THE SUMMER THAT CHANGED ME
PAIGE
As I looked in the mirror, my breath hitched.
I was wearing a strapless, lace A-line dress that hit mid-thigh with a pair of simple white heels.
My hair was pulled into an elegant curled ponytail with pieces hanging down in the front.
There was a string of white pearls around my neck and white bow earrings with dangling diamonds on my ears.
I looked like a bride.
Part of me wanted to be excited and live in the moment, but the other part of me wanted to call off the entire thing.
So much had happened since we started this summer, and the last two weeks, there’d been a shift with Cash and me.
When we first came home, scared shitless that everyone was going to burn us at the stake for our announcement, I never could’ve imagined that I would fall even more in love with him.
This was all starting to feel too real.
Too close to heartbreak.
A soft knock sounded at my door as Lottie appeared in my doorway.
“Hey,” she said, wiping her eyes.
“No. No tears. We haven’t even started anything yet,” I said, shutting my eyes so I didn’t burst into tears like the sympathetic crier I was.
“I know, but this is a big deal, P. You’re getting married.”
“I’m already married.” I laughed.
“Semantics.” She waved her hand at me.
“Okay, everyone is starting to arrive, but I have something for you. Consider it your something borrowed.” Lottie pulled a small jewelry box out of her purse and handed it to me.
When I opened the little velvet box, my jaw dropped and my eyes shot up at her in shock.
“I can’t wear this,” I said, snapping the box closed and shoving it back to her.
“Yes, you can.” She closed her hand around mine and pushed it back to me. “You deserve all the beautiful things on your wedding day.”
I opened it again and ran my finger over the emerald ring.
It was an antique, art deco style ring with a huge bezel set emerald-cut gem bordered by two smaller emerald diamonds.
The ring was a family heirloom that my dad’s mother gifted Lottie before she died, specifically for her to wear on her wedding day as her something old.
I was so jealous when she was given the ring, but I never said anything to her about it. At the time, it just felt like another thing Lottie had been chosen for over me.
“This means so much to me,” I said, sliding the ring onto my right ring finger.
Lottie wrapped her arm around my shoulder and rested her temple on mine as I raised my hand for us to admire it.
“Family is about tradition. We can both wear the ring and then it’ll be a memory we get to share and tell our kids about one day,” she whispered. “Maybe our daughters will wear it too, and it can become something beautiful we all share.”
This felt like a monumental moment for us. The day when we stopped competing for everything in life and learned how to embrace living side by side.
The rehearsal dinner was going seamlessly. Cocktails were flowing and everyone was all smiles—everyone except my father. He’d looked stoic, standing with one hand in his pocket while the other swirled the ice cubes around in his whiskey.
I stood and smoothed down my skirt before approaching where he stood next to my brothers near the makeshift bar.
“Hey, sweet pea,” he said before placing a kiss on my head.
“Hey, Daddy. Can we talk for a second?”
He nodded to my brothers, who scattered like rats in the New York City subway.
“How are you feeling about tomorrow?” he asked, taking a sip of his whiskey.
“I feel good.” I nodded, playing with my fingers in front of me. “I feel like I haven’t seen you at all since I’ve been home.”
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” my dad said, barely looking me in the eyes.
“Are you mad at me?” I whispered.
My dad’s gaze snapped to mine and his eyes softened.
“No, sweetie. I am struggling a little with the fact that my little girl is suddenly not so little anymore, but I’ve come to terms with the whole situation.”
“He’s a great man, Dad,” I said, my eyes drifting to where Cash was laughing with Reid and Axle a few feet away from us.
“I know he is. I wouldn’t have kept him around this long if I didn’t think that.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. We were scared that everyone would disown us…but then it leaked and suddenly everyone in the state knew.”
My dad released a deep breath. “I was in shock when you first came home, but I’ve seen the longing looks Cash has sent your way for years. I chose to ignore it and that is on me.”
“You never would’ve been okay with it,” I whispered.
“That is not true. I would’ve given him shit, sure, and I still will because it’s fun. But you two are great together.”
His words truly surprised me. Of all of the ways I expected this conversation to go, this was not an outcome I’d expected.
“What about what you told him the day you hired him?”
My dad furrowed his brow and tilted his head in confusion.
“Cash told me you said there were two conditions to him working here: he shows up to work sober, and Lottie and I are off limits.”
My dad barked out a laugh. “I said that when a homeless eighteen-year-old boy showed up at my doorstep asking for a job. I didn’t know Cash as a person, and I didn’t know what he was capable of.”
“So, you wouldn’t have fired him if he’d asked to date me?”
“No. I wouldn’t have fired him,” he said sternly. “Cash!”
Cash’s head snapped in our direction and his eyes went wide. My dad gestured for him to join us. Cash downed his drink before walking over like a timid animal with his tail between his legs.
“Sir.” He nodded as he wrapped an arm around my waist like a lifeline.
“I think you both need to hear this,” my dad started.
“I love you both so much. I might not have predicted this is how you would get together, but I couldn’t be happier for you.
I’ve watched you both grow up on this ranch, and I’d like to think you both have a good head on your shoulders.
Marriage is tough, but I have faith you guys will make it. ”
Cash’s jaw dropped. “Thank you, sir.”
“If you treat my daughter the way I know you will, you have my blessing.”
I could feel the tears falling before it registered that I was crying. I wrapped my arms tightly around my dad’s waist.
“I love you, Dad,” I said into his chest.
“I love you too, sweet pea.”
Cash stuck his hand out and my dad shook it firmly.
“Go enjoy your party tonight, and tomorrow let the moment sink in. It only happens once and you’re going to want to remember it.”
I smiled through the ache in my heart.
It only happens once…unless you recklessly get married in Vegas to the boy you’ve been madly in love with for over a decade.
Cash pulled me out of my thoughts as he dragged me over to sit at one of the empty tables. He sank down into a chair and gestured for me to sit on his lap.
Someone cleared their throat into a microphone, drawing the attention of everyone to where Tweety stood with a sheepish smile.
“Hey, everyone. Buck and I know that this has all been a little weird the last few weeks, but we had the pleasure of traveling with Paige and Cash the last month or so. Paige was always walking around with her camera taking videos and pictures. We thought you might enjoy a little peek into the Paige and Cash you’ve never seen. ”
The crowd let out a round of cheers as a projector turned on against the back of the house.
A film reel counted down as the video started.
My hand covered my mouth as all of my vlogs played on a reel.
There were videos of Cash getting ready for the rodeo.
Videos of the boys fooling around. Videos of us out at the bars, dancing and joking.
Videos of us the last two weeks here in Ashton Creek.
They were silly and fun and made us look like best friends traveling the world together, even if we were only a few hours away in the same state.
Cash kissed my cheek as I relived our adventures from an entirely new lens.
I swiped at a tear that fell down my cheek as the videos morphed into ones of me and Cash that I didn’t know were being taken.
Clips of us on the ranch bickering. Clips of us riding our horses in the field.
Clips of Cash throwing me over his shoulder as I laughed.
There wasn’t one clip where we weren’t attached at the hip.
In every single video, Cash looked at me in a way I’d never noticed when I was filming them.
Even in the videos taken before Vegas.
Before I knew what he tasted like.
Before my feelings grew.
Before what I knew it would be like to finally get the guy.
If you didn’t know the truth, we looked like a couple who was madly and hopelessly in love.
“You ready for this?” he whispered into my ear as the video ended.
Our friends and family clapped and cheered as Buck and Tweety bowed like they just won Sundance.
“Yeah,” I said honestly.
This might not have been how I thought I’d get together with Cash. It might not be a fairy tale, and we may be lying to my entire family. But there is not a man I would rather be on this journey with than the one smiling down at me.
Maybe one day this would all be a really great story I got to tell my kids. The story of the man I got to love with all my heart, just for the summer.