Wanted (76 page)

“Hello my sweet darling girl! Oh my holy hell…
…
if you
ain’t
the most beautiful bride I have ever laid eyes on! And don’t you be going and telling Emma I told you that!”

“OH MY GOSH Garrett!
What’
re you doing here?” I reached over and hugged him.

“Well sweet girl, your brother really wanted to be able to walk you down the aisle but seeing as he is the best man, he asked me to do the honor for him.”

Okay…
..
.now I might cry.

“Don’t you dare…
..
.Ellie…
..
.don’t you cry.” Garrett said.

I started to laugh.

“Okay
, I won’t!”

Once they got my train all in Jenny ran over to her truck and took off like a bat out of hell. I was really going to have to do something special for her. I already had to force her to let us pay her for
helping to plan
the whole wedding.

We pulled up a little ways away from our tree.
The first thing I saw was all of the people sitting on the hay bales. I still had not met Gunner’s parents. I wa
sn’
t even sure if they would be showing up which br
oke my heart. Of course I hadn’
t spoken to my own mother in months. She was not invited to the wedding. When I called to tell her I was getting married she laughed and ask
ed what I had to do to get Gunner to marry me and then she asked if I was pregnant
. I decided that was going to be the last time I ever talked to that woman again.

Amanda, Heather and Ari had pulled ahead of us on the way over so they were the first to get out. Amanda and Heather helped Lauren and Ma
t
thew get ready to walk down the aisle. I was watching them and my heart just melted. I was too afraid to look up and see Gunner. I knew the moment I saw him I would start crying so I just didn’t look. Garrett got out and walked around to help me down. Jenny held my train up and off the ground. The music started playing so the kids must have started t
o walk. Ari was now by my side.

“Ells, breathe sweets.
Deep breath
s
in and out.”

I smiled at her. I really was feeling rather calm
…
…which was strange.

“How does he look?”

Ari smiled. “He looks so handsome Ellie and he has the bigges
t goddamn smile on his face I’
ve ever seen!”

”Ari, Ellie, Garrett…
…
are you ready?”

We started to walk and stopped right behind a horse. Jenny sure knew what the hell she was doing because once I got down out of the carriage I was blocked
by horses and another carriage.

Ari
leaned over and gave me a kiss.

“Here we go sweets…
.
..” She winked at me and
took off.

Garret
t looked over at me and smiled.

“Are you ready sweetheart?”

I had to smile at his choice of words. The fact that he called me sweeth
eart made my heart just start
beating a mile a minute. I smiled and nodded. He took my arm
in his and we started to walk.

We came around and stopped at the very beginning of the petal covered pathway. I looked around at all the peop
le
.
T
he guest
where
mostly
friend
s and family on Gunner’s side and the rest
where
our friends,
and
Gunner’s
team
mates.
Everyone was smiling at me. Then the wedding march started. Garrett squeezed my arm and we took off.

I looked
up and looked right at Gu
nner.
His eyes captured mine and I instantly smiled.
I let m
y eyes drift down his body. OHMY
GOD
…
…my knees felt weak and it must have been noticeable because Garrett lifted his arm up to what I am guessing was to help me stay standing up. I looked back up and my eyes caught his and it just took my breath away. He was giving me that damn crooked smile of his and I started to giggle. He raised his eyebrow
up
at me which made me giggle even more. It felt like it was taking forever to get up there and I found myself starting to try to walk faster. Now Garret
t was the one laughing.

“Slow down there darling…
…
this isn’t a race you know!”

Finally we made up to the altar. I looked at Jefferson who looked so handsome. He was next, him and Ari. He gave me a wink as Garrett announced he was the one giving me away. When my hand was placed in Gunner’s hand
and
I stepped up
on
the last step
.
Gunner leaned down
, pushed a curl behind me ear,
and whispered so low I barely heard him.

“You look so beautiful
Ellie;
you take my breath away sweetheart.
I love you.
”

Dear
lord…
..
.this man was amazing. I’
m not sure what I eve
r did to deserve him but I will
spend the rest of my life making him happy.
That was a promise.

G
unner……

I watched as Jenny walked Ellie back over to her truck and they took off for the hunter’s cabin. Ellie turned back once and smiled at me and my knees about gave out. Will her smile always affect me this much?

“Yes.”

What? I heard Gramps and wondered if I had just said my last thought out loud.

“Excuse me sir?”

“Yes, she is always going to do whatever it is you are feeling right now Drew, whether you can’t catch your breath at the sight of her, your knees go weak from a smile or a kiss. She will always have you bewitched.

“Are you able to read minds now old man?” I asked as I watched the love of my life drive
off.

Gramps let out a loud and gruff laugh.
Then he slapped me on the back.

“Walk with me son.”

We headed in the direction away from where everything was being set up. I looked over my shoulder and saw Grams sta
nding on the porch watching us.

“Were you nervous the day you marri
ed Grams?” I asked after about three
minutes of silence.

“Hell yes I was nervous. I threw up three times and my father kept telling me to man up
. I was scared shitless I wasn’
t going to be able to make her as happy as she made me. I decided after the last time I threw up that I would rather die than not spend my life with her so I would just have to figure out a way to make her happy.”

I smiled at the thought of my Gramps being scared. He was the strongest man I knew and didn’t take shit from anyone, well anyone except Grams.

“I love her so much Gramps that sometimes I ca
n’t even think straight when I’
m around her.
I never in my life thought this was what love was going to be li
ke. The moment I saw her I knew
……
I just knew I had to make her mine.”

Gramps let out a chuckle. “Drew listen to me son. Love like that, the love that you feel for E
llie and she feels for you. It’
s very rare. Only a lucky few will ever experience it and when you do, you fight for that love every single goddamn day of your life. You will
both
fight; make each other mad as hell. You might even think it won’t work out but it will son, trust me it will. When you share a love so strong you can weather any storm.”

“Like you and Grams? Did you think it wouldn’t work out ever?”

“Yes, not long after we got married.
I can’t even remember what the fight
was about but I remember packing up a bag to leave. The moment I reached for the door to open it, I was hit by this realization that if I left, if I walked out that door I might not ever be able to get her back. It was not worth risking it so I put my bag down turned to see her crying and walked up to her.”

Good lord what the fuck was wrong with me? My heart was beating a mile a minute as I hung onto every word.

“What happened?”

Gramps laughed. “I kissed her, picked her
up
and ma
de love to
her in the kitchen. It was one of the best fucking moments of my life.”

Oh god…
…
I think I’
m going to be sick…
..
.I didn’t need that fucking image in my head.

“
Ahhh
shit Gramps
…
…I don’t want
to hear
about that….
.
.man.”

Gramps laughed. “I’m just saying Drew; don’t ever give up without a fight. She loves you son. She needs you more than I think you know. The fact that only your touch calmed her down earlier was a testimony of how much she loves and needs you.”

When Ari came screaming in the house for me I thought something horrible had happened. The moment I saw Ellie sitting there…
..
.my only thought was to get to her. When I touched her and saw her almost immediately relax, I thought I was going to burst with happiness. Knowing I was the one she needed, not Jeff or Ari or G
rams, it was me who she needed.

“Drew when you s
ee her walking down that aisle, watch her every move
. Don’t look arou
nd to
anyone else but her. Mem
orize how she looks, how she is
smiling
, how her hair looks, the dress she is wearing…
…
every single thing. Tuck it away in your heart and never forget it. It will probably be one of the most amazing sights you will ever see. And when she walks up to you, tell her immediately how she just made you feel.”

I nodded my head and turned to look at the
most important man in my life.

“Gramps I want to
thank you for everything you’
ve done for me. Teaching me about the ranch, giving me the opportunities to be able to go to UT, play football and get my degree in something I loved. Thank you for teaching me to respect and be grateful for the love that I have found with Ellie. Thank you for loving me and believing in me. I love you more like my father than my grandfather.”

Gramps stopped and turned to face me. He had a smile on his face and he just shook his head.

“I love you Drew, you make me so fucking proud son I want you to know that. You will always make me proud. Now let’s go get you married!”

Jeff leaned over and looked at Ellie sitting in the
carriage. Then he looked at me.

“You fucking bastard…
…
a carriage, you
got her a carriage? Jesus you’
re killing me here!”

I just smiled. He was still pissed about having to pay Jenny and Aaron so much to help out
with his first night with Ari.

“Do you want me to make your sister happy or not Jeff?” I asked as I struggled to see my beautiful girl.

“Fucker…
..
.I knew you
’d
pull that card out. What the fuck
are
you going to do when she tells you she is
pregnant
for the first time? Fly her to Paris.”

Just then the preacher coughed and looked at us.
Hmm Paris?
I’
ll have to remember that.

Jeff turned and looked at me and then went white. I just smiled at him.

“THAT was MY
idea! I claim that one…
…you cannot have it
dick
wad
!
Paris is
my idea
Gunner.
”

“Boys!”
Preacher Roberts said as Jeff instantly took a step back and looked down the aisle. Little Lauren and Ma
t
thew were walking down the aisle. So fucking cute! Lauren was skipping as Ma
t
thew was
looking around at every one holding the pillow and snapping his overalls. Yep…
…
I taught him that. Then I saw Heather walking. I took a quick
peek
at Josh and I thought he was going to break his face he was smiling so goddamn big. Then came Amanda and I heard Brad let out a cuss word
that I’
m pretty
sure Prea
cher Roberts would be talking to him
about later. Then I saw Ari. Jeff took in a breath
of air and just stared at her.