Page 97 of Roping Her In

She’d commissioned aisle boards, so she could wear heels and not sink into the ground, and Daddy had brought them out to the orchards last night. They were big plywood boards that had been painted white, and then made to look like the ground with apple blossoms, rocks, and organic debris on them.

Elaine loved them, though she had felt a bit silly for spending thousands of dollars on painted plywood.

But this was her wedding, and she intended to only have one.

She’d waited a long time to meet and fall in love with Colt, and every time she thought of him and Jonas, her emotions clogged right up in the back of her throat.

Her hair had been curled and pinned into a beautiful loose braid along the back of her head, so she didn’t need to lift it up and out of the way. As Momma held open the waist of her dress, Elaine stepped in, balancing herself on her mother’s shoulders, and found the hard floor among all the fabric.

Momma pulled the dress up and around Elaine’s hips, and Elaine put her arms through the straps. From the waist up, the bodice of the dress had been covered with ivory lace that had been handmade into apples and apple blossoms. The plunging V-neck went down between her breasts and about halfway to her belly button, and gave the illusion of wide straps becoming narrower as they went over her shoulders. The back sat fairly high, and Momma moved around her to zip up the dress, which held everything exactly in place where Elaine wanted it.

“There you go,” Momma said, and Elaine turned to look in the mirror.

“This dress is still everything I’ve ever wanted,” she said, running her hands over her chest and down her stomach.

Every bit of it had been commissioned from a designer in Dallas, and Elaine had thought long and hard about wearing a hat with it. In the end, she’d settled on a crown, and the simple thought of it seemed to conjure her aunt Callie, who knocked on the door and then slipped inside, with Momma’s other sister, Simone, behind her.

Simone carried the bouquet, which she’d also crafted to match the altar. It held bright coral, blush, and peach blossoms, with the occasional navy blue flower, which were specialty items that Elaine had paid to have specifically dyed the exact color she wanted.

Colt would be wearing navy blue at the altar as well, as would his son, who would be skipping down the aisle ahead of Elaine and Daddy.

Colt himself had installed a sound system at the wedding site. As both of their families were quite well known around town, Elaine hadn’t wanted to limit the guest list, and that meant they needed a mic so everyone could hear.

“Oh, you are so lovely,” Aunt Callie said, and Elaine smiled as she turned toward her. She’d been having tea with her aunts on Tuesdays for a while now, and tears pressed into her eyes as her aunt hugged her.

“I have the crown right here,” she said, and Elaine sat back down on the vanity bench for her aunt to put it in her hair.

Momma pinned it into place, and then Simone presented her with the bouquet.

“It’s beautiful,” Elaine gushed, and she took it and handed it to her mother so she could hug Aunt Simone. “Thank you both for helping me with this wedding.” She turned toward her mother. “And Momma, thank you for giving me everything I wanted.”

Gratitude crashed through her and made a single tear leak out of her right eye.

“No, you can’t be crying,” Momma said, and she brushed it away quickly.

“I’m just so grateful,” Elaine said. “And I know I’ve been really demanding.”

“It’s your wedding,” Momma said, and she brushed at her own eyes. “You should have everything you want and more.”

She hugged Elaine, and then grew stern. “Now, it’s time for the final decision.” She pulled out the bin containing the three shoe boxes Elaine had brought with her. “It’s now or never, Elaine. You have to decide which pair of shoes you’re going to wear.”

Each aunt reached into the bin and pulled out a box, and Momma picked up the third. They peeled the lids back at the same time, as if they’d rehearsed it, and Elaine looked at the navy pair of heels in Aunt Callie’s hands, the strappy silver sandals with a wedged heel in Momma’s hands, and the neon version of blush in a low heel with a bow on the toe, in Aunt Simone’s.

She’d been trying to pick this particular thing for weeks now, and there was a reason she had three pairs of shoes here with her and hadn’t decided.

She groaned. “I like them all so much.”

“But you only have one pair of feet,” Aunt Callie said. “And that means one pair of shoes.”

After several more seconds of indecision, Momma shook her box. “Elaine, Colt is standing at the altar right now. It’s time to decide.”

The thought of the man she loved spurred her to action, and Elaine plucked the shoes out of one of the boxes. “I’ll wear these.”

Colt Franklin had been married before, yes, but that union hadn’t happened here, on his personal property, under the blossoming branches of his beloved apple trees. A general buzz roared in the air, and it wasn’t from bees, but from the immaculately dressed friends and family who’d come to witness this wedding.

They’d sent hundreds of invitations, and Elaine had actually included a color palette and the words, Attire in these shades is strongly preferred, on the cards.

Every member of his family had had their dress approved by Elaine, and it fell into the peach or bright coral family. Since she had more men in her family, they’d gone with peach and navy blue for the Walker side. Colt had been present for many texts of dresses, ties, and footwear as Elaine had gotten them from their friends and family, showed him, and then approved them.