“I’m sure they have it under control,” Courtlynn sasses him.
“Just a question, brat,” he fires back, his lips lifted in a smile.Courtlynn rolls her eyes but doesn’t comment.
“I’ve got that taken care of,” her grandpa says, puffing out his chest.“This way.”He nods toward the tree in the backyard.
I meet Chandler’s eyes, and he nods, letting me know he’s got Mom.Macklin rushes to her side, and the two of them walk her toward the tree, while Bowen and Dixon grab the lounger she was sitting in so she can be comfortable.
“Ready, Ells?”I ask her, pressing my lips to her temple.
“Beyond ready.”She smiles.
Together, arms linked, we make a slow, steady descent toward the tree as everyone we love gathers around us.The ceremony is brief, and exactly the way we dreamed it would be.Her grandpa’s voice wavers with emotion as he reaches the final words: “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr.and Mrs.Copeland James.Copeland, you may kiss your bride.”
“Finally,” I announce with exaggerated relief, earning a round of laughter from our friends and family.But I hardly hear them.All my focus is on the woman beside me—my wife.I step in close, one arm curling around her waist, the other sliding behind her neck.I don’t bother with words.Instead, I lower my head and capture her mouth with mine.
My wife.
The words hit me with a quiet, overwhelming force.
I pull her closer, drawn to her as if there’s a thread pulling between our hearts.That thread now tethers us together, in love, in marriage, and in name.
The kiss is gentle at first, then deeper as her hands find their place against my shoulders.The crowd erupts into applause, but it feels distant, muffled, unimportant.
For this frozen moment, under the shade of the old tree, with our friends and families cheering, our future is wide open.It’s just her and me, and our unborn child—still only a whisper of a heartbeat, a promise more than a presence—feels like a third pulse in the space between our bodies.
Pulling out of the kiss, I rest my forehead against hers, letting the weight of that truth settle in my chest.Keeping one hand around her waist, the other rests against where our child is growing inside her.This is the moment everything changes.This is the moment our family begins.
“Hey, Cope?”she says, softly.
“Yes, wife?”
“I’m not sorry I failed.”
“Failed at what?”I ask, lifting my head to stare into her eyes.
“I failed at trying not to love you,” she says, her eyes glassy with tears.She’s smiling, and my heart beats double time.Our fight, the night we conceived our baby.Her words are a reminder that we have so much love between us, even when we ignored it, even when we fought it.That love was always there for both of us.
“I love you, Mrs.James.”
“I love you, too, Mr.James.”
I can’t stop smiling.The guys have been ribbing me for it all afternoon, but I couldn’t give a single fuck.They can tease all they want, because at the end of the day, I’ve got the girl.Hell, I’ve got so much more than that.We’re having a baby, and suddenly, I need everyone to know that, too.
“While everyone is here,” my mom speaks up, and everyone grows quiet, moving closer to the back patio so she doesn’t have to struggle to talk so loudly.“My daughter-in-law took me to the doctor yesterday, and well, I’m cancer-free.The chemo did its job.My most recent scans showed that the cancer is gone.They’re going to do two more rounds of chemotherapy just as a precaution to finish out my treatment plan, but it worked.”Her voice breaks.She looks at Ellison and me and smiles.“Now, I’ll be here to see my future grandbabies.If the two of you could get on that, that would be great,” she teases.
She’s exhausted.Her skin is pale, but her smile is radiant.It takes a few minutes for her words to sink in.She’s cancer-free.Our baby will get to meet her.I exhale a heavy breath because I’m ready to break down in tears.These past few months have been a roller coaster of emotions.
Mom’s illness, seeing her fight for her life, moving back home, coming face-to-face with Ellison, winning her heart again, making our baby, getting married, it’s a lot, but fuck me, my heart feels like it could burst wide open.
“Cope?”Ellison whispers just as I’m ready to drag her to my mom so that we can hug her.
“Yeah, baby?”
“We have to tell her,” she whispers.
“You sure?I thought you wanted to wait?”
“Even if something goes wrong, we won’t hide it from them.Not the people here, our closest friends and family.Let’s tell her.”
