Judy now wore a slinky skirt made of pure silver, the kind that shone in the sunlight and changed colors on a fish’s scales. “I mean, this is more of the party vibe I wanted this wedding to be.”
Johnny reached up and took off his tie, flinging it away too. “So can I unbutton a couple of these? Because holy horses and figs, it’s hot in here.”
They grinned at one another, and then Johnny—with a couple of his shirt buttons undone—and Judy in her new, sleek wedding-slash-party-dress linked arms and walked the rest of the way to Trooper.
He laughed with every step she took, and Johnny took something from his father before passing Judy to her almost-husband.
Wilder basked in the glow that reached all the way back to thesecond row, even over on the side, that emanated from Judy gazing up at Trooper.
Then Johnny jumped at least four feet straight up into the air, shrieked, and landed in a crouch. He straightened, put on a pair of sunglasses, and yelled, “It’s time to say I-do!”
The crowd responded to the energy that the police officers had first brought, then from the bride and her brother jiving down the aisle. Wilder laughed right out loud, and he loved the way Savannah snuggled into his side, both of her hands wrapped around his forearm.
“This is the best wedding I’ve ever been to,” she said.
“We’re fun sometimes,” he said as the congregation started to settle down and sit.
“Yeah, but I don’t want a wedding like this,” she said.
Wilder swung his attention to his fiancée, his smile fading. “No, I know. We’re doing simple, farm-themed, with ducks as ring-bearers.”
“And you’re okay with that?” She actually wore worry in her expression, which only made Wilder want to burst out laughing again.
“Savvy, I would go anywhere and do anything to have you say ‘I do.’ Whatever you want is fine with me.” He ducked his head as his uncle Judge started to speak.
“Okay?” he whispered.
“Yeah, okay,” she whispered back, and then Wilder tuned into his uncle, because he always heard good things when a Glover got married.
14
Ty had had a taste of celebrity in his life. He’d accepted awards in the past and sat at signing tables to scrawl his own name over his scowling picture for fans. He had three championship belt buckles—two in bull riding and one in team roping—and yet he’d never felt like as big of a celebrity as he did with Winnie on his arm.
She’d curled her hair, and she wore more makeup than Ty had ever seen her wear before. She’d painted her lips bright red to match her jumpsuit, and she wore shiny, sleek white heels and great big enamel-coated hoops in her ears. Every person who looked at her smiled, and that meant their positive energy hit Ty as well.
“Well,” she said, still clapping as Judy and Trooper ran down the aisle, hand in hand. “That was incredible.”
“The Glovers know how to throw a party,” Ty yelled, and he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Several moments later, the cheering and clapping subsided, and the same cool female voice who had told them to take their seats came over the public address system in the building.
“Due to the weather, we will be unable to mingle in the gardenswhile we change over the facilities for dinner. If you’ll please exit the ballroom, we have set up a few seats and bar tables with snacks and drinks in our Regency Room, located directly across the foyer.”
Ty took Winnie’s hand and led her down the row, stepping just in front of JJ. When they reached the end of the aisle and the space opened up, he said, “Hey, Ty, introduce me to your girl.”
Ty slowed and stepped out of the way. “Yeah, sure,” he said, though his heartbeat thrummed like tiny bird wings in his neck. “This is Winnie Landry. We just started seeing each other last week.”
“Oh, so it’sreallynew,” JJ said, wearing a smile that could light the city.
“Yeah.” Ty said, “Winnie, this is JJ Walker. He runs Seven Sons Ranch just about fifteen or twenty minutes south of town. You’ve probably passed it on your way out to Signs for Success.”
“If you take the south highway, at least,” JJ said with a genuine smile. “You turn left at the junction right past Seven Sons.”
“Yeah,” Winnie said, recognition brightening her face. “Yes, I have seen the signs. You guys have a lot of stars on your fences.”
“Yeah—seven of them,” JJ said with a laugh. “My daddy has six brothers, so there are seven sons.”
“Ah, got it,” Winnie said. She reached out and tickled baby Jade in JJ’s arms. “What’s your baby’s name?”
“Jade,” JJ said, smiling down at the little girl. “This is my wife, Ruby.” He drew her closer to his side, and the three of them shone with what Ty could only describe as joy. J-O-Y all day long, everywhere.
