My eyes are transfixed to the front door of the cabin as it slowly swings open. Callie comes out first, alongside Jessa. They sprinkle petals along the narrow aisle.
Then come Iris and Lexi. They’re carrying the twins. My little boys are dressed up in flannel shirts with suspenders and bowties and tiny cowboy hats. Somebody’s going to have to explain the outfits to them when they get old enough to be embarrassed by the pictures. It won’t be me.
When Penny steps out the door draped in a delicate white slip gown, I see my past, my present and my entire future standing right there on that porch. She’s my whole damn life.
Miss Lucille accompanies my bride down the aisle and hands her over to me. With a firm nod of my head, I promise the woman that I will honor and protect her niece for a lifetime.
My bride manages to make it through most of the ceremony without crying. But as she recites her vows to me, she starts coming apart.
I wipe her tears then hold both of her hands in mine. She looks deep into my eyes. “You’re the center of my universe, Walker,” she says, her voice shaking. “My heart revolves around you. I’ll be anything you need me to be. I’ll be Mars when you need someone to defend you. I’ll be Venus when you need someone to love you. I’ll be Pluto when you need someone to hold your secrets. I’ll be the moon to shine light on your darkness. Anything you need, I’ll be it for you. Forever.”
I’m not a poetic dude, so I keep my vows simple but every damn word I say to her is a promise I intend to keep. “You will always be taken care of. You will always be provided for. You will always be listened to. You will always be loved. You’re mine in so many ways, I don’t even know where to start counting. You’re my best friend. You’re my lover. You’re my teenage fantasy, all grown up.” I lower my face to hers. “You’re my baby mama.” We grin at each other. “You’re my heart, Princess. And I take care of what’s mine.”
When the ceremony ends, we and our guests head over to the family inn for the wedding reception. There’s food and laughter and dancing, happiness crackling in the air. Me and my new bride slow dance to that song I hummed to her once, the one about us being there for each other even as the world comes to an end. It’s definitely my favorite song now.
I spin her around and my gaze travels down her perfect body. “You look so fucking beautiful, P.” I tug her close to me and whisper.
She beams. “Do you like the dress?”
“The dress looks gorgeous,” I tell her honestly. “It looks like it was made for you.”
She swallows, her eyes going hazy with tears. “This is your mother’s dress,” she tells me in a soft voice.
I pause. “What?” My brows crinkle.
Penny beams. “This is the dress your mother wore when she married your father. The dress she wore when she was pregnant with—”
“Me…”
She nods. “I was considering a handful of designer wedding gowns but my heart kept telling me that this was my dress. It was more than just another pretty gown. It felt…significant to me, knowing that your mom was carrying you when she wore it.”
I ease her out of my arms to take a step back and absorb the sight of her once more. My heart feels like it’ll split open. I’m not usually a sentimental guy but my bride wearing this dress—the dress my mother wore when she walked down the aisle with me growing inside her—means something to me.
“God—you’ve made me the fucking luckiest man who ever walked this planet, Penelope Kingston. I love you so much.” My wife is so fucking thoughtful, always going out of her way to enrich my life in the most beautiful ways.
Penny has her own office and a growing roster of interior design clients from Crescent Harbor and the surrounding towns. She’s a full-fledged business woman now. She even went so far as contacting a dealer of the tractors I’ve had my eye on. She summoned her inner coupon goddess and, with Cannon’s help, she managed to negotiate a good financing deal with a payment plan that we can afford. I’m focusing on my family now so the tractors hadn’t been a priority for me at the moment. But the fact that Penn went out of her way to make sure I got them anyway, I have no words to describe how loved that made me feel.
"Will you love me forever?" She bites her bottom lip, chewing down her smile.
"I always have,” I tell her, “and I’ve got no intention of stopping now. Not for another two, three lifetimes or so."
She comes close. “Ask me what time it is…” she says daringly.
I chuckle. “If you say booty-call o’clock, I will smack the fuck out of your juicy butt. Right here in front of all our wedding guests.”
She rolls her eyes at the threat. “Just ask.”
Huffing, I play along. “What time is it, Princess?”
“It’s happy-ever-after o’clock.” She grins then puts a soft kiss on my mouth. “I wanna ‘life’ the fuck out of my life, Walker. With you.”
Thank you so much for reading MISTER BABY DADDY! I hope you fell in love
