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“Yes! Hell, Chloe, I’ve been waiting for the moment I could make you Mrs. Rip Myers.”
Her cheeks flushed red. “How long would it take to get a marriage license?”
“Wait. Are you serious?”
“We’ve shared our entire journey with everyone on the outside looking in. Yes, I want to have a wedding with my parents and our families there, but a part of me wants it to be just you and me.”
“And baby makes three?”
She grinned. “If that is the case, then yes.”
“Today?”
“Right now.”
“Right now. Then we can plan our perfect wedding here in our spot.”
“You’re crazy, Chloe.”
“Crazy in love with you.”
I looked at the chapel, then back to her. I stood and reached for her hands. “Let’s do it.”
An hour later, Dorothy Hilder in the county clerk’s office stared at Chloe and me. “You want a marriage license today?”
“Yes,” Chloe said with a polite smile. “We have an appointment with Judge Brody Brodbeck in an hour.”
“To be married?” Dorothy whispered.
“Yes,” Chloe and I replied at the same time.
Dorothy’s eyes bounced between us. “Your parents are going to whip your behinds if they find out you eloped!”
“They won’t, Dorothy. I mean, as long as you can keep a secret.”
“We’re having a wedding. We just want to take the pressure off,” Chloe stated.
“I was not born yesterday, and I know the two of you have been itching to be with each other. Truth be told, Chloe, when we all heard you were engaged to a city boy…well, we wondered if he done hit you on the head and made you lose your memory.”
Leaning in closer, I whispered, “I thought the same thing.”
Chloe punched me in the arm. “Dorothy, please, can we get the license?”
With a long, loud sigh, she pushed back in her chair. “Well, I suppose. It is sort of romantic.”
Wrapping her arm around mine, Chloe looked up at me, a wide grin on her beautiful face.
“You’re sure about this?”
“We’re practically married now. We live together. Own a house together.”
Neither of us said what we were both thinking.
Could be having a baby together.
After a few minutes of waiting, Dorothy appeared with a piece of paper. “Here you kids go. Congratulations. I better be invited to the fake wedding.”
With an excited giggle, Chloe took the paper and then threw herself into my arms.
As we walked out of the county clerk’s office, I called Mike while Chloe called Alyssa. An hour later, the four of us stood in Judge Brodbeck’s office. Mike was covered in sawdust from not having enough time to change. I was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt with my favorite cowboy hat that had seen its best days back in high school. My shirt had the name of Jonathon’s construction company on it, which added a nice family touch. Chloe wore dress pants and a dress shirt and was the only one who looked dressed for the occasion of an elopement at the justice of the peace. Alyssa had us all beat. She had gone home after I asked Chloe to marry me and changed into cut-off sweat pants with a white tank top that had purple paint dripped on it. And her hair was piled on her head with two pencils sticking out on either side.
Judge Brodbeck looked down the line at each of us. Then he lifted his brows and started the ceremony after clearing his throat.
My knees shook as I thought about what we were doing. I wasn’t sure if Chloe had temporarily lost her mind, if she was worried she was pregnant, or she simply really wanted to be my wife. I was hoping it was the latter.
“Repeat after me, Rip. I, Rip Myers, in the presence of…” Judge Brodbeck looked at Mike then Alyssa. “Um, in the presence of these witnesses, do take you, Chloe Parker, to be my lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and cherish, till death do us part.”
I stared at him. The only thing I could hear was the pounding of my heart in my ears.
Everyone turned and looked at me. “Wait, I don’t remember a thing you just said.”
Chloe giggled and Judge Brodbeck shook his head. “Son, have you been drinking?”
“No, sir. I honestly am so damn nervous that I can’t remember what you said.”
Squeezing my hand, Chloe lifted up on her toes and kissed me on the cheek. “Just say I do.”
“I do. I do a million times over.”
The judge smiled.
“Chloe, repeat after—”
“I do.” Chloe blurted out. “Boy, howdy, do I ever.”
Mike let out a small whoop as Alyssa said, “That’s my girl! Get right to it!”
The judge let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine, you both do. I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Rip Myers. You may kiss your bride.”
