by Sable Hunter
Molly knew Tennessee had no idea how hard it was to walk by the closet containing the wedding dresses. She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth, making it out of the suite and to the elevator without squealing in protest. Just like a man, he didn’t seem to notice. Molly didn’t complain. She was just too happy. Taking his hand, she moved close to him in the elevator. When it stopped to pick up two women, she was aware they looked at her with envy. She just gave them a smile and cuddled closer. Ten, completely unaware, kissed her neck, which made her smile even bigger.
Once in the Luminara restaurant, they ordered and Tennessee took her hand. “I know everything is happening quickly. I pulled a lot of strings and took shopping online to a whole new level, but I had a local jeweler deliver this.” While Molly gazed on, he slipped a beautiful diamond on her finger. “I can’t wait to make you my wife, Molly Reyes.” She stared, her hand over her heart. “If you don’t like it, we can find something else.”
Molly looked at him in disbelief. “It’s perfect.” She stood up and came around to him, sitting in his lap, hugging and kissing him right on the spot. “I am having a hard time processing all of this,” she murmured against his shoulder.
“This is just the beginning.” The arrival of their lunch caused Molly to return to her chair. While they ate, Tennessee told her about the wedding preparations the hotel was making. “We’ll be married in the chapel, have dinner on the patio with our own personal wedding cake, then honeymoon in our suite. Since we’re getting married tonight…”
“Tonight?”
“Yea, I told you the next time I made love to you was going to be on our honeymoon. Did you think I was going to actually miss another night without you in my arms?”
“Oh, my goodness.” Molly touched her head. “I need to do something with my hair.”
“They’ll take care of you in the spa. Everything’s all arranged.”
“Okay.” Molly sighed, taking a deep breath. “I’ll quit worrying and just enjoy everything.”
“Good.” He cut a bite from his steak. “How’s your shrimp?”
“Good.” She dipped it into a special chipotle sauce. “So, we’re getting married on the grounds?”
He pointed to the left. “I don’t know if you saw it, but there’s a chapel next door. It dates back to the early eighteen hundreds. The architect who designed it, died suddenly and only after the chapel was finished did they discover the builders had left out a staircase to the choir loft. The chapel was so small, any type of regular staircase would have overwhelmed the chapel. A ladder was considered, but some of the nuns were older or infirm and couldn’t manage the climb with their long habits.
“They began to pray to the patron saint of carpenters, the husband of the mother of Christ. For nine days they asked St. Joseph to intercede. A day after the novena, a stranger knocked on their door. The shabby stranger offered to build the nuns a staircase but asked for total privacy and locked himself in the chapel for three months. His tools were said to be primitive, just a saw, a square and a bucket of warm water. The identity of the carpenter was never learned, for he left abruptly as soon as the staircase was finished. The nuns believed the old carpenter was be St. Joseph himself.”
“We’re going to see this staircase?” Molly asked.
“We’re going to have our wedding pictures taken standing on the staircase.” He held one of her hands in both of his. “Wait till you see it. It rises twenty feet, makes two full revolutions and ascends to the choir loft with no visible sign of support. No nails were used, only wooden pegs.” He found a photo on his phone and showed it to her.
“It’s lovely.” She saw more than the staircase, however. Molly was picturing them posing for their wedding portrait. The idea brought tears to her eyes. “Who will be our witnesses?”
Ten looked blank for a moment. He hadn’t thought of that. “I’m sure the hotel staff will provide someone, like a Las Vegas chapel would.” Ten saw a flash of something he couldn’t identify cross her face. “What are you thinking?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.” When he gave her a pointed stare, she played with her napkin. “I didn’t really have anyone to ask, no family. The friends I have wouldn’t be the kind to come to a destination wedding. I was just wondering what your family is going to think.”
“Molly, a man doesn’t bring his family along when he elopes with his bride.”
She gave him a small smile. “I didn’t think of it as eloping. I just know how close you are to your family, especially Heath.” Molly wanted to ask if they inquired about her and what he said. Did they know Ten loved her?
“Yes, we are. But I don’t want to wait. If the family got wind of this, the girls would insist on a big wedding and we’d have to wait six months to be together.”
“You’re right. I don’t want to wait either. This is what I want.” She assured him, seeing he seemed to be exasperated. “You’re all I want.”
Her assurance satisfied him. “Good.” They finished their meal, but instead of returning to their room, Ten led her to the spa. “You have the full treatment coming. Go and let them pamper you.” He gave her a gentle kiss. “Tonight, you become my wife.”
As he started to walk away, she almost called him back. This all seemed unreal. Molly was used to working in the spa, not being the customer. She didn’t get a chance to back out, however. A friendly woman with red hair came to collect her and soon she was led through the luxury accommodations to an exotic room with a huge clawfoot tub filled with water. Rose petals were floating on the top. The woman helped her undress and Molly stepped inside, sitting down to soak. The water felt so good she moaned. Over the next few hours she had a facial, a massage with jasmine oil, a turn in the sauna and a dip in the Jacuzzi. Knowing how much all of this cost first hand, she was touched he’d do this for her. And that wasn’t all, after she was dressed, they guided her to a salon to do her hair and make-up. Now, all she needed to do was go upstairs to choose her dress and collect her groom.
On the way up in the elevator, Molly wondered how Ten knew her size. He had two sisters, maybe he had a keen fashion sense. “Yea, right,” Molly had to laugh. Tennessee McCoy was a man’s man.
Arriving at the penthouse, she slipped her key in the lock and tapped lightly on the door. “Ten, I’m back.”
There was no answer. She started in – but didn’t get very far. A strong arm hooked around her waist and she found herself caught in a close embrace with a handsome cowboy. The careful application of makeup would most certainly have to be touched up, because he ate all of her lip gloss off and generally gave her a sexy mussing up.
Molly didn’t care a bit.
“I’ve been waiting for you.” He grinned. “Time is growing short. It’s almost time to get ready.”
She placed both hands on his strong chest, a half-hearted attempt to keep him at bay. “You need to disappear for a few minutes, I want to choose my dress. And you shouldn’t see.” He looked a bit disappointed, pooching his mouth like a little boy, which prompted her to kiss him.
“Okay, but don’t take too long.” He checked the clock. “Can you be ready in a couple of hours?”
“Yes, I’ll hurry.” She playfully pushed him toward the door. “I’ll be in the big bathroom getting ready, you can dress in the small one.”
Ten snorted, playfully. “No fair. I can see how this marriage is going to go, me relegated to the small bathroom.”
Molly gave him a seductive grin and cupped his package. “I’ll make it up to you. Go take a walk and think about what I’m going to do to you when I get you naked in that bed.”
“I’ll be walking around with a hard-on.” He sighed. “Okay, I’m scheduled to pick up my tux in a half hour anyway.”
Finally Molly had to walk him backwards out into the hall, kissing him all the while. Once he was on the way, she leaned against the closed door and laughed. None of this seemed real. Tennessee was an absolute dream. The idea that she was about to become his wife was hard
to grasp. Going to the closet, she opened the doors and her eyes bugged. “Oh, my god!” This wasn’t department store dresses, these were designer. In amazement she took down an off-white lace mermaid, a cream trumpet and a snow-white ball gown. All strapless. All covered in embellishments like crystals and seed pearls. Laying them out on the bed, she just stared in wonder.
A tiny niggle of doubt inched up her spine. Tennessee was rich. His family was rich. She was just the daughter of an immigrant. Her father hadn’t even cared enough to marry her mother. Whoever he was, he probably didn’t even know she existed. What was she doing marrying someone so different from herself? She let her hand move down the satiny front of the ball gown. “I know why I’m marrying you, my perfect Ten. Because I love you. I love you so much I can feel it in every cell of my body.” She smiled. “And you love me, I can’t deny that.”
Wiping a tear from her eye, she stood and undressed. Carefully, she tried on all three dresses, marveling at the transformation she saw in the mirror. All three dresses were beautiful, but the ball gown style with its full skirt and fitted lace bodice made her feel as if she was in a fairytale, so that was what she chose. Molly was about to marry her Prince Charming, she might as well look the part.
Down in the lobby, Tennessee sat in front of a big fireplace on a leather couch. His western style tux lay beside him in a black garment bag. People passing by probably thought he was crazy, because he couldn’t quit smiling. To pass the time, he made notes on his bid. He was taking Heath’s recommendations into consideration. The only thing worrying him was the cash incentive. He didn’t know if a hundred dollars an acre was enough. Thunder-hawk was so important to him. His livelihood was already secure, but this venture had come to represent the future for him and Molly. He wanted to make no mistakes. Using the notepad feature on his phone, he did some figuring. When the phone vibrated in his hand, he jumped.
It was Heath.
Ten almost didn’t answer it, but he was afraid there might be an emergency. “Hello?”
“Your brother’s been hurt.” Heath’s voice was low with an underlying tension.
“What? Who? What happened?”
“Jaxson. He went crossways with a bull, broke his leg. It’s a bad break. Have your turned in your bid? When can you come home?”
Shit. “No, I won’t turn in my bid till Tuesday.” After his too short honeymoon. “Is Jaxson in the hospital?”
“Yes, at Breckenridge in Austin. He’s going to have to have surgery and then he’ll be off his leg for a while. You’ll need to step up.”
Ten understood. “I know. Is he able to answer his phone?”
“Yea, but he’s taking some drugs for the pain. The bone pierced the skin.”
Tennessee winced. “I’ll call him.”
“When can you come in?”
Taking a deep breath, Ten bit the bullet. “Molly and I are getting married in a few minutes.”
“What the fuck?” Most of Texas heard an explosion, they just didn’t know the source was Heath McCoy. “What do you mean?”
Tennessee tried to explain. “I love her, Heath. When I was home, I couldn’t wait to get back to her. I’ve never felt like this before.”
“This is way too fast. You’re making a mistake.”
A flash of anger hit Ten like a firebomb. “This is my life, brother.”
“Yea, I guess you have full rights to make a mess of it.”
The line went dead.
“Fuck!” Tennessee flung his phone down on the bag holding his tux. He knew Heath had been hurt. He knew his brother loved him and only wanted the best for him. But what Heath didn’t understand was the best for Ten was Molly. Leaning forward, he placed a hand to his forehead and tried to get his thoughts together. The first thing he needed to do was call and check on Jaxson. Then, he would marry the love of his life and be happy – dammit! There was no way he was letting his brother’s personal insecurity mar his wedding day. He vowed to continue on with his plans and just as soon as he submitted the bid and found out the results, he and Molly would go home for a while. It would take several weeks to get things rolling on Thunder-hawk if he won. He’d have to make contacts for the foundations and start getting the turbines on order. A lot of that could be done from the ranch. With a sigh, he realized his life was about to change.
For the better.
Picking up his phone, he called Jaxson. While he was waiting for him to answer, Ten thought about Heath. His brother would just have to get over it. If the family gave Molly a chance, Ten knew they would love her. They wouldn’t be able to help it.
***
Molly thought the Inn at Loretto was a perfect place for a wedding. She’d hadn’t expected it, but the hotel wedding consultant knocked on her door. At first she thought it might be Tennessee and she just called through the door and told him to give her a second to hide and then he could come in.
“This is Jonella, Miss Reyes, I’ve come to take you to the chapel.”
Molly opened the door to find a pretty silver haired lady dressed in a pink suit. “Come in, I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Oh my, don’t you look beautiful.” The woman walked around Molly admiringly. “That dress is magnificent.” She winked at Molly. “I looked at them when the boutique dropped the dresses by. You’ve chosen the one I would have selected.”
“I love it.” Molly said reverently as she pressed her palms to the soft material. “I don’t feel like myself at all.”
“Every woman is supposed to feel perfect on her wedding day.” She folded her hands primly in front of her. “My assistant waylaid Mr. McCoy downstairs and is taking him over to the men’s dressing room in the chapel. We’re going to be your witnesses today and we’re going to make sure everything goes smoothly, including getting you to the chapel without your groom seeing you.”
Molly gave herself over into the woman’s capable hands and soon she was standing at the rear of the chapel and an organ was playing the wedding march. Jonella presented Molly with a beautiful bouquet of white roses. “This is from your groom. He picked out the flowers personally.”
“He thought of everything.” Molly wanted to cry. The only thing that would have made this day more perfect was if her mother was here to see her.
“Are you ready?” she asked, about to hold open the door.
“Yes, I’m ready.” Ready to see Tennessee. Ready to become his wife. Ready to start a future together.
The chapel was small and there was no one there but the two witnesses, the preacher and the bride and groom. Molly didn’t care a bit. The main players were here and that was all that mattered.
From the moment Jonella swung open the door and she saw Tennessee standing at the altar, Molly’s heart started beating like a hummingbird’s wings. He looked so handsome and dashing in his suit. Even from across the distance she could feel the heat of his gaze. Molly wanted to be beautiful, she wanted to be graceful but her feet wanted to fly down the aisle to him.
When Tennessee saw the beautiful vision of his future wife start down the aisle, every other care or worry in the world left his mind. She looked into his eyes and – God’s truth – he heard angels singing. The only thing that bothered him was she was walking alone. There was no one to give her away, no one to hold her hand.
That wouldn’t do. To heck with tradition.
For a moment, Molly didn’t understand what was happening. She was no more than a third of the way down the small aisle when Tennessee left where he was standing and started toward her. Was something wrong? Had he changed his mind?
Hardly.
“Hey, beautiful. Can I walk with you?”
Molly began to cry. “Please.” If he could break tradition, so could she. Stopping, she turned and cupped his face, kissing him with all the love in her heart.
The preacher beamed at the happy couple as they walked toward him. “Now, this is the way it’s supposed to be. As long as you’re walking the same path, neither of you will ever be lost.”
Standing in front of the stained glass, they said their vows. “I promise to love, honor and cherish you every day of my life.” She breathed every word like a prayer.
Tennessee held her hand, unwilling to let her go for a moment. “I promise to protect you, worship your body with mine and love you till death do us part.”
When the preacher told him to kiss his bride, Tennessee didn’t just kiss her, he picked her up and spun her around. He was happier than he’d ever been.
They had their wedding portrait taken on the steps of the miracle staircase. The pastor came to them, helping Molly down. “You know, they say a new bride and groom who stand on these steps will always be blessed.”
“Thank you, sir.” Tennessee shook his hand, slipping him a check. “I appreciate you doing this on such short notice.”
“I enjoyed it.” He nodded and was gone.
Jonella and her assistant waited around while the photographer took more photos, then escorted them to a gorgeous private dining room where a bottle of champagne awaited them. “I’m really too excited to eat.”
“Then, let’s dance.” Romantic music filled the room as he took her into his arms, swaying, him being so tender. Just like every fantasy she’d ever had, Tennessee gazed into her eyes, holding her close. “How do you feel, Mrs. McCoy?”
Mrs. McCoy. The title sounded both amazing and intimidating. “I feel good. Happy. Scared.”
“Why are you scared, baby?” He wrapped both arms around her shoulders, forming a perfect shelter. Molly chewed on her lower lip, drawing him to kiss where she nipped. “You know I’d protect you with my life, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she assured him. “I’m just afraid I’m going to wake up and none of this is going to be real.”
“Just wait, when we get back to our room I’ll prove to you that this is very real, sweet wife.”