AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Since her mom has been declining so rapidly, we decided to get married sooner rather than later. So, I’m standing here, waiting for my beautiful girl to walk down the aisle in front of all our friends and family.
Living in a small town is nice when you need to get something done quickly. Everyone is willing to step in and help. Which is why the church is packed, and we created the perfect wedding on such short notice.
Nash is my best man, and Greer is Summer’s maid of honor. We decided to only have them as our wedding party, so the rest of our friends could sit in the pews and enjoy the day.
The music starts, and I’m so excited, I’m shaking. My mind is racing right along with my heart. Then, she steps into the aisle with her mom holding her hand. Everything stops, and the entire world disappears. My only focus is her. My girl. My beautiful, amazing, soft, thoughtful, smart, Little girl.
I don’t deserve Summer Pierce, but I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to. Every man thinks they’re the luckiest man alive when they find their soulmate, but I know for a fact, I’m the luckiest of them all. She gave me a second chance after I hurt her, and she loves me wholeheartedly.
Tears fill my eyes as she gets closer. She’s already full-on crying, but she’s grinning up at me as she approaches.
She turns to her mom and hugs her. Mrs. Pierce was having a good day this morning, and I hope it continues for the sake of my girl. Bree steps up and takes the older woman’s hand to lead her back to the pews.
“I love you,” she mouths quietly.
I nod and quickly brush away my tears. “I love you more than anything.”
We join hands and look toward the officiant.
He smiles. “We’re gathered here today…”
“Linc and Gage made the barn look so beautiful.”
We sway around the dance floor to the soft music. The reception is being held at Linc’s farm. His barn was only built a couple of years ago, and it’s magnificent for an event like this. The horses even seem to be enjoying it as they peek out from their stalls.
“I haven’t noticed. The only beauty I’ve seen today is you.”
She giggles and lifts up onto her tippy toes to kiss me. “Smooth line, Daddy.”
I waggle my eyebrows. “I have lots of smooth lines for you, Mrs. Bennett. I’ll whisper them into your ear tonight while I’m fucking you.”
Goosebumps rise on her arms, and her pupils dilate. She likes that idea. I like it too. But I want her to enjoy this special night for as long as she can before we leave. She didn’t get to spend months planning everything and having the enjoyment of being the bride-to-be, so I want her to have fun at our reception.
A fast-paced dance song comes on, and suddenly, my sister appears. “Summer, come on, we have to dance. Dane, I’m stealing your bride.”
Summer looks up at me apologetically, but I shake my head and press a kiss to her temple. “Go. Have fun, sweet girl. We have the rest of our lives.”
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you more than all the stars in the sky, Little girl.”
25
SUMMER
Two weeks later…
I love my new job. It’s not as fast paced or cut-throat as the law office I worked at in Seattle. My boss is kind and understanding of the situation with my mom, so the few times something has come up and I needed to run home, he didn’t fuss about it. It’s wonderful.
My mom has settled in at Dane’s house decently well. She’s been a bit more anxious the past couple of weeks, but the specialist we saw said that can happen with dementia patients as they progress. It’s hard to deal with, though. When I try to get her to calm down, she sometimes gets more agitated and ends up yelling at me. We had one of those episodes last night. By the time I finally got her to sleep, I was dead on my feet tired.
Which is why I’ve had four cups of coffee today and am feeling my own dose of anxiety. Dane has been wonderful through it all. He doesn’t get upset with my mom, and he always subtly asks me if I want him to step in during one of her episodes before he actually does. I appreciate that he doesn’t try to step on my toes. He takes my lead until I tell him I need him to take over. Then he does without hesitation.
Since I get off earlier than he does, I head to the store after work to pick up my mom’s prescriptions and something for dinner. Things have been a bit hectic, and I haven’t gone grocery shopping, so our cupboards are pretty bare right now.
We went to Seattle last weekend and packed all my stuff into a moving truck. Now we have boxes all over the house that I haven’t gotten to unpack. Maybe I’ll work on them tonight after dinner.
When I get up to the pharmacy window, the woman rings up the medication and frowns.
