Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(73)

“Think they’ll ever find oil there?” Steven asked, glancing across at Wyatt.

Lucy shrugged. “I don’t honestly care. I have everything I want.” She smiled up at her brother. “There would have been a huge hole in my heart today without you here.”

Steven ducked his head in a show of shame. “I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere. Well, I am going back to my job in Reno, but I’ll visit often.”

Sarah turned around and said, “David asked me to read over the vows he wrote. He is so romantic. How did yours come out?”

Lucy gulped in surprise. “He wrote his own vows?”

Sarah’s eyes rounded, and she smacked her forehead with one hand. “Did he say it was a surprise? I wouldn’t forget something like that, would I?” She turned forward again. “Pretend I said nothing.”

The music began, and Chelle slowly walked down the aisle. Melanie followed her. Sarah went last.

The music changed to the wedding march, and Lucy started down the aisle, holding Steven’s arm. At the altar, the minister asked, “Who gives this woman?”

“My brother,” Lucy said before Steven had a chance to answer. She couldn’t help it. She was simply that happy to have him by her side.

Steven blinked back a tear and kissed Lucy’s cheek. “I do,” he said, then shook David’s hand. “If my father were here, he would have said that he couldn’t have found a better man for his daughter.”

David’s smile widened. He took Lucy’s hand, and they both moved to stand in front of the minister. In all of Lucy’s life, she’d never seen anything more beautiful than the man she loved looking across at her, waiting for the minister to speak. She hadn’t written her own vows, but she wasn’t worried. It was hard to be afraid of anything with David at her side.

The minister welcomed everyone. At Lucy and David’s request, he kept the opening short and simple. He asked for the rings. Jace, who was almost seven, walked up the aisle with two rings on a white pillow. He handed them to the minister, then turned to David.

“David, do we get to eat after this?”

Everyone laughed.

David nodded.

Melanie, Jace’s mother, called him over. Jace ignored her, his focus remaining on David. “Mom said getting married means you might have a baby soon, but she said that won’t change how much you love me. Do you make the baby at the wedding or after?”

David ruffled Jace’s hair and winked. “After. But you should ask Charles about that.”

Satisfied, Jace went to stand beside Charles and took him by the hand with an expression that implied he would do just that the first chance he got.

A roar of laughter erupted, and Lucy joined in. If the wedding was any indicator, a life with David would be filled with love and joy.

The minister asked, “David, you said you wrote something you wanted to read?”

David nodded and took a piece of paper out of his pocket. A slight shake in his hand was the only indicator that he might be nervous. He cleared his throat. “My parents would say I’ve always been a bit stubborn. I get something in my head, and there’s no shaking it out. Until you, Lucy, I didn’t know my heart was the same. I knew you were the one for me from the very first time we met. The road here was bumpy, but I don’t regret a moment of it because it brought you to me. I promise to love you, to cherish you, to challenge you for the rest of our lives. I promise to be faithful, loving, and supportive of anything you choose to do. Give me your forever, Lucy, and I’ll give you mine.”

“Yes,” Lucy said as David slid a ring onto her finger.

Smiling, Lucy gently teased David. “I was not told we were writing our own vows, but it’s not hard to know what to say. David, your faith in me, your belief that I could get to this place, is probably what I first loved about you. I don’t know, though, because I could go on and on if I tried to list what I love about you. You have a heart the size of Texas. You are kind when others would judge. You are strong when others would run. I was lost when you found me, and you led me back not only to myself but also to my family. I promise to love you, to cherish you, to challenge you, too, for the rest of our lives. I promise to be faithful, loving, and supportive of anything you choose to do. Give me your forever, David, because you sure as hell have mine.”

The minister made a tsk sound.

“Yes,” David said.

She slid the other ring on his finger.

The minister looked out at the crowd. “Is there anyone here who knows a reason why these two should not wed?”

With preplanned synchronization, the wedding party turned to look at Chelle, who had accidentally spoken up at Sarah and Tony’s wedding.

Chelle blushed, but took the ribbing with a smile and proclaimed, “Not this time.”

Laughter echoed through those gathered, leaving a few whispering questions about why.

“Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

David didn’t need to be told twice.



After the ceremony, David and Lucy made their way through the crowd, toward his parents. When he’d called them and announced his engagement, he expected them to express some sort of disappointment. He hadn’t known if it would be because they thought it would keep him farther from them, or because she wasn’t working in a profession they approved of. He hadn’t given them a chance. He’d immediately informed them that Lucy was the love of his life, and he expected them to respect his choice.