Epilogue
Callie
Picking up my champagne flute, I take a gulp before placing it back on the makeup table.
“What do you think, Caroline?” the makeup artist asks me as she reveals the makeup look that perfectly captures everything I want to convey.
My cheeks are flushed pink, and my lids are lightly dusted with shimmering gold.
My lips are a dusty rose, and my dark lashes make my eyes look huge.
The tan I sport from spending my afternoons riding my black mare, Tulip, around the ranch perfectly accentuates the colors she has applied to my face.
“It’s perfect,” I breathe.
Sadie kneels in front of me, holding out a boot and I push my foot in, grabbing the boot strap to pull them into place.
“I can’t believe it’s finally time,” she says, looking up at me.
“I know. I never thought we would get here.” Standing, I affix my stark white cowboy hat to my head, its long ribbon trailing down my back. Gazing in the mirror, I smooth the floor length white gown over my hips before fixing the little gold chain with the cowboy hat hanging between my breasts.
I take a deep breath. “Okay, let’s do it,” I say as I exit the room, my dress trailing behind me.
Walking down the long aisle as I Cross My Heart plays quietly, I look at the smiling faces of Duke and Cash waiting for me, one on either side.
Sleepy stands as officiant to our unorthodox wedding, where the three of us will pledge ourselves to each other.
Who I am legally married to doesn’t matter.
Being here on our ranch, surrounded by the people who know and love us, is indescribable.
The last two years with these men by my side have been the greatest days and weeks and months of my life.
“I, Duke Williams, take Caroline Pearce, to be my wedded wife. The time we have spent together has cultivated a love that is deep and abiding. I never could have imagined standing here, with my best friend, marrying the love of our lives, but I have learned that love can only multiply if it is fed and nurtured. I intend to love you wholly and completely for the rest of my life, nurturing your heart, and allowing your love to encompass both of us, as long as we live. You are my present and my future, and I pledge myself to you today. I love you.”
Tears roll down my cheeks and drip from my lips.
“I, Caroline Pearce, take you, Duke Williams, as my wedded husband. My love for you grows daily like a carefully loved flower, growing larger and stronger every day into the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. We have been through so much together, the three of us, and you have stood by our sides when we were all afraid of losing everything. You are my choice every day and my heart has never been divided; it grew twice as large to love you.”
I turn to face Cash.
“I, Ashley Colter, take you, Caroline Pearce, as my wedded wife. Hurricane, you blew into town when I was lost. I was drifting through a sea of confusion with no plan or consideration for the future. You lit up the world and made me want to change, want to be a better man, and earn you every day. I will be worthy of you now and for the rest of our lives. I look at the life we are creating, all of us together, and ask myself how I got so lucky to have everything I would have ever asked for, if I considered myself capable of asking. You are a tempest in my world, and I am so grateful you changed everything. I love you more every day and I will continue to love you until my heart can’t anymore. ”
I’m damn near sobbing now as I hold both their hands, my own trembling.
“I, Caroline Pearce, take you, Ashley Colter, to be my wedded husband.” My voice cracks as I’m overcome with the gravity of today.
“You bring light and levity to my life in a way I never knew possible. The love you flood me with every time I look at you makes me believe in fate. It was fate that brought me here, to you, both of you, and I intend to prove it was the right choice because you are my choice every day and I am thankful for you.”
Sleepy recites the rest of our ceremony before telling my men they may kiss their bride.
Duke captures my mouth first in a searing but slow, deep kiss.
Cash follows with a sweet kiss and a backward dip.
The two displays are exactly what I would expect from the two men who devote themselves to me every day.
Turn the page to see our feature in the special edition issue of Bull-Riders Weekly.