Jake had not been to that many weddings, so he didn’t know if it was normal for the bride and groom to laugh this much or to be unable to stop holding hands or touching each other. Ultimately, though, he didn’t care what they were supposed to do. It was their wedding day. Shelby was too beautiful not to touch: hair loose around her shoulders, barefoot in a long white dress. She was his bride now, and no one could tell him to take his hands off her.

Except Shelby, who giggled and slapped his hands away when they dipped below the small of her back.

“Save something for the honeymoon, honey. There are children present.”

She nodded to his nieces, who were the prettiest flower girls imaginable. Even if he was biased. They ran across the grass, also in their bare feet, chased by City, who seemed to be trying to herd them. He didn’t look like a shepherd, but it must have been in the mix, because he constantly flanked and gave chase, bounding after them and making them erupt into giggles.

November in Lucky, Texas was a far cry from the oppressive heat when Jake had first arrived in town, not knowing that this would become home. This wasn’t the map he would have drawn for his life. It didn’t make much sense, giving up his life in Chicago and his work with Xander to live permanently here with Shelby. But he would continue to consult for Xander, traveling up to Chicago a few times a year for meetings and to see Candace and her family. He was mostly forgiven in Lucky, even if only because the mayor hated Jake about as much as the town seemed to hate the mayor. Jake had promised to fully fund the campaign of anyone running against him in the next election and had stopped him from trying to bring in a Walmart to Lucky.

Being so far from Candace and the girls was the hardest part of all this, but seeing Candace smiling gave him reassurance. She understood and wouldn’t have stood in the way of that for anything. Even now, she raised a glass of champagne from across the field. She and Leo stood under the lights that were strung out over the property, from the end of the drive down to the lake. A temporary fence kept people out of the newly-poured foundation for their home. The framing should be done by the time they got back from their honeymoon. At least Jake hoped so. Living in an Airstream—even the bigger, upgraded model with a longer bed—was going to be rough.

“Can I steal my little girl for a dance?”

Shelby beamed at her daddy and Jake released her with a kiss. “As long as you bring her back,” he said.

Her daddy led her out to the makeshift dance floor under the lights and Jake watched, smiling, as he spun her. The new prosthetic leg Jake found for him had a much better fit, which meant that he kept it on most of the time. It was hardly noticeable at all now in his gait and had given him a new lease on life, it seemed. Well, that and his wife returning.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Shelby’s mama said, interrupting Jake’s thoughts. “This is more wonderful than I could have hoped for.”

Jake smiled to her. “I know it took some time, but she’s glad you’re back. I think she sees how good you are for him. Give it some time and I think that she’ll finally understand how good it is for her too.”

She squeezed Jake’s hand, tears in her eyes. “I hope so. I appreciate you trying to build a bridge.”

“I don’t have my parents around anymore, so I think that gives me a unique perspective. I won’t push her, but the fact that she’s talking to you now, even a little, is a great step, I think. I’ll continue to encourage her.”

“I’m so happy for the two of you. She’s found quite the match in you,” she said, giving him a quick hug. “Now I need to go steal my husband back.”

When the sun began to dip below the tree line, Gracie appeared at Shelby’s elbow. Jake and Matt had been talking about their travel plans, which were something more of a general idea than a plan. Shelby wanted to hit a few particular spots, but otherwise, didn’t want to plan. She just wanted to drive with her husband and their dog.

“I think it’s time,” Gracie said. “Are you ready?”

Shelby stood on her tiptoes to kiss Jake’s cheek. “Husband? Are you ready?”

“I’ve been ready since I met you,” Jake said, earning another kiss.

Gracie rolled her eyes. “You two are way too cute. I’ll go make sure people have everything.” Rather than bubbles or rice, they’d opted to let people toss flower seeds. Shelby liked the idea of random flowers littering the yard, a memory for years to come of this day.

As Gracie walked away, Jake noticed Matt’s eyes following her. “Has Gracielynn always been so…” He trailed off.

“Pretty?” Shelby said. “Yes. You were just too dumb to notice.”

“Huh,” Matt said, and Jake shared a look with Shelby, both of them smiling.

People gathered along the edge of the field with packets of wildflowers in hand. Jake gave Shelby another kiss before they began to run through the middle of the crowd. The seeds were tiny and dark, so Jake was aware of them, but they didn’t register as they hit his skin. He could see them catching in Shelby’s hair as she ran, laughing. City chased after her, surely getting some in his fur as well. They’d be planting flowers accidentally everywhere they went as they shed them from their hair and clothes.

Once City was safely inside the front of Jake’s new Dodge Ram with the trailer hitched to it, Shelby and Jake stood on the runners, waving as people cheered. And then they slammed the doors almost in unison, sharing a grin and a kiss before the engine turned over and they started off down the drive.

“Did you see the back of the trailer?” Jake asked.

“No! What’d they do? Do I want to know?”

Jake chuckled. “You’ll have to look at the next stop, wherever that is.”

“Is it embarrassing?”

“It’s…fitting,” he said. “You’ll see.”

Shelby scooted City over and fastened herself into the middle seat up front so she could lean against Jake as he drove. He put an arm around her, securing his other hand at the top of the wheel.

Jake smiled as they pulled away, thinking of what she would say when she saw it: Just Married across the back window painted in white and beer cans tied to the back bumper along with one old prosthetic leg, tied tight with a long, white ribbon. It wasn’t a storybook ending. But it was perfectly theirs.

THE END