“You checked, did you?” I grin, “Are you lying?”
“Never,” he chuckles warmly, patting my hip, “just humor me, baby.”
“I’ll be right back.” I kiss the corner of his mouth and hop out of the booth, jogging back to the bar.
“Did you agree with Silas that I could leave early?” I ask Niamh.
“Oh yeah,” she winks, “you kids have fun.”
She says it as if she’s not the same age as me.
Shaking my head, I grab my purse and coat and meet Silas by the door, accepting his hand when he offers it to me. He guides me to his truck, the cab still warm from his ride over here.
“Where are we going?” I buckle in, turning to him, his face in shadow behind the wheel.
“Patience, baby. It’s a surprise.”
Since it all went down with Darcy and Calvin, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind to try to clean up all the messes that were left behind. Roman and Silas hired a new team of vets, a husband and wife duo that took over the cabin and the care of the animals, and they’re settling in nicely. Calvin’s ranch was shutdown and sold off. His family came and collected his body to be buried, but I didn’t attend. I let go of that chapter, have been seeing a therapist for a couple of months now, and I never want to look back.
“We just need to make a quick stop at the house,” he tells me, “So you can change.”
“Change?” I look at the jeans and sweater I’m wearing. “What’s wrong with this?”
But all he does is wink at me and then turn the volume up on the radio so I can’t ask any more questions. Suspicion has my stomach knotting, and when we make it back to the ranch, Rosie and Caleb are waiting on the porch with their uncle Roman. They look smart, too. Rosie is in a pretty pink dress with flower embellishments and a white fluffy coat, and Caleb is dressed in a little suit and tie, looking utterly adorable.
“What is going on?” I press Silas, climbing out of the truck.
“Just trust me, Honeybee,” he stops me from walking into the house and cups my face, begging me with open and clear eyes to do just that.
“I do,” I whisper, pressing onto my toes so I can kiss him.
“There’s a dress on the back of the bedroom door. Can you put it on?”
He leaves me to do that, but when I get to the bedroom and spot the dress, I realize exactly what it is he wants me to do.
That is no ordinary dress.
It’s a wedding dress.
One I had been looking at with Ada only a few weeks ago when we had visited the city to grab a few things we can’t get back in Sunstone Ridge.
Ada had encouraged me to try it on, nothing serious, and I’d loved it, but ultimately, we put it back and went on with our day.
Now it’s hanging on my door.
The sleeves are long and sheer with a sweetheart neckline and flowing skirts; the material a mix of silk and lace. It’s beautiful.
Are we really about to do what I think we’re going to do?
My hands shake as I pull the dress off the hanger and gently lay it on the bed so I can strip out of the clothes I’m in.
This isn’t how I imagined it going down at all, but now that I am here, putting on a wedding dress, I realize this is exactly how I’d want it to be.
Spontaneous. Unexpected. Just like us.
I slide the dress on, reaching behind me so I can do up the buttons and then dash into the bathroom so I can gather my hair into a somewhat elegant updo.Curled strands fall around my face, and I pin them in place. From the front it looks fine, and the back is none of my business.
I slip my feet into my cowboy boots and rush back out to them. Roman is now gone, and the three of them are waiting by the truck, looking slightly awkward and nervous.
