by Anne Carrole
Libby looked for any signs of distress, but all she saw was her father’s broad smile. He’d come so far in the last few months, but he still had a long way to go.
She wrapped her hand around the rail of her father’s walker and watched from the wings as her bridesmaids, Debbie and Madison, two friends from college, began the timed walk down the aisle. No red carpet had been laid because Libby hadn’t wanted her father’s walker to get tangled in it. The pews of the white-steepled church were decked out in blue hydrangeas and fragrant white roses with draping tulle. Through the stained-glass windows, sunlight dappled vibrant colors on the tile floor.
Debbie and Madison had flown in from California and New Jersey, respectively, to be in her wedding, and they had fluttered around Chance at the rehearsal dinner, thrilled to finally meet the man they had heard so much about during midnight dorm-room chats. Peeking down the aisle, Libby caught a glimpse of Lonnie, as best man, and Doug, as groomsman, standing beside Chance on the altar. They both looked fine in their tuxedos, but there was only one man she wanted to see. She strained to glimpse Chance, who looked more handsome than ever in the black tux that expertly fit his broad shoulders and tapered to his slim waist.
She could see the smile plastered on his face all the way from her spot in the vestibule, and a warm glow spread from her heart.
Scanning the pews, she spotted the back of Deidre Cochran’s blonde head in the front row on the groom’s side, handkerchief in hand.
The church was populated with employees of the dealership, her father’s friends, and loyal customers, as well as several of Chance’s rodeo buddies and their dates, and the whole McShane family, Billy looking dapper, for a thirteen-year-old, in his dark suit. Mandy Prescott had come with her mother but no male escort, which made Libby wonder, since Mandy was a beautiful woman, especially in the gorgeous red dress she wore, which set off her brunette hair. She’d been so sorry to hear that Mandy’s grandfather had been diagnosed with stage IV cancer. As Mandy’s father had died many years ago in a car accident, she might be one of a very few female owners of a rodeo stock company soon, albeit under tragic circumstances.
Libby pushed those thoughts out of her head as she looked into her father’s smiling eyes. She didn’t want any reminders today of how close she had been to losing him.
“You okay, baby girl?” her father asked, his voice gruffer than usual.
“More than okay, Daddy.”
“Tell me when.”
Libby watched as the trains of her girlfriends’ deep-blue dresses flowed over the polished tiles. She waited until they had stopped at the altar before giving her father a nod as the “Wedding March” began.
Sam’s steps were measured and slow as he rolled the walker, decorated with a combination of blue irises and white chrysanthemums, before him. There had been days she never thought he would walk. And a wheelchair would have sufficed, but he’d been adamant that he would walk her down the aisle. It had become a goal he was determined to achieve, and achieve it he did, through pain and persistence. With each step, her pride in her father grew as they walked, arm and walker, toward the altar, toward Chance.
“How are you doing?” she whispered to her father.
“Never better,” he replied. She doubted that, but it comforted her to hear him say so.
The music seemed to swell with her happiness as she passed smiling faces and camera flashes. The wedding photographer crouched ahead, snapping away.
But it was the man at the end of the aisle who sent her heart soaring. The handsome one in a fitted tux who was looking at her as if she was a wonder of the world. His gaze served as a beacon, calling her to his side.
She heard someone sniffle as they moved to the steps of the altar and guessed it was Deidre.
Chance’s smile broadened, lighting up his face, as he mouthed “you’re beautiful” and stepped down to stand beside her father. The words of the minister were lost on her as she watched Chance’s face, looking for any signs of hesitancy. All she saw was a beaming groom.
“Who gives this woman?” the minister said.
“I do,” her father replied in his familiar, strong, booming voice. He lifted her veil, and she saw the tears in his eyes as she felt the warmth of his kiss on her cheek. He turned and grasped Chance’s hand, and then hers, to unite them.
“I know you’ll take good care of her, son,” her father whispered in a firm, confident tone, and then he turned and steered the walker toward the pew where Ed Farley stood ready to assist him into the seat.
This was it, she thought, as Chance pulled her hand up to his lips and kissed it, making her feel truly loved.
The rest of the ceremony was a blur. Libby said her vows, handwritten and memorized, talking of her love for him, his spirit, his courage, his determination, and how she would always strive to be worthy of his trust. He told her he was thankful for her persistence, gratified she had taught him about love and family, and vowed he would spend their life together striving to be worthy of her love.
After the minister said, “I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride,” she stepped into Chance’s embrace, and his arms surrounded her. His kiss was passionate, clearly unconcerned about the applauding audience. When he had finished devouring her mouth, he stood back and smiled.
“I love you, Libby Cochran. Now and forever.”
That was the moment she would cherish, always.
* * *
A word about the author…
Anne Carrole has been creating stories since she first wondered where Sally was running to in those early reader books. Besides reading and writing romances, you might find Anne researching western history, at the rodeo, watching football, in the garden or on the tennis court. Married to her own suburban cowboy, she’s the mother of a twenty-something cowgirl. She’s also the founder of the western historical fan page
http://www.facebook.com/lovewesternromances.com
She loves hearing from readers. You can friend, follow or find Anne on:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/annecarrole
Twitter: http://twitter.com/annecarrole
Web: http://www.annecarrole.com
(where you can also sign up for her newsletter.)
Other titles by Anne Carrole:
Falling for a Cowboy
Saving Cole Turner
Hearts of Wyoming Series
Loving a Cowboy
The Maverick Meets His Match (coming soon)
The Wrangler’s Heart (coming 2016)
LOVING A COWBOY. Copyright ©2015 by Carol Aloisi
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without express written permission of the author and Galley Press. You can contact the author at [email protected].
For more information on the author and her work, please visit http://www.annecarrole.com
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, incidents, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity or resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published by: Galley Press
Cover by: Rae Monet
Edited by: Dori Harrell
Layout by www.formatting4U.com
Digital ISBN: 978-0-9885616-2-5
Print ISBN: 978-0-9885616-3-2
Table of Contents
Hearts of Wyoming series
Dedicated to my daughter. I couldn’t be prouder.
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
A word about the author…
Other titles by Anne Carrole:
LOVING A COWBOY. Copyright ©2015 by Carol Aloisi