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Then with the kinda smile that could split a face right down the middle, I took her hand and led her out of the church so we could be pelted with rice by friends, family, and most of Charlotte Oaks.
Even though Laney had stepped out of the spotlight right after we got engaged, our wedding had a whole mess of security measures so we could keep it as quaint and private as possible. Not only that, but a few of the guests were famous singers and musicians that Laney had made friends with while she was off living that big flashy life in Nashville, and they benefitted from the privacy as well. Including Riley Conrad, who was now a good friend to us both.
At the reception—held in an old barn not far from the church—we sang and danced the night away without a care in the world. My brothers were all there, including Travis, who was currently dancing with our momma to one of Laney’s old songs. He’d taken leave so he could come out from California for the wedding, and she couldn’t’ve been happier to have us all together again, even if it was only temporary.
But Travis wasn’t the only one of my brothers who was dancing near Laney and me at the moment. Jackson was taking a turn around the floor with his best friend and former co-worker in the Navy who he’d always secretly loved. The saucy paramedic came out from her hometown in New York to be his plus one, and last night at the rehearsal dinner she’d shocked the pants off him when she announced that she was moving to Charlotte Oaks in a couple of months. Apparently, there was nothin’ worth staying in New York for now that her daddy was gone, so she planned to join him as his co-worker again at our local fire station.
I nodded discreetly at the pair, then leaned down so I could whisper into my wife’s ear. “You think he’ll tell her how he feels now that she’s movin’ here?”
Of course I’d told Laney about my brother’s secret crush on his friend. Pillow talk didn’t count when you were told to keep a secret, right?
“I hope so,” she replied with a chuckle. “I can’t imagine he wants to work with her day in and day out and not tell her. It was different when they lived all them states away.”
“Don’t I know it.”
She grinned. “Maybe it’s just ’cause this day has me high on love, but I really hope we’ll see all of our brothers and sisters and friends around here start to have their own happily ever afters. We’re the first ones to tie the knot out of all of ’em.”
“I kinda always figured that’d be the case, but I didn’t think it would take this long.”
A deep blush crept up her neck and over her cheeks. “I’m sorry for my part in that.”
I removed my hand from hers and stopped moving along to the music, tucking a finger under her chin so I could raise her eyes to mine. “I know things got a little off track with us, but I promise, darlin’. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“You wouldn’t?”
“No. Because now I think we both know what else is out there, and the fact that we made our way back to each other after gettin’ out of Charlotte Oaks for a time means we’ll be that much stronger in the end. I bet we’ll be just like our parents someday, a mess of kids and a happy life and front porch rockin’ with a couple of sweet teas.”
At the same time, we both looked around to find our parents. Then she sighed and turned back to me with a rueful smile. “That sounds like heaven. But promise me one thing.”
“Name it.”
“If you ever break some priceless casserole dish of mine, don’t buy me a guilt goat as an apology.”
I laughed, taking her into my arms and resuming our dance. “What should I buy you instead?”
“Another dang casserole dish. I’d need that more than a goat wouldn’t I?”
“Maybe. But I gotta say, that goat came in pretty clutch in the end.”
She leaned up on her toes and brushed her lips over mine. “Another point for that whole theory that everythin’ happens for a reason, I guess.”
Thank you for reading Everett and Laney’s story!
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HIDING HENRY
KAITLYN CLARKSON
1
Ashton Cooper looked up as he heard the tractor approaching the barn where he was repairing a farm gate before taking it back to the field. He grinned when he saw his neighbor, Jesse Johnson, making his way down the driveway.
The tractor stopped and Jesse jumped down, shoving a hat over his light-brown hair. His blue-gray eyes were alight with good humor as he ambled over.
“Hey, Jesse, what’s up?” Ashton pushed his welding helmet back off his forehead and put down his tools. He was ready for a break.
