“I’m going to love her with everything I have until the day I die,” Trooper said, moving out into the aisle. He took a microphone from someone, and his voice reverberated through the ballroom as he continued with, “I’m going to take good care of her, sir. In hard times, and easy times, and all the time. I will protect her, and I will support her, and I will do everything I can to be the man she deserves.”
He stood tall and proud at the end of the aisle, his gaze unwavering as he met his soon-to-be father-in-law’s gaze.
“What is the hold-up here?” Aunt Ida came bustling through the line of officers. “Brady, what are you doing?” She reached her husband and mock-glared up at him. “We have a whole line of people waiting.”
She leaned in closer, but she was clearly miked, because Wilder could hear every word she said loud and clear, though she whispered, “Did you forget the first step? Remember, you lead with your right?—”
“I didn’t forget the step,” he hissed back at her.
“This young man loves our daughter,” she said. “And we have hungry people here. I don’t think you know what you’ll be dealing with if you make Bear wait a moment past six to eat.”
Laughter filled the hall, and Wilder sought out his uncle Bear. He grinned and grinned, and even started to clap.
Then, the loudest music Wilder had ever heard filled the hall, and he actually ducked as if the roof might be coming down. He grabbed onto Savannah and moved toward Sequoia too.
Then the beat dropped, and reality caught up to his reflexes. His gaze flew to the doors where the officers had gathered, and to his great astonishment, Uncle Brady took the first step with his right foot.
He did a double-bounce there, then took another step forward. On his next step, the two officers flanking him moved forward with him. By the fourth measure, they’d added hand and arm motions, andthe crowd whooped and cheered as every man in the Three Rivers Police Department danced their way down the aisle.
They all hugged Trooper, and when he finally stood at the altar alone, he wore a badge someone had pinned to his tuxedo.
“Him is a policeman now too, Mister Wilder.”
Wilder scooped Sequoia into his arms. “Yeah, sweetie, he’s going to the Police Academy right now. He’ll be done in a few months.”
And then Trooper really would be a police officer, just like Uncle Brady.
The ladies came down the aisle next, the music calming to something less nightclub and more frilly, and Judy had wanted every one of her female cousins in the wedding party. They came alone, so Judy hadn’t had to pair them up with an escort, and Wilder took Savannah’s hand in his free one while he watched the people he loved best walk down the aisle.
When they reached Trooper, they each gave him a flower, and when they all finally finished, he held an assembled bouquet that Aunt Etta quickly swept a ribbon around to hold it in place.
The wedding march started then, with an extra beat or two thrown in to jazz it up. Judy and her twin brother Johnny appeared in the double-wide doorway, and he looked at her, and she beamed up at him.
As long as Wilder had known her, Judy had loved girly things. Big ballgowns, and makeup, and false eyelashes. She loved getting her hair and nails done, and she loved taking vintage clothes and making them into new pieces.
He should’ve expected her dress to fit her personality, because it did. She wore a stunning gown with a fitted bodice gleaming with gems, and a skirt that ballooned out at her hips and had to be at least six feet across.
“Wow,” Savannah breathed.
“She is so pretty,” Gal said right out loud. “Momma, I want a dress like that.”
“Shh, baby,” Momma whispered, and she bent to pick up Gal. “Look, you can see better now, but just whisper.”
The dress shimmered the way gasoline did in sunlight, and when Johnny offered his sister his arm, she tucked her hand in the crook of his elbow, and they finally stepped into the room.
The song changed again, the march becoming even more like a rock song. Judy and Johnny took a few more steps, definitely adding more bounce to their feet—and their shoulders.
Then Judy came to a complete stop. She waved both hands above her head, and yelled, “Stop the music.”
It came to a grinding halt, that awful record-scratching noise screeching through the ballroom.
“I think I’m a little over-dressed for this party.” She grinned around at everyone, and while Wilder had known his cousin to be theatrical, this wedding sure wasn’t what he’d expected.
She reached down and grabbed her burgeoning ballgown skirt on both sides—and pulled.
A gasp flew from Wilder’s throat, along with everyone else’s. Fine, some people actually yelped as Judy’s dress ripped—right—in—half.
She flung the skirt aside and cocked one hip as Johnny kicked the rest of the now-mangled dress out of the way. “Better?”
