“Yes sir,” Trace said. “I’ve been working stock most of my life, and my family comes from a long line of sheepherders and ranchers.”
“And what do you want to do next?”
Trace looked up at Marissa whose eyes met his across the table.
“Well, I was thinking I’d like to marry your daughter,” Trace said holding Marissa’s gaze. He couldn’t help but grin when her eyes grew wide.
“I thought you had already married her?” Mrs. Brighton said her voice sharp.
“Yes, ma’am,” Trace admitted wiping his mouth with a napkin. “But this time I’d like to marry her and love her for the rest of our lives.”
Marissa could feel the tears trickling down her face again. These hormone showers were starting to get old. “You mean it?” she asked.
“I mean it,” Trace said. “I think we were made for each other even if it took us a while to figure it out.”
“Can we have a real wedding this time?” Mrs. Brighton asked giving Michelle a harsh look.
“I think I’d like that,” Marissa said. “I’m happy with the ceremony we had at the courthouse, but it could be a celebration of love, hope, and faith.”
Trace nodded as chatter broke out again. Today was a new start to a journey he never expected. They would have to figure out everything else as it came their way, but he knew that God was with them, and step-by-step, they would get where they were going.
Chapter 21
Marissa twisted to look behind her in the mirror, examining the beautiful ivory gown that wrapped her slim shape.
“It’s gorgeous,” she said smiling at her mother. “You were right, it is the perfect gown.”
“Well you did just have a baby a few months ago,” Mrs. Brighton said sniffing. “You needed something that would flatter.”
Marissa looked over at Michelle who was grinning as she fanned the simple train around her little sister.
“Mom you should be the happiest woman on this planet,” Michelle said. “You have two perfect grandbabies, and a wedding that you had complete control over.”
“Not exactly,” Mrs. Brighton said handing Marissa a bouquet of ivory roses. “You all insisted on a church wedding.”
Marissa turned the rest of the way and kissed her mother’s cheek. “One day you’ll understand,” she said. “Be happy today.”
Mrs. Brighton nodded dabbing at a tear as her new granddaughter fussed in her basket.
“Oh dear, it sounds like Ashley is waking up,” she said hurrying to the basket and pulling the little girl into her arms. “She looks just like you did at this age.”
Marissa reached for the little girl who had stolen her heart the day she was born.
She’ll probably be fussy until she sees Trace,” she said. “I don’t know how he does it, but he always calms her down when she gets fussy.”
“That man has a way with babies,” Mrs. Brighton said. “I have to say as odd as he is in some ways, I do approve.”
Marissa took her daughter into her arms kissing her cheek. “You’ll have to be a good girl for Grammie,” she said looking at her special angel. “I’m marrying daddy all over again.”
Marissa had fallen in love with Trace all over again when he’d stayed by her side while she delivered Ashley. He had never let go of her hand for even a minute, not until the doctor had handed him the baby telling him it was a girl.
“She’s daydreaming again,” Mrs. Brighton said. “We’d better get this thing over with,” she added with a tiny sniff as she took the baby back. “I know you’ll all want to get back to Wyoming to start your new life.”
“Mom, you know you can visit us anytime,” Marissa said.
“You can stay with me and Kade,” Michelle added.
The door to the little room opened and Daisy made her way into the already crowded space reaching for Ashley with a smile.
“The men are ready,” she said kissing her tiny niece.
“Ready?” she asked looking up at Marissa, a woman she had been growing to love like a sister of her own.
“Ready,” Marissa said lifting her train and heading for the door.
Daisy kissed the baby again and handed her back to Mrs. Brighton. “We’ll go first,” she said.
Marissa met her father at the back of the church and bit her lip to keep from laughing at Kadence walking down the aisle with his mother who was desperately trying to keep him from pulling the rings from the pillow he held.
“Perhaps two was a bit young for a ring bearer,” her father whispered.
“But it’s so cute,” Marissa said.
“Are you happy honey?” Mr. Brighton asked growing serious for a moment. “You know you don’t have to do this.”
“Dad, I love Trace,” Marissa admitted. “The more I know him, the more I love him, and the more I understand God’s plan for my life, the more I grow.”
“I can’t say I understand,” Mr. Brighton said, “but I can see that you want this, and that makes me happy. I was surprised at your change of heart though. You’ve always been so independent.”
“Dad,” Marissa said softly. “I’m still independent, but I know that my future is in God’s hands, and that has given me confidence that I never had.”
Mr. Brighton nodded taking his daughter’s word as he started down the aisle to give her to this strange man who had not only helped her find her way in a difficult time but who had made her so happy.
***
“Whose turn is it?” Marissa asked rolling over as the sound of her daughter’s disgruntled cries echoed down the hall.
“I’ll get her,” Trace said sliding out of bed and padding down the hall on bare feet.
Marissa smiled sleepily, liking the way her cowboy looked in his underwear and an old T-shirt.
They had been remarried for nearly three months now and she had settled into her new life in Wyoming.
Transitioning from her maternity leave to moving to another state had been hard, but she was
