Ty and Conner must have sensed my frustration with their love hate relationship, because they got right to working. The entire inside of the barn needed to be sprayed white. I left Conner and Ty to the task. They each took a spray machine and did opposite sides. Of course, I should have never trusted that they could go for a long period of time without acting like total morons. I came in to check on their progress and they were both covered in white paint from head to toe. They were back to work, but after they spotted me coming toward them, they both pointed to each other.
Instead of playing into their drama, I walked back out of the barn, knowing they would work harder to try and not p.i.s.s me off again. The sod was looking seamless and I decided to have the landscapers come back and lay flowers all around the edges of the barn.
Savanna had planned on riding Daisy, her horse, up to the barn. I decided to make Daisy her own little corral with a little white picket fenced in area. Since our wedding flowers were lilies, we could have some draped around the small fencing.
When the jokesters were done painting the inside, they came outside and we got right on to finishing the outside, with a second coat of paint all over. When it finally started to get dark, we went inside and got to installing the floor. The floor was dirt, so we needed to frame out an almost deck formation, in order to lay the plywood down flat.
Conner was amazing at construction while Ty and I were great at the mathematical aspect of it. Ty made the measurements while I cut the wood, then finally Conner installed it. We had a great system going and at about midnight, we were all starving to death and exhausted.
The wedding wasn"t until four in the afternoon, so we had plenty of time to run all of the electric and get ready without Savanna having to worry.
Since she and I were being married and we didn"t want to jinx anything, she chose to sleep at the main house with all of the girls. Plus her parents and my aunt and uncle had arrived and they were also staying in the guest rooms. Us guys came back to my place to a tray of lasagna and a fridge full of beer. We were too tired to stay up and party, and after about an hour, Ty finally snuck away from us to sleep with Miranda. He claimed that she couldn"t sleep, but Conner and I thought he was the one who couldn"t handle being away.
The following morning came too soon and my nerves were getting the best of me. I don"t know why I was nervous. I had wanted to marry Savanna for so long. There wasn"t a doubtful bone in my body. I think I was more worried about her not showing up. I let myself love her with everything I had, so the thought of losing her was just too hard to ever imagine.
Ty was already at the barn when Conner and I arrived. A truck full of flowers and another full of tables and chairs had arrived. We hadn"t had time to paint the wooden floor, but with everything being decorated and set up, the brown floor just wasn"t an issue. The white inside walls of the barn gave it a clean look. People from different companies started decorating and setting up with chairs, tables, balloons and other things to make it perfect.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Ty standing there. His hair was all sweaty like it was hot out, but it really wasn"t at all. "What the h.e.l.l? Did you run here or somethin"?"
"Nope, got up early and made you something. Come out back and look." Ty suggested.
We walked out back and I stood there shocked. It wasn"t anything fancy, but Ty had made a trellis out of lattice to use on the altar. "I didn"t have time to do this. Thanks Cuz. This is fantastic." I patted Ty on the shoulder and went over to thoroughly look at it.
"The paint is still wet. I just finished spraying it. I figured after it dries we could put flowers all over it. So you think she"ll like it?"
I turned to face Ty. "I think she will love it. She is goin" to be so surprised about all of this, but I will make sure she knows you did this for her."
"For you both Colt. I did it for both of you. I"m glad she"s marrying you. You were always the right choice you know."
I didn"t answer him. We both knew it was true, so I didn"t have to agree. Ty was so overly happy about his own life, that I would never in a million years think he wasn"t being genuine. His priorities were on his own family now. I used to picture him trying to have one last plea with Savanna to not marry me, but seeing him now, I knew it was never going to happen. He might tease Savanna, but there was nothing between them.
"So what do we have left to do?" Ty asked.
"Yeah, what do we have left? Brina said she"d meet me before the service if I hurried up." Conner interrupted.
"T.M.I. brother." Ty joked.
"Brother, my a.s.s. Stop callin" me that you c.o.c.k sucker."
"Speaking of c.o.c.k sucking, you should have seen your sist......."
I had to interrupt them before they went wrestling through one of the barn walls. "Can you two just shut the h.e.l.l up for one G.o.dd.a.m.n day? Jesus, you may as well be in kindergarten. Neither one of you fought like this when we were little. Conner, just get over it. They"re happy together and there ain"t nothin" you can do to change it, and honestly I know you don"t really want to. In my opinion, you"re just jealous of them. You want to settle down, but don"t want to admit it. How long are you two goin" to do this s.h.i.t? Make amends, were family for Christ sakes."
I"d had enough of the bickering. Two grown a.s.s men arguing for no reason. Yeah, Ty went behind everyone"s back, but so did I. I snuck around to be with Savanna on Ty"s own farm. I knew the consequences to my actions and did it anyway, with no regrets. Conner needed to let it go. He was going to lose his sister if he continued, because I knew for a fact that she would be with Ty without a single regretful thought.
"I don"t have a beef with Conner. He just can"t accept that both of the girls chose me." Ty stood there waiting for Conner to reply.
He just stood there staring at Ty. We had been through this for almost a week. Every time we thought things were good between them, they would go all hog wild again. If they didn"t quit it would cause problems with the family. As much as Ty tried to make things a joke, I knew it was his way of dealing with feeling uncomfortable. He did feel bad about lying to Conner, but he wouldn"t regret it.
"I don"t want to be like you. Let"s just get that out in the open right now."
Ty took a big gulp from his water bottle and poured some over his head. He was listening to Conner, but making a point to not give him direct attention. "Conner, it doesn"t bother me if you dislike me, but don"t ever doubt my intentions. I love her like no other man could ever love her. Izzy is my daughter in every way and I would never hurt either of them. I would die before I let anything happen to my family. You can say whatever you want about me, but don"t you ever say my feelings for them aren"t real. If you need me to repeat this every day for the rest of our lives, then so be it, but just know, it will always sound exactly the same."
Ty didn"t wait for Conner to react, he just walked away from both of us.
I thought Conner would say something smart about Ty since he walked away, but instead, he walked up to me. "I ain"t jealous Colt. You both can have that monogamous s.h.i.t."
I threw my hands in the air and watched him walk in the opposite direction. For the next two hours, we worked without talking about anything other than the task at hand. Conner and Ty never even made eye contact with each other.
With the wiring run through the rafters and the lighting working properly, we ga.s.sed up all of the generators and set them out back, to hide them from the guests. The caterers were starting to arrive and we needed to start getting ourselves ready. The three of us jumped on the golf carts and headed to get cleaned up. In just two hours I would be marrying Savanna. It was really happening.
My house was so quiet and if it wasn"t for my dog Sam following me around, I think I would have gone a bit crazy with antic.i.p.ation. After showering, shaving and getting my tux on, I heard the guys coming into the house. Sam went flying down the steps to greet them. I could hear them telling her to stop jumping. It was a good thing it hadn"t been muddy outside, or she would have made a mess out of their tuxes.
I came downstairs to Ty and Conner fixing each other"s jackets and flowers. "Good to see you"re getting along."
"It"s just a show. We can hate each other tomorrow," Ty joked.
Conner didn"t say anything and I didn"t give a d.a.m.n. They needed to shut up until Savanna"s day was over with. I had about two hundred people coming to the ranch. My grandparents were deceased, but Savanna still had two sets and she hadn"t seen either of them in two years, on account of them living in California and Florida. She was more than excited to see them and impress them with the life and future that we had here. Of course my mother was a nervous wreck, running around making sure that everything was in order.
"You ready to get this over with Cuz?" Conner asked.
I took a deep breath and looked at the clock. Conner was right, we needed to head over there. "I"ve been ready for this for two years."
Ty put his arm around me while we were heading out. "Hey man, I never said thanks to you."
"For what?"
"For taking her from me." I pulled away and gave him a dirty look. "If you wouldn"t have taken her from me, I never would have my girls. Maybe it sounds terrible saying it that way, but you gave me my future, at least that is how I see it."
Conner was already on the golf cart. "You guys comin"?"
I held up my finger for him to hold on. "I never thought you"d be here with me today. I wanted to regret lovin" her but I just couldn"t, not for one second. I never meant to hurt you, even if it was temporary. I know you were in a bad way last year, while Savanna and I were planning our future. I should have been there more, but I didn"t know what to say. I felt like I was the reason for ruinin" your happiness. When I found out about you and Miranda and then saw you two for myself, it was like a weight lifted off of me. I could tell immediately that you were crazy about each other. I"m real glad that everything has worked out Ty. Your my cousin, my blood, and nothin" will ever change that."
"Love you too man. Let"s get you hitched dude." Ty pushed me off the porch as if he were more eager to get there than me.
"Bout time!" Conner said as we hopped on and headed to the barn.
Crowds of people were already outside. Soft music was coming from inside and we were greeted with lots of familiar faces. Ty pushed me toward a group of elderly people standing with Savanna"s parents and I leaned over and greeted them first. Even Ty reached in and shook Savanna"s dad"s hand and gave her mother a quick hug.
"I heard you got married. I never thought I would hear that, but congrats Ty," her mother said.
"Thanks. Have you met my girls yet?" He asked.
"As a matter of fact, your mother introduced us earlier. Bella was running around looking for you. She is adorable."
Ty got a huge smile on his face and spotted his parents. "Colt would like to meet both of your parents." He waved to his mother and father. "Excuse me, I need to say hi to them."
I met the two couples and talked to them for a short while before my mother blessed us with her loud voice over the microphone.
"Attention everyone. The girls are on their way here. Guys, you need to take your places and everyone else needs to find a seat. My son is getting married!" She was more excited than me.
We took our places and stood there waiting in antic.i.p.ation. Beads of sweat were running down my head. My heart was racing and I stared at that barn door just waiting to see my beautiful bride for the first time.
Chapter 8.
Savanna It was my big day and I"d already thrown up twice. Aside from Colt leaving me messages on my phone, I hadn"t talked to him at all. Brina and Miranda were trying to keep me from freaking out, but I was so nervous.
As if that were the only thing I had to worry about, I still had no idea where the wedding service was taking place. Everyone had been so secretive including Miranda, who I knew for a fact had been told by Ty.
My parents and grandparents had kept me company all night and it was awesome to see them all after so long. I wish I could have told all of them that I was pregnant, sadly I wasn"t, but today was about me marrying Colt, not about our failed attempts at conceiving. We had all our lives to be able to announce things like that.
Miranda had spent the last two hours doing my hair and makeup. If I wasn"t in my own body, I wouldn"t have recognized myself. I"d never looked so beautiful and it was hard not to cry.
Miranda came into the room with Bella by her side. "It"s time."
I took some deep breaths and grabbed as much of my dress as my hands could handle. Miranda looked so beautiful in her dress. I had changed my mind at the last minute and picked light blue dresses. Brina kept b.i.t.c.hing at me that it was the only color that looked good with her pale skin, not that it was her decision, but I wanted them to both be happy. Of course Miranda looked good in anything she put on, she could wear a sheet and make it look beautiful. Ty was a very lucky guy.
I didn"t say much on the way over to where they had Daisy waiting for me. Our wedding planner was all smiles as I made my way across the yard to the horse pastures on the golf cart. He held out a hand to help me off of the golf cart. "We need to get you up on that horse without messing up your dress. We put a white fabric over the saddle so that you wouldn"t get your dress dirty."
"Thank you. Where am I supposed to be riding to?" Before he could answer I saw a horse and buggy pulling up in front of Daisy and I. Miranda smiled and winked as she and Bella climbed in behind Brina.
"Just follow them. I will meet you there." He a.s.sured me.
It took a good five minutes to get me on that horse. Between the high heels and the dress, it was hard as h.e.l.l. Once on it, I had to sit sideways, and I feared falling off and landing in a pile of dirt. As Daisy and I followed the buggy, I could hear Bella calling out for me. I was afraid to let go to wave to her, on account of losing my balance.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw once we got closer to Miranda"s mother"s house. An old barn that had once looked like it was falling down, was painted red and looked even more perfect than the one that had burned down. Green gra.s.s surrounded the building and flowers had been planted everywhere. The photographer was steady taking our pictures as we got closer. I held my hand over my mouth and tried so hard to hold back the tears. For three days Colt had been working on my secret. I had no idea that he was giving me my barn wedding that I had always dreamed of. Miranda and Bella climbed out of the buggy and came to stand near Daisy. My father started walking toward me and held his arms out for me to fall into them. I could hear the camera clicking as I released my hold on the horse. Of course, my father caught me and sat me down with ease. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you Daddy."
"Shall we?" He held out his arm for me to take.
Colt and I had sat Brina down and asked if she and Conner could walk first so that Miranda and Ty could be together and Miranda could walk with Bella down the aisle. Brina didn"t seem to care as long as she walked with Conner. Apparently they had hooked up a few times, after she had made friends with Courtney, his newest ex. It was weird, but it was Brina and she wasn"t exactly hard to get.
When Brina disappeared in the barn, I started shaking. My father tried to steady me, but I was trembling. Miranda and Bella waved before heading into the barn. I could see her trying to get Bella to throw the flowers as they were going.
Right before walking in I heard Bella yelling "Daddy", followed by the crowd of people inside going "awww". Of course Ty got attention at my wedding. He must have been laughing his head off.
"You ready for this?" My father asked.
"Definitely."
The photographer opened both of the barn doors before my dad and I came into view. I wanted to close my eyes to avoid seeing Colt. Feeling like I was going to pa.s.s out, I kept my head down and my veil over my eyes. With each step I counted and took deep breaths, trying to focus on not falling. I avoided making eye contact with anyone and squeezed my hold on my father tighter. The decorations were beautiful and everything looked more perfect than I could have ever pictured.
We were getting toward the end of the aisle and I could feel everyone"s eyes on me, but only one set of eyes were making me weak in the knees. Reluctantly, I looked up at Colt. His half smile and beautiful eyes were fixed on me. I couldn"t take my eyes off of how beautifully perfect the man was. It wasn"t the tux, or the way he had styled his hair. He was just breathtaking.
I was in awe over the man.
I don"t remember taking that step up to that altar, but I was suddenly reaching my hands out to Colt, while my father lifted my veil and kissed my cheek. After agreeing to give me away, he went and took his seat, while my eyes never left Colt"s.
His hands found mine and he held them tight. I thought I was shaking until he was holding me. He was shaking so bad that his lip was quivering. I found his gaze and his eyes were full of wetness.
No...no....no..you can"t cry!
I tried to look away but I just couldn"t. I was mesmerized by Colt"s love for me. He blinked his dark eyelashes and tears fell down each of his cheeks. I could feel the burning in my eyes and fought so hard to not lose it, knowing once I started I wouldn"t be able to stop.
The pastor started talking but I never took my eyes off of Colts.
"Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to unite Colton and Savanna in holy matrimony. Do you Colton take Savanna to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"
Colt squeezed my hands and let out a very hoa.r.s.e "I do".
"And do you Savanna take Colton to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"
I clenched my jaw and focused on saying the two words without crying. "I do."
"At this time Colton and Savanna have chose to say their own vows to each other." He handed Colt the microphone first.
Oh no! I can"t do this. Just p.r.o.nounce us husband and wife. I can tell him mine later.
Colt cleared his throat and put one arm around my waist. "Savanna," He took a deep breath and shook his head, trying to calm his nerves. "I pretty much knew I loved you from the beginnin". Your beauty caught my eye, but your heart took my breath away. When I look to my future, all I know is that you"re in it. I want to hold you every single night, laugh with you every single day and love you for the rest of our lives." Colt started to break down and I could tell he was having trouble speaking without losing himself completely with his emotions. When he spoke, I could feel the tears filling my own eyes then finally falling down my face. As he continued, I began to sob. "Darlin" you are my whole world and I promise to do whatever it takes to make sure every day of our lives leaves you with a smile on your pretty face and a heart that is always full of love."
Colt handed me the microphone and wiped his face, waiting for me to start. I tried to wipe the tears away, but the mic kept screeching and causing the audience to gasp. I closed my eyes and focused on being in a room alone with Colt. I thought about the millions of things that I had thought about saying to him. "Colt, you know you"ve always owned my heart. That day you came walking into my life two years ago changed everything. From our first kiss, I felt as if I couldn"t breathe without you beside me. The way you love me amazes me every single day and I can"t help falling in love with you more and more each day." My lips started shaking and I had to take a second to calm down. I knew I shouldn"t but I looked right up into Colt"s burning eyes. I could feel his thumb moving over my waist as his hand held me. I looked around the beautiful barn and thought about the sacrifices he had made to make this all happen. I literally began to sob, but through the tears I managed to say one more sentence. "You are my best friend, I love you so much Colt Mitch.e.l.l."
Thank Goodness we didn"t ask for a traditional service.
"Can we have the rings please?" The pastor asked.
Ty scooted up and handed Colt our rings. He gave me a quick wink before ducking back behind Colt. Even he had tears in his eyes.
I can do this. A few more words.
Colt slipped the ring on my finger and then my engagement ring over top of it. It was a lot of ring and under the lights it sparkled like crazy. "With this ring I thee wed." He brought my rings to his lips and kissed them.
I let out a small giggle, in between tears. I grabbed his ring and slid it onto his finger. I had wanted to do that for so long. He was mine in every way. "With this ring I thee wed."
Colt took both of my hands in his and waited patiently for the go-ahead we were both waiting for.
"I now p.r.o.nounce you husband and wife. Ladies and Gentleman, let"s give a round of applause to Mr. and Mrs. Colton Mitch.e.l.l. You can kiss your bride now."
The room filled with clapping but once Colt"s lips reached mine, everything went quiet. We entered into our own little world and n.o.body else existed. I had imagined this kiss since I was about eight years old, of course as I got older the kiss got deeper, but nothing could have prepared me for the kiss Colt was giving. His soft lips covered mine, while his tongue stroked my bottom lip. Soon our tongues began to mingle and we were completely caught up in each other to pay any attention to the loud whistling in the crowd.
I used to be so worried about my grandparents seeing me kiss like this, but I was married now. I was allowed to kiss and have as much s.e.x as I wanted. I had the paper to prove it.