“This was a ridiculous idea.” Haylee frowned at her reflection in the full-length mirror. “I look like a beluga whale.”
“You do not,” Finley protested. “You look like a radiant bride.”
“A very pregnant bride.”
“Was your pregnancy supposed to be a secret?” her sister teased. “Because I doubt there’s a hoop skirt anywhere in this world that would hide your babies bump, but I would have tried to find one for you.”
“I just never imagined myself waddling down the aisle.” She picked up her bouquet and held it in front of her, but the simple hand-tied arrangement of red roses with holly, ivy and mistletoe didn’t hide anything, either. “Although truthfully, I’m not sure I ever imagined myself getting married at all.”
“What are you talking about? Every little girl dreams about her wedding day,” Finley said. “Doesn’t she?”
“Maybe I did when I was a little girl,” she acknowledged. “But as I grew up and rarely dated and never fell in love, I resigned myself to the fact that it wouldn’t ever happen for me.”
“And then you met Trevor.”
Haylee smiled. “And then I met Trevor.”
“And the Gilmores and Blakes drew battle lines.”
She could laugh about it now—and did—but there had been a few moments when she’d wondered if the two families might come to blows. Most recently at the rehearsal dinner at The Home Station.
But her stepmother must have been a diplomat in a previous life, because somehow Colleen managed to smooth things over so that by the end of the night, Robert Gilmore and Elijah Blake were actually doing shots of whiskey together in honor of the happy couple.
“Seriously, though, I’m happy for you, sis.” Finley’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m going to miss you like crazy, but I’m happy for you.”
“You’re welcome to visit whenever you want.”
“And I will,” her sister promised. “But I’m still keeping Simon.”
“I figured that out when we were in Oakland for Thanksgiving,” she acknowledged. It didn’t seem to matter to Simon that she was the one who’d taken him from the shelter; he’d quickly shifted his allegiance to the one who filled his food and water bowls every morning.
“Do you mind?” Finley asked.
She shook her head as a light knock sounded. “I know you’ll take good care of one another.”
“That better not be Trevor,” Finley said, making her way to the door. “Because I told your soon-to-be husband, in no uncertain terms, that he was not allowed to see you before the ceremony.”
She wrapped her hand around the knob and opened it just a crack, clearly prepared to send her future brother-in-law on his way if he’d dared to ignore her instructions.
“Oh,” Finley said, and took a step back as she opened the door a little wider. “It’s you.”
Haylee stopped fussing with her flowers and glanced over her shoulder, wondering who it could be.
Then Sandra Burke stepped into the room.
“Mom.” It was an effort to get the single word out through a throat that suddenly felt too tight.
“Look at you,” Sandra murmured, her eyes shiny as she looked from one daughter to the other. “Both of you. My beautiful girls.”
Haylee managed a wry smile. “Finley’s beautiful. I’m pregnant.”
“You’re both beautiful,” their mom insisted.
“I’ll give you two a minute,” Finley said, giving Sandra a quick hug before slipping through the still-open door and closing it firmly behind her.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” Haylee said, when her sister had gone.
“Your fiancé said he wanted it to be a surprise—though I suspect he didn’t say anything to you in case I didn’t show up,” Sandra admitted. “I missed far too many important events in your life.
“My fault, I know,” she hastened to acknowledge. “But I couldn’t let your wedding day be another one.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” she said, surprised to realize it was true.
“Me, too,” her mom said. Then, a little uncertainly, “Can I hug you—or will I wrinkle your dress?”
Haylee answered by stepping into her arms.
* * *
There had been a lot of debate and discussion about where Haylee and Trevor should get married. The bride’s father thought the wedding should take place in her hometown; the groom’s parents wanted to host it at Miners’ Pass; Haylee had suggested the Silver Star, because it was where they’d first met; Trevor hadn’t cared where the wedding happened—he just wanted Haylee to be his wife.
In the end, they’d decided to exchange vows in front of the Christmas tree they’d decorated together inside the home where they’d fallen in love.
“Nervous?” Devin asked, as he took his position beside his brother.
“Nope.”
“Not even a little bit?”
Trevor shook his head. “I feel as if I’ve been waiting for this moment—for Haylee—my whole life.”
“It seemed to take you that long to admit your feelings for her,” his brother teased.
“True enough,” he acknowledged. But now that he’d finally admitted what was in his heart, he’d vowed to tell her every day so that she’d never have cause to doubt his commitment to her and the family they were making together.
He wasn’t nervous, but his heart did start to beat a little bit faster when the music started. Then Finley, dressed in festive red taffeta, made her way down the narrow aisle between the rows of chairs. A moment later, Haylee was there, looking more beautiful than he’d ever seen her, and his heart swelled with so much love for her, he felt as if his ribs might crack.
“Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today…”
The minister spoke about the sanctity of marriage and then guided the bride and groom through the exchange of vows, and then finally said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife.”
He didn’t conclude with an invitation for the newlyweds to kiss, but Trevor was prepared to take matters into his own hands. He pulled a sprig of a familiar green plant out of his pocket and held it over Haylee’s head.
And smiling, he kissed his bride under the mistletoe.
* * * * *