Page 38 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

RUTHIE

It was my wedding day. Even though my parents had a weird marriage and I never really grew up around normal relationships, I always had envisioned what my wedding day was like. This was not it.

I had always envisioned marrying a man who loved me unconditionally and the ceremony being filled with a lot of pink. Those were the only two things that had stayed true to my dream wedding.

But I also realized that my original plan—thought of when I was a little girl—to get married in a castle in England with a horse and carriage, a million flowers everywhere, and possibly a unicorn, was not really what I needed. The reality was way better than I ever could have dreamed up.

The ceremony and reception were taking place on the acreage between Jack’s and Vince’s homes.

Wade’s and Vince’s mothers, who had adopted us all as their own, had helped me arrange everything.

From caterers to tent rentals to chairs and lighting.

They’d asked me my favorite color—which was obviously pink, though I had added in navy blue to complement it and not make it so overly girly—and they’d taken care of the rest.

I was sitting in the guest room of Jack’s house—though I guess it was my house too now.

I was standing in front of the long mirror looking at myself in my strapless A -line gown.

It was a simple satin gown with tiny pink—because why not—beads along the neckline and a pale-pink beaded sash at my waist.

Val, who was now a professional hair stylist, had done both my hair and makeup for me as my wedding present. I looked like a fairy princess, and I loved it.

I had made Jack stay the night at Archer’s new place last night so tonight would be at least a little special. He’d complained nonstop for a week about my “nonsense rules” but, in the end, did exactly as I asked.

Ellie, Val , and Cat had all stayed the night with me, having a low-key bachelorette party at the house.

I hadn’t wanted anything big, plus Cat was heavily pregnant and Vince was adamant that she not overdo it.

I wasn’t bothered by that because I honestly just wanted to spend this quality time with them.

“How are you feeling, Cat ?” I asked her, knowing she had been having a rough pregnancy.

“I’ve been puking since week five of this twenty-seven-month pregnancy,” she replied. “ I’m so ready for this little one to come out already.”

“Only two more weeks left, though. You’ve got this,” Ellie chimed in, rubbing her own belly.

Ellie had found out only two weeks ago that she was also pregnant. She and Wade were thrilled and I knew Jack was happy to become an uncle.

That had brought up our conversation about kids. We knew we both wanted them but had never talked specifics before.

“How many kids do you want?” I asked Jack .

“Don’t care,” he responded. “ As long as they’re healthy, I don’t care if it’s one or five.”

I had choked in response to that number. “ Umm , we are not having five.”

He chuckled at me, pulling me in for a kiss. “ Whatever you want, sweetheart.”

“Good answer.”

I had so much happiness in my life right now, both within myself and also within my friends’ lives.

There was a knock on the door, and Val went to open to see who it was.

“Hi, Hank . Come on in. She’s nearly ready.”

“Good,” he responded as he walked into the room. “ I’ve got something for her.”

He held up a small box as he walked toward me.

“We’ll give you guys some privacy and meet you outside,” Cat said.

Ellie turned to me and grabbed my face in her hands. “ I’ve never had a sister, and I am so happy you get to be mine.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Val turned to Granddad , pointing her finger at him. “ Don’t you dare make her cry I just finished perfecting her makeup.”

He just grinned back at her.

They all left the room, and Granddad walked up to me and handed me the box.

“This was your grandma’s,” he said quietly. “ She would want you to have it on this special day, and so do I .”

I opened it up to see a beautiful diamond bracelet.

My eyes filled up, and I sniffled. “ Granddad , thank you.”

“Now, don’t go gettin’ all sappy on me, or those lady friends of yours’ll be all pissed at me for messin’ up your face,” he said and pulled me in for a hug.

“ She’d be real proud of ya, sweetheart.

Both yer mom and grandma.” He paused a moment before speaking again, a little quieter. “ I’m proud of you too.”

He didn’t say it, but I knew what he meant without the words.

“I love you too, old man,” I whispered back to him, not trusting myself to say it louder without crying.

“I haven’t said it since your gran died,” he spoke quietly. “ But I reckon I need to say it more. I love you too.”

Don’t cry. Do not cry. Do not mess up your makeup.

“Alright, let’s go get ya hitched,” he said, stepping back and pulling the bracelet out to help me put it on. Then he grabbed my hand, and led us to the door.

We made it outside and to the point where I would walk down the aisle, with my granddad walking me down it to Jack .

While we waited for the music to begin playing, my Granddad leaned down to whisper in my ear. “ Just lettin’ you know, I told him I was mighty happy you picked him over the pretty boy—and I made sure to tell him that real loud so the pretty boy would hear me say it.”

I threw my head back and laughed at how ornery he was. “ You’re the best,” I told him.

“I know,” he confirmed, causing me to smile even bigger.

It was with that huge smile I walked down the aisle to Jack .

He was in his full dress uniform and had never looked better.

He literally looked like sex on a stick—and he was all mine.

My breathing started to pick up as I walked closer to Jack , realizing how lucky I was that I was marrying this wonderful man.

At the end of the aisle, Jack came to collect me from my granddad.

“You look incredible,” he said to me, a huge grin on his face.

“Keep it in your pants until the ceremony is over, son,” Granddad said—perhaps a little too loudly, since everyone in the crowd laughed—then slapped him on the back as he took his seat.

Axel had offered to be our officiant. He said becoming an officiant in Sweden was way harder than in the US so he wanted to have this experience. Honestly , I found it more meaningful to have someone we knew perform the ceremony as opposed to a minister I barely knew.

Plus, Axel hadn’t sent over anything he was planning to say beforehand, which meant that unless he asked Archer or someone else to read it, there would likely be a few phrases wrong—which I looked forward to.

The ceremony began and I found myself in a moment of awe that this was all real. Marrying a man I loved, surrounded by friends and my grandfather, on the property where I would hopefully live out the rest of my life.

Axel began, but I was too caught up in the surreal moment of everything to pay attention at first.

“Jack, it is now your turn to vow for Ruthie ,” Axel said, eliciting a slight chuckle from both of us.

Jack turned to me with a glimmer of mischief in his eyes. “ Ruthie , I’ve known you were it for me since the day I walked into Ranger Shield Security and you called me a shitwhistle.”

Laughter filled the space behind me as he continued. “ I promise to always love you, even when you bring home more stray dogs.”

It was true. In addition to the second dog Granddad had paid for me to pick up as my birthday gift, a few months later, he’d told me about another rescue greyhound.

I told him I’d take him in as soon as I’d seen his picture.

I’d arranged pickup the very same day, feeling terrible about the poor guy.

The only problem was, I hadn’t told Jack —until I’d showed up at the house with him.

Oh , and did I mention he had a sister who I also adopted? Oops . Now we had four dogs.

“You keep me on my toes, and I look forward to you arguing with me about everything under the sun and then having makeup time afterwards.” He winked at me, and I just smiled back, knowing I was likely blushing. “ And I promise to protect you from snakes as long as we both shall live.”

More laughter erupted from the crowd as I took in the man in front of me and smiled.

“Ruthie, now it is your turn to vow for Jack ,” Axel said, causing my grin to get even wider.

“Jack,” I began, feeling my eyes well up already. “ While I can’t promise to get to the end of my vows without ugly crying, I do promise to love you every day.”

Ellie leaned over and handed me a tissue. I took it then returned to look at Jack .

“I promise not to force you to watch any more Disney princess movies—mostly because we’ve watched them all by now,” I told him, listening to chuckles around me. “ And I promise to love you no matter how loud you snore.”

He didn’t snore—that was Dash —but I loved to tease him about it.

“You’re the best thing I never knew I needed, but I’m so happy I found you,” I told him and felt myself getting choked up. “ Although I’m pretty much perfect, I promise to continue to grow and love you more and more every day, making me an even more ideal wife. You’re welcome.”

He gave me that sexy sass-tastic grin, and I loved every second of it.

“I promise to be the best partner I can be…” I continued, my voice hitching, “and make you never regret asking me to marry you.”

“I will never regret it, ever,” Jack whispered to me and then kissed me.

“Stop that,” Axel chided. “ This is not how the book says it works. Stop kissing her until I tell you that you can do that, jerkhole.”

Jack pulled back, and we both chuckled at Axel’s frustration.

“Okay, by the powers vested in me by the state of Georgia , I now pronounce you husband and the wife,” Axel finished. “ Now you can kiss her.”

The crowd erupted behind us, but I was too focused on Jack kissing me. I would never tire of kissing this man—ever.

We walked down the aisle and as soon as we made it to the end, Jack grabbed the bouquet out of my hands and handed them off to Ellie .

“Here, sis. Hold these for her,” Jack said, then turned and bent at the knee and threw me over his shoulder.

“Jack,” I squealed. “ What are you doing? I’m perfectly capable of walking to the reception site that is less than fifty feet away.”

“Good to know, but we aren’t going to the reception site,” Jack explained. “ I’m taking you back to the house so I can have my merry way with you.”

Laughter filled the space behind us.

“Seriously, Jack ?” I asked as he continued to walk toward the house.

“I’m not waiting ‘til tonight to make love to my wife,” Jack said.

“Your wife,” I muttered. “ I like the sound of that.”

“Better get used to it since you’re going to be hearing it for the rest of your life.”

THE END

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Thank you for reading DECEPTION & NEW DIRECTION . I hope you enjoyed it.