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“It’s okay,” Beau said. “She’s almost there.”
Charlotte looked at the banner and decoration behind him. “You made a banner for me.”
He grinned at her as her eyes finally came to his.
“It has a little bird on it.”
“It sure does.” He’d had Charlie Glover help him get in touch with a graphic designer who’d made a banner with a pair of hands cradling a little bird. Then, he’d asked her nieces and nephew to make a chain of Thanksgiving colors that read, “Marry me.”
And he’d enlisted her family to be there, minus the two brothers who couldn’t travel for the holiday.
She rushed at him and fell to the ground in front of him. “I love you, Beau.”
“You sure do.” He nudged the ring box into her hand. “What do you think? Do you want be my wife?”
Her eyes searched his, and he loved the moment they lit with everything she held so dear. “Yes,” she whispered. “I really want to be your wife.”
“And there it is.” He took the ring out of the box, and since his forty-year-old knees begged him to get up, he’d explain about the necklace later. He slid it on her finger and met her eyes again. “There. You’re mine.”
She grinned and took his face in her hands. “Yes, I am, and you’re mine, cowboy.” Then she kissed him while her family whooped and hollered and cheered behind them.
Six Months Later
Charlotte ran her fingers down the strap that went over her right shoulder. She’d loved this dress upon first sight, as it had bright flowers, hummingbirds, other small birds, and honeybees flitting around the blooms stitched into the creamy-white fabric that encircled the skirt and floated up toward the bright blue belt around her waist.
She currently sat in a room at Courage Reins that she’d toured earlier. Beau had been a fixture at Three Rivers Ranch for so long that he wanted to get married here. Charlotte had felt like she belonged here the moment she’d stepped foot onto this land, so she hadn’t had any qualms about saying her nuptials here.
They’d chosen May for the wedding, as the weather was usually pretty good without the major summer heat and without the spring rain. The day had dawned with a glorious sunrise she and Beau had broadcast together. He’d then told his viewers that they’d be gone for the next week, and Bennett would be taking over the Texas Panhandle sunrises until they returned from their honeymoon.
She’d wanted to see the beach, and Beau had arranged a trip for them to the Gulf Coast in Florida. Excitement built inside her again, and she couldn’t believe she sat in a bride’s room with her momma and Felicity, waiting to be led down to the big red barn where she would be married.
“Oh, don’t cry,” Felicity said. “This is the happiest day of your life.” She hugged her around the shoulders and smiled at her in the mirror in front of them. “I just got notified that Beau’s on his way to the altar.”
Charlotte nodded, a baseball of emotions lodged in her throat. “What if I can’t say my vows?” she managed to ask. “I’m so emotional.” And she hated it. She shook her hands, trying to get some of the tension and anxiety to leave her body.
“Dear Lord,” Charlotte prayed. “I want this to be a good day.” She just needed to calm down. Her pulse raced, and she needed it to just calm down.
She took a deep breath and turned toward Felicity. “How’s my hair?”
“Perfect,” she said. “The flower crown matches the dress so perfectly.”
Charlotte nodded and she rose and took Felicity into a hug. “Thank you for helping me with all the wedding prep. It’s so beautiful, and it’s because of you.”
Felicity laughed and said, “I think I’ve found my calling. I absolutely loved planning this wedding with you.”
“Charlotte,” her mother said. “It’s time.”
She nodded and she moved in her bright blue heels toward the door where her momma waited. “You are beautiful and strong,” her mom said, and that brought fresh pinch of emotion to Charlotte’s chest.
Now, she just needed to get through the vows, and then Beau would kiss her, and everything would be well.
Charlotte went with her momma and Felicity, down the hall to the big glass windows that fronted the building. She stepped out into the warm May sunshine, her heels clicking softly against the concrete sidewalk and then the hard-packed dirt as she approached the barn.
The big white doors stood open, inviting her into a space transformed into rustic elegance. Strings of fairy lights twinkled from the rafters, casting a soft glow over the rows of wooden benches adorned with wildflowers, which mimicked the floral motif on her dress.
At the end of the aisle, beneath a floral arch, stood Beau, those beautiful eyes shining with anticipation. With hope. With absolute adoration.
For her, and Charlotte used it to quiet her pulse.
