Page 93 of Bound to Him
There was no music as we walked the aisle, just us, and he stopped to wave at the kids. His brother, Crew, who had actually made me reconsider the idea of having kids someday, came bolting out to glom onto his leg. With a shrug, Noah held Crew’s hand and let him come stand beside us at the front of the gathering. When we came to a stop near a beaming preacher, a woman who had come out from Dallas to marry us, I got down on one knee in front of Crew. He stared at me with big eyes that reminded me of Noah and made my heart ache. I held a finger to my lips and took a box out of my jacket pocket, handing it to him.
“When we ask for the ring, can you give this to me?”
He nodded his head fast and everyone laughed. My heart raced at the sweet smile Noah gave me when I stood and took his hand.
“Are you boys ready?” the preacher asked, and though her face was serious, her eyes sparkled. I felt oddly teary as I nodded. Her Texan accent was comforting, and she had short gray hair and a stern brow, softened by her good humor.
“Yes, we are,” Noah said, voice firm.
She started and sermonized and it was kind of nice. She talked about love and caring for each other, and how every bit of joy was a gift from God, and even though I wasn’t particularly religious and didn’t think Noah was either, it was a good message. When it came time for the vows, Noah was fast to repeat them, and I almost died when it was my turn because he stared at me with so much love in his eyes as I followed word for word. The world spun a bit. I wobbled, and Noah stepped closer to hug me.
“Okay, the ring,” I said to Crew. He beamed and handed me the box, and I ruffled his dark curls.
“I already have a ring,” Noah said, holding his hand up.
“I know, but not one like this.” The preacher gasped when I popped the box open. Dazzling dots of light winked under the sunshine and spread across Noah’s face as I twisted the box this way and that. The four carat, solitaire diamond gleamed along with the titanium band. “To match your bracelet,” I said.
“This is impractical,” he declared.
“Put it on, baby boy. Let us see it,” Mama called, and I could’ve kissed her, but instead I went to slip the ring on Noah. He grunted and tugged his wedding band off to slide the new ring on his finger first, and then I took the band from him and nudged it carefully against the diamond. He stared at me as I bent to kiss it and then his knuckles.
“Now that’s a rock,” the preacher said with a laugh. “You can kiss your husband.” She waved between us, and Noah met me halfway. I’d never been happier.
“Kiss me again,husband,” Noah whispered in my ear, and I gathered him closer with a groan and slammed my mouth over his in a way that got a couple of bawdy whistles from my side of our small audience.
Time seemed to blink out of existence. One second I was kissing my beautiful husband, and the next, Mama was throwing her arms around both of us. She pressed a kiss on Noah’s cheek that stayed there, an outline of red, and then gave me one, too.
“Alton, you hurt this boy again and I’ll make you regret it.” She stared at me, and the determination she radiated was deadly serious.
I groaned, and Noah laughed and stomped his feet like that was the funniest thing ever, but I wouldn’t have had any part of our second, real wedding go any different. Daddy came up and hugged us from the other side, and he was man enough to kiss my temple and Noah’s.
“Me too!” Noah’s little brother wailed, sounding heartbroken, and Noah broke away to pick him up and dance him around—and I could see the years stretch out in front of me. Maybe someday he wouldn’t be rescuing animals, or if he did, he’d be doing it with a dark-haired boy who looked just like him. Maybe a redhead or two or three, also. I slapped at my chest.
“Mama, I’m going insane in this heat,” I muttered. “Do you want grandbabies someday?”
She rested against my side and wrapped her arms around my middle, staring at Noah with me as he went over and hugged Athena and his other siblings. “As many as you want to bring around, honey.”
Nodding, I laughed, and she grinned up at me. In the distance Willow neighed, there was a ruckus as the kids somehow knocked over a chair, and Russ was berating the wedding photographer for something and getting very loud about it. The orange trees were green and beautiful, and the scent of fresh growing things wafted over me. As Noah turned and took Crew toward Willow to pet her, my heart nearly burst out of my chest.
Stealing Noah away from home was probably the best thing I’d ever done in my life, but I was glad he’d chosen, on his own, to come back to me. I’d never been in love, didn’t even know if it was real before him, and now I knew there wasn’t enough money in the world to buy this feeling.
“I love you,” I called after him.
He turned and smiled. “I love you, too.”
Crew pointed back at the horse, jabbering excitedly, and I chased after Noah and my tiny brother-in-law, ready to get started with the rest of my life at my husband’s side.