“Glovers are never late,” Sammy said, and she cradled his face for a couple moments before she moved to sit beside him. The moment she did, the lights popped and went out, and plenty of people yelped or cried out, Misty included.
“Link,” she said over the brand new noise.
“It’s part of the night, baby,” he said.
“Part of the night—what?”
The lights—rather, a single light—illuminated a single person at the back of the hall, and he held a guitar but kept his head down, his cowboy hat hiding his face. Misty’s adrenaline pounded through her, but she couldn’t look away from the man directly in front of her.
Then the man lifted his face, and Misty saw it was Link’s uncle Ward. He started to play, his fingers moving deftly over the strings to create a beautiful sound.
“He used to play in a band,” Link said, his mouth right at her ear so she could hear. “Uncle Mister too.”
That explained the second sound that came in—another guitar—and the man who joined Ward. Mister wore a grin the size of Texas itself, which was the opposite of Ward, who looked about the same as he always did: halfway to irritation.
Then he looked over to Mister, and his face dissolved into a smile too. That somehow made Misty relax, and she only jumped slightly when someone started crooning into the microphone.
The Glover family whooped and cheered, and Misty found herself getting swept along in the wave of their joy and celebrating. She clapped along to the beat, and she found herself yelling when another uncle and then another joined Ward and Mister as they advanced toward the front table.
And when they started begging Bear to get out there and dance with them…. Misty leaned forward and looked at the grumpy grizzly bear sitting beside his wife, his arms folded.
“Go on!” she yelled at him, and he cut his eyes over to her.
Link laughed, and Misty did too, because they both knew Bear was going to get out there and dance with his brothers and cousins. When he finally did, the roof on the barn practically vibrated with the screams and applause.
His grumpy mask broke, and out came the panda bear that Misty had grown to know and love. He laughedwith his brothers, and on the next step, he easily moved into the line of men performing a dance.
A legit line dance, while two of them played and Ace sang. They all danced a grapevine move to the left, clapped in unison, and started cowboy-stepping it back to the right. Misty could not stop laughing, because this was the stuff of legends. The family party she’d dreamed of.
The family she’d dreamed of, period.
The song ended, and she cheered and clapped along with everyone else in the room. Then Bishop took the mic from Ace and told everyone to take their seats. He moved to stand in front of the long table where Misty and Link sat with their families.
“All right, all right!” Bishop yelled into the mic. “That was an amazing intro to tonight’s dinner, and no finer beginning to a wedding celebration has ever been seen.”
The last chatter and laughter finally subsided as Bishop finished speaking, but he kept on going with, “Link has asked me to pray over dinner, and then we’re going to eat. There will be music and dancing after that, and I’ve been tasked to remind everyone that the wedding is at ten-thirty sharp tomorrow morning, right here in True Blue.”
He nodded and waited several seconds while cowboy hats got removed and arms folded, and then Bishop bowed his head and prayed. “Lord, we thankThee for a reason to get together in this barn, which we love. There’s nothing as amazing as a wedding, and we’re so grateful that Misty has somehow been blinded to all of Link’s flaws and agreed to marry him anyway.”
He laughed lightly, and Misty found herself giggling too. She glanced over to Link, who wore a smile while keeping his eyes closed. She reached for his hand and took it easily, and she squeezed his fingers in hers.
“Kidding aside, we’re grateful for Link and Misty, and for each other. We’re grateful for families, and we’re grateful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” He paused, and Misty had learned that all of Link’s aunts and uncles had emotional triggers, and if they got pressed, the Holy Spirit could flow effortlessly throughout the whole room.
Exactly as it was now.
Misty found herself tensing up with emotion again, and she fought against her tears for the umpteenth time this week.
“Bless those in our company who need Thy special care, and bless the ranch while Link is gone, and we pray a special blessing on this young couple as they travel for their honeymoon. And now.” He took a big breath, the sound of it actually going through the microphone. “We ask Thee to bless this food, which was made by masterful hands, and we’re real grateful for the bounty You have always poured onto us here at Shiloh Ridge. Amen.”
“Amen,” got bellowed through the barn, but Misty murmured her seal of approval on Bishop’s prayer.
She assumed there’d be a buffet, but she didn’t stand up to go get food. Only a few seconds later, Smiles, Link’s younger brother, appeared with two plates, one in each hand. He served Link first and then Misty, his smile wide and warm.
“Thank you,” Link said, and Misty tried to echo him, but Smiles was already gone. She watched as all the teens in Link’s family served the others still seated at the tables, marveling at how amazing this family was that she would be part of tomorrow morning at ten-thirty sharp.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Link tugged at his shirtsleeves, his legs starting to get that jittery feeling in them again. He had to move, and he needed to do it now. He got to his feet despite his uncle’s protest, and he shook both hands to try to get the nerves to dissipate.