Taylor tuned back in when she heard her name again. “Standing here, with my son and Taylor, is by far the most special wedding I’ve ever officiated, and this is not my first rodeo. In preparation, I looked back at my records to see just how many rodeos I’d been to. In the fifty-two years I’ve been ordained, I’ve officiated five hundred and nineteen weddings, so this is my five hundred and twentieth.”
Five hundred and twentieth?Taylor thought to herself.
520?
She’d left Martin on May 20th, which was the same day Caleb found Minnie, and now Caleb and Taylor’s wedding was his dad’s 520th. It was just one more little piece of the fate puzzle.
“I’ve been asked, a lot, if I know when I marry people if they’ll last or not, and the answer is yes, I do. My prediction rate is one hundred percent accurate.” He paused as the entire backyard was quiet. “I’m kidding; I have no idea when I marry people if they’ll last or not. I don’t have a crystal ball, and I can’t see the future. I can tell if a couple has chemistry, if they seem to have a good foundation of friendship in their relationship, and if they have a good support system around them, all things I believe contribute to a successful marriage. But whether or not they’ll make it is up to the two people in that marriage. Which leads me to the next question I get asked; what is the secret to a successful marriage? Well, I’m gonna be honest with you all here, my Annie May does the heavy lifting in this one, so I’m not sure I’m the right one to be asking.” There were some chucklesfrom the guests. “But this is what I have with my Annie May and what I wish for both of you.” He took a deep breath. “Whenever anything goes wrong or right, she is the first person I want to talk to. She’s the last person I want to see every night and the first person I want to see every day. She’s not just the person I want to go on vacations with, on adventures with; she’s the person I want to do nothing with. I’d happily go stand in line at the DMV with her. We’ve been married for over forty years, but if she goes to the store and is gone too long, I start missing her. I’ve always said that the one certainty I’ve found in life is that there is no certainty, so when you find the person you want to face whatever life throws at you with, hold on to them and never let them go.
“Caleb and Taylor, your love story has not been the most traditional. You have been tested more than couples who have been married a decade and have already shown that no matter what life throws at you, you will both face adversity together and individually,” Caleb’s dad turned and looked intently in Taylor’s eyes as he continued, “with integrity, putting others’ needs in front of your own, no matter what the cost.”
She felt herself starting to get emotional at the undertone of acknowledgment for everything she’d been through. Tears began to form in her eyes, but thankfully, the ceremony quickly wrapped up. After getting the rings off of the pillow that was attached to Casper’s collar, they repeated their vows, which were short and sweet, and were pronounced man and wife.
“Caleb, you may now kiss your?—”
Caleb pulled her against him and dipped her as cheers rang out from the small group that was gathered as well as piercing wolf whistles.
“—bride!” his dad finished as he clapped.
His hold on her tightened, pulling their bodies pressed closer together, and she felt his heartbeat racing against her chest. Thetaste of his lips was intoxicating, a blend of mint and coffee and something uniquely him. The kiss was a symphony of emotions, a crescendo of love so intense that even the setting sun paled in comparison. It was the kind of kiss that left her breathless and wanting more, a moment frozen in time that she never wanted to end. She thought she’d be embarrassed kissing in front of a crowd, but she forgot where they were until there were shouts from the attendees.
“Get a room!” Josh exclaimed.
“That’s NC-17!” came from Viv and was an encouragement, not a deterrent.
“There are children present!” Owen shouted, but she could hear in his voice that he was smiling.
As Caleb straightened back up to standing, he kept his arm snaked around her, which was a good thing because if he hadn’t, she doubted she’d have been able to support herself on her legs, which had turned to jelly from their passionate kiss.
“It is my honor to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Matthew Harrison!”
As they walked back down the aisle of white rose petals to cheers on either side of them, Caleb lifted her arm in the air. When they got to the end, he kissed her once more. She’d noticed he’d been doing that more and more, kissing her for no reason. Each time it took her by surprise, but it was something she very much looked forward to getting used to.
There was no gap between the ceremony and the reception; it immediately followed. There was food, drinks, music playing, and everyone talked, laughed, and danced.
Caleb kept her close to his side, which she was grateful for, not only because she was feeling a little tired and when she was with him, he did the heavy lifting in the conversations, but also because she had a sick feeling in her stomach she couldn’t shake. She felt like she was being watched.
The same thing happened to her the day before when she went to get shoes for today in Aspen Cove, which was thirty miles from Hope Falls. As soon as she left the store, her spidey senses tingled and the hairs on her arms stood up. She was sure she was being followed. Not just followed, she was sure Martin was following her. So sure that by the time she got to the parking lot, she was sprinting to her car. When she finally made it, she got in, locked the doors, and peeled out of the parking structure while hyperventilating. She nearly had a full-blown panic attack.
She had to keep reminding herself Martin was in Illinois. He had an ankle monitor on, he had a curfew, and he was not allowed to leave the state. Eric had followed up with Martin’s parole officer, and everything was as it should be.
Taylor knew the fear was all in her head. For the first time in her life, things were going well, and her body wasn’t used to it. All her life she’d lived in survival mode. That was her baseline, so her brain was imagining danger so she could feel normal.
As she stood beside Caleb, his arm wrapped around her waist, his hand on her hip, and she sank into his protection, his comfort, and his love. This was her new normal, she told herself. But even as she did, her spidey senses tingled and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
She glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see something, but of course there was no one there. Nothing was out of the ordinary. It was just the fence. That was it.
Caleb must have sensed Taylor tensing up.
He leaned down and whispered against her ear, “Are you okay? We can leave.”
“I’m good,” she lied, not wanting her paranoia to ruin his or his parents’ night.
“Are you sure?” he double-checked, staring intently into her eyes, searching for even a hint of a lie.
“Positive,” she assured him, then quickly added, “I love you.”
Did she tell him that she loved him to distract him from being concerned about her? Yes. But that didn’t make it any less true.
