"Take some pictures of your dad. Until the official photographer gets here, you're the wedding photographer on duty," Rico told her and she took a picture of Mitch and Rico together. Then she took a picture of another tree.
"Was everyone behaving?" Rico asked Mitch.
"As far as I can tell. Your grandmother said that lady is Wyatt's aunt."
"Oh, her. She told Wyatt that he and Sam should wait to get married," Rico remembered and he frowned at her. He hoped she wasn't upsetting Sam.
"What does she know?" Grandma jumped in to say. "I mean she's a good enough sort, I guess. She stayed here with the boys after they lost their parents until Wyatt came to take care of them. But make no mistake, that woman is uptight."
"Everyone is uptight compared to you, Grandma," Rico told her.
"Poor Sam was worried that she didn't like him. That right there isn't in her favor," his grandmother declared.
"Impossible. How could she not like him? Everyone loves Sam from little children to..." Rico paused and turned to his grandmother.
"If you're looking for the right way to describe my type of person, the words you're looking for are beautiful woman in her sexual prime."
"No, those are definitely not the words I am looking for," Rico told her.
"Well, if Wyatt's aunt finds any fault with our Sam, I'll be glad to keep him for myself," Grandma said just as the other woman was walking away from Sam.
Mitch nudged Rico, and he could see why. Sam look pale, and Rico would swear that he was turning paler by the minute.
Going over to him and taking his hand, Rico asked, "Did she say something?"
"No. She was nice. She told me how dear Wyatt and the boys were to her. She thanked me for taking good care of them and wished me the best. I just started thinking about my grandmother and the boys' parents. How people can slip away." Sam's voice was shaky and his hand was turning cold.
"Whoa. No. No one is slipping away," Rico assured him.
"I know," Sam said but his voice was even weaker and he looked really pale.
"OK, lean on me and take it easy," Rico told him.
While Grandma and Sammy were strolling around, Mitch came over and looked from Sam to Rico questioningly.
"I'm OK. Really," Sam said but his words were broken up as he started to gulp air.
"Hey, don't try to talk. Just breathe," Rico told him.
He tried to get him to sit down, but he refused. "I can't. I'll... mess up my suit," Sam said haltingly as he tried to regain control.
"Lean on me as much as you need to," Rico told him. "That's what I'm here for."
"This... This is a good thing. I want... I love... Wyatt," Sam gasped, struggling to breathe.
"I'll get Wyatt," Mitch said, but Sam shook his head and looked even more panicked.
"No, please." Pulling in a breath with a lot of effort, Sam forced himself to speak more steadily. "I can do this. I'm fine."
"Wyatt would want to be here," Mitch told him, and he sounded so absolutely sure of that.
"No. I can't ruin this day," Sam pleaded. "Don't tell Wyatt."
"Too late," Mitch said, and Rico saw that Wyatt was already on his way.
He was rushing over and then taking hold of Sam. "The boys told me I better come here and give you a hug," Wyatt said.
"How did they know what was going on?" Rico wondered.
