Gin Fling (Bootleg Springs, #5)(92)

“Did you see her? How does she look?” he asked me for the third time. My brother was referring to his bride.

“Yes, I saw Cassidy,” I said again. I picked up the beer that Bowie kept putting down and handed it back to him. He needed something to do with his hands. “She looks—”

“Wait. Don’t tell me. I wanna be surprised. Leah Mae made her dress,” he said, imparting the information he’d mentioned at least sixteen times since I’d shown up.

Jameson growled at his tie in the mirror in the sheriff’s den. Cassidy and the girls had commandeered the entire second floor of the Tucker household. The guests had taken over the backyard.

Gibson adjusted his suspenders, frowning.

There was a knock at the door. “Are you boys decent?” My mom poked her head in the door.

She was pretty as a spring day, as the town elders would say, in a blue and white dress that nipped in at the waist and fell away into a full skirt. Her short blonde cap of hair was accentuated with a sparkly headband.

“Hey, Jenny.” Bowie greeted her with the full wattage of his smile.

“Oh my,” she said, stepping inside. She gave my arm a squeeze before turning her attention to Bowie. “You look almost as excited as your bride.” She brushed a hand over his lapels.

“I can’t believe it’s finally happening,” he said softly.

“Are you nervous?” Mom asked him.

He shook his head emphatically then said, “Yes.”

She laughed. “Okay. Then here’s some advice. When the processional music starts. Close your eyes and count to five. When you open them, you’ll be looking right at your beautiful bride. You want to remember every step she takes to you. You want to remember the second her hand touches yours and that first smile she gives you. Because the rest of the night is going to be a whirlwind. But you want to remember those moments for the rest of your life.”

Well, hell. I had no idea my mom was such a romantic. It made my throat tickle.

Bowie nodded and swallowed hard. “Thanks for being here, Jenny. I know you’re Jonah’s mama and all, but I kinda feel like you belong to all of us.”

My mom’s eyes went damp. “I’m honored to be here with all of you boys,” she whispered.

There was a lot of throat clearing and a few covert swipes at eyes with sleeves.

“Jameson, sweetheart, let me at that tie,” Mom demanded, righting the damage he was doing.

She gave us all the once over, helping Gibson into his jacket. Tucking my boutonniere into place. Giving Bowie an extra squeeze.

The music outside changed. Checking her watch, she peeked out into the backyard. “Well, boys, I think this is your big moment. Are you ready to walk out there and get your brother married?”

“Yes, ma’am,” we answered.

“Good. Then get out there and have the best time,” she said, shooing us toward the door.

Bowie paused in the doorway. “You’ll sit up front, won’t you?” he asked her. “You and Jimmy Bob? You can sit across the aisle from the Tuckers.”

She pressed her lips together. “I’d be honored,” she whispered.

We exited the den, and I dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “Thanks for being here, Mom.”

“I love you, Jonah Bodine.”

She was the second woman to tell me that today.

And it was the first woman I was thinking of when I took my place next to Jameson to the right of the trellis Gibs had finished in a burst of energy. Mayor Auggie Hornsbladt took his role as officiant seriously. He was wearing a shirt and tie under his best overalls.

Misty Lynn, the man-eating Venus flytrap, was dateless in the front row with her father and my mother. The way she was eyeing Gibson made me think there might be trouble later.

But I didn’t have time to worry about Misty Lynn and whatever scene she’d undoubtedly cause. I was too busy looking at Shelby. I’d spotted her immediately a few rows back on the aisle next to her parents. Her thick bangs framed those watchful hazel eyes. The rest of her dark hair was pulled back in a low bun behind her ear. She was wearing a sunshine yellow dress and a smile that brightened my entire world.

Shelby gave me a little finger wiggle, and I returned it.

It was a good day. Not only was my brother tying the knot, but Shelby Thompson told me she was in love with me. And tonight I’d tell her that the feeling was mutual. That I didn’t want this summer to come to an end.

“Here come the girls,” Jameson hissed at me.

Reluctantly, I dragged my eyes away from my girl. Leah Mae, June, and Scarlett, eschewing the traditional aisle, saunter-strutted down the grassy expanse in blue. Scarlett blew Devlin a kiss when she passed him, and you’d have to be blind to miss the pride and love that beamed off him. My sister was loved. My brother was getting married. And I was starting my own future.

June, more dignified than the rest, gave GT a polite nod and the slightest of smiles as she passed him. GT looked like he wanted to jump up from his seat next to his mother and squeeze her tight. I had a feeling there was another engagement in the works there. Leah Mae, instead of taking her place next to Scarlett, be-bopped over to the man-side of the aisle and planted a kiss on Jameson that had the assembled guests cheering.

“Oh, what the heck,” she said. She planted a kiss on me, then Gibson, and finally a resounding smack on the lips for Bowie.