Spring spread an abundance of wildflowers across the desert, as if preparing the entire countryside for the nuptials of Sophie Williams and Ryder Hayes.
The yard of the Desert Valley Community Church was bedecked with the same kind of floral decorations, in keeping with the wishes of a certain little blonde girl who had scattered petals down the aisle between rows of folding chairs for her mother-to-be and matron of honor, Gina Weston. Gina’s husband, Shane, was Ryder’s best man.
Nervous—in a good way—Sophie paused to appreciate the wide blue sky, breathe pure desert air and thank the Lord for this day. Every member of last year’s rookie class had married and all were in attendance, including their working dogs. Titus had accompanied Lily, carrying her basket of flower petals down the aisle for her and garnering broad grins.
With Phoenix at her side, Sophie smoothed her simple white sheath and grasped her bouquet. Lily had so admired the floral crown that held Sophie’s veil she had fastened flowers to the dog’s harness, making him strongly resemble a half-finished parade float.
The wind ruffled her veil. Sophie heard the music that was her cue and started toward the altar.
There was Ryder! She had asked him to wear his uniform instead of a tuxedo and he was so handsome he took her breath away.
Each step brought her closer to him, closer to the happiness she had long believed to be out of her reach, closer to a real home. A home she had almost lost before she’d had a chance to discover the possibility.
She passed her bouquet and the end of Phoenix’s leash to Gina as she took Ryder’s hand.
“Dearly Beloved,” the pastor began.
Too soon it was over. Sophie knew she’d participated in the entire ceremony but her brain had yet to process the details. Everything was too wonderful. Too amazing. Too extraordinary to be real.
Lily tugged on her arm. “Can I hold your flowers?”
“All right. But you have to give them back later so take really good care of them, okay?”
“Okay.” Her wide blue eyes looked up at her father. “Now?” she asked.
Ryder nodded. “Yes, now.”
The child pulled to urge Sophie to bend down, wrapped her arms around her neck and said, “I love you...Mommy,” then skipped off carrying the bridal bouquet.
Sophie was blinking back happy tears. When she looked at her new husband, his eyes were suspiciously sparkling, too. “You rehearsed that?”
“Not exactly. She kept pestering me about calling you Mommy and I told her to wait until it was official.”
“She wanted to do it before? When?”
Ryder shrugged. “I don’t remember. Probably around the time when the two of you Magi were leading dogs dressed as camels to Bethlehem in the Christmas pageant.”
“And all this time I thought she was having trouble accepting me as her mother.” Sophie made a silly face. “If I still had my flowers I’d be tempted to smack you with them for making us wait.”
Laughing, he pulled his bride into his arms and kissed her again. And again.
Whoops and catcalls echoed in the balmy afternoon air. Someone hollered, “Hey, you gonna serve this or should we let the dogs loose?”
“I told you that second cake would be a problem,” Ryder said. “Some of our rowdiest guests are animals. Real ones.”
Sophie agreed. “Normal wedding cake is bad for them. I was just trying to make everybody feel welcome.”
She kept hold of Ryder’s hand as they approached the refreshment table. A three tiered wedding cake with white frosting and piped floral decorations stood at one end of the display, as expected.
At the other end was Sophie’s answer to their canine guests. It was by far the most popular offering, particularly to the four-legged attendees. Liver paste was the glue that held row after row of crunchy, colored, dog treats to the sides of a pyramid almost as high as the real wedding cake.
Ryder laughed and looked at his team—all of whom had decided to stay on in Desert Valley. With six months under their belt on a twisty murder investigation, they were well on their way to moving from rookies to seasoned police officers.
And through it all, each one of them had found love. Shane and Gina. Whitney and David. Ellen and Lee. James and Madison. Tristan and Ariel.
Himself and Sophie. Six months ago, he and Sophie had barely been on speaking terms. Now they were husband and wife.
He thought—for just a moment—of the insane woman who’d started them all down these unexpected paths. Former Desert Valley Police Department secretary Carrie Dunleavy had been quickly convicted of the murders of his late wife, Melanie Hayes, rookies Brian Miller and Mike Riverton, and lead dog trainer Veronica Earnshaw—and attempted murder of Marian Foxcroft. All thanks to her confession and guilty plea. She would be in prison for the rest of her life.
Ryder took his mind off the past and focused on the present—and his future. He took his new bride’s hand and they stepped behind the dog-treat cake. Cameras and cell phones flashed.
“Together?” she asked.
“Absolutely. But if you make me taste that stuff I won’t be happy.”
“I’d never waste good liver on a man,” Sophie teased. She plucked several treats from the top of the “cake” and Ryder did the same.
Before throwing them to the waiting dogs she called out, “Sit.”
Every dog and half the guests obeyed as if the move had been rehearsed. One look at Ryder’s smug expression told her it had.
“Are you going to keep surprising me for the rest of my life?” she joked, trying to make herself understood while laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face.
“That’s the plan,” he said through his own laughter. “Are you ready?”
“Oh, yes.”
Sophie proved it by wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him soundly—before leaning back to dab a tiny spot of pâté on the tip of his nose.
Cameras flashed again. That was going to make a great picture to show their grandchildren someday.
* * * * *
If you liked the ROOKIE K-9 UNIT series,
keep an eye out for ROOKIE K-9 UNIT CHRISTMAS
by Lenora Worth and Valerie Hansen
releasing November 2016.
Keep reading for an excerpt from AGAINST THE TIDE by Melody Carlson
Get rewarded every time you buy a Harlequin ebook!
Click here to Join Harlequin My Rewards
http://www.harlequin.com/myrewards.html?mt=loyalty&cmpid=EBOOBPBPA201602010003