Halle shook her gorgeous flowers in playful admonition at her groom-to-be. “I leave you alone for a few minutes, and complete pandemonium breaks out. I’m sure there’s an explanation for all of this.” She chuckled as she gazed around them at the growing number of chickens in the front yard. In all honesty, the thought of being surrounded by chickens while they exchanged their vows didn’t bother her one bit.
“There’s definitely an explanation.” He grimaced. “Not a good one, I’m afraid.” He cupped his hand over the one she’d curled around his arm as he led her through the chickens toward Pastor Joe. “Jensen claims they aren’t ours. They showed up out of the blue, and more keep coming.”
Halle didn’t like the sound of that. The weird feeling in her stomach returned stronger than before.
Jen got them situated beneath the rose trellis; then she rounded up the boys. They were having such a ball chasing chickens that it wasn’t an easy task. Their white dress shirts had come untucked from their jeans, and the toes of their shiny black boots were gathering dust and bits of grass.
Rex came to her aid by scooping up the boys—one beneath each arm. He hauled them like footballs toward Halle and Owen.
“Time to straighten up,” Owen chided them in a mild voice. “We’re getting married!”
That got their attention. Their faces spun toward Halle with so much youthful hope and longing that it brought tears to her eyes. Since it was a small family wedding, she threw tradition to the wind and held her arms out to them.
They launched themselves at her in a fervent group hug that knocked a few petals off her bouquet.
“When can we call you Mom?” Cooper inquired breathlessly.
Their father tugged them away from Halle by the backs of their collars. “Just as soon as you let us get married.” His grin took the sting out of his words. His large hands kept them anchored in front of him and Halle as Pastor Joe opened his Bible.
Jen shimmied her way through the chickens to stand beside Halle, and Rex did the same for Owen. Poor Jensen and Kenny continued waving their brooms to keep the chickens from swarming the rose trellis.
The minister beamed a fatherly smile at them. “I’m honored that you asked me to be a part of such a special day for your family. Let’s open the ceremony with prayer, shall we?”
They bowed their heads while he spoke a blessing over them and offered up a prayer of thanksgiving for the vows they were about to make. As he prayed, the clucking of chickens grew louder.
By the time Halle opened her eyes, the number of feathered critters in the front yard had nearly doubled.
Pastor Joe doggedly launched into reading the age-old passage about love from the Book of Corinthians.
“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
He closed his Bible. “According to the Word of God, love is the greatest gift of all, and no one ever loved us more perfectly than God does. In imitation of His perfect love, you now get to pledge your love to each other.” He motioned for them to produce their rings.
Owen patted the boys’ shoulders, and they hurriedly dug the ring boxes from their jeans.
Pastor Joe prompted Halle and Owen through their vows and the exchange of rings. Her ring was a white gold band with a row of tiny diamonds that slid snugly against her diamond solitaire. Owen’s was a matching white gold band with no gems or other adornments.
After the closing prayer, Ryder and Cooper sent up a noisy cheer of elation, while Owen and Halle sealed their union with the sweetest of kisses.
His heart was in his eyes as he declared, “I love you, Mrs. Tolliver.”
She gazed back dreamily. “I love you, too.”
“Nowcan we call you Mom?” Cooper jumped up and down in excitement.
Owen’s affirmative answer was nearly drowned out by the drone of motors over their heads.
Halle used her wedding bouquet to shade her eyes as she gazed upward. A trio of drones headed their way from the direction of Aspen Ranch. Every instinct in her screamed that something was wrong.
“Run!” She hollered the word, reaching for the boys to herd them toward the house.
As her warning rang out, the chickens swarmed the rose trellis. Fluttering their wings and squawking to wake the dead, they attacked.
Halle’s wedding bouquet slid from her fingers to the ground, but she didn’t stop to pick it up. She kept her arms around Ryder and Cooper, who were sobbing in terror. She half-carried them in her haste to reach the porch, glancing frantically over her shoulder at those she’d left behind.
Owen, Rex, Jen, and the Carters slapped and kicked at the maniacal creatures and succeeded in stunning a few of them. They lay on the ground, squawking faintly and spinning in circles on their sides.
Owen kicked one of them so hard that it exploded. The pieces fell in muted thuds into the grass—not sinew, bones, and feathers, but mechanical pieces. The chickens weren’t real chickens!
