Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 137131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 686(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 457(@300wpm)
Then Colt and me.
Winnie and I opted to have a real photographer focus on our candid moments. No formal sit-down pics to make the wedding photography less burdensome.
Phones are good enough for most things these days, and we didn’t want a zoo. When Winnie said she wanted a low-key wedding, I was quick to agree.
“There,” Mom says, flicking through the photos with a misty-eyed smile. She reaches up to pat my cheek. “I’m so proud of you, Archer. You’ve achieved so much and helped your brothers find happiness. You deserve your turn.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You deserve Winnie, too. I couldn’t have picked a better girl.”
Damn it all.
My throat tightens with the emotion I’ve suppressed all morning whenever I think about her and what’s happening today.
Winnie Emberly.
My soon-to-be-wife.
“We’ll see about that,” I say after a heavy second. “I’m glad I have her and she wants me. I know I’m a lucky man.”
“Archer, please. She’d have to be blind and deaf not to want you.”
Either way, I have no doubts.
Soon, she’ll be mine in every sense of the word, and it just feels right.
Mom pauses, looking up into my face with a tiny, sad smile.
“You know, your father would’ve loved to see you today. He would have adored your wife.”
That fucking lump in my throat.
I was barely grown and out in the world when he died in that plane crash, really.
It was such a long time ago.
Sometimes, I almost forget about him, which is the worst part. Pain has a way of scabbing over memories, and you have to fight through the scar tissue to sort the good from the bad.
I’m grateful as hell she reminded me.
Today, it’s not so bad. When I woke up, I heard a small plane humming overhead, just like the kind he used to love.
I think that’s Dad, wherever he is, giving me his best wishes.
“Thanks, Mom. I know you’re right. I love you.”
“Love you too, honey.” Her voice trembles as she kisses my cheek.
I arrive at Solitude with time to spare, which helps us make sure everything’s in order.
Not that there was much setup involved.
A few rows of chairs, a wooden arch Mom insisted on having because it ‘makes everything look so special.’ She attached a pair of painted cardinals Colt carved to the top, a bright-red male and a soft-brown female.
And, of course, a bee-inspired backdrop.
Could anything be more fitting?
It’s too early in the season for real bees.
I just arranged the bee boxes so they’d show the messages I painted on them when I proposed and moved them closer to the middle of the garden where the ceremony will take place.
Colt also carved up a bunch of small wooden bees painted gold and hid them in the flowerbeds around the property. I can see them glimmering in the sun, drenching the entire property in specks of glitter.
Later, I’ll ask Winnie to find them if she doesn’t notice.
It’s just the sort of thing she’ll love. Plus, a friendly mental break from the wedding spotlight.
Soon, we’re ready.
Colt stands beside me as my best man—did you really think I’d give my dumb brothers the honor?—the rings tucked safely in his pocket.
Patton stands at his podium with an oversized Bible in front of him, grinning like he’s about to swear in the president. He doesn’t even need the Bible to do his job, he just said it seemed more ‘official.’
Whatever.
I don’t care if he grows ears like the jackass donkey he is during our ceremony, just as long as we’re married by the end of it.
As long as I get to call Winnie my wife by sunset.
The minutes creep by so slowly.
I’m not an impatient man, but I’m counting every second.
“Dad, are you nervous?” Colt whispers.
“Not quite. More excited, I’d say.”
“Is that why you can’t stay still?”
Behind him, in the front row, Mom dabs at her eyes again. The waterworks have started early.
It’s an interesting contrast.
My last marriage was drab and small, set at a courthouse in Kansas City after Rina insisted on saving money, with about as many people but less than half the joy. Mom objected until she was blue in the face, but with a kid on the way, I settled.
This time, it’s different.
Everything about it, especially the way I feel standing up there, like I’m waiting for my whole life to start.
“How about you, bud? How you feeling?” I whisper back.
Colt grins at me. “Good! Unless she gets cold feet…”
I snort. “C’mon, you’re almost as bad as your uncles.”
He’s about to protest when the music swells, and I turn to see pure sunshine in human form standing at the end of the Rory red carpet.
Holy fuck.
My bride materializes in a sleek white dress, off the shoulder and A-lined, with a modest skirt that fits her like a cloud. There’s something different about it, though, and as she gets closer, I see why.