Chapter 25
Chapter
Twenty-Five
P aisley loaded her paper plate with smoked ribs and baked beans and coleslaw, while Weston did the same behind her.
He leaned close, his breath tickling her cheek. “There are two spots at that table. Want to grab them, and I’ll get us drinks?”
“Sure.” She accepted his plate. “Iced tea, please.”
His eyes twinkled. “It’s southern iced tea, full of sugar. It’s not black and straight.”
Paisley wrinkled her nose at him. “I’ll survive.”
He dropped a kiss to her forehead. “Be right back.”
She stared after his fine form, plaid shirt tucked into his slim jeans held in place with a brown leather belt. Worn cowboy boots and a well-used Stetson rounded out his casual look.
Paisley could stare at him all day, but the plates in her hands were drooping from the weight of warm food. She turned toward the picnic table as someone else claimed the seats Weston had pointed out .
Great. She looked around but didn’t spot two seats together anywhere, though quite a few of the diners looked nearly done. Ah, over there. The lodge steps had space, and Weston would probably prefer sitting on the side of the hustle rather than jostled in the middle, anyway.
She headed in that direction, catching Weston’s eye and poking her chin toward the lodge as he turned with their drinks. He nodded and followed, and soon they settled on the wide wooden planks.
“Good call.” Weston took a drink of his iced tea and set the tall glass down beside him. “Busy place.”
“It sure is. There’s so much energy, it’s crazy.”
“You pulled everything off.” Weston dug his fork into the baked beans.
“With a lot of help.” Paisley nudged him with her elbow.
“We make a good team.” He held her gaze for several seconds.
She held her breath. “Yeah, we do.” She stretched for a light kiss. Thoughts of the two of them teaming up for other events, other situations, maybe for life, spiraled through her mind with a myriad of flash photos. Could that really be her future? Could Weston be her future?
Why not? She knew she loved him. Knew he loved her. There wasn’t much about him that could surprise her after knowing him for over a year. She’d seen him at his worst… but also at his best.
And Weston’s best was very fine indeed.
He pressed his shoulder against hers and pointed with a rib bone. “It seems so strange to see Nana and Grandfather together. And she actually looked up at him and laughed.”
“I’ve never seen him smile so wide. ”
“I know, right? I can’t help but wonder what would have happened back then if she’d told him she was pregnant.”
“Then none of this would have happened. You and I would never have met.”
“You think?” Weston’s brows pulled together as he studied her. “I guess you’re right. Grandfather wouldn’t have married Gladys if he’d married Nana. James and Theodore wouldn’t have been born, so none of my Sullivan cousins, either. Nana would have hated living in Chicago all her life. She’s even chafing in Missoula. She always said she was made for the big skies of Montana.”
“All of life as we now know it would be different.” Just the thought made Paisley lose her appetite just a little, though there were definitely parts of her life she could have done without.
“I guess I’m glad things happened the way they did, in that case.” Weston’s eyes darkened as he looked at her. “Because I wouldn’t want to live in a world where I never met you.”
Paisley bit her lip. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.”
His arm slid around her, his hand settling on her waist and tugging her closer. “Stick around, sweetheart. You’ll hear nicer things than that.” Then he lowered his lips to hers.
“We seem to be interrupting something,” Cadence whispered hoarsely.
Paisley waved her hand to shoo her roommate away. Couldn’t she stay within her comfy kissing cocoon? She liked it here.
Graham chuckled.
“I’d say we’ll come back later, but…” Jude’s voice drifted off.
“Don’t they ever need to come up for air?” Kaci, this time.
Weston groaned against Paisley’s lips. “Hold this thought.”
“Oh, I will,” she whispered back.
“What do you guys want?” Weston sounded resigned.
Paisley took in the contingent in front of them, all of them grinning impishly. Thanks a lot, friends. But wasn’t it amazing to not only have kisses with the sweetest cowboy in the west but to have so many friends who cared about them? She’d never had that before. Certainly not in Arizona. Not really in Colorado, either. Not like this.
“You may not have noticed, but there aren’t really any tables available.” Kaci fluttered her eyelashes.
“Not for this many of us, anyway,” Jude amended.
“We thought you might like some company,” put in Cadence.
“You can talk while you’re eating, but not so much when you’re kissing.” Graham waggled his eyebrows. “Ask me how I know.”
“Be our guests,” Weston muttered.
“No need to sound so gracious, big brother.” Jude plopped on the plank on the other side of Weston and elbowed him. “Great ribs, huh?”
Paisley couldn’t help the laughter bubbling out of her. Her paper plate was already cool against her bare legs. Good thing all these foods would be just as delicious cold as hot. As cold as anything could get on a 90-plus-degree summer day, anyway.
“Feels wrong to enjoy the chuckwagon’s food when Mom is as good a cook.” Weston spooned some baked beans into his mouth.
“She’s enjoying the day off.” Jude nodded to where Nadine chatted with both her parents. “What’s going on with the elders, do you think?”
“Can people in their eighties get married?” Paisley’s query hung in the air as everyone turned to look at her. “What? It’s an honest question.”
Graham coughed. “Well, there aren’t any laws against it, that’s for sure.”
“Nana is only 76, for the record.” Jude chomped down on a smoked rib.
“Whatever.” Paisley waved her hand. “I meant old people.”
Weston’s arm pressed against hers as he leaned close. “I figure to still have it when I’m Grandfather’s age. For the record.”
Oh, my. Paisley felt the flush shoot up her face at his direct words and gaze, but she didn’t dare fan her face. That would draw everyone’s attention even more than she already had.
Jude leaned to look past them to Graham on the other side. “What would you think if they got together?”
Graham grimaced. “I don’t know. It feels disloyal to my grandmother.”
“Like he wasn’t already.”
“He wasn’t,” Graham insisted. “He hadn’t even met her yet.”
“It’s not up to us,” Weston mused. “If they were just any old single folks making eyes at each other, none of us would think twice about it. Except Paisley.” He nudged her.
She was never going to live that down.
“I suppose that’s true.” Graham sighed. “But… can we change the subject? How was everyone’s day? Everything go according to plan? Is anything left besides the dance?”
Paisley relaxed slightly.
The Delgados were already warming up their violins and checking the sound system. An entire contingent had arrived from Saddle Springs along with the brothers and their musically talented kids. This was going to be wonderful, dancing the evening away in her cowboy’s arms.
Enough with the people.
Weston had thrown himself into the square dancing and even some line dancing, since it kept him close to Paisley, who positively glowed in the evening sun and the strings of lantern lights. But now that Trevor and Kade Delgado were taking a well-earned break, Weston was in no hurry to resume the dance floor.
He picked up a tray with two flutes of punch and two charcuterie plates, each with a skewer of fruit on the side, while Paisley slipped off to the facilities amid dozens of other women. He set the tray on the edge of the lodge steps and positioned himself to protect the contents from being trampled.
A musician from Saddle Springs played lively tunes on an electronic piano during the intermission. Garret Morrison was extremely talented. There’d been a rumor circulating that he’d even been approached to play with a Nashville band once upon a time.
Weston could believe it. He closed his eyes, trying to center himself while he listened. Wait. Amid the flourishes, wasn’t that “Trading My Sorrows?” The words from the beloved worship song flooded through his mind at the reminder that God’s joy would be his strength, no matter any sadness and shame. No matter the sickness and pain. All he needed to say was, “Yes, Lord.”
“Yes, Lord,” he whispered into the night. He’d been a nervous wreck all evening, ever since their kisses had been interrupted earlier. He knew what he intended to do this evening, but he couldn’t help wondering if he was jumping the gun.
Now peace filtered into his soul as the voices of Paisley and her friends neared along the lodge’s wide deck.
“There you are!” Paisley exclaimed. “See you guys later.”
The others jogged down the steps with a smile and a wave, leaving Weston to stand and wrap his arms around Paisley. “I thought this was a good spot again.”
“It’s perfect.” She smiled up at him.
He pressed his lips to hers and groaned. Oh, the things she did to him. “I like being out of the way and having you to myself.”
“I like it, too.” She surrendered to his kisses.
Weston couldn’t wait a second longer. He cradled her face between his palms and looked deeply into her eyes. “Paisley, I love you so much. ”
“I love you, too.”
Were those tears welling in her eyes? He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. “Sweetheart, don’t cry. I… I have a question for you.”
“The answer is always yes.”
“You don’t even know?—”
“Does it matter?”
“It should.” He nuzzled her forehead then took a deep breath and let it out. He started dropping to one knee and nearly tumbled off the steps.
Paisley caught him and steadied him. “You okay?”
He couldn’t believe he’d all but forgotten where he was. “Only my pride is damaged.”
“What did you want to ask?”
Weston took great care balancing himself as he lowered to one knee then pulled the small box from his pocket. How had she not even felt it between them in all those close dances? “Paisley Jane Teele, I love you, and I’d like to spend the rest of my life showing you how much. Would you marry me?”
Paisley squealed, both hands flying to cover her cheeks.
Thankfully he kept his balance even without her grip.
Camera flashes went off, and Weston tried not to grimace. Cadence was right here, recording everything for posterity, including his stumble.
“Oh, Weston! Yes! Yes, I’d love to marry you. I love you so much.” Paisley bent to kiss him.
He surged upward and stepped onto the lodge deck to twirl her around while he kissed her. The beautiful, flowered skirt she’d worn for the dance swirled around them, and he filled his senses with the taste of her, the scent of her perfume, the caress of the gentle breeze off the lake, the sounds of… clapping?
“Congrats, bro!” Jude hollered.
Weston set Paisley on her feet but didn’t relinquish his grip. “I love you,” he whispered against her mouth.
“Love you more, cowboy.”
It couldn’t be possible, could it? How could anyone love more than that swelling in his chest at the thought of the decades in front of them to have and to hold each other?
“Let’s see the ring!” Cadence called.
The ring. The box had been in his hand. What had he done with it? Oh. It was still there, somehow. He brought it between them and tipped the lid to show Paisley his selection.
“Oh, Weston! It’s gorgeous,” she breathed.
He slipped the princess-cut diamond on her finger and kissed her knuckles.
The camera flashed.
Why, again, had he let Graham and Cadence in on his plan to propose at intermission? Right, someday they’d be glad for the photographic memories. Right now, though? He wanted to soak in the moment with a little privacy.
The piano music segued into fiddling, and the group headed back to the dance floor leaving Weston and Paisley alone — mercifully.
“Do you want to dance again?” he asked.
“I want that snack you picked up more.” Paisley pressed a quick kiss to his cheek then tugged him to sitting on the plank steps. “Also, I might be parched. That punch looks good.”
Weston passed a flute to her and looked at his own. Know what? He was hungry and thirsty, too. There was plenty of time to dance. Plenty of time to make plans for their life together. Plenty of time to experience the fireworks that would be going off after this set of dances to celebrate America’s independence.
And to experience the fireworks his life with Paisley would be forever peppered with.
Fireworks, he decided, would be good.