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Well, maybe hugging Will. Her heart beat out a nervous rhythm as the door behind her got opened. She turned that way and accepted the bouquet Missy gave her. The flowers would make a gorgeous wreath for her and Will’s front door, and Gretchen couldn’t wait to make it.
The brides’ room started to empty, and Gretchen felt like Cinderella heading to the ball up at the castle. Her castle came in the shape of a big, red barn, and she didn’t want anything else.
Will said he’d be dressed in a midnight black tuxedo, and she couldn’t wait to meet her dark, grumpy cowboy at the altar and become his wife. He’d changed a lot in the past several months, and even if he didn’t show everyone his softer side, he always gave his best to her, and Gretchen loved him for that. She loved him for his good heart, and his hardworking spirit. She loved him for his devotion to his family and his farm, and she loved him for his ability to look at her and anticipate what she needed, and then do his best to give it to her.
She exited the room before Clarissa, who gave her a glowing grin, followed and closed the door behind her. Gretchen loaded up in her carriage—a luxury pick-up truck that had vinyl lettering on the side that said “Just Married.” Not yet, but Will and Gretchen would drive this new truck to Galveston in just a few hours.
The drive from the farmhouse to the new barn Will had overseen the construction of in the past few months took only a few minutes, and Gretchen let all the women crowd around her to hide her from any cowboy eyes who might be trying to get a peek of her before the wedding.
They bustled her into a room on the north end of the barn. She’d walk through the barn to the doors on the other end, where Daddy would be waiting for her.
Will should be standing at the altar outside, another hundred feet beyond the south doors of the barn. There should be matching lilies and roses on that side of the barn, as well as down the aisle, which he’d had custom-constructed so her dad could walk her toward her groom.
Her back-up plan had included Max, her other brother, walking her down the aisle, but she hadn’t had to call on that yet. Daddy had been at the farmhouse until ten minutes before Gretchen had left, and he claimed to be ready.
“Let’s go,” Shay said, leading the way down the center aisle of the barn. No animals lived here, as this barn was only for hay storage. Gretchen loved the smell of it, as it often accompanied Will home in his clothes and hair. He did some administration work in the morning with their milk deliveries, and in meeting with Lee and their daddy. Then he spent most of his time managing the cowboys who worked the agricultural side of the farm, and he worked right alongside them out in the fields, barns, and stables.
He'd been her biggest champion the past few months as she got her candy shop open and running again. He’d taken her father to several appointments when she had things come up that prevented her from being there. Tears sprang to her eyes that such a good man wanted her, but she sniffed and pulled them back. She wouldn’t cry today, not even happy tears. She’d already let her sadness that her mother couldn’t see her get married move through her. Daddy was here. Cory and Max. Their families, and her whole new family in the Coopers. She had all of her employees and plenty of customers from around town who’d come to celebrate with her. They hadn’t come for the truffles; they’d come because they loved her or they loved Will.
It was such a blessing to be surrounded by people who loved her, and Gretchen would not cry that only one person wasn’t there. Or that she had so many people who’d made space inside their lives for her or Will.
Her eyes found her father, and they burned once again. “Daddy,” she breathed, her feet moving faster. He wore such an elegant suit, and he’d taken out his oxygen tube. She didn’t mind it or the tank at all, but she wasn’t surprised.
He smiled at her, and she hugged him with every ounce of strength she possessed. “My, you are wonderful,” he whispered.
“Thank you,” she whispered back, hoping he knew it meant for everything, not just this. “All right,” Aunt Patty said. “Missy, get her train right. Shay, can you fix her veil? It looks a bit crooked. Then we’ll go take our seats, and when you’re ready, I’ll signal to have the doors open.”
Gretchen did what her aunt said, because Aunt Patty had been an excellent wedding planner today. She sounded bossy, but kind, and everyone had responded to her requests that afternoon.
With her train and veil fixed, and all of the ladies who’d helped her gone, Gretchen linked her arm through her father’s and faced the closed barn doors. They opened outward, and her feet fidgeted for that to happen quickly.
Another minute passed, and Daddy asked, “Do you think they don’t know we’re ready?”
“Aunt Patty is slow,” Gretchen reminded him. “It’s almost time.”
Only a few more seconds passed before the doors opened and a trumpeted fanfare filled the air. The scene opened up before Gretchen’s eyes, and it was like walking into the most beautiful country wedding in the world.
The aisle lay before them, a deep golden wood that didn’t hold a single thing for Daddy to trip over. Posts sat every three rows, wrapped in fresh flowers, the stems interwoven with hay, signaling the union of Will—a farmer—and Gretchen, the softer side of the pair.
The posts held up a glorious white tent that blocked the evening sunshine, and Will waited down at the end of it, the light coming in from behind him, making him a sexy silhouette.
Somehow, she could still see his smile, and hers popped onto her face as she and her father took the first step out of the barn and onto the aisle. Fresh, green hay bales sat at the end of every aisle, and the sides of the tent were open to the farm beyond.
Beautiful music played—not the wedding anthem, as Gretchen disliked that song—and she smiled at their guests with every slow, delicate step she took. She felt more like she was walking Daddy down the aisle than the other way around, especially with the strong grip he maintained on her arm.
She didn’t mind at all, because she’d dreamed of this day all her life. The closer she got to Will, the bigger her heart grew. The wider her smile stretched. The more she couldn’t look at anyone but him.
The last few steps narrowed the world to only William Cooper, and she had to force herself to lean over and press her lips to her daddy’s cheek. She whispered that she loved him, and then he passed her to Will.
He kissed her cheek too, and Gretchen pressed into his touch unable to straighten her lips as they faced the pastor together.
Their relationship had been full of learning, passion, and fire—literal fire—but Gretchen had zero reservations about marrying him. So when it was her turn to say, “I do,” she did in a loud, clear voice.
He repeated the same words at the right time, and the pastor pronounced them husband and wife.
Will turned toward her at the same time she faced him. He wore joy on his face, his smile the biggest she’d ever seen. “I love you,” he said, and he gave her no time to repeat the sentiment before he dipped her and kissed her with all the passion with which he always had.
She giggled against his mouth, and he raised her back up a moment later, also laughing.
They faced the crowd and lifted their joined hands into the air, which only increased the volume of the applause and whistles in the crowd.
She suddenly wanted to run away to the Just Married truck with only her new husband, and she was so glad she and Will had forgone a big dinner. They’d opted for a heavy appetizer and candy bar, and it was only slated to last for ninety minutes.
Then they could slip away amidst more cheering and clapping, and finally, Gretchen would have her cowboy in shining armor all to herself.
