When Summer Comes
Page 33
Relief flooded through Callie as she slipped her arms around his neck. “That is such good news.”
He kissed her temple. “We have a fresh start, babe. Let’s make the most of it.”
She pulled back to smile up at him. “And how do we do that?”
“I think it’s time to plan the wedding.”
“So, will I be Mrs. McCloud or Mrs. Pendleton?”
“Pendleton. It’ll be great to use my real name again.”
With his arms loosely around her waist, he jerked his head at Baxter. “Bax, will you be my best man?”
Baxter laughed as he nodded. “Hell, yeah! Are we going to Vegas?”
“No,” Callie said. “I want a small ceremony at the church where my parents were married—right there in Whiskey Creek.”
Epilogue
It was a perfect October afternoon, with a butter-yellow sun shining outside and flowers adorning every pew of the old church. Callie almost wished she could photograph the event. She was that impressed with how it had all come together. But she’d spent plenty of hours photographing other people’s weddings. Today it was her turn to be escorted down the aisle, and Tina was behind the lens.
Her assistant would do a great job. Callie wasn’t worried about that. She was too happy to worry about anything, except maybe Kyle. Along with Ted, Baxter, Riley, Noah, Dylan and Simon, he stood in front, next to Levi. She could see the whole line—including Gail, Cheyenne, Eve and Sophia on her side—when she poked her head out of the small antechamber where she was waiting for the wedding march to begin. Dressed in tuxedos or lovely champagne-colored dresses, they were all smiling in anticipation. Kyle, however, looked slightly uncomfortable, and she knew he had reason to be.
She probably shouldn’t have hired his old girlfriend to plan the wedding, Callie thought. Kyle wasn’t over her yet. Callie had known that, of course. She’d considered trying to find someone else, but there were too many other factors. Everyone in Whiskey Creek hired Olivia. It would’ve seemed like an intentional slight to go with someone else. Not only that, but Callie had photographed Olivia’s wedding. How could she not return the favor?
Besides, Olivia honestly deserved the business. She was quick and efficient and personable. With only eight weeks to pull off an event of this magnitude, she’d done an outstanding job.
“You nervous?” Her father was waiting for her. He kept straightening his tie and shifting on his feet as if this were the biggest moment of his life.
Callie slipped her arm though his in an effort to calm him. “No. You?”
“A little,” he admitted. “But seeing you so in love... This is one of the best days of my life.”
“Mine, too.” Callie could see Olivia slipping through the guests crowded along the side of the church, carrying her clipboard and wearing a purposeful expression that indicated they were minutes away from starting. Olivia’s sexy husband, Brandon, watched her with a proud grin. Although they didn’t have any children yet, he’d given up extreme skiing to settle down and have a family. Word had it he was going to open a ski shop in town. There’d even been some recent talk that he might simply go into business with Noah and expand Noah’s bike shop to include items for other sports. Callie wondered if he realized that his stepbrother was still in love with the woman who’d become his wife.
“You two all set?” Olivia asked, entering the vestibule.
Her father stepped out to take a look at how things were going. “I think the whole town has turned out,” he said.
It certainly felt that way. Besides the people pressed up along the sides of the church, there were rows and rows of guests standing at the back. Callie should’ve been overwhelmed, but she wasn’t. She knew these people, loved them. They’d been part of her life since she was born. The only person she didn’t know was Levi’s father. At first, she hadn’t been sure that encouraging Levi to invite Leo was the right thing to do, but now she was glad. Mr. Pendleton, who sat in the front row next to her mother and Godfrey and Mina, had thanked them both for letting him come at least three different times.
“I’m all set,” she said.
Olivia gave her arm an encouraging squeeze. “You’re one of the loveliest brides I’ve ever seen.”
Callie smiled. She’d bought a long white gown with a fitted bodice at Miosa’s Bridal in Sacramento. “Thank you.”
“And the ceremony is going to come off without a hitch,” Olivia added with a wink.
It wouldn’t matter to Callie even if it didn’t. She felt fortunate just to have the opportunity to promise herself forever to the man she loved. So what if they ran out of candy in the candy decanters? She had her life back, and she had the person she wanted to spend it with waiting to say “I do.”
“I know it will,” she said. “Thanks again for everything.”
The swell of organ music signaled that it was time to walk down the aisle. She glanced up at her father, saw tears sparkling in his eyes and felt the lump grow in her own throat. Three months ago she’d been lying in a hospital bed, fighting for each breath. And now, thanks to what was, to her, a miracle of generosity on the part of a stranger, she was getting married.
“Here we go, Callie girl,” her father muttered, and they started off.
Her friends waited at the end of the aisle. She could see them blinking to hold back tears or actually wiping them from their cheeks. And in the center of the people she’d always loved the most was Levi, looking more handsome than she’d ever seen him.
He grinned at her as she came toward him and she grinned back.
“Take good care of her,” her father murmured.
Levi’s warm hands gripped hers. “Yes, sir. I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe and make her happy,” he said.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781460303320
Copyright © 2013 by Brenda Novak, Inc.
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