Christmas at Home (Spikes & Spurs #5) - Carolyn Brown Page 0,113
on the underside of her hand. The dress had fit her just fine but her mother had been six inches shorter than Sage so the hemline had stopped at midcalf. Hilda had spent Saturday afternoon cutting it off and hemming it for her.
They hadn’t had time to think about flowers or bouquets but somehow Grand and Essie had made a trip to Claude and picked up two potted plants at the grocery store. A bouquet of poinsettias tied up with red satin ribbons lay on Sage’s left arm, and April had carried a nosegay of tiny rosebuds. Both had been arranged by Creed’s mother, Dolly, in between supervising baking a wedding cake in Hilda’s kitchen.
Sage had bought a brand-new pair of white cowboy boots for her gallery showing in Denver, so she opted to wear them. Grand had wanted her to wear the veil that went with the dress but she’d drawn the line there. She had styled her dark hair high on her head and fastened a sprig of the mistletoe from the kitchen window into one side. Another piece had gone into making the boutonnieres that Creed and Ace had pinned to their black Western-cut jackets.
“Grand, I’m nervous,” she whispered when they were going down the aisle.
“Don’t be. Just look at Creed and forget all these people.”
Sage looked down the aisle and caught Creed’s gaze. And nothing else mattered. She was getting married. She was going to have a family and live on the Rockin’ C until she and Creed were both too old to play games on that credenza.
He smiled as if he could read her thoughts and she blushed.
* * *
Creed pinched his leg and it hurt like hell, so he wasn’t dreaming. That really was Sage coming toward him and she wasn’t wearing his red and black plaid flannel shirt like she’d threatened.
Just looking at her floating down the aisle in that beautiful dress made his mouth so dry that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to utter his vows. He wanted her to have a wedding to talk about with her sisters-in-law, but he wished they had just gotten married at the courthouse. Right now they could be naked as newborns under a quilt in their bedroom or better yet, playing games on the credenza.
And that’s when she looked up at him. He smiled because there was no doubt from the pink in her cheeks that she was thinking the same thing.
* * *
“Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” the preacher asked when Sage and Ada reached the front of church.
“I give Sage into Creed’s hands.” Ada lifted her granddaughter’s hand and gave it to Creed. “Love her. Respect her. Or you’ll deal with me,” she whispered.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said seriously.
“You may be seated,” the preacher told the congregation.
“You are so beautiful,” Creed whispered. “I’m glad you decided not to wear my flannel shirt.”
“Honey, that is reserved for the honeymoon, right along with that lovely quilt Grand and Aunt Essie made,” she whispered back.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Creed Davis Riley and Elizabeth Sage Presley,” the preacher began the traditional ceremony.
In one sense the ceremony lasted an hour and in another it was over in less than a minute. Time stood still for Sage. She heard the words but what she felt was the true uniting of her heart and Creed’s. Two soul mates that had been floundering around for years were bonding and no one else even felt it.
She exchanged vows, put a ring on Creed’s finger, and he put one on hers and then the preacher pronounced them man and wife. It was time for their first kiss as husband and wife. When his lips touched hers they promised her the moon, the stars, and everything in between.
“And now I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Creed Riley. They, along with their families and friends, invite all of you to a reception at the Canyon Rose. I hear Hilda made the cake and also the buffalo wings, so me and my wife will be the first in line.”
* * *
April insisted on a first dance, so Creed two-stepped his new bride around the floor to an old George Strait song, “I Cross My Heart.” Creed sang softly with the words, telling Sage that his love was unconditional. He promised to give all that he had to give to make all her dreams come true.