckle. “Yeah, I got my girl,” I tell him, my eyes locked on Ellison as she laughs at something her sister, Baylor, is saying. We’re sitting in the backyard of my mom’s house, waiting for all of our guests to arrive.
“You plan on locking her down this time?” Dixon asks.
“You need us to go ring shopping with you?” Bowen smirks.
“Nah, got the girl and the ring,” I tell them. It takes everything I have not to tell them that today, they get to see me make Ellison my wife.
My wife.
The last two weeks have been nothing short of incredible. Together, quietly, we’ve planned and organized the day that we will remember forever. The day we’ll tell our kids and grandkids about.
I even proposed to her for real, on one knee with a ring. We took a stroll down by the pond one night after dinner, and I did it there. She smiled through her tears as she said, “I’ve always been yours,” and then I kissed the air from her lungs.
“When are you gonna do it?” Bowen asks.
“Today.” I smirk because they have no idea.
Movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention. I turn to see Kip, his wife, Sara, and their daughter, Sophie, stepping into the backyard. “Look what the cat dragged in!” I call out, standing to greet them.
“Good to see you, Cope,” Kip says, pulling me into a hug. I step out of his hug to kiss Sara on the cheek and lift Sophie into my arms.
“How ya doing, Soph?” I ask her, placing a kiss on her cheek.
“Uncle Copeland, we drove so far!” she exclaims.
“I know. I’m glad you’re here. Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.” With Sophie in my arms, I nod for Kip and Sara to follow me. I stop at the guys and introduce them before we move to where Ellison is standing with her sisters and my sister-in-law, soon to be hers, too, Macie.
“Hey, Ells,” I say, stopping next to her and sliding the arm that’s not holding Sophie around her waist. “This is Sophie.”
Ellison’s eyes light up. “Hello, Sophie. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“You’re pretty,” Sophie tells her.
Ellison smiles. “Thank you. So are you. I love your braids,” she says, nodding toward Sophie’s braided pigtails.
“Uncle Cope, is this your girlfriend?” Sophie asks.
She’s so much more than that, Soph. “Yeah,” I tell her.
“Ells is my girl.” Sophie giggles, and I tickle her belly.
“This is Kip, and his wife, Sara. They made this one,” I say, bouncing Sophie in my arms. I can’t help but think about our baby, and that this time next year, it will be my son or daughter in my arms.
I can’t fucking wait.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Ellison tells them. They both pull her into a hug, but Kip’s eyes find mine over her shoulder. I nod, and he grins.
From the very first day of boot camp all those years ago, Kip and I hit it off. He heard my woes about missing Ellison, and he’s been there every minute since. I’m so glad they were able to make it today. I didn’t tell him we were getting married. He’s going to be shocked but happy for me.
“We’re going to go say hi to your mom,” Kip says, taking Sophie from my arms.
“She’s going to be excited to see you.”
He nods and leads his wife and daughter to the porch, where my mom is sitting with a tired smile.
I offer Ellison my hand, and she takes it, allowing me to lead her to the edge of the yard so that we can talk privately. “Everyone is here,” I tell her.
“Are you ready for this?” she asks, smiling up at me.
“I’ve been ready,” I tell her, leaning in for a kiss, but she turns her head, giving me her cheek. “Ells?” I ask, concerned. She’s not having second thoughts, right?
“The next time your lips touch mine, you’ll be my husband.”
I don’t get to reply before her grandparents join us.
“You kids ready?” her grandpa asks quietly.
Her grandparents are the only two who know what’s really happening today.
Well, outside of Edith from the pharmacy.
She hasn’t told anyone that we’re aware of, but when we see her around town, she gives us a knowing look, accompanied by a smile.
“We’re ready,” Ellison answers.
“I feel like we’ve barely seen you in the last few months,” her grandma tells her.
“That’s what happens when you retire and travel the world,” Ellison teases. “I feel like you’re barely home before you’re gone again.”
“We’re going to cut back,” she tells her.
“Don’t you dare,” Ellison warns. “You worked your entire lives. Enjoy this time together. Travel, be gone, see the world, and when you need a break, you come back home to Magnolia Ridge. You’re always here for the big stuff.
That’s what matters. We know that if we need you, you’ll come home.
Today, I need you.” Ellison glances up at me. “We need you.”
“I’m thrilled that you kids were able to find your way back to one another.” Her grandma smiles kindly.
Ellison decided not to tell her grandparents or her sisters about the letters, at least not yet.
She’s still processing the fact that her mother played a huge role in our separation, and she needs time to do that.
I’m sure she’ll tell them eventually, and if not, that’s okay.
What matters is that we did find our way back to each other, and after today, she’ll be my wife.
Everything else is just background noise.
Pieces of the past that led us to today but are no longer essential to our future.
The sequel to our story starts today.
“You two need to go get dressed,” her grandma tells us.
Ellison’s smile could light up all of Tennessee. “We’ll be quick,” she says, tugging on my hand and leading me around the side of the house. Once inside, we move quickly down the hall to my old bedroom.
“Have you decided yet?” I ask, stripping out of my clothes to get into my dress blues.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to wear it. Not because of her keeping the letters from me, but I want us to have something of our own. We’re building something new, something stronger, and I don’t want anything from the past to taint that.”
“Baby, wearing her dress won’t taint that.”
She nods. “I know, but my gut tells me not to wear it. If my sisters want to when they get married, they can. I bought something I love. I want to feel like me today.”
“You can wear a burlap sack, and you’d still be the most beautiful bride Magnolia Ridge has ever seen.”
“I already said yes,” she teases, pulling her tank top over her head.
“Fuck, warn a guy, Ells,” I say, letting my eyes roam over her body.
She laughs, a beautiful musical sound that fills the room. “You’d better get moving. We have a wedding to start.”
“Yes, ma’am.” We both work on getting ready, and I keep my back to her. I want that moment. When I see her for the first time. We’re walking down the aisle together, so this is it. I finish getting dressed and sit in the chair at the desk, facing the wall.
“What are you doing?” She laughs.
“I’m waiting until you’re ready. I want the first look at you, but I don’t want it until you tell me you’re finished.”
“Copeland James, are you trying to make me cry? I just touched up my makeup.”
“You don’t need it anyway,” I tell her. She doesn’t. She’s naturally beautiful.
“Not helping.” She laughs.
I listen as she finishes getting ready, and finally, she says, “You can turn around.” Standing, I slowly turn, and my heart skips a beat.
She’s got her hair pulled back, just the top and sides, and the rest is in soft waves down her back.
Her makeup is barely there and flawless.
Her big blue eyes are shining as she watches me take her in.
“That dress—” I nod my approval. It’s a lace number that is high around her neck, sleeveless, tapered at the waist, and stops just above her knee.
To top it off, she’s wearing her worn-out scuffed cowboy boots.
The ones I bought for her for Christmas the year before I left for the Marines.
“You still have those?” I ask, my voice betraying me, cracking with emotion.
“Yeah, they’re my favorite still today. I don’t wear them often anymore, but today seemed fitting.”
“I got you something.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the new ring. “I know you said you wanted the original, but this one, it’s fresh, kind of like the dress,” I tell her. Her left hand trembles as I slide the two-and-a-half-carat diamond halo ring onto her finger.
“Copeland, it’s beautiful. It’s too much.”
“Nothing is too much for you, Ells.” I lean in to kiss her. “Fuck, I forgot I’m not allowed,” I say, pressing my lips against her cheek instead. She giggles, and it only makes me want to kiss her more.
“Thank you.”
“One more thing,” I tell her. Moving back to the desk, I reach into the top drawer and pull out the long, slender box.
“I had your original ring made into a necklace. They used the solitaire diamond for the center, and I had them match the halo setting of your new ring.” Opening the box, I hold it out for her.
“Cope.” She peers up at me, eyes misty with tears.
“Now, you have both of them. Our past and our future.”
“Thank goodness for waterproof mascara,” she says, fanning her face as if that will help keep the tears at bay. “Will you put it on me?”
“Turn around.” She does as I ask, lifting her hair from her neck, and I clasp the necklace into place. When she turns, her blue eyes are blazing with love.
“I have something for you, too.” She grins. “I was going to wait to show you, but now seems like a good time.” She turns her back to me and glances at me over her shoulder. “Can you unzip me?”
“Baby, I don’t know if that’s the best idea. We have a wedding to get started, and if I unzip you, we might never leave this room.” She chuckles and keeps her back turned, so I reach for the zipper and lower it.
“It’s temporary for now,” she says as she pulls the dress down to her waist. She lifts her left arm, and just under her bra on the left side is a tattoo.
“Mrs. James,” I read, my heart pounding in my chest.
“You got one for me, and I wanted one for you.”