“Mama, the baby’s fine. It was a false alarm. Come look at it yourself. Dr. Ghosh brought an ultrasound machine.”
Skye’s mom walked with cautious steps to Skye, as though the rug might be pulled out from under her at any moment. Her dad shuffled behind them. When her mom got to Skye’s bedside, Skye took her hand and held it tight. Even Gentry could see that her mom’s hand was shaking. Mr. Martinez stood behind his wife and rubbed her back, his eyes on the monitor.
“Look, Mom. There it is. It’s too soon to tell if it’s a boy or a girl, but Dr. Ghosh says he’s perfect.”
“Or she,” Dr. Ghosh added. “And yes, she’s perfect in every way. Strong heart, correct length, and moving just as she should.”
Her mom stared at the monitor until her lower lip started to tremble. Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry, mija. I haven’t been what you needed. I haven’t been there for you. I was so scared of losing you that I screwed everything up. As much love as you’re feeling right now for your own little baby, that’s what I feel for you. Can you imagine that?”
“If you feel for me a fraction of the love I feel for this baby, then that’s a lot of love, indeed. And I love you too.”
Her mom bent down and hugged her tight. The two of them cried and trembled and embraced.
Gentry looked around him to see that there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. The perfect mood for what he wanted to do next. He cleared his throat. “Now that everybody’s here, I’d like to finish asking Skye a question that I started to before y’all busted into the room.”
Skye’s mom backed up to give them space. As for Skye, she couldn’t stop smiling.
When her mom saw the ring in Gentry’s hand, she gasped and did the sign of the cross. “I told you I was going to do this right, Mrs. Martinez. I love your daughter more than anything and it’s my vow to you and to Skye’s father that I will take care of her and love her for the rest of my life.”
“I believe you,” Mrs. Martinez said. “And I’m sorry to you too. For what I’ve put you through.”
He shook his head. “I can’t accept that because there’s no apology needed. Thank you for raising such a magnificent person. I am humbled by your family.”
She nodded, then pulled him into a hug. When it was done, Mrs. Martinez stepped aside. Gentry turned to Skye. “Skye, darlin’, where was I?”
“I believe you were about to get on bended knee.”
“Oh, was that it? I don’t remember that part, but here I go.” He knelt beside the bed and took her hand. “Skye, will you make me the luckiest man in the world? Will you be my bride?”
“Yes. Of course. Nothing would make me happier. Now get that huge rock on my finger.”
The family clapped and whistled as Gentry slid the ring on, then stood to kiss his fiancée.
Mama Lita dabbed at her eye with a bright yellow handkerchief. “We did it, June.”
Granny June put her arm around Mama Lita. “We did it, Edalia. Nice work.” And then they high-fived.
“Wait a gosh-darn second,” Skye called from the bed. “You two have been working together this whole time? I thought only Granny June was into matchmaking. Mama Lita, you told me you didn’t believe in marriage.”
Mama Lita only gave her a wink. “Old ladies never share their secrets.”
Granny June planed her hands on her hips. “Does this mean we get to put on a wedding now?”
“No, it means I get to put on a wedding now,” Gloria said. “She’s my sister.”
Skye’s mom waved her hands. “You’re all wrong. This is my wedding to plan.”
And then all the women in the Martinez family started talking at once. Gentry and the other men in the room all took a giant step back, then another. “Yeah, it’s best if we just leave them to it.”
This big, loud, hard-loving family was now his. They and their children would never want for love. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Skye’s dad cupped a hand on Gentry’s shoulder. “Welcome to the family, son. Glad to have you aboard.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Two months later …
Skye pushed the stable door open and disappeared in its dusty depths. The horses poked their heads over their stall doors, curious about the intruder. Who would’ve guessed that she, of all people, would have had a wedding-day meltdown? She wanted to marry Gentry. More than anything, actually.
They were having a baby girl together. Heck, they’d already started brainstorming names, even though their daughter’s arrival wouldn’t be for another four months or so. But her wedding had turned into a bona-fide circus. And who was its ringleader—or rather, ringleaders? Her mom and Gloria, with a little help from Remedy.
Skye didn’t remember her mom going quite this nuts for Gloria’s wedding. Probably because it had been held in the church. In fact, this wedding was the first in her family as far back as anyone could remember, that was not going to be in the church. They would have another wedding at the church once Gentry had been baptized Catholic next spring. Meanwhile, Skye’s father had been ordained so that he could be the one to marry them.
On paper, everything was going as planned—except that, in reality, Skye was miserable.
Her mom and Gloria wouldn’t stop bickering about wedding details. The bridesmaids’ dresses were gaudy shades of orange and blue, but her aunt had insisted on sewing them herself, so there was nothing she could do. The mariachi band hired to perform before the ceremony sounded atrocious, but her cousin Marco played in the band, so she had no choice.
That seemed to be the common refrain throughout the wedding process. Skye had no choice. About anything of consequence, except for who she was marrying.
The final straw had been at the pre-wedding photographs, when her trio of uncles who always got hammered before weddings, sang “Besame Mucho” at the top of their lungs, sloshing flasks of tequila around as they danced. Actually, everyone in her family was partying so hard in the reception area, she wasn’t sure they’d notice whether a wedding had taken place or not. All her family, that was, except for her mom and Gloria. As for those two, they were so consumed by planning that Skye doubted they’d hold up the ceremony for her if she or Gentry were late.
When she’d confessed to her bickering mom and sister in the bridal suite that she needed some space, they’d told her, “You don’t have time for space. You’re getting married in an hour!”
Well, too bad. Guess they’d see if they held the ceremony up for her or not, because Skye had to get out of there.
Gentry, for his part, had been a champ throughout the past two months, accompanying Skye to her doctor’s appointments, writing blank checks to her mom for the expenses, and calming Skye’s nerves when the pressure got too much. Add to that the news that their offer had been accepted on the ranch house around the corner from Skye’s current house, the one with the property large enough to build a stable on and house horses of their own. Gloria and the kids would continue to rent out Skye’s old house for a bargain-basement price, and Skye couldn’t be happier.
So, no, she hadn’t escaped to the stable on her wedding day because she didn’t want to marry Gentry, which she did with all her heart, but just to catch her breath and regroup in a place that held a lot of wonderful memories of her and Gentry together.
She walked to Vixen’s stall and stuck her hand out for the horse to sniff. “Hey, girl. What do you think of my dress?”
Vixen snorted and licked Skye’s hand.
The dress was a simple ivory sheath, form-fitting enough to show her burgeoning baby bump. It was such a relief not to feel like she had to hide the pregnancy out of shame anymore. With every outfit she chose these days, she judged it by whether it proudly showed off her belly.
She stroked Vixen’s nose as tears streamed down her cheeks, ruining the make-up that Gloria had worked so hard on.
After a few minutes, the stable door opened again. A shaft of sunlight kissed her slippers.
Skye
mashed her eyelids closed. “Whoever it is, I need some space. Can you come back later?”
“If that’s what you want, but I’d like to say something first.”
Gentry.
She turned to find him standing just inside the doorway, looking devastatingly handsome in a black tuxedo, a black Stetson, and shiny black cowboy boots. A fresh wave of despair crashed over her at the wedding circus they were supposed to go through with. It simply wasn’t right for them. Maybe they shouldn’t have rushed it. Maybe they should have waited until Gentry was baptized in their church so they could have had a proper wedding and start their life off on the right foot.
“Oh, Gentry, I’m so sorry. This wedding is all wrong,” she choked. “This isn’t what I wanted. But my mother and Gloria took over, and now they won’t stop fighting. Maybe we should postpone the wedding so we can do this our way, not anybody else’s. Because I don’t think my family got that memo.”
Worry lines appeared on his forehead and, even though he was trying to hide it, she could tell she’d upset him, which only made her tears fall harder. “That’s a load of bull. We’re not getting married for the wrong reasons, because we’re not getting married because of the baby or to make you a respectable woman or any of that BS. We’re going to love that little peanut with all our hearts either way, marriage or not. If we do this wedding, we’re doing this for us. You and me.”
So, then, he did understand where she was coming from. “Exactly. I want this to be about us and our love, not what my family expects.”
His shoulders relaxed and the worry lines on his face vanished. He stepped to her and gathered her in his arms. “Come here, baby.”
She sank into his arms, cringing against a sob.
He rocked her slowly. “You had me worried there for a minute. I thought maybe you’d decided you didn’t love me and didn’t want to marry me.”
Sniffing, she offered him a watery smile. “Now who’s spouting the bullshit?”
He dried her eyes, then cupped her cheeks and angled his lips over hers. She would never stop loving his kisses, from the dirty, midnight ones to the lazy Sunday morning ones. If only they could skip to that part in the wedding ceremony and forget the rest.
When the kiss ended, Gentry held her out away from him so he could look at her. “You know, we don’t have to get married here. We have options.”
“Options? There are three hundred guests arriving as we speak. My father is set to officiate. Are we supposed to tell them all that we’re moving it across town?”
He shrugged. “I’ve heard Nashville is one of the best places to whisk away a runaway bride to. I even know a place that does a real nice ceremony, dancing waters, Dolly Parton, and all.”
Awareness dawned over her. Was he really talking about eloping? Anticipation blossomed, intoxicating her with the prospect of breaking that many rules. “You’re not serious … are you? Don’t tease me about this.”
“Does this sound like I’m teasing?” And he broke out with the chorus to “Islands in the Stream,” much to the horses’ delight, who stamped their hooves and snorted in appreciation.
Skye’s mind was racing, trying to get all the details worked out. “We do have a private plane on standby for the honeymoon.” That was one luxury Gentry had suggested that Skye had fully approved of.
“And I know firsthand the best ways to commandeer a limousine.”
She paused, setting a hand on his chest. “We can’t ditch our own wedding, can we?”
“Can you think of a reason why we shouldn’t?”
The faces of her drunk uncles sprang to mind. “No, no I can’t. Oh, my mother is going to be so mad.” And that was reason enough, right there.
Gentry smoothed his hands up and down her arms. “I know. Isn’t it wonderful?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “We’re going to make our own magic.”
He took her hand. “Let’s go. There’s no time to waste.”
But another thought had occurred to her and she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes pricked with tears again. “Gentry, I just thought of something.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just … the spell worked. The love spell that my mom and I cast that night. I can’t believe it, but it worked. You’re everything I ever wanted in a husband. And here you are, with me. And we’re having a baby. I mean, look at us.” She spread her arms wide and looked down at her wedding dress and her beautiful belly.
“Yeah, baby, look at us.” His voice was gruff with emotion. Then he offered her his hand once more. “Skye Martinez, are you ready to run away with me?”
“I’m ready. More ready than I’d ever thought I’d be, thanks to you and your love.” With the horses looking on, she set her hand in his and let him pull her out the door and right into her destiny.
Epilogue
One year later …
“I’ve never walked a red carpet before, but I could get used to this,” Skye said as she stepped from the limo out into the red carpet staging area at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Gentry let his gaze linger on her long legs and strappy heels right up until she twirled for him, a vision in gold. “How do I look?”
“Like you were born for this. I love that dress. Feels like I’ve already won an award tonight, with you on my arm.”
She strutted his way and straightened his bow tie. “You’re going to win, you know. You’re up for just about every ACM award you’re eligible for. It’s an incredible album.”
He pulled her close and kissed her temple. “Thanks to my incredible muse.”
“Okay, team. This is the big leagues, so let’s be on our A-game,” they heard behind them and turned to see Larry and Nick striding their way along with Gentry’s backup band, which included one very uncomfortable looking young man.
Skye was all smiles. “Hi, Larry and Nick. Logan, you look so handsome!”
Logan tugged at his tie. “Thanks, I guess. I can’t wait to get this suit off.”
It hadn’t taken much for Nick and Gentry to convince Neil to give Logan a shot. Not only had Logan gone to Nashville with Gentry to record the final cut of the album, but Neil had invited him to go on tour with Gentry’s band that summer—just as soon as he’d graduated high school. As Gentry had known he would, Logan jumped at the chance. Gentry had been there. He knew what it meant to want something so badly that he was willing to sacrifice anything and everything for it. He looked at the woman by his side as proof.
“We’re behind schedule,” Larry said. “Time to walk the red carpet. Logan, you remember the answers we practiced?”
Gentry hadn’t thought it possible, but Logan looked even more uncomfortable at that prospect. “I guess. I don’t have to say much, though. Right?”
Larry slapped Logan’s back. “As much as you can. You’re an All-Star in the making, kid, so go out there and promote yourself.”
Gentry squeezed Skye’s hand. “You ready for this?”
The smile she gave him hit him right in the gut. “Like I was born for it.”
“Then here we go.” Arm-in-arm, they rounded the corner and into a noisy sea of people and camera flashes. Larry directed them to their first media station, this one for a cable-news channel.
The reporter was a tiny young woman who gesticulated as though she’d downed two Red Bulls before show time. “I’m standing with Entertainer of the Year nominee Gentry Wells and his wife Skye. Gentry, where’s your cute little baby girl tonight? Little Miss Ruby Wells.”
She stuck the microphone under his nose.
As Larry might have said, that was a nice softball question to get him warmed up with. “Home with the best babysitters in the world, Skye’s parents.” It was amazing how much Yessica and Beto had warmed up to Gentry over the past year.
It’d taken a little time for them to get over the fact that Gentry and Skye had ditched the wedding that Yessica had so meticulously planned, but all had been forgiven the first time
they held Ruby in their arms. It was safe to say that the entire Martinez family, Gentry, Nick, and all the other Briscoe Ranch friends and employees who’d come out to the hospital that day had fallen in love with the baby girl the first moment they laid eyes on her. Truly, she had them all wrapped around her little finger with eyes the color of the earth after a rain and the most beautiful black hair in the world next to her mama’s.
“Want to announce right here on the red carpet any plans for more kids?”
Nice try. Both Gentry and Skye afforded the reporter an indulgent smile. Of course, they had plans to add at least one more kid, maybe two, to their family, but they refused to make their family part of an entertainment-news show’s exclusive scoop.
“Aw, now, don’t go putting ideas in my bride’s head. Let me get through our world tour first.”
“Speaking of that tour, there’s been talk that you’re taking the whole family?”
“You bet. It is called the ‘Coming Home’ tour, and for me, home is wherever my little Ruby and my beautiful bride are.” Bride twice over, actually, since he’d been baptized Catholic the month before, and they’d had a second ceremony, this one during mass and blessed by Father Ellwood himself. Gentry wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Skye so happy as she’d been that day.
For once, the reporter extended the microphone to Skye. “Are you looking forward to hitting the road?”
Skye didn’t hesitate. “You know, I am. I was born with a wild heart, ready to hit the road, and there’s no one I’d rather do that with than this guy. And then, at the end of the tour, it’ll be nice to settle in back home in Texas for a while. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Gentry was so profoundly grateful that she’d come to see it that way. He would’ve been content to never leave Dulcet again as long as she was by his side, but this tour had been her idea and he couldn’t be prouder to have her and Ruby on the road with him. He loved it even more that she’d accepted that side of herself, the wild side of her that longed-for adventure. He’d like to think he really was the best of both worlds as her partner, providing her with just the right amount of settling down and the right amount of rule breaking to keep that spark in her eye and that spring in her step.
One Wild Night Page 28
