wedding party had arrived, gasping and wiping their foreheads and glaring at the main participants.
Jason glowered at the two of them. "What in hell did you do that for? I thought someone was after you."
Donning a magnificent smile, Evie patted his arm. "You'll make a lovely big brother. Thank you."
At the door, James Peyton looked out and harrumphed. "It's about time the lot of you got here. The guests are about to rebel. Have you seen Jose and Manuel?"
Tyler and Evie looked at each other and groaned.
Daniel limped up in time to catch the question. "Don't worry. I know where they are. Let's get this blamed thing done with so everyone knows what in hell to call Evie."
"Daniel!" Evie reprimanded, but Tyler shoved her toward her father before she could launch into a full- scale tirade.
Peyton grabbed her arm and pulled her into the church while the men dashed around to the side door to take their proper places up front.
Evie gasped as she entered the church. In the few hours she had been preparing for her wedding, someone had filled the interior with flowers. Huge baskets of red and white and purple branches covered the altar. Hanging baskets of greenery adorned half the pews. And real red roses covered nearly every available space between, perfuming the air with their rich scents. Her head literally spun as she tried to take it all in.
It was then that a chorus of childish voices filled the front of the room with song, and tears puddled in her eyes.
She clutched her father's arm and was walking down the aisle when Tyler's mellow voice joined the chorus, taking over the harmony. The tears rolled down her cheeks as she approached the altar and saw Tyler standing with a hand on Carmen and Manuel's shoulders while Maria and Jose stood between them, holding hands. It didn't matter what the words to the song were. They could have been singing "Silent Night" for all she cared. What mattered was that Tyler was singing, singing and standing there with the children at the same time, not running away. He had made his peace with his past at last.
He really and truly meant to make this marriage real, even if he'd never said the words she'd once dreamed of hearing. Her smile was watery as Tyler reached out a hand and pulled her toward him, this time in front of a genuine preacher in a real church.
It wasn't exactly a traditional wedding, but nothing they had ever done had been in keeping with tradition. Daniel couldn't locate the ring. Her father had his hands full keeping the two youngest in their seats and quiet while pockets were being turned inside out. Carmen was a little young to be maid of honor, but she helped Daniel locate the missing ring before Tyler could start turning the boys upside down to shake it out of them. And Ben stood off to one side, not quite one of the party or the family, but with them just the same. And when the final words were said, he was there to plant the first kiss on Evie's cheek, much to the shock of their audience.
"You'll have to take care of him from now on," Ben whispered in her ear.
"I'll try." Evie sent her husband a misty look, but Tyler was busy glaring at the Hardings as they came down the aisle with determined looks on their faces.
Ben elbowed Tyler and nodded toward the side door. "My wedding gift to you. Vamoose."
Standing in the center of the aisle, arms crossed over his chest, Ben proceeded to block access to the newly wedded couple. With a whistle and a jerk of his head, four eager young faces leapt from behind him. Maria toddled to Kyle's leg and grabbed his trousers, pleading "Unca Kyle" and tugging for attention. Jose and Manuel grabbed Jason's arms and dragged him toward the front door, chattering about the tunnel and the stolen goods still down there. And Carmen and Daniel politely stood beside Evie's father, greeting the guests as if this were their reception instead of a family blockade so the wedding couple could make their escape.
And as soon as Tyler understood their intent, escape he did.
* * *
Heads turned as the stylish young couple stepped onto the steamboat in Houston. Smiles appeared as it became obvious that the two had eyes for no one but each other. Elbows prodded sides and knowing smirks abounded as the couple ascended