Page 87 of If You Loved Me

Ranger

The past few months passed by in a blissful blur. Sarah’s bakery was taking off to new heights once everyone got wind that she was the cake designer for Willow’s exclusive wedding. Not that Willow and Johnny were trying to be exclusive, they just wanted their closest people with them on their special day. Turned out that Sarah’s mother didn’t have quite as much power as she alluded to, which I was thankful for.

We would have found a way to pull her business from the rubble of her mother’s destruction, but I was glad Sarah didn’t end up having to deal with it at all. Life was damn good and the fear that the other shoe was about to drop seemed to disappear from my mind months ago.

“Looking good, big brother.” Callie Rose closed the front door behind her. A long thick braid held her dark hair away from her face. She wore a floor length burgundy gown with awhite fur wrap around her shoulders. Heels clacked over the hardwood floors as she made her way into the living room.

“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.” I fussed with the bowtie around my neck.

“Here, let me help you.” Setting her small purse on the sofa, she reached for the bowtie and started working the fabric so it was aligned properly.

“A lot has changed since this time last year,” I commented. It was difficult to remember the man I was before Sarah. All I remembered was feeling alone and fearful that something bad was going to happen. That time would be sucked away from me again and I’d be left with no life to live. Now, my life was full. Sarah and I brought our friends and family together. The farmhouse was always bright with laughter and the sounds of our favorite people.

“And we’re better for it,” she replied, finishing her work with the bowtie. “I’m really proud of you. I know mom and dad would be too.”

Bittersweetness had my chest feeling heavy. “Thank you. That means a lot coming for you.”

She patted the side of my face and then gave me a quick hug. “Ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready.” She grabbed her purse from the sofa and headed for the front door.

Looking at the picture of our parents hanging on the wall between the kitchen and living room, I knew my sister was right. They’d be proud of me for bouncing back and choosing to live life.

“You’re dropping sauce everywhere, Deacon!” Sarah chastised as she threw a napkin at his face. It was true, the man ate barbeque like a wild hog in a trough. Dribbles of it lined both sides of his mouth, and there were splatters all over the front of his white button-down shirt and the tablecloth next to his plate.

Deacon swallowed his bite of food and said, “Keep screeching at me and I’ll share some with you.”

Sarah’s gaze turned serious, her brown eyes morphing into slits. “Try it and I’ll take you outside by the ear and hose you down myself.”

I sat quietly, my gaze bobbing back and forth between the two of them like I was watching a tennis match. Everyone at the table went silent, taking notice of the stare down between Sarah and Deacon, waiting to see who might break first. Then, they both burst into laughter, releasing the tension in the room. Everyone went back to eating their meals.

It was the perfect rehearsal dinner for the couple we celebrated. All their best friends surrounded the large dining table in their home. Everyone was dressed to the nines for Willow and her love of fashion while we all dug into the best barbeque in town for Johnny’s most beloved meal. It made me wonder what a rehearsal dinner for Sarah and I might look like oneday. We were starting on some renovations in the farmhouse next spring to make it more to our tastes. She hadn’t agreed to move in with me until then. Not because she didn’t want to, but because she told me that she wanted things to look forward to in our relationship. That we had an entire lifetime to spend together and that she didn’t want to do everything all at once.

It made perfect sense to me, even though we spent every night together anyway. Either she stayed with me on the ranch or I made my way into town to be with her. She was mine and that was all I cared about.

I draped my arm over the back of her chair. “So, have you two love birds decided where you’re going to honeymoon?” I asked.

Johnny and Willow looked at one another, nothing but love shining in their eyes. “We actually wanted to talk to you and Sarah about that later, but now seems like as good a time as any,” Willow said.

I stole a glance at Sarah and she shrugged, unsure of what Willow was talking about. Then Johnny said, “We’re going to take two months to travel around Europe.” Everyone around the tableawedand expressed their congratulations.

Then, Johnny and Willow both looked at Sarah and me. “As Asher’s official godparents, we were hoping you two wouldn’t mind keeping him for us while we’re away?” Willow asked, blue eyes gleaming with hope.

I looked down at Sarah and she smiled wide. Leaning into me, she whispered, “Looks like we might be moving in together faster than we planned.”

“Our love has always been on a crazy timeline, sugar. As long as I’m on the ride with you, it doesn’t matter to me. So, what do you say?” Her hair tickled my chin when I pressed my lips to her temple.

“We’d be honored,” she finally responded to Willow and Johnny who both sighed happily with relief.

“He’s going to love the ranch life,” Miles chimed in from down the table. “Hundreds of acres for him to run free on.”

“He might be a little chunky when y’all get back from your honeymoon,” Callie Rose said. “I can’t help but feed him treats when he gives me those big puppy dog eyes.” Asher chose that exact moment to pop his head up onto the table right next to Callie Rose. She scratched between his ears. “You’re not supposed to be this obvious, boy. I told you I’d give you some scraps later.” He whined at her and we all laughed.

The rest of the night we spent reminiscing on distant and recent memories and talking about what we wanted for our futures. It was amazing how I’d always felt on the outside for most of my life and all it took was falling in love with the girl from the opposite side of the tracks to change everything.

“I have to say that I’m not the biggest fan of this tradition,” I held Sarah in my arms by the driver’s side of my truck.

“It’s only for a short while. You’ll have fun with the boys tonight at the ranch while us girls watch rom-coms and slather our faces with mud masks.” She pressed a kiss to my lips. “Tomorrow will come before you know it.”

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