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“You two hush,” Grace added as she dismounted and pulled Maggie into a tight embrace. “My whole family—well, most of us—are together and safe. Let me have this moment before you ruin it.” Her words were chastising, but she couldn’t hide the concern in the tears that slid down her cheeks or the way she clung to all three of them like she’d been the one to fall down a cliff face.
“Now, Maggie,” Grace continued, “it looks like you’ll be joining us for dinner. Once we get this guy checked out at Austin Memorial, that is.”
“I’d love to, Grace. And then I’d like to throw my hat in the ring for anything you need help with for this wedding weekend of yours.”
Grace smirked. “If you could talk the bride into not releasing sixty doves over the dinner seating, that would be helpful.”
Maggie launched into how disastrous that would be while Jax helped Bennett up and onto a horse. There was no way a medical team could make it this far into the canyon. Not that it mattered. Bennett was pretty sure he had a couple broken ribs and some scrapes and bruises, but that seemed to be the worst of it. He’d gotten lucky.
In more ways than one. With Maggie’s arm around him, his mom and brother behind him and in heavy disagreement about what to make for dinner that night and whether it should be anything requiring an open flame, Bennett could only smile. He had everything there he needed—well, almost. Having Matt around more would be nice, but that door was always open, just waiting for one of them to walk through it.
As soon as he could stand on his own two feet, he’d take those first steps.
Until that day, however, he had his mom, his brother, and the love of his life, and that was as close to perfect as a cowboy could get.
Chapter Seventeen
Maggie grinned. Harriet, the bride and star of this show, had gotten her way. Sixty doves were released over the outdoor banquet space and only one person paid the price when a dove decided to mar the near-perfect moment with a bathroom break.
“Come on,” Jackson whined, scrubbing the bird dropping from his shoulder. “Really? This is the thanks I get after I helped Bill move two hundred head of cattle for this thing?”
The cattle were back in the canyon, safe and sound and far from the wedding where it was clear they weren’t welcome. In the end, the canyon had been the best bet, instead of the south fields where Johnny—who had been found guilty for starting the fire and fined for the repairs—had suggested they go. Bennett hadn’t gloated about that fact—not too much, anyway.
“It could be worse,” Maggie said. A dark gray cloud moved over the party, sending a chill over her bare skin.
“Oh yeah? How’s that?”
“You could have been one of the groomsmen.” Maggie chuckled and pointed to the line of middle-aged men all looking flummoxed by the throng of model-esque bridesmaids they were paired with. Half had their jaws slack, and the other half were beet red. All of them looked like they’d never started a conversation in their lives.
“Are you kidding? That I’d know what to do with. I’d take a Hollywood starlet any day over bird… stuff… on my suit. Now I’ve got Bill to thank for that, too. Ugh. I’ll be right back.”
Maggie just laughed as Jackson went to find a cloth he could wet to wipe the stain off his jacket.
“He’s gonna be in a bad mood all day now,” Bennett said, wrapping his arms around Maggie before planting a kiss on the top of her head. Even though it’d been almost two weeks since she and Bennett had started officially dating—with half a lifetime of lead-up—she still thrilled when any part of him touched any part of her.
“The good news is, he’ll only be that much crankier when we tell him he’s got to stick with MBE until we’re back from our honeymoon. Do you have a plan for him for when you’re back?”
“Not yet. But we’ll sit down and hash something out we can both live with.”
“Good. Life’s too short to do anything but what makes you happy.”
“I agree. Should we introduce him to Jill now that you two have made up? They’ll be working together, after all. I mean besides his sparkling personality, stellar work ethic, and respect for the fairer sex, they should get along, right?” Bennett asked, sipping a glass of Syrah.
“Ha! Not likely. I’d wager a bet she thinks he’s hot but won’t like how he challenges her. She’s kind of used to getting what she wants.”
“I guess this trip is coming at a good time, huh?”
“Mmm-hmm.” A crack of thunder made her jump and the wedding party—the bride’s side at least—squealed and ran for the tent Bill had erected when they got word of the storm headed their way over the wedding weekend.
“Harriet won’t be too happy if the reception is thwarted because of rain,” Bennett surmised. He nuzzled his nose behind Maggie’s ear and kissed the base of her neck.
Maggie shrugged. “I dunno. I heard your mom telling her it would be good luck for their marriage, even if it meant havoc for the wedding, and Harriet seemed to agree.”
A cool wind whipped around them, chilling her even though Bennett’s words warmed her from within. Though the rain would have been more welcome two weeks ago, it was nice to know that the forecast called for wet enough weather in the coming months, the valley wouldn’t need to worry about water for a while.
“Well, look at the real stars of this party,” Maggie said as Grace, clad in a sparkling gray gown, joined them with Mae following behind her.
“We’re done and that’s all that matters,” Grace said, taking Bennett’s wineglass and finishing the contents in one breath. “Ah, that’s better. One more and I won’t remember sixty filthy animals flying over my food.”
