A person all my own.
When the officiant guides me to say my vows, I have to clear my throat a couple times before I can speak.
“Law. When we were kids, I spent a lot of time on this land with you. These woods beside us housed a good many adventures. As we got older, those adventures looked a little different. But through it all, I never lost you.”
I inhale a winter-cold breath to compose myself.
“We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember. I never doubted you’d be a part of my life, always, but having the chance to fall in love with you? Having you love me back? I never saw that coming.”
Lawson smiles softly, a sheen in his eyes that I’m sure mirrors my own.
“I made you a promise long ago,” I remind him. “The two of us. Forever. It’s a promise I’ll make again and again, in sickness, in health, on our good days and our bad. Nothing could change the fact that my heart belongs to yours, Lawson Darling. From saddle to sunup, and all the hours in between.”
He lets out a quiet breath at his own words returned to him, the expression on his face so full of love I can feel it in my chest. The officiant gives him a nod, and Lawson begins his own vows, his voice soothing and deep.
“Oakley. There’s this line in the original Peter Pan story that’s always stuck with me. ‘To die will be an awfully big adventure.’ That passage got rewritten a lot in later adaptations. To live, they said, would be the adventure. Not to die. But I think they completely missed the point.”
Lawson’s eyes hold mine as he draws in a breath.
“There was one thing Peter could never do. Grow up. So what bigger adventure would there be than to grow old for a person who’s incapable of it? It was never about death. It was aboutliving. I’ve always wanted to grow old with you, Oak. To live my life at your side. And now, I’ll have the chance to.”
My own breath is choppy as Lawson sends me a gentle smile.
“I’m not afraid of growing older. Every year we have waiting is another to love you. It will be my honor, Oakley Beaumont, to live the rest of my days as your husband, your friend, your fellow lost boy. Not a single daydream could compare to the life I know I’ll have with you.”
I blink back tears as I reach for Lawson’s hand. His fingers twine with mine, the officiant walking us through ourI dos. The ring he slips onto my only empty finger is brushed gold. His is the same.
I watch Lawson through the sparkling snow that falls featherlight from the sky. When we’re announced husband and husband, it’s on the softest breath. Lawson’s. My own.
His kiss this time is curved around a smile. It’s calm, and it’s happy, and I can feel myself trembling in response, even as my chest lights with a warmth I know isn’t going anywhere. Our family claps. Our friends, too.
Lawson and I return down the aisle hand in hand as the music starts up again. My nose is cold, but my smile couldn’t get wider.
We’re the first to walk into the ranch house, but our guests aren’t far behind us, ready, I’m sure, to get out of the cold. Appetizers are already set out in the dining room. Drinks, as well. Lawson tugs me past it all.
I’m about to open my mouth and tease him for wanting to get me alone so soon when we stop in front of the kitchen and set eyes on the absolute mayhem inside. Lawson and I stare as one at Belladonna, my damn cow, who’s managed to spread our wedding cake over just about every surface in the room, herself included.
She freezes when she sees us watching her, and then she streaks past.
I nearly fall on my ass as her hip hits my leg, startled gasps ringing out from the dining room as Bell races inside. Something topples. Something else crashes. There’s frosting smeared across my pants.
“Oakley…” Lawson says, voice steady.
I suck in a breath. “Who thehellbrought my cow to the wedding?”
There’s a grunted, “Got her,” I think is Jackson and then all is quiet.
“I thought it’d be a good surprise!” Colton finally calls. “She was shut in the mudroom.”
I speak past gritted teeth. “Clearly, she got out.”
“I, uh… Did she eat the cake?” Colton asks.
Marigold is the first around the corner into the hall, her hand flying in front of her mouth when she sees the state of the kitchen. She starts to laugh, my mom the next to join us. Sienna Beaumont takes in the chaos with calculating eyes before shedding her coat, rolling up the sleeves of her dress, and stepping forward.
“Marigold,” she says. “Would you kindly show me where you keep the aprons?”
Mrs. Darling follows my mom into the kitchen, opening up a cupboard. “Right here. Colton! You’re on cleanup. We’ve got a cake to bake.”
