Page 95 of Lucky Haven

He sets her down, and she carefully stands beside the minister.

“Zane and Hope, in the presence of these witnesses, confirm that you bring yourselves freely to this union.” Kerr lowers his voice and prompts Zane first.

“I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Zane Kincaid may not be joined in matrimony to Hope Waterford.”

“I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Hope Waterford, may not be joined in matrimony to Zane Kincaid.”

“Zane, do you promise to give Hope your love, your honour, and your devotion, for all the days of your life?”

“I do.”

Kerr repeats the question to Hope.

She nods. “I do.”

“Please join hands and repeat after me. I call upon those persons present to witness…”

Zane repeats his words. “That I, Zane Kincaid, do take you, Hope Waterford, to be my lawful wedded spouse. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, from this day forward, in whatever circumstances life may hold for us.”

“I call upon those persons present to witness that I, Hope Waterford, do take you, Zane Kincaid, to be my lawful wedded spouse. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, from this day forward, in whatever circumstances life may hold for us.”

Ridge hands Zane a ring. He slides it on Hope’s finger, his words private and just for her.

Her voice, though, rings loud and clear as she puts his ring on. “Zane, I give you this ring as a forever reminder of our marriage vows, and the family we’ll build together. It is a symbol of my love and commitment to you.”

“Zane and Hope, you have declared your solemn intention and consented in marriage before God and these witnesses. You have formalized your commitment to each other and your family. Now, in the authority vested in me by the Province of Alberta, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may⁠—”

Zane already has Hope in her arms.

Bellamy cheers.

“Kiss the bride,” Kerr finishes.

Zane continues to do just that.

Chapter Thirty

Haven

The Raspberry Jamboree is pure nostalgia from my childhood.

I don’t argue with Cash when he insists on driving us. At the end of the night, I’m going to tell him that I want to go back to my apartment. But I’ll wait until after Zane and Hope go back to the ranch, their wedding officially over.

Until that point, I’m letting myself just be happy for them, and be swept along in the revelry.

Even seeing that New Harvest has a tent in the community section of the fair, right between the 4-H display and the army recruiters, doesn’t put a damper on the celebration.

I pay them no attention as we follow the happy couple through the fairground to the barn at the far end, where they’ll have their first official dance as husband and wife.

I’m filled with a bittersweet happiness for Hope and Zane, who are drawing all sorts of attention, and getting many congratulations. And underneath that joy is a quiet bruise, the ache loving Cash, who won’t love me back.

It’s not that he can’t. It’s that he won’t let himself. And he hasn’t made any effort to explain that choice to me.

I’ve spent three days trying to be at peace with the fact that he’s locked tight, and I need to let him go.

Deep down, I think he does love me, but until he’s able to say it, I need to remove myself from his bed.

The way he holds me at night, the way he makes me feel like the most important person in the whole world…that might have been enough before seeing his brother be so emotional to exchange vows with Hope.