Chapter 19
Weston
A week without Savannah and I was in fucking agony.
I was sleeping like shit, forcing food down even though it tasted like sawdust. I think I even scared Matt a little at PT yesterday.
The only saving grace was that I could ride a horse again, so I spent most of my time out with the ranch hands, working with the cattle.
But I didn’t have time to suffer and wallow like I had been because I was getting ready for Colt’s really weird fancy engagement party. He said Brittany insisted, so here we were getting all dolled up for her… Happy wife, happy life, and all that.
“Stop moving,” Anna ordered while she messed with the tie she snagged from Joseph’s closet.
“I’m moving because you’re choking me.” I swatted her hand away and turned to the mirror. “I don’t have a death wish.”
“Says the bull-rider,” she snorted.
I pulled the skinny side of the tie, and it bunched up into an ugly knot. “Fuck this. I’m not wearing that,” I said, yanking it off and tossing it to the bed.
I undid the top two buttons of my shirt and put on my jacket. Navy with a subtle white plaid. The girl I bought it from when I was touring in Salt Lake City said it was “windowpane plaid,” whatever the fuck that meant.
I ran my hand through my hair, and it settled nicely now that I got a long-overdue haircut from Brittany yesterday.
“You girls ready?” I asked, turning to face Anna and Hattie.
Anna let out a low whistle. “Lookin’ sharp, cowboy.”
I rolled my eyes, smiling. “Yeah, yeah. I guess you look half decent.”
“Asshole,” she grumbled, handing me the baby. “I need to touch up my makeup.”
Hattie and I went downstairs where Claire was doing Beau’s tie, and Henry climbed around on the floor in his little outfit, playing with a toy bull rider. “Look, it’s you, Westie,” Henry said, grinning up at me. “I wanna be like you.”
Something tightened in my chest, and I squatted down next to him. “You want to be a bull rider?”
“Yeah! Will you teach me?” I looked over my shoulder at Joseph, who just shrugged.
I cleared my throat, looking back at my nephew. “Maybe when you’re bigger, we can.” The thought of teaching Henry how to ride sounded…amazing. Fun. Maybe even fulfilling in a way I hadn’t thought about until now. It’d be the closest I could get to riding without the risk.
“Okay!” he said and ran off as if it were nothing. As if he hadn’t just sent my mind spinning.
It was time to leave, and I rode with Claire and Beau to the park. And when we pulled up, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “Uhhh, babe?” Claire peered out the window. “Did you know about this?”
Under an oak tree on a small hill, there was an altar with rows of chairs and people milling around. It didn’t take me long to click the pieces together.
That son of a bitch tricked us and was getting married. Today.
“No, Colt didn’t say anything to me,” Beau said as he put the truck in park.
Emmett, Tess, and Luke pulled up shortly after. “You know about this?” Emmett asked, glancing over at the ceremony space. He looked sharp in his light blue button-down, tattoos peaking out of the collar.
“No,” I replied, scanning the area. “Where’s Sav?” I’d hardly seen her this past week and was dying to set eyes on her.
“Coming with Delilah. They’re a few minutes behind us.”
We all went to where the ceremony was apparently going to be. “Hey!” Colt grinned, arms out wide. He was in a classic black suit with an orchid pinned on the lapel. “Surprised?”
“What the fuck, Colton!” Anna screeched, swinging her purse at him. “A secret wedding?”
He shrugged. “Why not?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Don’t be mad at me, it’s my wedding day.”
“If you wanted us to pay more attention to you, you could’ve just said.” I looked around, pretending to be unimpressed. “This is a little dramatic, and no one likes an attention seeker.”
Colt laughed, light and airy. It just might’ve been the happiest I’d ever seen him. He brought me into a hug. “Feel like being my best man?”
“W-What?” I choked out, looking at everyone. “Beau’s your brother, he should be your best man.”
“Oh, shut the hell up, Weston,” Beau said. “You’re our brother.”
“What he said.” Colt placed his hands on my shoulders. “You’re my best friend. My wingman. You helped me seal the deal with Britt anyway. I feel like it’d be some kind of bad luck if you weren’t next to me up there.”
First, Henry, and now Colt. I was turning into a fucking sap. “If you’re sure,” I said, my voice thick.
“As sure as I am about the woman I’m marrying.”
“Holy shit,” Emmett murmured from behind us, looking stunned.
I turned, and my world tilted off its fucking axis.
Savannah and Delilah were walking towards us, and my body erupted with butterflies like some lovesick teen at the sight of my Sav.
She was in a slip of floor-length silk the color of sage leaves.
Her head was held high, shoulders back, makeup done to the nines.
She was elegant. Powerful. Mesmerizing. I was sick with need for her. To be near her.
“Who knew you were such a sneaky little shit, Colt?” Delilah said as they approached. But I didn’t look to see how he reacted because Savannah was in front of me, and I couldn’t breathe.
“Hi,” she said softly, giving me a shy smile.
“Let me kiss you,” I blurted. I’d get on my knees and beg if I had to. Right here. Right now. I didn’t care who saw.
“Damn, Weston,” Delilah scoffed. “What happened to hello?” I ignored her, waiting for Savannah’s answer.
She let out a little giggle. “Just one.”
I brought her body to mine, my hand low on her hip while I kissed the hell out of her. Because if I was only getting one, I was going to make it count.
I was breathless by the time I reluctantly let her go, the ground uneven beneath me. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes a little hazy. “That’s quite the greeting,” she murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“You look so beautiful.” I couldn’t stop looking at her, touching her. But we were supposed to be taking space, so I pried myself off her.
Her gaze ran over me once. “You do, too. Did you get your hair cut?” My heart skipped a beat that she noticed.
“Yesterday. Brittany insisted.” I gestured out to the ceremony space. “Now I know why. Colt just asked me to be his best man.”
Grinning, she squeezed my bicep. The touch was fleeting. Torturous. “That’s amazing, Wes.”
I wasn’t sure if having her around and talking to me like this, or not having her around at all, was worse. It was like dangling a piece of meat in front of a ravenous dog, keeping it just out of reach.
And I was starving for any bit of attention she’d give me.
It was time for the ceremony, and I stood next to Colt. “I think I’m gonna puke,” he whispered shakily, his back to the crowd.
His shoulders were tense under my hands. “You’re not going to puke,” I assured him. “One, because Beau and I will never let you hear the end of it. And two, there’s nothing to be nervous about. It’s like any other day. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.”
He blinked, looking vaguely stunned. “You’re terrible at this,” he said.
The corners of my mouth curled with a smile. “Hey, you said you wanted me, not Beau, so I don’t know what to tell you. He’s the one with the pep talks, not me.”
Some frilly classical music came on, and Colt went stock still like a deer in headlights. And I couldn’t help but wonder if I would’ve been this nervous for my wedding with Sav. I wasn’t sure. I think, if anything, I’d been pissing myself with excitement, not fear.
“Do you love Brittany?”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “Of course, I do.”
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life with her?”
His expression softened. “Yes.”
“Then stop being so scared, man. The rest of your life is about to start.”
Colt nodded, swallowing roughly, and I turned him around.
He let out a choked sound when he saw Brittany, his hand going to his mouth as she approached us.
I’d never seen my best friend cry before, but he was beaming.
They both were. Their joy and excitement were palpable, like a current in the air that spread to everyone else.
I looked at Savannah sitting in the second row, her eyes glistening as she watched them with a soft smile. But then she looked at me, and it felt like we were the only people here. I wanted this with her. A wedding. A marriage. Happiness. Have wanted this since I was seventeen.
The chance to have it finally was right in front of me; I just had to be brave enough to reach out and take it. And I think I finally figured out a way to do that and have it all.
Like every wedding, the vows were sappy, but hearing Colt say them hit a little different. And at one point, some random dust got in my eyes, and I had to wipe my tears. Totally coincidental, though.
But now the reception was in full swing.
There was a band, free drinks, and a dance floor.
I’ve been standing on the sidelines like a wallflower at her prom for the last hour, making small talk with Emmett, who scanned the area nonstop like always.
Except, I noticed his attention would snag on a cute brunette on the dance floor with every sweep.
I think she was Britt’s cousin or something like that.
“You should just ask her to dance,” I murmured into my Jack and Coke.
He glanced over at me, frowning. “Who?”
I shot him a look. “I might’ve gotten a pretty gnarly concussion, but I’m not an idiot.”
He sucked his teeth, staring into his beer. “Not gonna start something I could never finish,” he said. “Don’t know if Beau told you, but I don’t date.”
I laughed. “No one said you had to date her.”
“No. I don’t do…anything,” he said, quieter.
I blinked. “Like nothing?” His lips went to a thin line, and he shook his head. I leaned in closer and whispered, “Dude, are you a virgin?”
He let out a laugh, one that was full of self-deprecation. “I might as well be at this point.”