by SJ McCoy
Cassidy hugged him tight. “It’s not dumb at all. I love the idea. It’d be perfect. Let’s do it. We should stay at the house tomorrow night. I’m going to need a real bed for what I have in mind for you.”
“And a shower in the morning?”
She nodded. “But then, on Sunday, when all our guests have gone and we’ve done the family lunch, we should take off. We’ll take Cookie and Lady and Teddy.”
He looked so happy. “You’re not just doing this for me? We talked about going to a beach somewhere. We could go to the Caribbean, or anywhere you want to.”
“And we will, at some point. But for our honeymoon, I love this idea. You’re right. It’s how we should start our life together.”
Shane planted a kiss on her lips. “I love you, Cassidy Lane.”
She laughed. “You won’t be able to say that after tomorrow.”
“What because we’ll be married?” He looked confused.
“No, dumbass. Because I won’t be Cassidy Lane anymore. I’ll be Cassidy Remington.”
His smile was all the confirmation she needed. She’d thought long and hard about it. She’d never considered getting married before, but she would never have taken another man’s name. She’d worked so hard to build her own name. Cassidy Lane was a brand in itself in the art world. But that was no reason not to change it to Cassidy Remington. The world would adapt. She knew it meant so much to Shane. He’d accept whatever she wanted. He’d have no problem with whatever she chose, but taking his name was a way she could show him she understood him. He was a man—a Montana man at that. He knew she was strong and independent and he would never try to tame her, but he still had that inborn need to be her big strong man. It would mean the world to him—and the part of her that wanted to be the little lady loved it too.
He was still grinning. “You mean it?”
She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his lips. “I mean it. It’s what I want.”
“You know it’s what I want.”
“I do.”
He grinned. “You keep practicing those two words.”
She laughed. “I will.”
“No, I do. You got it right the first time. Keep practicing would you, you’ve got less than twenty-four hours to get it right.”
She kissed him again. “I’ve already got it right. I love you.”
“And I love you.”
She snuggled against him wishing that he was going to stay.
He sat back and looked at his bag over in the corner. “I suppose I’d better go.”
“Do you have to? It’s just a dumb tradition. I don’t care.”
“I don’t have to. I’ll stay if you want me to.”
She couldn’t do it to him, no matter how much she’d like to. He was going up to the big house, as were all the brothers. They’d spend the night there. If it were just about the tradition of not spending the night before the wedding together, she’d ask him to stay. But it was more than that. It was about the Remingtons; Dave and Monique and their boys having this special evening together. She shook her head. “I want you to, but I want you to go be with your mom and dad more. I’ll have you forever now. This is our beginning. For your mom and dad it’s kind of an ending. You need to go.”
Shane hugged her tight. “Thanks, princess. You get it, don’t you?”
“I sure do. Just because I don’t come from a big loving family, doesn’t mean I can’t imagine how special it must be.”
“You don’t need to imagine for much longer. From tomorrow you’ll officially be a part of a big loving family, and you’ll make it even more special, just by being in it.”
She pushed at his shoulder. “Okay, you’re laying it on a bit thick now. Just get going, would you?” As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. “That’ll be Carter.”
When the two of them had gone, Cassidy sat back down on the bed. She’d said she was just going to hang out here by herself tonight, take a bath, and get some alone time. Gina had gone to stay with her dad. Summer had gone up to the big house Clay McAdam had rented. Corinne had taken Ruby over to her sister’s house. They were all with their people. She sighed. She didn’t have any people. Well, that wasn’t fair. Her dad would love her to go over and spend the night at the resort with him. If he’d come alone, she would have. She did love him; they were close in some ways. But she couldn’t stand the thought of spending such a special evening in the company of number four. To be fair, she might be a nice person, but Cassidy didn’t have any interest in finding out. She got up again and wandered into the little kitchenette. It was wine time.
~ ~ ~
Dave put an arm around his wife’s shoulders while she made busy at the kitchen sink. He hadn’t missed the way she kept dabbing at her eyes all evening. “Are you okay, love?”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “I’m not sad. They’re happy tears.”
Dave nodded. He knew she was happy, but he felt a touch of sadness, too. It was selfish. He was happy for their boys. Each of them had found their perfect match—their life partner. They were about to embark on the next stage of their lives. He needed her to know he understood. “No matter how happy this new beginning is, it’s also an ending. We’ve done a great job, given them the best start we could in life…”
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and nodded sadly. “But now our job is over.”
Dave had to swallow as he nodded back.
Carter loomed over them and put an arm around each of their shoulders. “I’ve never argued with either of you, but I’m about to tell you you’re wrong.”
Dave looked up at his son—the quiet one, the gentle giant—who’d tried so hard his whole life to keep the family bond strong between them all. “What do you mean?”
“I mean your job isn’t over, it never will be over. Yeah, we’re all going out and getting married and starting families of our own, but we’re not going to stop needing you. We’ll never stop needing you. In fact, my guess is that we’ll all need you more than ever in the next few years. We’ll all have new challenges to overcome. We all have to learn about being married and being parents.” His smile made Dave’s eyes prick again. “And you two aren’t just our parents, you’re also the best example I’ve ever seen of how to be good parents and how to make a good marriage work. I know I’m not the only one who’s going to need you more than ever.”
Mason leaned against the fridge and nodded. “You know I’m going to be counting the days till you get back in the spring. And I’m going to be calling and begging for my mommy and daddy to come home as soon as Gina thinks her time is getting close.”
Monique wiped her eyes and nodded. “We’ll be here.”
Dave swallowed. “We will.”
Beau leaned in the doorway and smiled at them. “And sorry, but there’s no way I’m letting you opt out of parental duties just when I finally found my way back into the family.” He tried to give them a stern look, but couldn’t hide his smile. “I might take it personally and get offended.”
Dave grinned as Shane punched Beau’s arm. “Nice try, but no one believes your Mr. Grumpy act anymore. We all know you’re just a big pussy cat.”
Beau reached up to pat him on the head. “Shh, little one. You run along and play.”
Dave shook his head; this was making his heart overflow with love for these fine young men. He couldn’t be prouder to call them his sons.
“And besides,” Beau continued, “I already need your help with getting my little family off on the right foot. You can’t abandon me now I’ve come back into the fold and I need you.”
Monique went and wrapped her arms around him. “Never.”
“I know,” Beau hugged her back. “We just don’t ever want you to feel that we don’t need you anymore.”
Mason nodded. “We’ll always need you. Tomorrow is a new beginning for all of us, but if anything is ending, it’s only the duty and responsibility part. We have to be responsible for ourselves and our own little families, bu
t we’ll always need and want your guidance and support.”
The others all nodded.
Dave’s heart was too full to get any words out. He nodded back and smiled around at them. His boys were now men.
His eyes rested on Chance for a moment—his fifth son. Chance’s eyes shone with love as he smiled back. “This cuckoo hasn’t flown the nest yet either. And if I’m ever going to follow in my brothers’ footsteps, I’m going to need all the guidance you have to offer.”
Monique went and threw her arms around him. Dave knew that as much as she worried about him, she loved Chance with all her heart. He knew she must be as stunned as he was that Chance would even mention the possibility of following in his brothers’ footsteps.
“You’ll get there, my lucky Chance.” Monique kissed his cheek. “Your day will come.”
Chance hugged her back and smiled at Dave over her shoulder. For the first time, Dave believed that maybe Chance’s heart would someday heal enough to love again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Gina smiled at her dad. “I guess this is it then.”
He nodded and looked her over appraisingly. “You look beautiful. I’ve waited a lot of years for this day to come around, Gina, love. It’s hard to believe it’s finally here. I thought the two of you would get married when you were still kids.” He chuckled. “And I feared you’d get married pregnant.”
She laughed with him; Mason’s parents had told them the same thing.
“I never would have guessed that by the time your wedding day came around you’d be a grown woman. I have to say, I’m glad it worked out this way. I know that sounds bad…”
“It doesn’t though, Dad. I feel the same way. I mean, if you gave me the chance to go back and change things, of course I would. I would never have chosen to miss out on all those years Mason and I could have spent together. But what happened, happened, and a part of me is glad it did. I went out in the world and became my own person.”
He laughed. “You were always going to be your own person, love. I’m just glad that you got to spend some time with yourself before you became part of a couple. Being married to the right person is the best thing you can ever do in life, but I’m glad you got to live another life for a while first.”
“I know what you mean. Now I can come home and settle down, I won’t ever have to wonder what else is out there, if I’m missing something.”
He nodded. “That’s what I mean. You spread your wings, and you still chose to fly home.” He checked his watch. “And now it’s nearly time. You look so beautiful, love. All them other girls will be pretty in their frocks and that, but you’re the most beautiful of them all.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She didn’t need to dismiss his comment and talk about how the others were so much more beautiful than her. It was in the eye of the beholder, and she knew for him it was true. “Anna looks pretty amazing in her dress.” When he’d told her that he’d asked Anna to be his guest, Gina had taken her up to town and bought her a dress. She loved it, and she did look beautiful in it. Gina didn’t know what might happen between Anna and her dad, but if they could bring a little happiness into each other’s lives then Gina was all about helping them along.
“You didn’t need to do that, you know.”
“I wanted to. You don’t know what it’s like for a woman to want to go somewhere and not have the right thing to wear. She’s left with choosing between not going or going and not enjoying it because she’s not dressed right. She’s not had it easy living at the Preston place all these years. Now she’s away from that I want to help her find her feet.” She smiled. “Especially if she’s going to become a part of our lives.”
Her dad dropped his gaze. “Don’t get carried away.”
“I’m not, I just want her and you to know that I would love to see that happen.”
He looked up. “You would?”
She hugged him as tight as she could. “More than anything.”
He wriggled out of her grasp. “You’ll spoil your dress doing that.”
She laughed. “Okay. I’ll stop it, but just admit that you have free rein, and my blessing to see what happens with Anna. Don’t go using me as an excuse to pass up on happiness if it comes along.”
His head went back down, but she didn’t miss the tears in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to say the wrong thing. I…”
He held up a hand and swiped at his face with the other. “You didn’t say the wrong thing, love. You said the exact right thing. You said the same thing your mom said to me. You remind me so much of her. And I know she’d be so damned proud of the woman you’ve become.”
Gina had to blink back tears of her own.
“Don’t you start blubbing on me, girl. It’s bad enough I’m such an old fool I can’t keep my eyes dry. We can’t have you ruining your makeup.” He took hold of her hand and squeezed it tight. “Let’s go do this day and we’ll both make her proud.”
Gina nodded as she squeezed back and headed to the truck so he could drive her down to the guest ranch to meet up with the other girls. He’d wanted to hire a limo, but she’d begged him not to. This was too important to go with something fancy, something that wasn’t her and her dad. She wanted to ride in his old truck with him as she had so many times since kindergarten. They must have driven down East River Road to Remington Ranch together thousands of times, and she hoped with all her heart that they would do so at least hundreds more.
~ ~ ~
Corinne stopped at the top of the stairs. Ruby was waiting in the hallway with Carly and James.
“Mommy! You’re so beautiful!” cried Ruby.
“Gorgeous,” said James.
Carly wiped her eyes before she brought her camera up to her face. “I can’t speak, I’ll be a blubbering wreck, just walk down slowly so I can get some great shots.”
Corinne smiled and started down the stairs. Their reactions summed up her relationship with each of them. Ruby loved her unconditionally. James was supportive and always said the right thing. Carly loved her so much she had to stay away from the emotional and stick with the practical.
When she reached the bottom, Ruby came running to her. “You look so beautiful, Mommy.” She grinned at Carly and James. “That Beau is one lucky son of a gun.”
Corinne burst out laughing and shook her head. “Did you hear Auntie Wanda say that?”
Ruby grinned. “Yep, and she’s a piece of work.”
Carly and James laughed with Corinne.
“What?” asked Ruby. “She is! Beau said so. And Auntie Wanda said he’s a piece of work too. It’s because they work together.”
“I’ll bet it is,” said James with a wry smile. “Are you ready to go?” he asked Corinne.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Are you nervous?” asked Carly.
“No.” She really wasn’t. She was excited and surprisingly, since she’d woken up this morning, she’d felt a huge sense of peace. All was right with her world. She felt as though she was coming home. This place was now her home, the Remington family was now her home, and most of all, Beau was her home. He was where she belonged. She and Ruby, and she loved him all the more for what he’d done yesterday to make their family official. Today was just the icing on the cake. She couldn’t wait for him to become her husband.
Carly grinned. “Good. I wasn’t either. I think when you know it’s right, there’s no need for nerves.”
Corinne nodded.
“Let’s go then,” said Ruby and headed for the front door. When she reached it, she turned back with a grin. “It’s time to marry his ass.”
Corinne groaned, she was really going to have to have a word with Cassidy.
~ ~ ~
“I hope that cowboy of yours knows just how lucky he is,” said Autumn as she straightened Summer’s dress.
Summer clasped her hands together and smiled. “I’m the lucky one. He is such a wonderful man. I said to Cassidy the first time I
saw him, it’s like someone upstairs listened to everything I wanted in a man—in looks and personality—and then went away and made Carter especially for me.”
Autumn rolled her eyes. “You are such a little romantic.”
Summer nodded happily. “I am, and Carter loves that about me. He is too, and I love it about him. We’re just made for each other, Autumn.” She held her arms out to her sister.
Autumn hugged her. “I know you are, sis. I couldn’t be happier for you. I would never have guessed your life would turn out like this—here.” She looked around the room and out the window at the mountain. “But I guess you never know what perfect will look like till you find it, do you?”
Summer smiled. “And sometimes you don’t even know what it looks like when it’s staring you in the face.”
Autumn arched an eyebrow. “I thought you knew the first time you met him.”
“Oh, I did. I wasn’t talking about me.”
Autumn frowned.
“Are you ladies nearly ready?” called Matt. “Clay’s about to burst down here waiting to see the beautiful bride.”
“Coming,” called Summer. “I was talking about him,” she said to Autumn.
“What? Matt? Perfect for what? He’s a perfect pain in the ass.”
Summer shook her head. “You two are perfect for each other. Admit it.”
Autumn blew out an exasperated sigh. “Did he put you up to this? I’ll kill him. He thinks it’d be a great PR move, start dating his manager, clean up his act. He doesn’t need to bullshit me into thinking it’s about anything other than that, and he sure as hell shouldn’t be trying to tell you that his interest is genuine.” She scowled. “That’s just wrong!”
