“Even his stinky socks?” he jokes.
“Even those.”
He scrunches up his nose. “Even when he snores?”
A snort escapes me. “Believe it or not, he doesn’t snore. Not even when he’s sick.”
Dad arches a brow. “You sure he’s human?”
“I do wonder sometimes,” I say, rubbing my chin. “But yeah.” I think back to something Mags said once. “He’s one in a million.”
“Let’s not keep the man waitin’ then.” He holds out his elbow and covers my hand with his when I loop my arm around his. “Time to get my baby girl married.”
When we get to the living room, I find Cora, Star, Leah, Mags, and Austin’s One waiting for me.
“Y’all ready to go make Toby Graham the happiest man in all of Spring Haven?” Mags says.
“Maybe he’s gonna makemethe happiest girl instead.”
Mags grins and nods approvingly. "Good answer, doll. But when you lookthatgood, I promise you.He’sgonna be happy.”
The women all make their way out of the house and around the path that wraps around the house and leads to the back.
Above us, the mountain spirit is smiling, giving us a bright blue clear sky and a cooling light breeze that blows across the ranch. The sun is high but is not so hot that it’s baking us, just enough to warm the skin and make the day all the more perfect.
When we reach the edge of the best present my soon-to-be husband has ever given me—a meadow of wildflowers full of color just like my one back in Montana—everyone else blurs because all I can see, the only person I wanna see is my handsome rancher.
The moment we look at each other is one I’ll remember for the rest of my life. His lips part, his eyes go molten, and then his entire face transforms, his slow-growing grin bright enough to light up the state.
“I love you,” I mouth as Dad tries to get me moving forward and I stumble a little, getting a chuckle from everyone for my troubles. Then I’m floating on air as I walk through the orange and yellow and purple wildflowers before coming to a stop in front of my One.
Dad shakes Toby’s hand, giving him a man hug complete with a clap on the back before turning to face me. “Make each other happy, keep surprisin’ one another, and have fun every single day. And lastly, don’t ever forget that you love each other and what that love means. Yeah?”
Makeup be damned, the tears fall as I bite my lip and nod. “Yes, Daddy.”
He wraps an arm around me and kisses my temple. “That’s my girl. Be good, and if you can’t, be good at bein’ bad.”
That’s gets a giggle.
Then Toby holds out his hand and laces our fingers together, lifting it to brush his lips against my knuckles. “Love you, Skippy.”
I melt against him, tipping my face up. “Love you too, bossman.”
“I’m thinkin’ it’s about time we finally get Toby and Dee married?” Gandalf says from his perch in front of us. “What do ya say?”
EPILOGUE - TOBY
Five years later…
“Skippy?” I call out, stepping into our cabin with three-year-old Crosby on my shoulder. It’s late morning and with Dee nine months pregnant and exhausted after a night of being kicked from the inside out, I took him with me this morning to do the chores.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that our son dives into every part of life like it’s an adventure to be enjoyed. And when it comes to helping his dad and uncles on the land, he’s all in. Especially when it means he gets to spend time out on the ranch with his Daddy and gets to wear his rancher get-up—a mini-cowboy hat, wet weather coveralls, and a jacket with “Crosby Graham” emblazoned on the back thanks to Aunty Star and her new bedazzling machine.
"Tobes?" Dee calls out and I can hear something's not quite right with her voice.
"Yeah, it's me. You OK?" I ask although I'm already putting Crosby down and heading down the hallway.
"Uh, not really," she replies. I sprint to our bedroom, hearing Crosby giggle and run after me as I do like he thinks we're playing a game. I launch myself through the doorway, a myriad of disastrous scenes rushing through my head as I scour the room for my wife.
