Epilogue
Four Years Later
Dustin was a nervous wreck as he paced the “Groom’s Saloon,” one of the restored buildings in Buzzard Gulch that was made for the groom and his party to get ready for the big day. Charlie, his best man, sat on one of the barstools, nursing a beer while Luke and his other two brothers sat around a card table playing poker.
Dustin checked the clock again as he passed by. “This is ridiculous.”
“Are you really that nervous, little brother?” Charlie teased.
Dustin didn’t want to admit that he was terrified. From the moment that Rylie had finally agreed to marry him, he’d known what was coming. Kelly and her minions had complete control over his wedding and unless his bride had interceded, Kelly would finally have her revenge.
“Hello, boys,” Kelly said, pushing through the swinging saloon doors. She was wearing a red and white floral dress and bright red cowboy boots. In her arms were five shoe boxes and behind her were two of her newer bridesmaids for hire, holding garment bags.
Kelly set the boxes down on the nearest table and clapped her hands. “I’ve got everything you need to get ready right here. Ceremony starts in twenty minutes, so you better get going.”
Dustin flipped the lid on one of the boxes, his mouth falling open. “Cowboy boots.”
“Yep. It’s a themed wedding. Welcome to the Old West.”
“She’s kidding, right?” Charlie asked.
“Hey, what’s wrong with cowboy boots?” Luke asked.
Dustin held up one of the boots…in bright red leather.
* * * *
Twenty minutes later, Dustin stood under the floral-covered arbor in his black suit with red tie. On his head sat a black cowboy hat and he had squeezed his feet into those fire engine red boots. If Kelly thought she could break him, she was wrong. He’d waited too long for this to let a few practical jokes scare him off.
Rylie had been the one who wanted to wait at least three years before she’d consider living together, let alone marriage. In that time, they’d completely restored Buzzard Gulch and Rylie had saved the money she’d earned working at Something Borrowed and baking the wedding cakes for the company to open her own little gourmet bakery. Seize the Cake had filled a void when the other bakery in town had been shut down due to health code violations. Plus everyone loved Rylie’s treats.
A haunting country love song played over the speakers, and everyone in the chairs stood.
Dustin’s twin nephews, his older brother Paul’s boys, came up the aisle in little black suits, making every woman sigh and coo. The boys each had their own pillow with no actual rings on it. They were only two, after all. His mother had been pleased to finally get a daughter-in-law and grandchildren, but as his brother and his family lived in Seattle, the pressure was still on him and Charlie.
He hadn’t told his mom yet that Rylie was already eight weeks pregnant. They hadn’t planned it, but they hadn’t been preventing it either.
Next was Marley and Luke’s daughter, Chloe, holding on to her mother’s hand the whole way down the aisle. The little girl’s brown eyes took up half her face as she stared around nervously. Her white tutu dress with red sash was perfect with her bouncing blond curls.
If they had a little girl first, Dustin hoped she had Rylie’s smile.
Marley let Chloe run to her grandmother, Rose, and then took her place. She winked to him when he caught her eye and he smiled back. Marley had warmed to him over the years after a lot of groveling on his part, but Luke and she were counted among his growing group of friends.
Marley was wearing a red off-the-shoulder dress with black cowboy boots. She was soon joined by Tonya, who Rylie had become good friends with after her wedding, and two of Rylie’s friends from Something Borrowed, Emmy and Darcy.
And then Rylie was standing at the end of the aisle, her arm looped through Charlie’s. Raider sat at her side, wearing a red bow tie.
Dustin would have laughed if he wasn’t completely captivated by his bride to be.
She was wearing an ivory halter dress, the skirt gathered in waves. Her hair was swept up with curls rioting down her neck and red baby roses pinned in the brown strands.
When Charlie finally passed her hand to his, he brought it to his lips and she grinned at him.
He blinked. Rylie’s front tooth was missing.
“What happened?”
“What’s wrong?” she asked innocently.
“Where’s your tooth?” he practically shouted.
The whole crowd bust out laughing, including the pastor, and Rylie.
“Relax, honey, it will come off before pictures,” Rylie said.
He was stupefied. “You helped Kelly punk me?”
“You know what they say. Revenge is a dish best served cold,” Kelly hollered from the front row.
Dustin tipped his hat to her. “Well played.”
“So, think you can marry a woman with a blackened tooth and a heart of gold?” Rylie asked, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Dustin pretended to consider, then hugged her back.
“Hell yeah. What are we waiting for?”