Page 40 of Cannon

“Oh, hell no. You forgot Allegra has that honor. I wouldn’t dare get married without her there. I’m afraid of her rusty spoon!”

“Oh yes. That slipped my mind, from the restaurant. Right? That was a lovely evening. You’ll have to excuse me, I forgot to call Vortex to meet us at the clubhouse.”

Back in the living room, I call Vortex and give him his orders. He doesn’t waste time asking a lot of silly questions, just goes off on the mission I give him.

Finally on the way to the clubhouse, I take my time and run some scenarios through my head of the meeting with Pres. It could only go one of two ways. A massive success or a tragic failure. I’m hoping, no, praying for success.

Walking into the clubhouse, I’m hoping Barbara doesn’t see some of the stupid grins on the faces of those hanging around. That’s all I need. Walking quickly through to Pres’ office, I guide her inside before she realizes it.

Standing behind his desk, he smirks at me. “There will be a brief delay in the start of this meeting. I understand one of the attendees is running slightly behind due to an oversight.” I stand easy and take several deep breaths. Barbara is now noticing that things aren’t quite right. First of all, why is she in the meeting?

She looks at me and raises her eyebrows. I raise mine back and give a little shrug. I lean down and mutter, “You know what he’s like when he’s in one of his moods. It’ll be okay, you’ll see.”

“Why are Breaker, Molly, Fury, and Jamie here?” She whispers back. Before I can answer, Molly shushes her.

“Don’t you shush me, madam. We’re not at work now.” Barbara immediately snaps at Molly, only to get another shush this time from Jamie.

I slip my arm around Barbara because I’m sure if I don’t get a hold of her she’ll be grabbing one of them soon. Fiery does not do her justice. I feel her tensing up, and I hope we are not going to be standing here much longer.

A loud, “Where the fock are they?” echoes from the rec room and I breathe a sigh of relief. The door flies open and Allegra storms in, followed by Vortex.

“Mission accomplished, Cannon.” He turns to leave, but I call him to come stand by me. Allegra meanwhile throws herself at a flabbergasted Barbara, who is totally stunned.

“You did it! You got him to the altar. Not very much of one,” she states, looking at Pres’ desk, “but an altar all the same. Priest. You may begin now I am here!”

Pres looks at Allegra as though she is missing some brain cells, shakes his head and begins. When Barabara hears ‘dearly beloved’ it finally clicks what is happening. I asked him to be as formal as he could, as I didn’t want it to become a circus for his ego. I also thought keeping it old-style formal would make up for the rush and the setting.

When he asks if anyone has any objections, Breaker coughs, and he receives a sharp elbow to the ribs from both Molly on one side and Jamie on the other. Neither of us, obviously, have vows prepared, but we manage to bluster through it and they are heartfelt if nothing else.

Allegra gives an excellent impression of a wailing Italian mother losing her daughter, rather than a supportive maid of honor, but she is Italian after all.

Getting to kiss the bride, I realized something important. I look at Pres, and leaning forward, he grins. “We can do the rings as a blessing another time. They are not a legal requirement.” I hadn’t given that a single moment's thought, and apparently neither had anyone else.

The place goes nuts when we walk into the rec room and Pattie grabs Barbara and swings her around. “I’m so happy for you, Sis! How cool was that? You didn’t know when you got here that you’d be leaving as Mrs. Cannon!”

The evening is wild. I don’t drink much other than a glass to toast the witnesses and maid of honor. I want my wits about me when I take Mrs. Cannon home and consummate our marriage. I still can’t get my mind out of the gutter looking at that jumper and knowing there’s only that and a t-shirt between me and heaven. Judging by the looks she keeps throwing my way, she knows it too.

I check in with Vortex and thank him for fetching Allegra. I make sure he is going to get her home safe when she’s finished enjoying herself. I also thank him for being my best man, which it turns out he hadn’t realized he had been.

Chapter 25

*~* Barbara *~*

Waking up this morning, I look over at my husband. My husband, who is looking down at me with an unmistakable glint in his eye. We are not doing it again right now, so he can damn well think again. We’ve only had a couple of hours' sleep, and we wouldn’t have had that if I hadn’t been so totally worn out that I just went comatose on him. I’m not convinced he didn’t carry on while I was asleep, unless it was a dream.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cannon.”

“No, it most certainly is not Mrs. Cannon. I am Mrs. Calder now. We are Bret and Barbara Calder when we are away from the MC. I am proud of that name and intend to use it.”

“Very well, Mrs. Calder. I am also very proud of something and intend to use it!” Cannon grabs me before I make the connection, and he spends the next hour ensuring that we are fully, completely, and exhaustingly connected. Twice! I need to work on my resolve, I can see that.

Sending him off to make coffee, I dive in and out of the shower before he can corner me in there, too, and dress ready for work. I need a full shift at work to give my lady parts time to recover. After dropping me at work, kissing me thoroughly, and ensuring there is a prospect on duty, he finally leaves me in peace.

Walking into the building, I am accosted by everyone, and congratulations are the topic of the day. I’m surprised by how many people have an opinion on someone else’s marriage. Some voice their disapproval of the way Cannon arranged things so quickly, yet others find it so romantic.

Personally, I found it totally astounding that a man would essentially give up his freedom so fast and in such a way that tells me he is in it for the long haul. He recognized my fear and put it to bed in such a way that I cannot doubt his feelings towards me. I am a very happy and an extremely proud Mrs. Barbara Calder.

I must be the topic of conversation between every nurse, doctor, and their patients. As each patient leaves the practice, I get a beaming smile and a congratulation. No one says a word on their arrival.