Page 74 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

The bridal march came on, and a moment later, Allie, Jo, and Uncle Mark as their escort came down the aisle. Brandon’s eyes went wide. Allie looked stunning in a straight dress with a bow around the waist and a V-neck. She left her hair down, debuting six inches less hair. It hung to her shoulders now and framed her face perfectly. Telling the sisters apart now would be easy.

She caught his eye halfway down the aisle and mouthed, “Like?”

He nodded. What wasn’t to like? She’d always be perfect to him.

The ceremony went by in a whirl of tears, “I dos”—four of them—and first kisses, and then Brandon and Allie were married. He’d never been so happy in his life. The crowd clapped as the couples headed back up the aisle, and not long after, Brandon found himself in a receiving line with a big trellis overhead covered in white roses.

He was first in line, followed by Allie, Jo, and then Cash.

An hour in, he’d already seen most of his friends and all the friends of Allie’s he knew. His family approached, the last of the people he expected—and the line was still really, really long.

His family had been stuck in line behind Mrs. Lindgren, and from the look on Mrs. Lindgren’s face, she hadn’t gotten any information from Zoey, Rick, or Maryanne to gossip about. They all went into lockdown, as they were known to do with strangers, especially nosy ones. Zoey gave the woman a withering look before Lindgren moved on down the line.

Zoey reached them, squealed, and threw her arms around his neck. “This has got to be the most impetuous thing you’ve ever done. I love it!”

Brandon squeezed her tight—he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed his little sister until right in this moment. It was probably why he’d left her ringtone “Bad Liar.” Because it made him think of her. “Hey, Zoey.”

“Zoey?” Allie grinned.

Rick and Maryanne came up behind Zoey.

Brandon took a deep breath; he could do this. “Allie, this is my brother, Rick; his wife, Maryanne; and my sister, Zoey—family, this is my wife, Allie.” Wife. That was the first time he’d said it. He liked it. She leaned into him, and he kissed her.

Mrs. Lindgren spun around from where she stood talking to Jo and Cash. “She can’t be your sister!”

Brandon met Zoey’s dark brown eyes, and they both smothered laughter. They got this all the time. “You’re surprised?” Zoey batted her lashes. “Imagine the looks on my parents’ faces when I popped out.”

Mrs. Lindgren gasped.

Zoey frowned and leaned toward Brandon. “Is this woman for real?”

“She’s adopted, Mrs. Lindgren,” Brandon said. He couldn’t believe he’d had to explain that. His parents had fostered kids for years—they’d always wanted a big family, but they’d started late. They’d been in their forties when they had Brandon, and by the time they’d had Rick, they couldn’t have more babies—but when they’d seen a picture of Zoey as a baby in the orphanage in Africa, they’d known she was meant to be a part of their family. And they were right: Zoey closed a gap in all of their hearts the day she arrived. She’d been an even bigger blessing when their mother died three years ago, and again when their father passed last year. It was why he’d retired from the military, so he could help out more with the farm.

Jo touched Mrs. Lindgren’s arm. “Mrs. Lindgren, we have to keep the line moving.”

Reluctantly, the older woman moved along.

“All right, tell me everything.” Zoey clasped her hands together and glanced between him and Allie. “How’d you meet? Where was your first kiss?” She popped up on her toes and looked at Allie. “Did he get down on one knee?”

Allie laughed. “We met when he bought my old house. First kiss was in the woods, and no, he didn’t get down on one knee.”

Brandon nuzzled into Allie’s hair. She smelled like the lavender fields that surrounded them.

Zoey gasped and swatted his shoulder. “Bran!”

“It’s okay,” Allie interjected quickly. “We were in a hot-air balloon, and there wasn’t much room.”

Rick moved forward and took Allie’s hand, giving her a warm smile. “We apologize if we seem surprised. We didn’t know Brandon was dating anyone, let alone engaged.”

Maryanne came forward, narrowing her eyes a little. Brandon prepared to run interference. “How long have you been engaged?” Maryanne asked.

Allie straightened her spine. “A week.”

Maryanne burst out laughing, and then so did Rick.

“Probably seems fast.” Allie gave Brandon a quick wink. “After knowing each other a week, a week engaged seemed more than enough.”

Rick and Maryanne stopped laughing.

---