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It was nice to see the Wright section expanding as everyone drew in more and more people. For so long, the Wrights had been so insular. And now, the Abbeys were here, Emery’s family was present, Chester and my parents had already set up a position nearby, and Piper, Blaire, and Peter were located not too far from them. All of the people that I loved were in one place.
Even Sutton.
Our eyes met across the distance. I dropped the blankets and went to where she sat with Annie. The kids had run off to play with Heidi’s son, Holden, along with Emery’s sister, Kimber’s, kids, Lilyanne and Bethany.
“Hey, how are you doing?” I asked, pulling her into a hug.
She smiled up at me, only barely hiding the grief in her eyes. “It’s been a long day.”
“But you’re here. That’s progress.”
She nodded. “Mav would have wanted me to still enjoy this time with my family. Jason deserves it.”
I took her hand and squeezed. “He really loved you.”
“He did.”
Annie added her hand. “We really love you, too.”
Sutton laughed, fighting back tears. “Y’all are going to make me cry again.”
“No tears,” I said. “Just good times with good people.”
“Thank you, both of you, for caring so much. David has been a help, but having my girls here for me really makes a difference.”
“Always,” Annie said.
“And forever.”
We hugged it out as a trio. Sutton shed a few of those tears, but it was worth it because our friend had survived. She was pieced back together in her own way with a new family and a new love of her life. She was going to be okay, but it was also okay not to be okay all the time. Today was one of those days.
I left them behind, pulling the camera up to my face as I snapped shot after shot of everyone together. Jensen and Emery were at the center of the group, holding their three-month-old baby, Robin. Snap. Heidi dug through a cooler and grabbed drinks for her and Emery, and then she turned and yelled at Holden to behave. Snap. Landon laughed next to her, shaking his head at his son and turning to his brother Austin. Snap. Austin had an arm slung lazily around his girlfriend, Julia. No drink in sight for him. Snap. Julia seemed to be half-listening to whatever Patrick was saying next to her. Austin punched him in the arm, and they all burst into laughter. Snap. Morgan appeared then, collapsing into Patrick’s lap. Snap. Jordan arrived last. His mother on his arm as he helped her across the grounds to our little slice of heaven. She looked gaunt. Snap. Julian jumped from where he’d been putting together our area near Annie and Sutton. He dashed to his mom, and they spoke. I had all three of them in the shot. Snap. Their mom smiled a real thing. I could see how lovely she must have been. Snap. Then they had her in a seat near her siblings. Snap.
So much life. So much vibrancy. Lubbock was its own little microcosm, and I wanted to document it all. Be here for it all. Live through it all.
For so long, I’d thought that I didn’t belong. Now, with Julian finding my gaze, my family standing nearby, and my best friends at my back, I felt like I did belong here with them. With him.
I shivered at the realization and the fear that it immediately elicited. Because if I had it all, that meant I had so much more to lose. And I hadn’t been joking when I said worst-case scenarios were what I was best at. Anxiety had taught me that hard lesson.
“Hey, come sit by us,” Julian said, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
“Definitely.”
“Do you still have that shoot?”
I grinned. “I do.”
He arched an eyebrow. “It’s getting late. The sun is about to set.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Keeping secrets.”
And then the sun dipped a little bit lower. An in-between time. A time of renewal. A perfect time for photography, and I was ready.
“Now,” I whispered to Julian.
“What?”
Then Patrick was on his feet, holding his hand out to Morgan, who had taken a seat on the ground before him. She laughed and let him stand her up.
“What’s this about?” she asked.
But as if the tension in the area had been pulled taut, everyone gravitated toward them as I started photographing.
Patrick dropped to one knee. Morgan’s jaw fell open. Her hands didn’t fly to her face, and she didn’t start crying. She wasn’t like most of my other brides. But her eyes were wide, and she was staring down at him in disbelief.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
Patrick retrieved a small blue box from his pocket and popped it open to reveal the glittering diamond inside. “Morgan Wright, will you marry me?”
