Bradley laughed as he heard the comment and turned to her, “Yes, she did. She just wasn’t married to me.”
The woman looked shocked, pursing her lips in disapproval as someone else gasped loudly. Kay turned to see that the woman wasn’t looking at them, but at the floor.
“Oh my God, it’s a shark,” the woman said.
Kay and Bradley both burst into laughter, settling down only as the cruise director arrived to invite everyone back into the enclosed area to enjoy a bit of late-night dancing.CHAPTER THIRTY-TWOIt wasn’t the only surprise from Bradley as they took off for another hike down the beach the following day. As they walked, they could hear the sounds of a small band playing nearby. Bradley smiled and pulled her toward the sound.
“Let’s go listen. I love these little beach bands,” he said.
Kay followed, holding his hand as they made their way up the beach to find themselves looking at a large round gazebo decorated with wedding streamers, flowers and balloons. Bradley continued toward it, even as Kay pulled back.
“Bradley, it’s someone’s wedding. We can’t just crash.”
“What? Why not? It’s a beach wedding. They expect people to crash.”
“No, they don’t. That’s just in the movies. You can’t just go around jumping into other people’s weddings.”
Even while she protested, Bradley continued along, holding her hand and taking her with him as they progressed. No matter what she said, he was determined to go watch strangers get married and to listen to their music. She was completely flummoxed by his behavior.
When they arrived, she discovered the gazebo was empty. The small band sat just outside the perimeter and played light beach tunes as they stepped up into the center of the structure. Kay looked around, bewildered. Perhaps they had arrived as the wedding ended and the band was playing for someone outside the gazebo, but she saw no one in sight other than an older man and woman, as well as a young woman with bright pink hair and tattoos up both arms.
“Where did they go?” she asked, still looking around.
“Oh, there you are. Are you ready?” the woman with pink hair asked.
Kay looked at her curiously, realizing she was speaking to them. Bradley smiled and shook her hand.
“We are ready. Thank you for setting all this up for us.”
“What?” Kay asked.
“Kay, this is Carol Hambrick. She’s a wedding officiant. This is our wedding,” he replied.
“What?” Kay repeated.
“Surprise!” he said gleefully.
Carol laughed and moved things along. “This is my mother and father, John and Hannah Hambrick. Bradley said you’d need witnesses and we’ll need to do a little paperwork afterward to make everything official, but we are ready to go if you are,” she said.
“Kay?” Bradley asked, looking at her shell-shocked face.
“Yes. Well, it’s a bit of a shock, but yes. Let’s do this,” she finally said.
Carol turned toward the band and gave them a signal. They played a shortened version of the wedding march and then were silent as Kay and Bradley quietly married, for real this time. It wasn’t the wedding Kay had pictured, but it was perfect in every way she could imagine.
“You may now kiss the bride,” Carol was saying finally, with the vows completed and wedding bands, that Bradley had tucked away, on each of their fingers.
Carol’s parents tossed bird seed over their heads as they stepped out of the gazebo and stood on the grass, beaming at one another happily. They filled out a few forms to make things legal and then returned to their bungalow for a real honeymoon as husband and wife.
Lying against Bradley in the darkened room of their tiny bungalow, Kay felt happier than she could ever remember feeling in her entire life. She couldn’t imagine a day that would ever be as happy as this one.CHAPTER THIRTY-THREELess than a year later, she would find that there were other things in life that would compare to the day she and Bradley had gotten married. It was a lazy Sunday at the ranch. Most of the staff was off for the day and Bradley was out tending to some repairs with a few of the guys that had come in to help him.
Inside the house, she was studying the books from her interior design course. After all the work she had put into the house and the designing, with the help of Fred and Don, of the pavilion, it had become apparent that she not only had a knack for that kind of work, but also a desire for it. So, she had enrolled in classes at the nearby arts school. This morning, though, she just wasn’t really feeling up to par.
Sitting in the community room, she continued to try to focus on her books, but nausea seemed to come in waves as she read. After a while, she gave up and went upstairs to her office, thinking maybe a change of venue would somehow magically make her feel better. Instead, the movement to get from one place to the other seemed to only make it worse.