“What time is it?” he asked, though he knew he still had at least a half-hour before he’d be leaving this room and heading for the altar. If his wedding were any closer, his momma would’ve come in to let him know.
She hadn’t appeared yet, which meant she was still in the room down the hall with Misty.
He focused on the beautiful woman he couldn’t wait to marry and focused on the person who’d come to stand in front of him. Uncle Cactus. “Why am I so nervous?”
“Because this is an important thing.” His uncle reached out and straightened Link’s bowtie. He smiledat him. “You’re going to be making covenants with God to love and cherish and take care of a good woman, and she’s going to expect you to uphold that.”
Link swallowed, not sure this was quite the pep talk he needed.
“And you’re going to make covenants with her, and she’s going to do the same for you, and then, there’s no going back.”
“I don’t want to go back,” Link said. “I’m worried she’ll want to go back.”
Uncle Cactus nodded, always so sober—until he could smile and laugh and joke. “Son, I’ve seen her with you, and there’s no way—absolutely none—that she’s backing out of this. She adores you.”
“You think so?” Link’s throat felt as wide as a straw, and he couldn’t swallow or breathe.
“And she’s the luckiest woman in the world to have you,” Cactus said, finally lowering his hands and leaving Link’s collar and tie and lapels alone. “Don’t forget that and don’t ever doubt it.”
“Do you sometimes doubt it with Aunt Willa?”
Uncle Cactus gave him one of those rare smiles and said, “Well, Willa is a unicorn, son, and I thank God every day that He gave her to me.”
Link felt the same way about Misty, and he exhaled as he prayed God would make him into the man she deserved, needed, and could love for a lifetime.
“Link,” a woman said, and he spun toward the door.Momma stood there, wearing a gorgeous, glittering dress in a deep purple. “You’ve got twenty minutes.”
“I’m setting the timer,” Daddy said as he approached Momma. He kissed her quickly, and they spoke for a moment before Momma looked over to Link again. She grinned at him, and Link moved toward her.
“Momma,” he whispered as he arrived in her arms. “I’m so scared.”
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, my sweet boy,” she said as she gripped him tightly around the shoulders. “You’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. So has she, and you two are just perfect for each other.”
“I wish we could’ve just eloped.” He stepped back. “There are so many of us, and everyone stares.”
Momma laughed, but she kept it short. “Link, baby, you’re literally supposed to watch two people when they get married.”
“I know.” He rolled his shoulders, trying to get the tension to dissipate. “I can’t wait until we’re on the ship, and no one knows us, and we can just have our own adventures.”
“Getting to Spain is going to be an adventure all its own,” Momma said with a grin. “Now, you’re down to sixteen minutes, and we may have been a little late last night starting dinner, but we will not hold this wedding for anyone—not even the groom.” With that, she left the room, and Link faced the closed door for a moment.
Then he turned to face all the men in his family, andas he looked at them—truly looked, the way he’d advised Misty to do, all he could see was love.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Link stood at the back of the barn, the aisle stretching in front of him. The music filtering through the barn changed, and that made everyone turn and start to stand when they saw him.
He resisted the urge to fiddle with his cufflinks again, and thankfully, Daddy stood only five feet from him, ready to lead everyone down the aisle to their seats. His wedding party consisted of his friends, not his family, and they waited to Link’s right.
He’d lead them down the aisle, and while he walked, Misty would get into position with her brother, who was walking her down the aisle and giving her away.
His legs wanted to run, but Link held very, very still. Momma came to Daddy’s side, and the Glover family procession started in the next breath. One by one, couple by couple, they walked toward Link, pressed their fists to their hearts, and moved past him.
He kept his fist pressed to his heart too in the Glover salute of love and support, and once his family had gone, he looked over to where Finn Ackerman stood with his wife, Edith. Link didn’t know who had their son, but he was real glad to see them waiting there, both smiling and shining with rainbows and sunshine.
He nodded to them, and then he faced the crowd, which was suddenly so much larger. Then he took the first step and led his friendsdown the aisle to the altar. He kept his head held high, his hands loose at his sides as he walked in the slow cadence his mother had taught him.
He arrived at the altar and he hugged Finn and Edith, then Mitch, who’d walked alone in the wedding party, Alex and Nicki, Dawson and Caroline, Brandon and Janey, Ollie and Rory, and then Henry Marshall and his date, though Link had only met her that morning.
They moved to stand in an arc around the altar, and his aunt joined him at the saddle that Misty had spent considerable time painting in her own special way. He studied the shape of his name and how it flowed into hers, and he found the word GLOVER done in what looked like old western letters along the bottom.