Page 132 of Peaches & Pistols

“We’re getting married, little love,” Greyson answers.

“And we get to bring the special bags around our necks to you?” Harper asks, a little less sure.

“Yes, sweetie. Your necklace has your dad’s ring in it for me to hold. Everly’s has my ring in it for your dad to hold. I’m so proud of you for doing this important job.” Harper stands taller and her chin rises, taking her job seriously as the older sister.

We shuffle the little flower-bearers out the door and our family cheers and claps as they dance through the garden to the playlist Livy put on.

“You sure you want to walk alone?” Greyson tucks a stray curl behind my ear.

“My entire life I was told I’d never accomplish anything, become anything, or be valued by anyone. I think walking alone will heal me a little bit.”

“Then that’s what we’re going to do.” He kisses my forehead, and heads out into the garden, his Wrangler ass on full display and I’m not complaining one bit.

There’s no pomp or circumstance. There’s no agenda, photographer, or officiant. In Colorado, you can self-officiate and marry yourselves.

Without further ado, I walk down the patio where I first met the love of my life, through the garden and stand amongst the wildflowers with my husband-to-be.

The ceremony is short and sweet, again, the polar opposite of the circus I endured last time. I wish I could stop comparing the two but today is immeasurably happier and I can’t help but be grateful for where I am in my life.

“Thank y’all for coming today. Not like you had a choice, and more than half of you would’ve been at Lucky Spurs Ranch today anyway,” Greyson says, met with laughter.

“I’m going to keep this short and sweet, because apparently it scares people when I string too many words together.” Another chuckle. The stoic cowboy has jokes.

“Mia, months before you came into my life, I was struggling to find childcare for Harper and had been going through nannies like wildfire. I sat down with the family, had a long talk, and as I accepted my situation, I said to them, ‘Maybe seven will be my lucky number.’.

“Fast forward to the day you changed all our lives for the better, I couldn’t believe my luck. You accepted the job as Harper’s seventh nanny. So I’d like to think luck is on our side. Everly, little love, can I have Mommy’s ring?”

Our lime-green disco ball skips over to her dad and hands him the ring from the bag around her neck. He bends to give her a kiss and shoos her back to sit with her grandparents.

“Mia, I’d find you in every life after this one. There’s no world in which my heart doesn’t belong to you.” Greyson slips the wedding band on with my engagement ring with a wide grin.

I’m just about to start my vows when he startles everyone.

“Wait! I forgot something.” He reaches out to James who comes over to hand him a pile of small papers.

“If you ever have a day where you question my love and devotion to you, I want you to flip through these.” Greyson hands me the stack and my eyes well with tears.

“You kept them?”

“Every last one I could. A few got away but that’s just about all of ‘em,” he says.

The notes I left him. Instructions on how to reheat his lunch. Reminders. Questions I was too afraid to ask in person. The flirtier notes as we began opening up to each other.

They’re all here.

“Thank you.” I can barely speak, holding the notes to my chest. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

Greyson winks at me and holds his hand out to pass the notes back to James.

“How am I supposed to follow that?” I joke through tears.

Walter stands and brings me a handkerchief to dry my eyes, which Greyson thanks him for, and pockets when I’m done.

“My life until now was nothing like a fairy tale, but I always held out hope that goodness existed in the world.” I look to Izzy, who rescued me and Everly from the library lawn.

“That there were families that loved and laughed.” I nod to Cecelia and Walter.

“Hoped I wouldn’t be alone forever.” I smile at Delilah, Izzy, and Livy, my best friends.