Chapter 20
CHAPTER
TWENTY
Bryce Young didn’t know where to look first once he stepped foot inside the hall. The floor seemed to be made of gold stone, and though Joey and Adam had been married here at Silver Sage, their wedding had been staged outdoors in an amphitheater.
Huge, cathedral-like windows let in light along both sides of the hall, and row upon row of light oak wood chairs calmed down the opulence of the space. Sagebrush and ivory lilies accented the ends of the aisles and brought a cozy feel to the large space.
In front of him, the entire back wall opened up to reveal the barely leafing aspens, as well as the most gorgeous picture of the Teton Mountains Bryce had ever seen.
His breath caught in his throat as his emotion surged up.
He wanted the same happiness for every single one of his cousins that he’d managed to find with Codi.
Boston hadn’t wanted to walk down the aisle by himself, but in the end, he did, as Bryce had been given strict instructions to let him go all the way to the altar before he took the first step after him.
Boston reached a mighty stone pillar at the edge of the hall and continued outside, and Bryce realized he’d have to walk this with everyone staring at him too.
He didn’t particularly like the spotlight, but he’d lived in it enough to know exactly how to smile.
He reached up and adjusted his cowboy hat.
While Boston wore his fringed brown leather jacket with a matching cowboy hat, boots, and a lighter pair of brown pants and belt, the groomsmen all wore dark brown suits with darker brown hats, boots, and belts.
Once Bryce was reassured that his cowboy hat sat in the right place, he checked the button on his jacket, though he’d secured it back in the groom’s room, and he stepped down the aisle right on cue.
Harry was supposed to wait for him to take four steps before he joined him, so Bryce truly wouldn’t be alone for long.
He moved past Ames and Sophia Hammond and their young adult kids, and Cy and Patsy Hammond and theirs.
He smiled his country-musician smile to Todd Christopherson and his country-music-famous wife, Violet.
She stood with her sisters Lily, who was married to Beau Whittaker, and Rose, who’d married a cowboy doctor named Liam.
They had their children with them, along with any of their significant others.
He nodded to Colton and Annie Hammond, who’d been fixtures at the Whiskey Mountain Lodge, where Bryce had been plenty of times to visit Bailey when they’d been dating.
He knew Cecilia Zuckerman, who’d married a cowboy named Zach, and they lived up in Dog Valley now.
She didn’t work at the lodge anymore, but once had.
Stockton Whittaker stood on the end of the aisle, and he reached out his fist for Bryce to bump, and he did, his own grin only widening.
He passed townspeople he didn’t know, and then Eli and Meg Whittaker, and Andrew and Becca Whittaker, and then he caught sight of Bailey standing there with her next-door neighbor, Reeves.
Surprise shot through him that she’d actually brought him to the wedding.
Not only that, but her mother and father stood on the end of her row, and Bryce paused to clap Graham on the back and delicately lean in and sweep a kiss across Laney’s cheek, then he quickly got moving again as he heard Harry’s huff of displeasure behind him.
Bryce didn’t mind it all, because he was used to dealing with Harry’s surlier attitude, and he didn’t mind taking time to talk to people the way Harry did.
But now he moved into Young territory, where he passed aunt after aunt, and uncle after uncle, all of them sitting on the end to keep their kids contained further down the row.
His beautiful wife stood next to Kassie and Reggie, and she held Matthew on her hip.
“Daddy,” Matthew said right out loud when he saw Bryce.
Bryce chuckled and reached out to sweep his hand through his son’s hair.
Codi whispered something to him as Bryce continued down the aisle and outside under the glorious Wyoming sky.
He hugged Boston, slapping him heartily on the back and barely moving out of the way before Harry arrived to do the same.
“Good call, having him go first,” Harry said. “I swear, he stopped to talk to everyone.”
“I didn’t actually say anything to anyone.
” Bryce grinned at him and moved out of the way.
He took his spot on the front corner of the altar, Harry moving into position beside him.
As the others continued down the aisle—Cora’s sister, her friend and coworker, and then Lark, whose wedding would be the third Young wedding of the year—Bryce prayed he and Codi would be able to attend that wedding later this summer, because his wife was due with their second child only three days after it.
She hadn’t gone into labor early with Matthew, but this would be their second baby, and they’d both heard that second babies could come earlier and faster than firsts.
Bryce put it out of his head for now, because it was still three months away, and he’d learned not to stress over things he couldn’t control.
When everyone had walked down the aisle, Bryce’s eyes once again caught on Bailey’s out in the crowd. It did his heart so much good to see her back in town, and she leaned into Reeves and whispered something to him that caused him to lean his head down and duck toward her.
Bryce narrowed his eyes, because when they’d gone to help clean up Reeves’s property, Bailey had not told him the two of them were dating, nor that Reeves was her boyfriend. But the way they looked at each other now…Bryce got the distinct feeling that things had changed a lot since then.
A tiny part of him loved Bailey endlessly, in the most platonic way possible, and he wanted nothing but for her to be happy.
She sure seemed like she was, and as the music switched to the bridal march and Cora filled the double doorway with her grandfather on her arm, Bryce told himself that he would find Bailey during the dancing later and ask her a few questions about Reeves.
With that settled, he could finally focus on the wedding at hand.
Cora wore an antique cream dress, seemingly made only of lace.
It looked like something a bride might have worn two hundred years ago, while also somehow being fitting and fashionable for the times.
She wore a hat, which also added to the old-fashioned charm of her dress, and she carried a country-chic bouquet in her hands made up entirely of cream-colored and pale pink flowers with dusty sage greenery.
She arrived in front of Boston, and her grandfather kissed both cheeks and passed her to him.
“You are gorgeous,” Boston whispered.
Cora shone like the brightest star in the sky as he leaned forward and kissed her gently, then they turned toward the pastor together.
Bryce angled his body so he faced the pastor more as well, and he clasped his hands in front of him, ready to listen to the whisperings of the spirit as it told him about the reality of God and the beauty of marriage.
Bryce had enjoyed dinner, a quick game about the bride and groom, and dessert. The dancing had been going for about a half-hour, and Codi looked ready to leave. His momma had Matthew, and Bryce got to his feet.
“I’ll go get Matty, and we’ll go, okay?” he said.
Codi sipped from her flute of apple cider. “I am tired.”
Bryce still hadn’t danced with Bailey, and he thought he might miss his chance, but as he got to his feet, the song ended, and she seemed to materialize out of nowhere, having just finished a dance with none other than Harry.
“I want to dance with Bailey too, really quick,” he said. “Do you mind?”
“No,” Codi said. “I’ll be right here, waiting for you and Matty.”
She sat with Cassie and Belle, and Harry flopped back into his chair as Bryce stepped onto the dance floor.
The night had cooled considerably, but the ballroom had been reset with tables for dinner, and that left dancing out on the terrace. Bailey looked lost, like she was trying to find someone, as he approached.
“Are you leaving?” he asked.
She made a half turn toward him, a smile touching her face. “I’m looking for Reeves,” she said. “Because I told him we’d only be here for two hours, and my time is up.”
Bryce grinned at her. “Do you have time for one more dance?”
“With you, I suppose?” Bailey grinned at him. “I guess so.”
He opened his arms, and she eased into them. He swayed with her left and right, his mind doing the same thing as he tried to latch on to the right words to say.
“How long have you and Reeves been dating?” he asked, thinking that was probably the most benign question.
“Only a few weeks,” Bailey said. “Two or three.”
“Before or after the rainstorm?” he asked.
“I actually think we started dating that night,” Bailey said. “Or maybe the next.”
Bryce hummed in the back of his throat and let his gaze sweep through the crowd as he too tried to find Reeves.
“I told him about us,” Bailey said. “And OJ.”
Surprise cut through Bryce, but he wasn’t sure why. “It’s probably a good idea.”
“OJ volunteers at my clinic, and he’s over at my place all the time. And well, you Youngs aren’t known for being discreet.”
Bryce chuckled. “I’m sure Reeves wanted to know why we showed up to help you.”
“He had asked me that question, yes,” Bailey said coolly.
“And how did he take it?” Bryce asked. “Everything with OJ, I mean.”
“Just fine,” Bailey said. “Honestly, he seemed more surprised that I’m friends with the Country Quad guys—and Harry, of course.”
“Of course.” Bryce laughed fully then. “He seems like a great guy.”
“Yes.” Bailey practically sighed the word out, and Bryce heard how much she liked him riding in that single word.
A smile tipped up the corners of his mouth. “Oh, you like him, Bay,” he said, his voice taking on a teasing quality.
“Yes,” Bailey said again. “He’s a nice guy, and a good man.”
“And he treats you right?” Bryce asked.
“Yes,” Bailey said, her voice a touch more firm, almost a whisper.
“I’m glad, Bay,” he said, a sudden idea coming into his head. “You should bring him to our cousin nights.”
Bailey stepped back—not completely out of his arms, but he certainly couldn’t dance with her anymore. “Your cousin nights?” Her eyebrows practically flew off her face. “Bryce, I don’t come to your cousin nights. I’m not your cousin.”
“But you could come,” he said.
She glared at him for a moment before the fire in her eyes dimmed slightly. “Who comes to the cousin nights?”
“Not everyone who comes is a Young,” he said.
“Name one person who comes who isn’t a Young.”
Bryce blinked, his mind blitzing through thoughts. “Adam.”
Bailey scoffed. “Adam is married to Joey. So Lark doesn’t count, Cora doesn’t count, Belle doesn’t count, and Codi also does not count.” She raised her eyebrows again, silently challenging him to come up with another name.
“Kassie and Reggie come sometimes,” Bryce said, his voice in full defensive mode.
Bailey swallowed and shook her head, her blonde hair swishing softly. “Bryce, I know you mean well, and you’re the nicest guy on the planet and want everyone to feel included, but we’re not going to come to your cousin nights. That’s just ridiculous.”
“All right,” he said easily, though something foolish pinched behind his lungs. “But I think you and Reeves would fit really well there.”
“Perhaps,” Bailey acknowledged, but Bryce knew she wouldn’t come.
“Maybe we can double instead,” Bryce said.
Bailey looked like she might spit out another no, but a moment later she softened. “We might be able to double,” she said. “But Bryce, this is really new for me, and Reeves and I are still learning a lot about each other, so promise me you’ll just give me some time.”
Bryce had taken seven years away from Coral Canyon before he’d been able to return after he and Bailey had given up OJ for adoption. Needing time was something he understood on a deep, personal level, as well as something he felt he could always give to someone.
“No problem,” he said, and his quick country-music smile returned. “Really, I just want to make sure he’s good enough for you.”
Bailey smiled and shook her head. “I don’t think you really get to decide that.”
“No, but I still want to.” Bryce laughed, then he hauled Bailey into a hug and said, “Codi’s really tired, and I’ve got to get going. Thanks for dancing with me, Bay, and I really, really hope he makes you happy.”
He pulled back, but Bailey shook her head. “No, I make myself happy, Bryce. And when I’m happy, I make good decisions at work—and about my boyfriends.” She tilted her head at him, another silent challenge riding in her blue eyes.
“Right, yes, of course,” he said. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know what you meant,” she said. “And I do enjoy being with him.”
Bryce nodded and swallowed, telling himself to leave before he said something else he’d regret.
Thankfully, God seemed to be opening doors for him that day, because his momma came into view with Matty on her hip, and Bryce said, “I’ve got to get my son.
I really would love to double with you and Reeves. ”
He nodded at Bailey one more time and then walked away from her and over to his momma. “Codi’s really tired,” he told her. “So I think we’re going to head out early.”
“Oh, okay,” Momma said, and she slid Matty into his arms. “I’d like to head out too, but your daddy just sat down with all the band brothers, and it sure seems like they’re going to have a little mini-meeting here.”
She shook her head, but Bryce chuckled. “Well, I heard some of their songs on the Christmas album aren’t coming together quite the way they’d hoped.”
“Yes, they’re meeting with Harry and Belle next week,” she said. “And I think they’re going to hire them to do some of the arrangements.”
Bryce hadn’t heard that, but it didn’t surprise him. Harry and Belle were a powerful country-music writing duo, and they’d been selling songs by the armload to artists all over the music charts.
“Dad-Dad-Dad-Daddy,” Matty babbled, his fingers in his mouth. “Mom-Ma-Ma-Mama.”
“Yeah, we’re going to go find Momma, bud,” Bryce said, and he curled one arm around his mother. “Thanks for taking him.”
“Oh, I’ll take that boy anytime,” she said, and Bryce knew she wasn’t lying.
He glanced around and didn’t see his father, so he said, “Say good-bye to Daddy for me, and tell him I’ll have the horses out tomorrow after five-thirty.”
Momma nodded, and Bryce turned back to find his wife and head home. As he did, he saw Bailey over at the hot chocolate bar, Reeves with her now, and he prayed that they would be able to make their exit swiftly and easily, the same way he hoped to do with Codi.