Perenelle shook her head, the exasperation in her eyes tinged with humor as well. “No, but I did get an earful from Ashley when our mothers got into a verbal sparring match with Hillary Check in the Shop ‘n Save.”
“Those three were in the Shop ‘n Save?” Bradyn’s eyebrows went up. “Is your mom havin’ some financial trouble?”
“No.” Perenelle rolled her eyes. “Mom says the two of them are just ‘havin’ some fun.’ But, if you ask me, I think she’s been tryin’ to help your mom adjust. Losin’ your husband to murder, then findin’ out he wasn’t the man you thought, those alone would be bad enough. Aunt Jaylin then lost the people’s respect and admiration, as well as pretty much everything she owned.”
Put out there like that, my soon-to-be mother-in-law sounded like someone to pity, but it’d taken me a while to feel anything even remotely like pity for Jaylin Traylor. Now, I did feel sorry for her – most of the time – but I still didn’t like her.
I wasn’t that fond of Ashley either, and her eleven-year-old daughter Betsy drove me nuts, but Ashley’s husband, Warren, had really stepped up after everything came out about Clancy. Somehow, finding out that Clancy had been a horrible man had given Warren a backbone. He’d been the one to support the kids’ desire to go back to a regular school this past fall, and he’d insisted they all respect the youngest boy’s decision to stop using his given name, Clancy, and use the nickname he’d chosen, LC. I got along well with both Les and LC, and it’d be nice to see them tomorrow. I still thought Betsy was a brat, but I could handle her in small bursts.
Rose came over to where we were standing, bouncing on her toes as she waited for me to acknowledge her. She was too polite to interrupt for anything less than an emergency, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still impatient.
“What’s up, little bee?” Usually, Kaimi was the only one who called Rose that nickname, but I did it on occasion, and I was feeling a bit nostalgic at the moment.
“Horses?”
Bradyn chuckled. “I’ll help Perenelle with her luggage, and we’ll meet you guys in the stable.”
“Yes!” Rose threw her fist into the air. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”
We all laughed and went our separate ways. Rose was thoroughly impressed with the stables and insisted on asking a million and one questions, most of which I had to tell her to ask Bradyn because I had no idea. Then I showed her where the sugar cubes were and told her she could give one to each horse, and the questions stopped. Well, for a little while, anyway.
While I watched her, my phone chirped an alert for an incoming text. Even though most of the people I talked to were here, I still dug the phone out of my pocket. Ambrose was flying in later tonight, but it was possible that Rochester was getting slammed with snow and ice right now, and he was letting me know he wouldn’t be able to make it.
Except it was another man’s name on the screen.
I opened Rafael’s message. I pulled a few strings and got the paternity test results back. Cru’s mine. My mouth curved into a smile wide enough to make my cheeks hurt. I’m going to talk to social services on Monday and then find a family lawyer who specializes in this sort of thing. I’ll probably have some work for you when you get back from your honeymoon. Again, thanks so much for all the work you did. And congratulations to you both!
“That from Rafael?” Bradyn’s arms slid around my waist from behind. “Everything okay?”
“It’s great,” I said. I’d talked to Rafael yesterday evening and gotten his permission to share with Bradyn, so I just lifted my phone so he could see the message.
“Wow.” Bradyn kissed the top of my head. “He seems to be handling it well, getting confirmation that he’s the dad to a teenager. I don’t know how I’d do in his shoes.”
“You know,” I had a sudden thought, “if Rafael needs a PI down here after the first of the year, I think I’ll see if Dru wants to take a trip south. It’d be a good first case for her.”
“That’s a good idea,” Bradyn agreed. “But I’m surprised you don’t want to see it through to the end.”
I put my phone back in my pocket and concentrated on keeping my voice even and my face blank. “And leave my new husband alone? What sort of newlywed would I be if I did that?”
He chuckled, a low sound that twisted things deep inside me. “That’s good, because I have plans for my new wife.” He put his mouth close to my ear. “Plans that may or may not involve several reservations in our favorite Club Privé room.”
A shiver went down my spine. As much as I was looking forward to tomorrow, I couldn’t wait for the days and weeks and months and years to follow. A whole lifetime with this man, just waiting to be explored.
Ten
Bradyn
When Shadae and Brew had told me that one of the things they’d decided to add to the ranch was a rustic barn specifically for people to rent out for weddings, I hadn’t really seen the appeal, but now, I couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else. We’d fallen in love on this ranch, and it seemed appropriate that we were here to officially pledged to spend the rest of our lives together.
The moment the double doors at the back of the barn slid open and I saw Nyx standing there, everything else faded away. She wore a shimmery pearl-colored dress that clung to her curves as it fell to her ankles. On her feet were matching heels that added several inches to her height and made the glimpses of her long legs even more tantalizing. The plunging neckline offered an enticing amount of skin, and I looked forward to seeing what she was wearing underneath. Sheer lace covered her shoulders and down her arms to just below the elbow. Instead of a veil, she’d put little white flowers into her hair. I had a vague memory of her calling them paperwhites or something like that, but their name was less important than how perfect they looked.
I saw all of this before she’d gone more than a couple steps, and then my eyes locked with hers, and we held each other’s gazes as she made her way up the short aisle. We hadn’t filled anything past the first two rows on either side, but we’d been okay just leaving the two dozen or so seats where they were so that Nyx had at least a short aisle to walk.
As she reached me, I held out my hand, and she took it with a brilliant smile. With her other hand, she offered her multi-colored bouquet of rainbow roses to Rose. We’d decided against having attendants, choosing instead to have Rose hold Nyx’s bouquet as well as the ring Nyx had for me, while Les had the ring I’d be giving my bride. If we’d had our closest friends in the wedding party, there wouldn’t have been many people in the actual audience.
I’d heard a lot of people say that their wedding was a blur, but I didn’t want that to be my memory of today. I wanted to remember every single moment, from the way my sister kept sniffling and dabbing at her eyes with a tissue to LC’s stage whisper asking if Nyx and I had to kiss because it was gross. The way my own voice threatened to crack when I promised to love Delia Richelle Phoenix for the rest of my life. How she squeezed my hand as she said how much she loved me and couldn’t wait to see all the amazing things we’d do together. The surge of emotion that nearly overwhelmed me when the minister said the traditional ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife.’ How soft my wife’s lips were when we kissed.