asked out loud in total disbelief as I stared down at the test.
I knew there’d been a week a couple months back where she was off the pill because she hadn’t gone to see a doctor here to get her prescription refilled. But we’d been careful…ish.
“I was feeling achy and I kept feeling like I was going to start my period, but it never came. So when I was at the store, I picked up a test.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t really believe I was. But I am, look.” She held up two more tests.
“Well, I have something to show you to.”
“What?” she asked.
“Dug!” I called him over and pulled the ring off the string and held it out to her.
I started to get down on one knee when she pulled me up to my feet and told me that it was too much, too soon. I could see in her gorgeous, panicked eyes that she needed time to process all the changes in her life, so I didn’t push the issue. I’d learned my lesson about trying to force things.
Over the past few months, I’d learned that her childhood hadn’t been the most stable or predictable. And she hadn’t had a lot of control over her environment. I’d listened to her and knew that to feel secure, she needed to have control. She needed to know that I would be there, steady and unmoving no matter what, but our relationship would move at her pace.
So, we weren’t engaged. Yet. But we were having a baby and I couldn’t be happier. The only drawback was that I’d had to keep a lid on my joy. We’d decided not to tell anyone about the baby until she was safely in her second trimester, which as of ten days ago, she was in. But we were holding off on sharing the news until after Jackson and Josie’s wedding, which was today.
“Everyone please stand,” the pastor instructed everyone gathered beneath the large, white tent that was set up on my parents’ property.
The bridal march began to play from the speakers on all four corners of the large tent that was set up beside the pasture.
Everyone’s heads turned to where Josie was walking down the aisle with her grandmother, whom was her namesake and happened to be Hollywood royalty, Josephine Grace Clarke. The two were also spitting images of one another, or at least as identical as you could be with a fifty-year age difference.
The striking duo garnered gasps, oohs and awes from the crowd. Both the bride and her escort looked absolutely breathtaking, but there was another woman I couldn’t keep my eyes off. Sasha was wearing a flowing pale blue strapless dress that disguised her tiny baby bump and emphasized her ever growing bustline.
She was glowing. I didn’t know if it was because of her pregnancy, or just her natural state but whatever it was, she looked like an angel on earth. I knew that I might be biased, but she was by far the most beautiful woman there. Sasha wasn’t looking at Josie either, her attention was on my brother Jackson as he watched his bride-to-be walk toward him. Tears were forming in her eyes, and I hoped that today would inspire her. I hoped that she was picturing me in Jackson’s place and her walking toward me, cause I sure as hell knew that I was.
When the bride and her grandmother reached the end of the rose petal aisle, the pastor asked, “Who gives this woman to marry this man?”
“She gives herself, but with my, Josephine Grace Clarke’s, absolute blessing.” Josie’s grandmother said it with just enough dramatic flair to cause the attendees to smile without taking any attention away from the bride and groom.
Josie smiled widely as her grandmother cupped her face and kissed her on both cheeks before taking her seat in the front row.
The ceremony flowed seamlessly and before I knew it, I was getting the signal from the wedding coordinator that it was time. The candle lighting was up next.
I left my spot in line with the other groomsmen and took my seat on the stool that was set off to the side. I picked up my guitar and adjusted the strap on my shoulder and the mic in front of my face. This was the first time I’d performed in front of a crowd larger than my family since I’d started playing again.
I’d been concerned that I might have nerves, but as I strummed