Chapter 2
Jude
“Dad promised to take care of everythin’ and will meet us at Wilson Ranch at four,” Birdie announces as she walks out onto the porch of our ranch house where me, my brothers, and sisters-in-law are all gathered.
Birdie’s dad, Pete, is the mayor of Timber Falls. He also got himself ordained on the internet so that he could marry Birdie and Will a little while ago, which means he can carry out the ceremony today.
After what went down at Wilson Ranch, Blair checked Sully over one last time before she announced we would be back in a few hours. With a final glance at the woman who was now my bride-to-be, Sutton dragged me back to the truck and drove us back to our side of the mountain.
During the drive, I stared out the window in the back while willing the hamster wheel in my brain to slow down a bit.
Sutton and Blair talked amongst themselves in the front but I didn’t miss the way Sutt kept checking on me in the rearview mirror.
They both tried talking to me on our way down the mountain but gave up when I didn’t know what to tell them.
How can I explain to them what happened when I don’t even know myself?
“Will you do me the honor of marryin’ me?”
Yes, that really just happened. I blame Gramps. And my gut instinct. And the Call. Damn mountain spirit…
I can’t explain it. In that moment, I just knew what I had to do. It was like there was something deep inside telling me that Em needed me. The mountain needed me… us.
As soon as Sully looked me in the eye and said, “You know what I want, Jude,” there was zero doubt in my mind. It was like my mouth ran on autopilot but my heart and soul knew this was meant to be.
It was a foregone conclusion. An inevitability.
“My girl brought this family together and it’s her that will unite the mountain again.”
I sit on the porch swing with my head in my hands as I try to wrap my head around what’s about to happen. Moments later, the seat shifts as someone joins me.
“You don’t have to do it,” Will says, being the big brother he thinks I need him to be.
I straighten and turn to look at him. “It’s her, Will. I know she’s my One. I’m just…”
The corner of his mouth twitches up. “Reelin’ that you’ve promised a dyin’ man you’ll marry his daughter? And a Wilson at that?”
“Pretty much,” I sigh.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not second-guessing my decision. It’s just the longer I sit here, the more it’s hitting me that Em and I know nothing about each other. Like zero…”
Something jogs at my memory and I look over to where Birdie and Case’s wife, Isla, are standing together. “You two went to school with Em, right?”
Birdie nods. “She was a year behind us, I think. Nice girl. Smart.”
“Real smart. Top of the class and a year ahead, smart,” Isla adds. “She left for college then came back for a few months before leavin’ again.”
“I think she lives near Palmer. I remember Derrick sayin’ somethin’ about that,” Case adds.
Will nods. “Yeah. She’s been stayin’ here since Sully went downhill.”
“Wait. If she’s a Wilson, doesn’t that mean…,” Wyatt, says slowly. He’s our ranch hand and has become one of my best friends since he moved here from Bull Mountain to work with us.
“Adopted,” me, Sutton, and Blair all say at the same time, as if reading his mind.
Isla and Birdie’s eyes widen. “Really?” Birdie says. “I never knew that.”
Isla cocks her head. “Actually, I think I remember hearin’ somethin’ about that years and years ago.
The Wilsons wouldn’t have treated her any differently though.
If you carry the name Wilson, you’re family.
She was always the apple of Sully’s eye.
He’d come down the mountain for every school event she was in. ”
“I think she was even a cheerleader for a bit in our senior year,” Birdie adds.
I look between them. “You do know you haven’t really told me anythin’ about Em as a person, just surface stuff.”
“Funny that. Usually, you’d find out about a person before you marry them,” Sutton deadpans.
I pin him with a stare. “Did you know there was somethin’ different about Blair when you first saw her back in Boston?”
Sutton turns to his wife and they make soft googly eyes at each other before he turns back to me. “OK. Point taken.
“Doesn’t mean you have to jump all in at first deathbed request,” Wyatt says.
“The minute I laid eyes on her, I knew she was someone I was meant to know. I didn’t know what it was but I knew.
When Sully asked me, there wasn’t an ounce of doubt in my mind.
I’m meant to be in Em’s life. I’m supposed to be there for her, to take care of her.
That’s why I didn’t hesitate. I’m not questionin’ it. I’m just—”
“Freakin’ out?” Case offers.
“He’s definitely freakin’ out,” Wyatt helpfully adds.
“The mutism on the drive back from Wilson Ranch was when he was freakin’ out,” Sutton says. “I think it’s finally sinkin’ in that he just agreed to marry the daughter of our family rivals to fulfill a man’s dyin’ wish and he doesn’t even know his wife-to-be’s full name.”
“I’m not freakin’ out,” I mutter, though now that he’s said all that… maybe I am.
“You’re not not freakin’ out though,” Isla asks, brow arched sky high.
I open my mouth to argue but nothing comes out.
Thankfully, Blair clears her throat. “How ‘bout we focus on logistics,” she suggests.
“Logistics?” I ask.
“Yeah, Jude,” she says in a duh tone. “Like how about the fact you’re marryin’ a member of what has been up until now a rival to the Cooper bloodline, and at the request of the man who was plannin’ to challenge Ridley’s estate.
I may be a new member of the family, but we should probably think about protectin’ the ranch somehow. ”
My brothers look between each other before their three heads pivot my way. “My wife makes a damn good point, Jude,” Sutton says.
Birdie pulls her phone out of her pocket. “Leave it with me.” She disappears into the house with Blair and Isla following behind her, leaving me, my brothers, and Wy on the porch.
“Last time I’ll ask, Jude. But are you sure about this? No one would blame you if you wanted to back out now. Maybe take her out for dinner. Get to know her. You know, date first before pledgin’ your life to her?” Sutton says.
Wyatt holds up his hand. “Wait. You mean this would be a real marriage?”
I stare at him. “I ain’t marryin’ her for show, Wy. She’s my One. I knew it when I saw her, from the moment I touched her hand, I knew without a doubt. I just didn’t expect to meet her today, let alone have Sully ask me to marry her today…” And for her to be a Wilson.
I realize then that one of my brothers has been curiously quiet. “Case?”
He stares at me for the longest time. “You felt it just by seein’ her?”
“Yeah,” I say. “It felt like every loose thread that’s part of me was suddenly tethered to her.”
Case nods, his expression growing soft and warm. “Oh yeah. That’s the best description right there.”
“I always thought it would be like lightnin’,” Wy replies.
I shake my head. “Felt more like gravity.”
“Undeniable,” Will murmurs.
“Inevitable,” I whisper.
“Knew somethin’ was goin’ on. Just didn’t imagine it would be the Call,” Sutton muses. “I swear, when he moved across the room to stand behind her, Em’s whole body instantly relaxed without her even realizin’ it. Blair noticed it too.”
I turn to Will, needing something akin to approval from my oldest brother and leader of the ranch.
“Look, I know this is crazy and if you tell me not to, I won’t do it.
” He opens his mouth to speak but I keep going before he can say anything.
“But you didn’t see Sully. He’s dyin’, Will.
Barely a shadow of the man we saw at the diner all those months ago.
The strength has gone but the fire was still there.
It’s for his family. He was fightin’ us so hard because he wants the mountain to be put back together.
He wants his kin looked after and he believes the Call is how that will happen.
Just like how Gramps gave this land to us and we’ve heard the Call. ”
Looking around the group, I don’t see confusion or disapproval. I see understanding.
“Even if I hadn’t had a reaction to Em, knowin’ what Sully wants and why he wants it, I think any one of us would do what we could to give a dyin’ man peace,” I say. “But he asked me. He knows I’ll do right by him and his daughter.”
“If this is crazy, then we all are.” Will claps me gently on the shoulder. “You’re a good man with a big heart. One that Gramps would be proud of. One that I’m proud of. But I’ve got to tell you, this ain’t goin’ to be easy. You know that, right?”
My lips quirk up at that and I turn to meet his amused eyes. “From what I’ve seen, the Call never is.”
“And that’s the whole point of the prophesy” Case adds. “A crossin’ of journeys that lead toward a joint one.”
Wyatt sighs. “I’m sooo not lookin’ forward to my turn.”
“Liar,” I shoot back, earning a matching grin from the youngest one of us on the ranch. I stand and walk over to him. “Will you stand up for me today, Wy?”
Wy looks shocked that I’d ask him. I’m not sure why though, he’s my best friend. Although my brothers will be there, I need Wyatt Grayson by my side this time.
Wy’s wide grin gives me the answer I’m lookin’ for. “Of course I’ll be there.”
“So, this is really happenin’?” Case says after a while.
“It really is.” I look between my brothers.
“I’d suggest we all have a drink to celebrate, but I’m thinkin’ that we need to keep our wits about us. Symbolic weddin’ or not, I don’t think the Wilsons would appreciate a bunch of drunken Coopers turnin’ up on their doorstep,” Case muses.
Birdie pops her head out of the front door. “Micah’s sendin’ through somethin’. He did say you’ll have to lodge the agreement after the fact, but he can take care of everythin’ as long as you both sign and date it before the ceremony.”