Claimed by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Chapter Sixteen
“You may kiss the bride.”
Easier said than done.Josie sat astride Destiny holding Morgan’s bouquet while Gabe whisked off his Stetson and tried to maneuver around Morgan’s veiled hat and her voluminous ivory skirts. They’d practiced this yesterday, but not in full regalia.
Josie decided if she ever got married, which wasn’t tops on her agenda right now, she wouldn’t tie the knot on horseback. Or if she got married on horseback, she would specify that all the women could wear jeans and not dresses, which required ruffled pantaloons under them to prevent anybody flashed the wedding party mounting or dismounting. Josie felt like an extra in Gone with the Wind.
The men had it much easier. Gabe’s ruffled shirt, string tie, black Stetson, and cutaway coat didn’t hamper him nearly as much as Morgan’s dress. Josie had been trying not to notice how sexy Jack looked tricked out in a manner similar to Gabe. He wore ruffles surprisingly well for such a manly man.
He was mounted on a brown and white horse instead of Bandit, which surprised her. But Jack on horseback was an arousing sight, whether he rode his black and white Paint or not. The horse fidgeted a bit, which caused Jack’s thigh muscles to flex and his capable hands to tighten on the reins. Not that Josie was paying attention. Not much.
When Jack spoke in a low voice, she had to look away, because the tone of his voice reminded her how he talked to her when they were… whoops, better not think of that.
Sarah Chance was taking everything in, not missing a bit of the action. Tears rolled unchecked down her face as if she hadn’t noticed that she was crying. Her focus shifted from Gabe and Morgan to Jack, and then to Nick.
Bianca was also crying, but she blotted her tears carefully, as if concerned about her makeup. The event couldn’t be as poignant for Bianca, who had her husband at her side. Their two children flanked them, just as Emmett and Pam had taken a position on either side of Sarah. But Sarah’s good friends couldn’t replace the man she’d loved for almost thirty years.
Morgan finally whipped off her own hat and veil, slung an arm around Gabe’s neck, and pulled him in for a big kiss. The mounted wedding party cheered and Dominique, who was the official wedding photographer, took several pictures in quick succession. The commotion caused Jack’s horse to toss its head and prance nervously. As Jack pulled back on the reins, he glanced over at Sarah.
She blew him a kiss and mouthed the words thank you. In return, Jack touched two fingers to the brim of his hat in salute. Josie couldn’t help wondering what that was all about.
Gabe and Morgan ended their passionate kiss. “That’ll do ‘er!” Gabe shouted. “Let’s ride!”
With that he and Morgan took off at a brisk trot, with Morgan bouncing along in the saddle.
Jack beckoned to Josie, and the two of them met in the middle of the makeshift aisle. He glanced in her direction. “Ready?”
“Yep.” Nudging Destiny with her heels, she rode beside him while sitting the trot very well, if she did say so herself.
“Very good.”
She stared straight ahead. “Thanks.” Despite not looking at him, she was totally aware of his every move. Jack on horseback had become synonymous with their morning trysts, and she might never be able to ride a horse without thinking of making love to him on that soft blanket he’d kept tucked in his saddlebag.
“You look beautiful.”
Her pulse leaped. “Thank you.” So maybe the dresses weren’t such a stupid idea, after all. Prior to getting on the horse, she’d liked the romantic nostalgia of the high-necked blue dress with its tight bodice and full skirt. It wasn’t the most comfortable riding outfit in the world, but she did feel feminine and sexy in it. Even if she had no intention of becoming involved with Jack again, she enjoyed knowing he thought she looked good today.
They rode in strained silence while behind them everyone laughed and talked about the ceremony. Josie realized their formality with each other might become cause for concern. She might as well make conversation now and relieve any awkwardness.
So she asked the first thing that came to her mind. “Why aren’t you riding Bandit today?”
“It seemed like the time to introduce Bertha Mae.”
She glanced at the brown and white Paint. “That’s her name?”
“’Fraid so, poor girl. It’s the name she arrived with, and nobody’s put thought into changing it.”
“So she’s new?” Josie couldn’t understand why Jack would choose a new horse for such a big occasion.
“She’s been here a little over ten months.”
Something in his tone alerted her to the significance of that. And then she knew. “This is the horse your father was transporting the day he died, isn’t she?”
Jack nodded. “I thought riding her today might… well, help in some way.”
The uncertainty in his voice made her breath catch. Jack didn’t allow himself to be uncertain. “So that’s why Sarah blew you a kiss and said thank you.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “But I made her cry, and I hate that.”
She gazed at him — so tall, so strong, so vulnerable. “I’m sure it wasn’t only you riding this horse,” she said gently. “Weddings are always emotional.”
“Right, which is why I shouldn’t have given her another thing to cry about.”
“Did she know what you had in mind?”
“I asked her and she said it was a great idea, that it would be another way to make Dad part of the day. Still, I wonder if it was a mistake.” He paused. “She’s a brave lady. That’s all I can say.”
Josie’s throat felt tight. The heart she’d carefully closed and locked against him was opening again. “She’s a lucky lady to have three sons who love her.”
“We’re the lucky ones, Josie.”
“Yes. Yes, you are.” She might have said more, but the ride was over. They’d arrived at the canopied platforms where tables and chairs ringed the space and Alex manned a mobile sound system he’d rented in Jackson.
A love song filled the meadow. An hour ago Josie would have resisted the words and the melody, but that was before she’d discovered that Jack had taken deliberate action to heal the wounds created when his father died. If Jack could take that emotional risk, then maybe the walls he’d built around his heart were cracking.
“Save a dance for me.”
She turned to him, expecting to see in his eyes the familiar heat that she found so hard to resist. Instead his gaze was soft, his smile gentle.
Her heart began to pound. Perhaps Jack was willing to take the biggest emotional risk of all. “I think you’re supposed to dance with me,” she said. “You know, as best man and maid of honor.”
“Oh, yeah. Right. I just meant—”
“Don’t worry.” She returned his smile. “I’ll save you a dance.” She’d save every dance for him, because once again, she’d begun to hope.
* * *
Jack had written a toast packed with wisecracks and inside family jokes. Nick had agreed to follow with a toast full of schmaltz, the kind of sentimental schtick Nick was so good at. But when Jack stood, champagne glass in hand, he looked at the words he’d written and knew they weren’t right.
Although Josie sat beside him at the head table, he’d spoken to her very little since they’d ended the ride. He’d avoided talking to her on purpose, because he couldn’t make small talk right now. His heart was too full.
He’d never be able to deliver the toast he’d written, either. Crumpling the paper in one hand, he surveyed the assembled guests before turning to Gabe and Morgan.
“Gabe, I owe you an apology. You, too, Morgan, for that matter.”
Gabe stared at him. “For what?”
“Thinking you were rushing into this marriage. I didn’t get it, didn’t understand. I thought you’d lost your minds. But I get it, now. You didn’t lose your minds, you lost your hearts. I salute you both for having the courage to trust yourselves and each other.” He raised his glass.
“Hear, hear!” called Seamus O’Conner. Glasses clinked.
Jack took a sip and remained standing. “There’s a man who’s not with us today in body, but is most definitely with us in spirit. My father would have loved this party, which was mainly planned and executed by a wonderful woman who’s also been the best mother any kid could have, Sarah Chance.” Jack met Sarah’s gaze as he raised his glass. “Here’s to you, Mom.”
Her soft gasp of surprise was followed, as he knew it would be, by tears. And it was okay. Setting down his glass, he walked over to her as emotions he’d held in check for years boiled through him, pushing out all the bitterness, all the fear.
Standing, she held out her arms, and he gathered her close. “I love you, Mom,” he murmured, his voice thick.
“I love you, too, Jack.” She squeezed him so tight he couldn’t breathe, but that was okay, too. Then she moved back and smiled up at him through her tears. “And now, I’m really ready to party.”
“Me, too.” Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, he turned back to the head table.
And there was Josie, his sweet, sexy Josie, with tears running down her face, too. And that was absolutely okay, because he knew they were tears of joy. He wished he could kiss them away, but right now, he had a toast to finish.
He raised his glass again. “To Morgan and Gabe, and a lifetime of love.”
Once again, glasses clinked, and Jack made his way back to his seat and sat down.
Josie gazed at him, her eyes still brimming. “That was beautiful.”
He wanted to kiss her more than he wanted to breathe, but now was not the time. “No, you’re beautiful. That was… long overdue.”
“Jack, I wish we—”
“I know. Me, too.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Later.”
Nick stood. “I’ve had to follow Jack all my life, and it’s never been tougher to do than right now. Great job, bro.”
“I learned everything I know about sappy stuff from you, kid.”
The comment got a laugh, which Jack had counted on. Enough of the heavy stuff. Time to lighten up. But he hadn’t quite been able to let go of Josie’s hand, and he held it through Nick’s toast, and through Seamus’s endless speech. When Bianca finally put a stop to her husband’s rambling, the toasts ended and the dancing began.
Once the bride and groom had their time on the floor and had separated so that Morgan could dance with Seamus and Gabe with Sarah, Jack pushed back his chair. “Our turn.”
His arms ached to hold her, and maneuvering around the table so they could access the dance floor seemed to take forever. But at last they made it. When she turned to face him and moved into his embrace, he forgot all about dancing. At last she was in his arms, and he was never letting go.
He gazed into those soft gray eyes. “I’ve been such a fool, Josie.” The words came out without warning. He hadn’t planned to say anything until they’d danced a while, but he couldn’t seem to control the emotions surging through him or the urge to tell her everything. “There’s no forgiving how I treated you last October, but that’s what I’m asking you to do.”
The glow in her gray eyes gave him hope.
He plunged on. “In fact, I’m begging you to forgive me.”
“Of course I do.”
The tightness that had gripped him since early morning eased, leaving his legs a little rubbery. “Thank God for that. The thing is…” He searched her expression, trying to convince himself that she wouldn’t shoot him down, although she still might. What the hell, he had to say it, anyway. “The thing is… I love you.”
Her smile trembled. “Good, because I’ve loved you since last summer.”
“Oh, Josie.” He framed her face with shaking hands. “I’ve loved you from that first night we spent together, but I was too stupid — no, too stubborn to admit it.”
“Some things take time.”
He absorbed the happiness radiating from her. How he’d missed that. “Some things take a lifetime.”
“Yes.” Her gray eyes sparkled.
“Will you give me a lifetime, Josie?”
Her smile dazzled him. “You know I will.”
“I didn’t know it before.” He brushed her cheeks with his thumbs. “I didn’t let myself see the love in your eyes. But I see it now.”
“Hey!” Nick called. “You two gonna dance or what?”
Jack ignored his brother as he focused on Josie. “We’ll dance in a minute, okay?”
“Okay.”
“First there’s something I need to do.” Right before he kissed her, he closed his eyes and silently promised to keep his heart open — to Gabe, to Nick, to his mom, and most of all to Josie, the woman who had claimed it for her own.
