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“We still might be able to keep the house and barn,” Hallie said.
A silence fell over their parents’ room where the sisters had gathered to get Sweetie ready for the wedding.They were all hoping they’d get to keep the acre of land with the house and barn.But after finding out the payout amount of the loan, it was doubtful.Not that Mimi would ever agree to sell the ranch.She was still pinning all her hopes on one of her granddaughters marrying a Remington.
Which meant the ranch would probably be foreclosed on.
Either way, they would lose the ranch.
The doctors had okayed Daddy to start gradually exercising again and he had taken to going for walks in the early morning by himself.Sweetie knew it was his way of saying goodbye to the land he loved so much.Mama baked when she was unhappy.Both Sweetie and Decker had gained weight from all the pies, cookies, and cakes Mama baked.
Thankfully, getting ready for the wedding had been a distraction.Mimi and Mama had shown up at Decker’s house a few days earlier loaded down with some of the family heirlooms and keepsakes.There was a quilt made by Mama’s great-grandma and a seasoned cast-iron skillet Mimi had gotten from her grandma.There were sepia photographs of both Daddy’s and Mama’s ancestors in silver frames and the rooster salt and peppershakers Sweetie remembered Grandpa Holiday using every morning when he ate his fried eggs.
The ranch might be sold, but the Holiday heritage would live on.Sweetie would make sure of it.
“Okay, people.”Liberty clapped her hands.“Let’s get this show on the road.We’re going by backward birth order.Noelle first, then Hallie, Belle, me, and finally Cloe.”She glanced at Cloe who was adjusting a scarf over her cleavage and rolled her eyes.“Now let’s do this, Holiday Sisters!”
As annoying as Liberty was, there were perks to having a controlling event planner in the family.One of them being that if you decided you wanted to get married only two weeks after being proposed to, you could still have a gorgeous wedding to remember.Liberty had been ordering around her sisters for the last couple days.Everyone but Sweetie.Liberty had wanted her to be surprised.
When Sweetie stepped into the Holiday Ranch barn and saw the transformation, she was.All the gardening tools and farm equipment were gone.The cement floor was swept clean of dirt and moldy hay and it looked like a layer of sealant or wax had been applied to make it shine.Swathes of red and pink satin hung along the walls and draped from the high beams, along with more twinkle lights than Sweetie had ever seen in her life.Pink tulips sprang out of tall white vases in the center of the harvest tables that ran in four long rows from one set of open doors to the other.Surrounding the vases were heart-shaped candleholders with tea candles, their flickering flames reflecting off the crystal glasses and the gleaming white plates and silver place settings.
But as much as her sisters had transformed the barn into a Valentine’s dream wedding, it wasn’t what had tears flooding Sweetie’s eyes.
It was the people crowded into the barn.
Sweetie’s people.
Rows of white chairs had been set up on the other side of the barn and every chair was taken, leaving standing room only for the folks who had arrived late.All those folks were turned to her with beaming smiles on their faces.
“I told you they’d forgive and forget.”
Sweetie looked at her daddy who was as handsome as ever in his black western tuxedo and Stetson.“You never told me that they’d forgive and forget.That was Mama.You were too mad at me yourself for leaving.”
He squinted down at her.“Mad at you?Why would I ever get mad at my Sweetie Pie?”
She suddenly realized he was teasing her, something he had started doing quite a lot lately.She swatted his arm.“Daddy!”
A smile broke over his face.“Damn right, I am.And just because you’re getting married that doesn’t mean I’m giving up that job.”
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.“Of course not.You’ll always be my daddy.”
He nodded.“Then let’s get you hitched.By the look on the groom’s face, I’d say he’s worried we’ve been standing here so long talking you’re having second thoughts.”
Sure enough, when she headed down the rose-strewn aisle, Deckerdidlook concerned.
“Everything okay?”he asked when she reached him.
“Nope,” she said.Before the concern in his Caribbean-blue eyes could deepen, she took his hand in hers and smiled.“Everything is perfect.”
It was a perfect ceremony.Or perfect for Wilder, Texas.
Earlier, Hallie had talked Reverend Thompson into taste-testing the different beers she’d brewed for the wedding and the poor man got so drunk he couldn’t remember the vows.After several attempts, Mrs.Stokes yelled out, “Just pronounce them husband and wife and be done with it!”Then the best man, Rome Remington, dropped the rings.Since he was acting so strange, Sweetie had to wonder if Hallie had gotten him drunk too.
Once the ceremony was over, Decker was supposed to lead her outside where the photographer was waiting to take pictures.Instead, before they reached the open doors, he took a detour to the ladder that led to the hayloft.
“What in the world are you doing, Deck?Liberty will kill us if we don’t show up for pictures.”
“She’ll get over it.”He winked.“I have a surprise for you.”
Since Sweetie loved surprises, she didn’t hesitate to lift her dress and climb the ladder.
