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“No time for tears, missy,” I said, voice thick with emotion.
“I wouldn’t dare,” she sniffed. “Wait a sec.” She held up a finger and lifted her dress. She unpinned a blue square of fabric I recognized. I couldn’t believe she was wearing a piece of my old blanket, the one I’d given her on her wedding day. “I want this back, but I think you should wear it today.”
She rolled up the sleeve of my dress and pinned the ragged square so when she restored the sleeve to the correct position, it was resting against my pulse point.
“Ready to do this?”
Not only wasthe judge there, but the pastor had arrived by the time Vivian and I made it downstairs to the kitchen. Stone was nowhere to be found, but his signature was already on a marriage license. With confidence, I used Daniel’s pen to sign my name under Stone’s. Another piece of rightness clicked into place.
“We’ll overlook the waiting period,” the judge told me with a wink.
I hadn’t considered it, but was grateful for the clout of the Jacobs family. I didn’t want to wait even a few more minutes to marry Stone.
Chapter Sixty
Stone
I lost my breath.
Daniel opened the back door and Muriella stepped out on his arm. We didn’t need a photographer. I’d never forget this moment as long as I lived.
Perfection.
She was absolute and utter perfection.
Our eyes settled on one another and peace filled me. I stood tall under the old tree, barely felt the December cold. The sun was almost at the tree line in the west, casting a glow across the backyard.
Her smile nearly blinded me as she came down the aisle. There wasn’t a trace of her fears. I planned on keeping it that way.
Once we were before the minister, my arms went around her. There was no one else there but us. Though I heard the even cadence of the preacher speaking, none of it registered.
She lifted her hands and cupped my face. “I love you.”
The minister stopped talking, and she beamed at me before she kissed me.
“Gotta take your vows first, M,” Vivian called playfully, eliciting a chorus of laughter.
“You just get prettier every time I see you,” I said for her ears only. “Should’ve taken V up on her offer of a chair.”
We grinned at each other, and she turned to the minister. “You can continue. The short version, please.”
“Of course.” Everyone laughed again, even the preacher, who abided by her wishes.
In a few minutes, Muriella and I had pledged our lives to one another eternally, and something changed inside me. Where there had been a heaviness in my heart, light filtered in. Things wouldn’t be perfect, but as long as I had her, we’d be all right.
Lights were strung up in the trees, and Dad got the firepit going. The impromptu reception seemed fairly well planned. Vivian hauled champagne out of the house with Grandmama right behind her carrying Mason jars of moonshine. Mama carefully balanced a wedding cake in her hands. Leona and Gabby set up plates and glasses and napkins. Mulaney started the stereo, and country music floated through the crisp evening air.
It was perfect. Intimate. All the people we loved were with us. Pastor Adams took a photograph of the entire family in front of the tree just before the sun disappeared below the horizon. I couldn’t wait to get it framed—one for our home and one for the hallway of the big house, where all the other important Jacobs family moments were displayed.
Zegas and the judge were sports, passing the camera back and forth to snap as many pictures as we requested, though I’d seen Grandmama slip them some moonshine, so their agreeability may have had something to do with that.
“About time I get the first dance with my wife, don’t you think?” I spoke against her ear as I wrapped my arms around her from behind.
“I thought you’d never ask, Mr. Jacobs.”
I spun her around as George Strait began to croon about crossing his heart. “You’ve made me a happy man, Mrs. Jacobs.”
She grinned. “I like the sound of that,” she admitted. Her new name filled me with pride.
