I groaned as she walked by, stopping to quickly kiss me. “Come on! I can’t wait to see Blayze and Morgan.”
Carefully making her way down the steps, Kaylee glanced back at me and smiled. It was the same smile she’d given me the first day we met. The day I knew I’d fallen instantly in love with her, even though I hadn’t realized it then.
When we got down the steps, a few gasps sounded, and Lincoln burst into tears.
“You . . . you . . . look . . . so . . . beautifuuuuul!” Lincoln said, rushing over to Kaylee and hugging her.
“Oh, sure, she can hug you, but I can’t.”
Brock walked up to me, reached for my hand, and shook it. “Sorry about that. Lincoln’s been a little emotional lately.”
I laughed as I watched Lincoln wipe more tears away and Kaylee go on and on about Morgan’s beautiful pink dress. “Dude, is she pregnant?” I asked jokingly.
When he didn’t answer, I looked at him. He wore a smile so big it nearly lit up the entire first floor of the house.
“What?”
He leaned in closer. “Don’t say anything—no one is supposed to know. I think Mama knows, though.”
“Of course she does. She has some weird power to detect shit like that.”
Brock nodded.
“Is Tanner here?” Kaylee asked, glancing around the room.
My father grunted, and my mother plastered on a smile that was clearly forced.
“He had a ride in Cheyenne last night that he said he couldn’t miss.”
I saw the look of disappointment on Kaylee’s face, and I made a mental note to punch Tanner the next time I saw him for making my wife sad on her wedding day.
“Oh, okay. Well, should we head on out there?” Kaylee asked.
My father opened the door—and walking up the steps was Tanner. I couldn’t ignore the way it made my chest tighten, knowing that he had probably driven all night to get here in time.
“Tanner!” Kaylee exclaimed at the same time Blayze did. They both raced to get to my younger brother, Blayze winning by a long shot, since Kaylee was dressed in a white gown and heels.
When she got to him, Kaylee kissed him on the cheek. “You look exhausted.”
He smiled. “I stopped at the house and showered and changed first. Sorry I’m late.”
When I walked up to him, he reached out his hand to me, but I pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you, Tanner. It means the world to me. To both of us.”
He slapped my back and hugged me before we broke apart. “You know I wouldn’t miss it.”
Kaylee and I had decided we would have a small ceremony in the front yard of her—scratch that—our house. Last week, we hiked up to the lake with Pastor Thatcher and had our private ceremony. We didn’t wear anything fancy. No one else was there. It was just the two of us, sharing our moment together, like we’d wanted to do. It was one of the most profound moments of my life, up at that lake, marrying the woman who had changed my entire world.
Pastor Thatcher was back today, standing with his Bible as Kaylee and I walked up to the arbor, decorated with roses. Our family stood behind us as we exchanged vows once again, in front of the people who meant the most to us.
It was Kaylee’s idea to have another ceremony after the real one. It was simple and less stressful and was more for my folks than anything. They had understood our desire to get married up at the lake and were supportive, but when Kaylee told my mother we would have another ceremony, I saw the way Mama’s eyes lit up with happiness.
I could hear Lincoln softly crying behind us, and at one point, I was pretty sure I heard my mama asking my father for a tissue.
“You may now kiss your bride . . . again!” Pastor Thatcher said.
“Uncle Ty?” Blayze said, stepping up and pulling on my jacket before I could kiss Kaylee.
Kaylee and I both looked down at him.
“What’s up, buddy?”
“I just thought you should know. I don’t feel mad toward ya anymore—you know, for taking our girl.”
Kaylee’s head snapped up, and she looked at me, her eyes wide with both shock and happiness. “Our girl?” she repeated.
“Anymore?” Brock asked.
Once Kaylee and I had started dating, I took Blayze out to dinner one night. Just us two guys. I explained to him that I loved Kaylee and that we would be dating. He was mad and told me he’d need some time to get over his broken heart. He also asked me to keep that a secret between us two . . . men. Which I had.
“I’ll tell ya later,” I said to Brock as I looked at Kaylee and winked. “What can I say? I’m sure we’re not the only two men who have fallen for the same pretty girl.”