Page 90 of Willow Vale

I patted his shoulder. “What’s on your mind, River?”

He hesitated for a moment, looking a little shy, a little more uncertain than usual. But then he asked, “You know, since you’re marrying Mom…” I smiled at that. He’d been calling Delilah his mother for a little over a year now and he never referred to her in any other way. I think, in his mind, it helped him establish their relationship a little more. It made perfect sense. She had been the only one raising him since the moment he was born. I knew it meant the world to Delilah that he wanted to call her his mother. “Does that mean you’re still Travis to me?”

I turned around and knelt in front of him. “What do you mean by that, buddy?”

He fidgeted with his hands, cheeks turning a little red. “Do I have to keep calling you Travis? Because I don’t have a dad and…I want you to be my dad. Is that okay?”

The emotion hit me before I could see it coming.

My eyes stung and I had to blink a few times, but it was no use when I saw the hopeful, almost scared expression on his face. As if he was excepting me to say anything other than yes.

“I’d love that.” I cleared my throat before I said, “If you call me Dad, then that’s exactly what I’ll be for you. I’ll protect you, encourage you, and be there for you until I’m an old man who needs a cane just to walk to the bathroom.”

We shared a laugh at that.

Then I said earnestly, “I love you so much, River. Thank you.”

He throws his arms around me, and I hold him tight as he murmurs, “I love you too...Dad.”

The barn was decoratedfrom top to bottom, from the warm glowing lights hanging over the rafters to elegant flower arrangements. I could hardly recognize the old barn anymore from the inside. When Delilah told me she wanted to get married on Silver Hill, I thought she’d want to have it in the backyard of my parents’ house or the field, but when she mentioned the old barn closest to the willow tree, I had to admit I wasn’t sure how we’d make it work.

The barn hadn’t been used for much in the last ten years since Dad had another one built to better fit the rescues we’d gathered over time, leaving the barn behind to use for storage. Of course, the moment Delilah told my mother and Desi, they were all over it.

Between me and Finn and some of the ranch hands who volunteered to help out, we fixed it up and cleaned out the barn before the ladies got to work with the rest. They barely let me in on any of the planning after that. It was nice seeing how excited Delilah was with the wedding plans when she and my mother got together to talk about it.

True to her personality, Delilah wanted to keep things simple yet beautiful with only a small list of guests whowere closest to us in attendance. But seeing all the people occupying their seats on either side of the aisle as I waited for Delilah, something told me someone invited one too many people. I knew it wasn’t Delilah’s doing so that meant one of the Adlers had blabbed about our wedding.

I did catch a glimpse of Saul sitting next to Manny just now…

So long as she was happy, that’s all I cared about.

When we got engaged last year, we’d agreed to wait until Delilah got through her first year of nursing school. I told her we could wait longer so it wouldn’t interrupt her studies, but she insisted we got married in the spring. I wasn’t about to question her decisions.

I was more than ready to make Delilah North my wife.

“You look like you’re about to shit your pants. Stop frowning like that. Deep breaths,” Finn said under his breath with a hint of amusement as he came to stand next to me. He just finished walking down the aisle with Desi, both of them beaming under the attention of everyone in attendance tonight.

“Is it really that impossible for you to be quiet for ten minutes?” I sniped back at him, even though we knew I didn’t mean it.

Logan grinned beside him but said nothing, which was not surprising. He wasn’t a man of many words. I hadn’t known the guy as long as Finn had, but we’d managed to become friends over time. No matter what others may think, he was a good man who genuinely cared for my family, if his actions this past year said anything. I’m glad he wanted to be here today.

It was a no brainer to ask Finn to be my best man, and of course, he told me he already knew I’d ask him. I couldn’twait for the day someone knocked him on his ass and wiped that cocky grin off his face.

The day it happened, I’d never let him know a day of peace.

Being Delilah’s bridesmaids, Desi and Wren wore silk olive green dresses, each smiling at me as I stood stock still, trying to calm myself down as the music began to play a soft melody that echoed all around us.

My mom and River walked down the aisle next, holding hands as they made their way toward us. River quickly walked over to me at Mom’s encouragement before she went to take her seat on one of the chairs.

Finn placed his hands on River’s shoulder as the music grew a little louder, and the doors finally opened, revealing the most beautiful woman in the world.

My breath caught in my throat as I took Delilah in from head to toe. Her ivory dress was long and flowing around her, with a cinched waist decorated with embroidered details. Her long hair fell around her shoulders in thick curls, swaying as she took two steps into the barn, only to stop and look to her right as my dad walked up to her. He offered her his arm and they shared a special moment as they smiled at one another. Then Delilah looked away and fanned her face which made me chuckle. Laughter echoed throughout the barn when Desmond pulled out the handkerchief from his front suit pocket to wipe away his own tears.

The guests all stood as they both made their way down the aisle, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her. I didn’t want to. The moment her brown eyes met mine, the rest of the world faded away, leaving the two of us alone for the briefest of moments.

She was perfect in every sense of the word.

And she was mine. Just as I was hers.

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