Standing in front of the mirror, I stared at myself in the wedding dress that once belonged to Mitchell’s mom, Melanie.
“Oh my gosh, you look stunning,” Waylynn said as she buttoned up the last button.
“Why would she ever get rid of this dress?” I asked.
Amelia sighed. “That’s why I kept it. It was too beautiful to give away.”
My eyes met Waylynn’s. “Are you sure you don’t want to save this and wear it?”
A sadness swept over her face, but she quickly replaced it with a grin. “If I ever get married again I want a sexy-as-hell dress that will make my future husband want to…you know what…in his pants.”
We peeked at Chloe. She was attempting to put a bow in Gage’s peach fuzz. Poor little thing. She wanted a baby sister desperately.
I focused back on my reflection in the mirror.
This was happening. I was getting married. And, boy, did I look the part. Amelia had put my hair up and pulled pieces down to frame my face. She had nearly burned my cheek trying to curl my hair.
The dress was stunning—silver lace over an ivory tulle. The A-line flowed down to a tight bodice and finally to the tulle skirt. It was light as air as it flowed with each movement I made. The sweetheart neckline was covered in lace and crystal beadwork—and made my breasts look amazing, if I did say so myself. The lace straps gave the whole gown an organic feel.
Why would Melanie want to give this dress away?
“I can’t believe how well this dress fits you,” Waylynn said as she placed a pair of white ballet shoes in front of me.
“It fits me like a glove,” I said softly.
“Thank God! And so do my shoes. I think these will be perfect!”
I lifted the dress up and slipped on the shoes. Paxton walked up to me and studied me intently before pushing sprigs of baby’s breath into my hair.
“There, that is the exact touch we needed. Chloe, what do you think?” Paxton asked her daughter.
Lifting her gaze, Chloe stood. She sucked in a breath and covered her mouth.
“Well?” I asked as I spun around in the dress.
Dropping her hand, Chloe said, “Oh no, your dress isn’t white!”
I glanced down and laughed. “It’s like an off-white.”
“They should call it a dirty white,” Chloe added.
“Chloe Parker!” Paxton said, her hands on her hips.
Her little face fell, and she stared at the ground. “I still think you look like a princess.”
I chuckled and Paxton shook her head. “I’m sorry, Corina. It’s a stunning gown. She doesn’t understand.”
Waving it off, I walked to Chloe and bent down. The dress puffed out around me, and Chloe’s eyes lit up.
She ran her finger over the straps. “It’s so pretty!”
“It is pretty, and it’s supposed to be this color. You don’t always have to wear white. Some brides wear pink!”
Chloe gasped. “Pink! I’m wearing pink when I get married.”
“Mom’s coming!” Amelia cried out. “Paxton, get Corina in the bedroom!”
I took Chloe’s hand and we quickly went into the bedroom. She was giggling like this was the funniest thing ever, hiding us from Melanie.
“Gage!” Paxton said.
“I’ve got him,” Waylynn said, scooping Gage out of his carrier.
Paxton kept the door open a bit so that we could hear them talking.
When the door opened, I put my finger to my lips to tell Chloe to be quiet.
“Girls, did you know Lincoln and Patches are tied up outside and they have ribbons and little Smurfs around their necks? Not to mention, Patches is eating the basket of flower petals.”
Amelia cleared her throat, and I could guess she was pointing to the bedroom to alert her mom Chloe was in there.
Chloe whispered, “Oh no!”
“That’s okay, Chloe cat, I have more!” Paxton said with a wink.
“Chloe’s got the goats all ready for the wedding, and I didn’t bother to question Cord as to why he was tying on Smurfs,” Waylynn said.
Melanie sighed. “Oh, good. Good. I see they’re still in the ceremony then.”
Amelia let out a chuckle. “Yes, indeed.”
“Is Corina in the bedroom with Paxton and Chloe?”
“Mom, why don’t you sit down here?”
“Nonsense, I don’t need to sit down. Waylynn, let me hold Gage.”
“Um, no, you can’t.”
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. I could only imagine Melanie’s face when Waylynn told her no.
“What do you mean I can’t? I want to hold my grandson.”
“Well, I’m holding him right now, and I just got him. Stop being a baby hog, Mom!”
“I am not a baby hog! He’s my grandson, Waylynn.”
“Well, he’s my nephew, so take that!”
“Listen, Mom, we sort of have a surprise for you, and you can’t be holding Gage when you see it. You might drop him.”
“Drop him? Amelia, I will have you know I raised seven of you kids and never did I drop one of you!”
“Never? Are you sure? Because sometimes I have to question Cord’s mental state,” Waylynn said.
“Yes, I am sure! Then again, maybe I dropped you two. What is going on?”
Amelia called out, “Come out now, y’all!”
Chloe threw open the door and rushed out. “Grammy! We have your dirty dress!”
I closed my eyes and tried not to laugh.
Paxton groaned, “Lord, that girl…and Steed wants another!”
“My dress is dirty?” Melanie asked. I followed Paxton out of the room. Melanie had her back to me, thanks to Chloe running in front of her and keeping her put while she tried to figure out where her dress was dirty.
“Mom?” Paxton said softly. Melanie turned around and went to talk, but saw me standing there in her wedding gown. Tears filled her eyes while her gaze traveled up and down the dress.
“How? Where did you…? Oh my! You look so…beautiful!”
“Mom, don’t cry. You’ll make Corina cry and then I’ll have to do her make-up again!” Amelia said, hugging her mother tightly.
Melanie’s hands came up to her mouth, and she stared at me.
Waylnn stood next to her mother. “Amelia kept your dress and was going to make something out of it.”
“But when Mitchell and Corina decided to get married at the last second, I knew she had to wear your wedding dress.”
Tears streamed down Melanie’s face, and she turned to sit on the sofa. Paxton sat down next to her.
“Please don’t cry, Melanie,” I said, barely above a whisper.
She wiped her tears away and looked at me. “You look beautiful. The dress looks like it was meant for you!”
I tried to laugh, but a sob came out instead.
“Dab! Don’t wipe!” Amelia cried out.
I dapped at the corners of my eyes. “You don’t mind me wearing it?”
Melanie walked over to me, taking my hands in hers. “Mind? I’m honored. And when Mitchell sees you in this dress, I hope he does what his father did!”
“What did Daddy do?” Waylynn asked, handing Gage back to Paxton.
Amelia handed everyone a tissue.
“Oh, your father has always been so sweet and romantic. The moment he saw me walking down the aisle, he started to cry. I don’t know how I held it together when I saw those tears rolling down his cheeks. My father had to hold me up because he thought I was going to fall right there on the spot when I first saw John.”
We all sighed.
I took Melanie’s hands in mine. “I pray that Mitchell and I will be as blessed with our marriage as you and John have been. You’re both such amazing examples of true love and I…I…”
Melanie tilted her head as she reached up and dabbed away my tears. “I don’t remember what I was going to say!” I blurted out.
Drawing me into her arms, Melanie held me. “It’s the baby. Just blame the baby!”
I laughed and held her tighter. The knock on the door made us both take a step back. Steed walked in and stopped when he saw me.
“Mitchell is going to faint.”
John walked in behind Mitchell, and he paused the second he saw me. His eyes darted over to Melanie and back to me.
“Mel, your wedding dress.”
“Wait, this is your wedding dress, Mom?” Steed asked.
“Yes! Amelia kept it and look how it fits Corina like it was made for her.”
John stood in front of me and took my hands in his. Lifting my right hand, he kissed the back of it. “Once upon a time, a beautiful young girl wore this dress. I was mesmerized by her when she walked down that aisle. It felt like a dream and I prayed she didn’t take one look at me and run, thinking she’d made a mistake.”
“Never,” Melanie whispered, and my chest felt light.
John took another look at me in the dress and then caught my gaze. “I dare say, you are just as beautiful as my beloved bride, and my poor son has no idea what is about to happen to him.”
I let out another stupid giggle-sob.
“It’s time we find out,” Steed announced. “Chloe, you get Patches and Lincoln ready?”
“Yes! Mommy, the petals!”
Paxton walked over to the table and grabbed a bag. “Got them!”
Amelia clapped her hands. “Okay, people, this is it! It’s show time! Mom, pull yourself together!”
“I am together, I’ll have you know,” Melanie said as she shot Amelia a dirty look. John and I both laughed.
“Waylynn, flowers! We need the flowers stat!” Amelia called out.
Waylynn shot Amelia a look as she started gathering the bouquets. “Jesus, when did the wedding planner from hell show up?”
Amelia pushed Waylynn lightly, “Shut up, we need the flowers! Paxton! Here is your bouquet.”
Paxton moved a sleeping Gage as she took the flowers. Then Waylynn handed me mine. They were stunning. A little bit larger than the ones the girls were carrying. Pink and white roses.
Everyone started to head out of the cabin, but John and I stayed back.
“I have something to give you,” he said.
My heart dropped when he handed me a small Bible. “It was my mother’s. You’re wearing her engagement ring.”
I gasped. “Oh, John.”
“Melanie carried it at our wedding, and I know it blessed our marriage, just like it will yours and Mitchell’s.” Tears filled my eyes again. “Don’t cry. The girls will be mad if I make those beautiful blue eyes bloodshot.”
I kissed him on the side of the cheek. “Thank you for the Bible. And thank you for walking me down the aisle.”
Now it was his turn to have watery eyes. “It is my honor, Corina.”
Paxton peeked back in. “I’m about to walk! Get ready!”
Taking in a deep breath, I nodded. We would step outside onto the cabin porch and make our way down the steps. Once we rounded the corner, I would have a clear shot of the lookout and Mitchell.
Each step seemed to go in slow motion as John and I made our way out of the cabin. My heart hammered in my chest.
“Slow down there, darlin’. He’s not going anywhere.”
I chuckled and squeezed his arm. “I didn’t realize I was walking fast.”
“Speed walking is more like it!”
Another laugh and we turned the corner. The only person I saw was Mitchell and what he did next knocked the wind right out of me.
He dropped down, covered his mouth, and started to cry.
I sucked in a breath and kept my eyes on him as John guided me to the love of my life. Mitchell stood back up and gave me a beautiful, brilliant smile as I made my way closer to him.
John lifted my hand toward Mitchell’s. “She’s a treasure, son. Honor her always.”
Wiping his tears away, Mitchell replied, “Yes, sir. I will.”
As I stepped next to Mitchell, we turned to face each other. He hadn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t want him to. I was completely lost to him. His touch was the only thing keeping me grounded. Keeping my knees from going out from under me.
The pastor started talking, but I didn’t hear a word he said. In that moment, it was only Mitchell and me. And our baby. I didn’t even flinch when Patches briefly got away from Chloe and took off running before Wade whistled and got the goat back. Nothing else in the world mattered except for Mitchell. The man I had given my heart to over a year ago. Since the first moment he kissed me, I had known this man would forever be the one to hold my heart in his hands. He had showed me a life I’d never dreamed imaginable.
Before I knew it, we were exchanging rings. I was getting ready for the kiss when Pastor Burch threw me a surprise.
“Corina, Mitchell would like to say something before I pronounce you husband and wife.”
I looked at the pastor and then back to Mitchell. “O-okay,” I whispered shakily.
Mitchell held onto my hands, rubbing his thumbs over my skin. “The first moment I knew I loved you, it scared me to death, and I ran from you. I wasn’t ready. Then when my heart finally let that love in, I felt like a new man and I ran to you, but you weren’t ready to forgive me.”
My chin trembled as I listened to him talk.
“Then it happened. Our love was too strong for us not to come together. Each day I woke up with you in my life, and I told myself I couldn’t possibly be so happy. So in love. And each night when I laid down next to you, I knew I had been wrong because there was always something else that made me love you more. Because I fall more in love with you and grow happier with each second of the day, Corina.”
He squeezed my hands and rubbed his thumbs across them, sending my stomach into a fluttering frenzy.
“I can’t believe the way I feel about you, Corina. You’re my life. My future. My everything. Thank you for loving me and for making me the man I am today.”
Tears fell from my eyes, and I didn’t even care. I’d never in my life felt so loved and so complete as I did in this moment.
“I love…you…so much!”
Mitchell cupped my face within his hands and turned to Pastor Burch. “Can I kiss her now?”
Everyone laughed.
“We have one thing left to do. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Mitchell’s lips pressed against mine. He dropped his hands from my face and wrapped them around my body, pulling me to him while I did the same. He lifted me up and kissed me deeper as our family cheered.
When he slowly set me down, he pulled back slightly and looked into my eyes. In a voice barely above a whisper, he asked, “So, Mrs. Parker. What position are you thinking we start our marriage off with? The seated wheelbarrow?”
Laughing, I dug my teeth into my lip and felt my lower stomach pull with desire.
“Why, Mr. Parker, what makes you think we’ll only be trying one? It’s our wedding day and I’m feeling rather adventurous.”
His full-blown dimpled smile nearly brought me to my knees.
Chloe let out a scream as Lincoln and Patches ran right by us, causing Mitchell and me to jump out of the way.
“Oh my God! He’s going for the food!” Waylynn screamed as everyone started running after the goats.
Mitchell wrapped his arms around me and dipped me back. With a light brush of his lips against mine, he looked into my eyes. “Let the adventure begin.”
…for now.