“Creepy?” He paused and glanced back at her. “I was going more for romantic.”
“Why are you all dressed up, anyway? And when did you learn how to do that?”
“Been practicin’. Wanted to be appropriately dressed for the weddin’.”
“That’s sweet, but why bother? It’s not like anyone can see you. Apart from Chris, nobody even knows we’re here, let alone what we’re wear…” Her voice trailed off as they reached a clearing. It was an almost perfect circle of treeless ground, covered in grass and fallen leaves, with trees rising up around them on every side. The sky was visible overhead, and this far away from bright lights, they could see a multitude of stars.
As if that wasn’t beautiful enough, flameless candles lined the perimeter, and battery-powered twinkle lights had been strung up in the tree branches. Ron looked around at it all in wonder. “What is all this?”
“Wasn’t talking about your father’s weddin’,” said Joe.
She stared at him as his meaning sunk in. “You mean…”
He came over to her and took her hands in his. “All that’s missing is a bride.”
“Now?”
He shrugged. “Figure it’s as good a night as any. And there were all these pretty lights lying around. Seemed a shame to let ‘em go to waste.”
Ron gave him a sly look. “I thought I heard the wedding planner chastising her workers for losing some lights. So this is what you were up to when I lost track of you earlier?”
He shrugged as though it should be obvious. “So what do you say?”
She didn’t know what to say. Words seemed inadequate for what she was feeling. Instead, she closed her eyes and formed a detailed picture in her mind of herself in a wedding gown. Concentrating, she felt a change come over her. When she opened her eyes, Joe was holding a bouquet of pink hydrangeas and looking at her in a way that melted her heart. “Well, don’t you look pretty enough to marry.” She smiled, and he handed her the bouquet. “Here. Picked ‘em myself.”
She took the flowers and inspected them. She couldn’t smell them, but they looked lovely. “What about the minister? Did you steal him, too?”
“I reckon marrying a couple of ghosts is beyond the minister’s purview. We don’t need one for this, anyhow.” He held out a hand. She grasped it, gladly, and let him lead her to the middle of the clearing. Once there, he turned to her and opened his mouth to speak, but then he seemed to think of something. “I didn’t figure we needed witnesses, either, but if you want your sister here for this, we can go get her.”
Ron almost said yes automatically. Of course she wanted her sister there for something this major. But she didn’t want to steal Chris’s thunder. Besides, this felt right, just the two of them, and she didn’t want to ruin the moment. “No,” she said. “Let’s do this.”
Joe smiled. “All right, then.” He took the flowers from her and laid them carefully on the ground, then straightened up and took both her hands in his. Looking into her eyes, he said, “I been thinkin’ a lot about what to say, how this would work. I can’t pledge you my life, or my body, or my worldly goods, ‘cause I don’t have any of those things. But what I do have, my heart, my soul, all my devotion, from this day forward, is yours, Veronica Wilson, if you’ll have it.” He leaned down a little further, his eyes questioning. “Will you?”
“I will,” she said, grinning up at him. She was vibrating all over, so much so that she was afraid she might come apart. She squeezed his hands. “And you have my heart, and my soul, and all my devotion, from this day forward, if you want them.” She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Do you?”
“You know I do.”
“I love you,” she said.
“And I love you, more’n I can stand.” He raised her hands to his lips. “Sorry we can’t do this with a ring, though.”
“Don’t be. We don’t need rings any more than we need a minister or a license.” She squeezed his hands. “So, is that it? Are we married?”
“One more thing.” He pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her. The way he kissed her nearly caused her to come undone. When at last he broke it off, he rested his forehead against hers. “I now pronounce us man and wife.”
Ron smiled. “I think you should kiss the bride like that again.”
“Funny,” he said, “I was thinkin’ the same thing.”
So that’s what he did.
About the Author
Jean Marie Bauhaus is a red-headed GenXer who speaks with a twang that attests to her Northeastern Oklahoma upbringing. She developed a passion for good storytelling at an impressionable young age, and today channels that passion into writing romance and fantasy novels.
A freelance writer and book editor by trade, Jean is addicted to yarn, dark chocolate, and even darker coffee. She makes her home in Northeastern Oklahoma with her husband, Matt, their Chihuahua Pete, a cat and two grumpy box turtles. Connect with her at her website, JeanMarieBauhaus.com, where you can sign up to get a free Restless Spirits prequel and be automatically entered to win a free ebook each month. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram @jmbauhaus.
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Jean Marie Bauhaus
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