Epilogue
“I never thought I’d be paying a shaman for anything,” I told Kaylee. “That’s more your gig.”
She fixed the elaborate body chain I was wearing almost like a cape over my bare shoulders. It was dainty and gold, with double-sided diamonds dappling my clavicle and scalloping over the caps of my shoulders.
“You’re a gorgeous bride.” Kaylee sniffled with misty eyes.
“You said you weren’t going to cry!”
She huffed, now clucking at my hair. “I lied, okay!”
A scratch at the canvas of our glamping tent caused her to fan her face. “Come in!”
Harley tentatively ducked in the flap. A proud smile pulled at his face as he saw me in my gown. It was the faintest shade of pink, my favorite color. It had an exposed bodice with a sweetheart bust that morphed to chiffon floating to the bottom.
“You look gorgeous, Maisie.”
“Thanks, dude.”
Kaylee sniffled as he gave me a hug. “I can’t handle this!” She gestured to us in the embrace.
“Are you sure you want to marry this guy?” Harley teased, breaking the hug.
“Yeah, but I heard he lied to my friend about her car being wrecked while she was snowed in with some Grizzly Adams type.”
Harley playfully rolled his eyes, looping his arm around Kaylee. “We’re never going to live that one down, are we?”
“Hell no!” Kaylee and I said in unison.
“Are you able to hike in that dress?” he asked.
Since we were eloping outside, we had to hike to our destination.
“Yes! I’m prepared.” I stuck a leg out of one of the slits, revealing a white cowgirl boot that secretly had 444 carved on the heel.
“A true Texan.” Kaylee beamed with pride as she looked up at her husband. “We just need, like, five more minutes.”
He held out his hand. “I was told to get your ring.”
I slid the dainty gold band off my finger, the one-carat solitaire glinting in the low light. Dane had proposed using his mother’s wedding ring a couple weeks after we’d nested in Texas. It was an honor to have it, and its timeless elegance was just more proof the woman had taste. Forty years later, it was still a flashy stunner.
His dad’s ring was a bit outdated and beat up, so we reconstructed it to be a simple brushed gold band that had hellbent engraved on the inside. Since he was a mechanic, he’d be wearing one of those silicone rings at work most of the time anyways.
Ringless and clad in a wedding gown, I felt my nerves morph into excitement. I was so grateful to have Kaylee and my dad at my wedding. The energy and circumstances were drastically different from my first one, where I’d schlepped off to Vegas. I was grateful I did the whole girly thing this time around—the dress, jewelry, shoes, nails. It was fun, and I shouldn’t be ashamed to celebrate and take up space.
We had chosen to elope in Sedona, Arizona. On one of our road trips with the bike, we’d fallen in love with the place. Although we weren’t as woo-woo as Kaylee, even we could feel the sacred energy here. To honor the history, we had hired a local Native American shaman to conduct the ceremony on top of some of the iconic red rocks at sunset.
We’d invited my dad, Dominique, Harley’s and Kaylee’s parents, and a couple of my closest friends from college and Texas. Not wanting to leave out those who couldn’t be with us, we arranged to have three bouquets of white roses around us to represent Dane’s parents and sister.
Harley and Kaylee helped me hike up, all three of us holding my dress and bouquet of blush peonies and white lilies. I gave them each a final kiss on the cheek before they left me. I wanted to walk myself down the aisle, or rather up the pathway, and luckily no one seemed to take offense to that.
The shaman played a flute as I made my way to Dane, who was already waiting at the top of the cliff with the rest of the small crowd. As I approached, he wiped his eyes, trying not to lose it. He looked dashing in black slacks with a black dress shirt that I’d told him to leave unbuttoned a little so I could see his sexy chest.
The desert sunset lit up Dane’s green eyes as we exchanged simple vows. We hiked back down with all our friends in good spirits. At the base of the trail, our bike was parked in the lot with a sign that said just married in cutesy scrawl tied to the back.
Dane extended a hand for me. “Are you ready to hit the road, tornado?”
“Yeah, sometimes you just gotta get the hell out of Dodge.”