“You don’t have to be here then.”
“Are you throwing me out of your wedding?” The woman actually acted like Hazel had done something wrong, not her.
“No, I am saying that if you don’t want to be here, don’t be. I have a church full of people who love me. Really love me. And they have been looking forward to this day. They want to be here. Because I didn’t die six years ago, and I am tired of being treated like I should have,” Hazel said as she saw Ruston in the doorway.
Not Ruston, of course. It was Randy. She could tell them apart, but at first glance, she would always see Ruston, her husband. Without giving the older woman a hug, she said, “I have to go get married now. Do what you want.”
Lifting her dress, she walked away from her grandmother and toward her future. It was up to her grandmother to be a part of that future. All Hazel knew was that she was not going to let the pain of loss make her bitter and unable to love those still alive. A weight had been lifted off her chest about the guilt and pain she had felt for six years about what she could not change.
Randy left her with his wife and another of Ruston’s brothers’ wives to fix her gown just outside the closed doors of the sanctuary. As the woman straightened and smoothed her dress, she looked over her shoulder at her grandma standing a few feet from her. Hazel smiled at the older woman, but she didn’t smile back, she just turned and walked away from her. Forever.
Turning to Ashley, she whispered something to her as the doors opened to the church full of people. But all she saw was Ruston standing at the end of the aisle in the front of the church. With a deep breath and a smile, she started walking slowly toward her future.
CHAPTER24
Every time Ruston saw Hazel,she took his breath away. She had been sexy singing on that stage at the house party, and she had been pretty sitting in church with her son on her lap. She was adorable when she slept peacefully beside him, she was lovely even when she cried, and she was delightful when she laughed. But she was stunning on her wedding day. He wanted to run to her as she walked down the aisle toward him. It took Thomas putting a hand on his sleeve to keep him in place. Her hair was in an amazing style that had flowers woven into it. Her dimple was there in her smile.
He wanted to kiss that dimple.
Every few steps, he saw a white tennis shoe poke out from under her dress, making him think of her boots still in his office. Maybe tomorrow he would give them back; tomorrow she would be his.
When she was close enough, he reached out his hand, and she took it, locking her hazel eyes onto his as she took the last few steps to him. She stopped and turned to him as if she did it every day, like they had practiced the night before.
Leaning in, he kissed her dimple and said, “You look stunning.”
She whispered, “I love you too.”
Pulling back, he looked into her eyes, and she bit her lip and started to blush at her words. Instantly, he knew she had thought he had said the words, and she had mirrored them, but did she mean them? Before he could say anything, Thomas started the ceremony.
Ruston had officiated dozens of weddings and knew the words by heart, but he wasn’t listening to them now. All he could do was look at the beautiful woman in front of him and dream of their future.
Glancing out at their friends and family in the pews, he saw his mom and dad and his brothers and families. There was the book club and their boyfriends or friends. John Henry was now sitting with Natalie, who was crying with Sam’s arm around her. Hazel’s grandmother was no longer in the seat she was in earlier. He didn’t know what to think about that.
Eyes back on his bride, he reached up and ran a finger down her jawline. The action made Hazel hold back a laugh and she mouthed “Stop” at him. But he just needed to touch her. She took his hand back in hers with a smile.
Thomas was still talking about something, so he tried to concentrate on what he was going on about. They had practiced last night, and he knew what was happening, but he was surprised when Thomas actually went and sat in the spot where her grandmother was supposed to be.
Turning to Hazel, he saw she was looking at her feet. Was she going to leave? He should have paid more attention to the ceremony. He had just wanted it over so he could kiss her.
Her eyes slowly raised until they were looking into his, and she started to sing—no instruments, just Hazel. To his delight, she started with the first three lines of “Life in a Northern Town,” from the house party. She sang it so quietly that he wondered if anyone in the church could even hear her, but he did. And maybe that was why she was singing so quietly.
As those lines stopped, she started to loudly sing the entire song of “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You,” making him want to cry. And maybe he did. He didn’t think he was the only one. Just as she finished, John Henry broke away from Natalie and rushed to his mom. Ruston caught the little boy in his little black suit and lifted him into his arms, settling him on his hip as he pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips. Her arms went around him, and she sighed as he deepened the kiss.
Remembering that they had an audience, he pulled away, and she bit her lip and blushed. With cheers from the audience to do it again, he did, but just a light kiss this time.
Thomas came back up and walked between them, breaking their contact. “Stop it. I am almost done,” he said to the couple, who were now three standing before him.
Without a thought, Thomas took John Henry out of Ruston’s arms and said, “We can’t do the vows with you holding him. I will hold him; you hold her hands.”
And with that, Thomas led them through their vows and the exchanging of the rings. Once that was all done, she was his wife, ring and all. Thomas handed the boy back to Ruston and announced, “I’d like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Abbott and family of Landstad, North Dakota.”
CHAPTER25
A weekafter she and Ruston exchanged vows, Hazel had the house she had always called home completely empty. The house had been the same for as long as she could remember until now. Now it was ready for another family. Hazel didn’t know who would buy it and didn’t want to. It was no longer home to her.
Home was now wherever Ruston was. Ruston and John Henry. Hazel had thought it would take time to get used to living in another house, but it hadn’t. The transition had been seamless. Not even John Henry had questioned the move from the farm. His excitement over having his own room had made her feel guilty for always keeping him so close to her.
So far, she hadn’t even spoken to her grandma, though the older woman had been through the house and took some stuff while Hazel had been gone one day. Most had been left for her granddaughter to deal with. Nearly everything had been sold or thrown out. There wasn’t much in the house that had been worth even taking to town, but Ruston had a completely furnished house, so they didn’t need the things anyway. Hazel didn’t need the memories the things would bring either.