Wild Girl (Wild Men Texas #3) - Melissa Belle Page 0,63
the limousine and make our way down Main Street. When we pull up to The Cowherd, I smile at the five horses tied up to the fencepost.
“Logan said he and Blake and his brothers would show up to the ceremony on horseback,” I say.
Daddy and I are the last ones out of the limo, and I stop him before we walk inside the bar.
“Daddy, are you going to be all right? There’s a lot of alcohol in there, and I know you’re emotional right now…”
“You’re my baby girl all grown up,” he says to me as he gives me a kiss. “And maybe I finally am, too.”
I give him a hug. “I’m proud of you.”
Dozens of flashbulbs nearly blind me as Daddy and I start down the aisle. I try not to blink because I know that won’t make for a pretty picture, but I can hardly make out Logan at the altar.
“I assumed this would be small,” I whisper to my father as we’re waylaid by a reporter begging for a still shot of us halfway through the walk. “It’s so last-minute. However did they fill the chapel?”
“Everyone in the damn room seems to have a camera,” Daddy whispers back as he poses with an awkward smile for the cameraman. “And there are a lot of local reporters. I think the mayor outdid himself.”
We finally get the go-ahead to start moving again, and Daddy picks up the pace considerably. “Let’s get you there, darlin’.”
I glance to the right of the chapel, back into the darkest corner of the room, where two bright eyes get my attention. I slow down and smile. Mr. Bingley somehow found a way to be present. His first wedding when he wasn’t locked up in the liquor room. I blow him a kiss, and he opens his mouth in a silent meow.
Daddy hustles me forward again. “Come on now.”
Skip waves as I pass him and gives me the thumbs-up. “We’re rooting for you, Macey. Free that ghost!”
I try to tell him to shut up, but Daddy pulls me along so fast that I’m standing face to face with Logan before I know it.
He looks so handsome. His green tie highlights the hint of emerald in his eyes, and it matches my dress exactly. I love the way his hair is styled, and I have to stop myself from knocking the Mr. Darcy cowboy hat off his head to get a better look.
Logan inhales as he catches my wrist with his hand and leans in. “You look so gorgeous. Despite that God-awful bonnet.”
I break into a laugh.
He leans even closer to whisper, “Every time I see you in this dress, I want to rip it off you.”
“Remember to meet me at the bar afterward,” I say in his ear. “I have a feeling the crowd will be crazy.”
“Don’t worry. I’m never losing you again.”
I try to focus on the moment, but Lord, this bonnet is so freaking itchy. I resist the urge to scratch at my head like an animal and smile up at the reverend.
“We’re here to celebrate this man”—Reverend Sands gestures to Logan—“And this woman,” he says as he nods at me. He gives a wry smile. “We were supposed to be witnessing a different union today, between this same man”—again he turns to Logan—“but not this woman…”
Logan glares at him. “Got it. The whole town’s got it. Let’s move it forward to what’s actually happening.”
The reverend bows, but before he can continue, my father stands up.
“That’s enough,” he says. “I was going to wait until after my daughter had her moment, but it looks like some things have a timeline of their own.”
He walks to the altar and asks Reverend Sands to step aside. And then, in a strong voice and with his head held high, my father tells the truth. The whole truth. About himself and his mistakes, and the way he hurt his wife and his children and even the women he hooked up with in the past.
He tells the town what Logan did for the woman he loved and how my father wishes that someday he could hope to be half the man his about-to-be son-in-law already is.
“Holy. Cowherd Whiskey,” Blake says loudly from behind Logan. “That’s a good dang reason for your crazy summer, Wild.” He slaps Logan on the back.
Mr. Wild is crying by the time Daddy finishes his confession. The entire chapel stands and applauds when Mama rises from her pew, puts her arm around Daddy, and