Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Man

by Liz Isaacson

  “Hold that thought.” Zach jogged into his bedroom to snatch the ring box from his dresser. He returned to the kitchen much slower than he’d left it, his heart beating double-time in his chest. “I bought this last week.” He cracked the lid, and it seemed like last time he’d proposed had been so much more romantic.

  He’d definitely planned things better.

  “Zach,” Celia breathed, her hands going to her mouth.

  “I love you,” he said, the best speech he could come up with on such short notice. “Will you marry me?”

  Her eyes shone with happiness, and she nodded. Zach realized he hadn’t even gotten down on one knee. Probably for the best, as he was old now, and he might not be able to get back up.

  “And you still think you want to live here at Saltgrass Farm?” he asked, taking the ring out of the silk inside the box with trembling fingers.

  “Yes,” she said, her voice strong. She held out her hand, and he slid the ring onto it.

  “Looks like it needs to be sized,” he said, meeting her eyes.

  A tremor of fear lived there, and he bent down and kissed her. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s going to be hard for me to leave that house.”

  “Then don’t leave it,” he said. “I can come live down there. You have a little bit of land. Enough for the four horses I have.”

  Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she shook her head. “No, it’s time.”

  “Maybe one of your girls would want it,” he said. “Like how Eli moved into Amanda’s house.”

  She tucked herself against his chest, her tears hot as they stained his shirt. “No,” she said. “They won’t. Ruth’s Brandon will take her far from here, same as Dale and Reagan.”

  Zach detected the sadness in Celia’s voice, and he understood it on a deeper level than he cared to admit. “Then we’ll just have them back to the farm as often as we can,” he said. “The way the Whittakers get together at Christmas.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, straightening. She looked down at her hand and then up at him. “I’m going to need help going through that house. Will you come help me with it?”

  “There’s nothing I’d like more.” He smiled down at her, gratitude that God had prompted him to get to Finn’s wedding, even though he hadn’t wanted to go. He brought her close to him again, swaying with her into a dance. “Can we dance at our wedding?” he murmured.

  “Sure,” she whispered back. “Just put down a floor in that barn, and we’ll be set to go.”

  A couple of hours later, Zach stood in front of the grill as smoke lifted into the air above his head.

  “They’re here,” Celia said, her voice bursting out onto the deck at the same time she did. He turned immediately from the grill and hurried inside, securing her hand in his. He hadn’t been nervous until that very moment.

  “I’m not going to be able to talk to her,” Celia said, her grip much too tight to be comfortable.

  “It’s fine,” Zach told her for the tenth time. She’d started to learn a little sign language so she could communicate with Abby, but Zach knew there was nothing better than being thrown in the fire when it came to learning a new language. “Abby talks to people all the time who can’t sign.”

  Before he could say anything else, the garage door opened, and laughter filled the space. Paul entered first, almost backward, his hands flying through signs.

  “He says Abby better talk to me about that first,” Zach said. “Talk to me about what?” He let go of her hand as he moved forward, his hands moving through the motions. He was much slower than Paul, and Abby didn’t answer.

  Her whole face lit up, and she threw herself into his arms with a strangled “Dad,” coming from her mouth.

  Everything inside Zach felt zipped tight as he hugged his daughter. Oh, how he loved her, and it was so nice to have her with him, safe and sound and whole and well.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, though she wouldn’t be able to hear him. He’d told her once, long ago, that he’d always greet her with a hug and those words, and she’d feel the vibrations from her chest to his as he spoke and know what she’d said.

  “Daddy,” Lindsey said, though she was the oldest. She abandoned her suitcase just inside the door, tears flowing down her face as she joined the embrace. Zach held them both tight, trying not to let his own tears out.

  Paul continued to talk and sign as he moved into the kitchen, Abby’s boyfriend with him.

  Zach finally cleared his throat. “Girls,” he said, stepping back and making the sign for Abby. “This is my fiancée, Celia Armstrong.” He started to spell out her name, but no one was watching him.

  “Fiancée?” Paul practically bellowed. “Dad, what did you do while I was gone?”

  Lindsey squealed and danced over to Celia, who hugged her with a big smile. She showed the ring to her, and they both turned back to Zach and Abby.

  Celia looked like she’d swallowed snakes and they were about to make a reappearance. But she made the few signs Zach had taught her—Abby, so nice to meet you.

  Abby’s hands flashed like lightning, and Paul laughed again. “Abs, you have to slow down. I can’t even keep up with you.” He watched her again, and even Zach caught the meaning this time.

  “She says you need a sign for your name,” Paul said. “Abby doesn’t like to spell anything out.” He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, uh,” Celia said, looking at him for help.

  “You do it, Abby,” Zach said, signing as he spoke. “And you haven’t even introduced your boyfriend yet.”

  Her fingers and hands and arms moved, and Zach laughed. “Fair enough. I did spring fiancée on you.” He stepped over to Celia and put his arm around her. “Time to meet the boyfriend.”

  For some reason, his stomach clenched as he faced Michael for truly the first time. He was tall, easily six or seven inches taller than Abby, with dark hair and bright, brown eyes. He wore a smile with his red and white checkered shirt and jeans, and Zach thought he put off a good air.

  “Dad, this is Michael Farmer,” he narrated for Celia as Abby spoke. “Michael, my father.” She beamed at both of them, and Zach stepped over to the other man, speaking to him with his hands. They shook hands, and Michael asked Zach when he’d gotten engaged.

  “He asked when we got engaged,” Zach said with a laugh. “You tell him. This is how you say today.” He showed her the sign, and Celia performed it for Michael, a timid smile on her face. They shook hands too, and Zach turned her toward Lindsey.

  “My oldest,” he said. “Lindsey.”

  “I’ve heard so much about you all,” Celia said, giving Lindsey and Abby a quick hug each. Zach signed for her, and Abby waved her hand when Celia stepped back.

  “She’s got the perfect sign for you,” Zach said. “This is going to be good.” He grinned at his daughter. “Make it fast, Abs. I need to get the meat on the grill.”

  She looked like she’d just won the lottery. She made her right hand into a C-shape and pushed it straight up. Two pumps. “Celia,” he said, still reading Abby’s hands. “Like ceiling, but so much better.”

  “I should hope I’m better than a ceiling,” Celia said. “Just wait until you taste the potato salad. Then you’ll think so.”

  Zach, Lindsey, and Paul laughed, and as Paul finished signing for Celia, so did Michael and Abby.

  Zach’s heart had never been so full. He loved these people with all of his heart, and he stepped over to the counter. “Okay, meat.” He started for the back door, watching as Abby seamlessly stepped into Michael’s arms and kissed him.

  Joy touched his heart, and he thanked God for amazing children in his life. He started putting burgers on the grill, and Celia joined him a moment later.

  “They’ll be engaged soon too,” Celia said, leaning into him. “They’re clearly in love with each other, and I didn’t even have to ask them to know it.”

  “I agree,” Zach said, glancing over his shoulder. “I hope
Lindsey takes it okay. She’s always been protective of Abby, and she’s always felt second to her.”

  “I’ll watch the burgers,” Celia said. “If you want to go talk to her.”

  “I’ll give her a minute,” Zach said, because he didn’t want to be anywhere but where he currently was: at his fiancée’s side.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Celia woke one morning and realized summer was gone. She didn’t know quite where it had gone, but between cleaning out her house, listing it for sale, and planning her own wedding, the hours, days, and months had disappeared.

  Today, she was moving and getting married in the same day. The house had sold two weeks ago, and the Whittaker boys would be in front of her house in an hour.

  She’d promised them all blueberry muffins and hot coffee if they’d come help her move. Graham had taken her into a bear hug and said, “Celia, you don’t have to bribe me to get me there. I wouldn’t miss it.”

  And she knew he wouldn’t. In fact, he’d arranged to pick up the truck, and he’d called a few cowboy friends to come help. She’d insisted she didn’t have much, but as she took one more walk around her house, she realized she did.

  Zach’s house had everything someone needed to live, so some of her things were going in his storage shed in the backyard. Amanda had told her it would be hard to leave her home, and while Celia had been anticipating it, the full weight of the idea hadn’t hit her until now.

  Amanda had also told her it would be hard to simply move into Zach’s house and think of it as hers. It was more than just taking her clothes and toiletries. She needed to make his house hers, so she’d packed her decorations and was bringing them. Her own linens, towels, pots and pans, and knick knacks.

  She’d cleared it with the new owners to leave a few pieces of furniture, but Brandon’s desk was coming with her, and Zach had assured her many times that he had a spot for it in his library. She was taking the beds she and the girls used, as he had a basement in his farmhouse that was completely empty. Finished, but unfurnished. A lot of her things would go there.

  She’d been through it all before, and she drew in a deep breath, held it, and told herself to stop obsessing over it. Everything would get moved from Coral Canyon to Dog Valley, and she and Zach would decide what to do with it then.

  “Morning, Mom.” Ruth gave her a side-hug and reached for her coffee mug, which sat in the dish drainer. “Are you ready for today?”

  “I think so,” Celia said, turning to lean against the kitchen counter as her daughter doctored up her coffee. “Still no diamond on your finger?”

  “No.” Ruth smiled at her and threw in another spoonful of sugar. “Honestly, I thought I’d have one by now. Brandon even said he thought we should book something for that last week of April or first week of May.” She shook her head. “But he hasn’t asked the right question yet.”

  “He will,” Celia said, knowing that Brandon had asked Zach for ten minutes of his time that day. Neither Celia nor Zach knew exactly why, but Celia suspected it was to talk to him about asking for Ruth’s hand in marriage.

  Her Brandon had done the same thing.

  Ruth looked flustered and a bit embarrassed, and Celia could only wrap her arms around her daughter and tell her to hold on a few more days. She’d told herself that so many times over the years.

  A few days could cure a cold, ease the worry she had for her daughters while they took their tests or applied for colleges, and the absolute desperation she felt from time to time as she’d raised her girls by herself.

  She and Ruth chatted while they put together the blueberry muffins, and she’d just pulled out the first pan of muffins when Reagan showed up in the kitchen. She wore slippers and pajama pants with a tank top, and her husband followed her.

  “Morning, Ma,” she said with a grin. “You’re getting married today.” She drew Celia into a hug, and they all laughed.

  “It’s a little weird,” Celia said. “That’s for sure.”

  A knock sounded on the door, and she went to let in the cowboys. “Put more muffins in, Ruthie,” she said over her shoulder. On her front steps, she found her brothers.

  “Heya, sis,” Mack said, pulling her into a hug too. “Something smells good in here.”

  “We haven’t even started the bacon yet.” She stepped out of her brother’s arms and hugged Lennox too. “Come in, the truck’s not even here yet.” She checked down the street after her brothers had come in, but she didn’t hear or see any other pickups coming yet.

  “Where are the wives?” she asked.

  “O’s trying to get the kids up and going,” Lennox said. “She’ll bring them over with Claire to clean in a couple of hours.”

  “The house should be fairly empty by then,” Celia said, a sudden urge of sadness rolling over her. She’d experienced that a lot in the last few weeks and months as she went through everything she’d accumulated over the years.

  “Come on,” Lennox said. “This is a good move.”

  “I know,” Celia said. And she did know. Another knock had her turning back to the door, but it opened before she could take a step.

  Her soon-to-be-husband walked in, his face lighting up when he saw her. “Hey, gorgeous,” he said, taking her into his arms and kissing her right in front of everyone. “I’m starving.”

  “Muffins in there,” she said. “Rae’s in charge of the bacon, so I think you know how that’s going.”

  “I heard that,” Reagan called from the kitchen.

  “Have you talked to Brandon today?” Celia asked.

  “Yeah,” Zach said, his smile widening. He nodded and glanced at Ruth. “Yeah, I sure did.” He started to walk away from her, and Celia just stared at his back as he shook hands with her brothers and started chatting with her daughters.

  And…she supposed he wasn’t going to tell her what that conversation was about. But Celia still knew.

  Another batch of muffins came out, and a few pounds of bacon sat on paper towels by the time Graham and Beau showed up. Immediately following them, Andrew and Eli arrived, along with Finn, Sam Buttars, Todd and Liam, and Jack Everett. The outpouring of love and support touched Celia’s heart, and she simply said, “The items tagged with the green tape stays. Everything else goes.”

  “You heard her,” Graham said. “Everything else goes. Load ‘em up, boys.”

  Hours later, she stood in the bedroom she’d once stayed in at Zach’s house, feeling absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress. No, she wasn’t as skinny as she’d been the first time. She didn’t have all the frills the younger girls had. But she felt like a queen, and she had the tiara to prove it.

  Reagan finished tying her sash, and Ruth handed her the glittery crown. They worked together to pin it on, and then her daughters stepped back. “You’re so pretty, Mom,” Ruth said.

  She turned away from the mirror and faced her girls—her whole world for so long. “I love you two,” she said. “So much. You know that, right?”

  “Of course we know that, Ma,” Reagan said, swiping at her eyes. They embraced, and Reagan checked her reflection in the mirror, tucking a wayward strand of hair back where it belonged.

  A soft knock sounded on the door, and Ruth stepped over to open it. “Oh.” The surprise in the sound caught everyone’s attention, and Celia watched as a very nervous Brandon Thompson stepped into the room.

  “Hey,” he said. “I know it’s almost time for the wedding. I just wanted to talk to you really fast.” He swallowed, and Celia reached for Ruth’s hand as she nodded at Brandon.

  “Ruth,” he said, facing her. “I’m desperately in love with you, and I’ve already talked to Zach about everything. He said he’d walk you down the aisle, and he said he and Celia would love to….” He cleared his throat and glanced at Celia. “I asked for his blessing, and he gave it.”

  Ruth started sniffling, and Brandon dropped to both knees. He fumbled in his pocket, and he was so darn cute. “Will you marry me?” He held up a diamond
ring, such bright hope in those brown eyes.

  “Yes,” Ruth said as she cried. Brandon swooped up and gathered her right into his arms, whispering as he kissed her.

  “Yay, Ruthie!” Reagan said, engulfing everyone in a bear hug, Brandon included. Celia could barely keep her own eyes dry, and she only wished Zach could be there for this as well.

  “It’s time,” Amanda said, poking her head into the room. “Girls, you better go sit down. Celia, your mother made it.” She smiled at her friend, and Celia pulled one more time on her sleeve to make sure it lay flat.

  Everyone moved out of the room, Ruth practically tripping over her heels as she admired her ring more than paying attention to where she was walking.

  “Are you ready for this?” Amanda asked, stepping into the room. “Graham’s as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs.” She gave a light laugh. “You should see him. He’s pacing and muttering to himself.”

  Celia laughed, though her nerves felt off the charts as well. “I’m just glad he was willing to walk this old lady down the aisle.”

  Amanda scoffed. “Please, you’re not an old lady. Now let’s go get you married.” She hooked her arm through Amanda’s and walked with her down the hall and into the kitchen. Graham stood there, and he turned toward them as they came closer.

  He was dashing in his black suit and cowboy hat, his tie all tied up nice and neat. Amanda passed Celia to her son, and she bustled out the door with, “Give me thirty seconds, okay?”

  Celia looked up at Graham. “Thank you, Graham,” she said. “For everything you’ve done for me over the years.”

  “Oh, I’ve done nothing,” he said. “You’re the one who made sure us Whittakers didn’t starve.”

  She squeezed his arm. “I love you like my own son.”

  He nodded, his eyes storming with emotion. “I love you like a second mom. I promise I won’t let you trip down those steps.”

  “That would be great,” she said, and she started forward with Graham. It wasn’t terribly warm outside, but it wasn’t cold either—the perfect weather for a wedding on a farm. The sun shone in the blue sky, and the only things that testified that it was fall were the brightly colored leaves and the chilly breeze.