Mended

by Stacy Eaton

  The day before the wedding, we all went to the rehearsal, but the guy wasn’t there. Walker explained that he got tied down at the last minute and was coming in on a later flight so he would be on time for the wedding.

  That night, when I gave Walker a hug, he stood back and smiled down at me. “I’m sorry things have been so hard on you lately. I hope things get better for you soon. You deserve to be happy.”

  I blinked back tears. “Don’t worry about me, Walker. You’re the one who deserves the happiness. I’m so glad you have Jasmine and Tony, I really am. I’m jealous as hell, but I’m so happy for you.”

  “Well, I hope you find your happy ever after soon, I really do.”

  I gave him the best smile I could, but it was stilted. That night, for the first time in months, I cried myself to sleep. I wanted a happily ever after, I really did, but the man I wanted to share it with didn’t want me.

  My eyes were puffy in the morning, and I spent fifteen minutes lying with cucumbers over my eyes. The last thing I needed were dark circles under them. Everyone would be worried about me, and today was not my day.

  As I grabbed my dress, shoes, and tote bag full of all the goodies I would need, I paused in front of the mirror. I’d probably never have a day like this for myself.

  I growled and spun around. I needed to cut out the pity party and get moving. I had a bride to get ready and three other bridesmaids to oversee.

  The church was decorated in silver, blue, red, and green for the holidays. Our dresses were a dark royal blue that looked stunning on every single one of us but didn’t hold a candle to the beauty of the two brides.

  Trudy Parker, Ward’s fiancée, and I gushed over Ember and Jasmine. Tears were dabbed gently to save makeup, and hugs were given aplenty.

  We were heading toward the front of the church, the guests were all seated, and I heard one of the ushers speaking softly off to the side, “Tucker’s all situated up front.”

  The air left my chest, and I felt faint. Tucker was here. I spun around and looked at Jasmine.

  “Breathe, Josey. It’s gonna be okay.”

  Oh, no, it wasn’t. How was I going to face him? What would he say? I was going to completely embarrass myself and cry all night.

  “You knew he was going to be here!” I hissed at her.

  “Of course, I knew. He’s Walker’s best man. How could he not be here?”

  “His best man?” I squeaked out. Oh, how was Tucker dealing with this? Had he finally gotten comfortable enough to be around people in his wheelchair?

  “Yes, his best man. How could I possibly have this wedding without Tucker here? He’s one of the reasons I found Walker in the first place.”

  I tried to calm my racing heart, but I felt faint and looked around for a seat, fanning my hot flesh as I did.

  “Are you okay?” Trudy came to my side, waving me with her flowers. “Are you going to pass out?”

  “Oh my god, just give me a second.”

  Ember squatted down next to me, not an easy feat in her mermaid-style dress. “Hey, you got this. Trust me, if I can walk down this aisle, then so can you.”

  “Yeah, but the man you love is at the end of the aisle waiting for you,” I argued.

  She grinned, “What makes you think yours isn’t?”

  I shook my head and sucked in floral-scented oxygen. Okay, I could do this. I could do this. I so totally could not do this.

  “Get up, girl,” Jasmine urged. “You are not going to make me late on my wedding day.”

  She was right. Today was about her, and Ember, and Colt and Walker. This was not about me, or my feelings for Tucker. Oh, god, Tucker was here.

  I burst out of my seat, “Okay, I’m fine. Let’s do this.”

  “You sure you’re okay?” Trudy asked.

  I glanced around at the other bridesmaids and two brides waiting anxiously. “Yes, I’m fine. I just needed a second.”

  Ember squealed, “Okay, let’s do this.”

  She gave me a hug and then I gave one to Jasmine and Trudy. We all turned toward the door, straightened our hair, dresses, and flowers, and the music began. The other bridesmaids went before us, and then it was Trudy’s turn. She winked at me before she stepped through the door, and I thought I would throw up. My stomach was twisted into knots.

  “Go, that’s your cue.” Ember pushed me forward, and I stumbled into place. “You got this,” she whispered, and I took a step.

  At first, I decided to not look for him, to focus on the aisle ahead of me and smile at the guests as I glided past them, but that was before I looked at the altar.

  Beside a very handsome Colt and Walker stood an even more gorgeous man: Tucker. Oh, my god, he’s standing. Tears immediately welled in my eyes, and no matter how hard I tried to blink them back, they filled and ran over. I swiped at them quickly, trying to smile at people, but all I could see was Tucker.

  He’s standing, oh my god, he’s standing. I wanted to shout and sob for joy, but I kept my chin up and my eyes focused on him. This walk suddenly felt so much more important. As if it were me walking toward my future, and I suddenly knew exactly what Ember and Jasmine were feeling.

  Tucker’s face remained somewhat neutral. He seemed a little concerned when he realized I was crying, but I saw his shoulders go back and the hint of a smile cross his lips as he kept his eyes on me.

  I cried the whole walk and didn’t tear my gaze from his until I had to ascend the steps. Once I situated myself, I tried to get my tears under control, and Trudy handed me a tissue she’d had stored someplace on her body. She rubbed my back and winked at me.

  I finally regained my composure as the door opened again and the music changed. Ember stepped through the door, and everyone stood.

  He’s standing!

  The tears immediately started again, and I wanted to run to him and throw my arms around him and ask him a million questions, but they would have to wait.

  As Jasmine entered the room, a thought struck me so hard that I almost fell, and Trudy grabbed my arm to steady me. What if Tucker didn’t want to talk to me? What if he wanted to avoid me? What if he was still angry with me?

  The questions tormented me as we waited for Jasmine to join the party at the altar. Once she did, we all turned toward the center, and my eyes immediately latched back on Tucker. The moment they did, he smiled and winked, and my fears evaporated.

  I loved that man. I had loved him when he was in a wheelchair, and I loved him now that he was standing. I would do everything I could to make him see that.

  Throughout the ceremony, Tucker and I stared at one another unless we needed to do something else. Each time one of us looked away, we would immediately find the other again as soon as we could.

  The ceremony was fast, but it felt like a lifetime as I stood eight feet from the man I wanted in my life forever. I prayed that he wanted the same thing.

  As the ceremony was ending, I forced myself to pay attention to the happy couples and clapped and shouted when it was through. I watched them happily walk down the aisle as married couples and turned to find Tucker waiting for me, his elbow held out for me and his brow quirked. “May I?”

  I slipped my hand into his arm and crushed my body as close to his as I could. “Always.”

  “I have to go slowly, so be patient,” he whispered as we took the stairs carefully.

  “I’ll wait forever,” I replied, staring into his twinkling green eyes as he took the last of the steps.

  “Now you won’t have to,” he whispered and wrapped his hand over mine. “Forever is here.”

  Chapter 26

  Tucker

  I worked my ass off for the next few months. I had feeling back in my legs, but they didn’t always want to work the way they should. The neurologist explained that it was probably nerve damage and that it might get better, but there was a good chance that it might not.

  I was okay with that. Finally, I could get up and move around, and sometimes my legs ached and didn’t want
to cooperate, and I would use my wheelchair. Other times I got around with a cane for short walks. I was happy with my progress, and I knew that life was not over. It was just beginning.

  Well, hopefully it was just beginning with a beautiful woman in it, too. I had arrived in time for the rehearsal dinner, but we had figured it would be better to surprise her at the wedding. I didn’t want to take away from Walker’s day, but both Walker and Colt kept telling me that we were all family and that the wedding was for us all to celebrate joining together.

  I was a nervous wreck when the music started, and my legs shook ever so slightly. I prayed that they would hold their strength long enough for me to remain upright for the ceremony and then to walk Josey back down the aisle. I would be mortified if I collapsed, but I’d embarrassed myself before, and would probably do it again. It was now part of my life, and I learned to roll with the punches, or falls, as the case may be.

  When Josey stepped into view, my lungs stopped working. She was more gorgeous than I had remembered. Could it be true that this woman loved me?

  Her gaze landed on me, and she gasped. My eyes warmed with moisture as she began to cry. It took everything in me to not meet her halfway. My biggest wonder was: Why was she crying? Was she sorry for having left? Did she miss me? Was she upset I was here? Had she met someone else? All kinds of things ran through my head, and I barely heard anything during the ceremony.

  The moment of truth came when she stepped forward and took my arm. I was so nervous as the husky words slipped out of my mouth, “May I?”

  Her eyes lit up, the light green glowing with intensity as she replied, “Always” and took my arm.

  “I have to go slowly, so be patient,” I said quietly for her ears only, and she replied in kind.

  “I’ll wait forever.”

  And that was what I’d wanted to hear.

  “Now you won’t have to.” I took hold of her hand, the same one whose veins I had memorized and replied, “Forever is here.”

  Josey sobbed softly, “Tucker.”

  “Just a couple of minutes, Josey, we can talk then.” We made it down the aisle as quickly as I could manage, and the minute we were out the door, I glanced around, looking for a private place where I could speak with her alone. Walker pointed down the hall, and I nodded and pulled Josey behind me.

  A small lounge door was open, and I pulled her in and closed the door, bringing her with me to the small sofa. “I need to sit.”

  “I can’t believe you’re walking. How long have you been walking? When did you get the feeling back?” She sank down beside me, and I closed my eyes to try to stop the shaking in my legs. The ceremony had been a lot for me, and with the added emotion, it had really been intense.

  I silenced her with a finger over her lips. “I’ll answer everything, but I need you to tell me one thing, Josey.”

  “I didn’t take any money from your parents,” she rushed forward, and I took her hands.

  “I know you didn’t, and I’m so sorry that I thought you did.”

  “Then what do you want to know?” she asked expectantly.

  “Josey,” I paused, “I do have the use of my legs back, but some days aren’t good. Some days, I have trouble standing. Other days, like today, I can manage it for a short period of time, although today was pushing it.”

  “Okay,” she nodded.

  “Josey, I probably will never get much better than I am right now, but I need to ask you if you could love a man who had my disability. Could you see yourself with someone like me? Could you imagine a life with someone like me?”

  She leaned back slightly. “No, I couldn’t see myself with someone like you or imagine a life with someone like you,” she answered, and my hopes began to deflate, but then she put her hand to my cheek, “but I could see myself with you. I could imagine a life with you. I could love you, Tucker, because I already do.”

  I pulled her to me and kissed her. I poured every ounce of fear and love into that kiss and knew, as she kissed me back, that I had found the woman with whom I could build my future. We shared a few more kisses, and I held her for a while.

  “When you left, I wanted to die. I really did. It took me a while to get my ass back in gear. Every time I just wanted to sit there and do nothing, I’d hear your voice inside my head telling me to get up and do something. Whenever I wanted to stop, I heard you telling me to keep going.”

  Josey wiped at her eyes, “I wish I had never left.”

  “Me, too, but I think I needed you to go. I needed to do it on my own. I was feeling sorry for myself, and I needed to figure it out before I could really accept the changes in my life.” I paused, “The love I felt for you is what kept me fighting. In a way, your love mended me. Shortly after you left, I started getting the feeling back, and then I started really working hard. I fought every day to progress as much as I could before I saw you, so I’d be a whole man. I want you to have a whole man, a man who can give you the world. I might do it a little more slowly than most, but I can do it now.”

  “You could do it before; you just couldn’t see it, Tucker.”

  “I love you, Josey. I swear, I’m going to spend the rest of my life working to make sure you forgive me for sending you away.”

  “But you just said my leaving was what you needed.”

  “Yeah, but the sadness that I caused you tore me up every single day. I saw you get into the truck that day with John. I saw your face. It haunted me knowing I had put that despair there, especially when John told me the truth.”

  “He told you?”

  “Yeah, he did. He should have told me sooner, but I guess he was waiting for the right time to do it. I think that when he did was the perfect time. It’s the reason I’m here today.”

  A knock sounded on the door and it popped open. Jasmine, Ember, Trudy, Walker, Colt, and Ward all piled inside.

  “Hope you forgive us for not telling you,” Jasmine commented to Josey as she leaned down and kissed my cheek.

  “I’ll forgive you.”

  “Why were you crying all the way down the aisle?” Ward asked from near the door.

  “I couldn’t believe he was standing. Every night I would pray that he would get the use of his legs back, and when I saw him standing there, I knew my prayers had been answered.”

  She leaned over and kissed me.

  “I thought maybe you were freaking out because he was there,” Ward said.

  “I thought Tucker was going to pass out as much as he was shaking,” Walker laughed.

  A few more jokes ran rampant around the room before we were told that we needed to reassemble for pictures. Walker left the room and returned with the wheelchair. I looked at Josey, and she winked and stepped up behind it asking, “May I?”

  I laughed as I sat down; I wanted to conserve energy so I could dance with her later that night. “Always,” I said to her as I looked up into her beautiful face.

  “Forever starts now,” she whispered into my ear, and we followed everyone out of the room to celebrate.

  Epilogue

  Josey

  A week later, I returned to Texas. Tucker had returned a few days earlier, and the four days apart were hell. I’d given my notice at work, and after Christmas, I needed to return for a few weeks to finish work and to pack my belongings. Marisha helped me pack my stuff, and then we finished up Tucker’s place. While most of his stuff had already been sent out west, some of it remained, and we made sure it found a good home.

  I was moving to Texas for good. It was where I wanted to be, and as I practically ran through the terminal to find Tucker, I knew I’d found my happily-ever-after man.

  Tucker was in his wheelchair, but he stood when he saw me. I had to force myself to slow down so I didn’t bowl him over when I fell into his arms. Our reunion was perfect, the perfect kiss, the perfect man. Okay, maybe the location could have been better, but it didn’t matter where we were. If we were together, then it was perfect.

  When I arrived at his
house, I found the in-law suite had been updated with more of his belongings. Pots and pans sat on the counter, and dishes were in the sink. He said he’d been cooking for himself because Marge had been taking care of her elderly mother.

  In the bedroom, the hospital bed had been removed, and a king-sized bed had been added. Tucker led me over to it and stood staring down at me for a long time without speaking.

  “What?” I asked when I couldn’t take it any longer.

  “Josey, will you marry me?” he blurted out. “I was going to wait to ask you at the party tonight, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

  I stared at him, contemplating my response, and he began to look worried. “You were going to ask me later tonight, so I’ll give you my answer then.”

  “What?” he laughed incredulously.

  “I’m sure you had some elaborate plan to ask me later, so now you are going to have to do it. I want to see what you came up with. I’ll give you my answer then.”

  Tucker began to tickle me. “That’s not fair! Now you know I’m going to ask you.”

  I squirmed to avoid his hand and ended up falling back on the bed, pulling him with me. “I already knew.”

  “What? How?”

  “Jasmine told me that you and Walker were looking at rings,” I replied coyly.

  “Damn woman. I’m surprised she kept the fact that I was coming to the wedding a secret.”

  “Oh, if Walker hadn’t threatened to call the whole thing off if she told me, she probably would have.”

  “I love you, Josey.”

  “I love you, Tuck.”

  We spent the next hour breaking in his new bed, our new bed. I knew what my answer was going to be, and he did, too.

  Later that night, we celebrated Christmas with twelve disabled kids and their families who were clients of his at the ranch. He’d started a nonprofit organization that helped disabled adults and kids get into saddles and walk again for the first time. Maybe they weren’t using their own two feet, but they were walking all the same.