lawyer Mark Butler had hired for him. Travis didn't have time to think. Emily was still in her carseat which he was holding in his left hand. He sat her gently on the floor and took a seat at the table. He looked at Tonya, but her face was stony.
He was holding a pen and in the process of signing a paper when it fully dawned on him that Tonya was letting him adopt Emily. She was terminating her parental rights. It was explained to him that this was all dependent on a court's approval and that afterwards there would still be a lot of process to go through before the adoption was final.
When he would look back on this time in the future, it would seem so amazing to him that things had gone as smoothly as they had. Of course during every step of the process he was a nervous wreck, worried that one little misstep would result in him losing Emily. But none of that happened.
He would come out on the other side of the whole ordeal with the love of a beautiful woman and a sweet, red-headed daughter to raise.
Epilogue
6 months later
Travis glared at himself in the mirror. He tugged at the bow tie for the thousandth time, intending just to loosen it. But as it had been so loosened already it finally managed to come untied.
"She's going to kill you if you can't walk up that aisle and stand there for ten minutes without falling apart." Dustin leaned coolly against the doorframe. His arms were folded over his chest and one foot was crossed over the other. He was chewing gum and staring out the window. His tux was immaculate.
"I fucking hate weddings," Travis said. "I told her that."
"You can put someone else's needs ahead of your own comfort for a couple of hours," Dustin said.
Travis turned his glare on his brother. "Where's Neil?"
Dustin shrugged. "Probably outside flirting with the bridesmaids. In any case, he's dressed and ready to go. You're the only one causing trouble."
"I'm not causing trouble," Travis said. They were in one of the church classrooms and he sat on the edge of the table and started tugging at the buttons on his cuffs. "These God damn cuffs are too tight," he grumbled.
"Would you stop cursing? You're in church."
Travis sat with the sleeves of his shirt and jacket now rolled halfway up his forearms. His knees bounced up and down and he watched the second hand on the wall clock tick extremely slowly. He buried his face in his hands and shoved his fingers through his hair, growling. "What's taking so long?"
"Just fifteen more minutes, man. What's the big deal, anyway?"
"I just hate weddings. I hate dressing up and standing in front of people and all the flowers and women crying."
"So sorry to inconvenience you."
Travis stood then and looked at Dustin. "Why couldn't you have just eloped? This is crazy."
"Emma wants a wedding. Emma gets a wedding." Dustin spat his gum in the trash can. "Be right back," he said, disappearing out the door.
Travis sat again on the edge of the table. A few moments later Dustin returned, his hand on Arden's back, leading her into the room. Travis stood when he saw her and his mouth dropped open. The bridesmaid's dresses were form fitting and then flared slightly at the knee. The sleeves hung off the shoulder. Arden's was a pale, rose pink. Her hair hung down and was swept over to one side, hanging down that side of her face.
She exchanged an eye-roll with Dustin and then smiled sympathetically at Travis. "Good God. You are such a man child," she said. With a deep breath she reached for his tie.
Travis caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and saw what she saw. He was completely disheveled, his tie hanging loose, his shirt half untucked and wrinkled, and his hair standing out in all directions. He watched her as she tied his tie.
Without looking at him, she reached up and tilted his chin up so she could fix his collar. But he couldn't stop staring at her. She unrolled his sleeves and buttoned the cuffs. Then she gave him a quick, mischievous grin as she tucked in his shirt. He closed his eyes and smelled the top of her head as her deft little hands maneuvered about his midsection.
"This, I'm leaving," she said, reaching up to run her fingers through his thick, unruly hair.
He returned her grin and relished the