Page 77 of Blue Jean Summer

She had traded heels for white cowboy boots and donned a white Stetson. I could have spotted Savannah’s work a mile away. Roses had been etched and burned into the leather brim with a branding pen. A shorter veil had been attached to the back for a bridal touch. She carried a black cowboy hat in her hands, and I had a feeling I knew exactly who it was for.

Catherine found me through the crowd. One smile and she took my fucking breath away as she dropped the branded cowboy hat onto my head.

“You wore Walt’s when we went riding last night,” she said. “You need one of your own. I may have called in a favor to make it happen since you, apparently, got me a wedding present.”

Two tables over, Savannah lifted her beer toward Catherine and me.

I took the hat off just for a moment and saw Savannah’s handiwork. “H. W.” had been branded into the brim, matching the style and placement of the mark on my granddad’s hat.

I kissed Catherine and put it back on my head as the DJ turned up the music, drawing the stuffy crowd onto the dance floor.

“You look good, cowboy,” Catherine said with a passing wink as she made a beeline to where Hallie’s son, Zach, was seated beside Mason and Levi.

“Zach!” she said with outstretched arms. “Where have you been hiding?”

Zach stiffened but accepted the hug.

Catherine dropped into Hallie’s seat, rested her elbow on the table, and plopped her chin into her hand like she was talking to the most interesting person in the world. “Are you glad you’re out of school for the summer?”

Zach shoved his floppy haircut out of his eyes and fidgeted with the cuffed sleeves of his button-up. “Yeah,” he mumbled.

“Do you have plans?” she asked, giving him her undivided attention.

He shrugged. “I dunno. Probably just gaming.”

“Awesome. Because I’m going to kick your ass. I’ve been practicing.”

His brows lifted. “Really?”

“Okay, so maybe I haven’t played since the last time we hung out while your mom went out. But I need you to teach me so we can beat him.” She cocked her head in my direction.

That brought a grin to his face. “Cool. So you’re like…living here now?”

“Yes,” she said as she elbowed him. “Which you’d know if you ever left your room.” The music changed to a peppy tune, and Catherine took Zach by the hand. “Dance with me. I think Hayes is nearing his bedtime, and he can’t keep up.”

Mason stifled a laugh as Catherine dragged Zach out of his seat and onto the dance floor. I took Zach’s seat, joining the estate crew rather than sitting alone.

“Bless her,” Hallie said as she joined the table. “Lord knows I can’t get more than two words out of him each day.”

“She’s a good influence. Brings him out of his shell,” Mason said.

I watched the two of them battle it out for the title of dorkiest dancer. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Catherine was…She was radiant.

The evening turned to dusk, then twilight. I stole Catherine away from Zach for another dance before we cut the cake. The laugh she let out when I dotted her nose with buttercream played in my memory through the rest of the night.

The DJ summoned Catherine and me for one last dance before the grand exit. We swayed to Alison Krauss’s “When You Say Nothing At All,” and I couldn’t help but think how fitting the lyrics were.

“Remember that gift I told you about this morning?” I said as the song ended.

“Yes?” she said curiously.

I rifled around in my suit jacket and pulled out the car key. “Happy wedding day, Cath.”

Her eyes widened when she spotted the logo on the key ring. “You didn’t.”

The rumble of the car engine was my answer.

Catherine’s jaw dropped. “You did.”