Chapter Fourteen #2
“Me too.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe people will stand outside the church just to be there.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Ping said.
“When I asked Cole about it he just said, Clifton tradition, darlin’. The ones with invitations get inside. Everyone else stands out.” She smiled. “That’s this town.”
“I like this town.”
“I love it.” She set her cup down and placed her hand gently over her belly without thinking about it. “I’m nervous.”
Ping crossed to her. “Every bride is. I imagine Cole is too.”
“He said he wasn’t yet. But he will be.” She exhaled. “This is a big step.” She straightened her shoulders. “I need to start getting ready. I’m so glad Ryan and Skylar are standing up there with me. I got close to them faster than I expected.”
“They’re wonderful. Go. I’ll be right here.”
Aftyn hugged her tight. “Thank you. For everything. I love you, Aunt Ping.”
“I love you too, honey. Now go.”
The wedding was two hours away. All she had to do was slip into her gown. Skylar would fix her hair into a loose bun at the church, and then there was nothing left between her and the rest of her life.
****
Cole and Seth rode to the church in silence, the sun glinting off the hood of Seth’s truck. Cole’s fingers drummed against his knee, his jaw set. They both wore black western suits with crimson vests and bolo ties, and a red rose on each lapel.
“You alright?” Seth asked.
“Yeah.” Cole’s voice cracked slightly. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Seth grinned. “You sound nervous.”
“I am.” Cole reached up and adjusted his bolo tie for the third time.
“You want this though.”
Cole turned to look at him. “More than anything. I love her, Seth. That’s not what’s got me nervous.”
“Just breathe. You’ll be fine once you see her.” Seth navigated a turn, gravel crunching under the tires.
“I know.” Cole shook his head, sunlight catching the silver band on his black cowboy hat. “It’s just hitting me. I’m getting married.”
“To a wonderful woman.”
“She is.” He was quiet for a moment. “I almost lost her.”
“But you didn’t.” Seth kept his eyes on the road. “Trust me, I know what that feels like.”
“I know you do. I’m happy for you and Ryan. She’s good for you.”
“I think so too.”
They rode the rest of the way without talking. Seth pulled into the lot behind the church, the century-old stone building throwing long shadows across the asphalt, and Cole felt the color leave his face.
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
They stepped out into the warm morning air, the faint sound of an organ drifting through the open windows.
Inside, the cool dim of the rear entrance settled around them and they found Ethan waiting, dressed to match.
Cole shook his hand and then immediately started pacing the length of the wood-paneled waiting room, his boots leaving soft impressions in the faded carpet.
Seth leaned in the doorway and watched him with barely concealed amusement.
“This waiting is killing me,” Cole said, checking his watch for the third time in as many minutes.
“It’ll be time before you know it.” Ethan straightened a cufflink without looking up.
Cole stopped mid-pace. “What if she changed her mind?”
Seth laughed. “She hasn’t changed her mind. Relax.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one getting married.”
Seth caught Ethan’s eye. They both watched their brother remove his hat, drag his fingers through his hair, put it back on, and said nothing.
Then the crowd outside roared, and all three of them grinned.
“I think your bride just arrived,” Seth said.
Cole let out a long breath. “Thank God.”
A few minutes later they walked to the altar, Cole first, Seth behind him, Ethan last. They took their places beneath an arch of cream roses at the polished wooden altar and faced the church, packed to the walls with people Cole had known most of his life.
He cleared his throat. Then cleared it again.
“You alright?” Seth murmured.
“No,” Cole said through his teeth. “My balls are sweating.”
Seth and Ethan lost it. The laughter that escaped them bounced off the vaulted ceiling before they could stop it, and the Reverend fixed them with a look over his wire-rimmed glasses, one grey eyebrow climbing toward the rafters. The guests near the altar snickered.
“Sorry, Father,” all three said at once, shoulders pulling in like schoolboys called to the front of the class.
Cole’s mouth twitched. That made it worse. Seth and Ethan pressed their lips together and stared straight ahead.
Then the first notes of Pachelbel’s Canon rose through the church and the mood shifted. Skylar appeared at the back and began her walk down the aisle, Ryan behind her, and Cole watched them without really seeing them, his eyes already moving past to the doors.
Both women took their places. A breath of silence.
Then the Bridal March swelled and the guests rose in a wave of rustling fabric, every head turning. Cole straightened and pulled in a slow breath.
She appeared in the doorway and Cole forgot to breathe.
Her white dress fell from spaghetti straps to the floor, a small train trailing behind her, her veil soft over her face.
He bit back a smile when he noticed her bouquet of red roses and little white flowers trembling in her hands.
She was just as nervous as he was. Somehow that made him love her more.
“She’s stunning,” he said, his voice catching.
“Yes, she is,” Seth said quietly beside him.
Cole blinked hard.
When she reached him he stepped down and took her hand.
“You are stunning,” he said low, just for her.
“You look so handsome.” She squeezed his fingers and held on.
When the Reverend pronounced them husband and wife the church erupted, and Cole laughed when the roar from the crowd outside rose to meet it. Never failed.
Dewey’s had been transformed for the reception, Scarlett and Noah insisting on hosting it themselves, and by the time everyone gathered the place was warm and loud and full of the kind of happiness that fills a room without trying.
When the band called the newlyweds to the floor for their first dance, Cole took her hand and led her out. The opening notes of When a Woman Loves a Man drifted through the room and Aftyn looked up at him.
“Our first dance.”
“I hoped that was alright.”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “It’s perfect.”
After the first dance and the speeches and the toasts, the floor filled and stayed that way.
Cole sat at their table with Aftyn’s hand in his, Seth and Ryan beside them, Ethan and Skylar across.
He caught Rawley crouched next to Skylar’s chair, holding her hand and talking low, and smiled to himself.
It wouldn’t be long before those two had a table of their own.
“I really like your aunt,” Cole said.
“She likes you too.” Aftyn leaned into him.
“You know, if you ever wanted to go back to Colorado, we could. I’d go.”
She pulled back and looked at him. “What?”
“I mean it. Whatever you want.”
“You told me you’d never leave Clifton.”
“I’d leave for you.”
She held his gaze for a moment, then shook her head slowly. “I have a job I love, a town I love, and the man I love. I’m not going anywhere, Cole Harrison. Do you understand me?”
He pressed his lips together against the grin. “Yes, ma’am.”
She laughed. “You’re so easy.”
“Only for you.”
****
Aftyn laughed softly as she let her eyes travel over him, from the top of his thick dark hair down the length of his tailored western suit, the deep crimson vest, the silver-tipped bolo tie, all the way to his black cowboy boots. The velvety red rose on his lapel was still dewy and fresh.
She kissed him and slid her fingers under the smooth lapels of his jacket, her engagement ring and wedding band catching the golden light and scattering tiny rainbows across his chest.
“You really do look so handsome.”
“I hate suits.”
“I’ll get you out of it later.”
“Well.” The corner of his mouth lifted. “Something to look forward to.”
“I still can’t believe all those people outside the church.”
“I told you.” He kissed her temple.
She had laughed when she’d arrived and seen the crowd spilling down the steps and onto the walk.
She’d stepped out of the vehicle, and they’d cheered and she’d shaken her head and gathered the hem of her gown and gone inside, where Ryan and Skylar were waiting.
Both of them stunning in crimson gowns that hugged every curve, thin spaghetti straps showing off sun-kissed shoulders, ruby stilettos tapping softly against the marble.
The red had complemented the men’s vests perfectly, and their bouquets of red roses and tiny white flowers matched her own.
Cole leaned close to her ear. “I love your hair like that. I can’t wait to take the pins out later.”
She turned to look at him. “I’m so happy, Cole. I can’t wait to see what comes next.”
“Only good things, baby.” He pressed his lips to hers and they both laughed when the crowd around them cheered again.
She thought it might be the happiest day of her life. Though she had to give some credit to the day she met Masher. He had chased her straight into the arms of the right man, and for that she would be grateful for the rest of her days.
* * * The End * * *