Page 99 of Soldier Cowboy

Oh, and Dan. Apparently, he had an older sister in Boston who’d had no idea her brother was suffering. When she finally heard, she and her family were there for Dan, who had agreed to a plea deal. It involved a year’s house arrest, ankle monitoring, andplentyof therapy. He’d also offered to speak to others on the dangers of obsessive love.

Wisely, he hadn’t contacted Jennifer to be on her podcast. She wished him well, always had, but the boundaries were in solid place and would remain. Forgiveness didn’t mean forgetting.

The wedding march played and the doors to the chapel swung open. There was her devastatingly handsome soldier cowboy, waiting for her at the altar, smiling the grin that made her heart go as floppy as a fish caught in a net. He’d caught her alright, even if he liked to joke that he didn’t deserve her. She was too young, too pretty, too perfect for a cowboy like him.

He was all kinds of wrong.Hewas the perfect one.

They reached the altar and her father handed Jennifer over to the man he’d always considered a second son. He’d now officially be part of the family and to say her father was thrilled would be an understatement. Jennifer joked that her father had old-school arranged her marriage. Not really, but there was a little bit of truth to that. If not for him, she might have never met Colton. And if not for Dan…well, best not go there.

Even through some of the ugliest times in life, a ray of beauty could be found, though one might have to look closely.

Oh, and the dress! Once she’d explained to Aunt Betty the whole flower versus stem thing, it seemed a light bulb went off. She did her thing, shopped till she dropped, and found a sleek dress that made Jennifer’s body look like a svelte stem. Her head was the petal. Jennifer could live with that. It wasn’t that she didn’t like feeling beautiful. But she preferred feeling strong.

At the altar, she handed Eve the bouquet of spring flowers and took Colton’s hand. Turning briefly, she took a good look at the packed house. Joe and her father in the front pew. There was Delores, beaming, so happy her heirloom would always be a part of the family she adored. Riggs and Winona were here, him having finally accepted an LA transplant as a sister-in-law. Sean and Bonnie, of course, Eve (who had become a close friend) and Jackson, Beau, and Lenny.

So many good folks who’d become like a second family. She adored them all, but none more than the cowboy next to her.

“Ready?” he said with a wink.

“Oh, yes.”

She was ready for this moment, this man, and this kind of love.

And ready for a lifetime with her soldier cowboy.