When she finally reaches me, Hank presses a kiss to her forehead, places her hand into mine, and whispers, “Don’t screw it up.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I assure him.
Then he goes to sit.
Ella’s hand trembles in mine.
“Hi,” she whispers.
I lean in, smile. “Hi.”
“You look handsome.”
“You look like everything.”
Her cheeks flush, and just like that, the rest of the world fades out.
Our officiant is Beck because he wouldn’t let up until we gave him the role. He starts talking, but I barely hear him. Ella keeps sneaking glances at me—soft and shy—and every time she squeezes my hand, it steadies something in me I didn’t realize was shaking.
Then it’s vow time.
Ella goes first.
She turns toward me, hands trembling just a little as she takes mine. The entire ranch goes quiet, but she doesn’t look at anyone except me.
“Cole,” she starts softly, breath catching. “I don’t think you know this… but the first time I saw you, I was six years old.”
A surprised murmur sweeps the crowd. My eyebrows lift.
She smiles, shy but sure. “You were sixteen, over by the East pasture helping your dad fix a fence line. I remember standing on the porch with a popsicle, staring way too long for a six-year-old, thinking, That boy is the strongest person I’ve ever seen.”
Laughter ripples gently through the guests.
“And when you lifted that beam like it weighed nothing, I decided right then that someday…” She laughs under her breath, cheeks warm. “Someday, I wanted someone to look at me the way you looked at the work you were doing. Focused. Steady. Like you didn’t quit when things got heavy.”
Her voice goes softer.
“I don’t think childhood crushes are supposed to last twenty years… but mine did. Even when life changed, even when you became someone else’s, even when I convinced myself you’d never see me as more than the little Morgan girl who followed her brothers around with braids and scraped knees.”
I squeeze her hands gently, because my chest is tight.
She takes a breath, then continues. “But then we crashed at the wedding, and for the first time, I saw the man you’d become up close. Not the boy I remembered, not the crush I carried around like a secret… but the father who cared more about his daughter’s safety than anything else. The man who builds with his hands and protects with his whole heart. The man who looks at me like I’m worth choosing.”
Her voice breaks. “You loved Aria back to life. And somehow… You did the same for me.” She wipes a tear. “You make me brave, Cole Dawson. You make me feel seen, like the world isn’t too heavy to carry. You’re steady where I’m scattered, gentle where I’m stubborn, solid where I’m scared.”
Her breath trembles. “I promise to love you with that same steadiness. To choose you in every storm. To be your partner in every project, every morning, every season of our lives. And to love Aria like my own, because she is my own.”
Tears run freely down her cheeks now. “I waited twenty years without even realizing I was waiting. And I would do it all over again if it meant I ended up here… with you.”
She squeezes my hands one last time. “I love you, Cole. Today. Tomorrow. For the rest of my life.”
Silence.
Then sniffles everywhere.
Even Beck has both hands over his face like he’s trying to hide the fact that he’s full-on crying.
I try to breathe past the lump in my throat. Then it’s my turn. “I didn’t think love like this was real,” I begin. “Not for a man like me. I came here trying to rebuild my life, and instead, I found you.”
