Page 2 of A Tiny House Christmas

He almost stepped forward again.

What was she asking him?

He waited, trying to read her mind, predict her needs.

Did she feel…?

His breath left him.

Did he…?

He blinked, wondering when his feelings had shifted for this woman who fit into his life like she’d been made for it.

HisKarlene.

She still wasn’t moving down the aisle, questions lingering in her eyes.

Should she?

Did he feel…?

Could they…?

He gave a slight nod, letting her know that he was here. He was always here.

And that somehow he’d fallen in love with her.

Now that it was too late.

Karlene had chosen her wedding song a long time ago, back when she’d been full of fantasies and crushing on a man six years her senior.

This song was her one thumbprint on today.

She wavered at the church’s threshold, trying to catch her breath so she could savor this awaited moment, feel the excitement, will the music to carry her down the aisle.

Her best friend Joey was in the large wedding party lineup and as she maintained eye contact with him, the tension eased.

Steady, steady Joey. It would all be okay if he was here, at her side.

In a few short moments she was going to be a rancher’s wife. She was going to live in the country with horses, just like he did.

It had barely taken any thought or planning to find herself here today—in a church packed to the rafters with expectant friends and family members. And at the front, waited Thomas in a black cowboy hat, boots, and a tuxedo with Western flares to suit his rancher style.

Joey was still looking at her and she smoothed a trembling hand over the dress her future mother-in-law had chosen. Joey was worried. She needed to smile. To unfreeze herself and walk down the aisle and seize her future. Make her scrapbook, which was tattered and worn, into a photo album instead of a wish book.

In minutes, she’d have a handsome cowboy husband.

A ranch filled with horses.

Her place to belong where life was paced by the seasons and the animals around her.

Just like she’d always dreamed.

She smiled, lifted her left foot, still hovering on the threshold.

Her supporting leg wobbled, and Joey leaned forward as though about to step out of the bridesmaids’ line.

She tried to put her left foot down, but her body refused to move forward. She raised a finger as if to say to those watching, “One moment.” Sweat gathered under the tightness of her dress.

---