Cousins.
I doubted either Daisy or Anna had expected that. Rhys had brought it up like a tease during the dress rehearsal last night. Afterward, the two hadn’t been able to stop claiming it.
It was crazy how a few short weeks ago, I’d felt as if I were shouldering so much alone. Loving for so many. Trying to hold up my mama and daddy. To provide for my daughter. To be everything.
And now we were surrounded.
Lifted.
Elevated.
Loved.
Mabel sent me a tender smile as if she’d had a direct connection to my thoughts, her mouth moving in a silent whisper, I am so thankful to have you back in our lives.
Maybe I never should have rejected their support in the first place. Never should have let the choices Richard had made steal them away.
Truth was, most of the time it felt easier to close yourself off than to admit your need.
“Auntie Emily, you look smokins’ hot. Just like my mommy.”
A disbelieving laugh scraped from my throat.
This kid.
“True story,” Melanie told her, giving Daisy a high-five.
“You do, too, Mells Bells,” she added with a resolute nod of her head, child nothing but happy chaos.
Oh, she got that from Rhys. Apparently, my little troublemaker wasn’t the only bad influence around here.
There was a knock at the door, and it swung open to the minister poking his head in. “Everyone ready? I’m about to head to the meadow.”
Emily sucked in a flurried breath. “I’m ready.”
We all filed out, carrying our heels in our hands and wearing flip-flops on our feet so we could make it down the pathway in one piece.
The day was beginning to set so perfectly. That gorgeous fusion of color gathering at the horizon and painting the sky in a portrait of beauty.
Picture perfect.
We made it all the way down to the bottom of the hill where I’d had a small stand built with storage and a cooler for the bouquets. Stopping there, we quickly changed into our heels, all of us giggling like crazy as we shoved our flip-flops into the slots and figured out which bouquet belonged to who.
Excitement billowing.
Nerves rippling.
Daisy went running along to check on the guest book that was set up on the other side of the meadow where the guests came in from the parking lot. Funny how the job she’d been so desperate for had all but been forgotten once she’d gained her new best friend.
Luckily, Shea Stone had been happy to stand in and assist.
We resituated Emily’s dress, made sure her hair was just right, and adjusted her bouquet.
Emily heaved out a sigh of skittering nerves. “Goodness. I just might pass out. If I do, you better carry me to the altar. I don’t wanna miss this no matter the circumstance. Let it be known I give permission for the weddin’ to go on even if I’m not conscious for it.” She forced out the flustered joke.
“You’re doin’ great,” I promised her. “Everything is perfect. Just like I said. Don’t worry. Just enjoy your day.”
“I love you,” she said, her chin tremoring. “This just feels right. You takin’ up your spot in the family. Where you’ve always belonged.”
My heart pushed against my ribs, and that emotion climbed higher. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
I stepped back so her mama could press a kiss to her cheek, and then Mabel walked over to me and drew me in for a long hug that caught me by surprise, her mouth at my ear when she said, “It’s the most beautiful thing to get to watch both of my daughters get married in this sacred spot.”
Her words were packed with meaning.
With love.
With unending support.
Stepping back, she squeezed both my hands, and I did my best not to weep right there. The stunning highs and the gutting lows I’d been riding the last weeks.
But I knew…right then. This was where I wanted to be.
“I am so thankful for that, too.”
She touched my cheek. “Precious girl.”
Then she turned and walked over to Lincoln who held out his arm to escort her to her seat. The woman was wearing this pretty sequined gown with a swooping left shoulder.
A beauty aged through the years. Stoic and real and true.
When she disappeared up the hill, Lenny Ramsey came down it.
Looking sharp in his suit, the man grayed at the temples and his face worn rugged from his years spent out on their ranch.
His smile was out of this world when he saw his daughter standing there.
My heart leapt.
Not quite sure how to stand under the magnitude of this beauty.
Amor. Amor. Amor.
My daddy had always taught me that’s what this place was. That it bled it. Rooted it. Grew it and heightened it.
I’d never been so sure of that truth than right then.
The music changed, and a furor rippled through the air.
Palpable.
Lifting chills on my flesh.