The Pick

  Ally nodded her head, with a sly smile on her face.

  “Miss Allison, how are you doing?” Ally turned around to see Justin’s parents walking toward them.

  “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne. I’m doing well. How are you doing?” Ally replied, as Mrs. Hawthorne gave her a hug.

  “Honey, you can still call me Terri.”

  “Oh okay, Terri, how are you?” Ally said shocked that Justin’s parents were being so nice to her. She was the one who broke up with their son. Surely, he hadn’t told them why she had really broken up with him.

  “We are doing fine. Just sad that you won’t be our daughter-in-law,” Mrs. Hawthorne replied.

  “But it looks like you found yourself a nice young man here,” Mr. Hawthorne added.

  Ally smiled and introduced them. “Tyson, this is Richard and Terri Hawthorne.”

  “Nice you meet you,” Tyson said as he shook their hands.

  “Wonderful speech, young man. I really look forward to watching you succeed out on the field,” Mr. Hawthorne said.

  “Thank you, sir,” Tyson replied. “I don’t know if I would be following my dreams if it weren’t for your support.”

  “You’re welcome. The only thing I ask is that you treat this young lady with more respect than my thoughtless son did.”

  “Yes, sir. I plan to.”

  “Good,” Mr. Hawthorne said. Then he turned to Ally. “I still want to see your resume on my desk in a couple months. Justin won’t even know that you work there. Here is my business card.”

  “Good luck to both of you,” Mrs. Hawthorne said as her husband handed Ally the card and they walked away toward the door.

  Ally turned to Tyson. “What just happened?”

  “Looks like you have some fans of your own, my dear,” Tyson said as he kissed Ally on the forehead. “Now let’s see if we can get out of here.”

  “Yes, I’m tired and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  “How did it go?” Kylie asked Tyson as he walked through the door to his apartment.

  “It was good. But you will never guess who was there.”

  “Who?” David asked.

  “Justin’s parents,” Tyson said as he sat down next to the couch where Kylie and David were watching a movie.

  “No way!” Kylie exclaimed. “How did that go over?”

  “Surprisingly well. They were very nice and Justin’s dad offered Ally a job to work for him. They even told Ally that they were sad she wasn’t going to be their daughter-in-law.”

  “Wow,” Kylie said. “They must have found out the real reason why Ally broke up with Justin.”

  Tyson nodded his head. “Wait, I thought the bride and groom weren’t supposed to see each other the night before the wedding?”

  “Ehh, we don’t really believe in that superstitious stuff,” David said.

  “Okay. Well I’m glad you are both here because I have decided that I want to ask Ally to marry me sooner than later.”

  “Yay! It’s about time!” Kylie exclaimed. “Ally thinks you aren’t going to propose until after football season is over. But I knew it wasn’t going to take you that long!”

  “She really thinks that?” Tyson asked. Ally had said that she would wait as long as he needed to get married. But the fact that she had no idea he was going to pop the question so soon, made Tyson even more excited to do it as soon as possible. She was going to be so surprised.

  Kylie nodded her head. “So how are you planning to propose?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I need your help. I had always planned on proposing to her in front of the temple. I guess I could try it again?”

  “No,” Kylie said. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

  “You could propose up at the cabin?” David offered.

  “Ya, I like that idea,” Tyson said. “It’s special since that is where we decided to start dating again.”

  “But how are you going to get her up to the cabin,” Kylie asked. “It’s not like you can say, ‘Let’s go stay up at the cabin’ and if you blindfold her or say you are taking her up to Park City, she is going to be suspicious and will probably figure it out by the time you get there.”

  “True,” Tyson said.

  “What about during halftime or at the end of a game?” Kylie asked.

  “I don’t think the coaches would like that and what if we lost? I would want to do it at a game where we won. Plus, our next two games are on the road.”

  “You could just drive back over to Ally’s place and propose right now?” David joked.

  “No way,” Kylie said as she playfully smacked David on the arm. “Plus, Tyson probably wants our parents there too. Right?”

  Tyson nodded his head. “I bet I could get access to the football field sometime this week.”

  “Wait, you want to propose this week? But I want to be there,” Kylie whined. “We don’t get back from our honeymoon until next Sunday.”

  Tyson sighed. “Well I’ve waited 3 months to propose to her. I guess another week won’t be the end of the world.”

  “Hold on, I’ve got it,” Kylie exclaimed.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Ally had spent the night at the Brooks’ home to help Kylie get ready. Even though it was early, Kylie was still grinning from ear to ear. It was contagious. Ally was so happy for her best friend. She couldn’t believe she was getting married today.

  With Kylie looking absolutely beautiful, Kylie left with her parents to go to the temple. Ally got ready and waited around for Tyson to pick her up. When Tyson walked in the front door, her heart melted with Tyson standing there looking like he could be the groom.

  “Good morning,” Tyson said as he pulled Ally close and kissed her. He twirled Ally around and added, “You look absolutely beautiful today.”

  “Well you know, gotta look good for all those pictures.”

  “Oh ya, pictures. My favorite,” Tyson groaned.

  “You know you love them. Plus, you will be the most handsome man there, so all you have to do is smile.”

  “The most handsome, huh?” Tyson said with a smirk.

  “Always,” Ally said as she reached up on her tippy toes and gave him a peck. “We better get going, so we can pick up the flowers before you need to be at the temple.”

  With flowers in hand, Ally parted ways with Tyson at the temple entrance. He was off to watch Kylie and David get married, while Ally headed over to the front desk to make sure that the bride’s bouquet and groom’s boutonniere found their way to Kylie and David before they made their grand exit.

  Outside, Ally found a bench to sit on in the sun, since the shade was a little chilly. The weather had turned out to be nice that October day. Time flew by quickly as she watched newly married couples exit the temple with their family and friends cheering. She found herself smiling at how happy the bride and groom always seemed to be. They had found their eternal companion. The person that they wanted to spend forever with. The person that they wanted by their side through the ups and downs. The person that they didn’t want to live without.

  Ally tried to guess what their stories were. Some had probably waited a long time to find their soul mate. Maybe they had to date a lot of jerks before they found someone that treated them well. Or maybe at one point they thought that their spouse didn’t exist. Others might not have had to search hard to find the one. Maybe that special someone walked into their lives and they knew right away they were meant to get married.

  She pictured the day she would be standing there with Tyson outside the temple doors. She doubted anyone would be able to guess their story. In a way, she had waited a long time for Tyson. But he had always been there. She didn’t have to search hard to find the one she wanted to spend eternity with. It just took her a while to realize that he really was the only one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

  Before she knew it, Tyson had joined her on the bench. As the rest of the wedding party gathered around to wait for Kylie
and David to come out, Ally passed out the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages to the appropriate people. They all cheered as Kylie and David finally walked outside. Ally smiled as David dipped Kylie and kissed her.

  “Ehh, I’ve seen better,” Tyson whispered in Ally’s ear.

  “What?”

  “David hardly dipped her at all.”

  “It was cute,” Ally replied.

  “Well, when it’s our turn, you better hold on for dear life because it isn’t going to be a wimpy dip like that,” Tyson winked.

  “Oh ya?” Ally chuckled. She didn’t really know what to say. Was Tyson really thinking about how he was going to kiss her when they walked out of the temple on their wedding day?

  “Don’t worry, we can practice,” Tyson said as he stepped forward to congratulate his sister and best friend.

  Ally followed behind to hug the happy couple. They were soon on their way to the steps in front of the temple to take pictures. And lots of them.

  Ally couldn’t help but smile during the whole process. Either Tyson was in the picture being taken, in which Ally couldn’t help but smile at how Tyson’s smile made her insides melt. Or Ally was in the picture being taken and Tyson was making faces at her from behind the photographer.

  When they were no longer needed, Ally sat down next to Tyson to watch the rest of the pictures being taken of Kylie and David on the temple steps.

  “Kylie looks absolutely stunning today. Don’t you think?” Ally asked.

  “Ya. I don’t know how David is able to look at the camera.”

  “Why wouldn’t he be able to?” Ally turned toward Tyson and gave him a questioning look.

  Tyson shrugged his shoulders and looked into Ally’s eyes. “I just think that if that was us, I would have a hard time taking my eyes off of you to look at the camera.”

  Ally pulled Tyson in for a kiss. “Have I told you that I love you?”

  “Not today,” Tyson said as he kissed her back.

  “Well I do.”

  “That’s good because I love you too,” Tyson replied, kissing her again. Ally closed her eyes and rested her head against Tyson’s chest as he put his arm around her and pulled her close. What had she done to deserve to be cared for the way that Tyson loved her? She could stay there forever in his arms.

  Eventually they headed over to The Lion House for the wedding luncheon. Ally and Tyson both gave a little speech about how happy they were for Kylie and David. But the hard work was ahead of them at the reception center, where they needed to turn the place into Kylie’s dream in just a few hours.

  Everyone took orders from Ally as she directed them where to place things and how things were supposed to look. She made sure that everyone had their assignments for the evening, such as restocking refreshments and keeping an eye on the gifts. Ally took a final walk through of the venue to make sure everything was in order just as the first guests began to arrive.

  “I’m exhausted,” Ally sighed as she sat down next to Tyson at one of the tables.

  “Well everything looks great, thanks to you. Based on the effort you have put into this reception, I can’t imagine how perfect ours will be,” Tyson said.

  “I don’t know,” Ally said as she grabbed a brownie off Tyson’s plate. “I’m realizing that it is a lot of work. Maybe we should elope?”

  “Right now?” Tyson asked with all seriousness.

  “Why not?” Ally responded.

  “Alright, let’s go.” Tyson grabbed her hand and started to get up.

  “But Kylie and David wouldn’t be too happy with us, that they couldn’t be there.”

  “Probably not,” Tyson said as he settled back in his chair. “And I kind of want to marry you in the temple. Not in some chapel with Elvis.”

  “Ya, me too,” Ally sighed. “It will be worth it.”

  “Yes, it will,” Tyson said as he squeezed her hand.

  A group of their friends sat down and that was how the rest of the evening went. Ally felt like they were always talking to someone, whether it was Tyson’s family or mutual friends of Kylie’s, the stream of people kept coming. But Ally was just happy to have Tyson by her side all night long.

  As the evening was coming to a close, Tyson and Ally gathered around the cake to watch Kylie and David cut into it. They were so sweet to each other as they served each other a little bite on a fork and kissed.

  “Well that was the worst,” Ally whispered to Tyson as they turned away from Kylie and David.

  “Yes, it was,” Tyson agreed. “You are going to have to wear a poncho over your dress, because I’m not going to be as nice as David was.”

  “Good. Because I plan on taking a big ‘ol slice and shoving it in your face like this,” Ally said as she pretended to smear it all over Tyson’s face.

  “Hey,” Tyson said as he grabbed Ally around the waist and spun her around while Ally laughed.

  “Alright, all the single guys, it’s time for you to gather over here on the dance floor,” the DJ announced. “It’s time for the garter toss.”

  “Go get ‘em Brooks,” Ally said as she pushed Tyson toward the dance floor.

  “This isn’t football,” Tyson said over his shoulder.

  “Just pretend like you are going for the interception,” Ally encouraged. “You’ve got this.” She gave him the thumbs up and winked as she moved to watch from the sidelines.

  As David flung the garter toward the group of fifteen guys vying to catch it, Ally couldn’t help but laugh as Tyson didn’t even try to jump for it. If David had tried to aim at Tyson, he had done a very poor job since it ended up as far away from Tyson as possible.

  Tyson walked over to where Ally stood and shrugged his shoulders.

  “What happened to going for the interception?” Ally said with a smile. Just because Tyson didn’t have a chance at catching it, didn’t mean that Ally couldn’t give him a hard time.

  “I wasn’t in position and I didn’t want to risk a pass interference call,” Tyson said as he stood next to Ally and folded his arms. It was the first time that evening Tyson had stood next to her without holding her hand or putting his arm around her. Did he really actually want to catch the garter? Maybe she had gone too far with the joke?

  “Single ladies, now it’s your turn,” the DJ announced.

  “Well I guess it’s up to you. I don’t know if we can get married if neither one of us catches anything,” Tyson said with a wink and Ally headed onto the dance floor. Maybe she was just reading too much into his non-verbal actions.

  Ally ended up in the front as the other ladies gathered around her. She chatted with another one of the bridesmaids while Kylie got in position. When she glanced over at Tyson, he wasn’t there anymore. But she didn’t have time to see where he had moved to as Kylie started counting down.

  “One,” Kylie hollered as she practiced throwing the bouquet over her head.

  “Two,” she yelled with another practice throw.

  “Three,” Kylie said as all the single ladies prepared to catch the bouquet that should be flying toward them at any second.

  Instead Kylie turned around and quickly walked toward the group of girls. In the blink of an eye, Kylie handed Ally the bouquet.

  “You’re next,” Kylie said as she turned Ally around.

  As the group of girls separated to the edge of the dance floor, somewhere in the background it registered in Ally’s mind that her’s and Tyson’s song had started playing. That’s when she saw Tyson walking toward her with a big smile on his face, as the room hushed to whispers.

  She stood there smiling back at him with tears already rolling down her cheeks. She knew what was about to happen and Ally’s heart pounded as Tyson got down on one knee.

  “Ally, I would have never imagined that asking you to Homecoming would change my life. But every day, I still find myself falling more in love with you. I can’t imagine my future without you. Will you marry me?” Tyson asked as he opened the jewelry box to reveal the ring that she ha
d fallen in love with many months ago ring shopping with Kylie.

  Ally nodded her head, “Yes!” The room erupted into cheers.

  Tyson stood up and Ally threw her arms around his neck as he pulled her close and kissed her. They pulled away just long enough for Tyson to slip the ring on Ally’s finger.

  “It’s perfect,” Ally said she kissed Tyson again.

  Ally laughed through the tears as they were bombarded by Kylie, David, family and friends who rushed to hug them. It was official. She was finally marrying the man of her dreams.

  Tyson held Ally close as they swayed to the music playing in the background. Kylie and David had left, along with their guests. The only people left was the cleanup crew, which consisted of the bridal party and a couple of family members. With almost everything packed up, Tyson had pulled Ally back onto the dance floor for a quiet moment before they had to head home.

  Tyson hadn’t ever felt happier than he did right now. The proposal had been a success. No unexpected boyfriends showed up and the best part was that Ally had said yes. Seeing Kylie and David get married today, made him want to marry Ally as soon as possible. He wanted her by his side, always. He dreaded having to say goodnight at her doorstep later tonight. He looked forward to the day when they no longer had to part ways at the end of the night.

  “I can’t believe that Kylie let you propose during her wedding,” Ally said interrupting Tyson’s thoughts.

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Well you know how much of a crazy bride she has been these last couple of weeks. I’m just surprised that she was willing to give away some of her perfect day for us.”

  “Maybe it only made her day more perfect?” Tyson questioned. “Plus, she was the one that came up with the idea.”

  “What?”

  Tyson nodded his head. “We were throwing out ideas on how I should propose and none of them seemed to work. I wanted to propose to you as soon as possible, which I figured would be sometime next week. But Kylie insisted that she wanted to be there and they would still be on their honeymoon. Then she came up with this idea.”