Page 72 of Spurred On

“You see that guy over there?” He drops my hands and points to a man in the back row.

“Yes?” I question.

“When the ceremony is over, he’s tattooing my ring on. You’ll forever be inked into my skin like you are in my heart.”

My eyes grow wide, and I almost can’t believe that. The only marks on his body are scars, and now there will be his signal to the world that he’s mine. That tattoo is about to become the most attractive thing about him in my eyes.

The ceremony ends with Maverick dipping me into a picture-perfect kiss. The crowd hoots and hollers.

“Get a room, you two!” Weston yells. Maverick puts me back into a standing position and kisses me one more time. My cheeks start to burn from smiling so much.

Maverick turns us, holding our hands up, showing us off to the crowd like I’m the grand prize. All the heartache I’ve lived through was worth it for this moment.

Since we get to skip the whole signing the marriage license thing, Maverick darts straight for the table set up in the back. I go to follow him, but he stops me. “Go enjoy our guests and your friends. I’ll find you as soon as we're done.” He leans in and kisses me while he squeezes my hand.

Erin and Aspen stand at the dessert table, and I hear them quietly arguing over it. “No, the white cupcakes should be up front, and the chocolate ones in the back. It’s a wedding, it’s supposed to be all decked out in bridal white.”

The laugh under my breath isn’t as quiet as I hoped, and both of them whip around to look at me. Both squealing when they realize it’s me.

“Hi, babe! So, was it the wedding you always dreamed of?” Erin asks, taking my hand.

“It was more, so much more. And I had zero stress over the whole thing. Minus the one-second panic attack I had over vows and rings.” Today was a dream. But it really isn’t about the day, it’s about the man I get to spend my life with. Today could have been an absolute disaster and I still would have been counting myself lucky.

“Well, you made for a very beautiful bride, and I’m glad you invited the rest of us this time,” Aspen pokes fun at me, and I roll my eyes. But getting to share this day with them made it feel so much more real and special. I finally have a family of my own, and that’s something I wasn’t sure I’d ever have again.

Walking around, a few others stop me and congratulate me, and I make one or two stops by the dessert table, if not for desserts, then for some more time with Aspen, Erin, Josie, and Cam. It’s so good having them all here.

I stand back from the crowd for a while and sip champagne. Basking in the moment. My eyes close and I think I finally feel what it is to be at peace. My mind is quiet and my heart is happy.

“Hey there, wife,” Maverick greets as he walks over. His long-sleeve shirt is rolled up on his forearms and he’s ditched his jacket. The late summer air is a little warm and I’m glad because all those years of holding on to a bull for dear life has left his arms corded with muscles and veins. It might be his sexiest trait.

“Well, let me see it,” I say, setting my glass down on a side table.

He lifts up his finger and I grab his hand to inspect it. It’s covered in a small Tegaderm film. The thick, inked dark band encircles his finger all the way up until it hits the front. The line goes all the way around, but he tattooed my initial on it. “Do you like it?”

I look up to him, tears brimming on my lower lash line. “I love it.” He pulls his hand away and lays it above my beating chest.

The implication isn’t missed. Because he’s tattooed on my heart, too. Forever a little piece of him is ingrained in me. “I love you, cowboy.” I drop his hand and put my mine around his neck. Sinking into the calm I feel whenever he’s near.

He gives me one of those smiles that makes my heart skip a beat. “I love you most, Grandma.”

Before I can give him a retort, he captures my lips, and it hits me that I will get to do this for the rest of my life. What a life that will be.

Epilogue

My truck comes to a halt at the end of the dirt road. Jack told me to meet him here and what he says goes, so I didn’t ask any questions. The area is mostly abandoned; it has an old fence around it and a utility shed.

He stands, hip propped against the fence, arms crossed and back to me. Walking through the tall wild grass, I take the short walk and stand next to him.

“You know my family has owned this land for as long back as you can track. We’ve each raised our own families and passed it down, generation to generation.” I study the look on his face; the setting sun reflects off the wrinkles that have gotten deeper with each year that has passed. He used to have strong, dark eyebrows, and the more time passes, the more they fade to gray. I sometimes forget how quickly life goes. It feels like it was only yesterday, I was ten years old, following him around in boots that were too big and trying to learn how to be a tough cowboy like him.

“One of the many things that makes this place so special.” He looks over to me, studying my response, and a ghost of a smile turns his lips up.

“I’ve decided it’s time for me to take a step back and let you boys take over. I’ve worked every minute of my last sixty years, and I think it’s time for me and the Mrs. to slow down a little.”

Shock fills me, I swore that he would be busting his ass on this ranch until the day he died. “Well, if anyone deserves it, it’s you.”

He nods his head. “Thanks, son. Well, I brought you out here today to talk about a few things. First, I’m handing over ownership of the land and the ranch. Weston will get thirty percent, Aspen thirty percent, and you and Rhett will split the remaining amount.”

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