"Hi," she says softly.
"Hi." My voice comes out rough, choked. "You look..."
"Gorgeous? Stunning? Like the luckiest woman alive?" She grins. "Because that's how I feel."
"All of that. And more."
The officiant, some guy from town that Wade recommended, clears his throat and starts talking about love and commitment and all the things you're supposed to say at weddings. I try to pay attention, but I can't stop looking at Marley. Can't stop thinking about how a year ago I was terrified to even ask her to dinner, and now she's about to become my wife.
"Tucker?" the officiant prompts.
I blink. "Sorry, what?"
"Your vows."
Right. Vows. I wrote them down on a piece of paper that's currently in my pocket, but when I reach for it my hands are shaking so badly I can't unfold it.
Marley reaches out and takes my hands in hers, steadying me. "It's okay. Just say what you feel."
I take a breath and look into her brown eyes, and the words come easier than I expected.
"Marley, a year ago you walked into my life and saved my daughter's horse. But you did more than that. You saved me too. You made me believe that I could have something for myself, that I deserved to be happy, that love was worth trying." I pause, my voice cracking. "You've been patient with me, with Emma, with this whole crazy ranch life. You've shown up every single day, even when things got hard. And I promise I'm going to spend the rest of my life showing up for you too. Loving you, supporting you, making you laugh when you're stressed about work. You're my partner, my best friend, and the love of my life. And I can't wait to spend forever with you."
Marley's crying now, tears streaming down her face, and she doesn't even bother wiping them away.
"Tucker, you and Emma gave me a family when I thought I'd never have one. You gave me a home, a purpose, a reason to believe in second chances. I love you both so much it scares me sometimes. But it's the good kind of scared. The kind that means I'm alive, that I'm happy, that I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. I promise to love you, to take care of Emma, to be here through all the ups and downs. You're stuck with me now."
"I wouldn't want it any other way."
The officiant says something about rings, and Emma steps forward with the pillow, beaming with pride. I take Marley's ring—a simple gold band with a small diamond, nothing fancy because she said she didn't need fancy, and slide it onto her finger.
"With this ring, I thee wed."
Marley takes my ring and slides it onto my finger, her hands steady even though mine are still shaking. "With this ring, I thee wed."
"By the power vested in me by the state of Montana," the officiant says, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
I don't wait for him to finish. I pull Marley into my arms and kiss her, deep and long and full of everything I feel for her. The crowd erupts in cheers and applause, and Emma's jumping up and down yelling
"They did it! They did it!" but all I can focus on is Marley—my wife—kissing me back like I'm the only person in the world.
When we finally break apart, we're both grinning like idiots.
"Mrs. Hayes," I say.
"Dr. Hayes," she corrects with a laugh. "I'm keeping my title."
"Dr. Hayes, then." I kiss her again, quick and sweet. "I love you."
"I love you too."
We turn to face the crowd, hand in hand, and everyone's on their feet clapping and cheering. Wade's whistling, Sierra's crying, and Emma's running toward us with her arms outstretched.
"Marley-Mom!" she shouts, and Marley scoops her up into a hug, both of them laughing.
I stand there watching my wife and my daughter, the ranch spread out behind us, the sun setting over the valley, and I think about Frank and his belief that you could see your whole life from this hill if you looked hard enough.
He was right.
