She made a little sound and his arms tightened.
Yes. Oh, yes. No matter what, he’d been there when she needed him. Home and marriage and family might not be easy for him, but she did believe he would always be there when she needed him. As she wanted to be there for him.
“No. I don’t need time.”
He kissed her again. “I’ve been living for moments like this. Do you know how pathetic I felt, lurking behind the window hoping I’d see you out here? Or one of the kids would give me an excuse to come out? I don’t want to be out here waiting anymore. I want to be in there with you.”
Now tears did burn her eyes, but she smiled, too. “I want you there, too.”
“Will you marry me?”
She grinned at him. “What do you think?”
“I think we should put flowers on Enid’s grave every Sunday for the rest of our lives.”
WEDDINGS WERE FOR WOMEN. Everyone knew that. Guys showed up, stood where ordered, spoke their lines and hoped they weren’t screwing up in some way their wife would remember and throw at them for the rest of their lives.
Niall was embarrassed by how amazing he felt on his wedding day. How much he wanted this.
It wasn’t a huge, formal occasion, although they did get married in the church. A surprisingly large percent of the Stimson police force had come. Duncan was at Niall’s side, Jane looking seriously pregnant in the front pew. She beamed at him as if she’d had something to do with him being up here.
Maybe she had, in a cosmic sense.
Desmond was at his side, too, cute in a brand-new suit bought for the occasion. He had the rings, a responsibility he was taking seriously.
Anna was the flower girl, wearing a peach-colored dress with a puffy skirt, carrying a basket of rose petals she strewed unevenly down the aisle. She ran out of petals before she got to the end and stopped dead, looking confused.
“Come on, Anna,” Des whispered loudly. Accompanied by laughs she scurried the rest of the way to join them.
They’d decided to keep this wedding in the family, so Rowan’s mom was her attendant, and she was letting her dad walk her down the aisle. Dad, Niall was thankful to see, had had enough sense not to bring a girlfriend.
His knees almost buckled when his bride appeared, her eyes on him. No veil, but she wore a long white dress and glowed. He heard a low chuckle at his side.
“Breathe,” his brother murmured for his ears only.
He couldn’t look away from her. She was his. A woman who made him laugh, who fired his blood, who trusted him with herself and her kids. He was still stunned at how sure he was that he could trust her, too.
He looked away from her only once, after she’d taken his hand and stepped to his side. Before they turned to face the pastor.
He’d thought Conall would come. He felt disappointment, but there was a spark of anger there, too, that his little brother hadn’t been willing to overcome his issues enough to show.
Shaking off those useless emotions, Niall turned his back on the lost hope and focused on the future.
“Do you, Niall Alan MacLachlan, take this woman…”
Oh, yeah. He definitely did.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459223639
Copyright © 2012 by Janice Kay Johnson
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From Father to Son Page 25