He reached out to touch it, marveling that Misty had managed to capture everything about their two individual lives in one piece of art.
“There she is,” Aunt Willa whispered, and Link tore his eyes from the saddle altar to look down the aisle.
Misty stood there, her dress a bright white in the lights in the barn. She had her arm linked through Danny’s, who wore a midnight black tuxedo, a cowboy hat, and a healthy smile on his face.
Her sleeves puffed and bulged away from her arms, giving the top of the dress such an interesting shape. The bodice clung to her chest and ribs and flaredover her hips, and when she finally started to move, it looked like her legs and feet didn’t even touch the skirt.
She glided like a princess, and Link absolutely could not stop smiling. She was here, and she was his, and they were going to have the most amazing life together.
They arrived, and Misty leaned into Danny and kissed his cheek. He whispered something to her, and then transferred her arm from his to Link’s. “Love you, brother,” Link said, and Danny repeated it back to him before he went to stand next to Henry.
Link gazed at Misty, with her lined eyes and ruby red lips. “You are absolutely gorgeous,” he murmured. “I’ve just fallen in love with you all over again.” He slid his hand along her waist, pulling her closer.
Every moment where she looked at him made him into a new version of himself. The Link who loved her in that second, and then the next, and then even more in the third. He’d had no idea that love would be able to affect a person so much, but it did. Its power could change hearts and minds, open the door to forgiveness, and inspire kindness, conversations, and bind families together.
He leaned down and kissed her, which got a rise from the crowd gathered in the family barn. Embarrassment funneled through Link, and he pulled away when Aunt Willa cleared her throat loudly.
“Sorry,” he murmured, but Misty still stood there with her head tipped back and her eyes closed.
“I’m not,” Misty murmured, and she slid her hand behind his neck and pulled him back to her for another kiss. “I love you, Lincoln.”
“Gotta say I-do at some point,” Daddy called, and that got Misty to pull away, giggling.
Link chuckled too, and he tucked her against his side as they faced Willa. “Okay,” he said. “We’re ready.”
“Mm, yes, I can see you are.” She nodded over to Misty, inhaled, and said in a loud voice, “I get more joy from marrying two people in love than from anything else I get to do as a pastor.” She signed as she spoke, so Mitch could participate fully.
She pressed one hand to her heart, fisting her fingers. “And the fact that it’s one of my very favorite nephews only makes today probably the best day I’ve had in years. I’m not going to delay this for too much longer, because today is a fabulous day to get married.”
Link held onto Misty while his aunt spoke about compromise and communication, and to her eternal credit, she didn’t go on for too long before she said, “Remember that love is not simply an emotion, but a choice you make every day. You must choose each other. Love is patient and kind. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures through all things. So be patient and kind and loving with each other, every day of your lives.”
She reached out and set her Bible on the saddle. “It’s time, you two. Join hands and face one another.”
Link shifted to do that, catching sight of his parents out of the corner of his eye. Misty’s mom sat next to Momma, and she wiped at her eyes.
“Misty Jeanine Granger, do you take Lincoln Wyatt Josephs Glover to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, to love, cherish, and support?”
“I do,” Misty said, and her voice seemed to fill the whole barn. Link’s throat felt like someone had scrubbed it with sandpaper, and he hoped he could speak when it was his turn.
Aunt Willa repeated the question to him, and he swallowed, looked Misty right in the eye, and said, “I do.” Thankfully, his voice sounded normal and came out loud enough.
Aunt Willa then picked up the rings she had on her side of the altar, and she placed them on the Bible. “These rings are a symbol of an unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this couple in holy matrimony.”
She nodded to them, and Link had been told that was his cue to pick up the diamond he’d bought for Misty. He did, and she reached out and picked up his band too. She slid his ring on his finger, her smile so beautiful, and Link did the same for her, fitting the two pieces of her ring together into the final piece.
“By the power vested in me bythe state of Texas and the Almighty God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
Link tore his gaze from the glittering diamond on his wife’s finger and looked into her eyes. “You’re mine now, but I don’t want you to think you’re special or anything.”
She giggled and said, “Oh, stop it. I already know I’m the special-est.”
Link laughed and pressed his lips to hers in a sloppy marriage kiss. The crowd behind them did what they always did best—they made a lot of joyful noise as Link kissed his wife.
Only when someone said into a microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mister and Missus Lincoln Glover!” did Link pull away and lace his fingers through Misty’s.
Then he led his new wife down the aisle as those they loved applauded, whistled, and cheered.
Chapter Thirty-Five