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“Has the plan changed?” Luke demanded once they reached the back yard.
“I don’t have a plan,” Slate said. Once, he’d lived his life according to a plan. He’d had to in order to cover up the drug use.
Now, he woke each day with new possibilities on the horizon. No two days were the same at Hope Eternal, and Slate thrived on that.
He glanced around the back yard while Luke continued to mutter about the plans he’d been making for the both of them. Slate had been to Dallas’s house previously, but it had been transformed with flowers, antique jars and cans, stumps of wood, strings of lights, and miles and miles of ribbons and flowing fabric.
The large patio that extended from the back of the house had been covered by an enormous, free-standing pergola made of a light-colored wood. The sides let in the breeze, but the top had been latticed, and then white, gauzy fabric had been woven through the holes to create the shade on the patio.
Ribbons of fabric hung down in the corners, and flowers sat on every table surrounding the patio. Right now, rows and rows of chairs took up the patio, and Slate started toward the row where Ted sat with Emma and Nate sat with Ginger.
He took a spot next to Nate, who looked over at him. “There you are. Dallas was just starting to get twitchy.”
“Yes, well,” Slate said, leaning over to look past Nate to Ted. “Someonetold us we were riding with him.”
Ted met Slate’s eye, and Slate challenged him by raising his eyebrows. “I had to come help set up.”
“I heard that too,” Slate said. “It’s fine. Whatever. We got a ride with the women.”
“Yeah,” Luke said, taking the end seat next to Slate. “He—”
“Stop it,” Slate said, practically growling the words at Luke. To his surprise, Luke cut off and didn’t say anything else.
“I’m sorry, Slate,” Ted said. “I wasn’t thinking clearly when I said I’d give you guys a ride.”
Slate felt Nate’s gaze on the side of his face, and he didn’t appreciate it. The man had a way of seeing things and knowing things he shouldn’t possibly know. “I said it was okay,” he said. “We got here, and we’re not late.”
“I’ll text Dallas,” Nate said. “Then he’ll know.”
“We have to go line up in a minute anyway,” Ted said.
A tiny part of Slate died. He’d forgotten that he had to walk in the wedding. A couple of rows up, Jill sat down next to Hannah and Michelle, and Slate thought if he could walk down the aisle beside her, it might not be so bad.
“Yeah,” Nate said. “Let’s go check with him. They should be ready to start soon.” He stood, and that meant everyone had to. He held Ginger’s hand as he went past Slate and Luke, and they followed him.
Inside the house, Slate could take that deep breath without searing his lungs, and a few seconds later, the back door opened again, and several women wearing the same blue dress Jill had on spilled into the house too.
“Okay,” Dallas said, and Slate looked away from the short-haired blonde to the groom. Dallas wore a black tuxedo, and Slate had never seen him look so sophisticated. Nerves rode in his eyes too, and Slate couldn’t even imagine the turmoil in Dallas’s soul.
“We’re five minutes out,” he said. “It’s a simple procedure. You line up and walk out. Jess and her dad will come last. We don’t want anyone up at the altar with us, so you’ll circle back to your seats.” He glanced around at the small crowd that had gathered around the dining room table just inside the back door. “You all have seats, right?”
Murmurs of assent went through the crowd, but Slate said nothing.
“And that’s it,” Dallas said. “After the ceremony, we’ll have lunch, and we should all be out of here by two o’clock.” He nodded like this wedding was just one of his many tasks on his to-do list that day.
Slate didn’t believe that for a single moment, though. He’d seen Dallas with Jess, and they were obviously very much in love.
“Kids first,” Dallas said. “Come on, Thomas. Remmy.” He glanced around when only his son came forward out of the crowd. “Where’s Remmy?”
“She wants to walk with Jess,” Dallas’s mother said, her voice very quiet.
“Well, she can’t.” Dallas set his mouth into a firm line and went down the hall. “Nate and the other boys right after the kids. Get lined up,” he called over his shoulder.
Nate, who always seemed to know where to go and exactly what to do, led Ginger to the front of the line, right behind Thomas. He spoke easily to the boy while Ted and Emma lined up behind them. Slate supposed he could go third, though Luke could’ve just as easily. He took the spot, though, with Luke behind him. The other cowboys from the ranch move into position behind him.
Slate wasn’t sure if the women in the bridal party had been assigned a spot or not, and he only looked over when someone came to stand next to him.
Jill smiled at him, a gesture which lit up her pretty face, and said, “Do you have a partner?”
