Chapter 12
Dalton
“Hold still and stop wriggling,” Bronco says to Rex as he finally manages to secure the bowtie to my dog’s collar.
I’m getting married today and Max and Rex are in the wedding with me. They’re going to be standing right at the front, along with Bronco, my best man.
It’s been four days since I proposed to Bree. I know it’s a whirlwind engagement, but she told me she didn’t want to wait to be married, and I didn’t either. When you find the one, you know.
Fortunately, everyone at the retirement home and Courage County stepped in to help make this beautiful dream of getting married come true.
Mallory from Sew Cute worked around the clock to make wedding dress alterations for my woman. Lauren took care of the flowers. Elaine let us use the grounds. Everything came together perfectly.
I focus my attention on Cord. “Have you seen Flint? He hasn’t shown up yet.”
“He’s probably in a corner somewhere, eating crayons,” Cord mutters.
“Go find him,” I grump, and Cord hurries from the room, leaving me alone with Bronco.
He finishes adjusting the bowtie and gets to his feet, knees creaking.
Something is going on with our friends lately. Elaine has been upset and so has Lauren. Bronco just seems tired, dark circles underneath his eyes.
Bree asked Lauren what was going on but she wouldn’t say anything, and I told Bree to leave it alone until they bring the problem to her. There’s not much she can do.
She accepted my advice, but I can tell that she struggles with it. My woman has a heart bigger than all of Courage County. All she wants to do is help people and love them the way she never was, but that’s about to change because I’m in her life now.
I’m her man. I’m the one that’s going to love her forever. It’s my job to take care of her and provide for her and be her best friend. A role I’m going to relish until the end of time.
“Is Lauren doing good?” I ask, glancing in the mirror to adjust my tie. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn a tie in my life.
His features darken instantly. It’s like waking a grizzly in the middle of winter. Ill-advised and just plain stupid. “My wife is worried about her.”
That softens him, but only a little. He’s fond of Bree because she’s quickly becoming Lauren’s best friend. “Well, you can tell your wife that Lauren is fine. She’s got a cowboy looking out for her.”
I don’t ask anymore questions.
There’s a knock on the door of the locker room where we’ve been getting ready.
Elaine enters and gives us a soft smile. She’s the officiant today. She seemed pretty excited when she was asked, and Bree wanted to make her a part of the wedding. I didn’t care who was a part of the wedding as long as this day ends with Bree hitched to me forever.
“We’re ready for you outside,” Elaine says.
I follow her outside with Bronco, Max, and Rex. Cord and Flint are already there, snickering about some inside joke. They might spend their days arguing with each other, but I’ve never met two people who are more like brothers.
For our wedding, we kept the walkways from the night of the dance and the raised floor. But we added an arched trellis with white roses intertwined around it at Bree’s request.
Chairs have been set out in neat, lined rows. The paving stones have been covered in rose petals. It looks like something out of a bridal magazine, and I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for all the people who went out of their way to make Bree’s day extra special.
In front of the trellis, I take my place with Elaine. Beside me are Bronco, Max and Rex. Beyond them are Cord and Flint, both of them men I’m grateful to be celebrating with.
“Never thought I’d get this,” I mutter quietly to Bronco, watching as the seats begin to fill with wedding guests from this small town that I’ve come to love so much.
He claps me on the back. “Welcome home, Marine.”
The music begins, and Laurens walks down the aisle, clutching her bouquet. I notice the way Bronco can’t take his eyes off of her. I hope someday he finally finds the strength to let down his walls and let her in. Being with Bree is changing everything for me. I’m no longer the same man.
The wedding march begins, and I see my beautiful bride blushing and smiling at the end of the aisle.
Time stops.
I can’t believe this beautiful woman agreed to be mine.
Her boot clacks with every step, but I don’t care. She’s the greatest treasure I’ve ever had the honor of holding, and I don’t plan to ever let her go.
When she gets close to the front, her boot snags. I’m there instantly to catch her and steady her. I pick her up, lifting her onto the platform.
She gazes up at me, all white lace and big smiles. “You’re always sweeping me off of my feet.”
I gaze down at her, my heart full. “I’ll always be the man that catches you.”
I set her down, and Elaine starts the vows. We repeat them, promising to love, protect, and cherish one another for all of our days. Then we’re slipping the rings onto each other’s fingers.
I press my lips against hers and seal our union with a kiss that promises our love will last forever.
Bree
I can’t believe that today I got to marry the man who stood in front of our whole town and promised to be my best friend and biggest protector for the rest of our lives. Not everyone gets that, and I feel so lucky to have found Dalton.
We may have only gotten engaged this week, and maybe it was a whirlwind three-day engagement, but it’s still been the happiest week of my life.
I couldn’t wait to get married to Dalton and start our family together. We’re going to build a beautiful life.
I toss the bouquet and spin around. Lauren grabs it, her face lighting up when she does. My friend deserves all the kindness in the world. She’s been going through something heavy lately, but she hasn’t talked to me about it. I know she probably hasn’t mentioned it because of the wedding.
I turn my attention to Dalton while everyone is distracted with Lauren and the bouquet. Bronco’s staring intently at her the way he has been all day.
“I hope he pulls his head out of his ass soon,” I tell Dalton.
Dalton barks out a laugh. “You’re not the only one.”
I give him a smile. “Are you ready to go to your cabin?”
He takes my hand in his and gives my fingers a gentle squeeze. “Our cabin,” he says, correcting me gently.
“Our cabin. Our cabin where we can do dirty things together,” I remind him.
His gaze darkens. “Damn straight.”
We pose for one more round of photographs and get endless hugs before we finally manage to get into Dalton’s truck. Max and Rex are in the cab with us. They keep stepping over me to put their heads out the window, but it’s perfect.
“We’re going to have to get a family vehicle soon,” Dalton says.
I give him a soft smile, already loving the way he’s planning for our future together. “I like the sound of that. I love this messy, imperfect life of ours.”
“I do, too,” he agrees.
Back at our cabin, I can’t help smiling when I see the porch. We finished painting it and added rocking chairs. I added throw pillows, a vase with fresh flowers, and dog beds for our boys.
I can already imagine long summer nights spent in these chairs, talking about our days and sharing our hopes and dreams with each other.
I manage to get out of the truck by myself despite my difficulty navigating in the boot and my dress that made me feel like a princess. I start toward the cabin, but Dalton grunts.
“Absolutely not. We’re doing things the traditional way.” Then he scoops me into his arms and carries me up the steps and across the threshold.
I giggle when he sets me down, remembering the first day he carried me into his cabin.
“I really like this suit,” I tell him. “It makes you look so handsome.”
Heat sparks in his gaze. “Yeah, you like this suit, huh? I can start wearing a suit more often.”
I lean close, whispering in his ear, “I’d like it better on our bedroom floor.”
He laughs and carries me into the bedroom, navigating around boxes of my things. There’s still so much furniture and decor to add to our cabin, but that can wait because right now we need to consummate our marriage.
Rose petals have been sprinkled everywhere. Soft candles light up the space, giving it a gentle glow. There’s the sweet smell of fresh flowers in the air.
“This is perfect,” I breathe out.
“It’s our first night together as man and wife, and I wanted you to know that’s so special to me,” he tells me as he helps me onto the bed.
He gets on his knees and helps me remove the boot, setting it aside gently. He caresses my leg softly before sitting on the bed next to me.
Slowly, he removes all of the bobby pins that kept my elegant updo in place. One by one, he’s careful never to tug too hard. Then his fingers go to the zipper on the back of my dress.
He pulls it down slowly, inch by inch, taking his time to savor every new bit of skin exposed to him. He helps me shrug out of the dress, pausing to hang it carefully in our closet.
He prowls back to the bed. He lets me help him out of his clothes, and this time, it’s my fingers that shake.
“Don’t be nervous,” he says. “I promise I will cherish you forever.”
“I’m not nervous. I’m just overwhelmed,” I tell him. “I never thought I’d get so lucky to find someone so special.”
“Oh, no,” he says. “I’m the lucky one. You are everything, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you how special you are.”
Then we’re naked together, and he’s above me, whispering about all the things he loves about me. He talks about my smile, my dedication to my job, my hips, to the cute noises I make in my sleep.
I know that this man who’s staring down at me sees all of me, every part of me, and he loves it all.
“Make love to me now, husband,” I whisper.
I think it’s that word—husband—that undoes him, because finally he pushes inside of me, filling me up and making me feel complete. Then we’re in motion together, making love.
It’s slow and sweaty and perfectly us, and afterwards he holds me against his chest and murmurs that I’m his girl, and that this is the start of forever.