Page 148 of Forgotten Desires

“He sure is.”

She nods, agreeing with either herself or me. “I’ll tell you, we worried about you for a long time.”

“Oh?”

“You just had all those animals. You were the equivalent of an old lady with a hundred cats.”

I fight back a laugh. “I don’t think I was that bad. I wasn’t even thirty.”

“Yes, but who wants to take over a barn full of animals?” she tsks.

“Clearly, my husband.”

Mrs. Symonds nods. “Yes, that Carson is a lovely man. Handsome too.”

“That he is,” I agree. Although, I think he’s much more than handsome.

“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you the food is good, but the music is terrible.”

I smile. “Thank you for the compliment on the food.”

“I’ve watched you grow up, Brynlee. I’ve seen you endure some dark times and I know it was hard when you lost your mother. I just want you to know how proud I am. You’ve turned into an incredibly kind, beautiful, and caring woman. Your mother would be proud.”

The tears I’ve held at bay almost all day come flooding forward. “I hope she would be.”

Her paper-thin hands wrap around mine. “Any mother would.” She smiles and releases me. “Now, go inside and make sure your brother isn’t causing any issues.”

“Which one?”

She shrugs. “They’re all trouble.”

I laugh and watch as she heads inside while I take a few more minutes out here.

Not even two minutes later, Charlotte peeks her head out. “Here you are!”

“I just needed a minute to breathe.”

She closes the barn door and smiles. “I get it. Weddings are a lot and you’ve had more than one in just over a year.”

“Both special in their own ways.”

Both have given me the one thing I always wanted—Crew.

“If I had to pick between your weddings, I think this one is my favorite,” Charlotte says as she hands me a glass of wine.

“I’m partial to the first one,” I admit, taking the glass.

As amazing as this wedding is, being at the barn where Crew and I saw each other again—and truly, it is absolutely stunning—I really loved being where we met the first time.

Although, Crew likes to argue that this barn was where he found his life again, therefore it has more significance.

“This just feels full circle,” Charlotte notes.

Since he wanted this wedding to be more for the town, we pretty much invited everyone we knew. All of our siblings were in the wedding party, Layla being the most stunning flower girl, alongside Elodie and Jett, and Olivia was my maid of honor.

Charlotte rests her hand on her protruding belly. “This baby is in a mood today.”

I grin. “Well, it’s half Rowan.”

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