Page 45 of Bailey

“We’re just coming to let you know you have ten minutes,” Daddy said. “And to get the little kids.”

He moved over to Lars and Emilia, and then put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. That got everyone in the Young family to quiet down and look toward him, and Daddy grinned with the whole weight of his soul. Boston had grown up with cousins sleeping over in the basement or on the trampoline in the backyard, and he’d seen his parents go get anyone in the family who needed it and drive them where they needed to go or bring them home for dinner.

It helped that Daddy didn’t have a job, and that Momma worked part-time at a flower shop she didn’t own. Boston had been ten when he’d realized his family wasn’t quite like others in Coral Canyon, and that his parents could be considered wealthy.

“Anyone not in the wedding party should be in their seats in the next five minutes,” Daddy called into the resulting silence. “Boston will be heading out here in ten, and the ceremony starts in twenty.”

Cora had a twin sister who was married and had three kids, as well as her momma, who also lived here at Silver Sage Mountain Lodge and Resort. Her grandfather would be walking Cora down the aisle, and Boston needed to be in position before then. She’d returned to the mountains of Coral Canyon and her family legacy property just last year, but it sure seemed like she’d left the city girl she proclaimed to be in the past.

They’d originally planned to be married in June, when the wildflowers would be blooming in their meadows here at the lodge, and the weather could be counted on.

But, as they’d continued to discuss it, they’d come to the conclusion that summertime was the worst time for either of them to be gone from the lodge, as Boston led hiking excursions and tours all over the backcountry, and their wedding took up a prime weekend when they could book a paying client. Not that Silver Sage really needed the money, but the lodge did need both Boston and Cora to function.

They decided, after discussing things with her mother and a couple of other key employees at Silver Sage, that being gone at the beginning of May would be far easier than mid-June. He’d accelerated the construction work on Cousins Creek Ranch, a huge property he’d purchased with Cash that had two homesteads, two entrances, and seventy-seven acres to hold them both.

He’d been planning to do most of the work himself in his off-time, so that the house on the northern corner of the property would be ready for him and Cora when they got married. With the reduced timeline, Boston hadn’t been able to do everything himself. The house still had some work to be done, but he and Cora had decided to do a fourteen-day cruise that left out of Miami, sailed through the Caribbean with the highlight being the passage through the Panama Canal, and then they’d come back up the other side of Central and North America and disembark in LA.

Cash, in his infinite goodness, would handle the finishing of Boston’s house, and it should be ready for him and Cora by the time they returned from their honeymoon.

They’d leave tomorrow morning after staying in the top-floor presidential suite here at Silver Sage Lodge, and they’d be in Miami for a couple of nights before boarding the cruise ship, so Cora could take him around to all of her favorite city haunts. She’d lived in Miami for over a decade before returning to small-town Coral Canyon, and Boston wanted to get a taste of her big-city life—and he’d planned to take her to meet his biological father as well.

The room emptied of everyone except Bryce, Harry, Adam, and Cash. Boston hugged his father, who cupped his face in both hands.

“I love you, son,” he said. “This is a great day, and I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

Boston nodded, and his nerves reared up again, despite his commitment to Cora. He didn’t truly doubt that she would show up, and he swallowed away such a thought now. He gripped his momma in another hug when his father stepped back.

“You’re my favorite,” she said. “And I’m so proud of you.”

Boston had drifted plenty in his life, but he did finally feel settled and complete here at Silver Sage. Cora would continue to run things here, and he’d work here too, but he planned to start raising chickens and cows and running a farm the way Uncle Tex did. Nothing as big as what Bryce had at Rising Sun Ranch with dozens of horses and nonprofit status, but just good old-fashioned farming and ranching.

His parents left, and Harry turned his phone toward Boston. “I put a timer on,” he said.

Boston nodded and returned to the couch where he’d been sitting. It seemed like no time at all had passed before Harry’s phone chimed, and Boston got to his feet and buttoned his jacket.

Just then, Jeremy entered the room, as Boston had wanted his soon-to-be brother-in-law to be in the wedding party as well. Cora could’ve had Joey, Belle, Lark, and Codi walk down the aisle with their significant others. She’d been getting to know them more and more over the past several months, but they hadn’t been friends before Boston had come into her life.

So they’d decided to have an uneven number of groomsmen and bridesmaids. Cora had her secretary and her sister as bridesmaids, and then a last-minute addition in Lark, as Boston and Cash spent a lot of time together, and since Lark had returned and now lived full-time in Coral Canyon, the four of them went out together quite often.

Boston headed for the exit of the groom’s room. He’d coordinated enough weddings to know how things should go, and he led the way down the hall, unsurprised to see Julie holding the ladies at a junction. As he approached, she smiled.

“Wow, you look amazing,” she said.

Boston grinned at her. They’d worked events together for a while now, and he quickly leaned in and swept a kiss across her cheek.

“I guess I’m heading down first,” he said. “And everyone’s following me in a single-file line.”

“That’s the memo I got,” Julie said with a grin. “And I’ve already told Cora this, but the weather is lovely, and we’ve opened the back wall and pushed the altar out onto the terrace.”

A smile filled Boston’s whole face. “That’s great news. She’ll be thrilled about that.”

“She was, yes,” Julie said.

Boston’s heart knew only joy in that moment, and he felt the tingling, cleansing power of God as he realized that his prayers had been answered. Because they’d moved the wedding forward, Cora didn’t have the fully outdoor meadow wedding she’d originally planned. She’d booked their convertible indoor-outdoor space instead, and they’d both been praying that the Wyoming weather would allow them to have as much of an outdoor wedding as possible.

He drew a breath and tugged on the bottom of his jacket. “I suppose everyone’s waiting on me.” He emitted a nervous laugh, even as Julie nodded.

“They sure are,” she said.