He had waited his whole life without knowing he was waiting. And then he knew. And then he waited some more while she figured it out. He had waited because he knew, the way he knew everything that mattered, that she was worth every single day of it.
And here she came.
He couldn’t see her face yet, but he prayed she was just as happy as he was to be here among the people they loved, promising eternity to each other.
My First Lovewas his choice for her. He’d decided on it months ago and hadn’t told a soul.
Her father placed her hand in his.
“Take care of my daughter,” he said quietly.
“Every day,” Rolani said. “I promise you that.”
Her father nodded and stepped back.
And then it was just them.
Rolani took her hand and placed a kiss on it before lifting her veil. Tears sat at the rim of her eyes. He shook his head and wiped a little leftover slobber from their son off her cheek. She shrugged and smiled.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi.” His voice came out rougher than he intended. “You look beautiful, baby.”
“Thank you.” She bent her finger, telling him to come closer, and whispered in his ear.
She’d turned into his little freak. Sometimes he was afraid he’d have tie her to a tree, but he was never complaining.
“Fa sho, Ken doll,” he said with a wink. “But first forever.”
Rolani spoke first.
“Kennedi.” He took a breath and looked at her like the rest of the ranch had stopped existing. “I knew before you did. I need you to know that. I knew on that plane before you said ten words to me. I knew when you were trying your hardest not to look at me.” A small laugh from the guests. “I been knowing.”
He brought her hands up and held them against his chest.
“You ran. I let you go because you needed to. But I want you to know I was never worried. Not once. Because some things are true whether you’re ready for them or not.” He paused. “You’re my truth, Ken. You have been since the beginning.”
His thumb moved across her knuckles.
“I want to thank you. For coming back. For staying. For RJ. For showing up for my family before you even agreed to be part of it. For letting me take care of you even when it made you uncomfortable.” He smiled at her. “For being stubborn enough to make me work for it and smart enough to know it was worth it.”
He touched her face.
“I love you and promise to never make you feel like you have to run again because there is nothing in this world you could show me that would make me love you less. You are my home, Kennedi. And I’m going to spend every day making sure you never forget it. That’s my word to you.”
The ranch went silent.
Then it was her turn.
She had written hers at the kitchen table at two in the morning while RJ slept and Rolani was in the shower, and the house was still. She’d written three versions, thrown two away, and kept the one that scared her the most to say out loud. Which meant it was the right one.
She looked at him and began.
“The wordsmith in me had no words for the man you are.” Her voice was clear and steady. “I tried. Lord knows I tried. I opened a blank page more times than I can count, trying to explain what you did to my life, and every time I came up empty. Because you are not something I can report on, document, or find the right angle for. You just are. And I had to learn how to be okay with that.”
She exhaled.
“I used to think needing people was a weakness. I thought the women who loved loudly and needed openly and let people in without a checklist were setting themselves up. I watched love complicate things, and I decided I was going to be smarter than that.” She paused. “I was not smarter than that.”
