Page 166 of Rocky Mountain Home

Then she hit publish and went to get ready to say I do, forever to the man she loved.

Joel fidgeted with Jesse’s tie then adjusted the bright blue swatch handkerchief tucked into his suit pocket. They were waiting with their brothers out behind the garden shed. The one tucked away to the back of the open area where the wedding was about to take place.

Midway between their two homes, the sound of laughter rang on the air as family and friends gathered.

Jesse was ready for this. He was more than ready for this, which created a happy sensation in his gut.

Dare had done the old-fashioned “refused to be seen” in her wedding get-up route, and he wanted a peek.

After a year together she just got more damn beautiful every day, and he couldn’t wait to make her officially his.

Joel, on the other hand, was nowhere near as collected. “Then after the vows we have to sign something. Then we have to—”

“Why’re you trying to memorize this?” Jesse demanded. “The justice of the peace will tell us where to go next, and if he doesn’t move fast enough, Jaxi will jump in. Poof—instant wedding organization.”

His twin nodded. “I know. I’m just… I want to get on with it.”

“You ain’t the important ones today,” Blake pointed out. Their oldest brother leaned against the wall beside the window.

Matt snickered. “Come to think of it, you’ve never been the important ones.”

Jesse adjusted his cuffs, smoothing the sleeves. “Come on. Everyone knows that the farther down the birth order, the more important the kid. Because they were trying for perfection after dealing with you.”

A snort escaped Travis. “You got that sideways, bro. The fact they went for it again means we were so awesome they were hoping for the same results. Notice they stopped after you two?”

Even Joel mustered a terse chuckle.

“Heads up.” Daniel joined them. “Beth says music starts in under five minutes—the ladies are finally moving.

For one lingering moment there were the six of them. Gathered in a semicircle, tall and solid, and most definitely family. Jesse skipped his gaze over his brothers in turn, solid respect and love for each one of them rising up. Blake—who’d proven he was a man of principle and a man of compassion. Willing to do what was hard to build the strongest family possible, just like their father.

Jesse gazed at Matt and Daniel, each who had settled into happiness in their own way. Travis who had become so much more than a rule-breaker and a wild card.

Then he let his gaze rest on Joel. His brother who was more than family—he was Jesse’s best friend again. Better friends than before because Jesse had learned a thing or two regarding how to give a damn about someone other than himself.

Blake stepped forward and placed an arm around his and Joel’s shoulders. “We Colemans ain’t the prayin’ type, but it seems right to say a word of thanks that we’re all here. That we get to work together and play together and today—celebrate together. We’ve pulled through some tough moments, and dealt with our differences, and I think we’ve come out stronger on the other side. We’re damn lucky we’ve each found the perfect partners willing to head into the future with us.

“I’m glad we’re brothers. I’m glad we’re family, and I look forward to every damn day from here on, even through the rough times, because you’re all with me.”

Jesse’s throat tightened up, and Joel coughed. Even Travis looked touched.

Music started in the background, but Jesse had to say it. “You’re the best brothers ever. Thanks for putting up with my bullshit and making me grow up. Double thanks from the woman crazy enough to agree to get hitched to me permanently, and from my son, and my future kids. We couldn’t do this without you.”

“Jeez, you want me to be a blubbering fool?” Joel complained, wiping at his eyes before flashing a grin. “Stop procrastinating. It’s time.”

They accepted a firm pat on the shoulder from Blake then slipped around the corner to where they were expected to stand at the front of the gathering, waiting for Dare and Vicki to arrive.

Jesse caught Joel before they moved to their assigned positions. “That thanks goes extra for you, considering you’ve put up with more of me being an asshole than anyone else.”

Joel shook his hand firmly. “Asshole or not, you’re my other half. Love you, jerk.”

They grinned at each other, then Jesse took those final steps.

There was no motion from the door of the house yet, so he let his gaze drift over the gathered crowd. Daniel and Beth’s boys were seating the guests, Lance all gangly and teenage awkward in a dress shirt and tie, Nathan and Robbie only a little less so, but all of them proud as they guided the last arrivals to their places.

The entire Coleman horde was there, and at each face a memory or two flashed into Jesse’s mind. Running wild with his cousins Steve and Trevor from the Moonshine clan. Trying to talk his way out of a speeding ticket or two from Anna. Chatting about horses with Karen from the Whiskey Creek. Time spent with Rafe and Laurel—too many good memories to put them all in a neat little package.

Then there was his family and Dare’s.