Two months later to the day, they did.
They were married under the round pavilion in the Weaver Community Park.
The same park where she had first seen him.
Hayley wore a white embroidered satin halter dress that hit just above her ankles. Isabella Clay had miraculously produced it in record time, claiming that it had been easy since she still had Hayley’s measurements from the dress she’d worn for Jane’s wedding so recently and the style of the dress was similar. Hayley had a hard time believing the task had been all that easy.
Fortunately, Vivian had insisted on paying for the dress and Hayley knew that her grandmother would have made certain Isabella’s effort was handsomely rewarded.
Seth wore a black suit and white shirt and was happy to eschew the tie when Hayley suggested it. She knew he disliked them. And even though he’d have happily worn it for her, she’d wanted him to be himself. If he’d have wanted to wear jeans and a T-shirt, she wouldn’t have cared.
The wedding wasn’t about what they wore.
It was about the commitment that they were making for the rest of their lives.
Jane and Sam were her attendants. Hayley had told them to wear what they chose.
Sam, practical-minded as ever, wore the same dress she’d worn for Jane’s wedding. And Jane, equally practical, had chosen to wear Hayley’s maid-of-honor dress. She’d had to have it cleaned because there were dirt marks around the hem from the parking lot at Shop-World where Hayley had danced with Seth.
Two of his ranger buddies made it into town in enough time to stand up for him. They looked stunning in their dress uniforms. Which had Sam eyeing them as if they were treats to be devoured but she couldn’t decide between them.
Much to Vivian’s chagrin—because she’d wanted to hire an entire orchestra as befitted any granddaughter of hers—Casey provided the music, playing his violin. And he did so with such perfect beauty that Hayley saw Vivian wipe a tear as she stared fixedly at the man.
Even Seth noticed, murmuring “Is your grandmother crying?” into her ear when she met him in front of the minister after her father had walked her beneath the pavilion.
“It’s the violin music,” she whispered back. “My grandfather used to play.”
Her father had promised not to make a scene with her grandmother. At least not on Hayley’s wedding day. And even now, after the vows and the rings, Carter managed to limit himself to an occasional glare across the invisible aisle separating the picnic tables where everyone sat.
Despite coming together for a wedding, Carter and his brother were keeping very much to one side of the pavilion. Vivian stayed to the other, sharing her table with Montrose and Gretchen. There were other guests, too. Former clients and friends of Hayley’s. Isabella and her husband, Erik, and their adopted son, Murphy. Abby and Sloan McCray. The sheriff and his wife. Even Pam Rasmussen, the sheriff’s dispatcher, who was married to Hayley’s distant cousin.
Vivian and her sons could sit on opposite sides of the aisle, pretending the other side didn’t exist. But there were connective threads webbing out around them whether they liked it or not.
“Do you suppose they’ll ever let the past go?” Seth asked, sliding his arm around Hayley’s waist. The gold band she’d put on his finger only minutes ago gleamed. She kept getting distracted just from looking at it.
He was her husband. She was his wife.
She glanced at her father. He and David had moved near the wedding cake where Casey and Jane were standing. Vivian was cradling Casey’s violin close by. “I don’t know. I’m not worrying about it anymore,” she said. “It’s not up to me to fix them.”
“You’ll never let it go. You’ll always be concerned about the people you love. That’s who you are.”
“Who I am,” she turned into his arms, loving the smile on his face, “is your wife.”
“Dr. Hayley Banyon. You’re sure you want to change your name?”
“Positive.” She dipped her fingertip into his dimple. “I never knew how much I could love someone until I met you.”
“You’re just saying that because you want to get your hands on me.”
She laughed softly. “That’s right, Mr. Banyon. It’s all about the sex. The very, very good sex. Has nothing whatsoever to do with my life having very little meaning unless you’re in it.”
He smiled and ran his fingers over the wedding ring on hers. “I love you, Doc.” He didn’t say it often. But he made sure she knew it every minute of every day.
“I love you.” She kissed him quickly. “Now come on.” She pulled him toward the picnic table, where the wedding cake was laid out on a pretty white cloth. “I’m not refereeing any battles between my father and Vivian, but they’re all standing very close to our wedding cake. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
He chuckled and slid his hand over her back laid bare by the halter dress. “Sure you don’t want to just get the heck out of here while the going’s good?”
She slid him a look. “Don’t tempt me.”
“Are you?” He drew his fingertip along her spine.
She exhaled carefully, feeling heat race through her. “Very.”
His lips tilted wickedly. “Good.” He pulled her the rest of the way toward the cake just as Vivian handed the violin back to Casey.
“I never expected to hear this violin played again,” she was telling him. “Not so beautifully.”
“The only reason it’s playable at all is because you got it fixed for me,” Casey reminded her. “It means a lot to me and my family. It belonged to my grandmother, Sarah. She died a long time before I came along.”
Hayley pressed her head against Seth’s chest behind her and shared a smile with Jane. They both remembered when Jane had brought the broken violin to Vivian for help, even though she’d thought all was lost with Casey.
“I know,” Vivian said in a shaking voice. She sent Hayley a look that seemed filled with apology. “I know the violin belonged to your grandmother. Because it was my first husband who gave it to her.” She turned the violin over and gently stroked the markings on the back. “And my father who gave it to him.”
Casey’s eyebrows pulled together and he let out half a laugh. “Talk about a small world.”
“Not that small.” Vivian swallowed and seemed to brace herself. “You see, my husband Sawyer Templeton was your grandmother’s half-brother, dear. He just didn’t know she existed until shortly after he and I married.”
Hayley sucked in a breath.
Casey’s stunned gaze flicked from Vivian’s face to Hayley’s. “Well, damn,” he finally said, sounding just as dazed as she felt.
Seth’s arms tightened around Hayley’s waist. “Sounds to me like your family tree just got a whole lot bigger.”
“And if I hadn’t...interfered because she was illegitimate and I was afraid of scandal,” Vivian added, “half of everything that came from Templeton Steel would have been hers. Which is something I intend to finally rectify.” She breathed deeply and raised her chin, looking skyward. “That’s right,” she said. “I’m going to get things right.”
“Who’s she talking to?” Hayley’s brother had come up next to them.
“Dear Arthur,” Hayley and Seth said together.
Arch shook his head. “She’s a nut job.”
“She’s Vivian Archer Templeton,” Hayley murmured. “That’s your namesake, brother dear.”
“Still a nut job.” He headed toward Casey, his arm outstretched in greeting. “So. It sounds like we’re cousins...”
* * * * *
Don’t miss these other stories in New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Allison Leigh’s long-running RETURN TO THE DOUBLE C series:
THE RANCHER’S DANCE
COURTNEY’S BABY PLAN
A WEAVER PROPOSAL
A WEAVER VOW
A WEAVER BEGINNING
A WEAVER CHRISTMAS GIFT
Available from Harlequin.
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE BOSS, THE BRIDE & THE BABY by Judy Duarte.