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“We won’t let it,” my sister Stormy insists. “Just like we kept Mom from becoming a felon.”

My mother sends her a withering glance. “It’s official all over Lucky River that your father and Floozy are over,” she says. “And because his head is still up his ass, he thought it was a good idea to call me last night asking for a second chance. It would not be ladylike for me to repeat what I said.”

“Mom, I love Dad, but it serves him right,” Rainee says.

“Don’t gloat,” my mother says. “That’s my job.”

We all laugh and she grins.

Then her smile fades and she touches the side of my face. “The last one of my daughters is getting married.” Her tone is full of nostalgia. “I feel like my baby was in pigtails making mud pies just yesterday. I tucked her into bed and the next morning discovered she grew up overnight.”

Her lips quiver.

“Mama,” I say, my throat getting tight as she hugs me.

She pulls back and holds my hands. “You shine bright, darling, the way you always have. Love every moment of every day and be happy. Promise?”

“I promise,” I whisper.

“Mama, quick cutting onions,” Rainee says.

Each of my sisters hugs me tightly and then the five of us stand there with our hands joined. We’ve been through hell and back as a family and our bond is strong.

Aunt Kyra pops into the tent and we make room for her in our circle. “Don’t you all look so beautiful? Are you ready to get this show on the road?”

Right on cue, the wedding music begins.

My sisters wipe their eyes and one by one leave the tent. They’re my bridesmaids and my mother and Aunt Kyra will escort me down the aisle.

We get into position and then it’s time to walk toward the man fate meant for me to be with. I walk toward him, toward my wonderful future.

Maverick stands under the shade of a majestic oak that’s strung with lights. He looks uncharacteristically nervous but his face lights up and he relaxes when he sees me.

Witnessing the love in his eyes makes me feel choked up again.

When we reach the front, my mother hugs me and then Aunt Kyra does.

Maverick takes my hand and leads me to stand beside him. “Thank you,” he whispers, “for letting me become your husband. Today is the second-best day of my life. The first one was when I met you.”

I can’t stop tears from falling not only because his words move me but because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I made the right decision to love this cowboy.

I don’t know how the officiant phrased the words he used in the ceremony. And I can barely remember the vows I said to Maverick. I remember his. Those words wrapped around me with a promise to love me forever.

Then we share our first kiss as husband and wife while all our friends and family cheer.

I want to hold on to the magic of the day, but time passes quickly.

We cut the wedding cake and feed each other bites and I feel like there’s no one else around us. It’s just the two of us. That feeling carries through the toasts and the dancing where Maverick holds me tight.

We glide across the floor. This is what it means to walk on clouds. What it means to feel like you’re the center of someone’s world.

Sunny said my forever with Maverick is starting.

But she’s wrong. My forever with him began on a long dirt road when our bicycles collided. Fate put our lives on that collision course.

Later, as the day winds down, I change out of my wedding dress into casual clothes. When I step out, Maverick is waiting.

He smiles and asks, “Are you ready to go home?”