Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82279 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
As Kane and Ivy exchange their handwritten vows, I glance at my best friend standing next to Ivy. Kaitlyn may be wearing a smile, but she also has tearstained cheeks. Ninety percent of the time, she keeps herself guarded with a hard shell on the surface, but she’s soft on the inside.
She’s been vocal about being the only single adult Bishop left. She’s her own worst enemy at times. Hell, so am I.
After Kane and Ivy seal their marriage with a kiss, they exit and are followed by the wedding party. As they go outside to take photos, Diesel comes up to me. “Where’re ya headin’?”
“To the reception.”
“Nah, you’re coming with us. We need a lookout.” He leads me to where Riley and Ethan are standing in the back of the church. They’re holding two large boxes of condoms and window paint.
“We’ve gotta be quick,” Ethan explains, taking the cap off the marker. “Let us know if anyone is comin’.”
I nod, watching them and keeping an eye out.
They giggle like twelve-year-olds as they draw gigantic dicks on every window of Kane’s truck. Diesel puts his mouth to the end of one of the condoms and starts to blow it up.
“First time you’ve had one of those in your mouth?” I laugh as Riley adds pubic hair.
“Shut the fuck up,” Diesel whisper-shouts. “They taste disgustin’, but someone’s gotta do it.”
“And we played rock, paper, scissors for it, and you lost. So keep blowin’.” Riley slaps him on the back as Ethan continues embellishing his artwork.
After fifteen minutes, I get antsy with how long they’re taking. “Hurry up.” The music is so loud inside the venue we can hear it from here. I know that means the place is nearly full. My stomach growls. “I’m starvin’ and wanna get some appetizers.”
Ethan and Riley finish, then help Diesel tie ribbon to the end of the blown-up condoms. They secure them to the side mirrors of Kane’s truck. When they’re done, they step back and look at their handiwork.
“They’re gonna kill you.” I shake my head. “Their day is gonna be memorialized by huge hairy cocks and condom balloons. And one of you idiots spelled ‘congrats’ wrong. You’re missing an R. Congats? What the hell is that?”
“Shit,” Ethan mutters. He uncaps the marker, draws an arrow, then writes an R.
“Kane had this comin’. Plus, it’s kinda like tradition.”
“One your grandma hates. If anyone says anything to me, I’m tellin’ them I wasn’t involved.”
Riley chuckles. “You’re guilty by association. Now tell us if the coast is clear. I want to be inside before they’re finished takin’ pictures so Kane doesn’t suspect a thing.”
I do what he says as they ditch their evidence in Ethan’s truck. As I round the corner, I see Jackson, Kiera, and Kaitlyn walking down the sidewalk. Kaitlyn looks pissed, and it makes me wonder what her dad said to set her off. He loves to joke around, even if it’s at his kids’ expense.
I return back to the guys. “People are comin’. Time to go inside.”
The four of us enter the venue, and as they find their wives, I make my way to the wine bar. Music fills the room, and I might be one of the only people here over the age of thirty without a date.
After I get a glass of merlot, I scan the room for Kaitlyn. She has a glass of wine in each hand as she chats with Rowan, Maize, Harper, and Hadleigh. I make a mental note to keep my eye on her before she drinks her weight in alcohol.
Diesel’s busy making funny faces in the photo booth with his kids. Other members of the family hug and chat with one another.
“Try the hors d’oeuvres,” Alex tells me, just as one of the servers passes with something wrapped in bacon. I take one and am not disappointed. He gives me a thumbs-up as he heads toward his grandkids.
Just as I take a gulp of merlot, the DJ announces the entrance of the happy couple—Mr. and Mrs. Kane Bishop. The room echoes with cheers and applause as they move to the middle of the dance floor. While I never would’ve put the two of them together—just because of the ten-year age difference—it’s undeniable how much they love each other and are good for one another. Everyone here knows it too.
“You off tomorrow?” Leo asks me. He’s a younger ranch hand who just started at the beginning of the year.
“Just have to go feed the horses in the mornin’, but considerin’ it’s a special night, the boss gave us off.”
“What I’d do to work at the stud farm,” he says, eyeing the bar, but I know he’s not old enough to drink.
“It’s hard work. I’m sure you’ll get there eventually. Took me a couple of years.”
“Yeah, but I don’t think I’ll be here that long.”