He really says all the right things. “Bootleg.”
The corner of his mouth tips up. “Where it all started.”
“Seems fitting.”
He rolls out of bed and takes my hand, bringing mewith him. “I said I was keeping you in bed until everyone’s gone, and it sounds like they’ve left. Let’s go out.”
“Now?”
He grabs my skirt off the floor and tosses it to me. “Now.” He picks his jeans up and steps into them. “We snuck around for weeks. I’m ready to lay my claim on you.”
The horse-and-sunset part probably did that already. I step into my skirt. “What if I don’t wear underwear?”
He drops his hands from the button of his jeans. “I’m going to be hard the whole time.”
“Good.”
I’ve never looked forward to a date more. I’m freshly fucked and wearing wrinkled clothes that smell faintly of horse sweat. It’s the most impromptu night out I’ve had, and it’s going to be the best.
Durban will make sure of it.
EPILOGUE
Campbell
One year later . . .
I’m holding a bouquet of white lilacs, facing a groom so handsome I couldn’t have imagined it. The temperature is perfect, and fluffy white clouds dot the blue sky. I stand at the front of the pavilion. Instead of a flower arch, the whole space is decorated with white and blush-colored roses. Same with the chairs. When those are moved to make space for the tables for the reception, each tabletop will have a fragrant bouquet of white lilacs, picked fresh an hour ago.
“You may now kiss the bride.” The pastor who baptized me, confirmed me, and caught me drinking with his daughter in high school and made us mow the church lawn for a month, finishes the ceremony.
Durban lifts the bouquet from my hands and gives itto Jamison. She’s wearing a dress in the blush color that’s perfect for a late spring day. I told them the color and asked them each to pick out their own style. My oldest sister is my maid of honor. Then Avery, Thea, and Sydney. I’ve gotten closer with my cousin over the last year as she distanced herself from her family.
Maybe she’ll reconcile. I don’t care if I see January again. The trust is gone, and she’s somewhere in Costa Rica, eating, praying, and loving. My aunt and uncle aren’t in the crowd either. My new husband said if they made me uncomfortable, they weren’t coming.
He dips me for the kiss, and our guests cheer.
When he sets me right, he whispers in my ear, “You’re blushing.”
I grin and turn so my mouth brushes the shell of his ear. “Don’t dip me too far. I’m also not wearing underwear.”
He groans. “As soon as we reach the barn, I’m taking you to the tack room.”
Hailstorm’s led to the pavilion. Riding off was a part of my dream wedding, so Durban’s making it happen again. Along with the honeymoon in Tahiti. Iverson and Haven will feed the chickens and horses, the barn cats that are no longer kittens, and Wolf, our border collie, that the rescue swore was a blue heeler.
My groom, dressed much like the day we rode off together last year, swings onto Hailstorm and pats his withers. “Ready, wife?”
“Ready, husband.”
He rides Hailstorm in a wide circle, and just like a year ago, he swoops me into his arms. My shoes stay on, and my dress drapes over the side with my legs.
“Hang on, Belle. I’ve got you.”
“I know,” I say, and I cling to my husband as we ride off into the sunset.
_____
