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Daddy managed to appear happy to be there as he and Momma renewed their vows. As promised, nearly half the town was in attendance. I suspected more for the latest gossip about Carson and Judge Keller than a burning desire to see Momma and Daddy repledge their love to one another, no matter how delightful the chocolate fountain might be. No, this Carson thing was big news and affected alotof people in town.
Allison, Leah, and I shared plenty of eye rolls during the days leading up to the blessed event. Momma figured out how to become a true bridezilla, even at her age. Allison found it all very amusing, while Leah and I threatened mutiny.
Tanner had caught my gaze and held it as the hired string quartet played the wedding march. Yes, itwasa wedding. I flushed because every time I saw Tanner I behaved like a woman in love. Like I’d seen all the others behave. Now I understood. We’d announced our engagement the day after he’d proposed. Momma accused me of trying to upstage her event. Then she realized it gave her another wedding to plan and she simmered down. Maybe we would run away to exchange vows.
Allison was delightful. She was slowly getting her energy back after the bone marrow transplant, and her hair had just started to grow back. It would take a while yet before she was back to her old self, but she appeared happy to be back in Cypress Bayou with us all. I wasn’t sure what her plans were, but I hoped we’d have some time during her visit to discuss that.
Lisa, her husband, Doug, the Henrys, and Marie were in attendance. Doug turned out to be rather a surprise. He was funny and so nice once he figured out that Lisa was among people who cared about her. Her earlier comments had puzzled me. But we realized that he’d been very concerned about her getting crushed if she didn’t find her family. And he really seemed to hit it off with his new brothers-in-law.
After the “wedding” and the party that followed, another celebration would be planned. That of Justine Chaffin’s life. She deserved to be remembered and celebrated. After getting Carson and Judge Keller’s admission about what happened to her, and where they’d buried her, there was no taking it back. It was the nail in their own proverbial coffins, though I felt that Carson would receive the lion’s share of indictments.
“Wanna dance?” I looked up from the punchbowl at the sound of Tanner’s voice. He was dashing in a dark suit. A “church suit,” he called it.
“I might have room on my dance card.” I allowed myself to be led to the dance floor. He took my hand and twirled me around.
“You look so beautiful.” I loved how he looked at me.
But just now, in this getup, I wasn’t exactly feeling beautiful. “You’re kidding, right? Is this a joke about the purple dress?”
He pulled me into his arms, close enough that I could smell his clean scent. “I would never joke about how lovely you are.”
I followed his gaze. The vows were done, photos taken, and people were busy visiting, gossiping, drinking, and dancing. “Follow me.” He pulled me by the hand out to the porch and sat me down on one of the cushioned chairs, then gently pulled off my shoes. “Better?”
“So much better.” I put both hands on either side of Tanner’s face. “And my life is so much better with you in it.”
The End
