“The next is coming in seven or so months.”
Wha...? He stared at his little daughter. Soon a mother. “All this because you kicked over a bucket of milk.”
Janet patted his arm. “Shush.”
* * *
THE WEDDING CEREMONY went along much like all the others Dana had attended this summer, including her own. She and Keith had aimed for spontaneity, simplicity...and speed. He and Austin had taken up residence that night in her home, and she’d woken the next morning married and a mother.
She tightened her arms around the soft sturdiness of her son. Her son. Austin gave a huffed squeak, and Keith slid them a questioning look. As Will and Krista were pronounced married, their eyes met, and she mouthed what for years she’d denied herself: I love you. He smiled and blushed, like a bride.
Like a typical bride, anyway. Not like Krista. She and Will were stripping.
Dana turned to Janet and Dave, who seemed as confused as her. Guests laughed, hooted. Camera phones came out like umbrellas in a downpour.
Krista’s dress fell away to reveal a tiny one-piece swimsuit at the same time that Will, already in bare feet, shimmied out of his pants. He wore a pair of black swimming shorts. Together, they turned away from the audience.
The black lettering on Krista’s backside and the white lettering stenciled on Will’s shorts read Just Married.
* * *
KRISTA AND WILL, holding hands, walked to the edge of the pier. “You are fine,” Krista whispered, “with not wearing a life jacket?”
“I’m good. We’ve practiced. Besides, my wife’s within arm’s length.”
“Ready?” Krista whispered, hardly believing that the man, the life she’d always wanted was hers from this day forward.
Will peeked down into the dark, cold waters. He’d surface. With Krista beside him, he always would. “I am.”
And together, hand in hand, they took the plunge.
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781488074615
Her Rodeo Rancher
Copyright © 2021 by S. M. Stelmack
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ISBN-13: 9781488074622
Copyright © 2021 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:
Rocky Mountain Baby
Copyright © 2021 by Patricia Johns
An Alaskan Homecoming
Copyright © 2021 by Beth Carpenter
A Family for the Firefighter
Copyright © 2021 by Jacquelin Thomas
Her Rodeo Rancher
Copyright © 2021 by M. K.Stelmack
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Harlequin Heartwarming June 2021 Box Set Page 95