Page 118 of Pure Country

In celebration of our baby news, I had purchased a nipple toy for him with a super strong suctioning feature and had been using it on him when he’d choked out, “Fucking marry me.”

I’d fired back, “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Daddy.”

I’d been referring to the fact that he was about to be an actual father, but that one word had proven lethal on a couple of occasions. He’d come without me even touching his cock. As we were cleaning up, he pulled me into a kiss.

“That wasn’t the way I wanted to do that,” he said, staring deeply into my eyes. He knelt right there in the bathroom and held up a ring. “For real this time, Rowdy. Marry me.”

I may have squealed and said yes immediately. He jumped up and carried me like a baby back to the bed, where he slid the ring on my finger and kissed me until our lips were raw from it.

“I am so excited to build a family with you, and when I think about all those years I was alone, I wonder if you were the one I’d been waiting for this whole time.”

“I think we were both waiting for the right person,” I’d replied.

There were still days when I couldn’t believe that this was where my life was going. Kess showed me again and again that he was in it for the long haul. That he was my person. That he loved me more than anything else in this world.

Kess

Woody was holding baby Cash as Skylar came down the stairs with Rowdy on his arm. Skylar had offered to tone it down so as not to outshine Rowdy, but Rowdy had insisted that Skylar put on his wedding best to walk him down our version of the aisle.

I stood by Emery in his living room as Rowdy made his way to me. As beautiful as Skylar looked, I only had eyes for my man. I smiled, remembering our text exchange this morning.

Rowdy: Sorry, my well-hung lover. After today, I’ll be a married man.

Me: Who is this lucky bastard that gets to call you his husband for the rest of his life?

Rowdy: Some big city lawyer type. Blond. Gorgeous smile. Green eyes that tell the truth, always.

Rowdy: And gentle hands that have completely rearranged my life.

Rowdy: Anyway. I’m the lucky one.

Me: Trust me when I tell you he’s the one who lucked out.

Cash was a little fussy,but Woody got him to quiet down by lightly bouncing him in his arms. Our little boy preferred to be held by his daddy, but Cash loved Uncle Woody and mostly remained quiet for the ceremony.

Dawn stood in front of the fireplace, wearing a beautiful teal dress, while Stevie wore a classic favorite: fancy boots and a beautiful sparkling dress that swirled around her knees. Bandit sat at her feet, a jaunty little bowtie fixed to his collar.

Our closest friends were here: Kit, Jaxon, Sadie, and Lane, plus a very few others. Sadie and Lane had eloped last month after they found out she was pregnant, and Jaxon was beaming with joy. It was a good look on him.

I wore a gorgeous black suit that had been tailored to within an inch of its life. Rowdy wore his nicest boots and his best jeans, along with a sharp white button-down and a soft linen vest. His hair was loose around his shoulders, and hidden in his loose waves was a smattering of those tiny braids I liked so much. He was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life, second only to our son.

He and Skylar joined us in the living room, and Skylar took his hand and put it in mine, then stepped in next to Stevie.

Dawn kept the ceremony short and sweet, and Woody surprised us with a poem. The two cousins, who were even more like brothers now that their children shared DNA, were emotional, exchanging words of love and support that had been in short supply for both of them growing up.

Stevie then stepped up and read from a book on love and thanked us for giving her a brother-cousin, which sent peals of laughter through this big, old house. We assured her that we weren’t laughing at her, but only Jaxon was willing to explain to her why it was funny.

Her mildly outraged “That’s not what I meant!” made us laugh even harder, and she finally couldn’t help but join in on the fun. Lane, our unofficial videographer, caught the whole thing on his phone.

The past year had been one of the best of my life, and as we said our vows to one another, it occurred to me that the best years were still ahead of us.

I took Rowdy’s hands in mine, and I said the words that’d long ago settled in my heart, staring straight into his eyes as he stared into mine.

“This I vow: to love you forever.”