Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,87
took their seats on the other side of the altar, and then the pastor and Ted and Emma switched places.
Dallas tried to imagine himself standing up in front of everyone and pledging himself to Jess. He’d been married before, and he knew what it took to get ready for a wedding. He knew what it felt like to have hundreds of eyes on him—heck, he’d endured that with the horse show he’d staged. He knew what it felt like to be so helplessly in love and to believe that the future held only rays of sunshine and magical unicorns.
He knew now that reality was very different than the wedding day. Yet, he still wanted to be standing at an altar like the one where Ted and Emma stood. He wanted to smile at Jess and find her the most beautiful woman in the world. He wanted to proclaim to everyone who could hear that he loved her.
He kept her hand secure in his, even when Remmy climbed on her lap and started whispering.
“Shh, baby,” Jess said. “Ted and Emma are getting married.” She pointed toward where they stood, only a few feet away. Last time Dallas had sat beside her at a wedding, she’d been texting. He’d sniped at her, but she’d been getting him a job at the ranch. The rest was history.
He leaned over to her as Ted started reciting his vows. “Could we maybe elope? Or have the wedding in Montana with just your family? I don’t want a big to-do.”
She tilted her head toward him, and she slid him a look out of the corner of her eye. “I’ve never been married, Dallas.”
“You want a big wedding?”
“Not particularly, no,” she said. “Now can you stop? This is so distracting.”
He straightened as laughter built inside him. He held it back though his shoulders started to shake. He wasn’t sure he’d make it through the ceremony, and he told himself not to ruin one of his best friend’s wedding.
Finally, the pastor pronounced Ted and Emma husband and wife, and he clapped and cheered and laughed with everyone else.
Ted and Emma faced the crowd and raised their joined hands, both of them beaming for all they were worth. Ted’s loud laughter filled the sky, and it filled Dallas’s soul, the same way his infectious personality had while they’d served together in River Bay.
He faced her, and they shared a kiss. Dallas felt the love they had for one another, and when he looked at Jess and found her admiring them too, he felt the same adoration for her that he saw in Ted’s face.
“What?” Jess asked, finally tearing her eyes from the happy bride and groom.
“You want to marry me, right?” he asked.
Her eyes widened. “Dallas, I—right now?”
“No,” he said quickly. “I was just checking.”
She put her arm around his waist and leaned into him. “I hope that wasn’t the proposal,” she said. “I really don’t want to call my sister and say we got engaged while you were just checking to see if I’d marry you.”
Dallas chuckled, but his throat felt a little too narrow. A proposal. That was obviously very important to Jess, and he couldn’t mess that up.
He had some more research to do, and this time, he wasn’t going to ask his seven-year-old for ideas.
“What’s taking so long?” Dallas asked, peering through the windshield of Nate’s truck. “Does it always take this long?”
“It’s the BOP,” Nate said without opening his eyes. “It’s a hurry up and wait game.”
Ted didn’t even look up from his phone. Dallas had been back to River Bay a couple of times since the wedding, and he’d talked with Slate’s lawyer, as well as Luke’s. He’d signed to be the one to pick them up today, and they’d been waiting for half an hour after he’d checked in with the secretary so she’d know Slate and Luke had a ride.
“Could I just show her a diamond and ask her?” Dallas asked.
“No,” Ted said in a deadpan, his attention still on his phone.
“I need help,” Dallas said.
“No, you don’t,” Nate said.
He looked toward the doors, praying for any distraction he could. The only time he wasn’t thinking about how to propose to Jess was when he was too busy. So he stayed as busy as he could, and he still didn’t have a good idea for a proposal.
The doors opened, throwing sunlight into his eyes, and he opened the car door. “There they are.” He practically jogged toward the two men walking