Page 85 of A Taste of Whiskey
“What’re you talking about, old man?” Dare asked. “Are you having a senior moment?”
“No, son, but don’t tell me you’ve forgotten that you and Billie snuck Treat in here last summer and had him marry you in the same barn where you saidI dotonight.”
There was a collective gasp.
Billie winced. “Sorry, Mom.”
Everyone laughed.
“How’d you know about that?” Dare asked incredulously.
“I wonder whatelsehe knows about,” Bobbie said, causing more laughter.
Bobbie’s glance at Sasha was not lost on Ezra, or apparently on Sasha, as she lowered her eyes and stole a worried glance at him.
Tiny held up his hand, quieting the guests again. “Dare and Billie have been sneaking around since they were six years old. See this gray hair?” He pointed to his head, then at Dare and Billie. “Your names are written all over it.” More laughter rose around them. “I’ll never forget the day my little boy came to me wearing his shorts and his cowboy boots and hat, and no shirt, because even at six he’d rather have been naked than clothed. He crossed his spindly little arms and said,Dad, Billie Mancini kissed me and called me a dummy. I’m gonna marry her one day.”
A collective “Aw” rang out, and Wynnie put her hand over her heart. Ezra glanced at Sasha, wishing he could tell her thatthatwas exactly how he’d felt about her all those years ago.
“Now, I know kids say all sorts of things,” Tiny said. “But when a Whiskey sets his heart on someone, that’s all they see, and for Dare, it was always Billie.”
Cowboy said, “Stalker,” masked in a cough, and more chuckles rang out.
“They say when your son takes a wife, she becomes family.” Tiny looked at Billie. “But darlin’, you’ve been family since before you were a twinkle in your parents’ eyes. There’s nobody better suited, no woman strong enough or wild enough to be my son’s old lady than you. It is an honor and a privilege to call you our daughter-in-law. All I ask is that you keep one thing in mind.” He paused, and a smile lit his eyes. “Wynnie and I have a no-return policy.”
Laughter filled the tent.
Cowboy put his arm around Sully and said, “See what you signed up for, darlin’?”
She gazed at him with stars in her eyes. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Tiny held up his glass. “To Billie and Dare. May their love remain strong, their hearts true, and their babies do to them what they’ve done to us!”
As more laughter and cheers rang out, Ezra longed to be the one at the receiving end of that welcome. He put his arm around Gus, brushing his fingers along Sasha’s shoulder, drawing her eyes to his. It was a good thing he was sitting down, because the emotions staring back at him hit like a lightning strike.
Gus beamed at Sasha. “When I’m big like Dare, will you marry me?”
“I will always love you, Gusto, but I’m too old for you,” Sasha said sweetly. “One day you’re going to meet someone who you love even more than you love me. That’s the person you should marry. But I’ll come to your wedding.”
“Maybe you could marry my dad and be my mom instead.”
Her eyes flicked to Ezra’s, and before he could step in, she said, “How about I just keep being your Sugar?”
As Manny started to make a toast, Ezra decided he was done pussyfooting around. One way or another, he was going to figure this shit out and find a way they could be together.
More toasts were made, dinner was eaten, and the cake was cut. They danced and laughed, and Ezra caught up with some Dark Knights he hadn’t seen in forever. As the night wore on, the crowd thinned, and Dare got the guys together for a few rounds of shots by the bar.
“To long, lustful nights that leave you spent,” Taz toasted, and they all tossed back their shots.
Ezra put his shot glass on the bar and glanced at Gus, sitting in Pep’s lap, about ready to fall asleep. “That’s it for me, guys. I’ve got to get my boy home.”
“One more shot. We need to do one for Cowboy.” Dare clapped Cowboy on the back as Taz filled the shot glasses. “He’s next up in the marriage line.”
“How’re you feeling about that impending ball and chain?” Hyde asked.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Cowboy said.
“Been there, done that. Better you than me,” Rebel chimed in.
