Chapter 21
Saturday night, Darcy couldn’t shake her nervousness as she got ready in their room in the farmhouse for the joining ceremony. Ford had left at dawn to prepare for the ceremony, and had told her to hang out with the females and enjoy the day.
Now that it was close to sunset, she had a big case of the nerves.
And she missed him terribly.
All week there had been a sweet peace on the farm.
As Ford had predicted, they’d stopped the patrols, solely using the electronic monitoring to ensure their territory was safe.
It had eased a burden in the herd, and made things a lot better all around.
No more looking over their shoulder, no more worries about abductions.
They could rest easy.
And enjoy being with each other.
When someone knocked on the door, she called for them to come in.
“Oh, you look so lovely,” Tatum said as she walked in.
The other women followed, all of them dressed for the party in long, fall-colored dresses and boots.
It was chilly outside, but Ford had told her it would be warm where they were holding the ceremony inside the barn where he normally worked on the farm machinery.
She couldn’t wait to see what the barn looked like.
But she was more interested in finally belonging to Ford for real. He said once she knew the truth of shifters and they made love, they were mated. But she liked to think they were mated that first night because it had been so amazing. She wouldn’t have ever let him go, no matter what.
“We’ve got a little something for you,” Nancy said.
“It’s something each of us has,” Tris said.
Fallon moved forward and lifted a chain from a box that Tatum held. A stallion charm hung from the silver chain. “Oh, I love it,” Darcy said.
“It’s our gift to each other, a way to tie us close as herd and family,” Tatum said.
Darcy’s eyes stung with happy tears. She hugged them, thanking them one by one for being so sweet to her, and for becoming her family so easily. She hadn’t known when she went out on the first date with Ford that she’d end up with such a big, loving family.
And now, she couldn’t imagine it any other way.
After ensuring her makeup hadn’t been messed up by the happy tears, she followed the women downstairs and out of the house. She stopped on the porch where Dexter waited in a dress shirt and pants, smiling sweetly at Nancy as she passed by.
“You look radiant, Darcy,” he said, offering her his arm.
“I’m just so dang happy.”
“It’s a wonderful thing to find your soulmate. We’re so happy to have you join with Ford and the herd officially, but you were already his the moment you met. Stallions are like that.”
“I feel the same way,” she said.
They walked toward the big barn, which didn’t look any different from the outside.
But as they drew near to the front, Khyle and Avi pulled open the doors and the interior of the barn made her gasp in delight.
The whole inside of the barn had been transformed.
The machines, tools, and workbenches were gone, replaced by a few benches, a trellis covered with ivy, tables set with white cloths and crystal dishes, propane fireplaces warming every inch of the space, and more twinkle lights hanging from every possible surface than she’d ever seen in her life.
Under the trellis, Crew and Ford waited.
Her sexy soulmate wore a suit, looking like he could grace the cover of a romance novel. His tie was a rich olive, the color of the dress she’d picked out.
Her eyes stung as Dexter led her down the center aisle to her mate, who greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and a whispered I freaking missed you, sweetheart.
Dexter took his seat by Nancy. Darcy looked out at the small crowd and all the soulmates seated together. She was so happy to be with Ford and be part of the herd. Crew cleared his throat.
“We’re here tonight for Ford and Darcy. Not just to celebrate their mating, but to welcome her officially to the herd.”
Ford and Darcy faced each other and held hands.
Crew said, “Ford, do you vow to honor Darcy as your mate, to protect her, and love her for the rest of your life and into the great beyond?”
“I do,” Ford said, his eyes shining with adoration. “Darcy, I promise to love and protect you forever.”
Crew nodded. “Darcy, do you vow to honor Ford as your mate, to love him and stand with him for the rest of your life and into the great beyond?”
“I do,” she said. “Ford, I promise to love you and stand by your side forever.”
Crew put his hands over top of theirs. “By your spoken vows and the witness of the herd, I declare Ford and Darcy mates from this day forward forever.”
The herd cheered and clapped. Crew stepped back, and Ford pulled Darcy gently forward and kissed her.
Crew raised his hand with a grin. “Little River Herd, do you accept Darcy as a member?”
They all shouted together, “We do!”
Darcy was overwhelmed by the support from the herd, but she had expected no less. They’d become her herd really quickly.
“As it’s spoken, so it shall be,” Crew said. “I present, Darcy and Ford.”
The herd cheered once more and Ford drew her close. She thought he was going to kiss her, but instead, he squeezed her waist and then pushed her to arm’s length before dropping to one knee.
The herd went silent save for a few gasps.
He pulled something from his pocket. A ring!
“Darcy,” he said, voice rough, “you’re everything. My heart, my home, my future. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
She was stunned silent as she stared at the ring glittering in the twinkle lights, her mate on one knee, and the whole barn seeming to go reverently silent.
“Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
He slipped the ring onto her finger, and this time when he stood and drew her close, he did kiss her. As the cheering erupted once more, Darcy closed her eyes as the kiss went on and on, one bliss-filled moment in the midst of so much joy.
She and Ford were mates and she was part of the herd now.
She’d never been happier.
* * *
As music played through speakers on one of the tables, Ford and Darcy danced along with the other couples where the benches had been near the trellis.
“I did ask Cruz for his blessing,” Ford said.
“You did? He said yes, right?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Were you nervous?”
He let out a light laugh and dipped her back before gently lifting her back up. “One hundred percent.”
It was her turn to laugh. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. He held her close, turning them around the small space to the music. Thinking of her mate sitting down with her brother for a heart-to-heart about the future made her feel like her heart was going to burst with happiness.
Things had gotten decidedly better between her and Cruz since the reconciliation, and she was grateful that Ford was willing to include him in their future.
She secretly wished her brother might find a shifter for a soulmate, but she wasn’t sure how the heck that would even happen.
But someday, whether his soulmate was an actual shifter or not, she hoped he found his own happily ever after.
It freaking rocked.
“You’re pretty dang incredible,” she said, resting her head on Ford’s shoulder.
His lips pressed briefly to her forehead. “I’m just a male who doesn’t ever want to let go of the best thing that’s ever happened to him.”
She blinked back the sting of happy tears, feeling one hundred percent blessed to be in Ford’s arms. Around them, couples danced under the twinkle lights, the hum of talking and laughter mixing with the soft music.
Darcy tilted her face to look at Ford. He was the sexiest guy and he was all hers. The moment they’d met her life had changed in ways she would never have dreamed. And even now it felt like the most wonderful dream.
“I love you,” she said, gently pressing her hand to his cheek.
His eyes turned amber for a moment as his stallion rose inside him. “I love you too, Darcy.”
He kissed her, slowly and tenderly, the kind of kiss that made her toes curl in her shoes and her heart pound in anticipation of what the night would hold.
And the future that was unfolding before them.
Ford had healed all the broken places inside her with his mile-wide protective streak, strength, and love. She adored him with every fiber of her being and couldn’t wait to see what came their way. The next chapter of their lives together was certain to be epic.
Full of love and laughter, and all the good things that came when you found your soulmate. The future was theirs, every last bit of it.