Chapter Eleven
Ryder
A few days later, our wedding day starts out with a little good luck rain. When I opened my eyes this morning, I just laid in bed. Thinking. That is never a good thing. Since it is a Wednesday, I have a stray thought my friends and I get married on very non-traditional days. Which causes me to laugh. The ceremony is taking place at noon at the Tumbleweed Ranch. Gage was kind enough to let us get married in his gazebo. I’ve been up for hours. I am anxious waiting for her to be mine. At eleven, I finally take a quick shower and get dressed. My kilt is blue, yellow and green with a hint of red, so Suzy made that the color theme. I am going traditional, with nothing underneath. My sporran and belt are black. In the sporran, I have her wedding band.
It was actually my great-grandmother’s ring. My aunt gave it to me on St. Patrick’s Day. The history behind it is fascinating, but long. My tunic is off white, and I leave a couple of buttons undone, my dress jacket is short and when I put on the long socks and my dress shoes, I look at myself in the mirror. Not bad. I’ve got all of my groomsman in them.
I have about twenty minutes to get out to the ranch. Gage is already out at the gazebo when I get there.
“Gage, I can’t thank you enough for this.” I say shaking his outstretched hand.
“Anything for the happy couple.” He says, smiling. He’s been drunk enough times at the pub for me and pretty much all of Kissing Junction to know how much he wants to marry Lorelei in the exact same spot. Too bad they can’t stop arguing long enough to get on the same fucking page.
“Is Verity here?” I ask him. I haven’t seen her for a few days. She has been pretty much living at Donnie’s. I know it’s just in a nanny capacity, but from a few conversations with her, she wants it to be more. He is the one pushing her away. Her school recently copied me on an email where she gave up her dorm room. One less thing I have to pay for though. I just hope she knows what she is doing.
“She is up in the house with Suzy. Helping her get ready.” He says.
I can’t wait for Suzy to be back in my arms. Last night was the first night I’ve spent without Suzy since I got out of jail. That was the reason I didn’t sleep very well. My body is so in sync with hers. Just the sound of her breathing helps me sleep.
There are already people here, though they are mostly Suzy’s family. I don’t have much family in Texas, but they are all here. I don’t know how she pulled this together in less than three days, but it’s official. She is amazing at everything she does.
Before I know it, the bridesmaids are lining up. Verity nods at the bagpipe player, who happens to be my cousin Seamus, he begins playing. The girl he brought with him, Eleanor, looks so out of place. He is from New York, so I am surprised he made it out here on such short notice. The girl looks familiar, but I can’t place her. Cam, Marc, and Gage are by my side. Verity, Lorelei, and Teagan walk down the aisle. As Suzy’s best friend, Teagan is the matron of honor.
When Suzy is at the other end of the aisle, escorted by her father, Jimmy, my breath catches in my throat. Her dress is amazing. It is the traditional white in the front, with a tartan sash draped over her left shoulder. However, the dress isn’t the only thing that catches my attention. Her hair is tied to the side and is in a sexy riot of curls. I can’t wait to get my hands wrapped around the silky strands. Her eyes are shining with what I hope are happy tears.
I have no words to describe her beauty. She has always made me speechless, but on this day, at this moment everything else pales in comparison.
Again, I wonder how the fuck she pulled all of this together in so short a time.
When she reaches me, I shake her father’s hand and she places her hands in mine. Donnie begins the ceremony.
We wrote our own vows. Donnie asks for Suzy’s first.
“I promise to make you those fancy sandwiches you love, if you take out the trash which I hate. I promise to make the bed, which I know you hate.
I promise not to force you to watch a Gilmore Girls marathon, again.
I promise to turn on the air conditioning when you are hot, even if I am totally freezing.
Oh, and if you turn into a zombie or a vampire, I promise to let you bite me, so we can be undead together.
But mostly, I promise I will love you forever.”
Laughing, I can’t help leaning over to kiss her quickly. Clearing my throat, I begin.
“I vow to listen, for as long as it takes for you to feel heard. I vow to watch in awe as you kick ass and take names. I vow to be the unrelenting shoulder you lean on for the days that it feels like too much. I vow that I will love you until the day I die, but probably even longer than that. This love knows no boundaries, but I am always going to keep looking for them.”
Winking at her, I slide her band on her finger. The plain rose gold matches her engagement ring. Once it is in place, I can finally breathe. She is all mine. She places my ornate rose gold band with a Claddagh etched into it on my finger. Her sigh of relief is noticeable, and I can’t contain my smile.
“By the power vested in me by the great state of Texas, you may now kiss your bride.” Donnie says, with his amazing Texan drawl.
Leaning down, I kiss her until she moans. Her father clears his throat in an exaggerated manner. Everyone laughs.
Pulling back, I grab her hand, as we walk away Donnie says, “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Ryder King.”
People clap, but I just need to kiss my wife again. When we get to the end of the aisle, there is some commotion behind us. Teagan and Marc are almost to us, Gage and Lorelei are behind them. When Cam held out his elbow to Verity though, that’s when shit got crazy.
Tiff jumps up and charges toward the altar just as Donnie growls and steps in front of Cam, blocking Verity from his view. Cam quickly assesses the situation and grabs Tiff’s hand and walks down the aisle.