There were days when she missed her own mother keenly. She’d had images, growing up, of having her mother with her as she married and then had her babies. It wasn’t to be, but here in this small Texas town, she’d found family aplenty. And another mother who loved her, and whom she loved in return. Elizabeth Franklin, Pamela knew, would be pleased and grateful.
I’m the luckiest woman in the world.
Pamela stopped a few inches away from her men.
“You look beautiful,” Adam said. He leaned forward and kissed her left cheek.
“Stunning,” James said. He kissed her right cheek.
The grandmothers stepped forward. They were each wearing long gowns that appeared to harken back to a by-gone day. They each had pinned their hair up in fancy chignons. They looked delicate and fragile, but Pamela had come to know the strength of these good women. She’d been told the history of this ceremony, first performed by Sarah Carmichael Benedict and Amanda Jessop-Kendall. Men outnumbered the women in Lusty, but the women formed its beating heart.
To the side, the grandfathers stood together—four men who were definitely in their December years. Four men who’d been family since they were born. Four men who’d loved and supported these two women, and who now stood back proudly as those women shone.
“Are you ready to begin?” Grandmother Chelsea asked.
“We are.” They’d said that together then moved slightly.
Pamela faced her men as she held their hands. Adam’s right hand was in her left and James’s left hand in her right.
“The history of our community is as unique as it is treasured,” Grandmother Chelsea said. “In the last quarter of the last century, a woman who’d been wed under false pretenses arrived here, having escaped several attempts on her life, attempts made by the assassin her new husband had hired. When all was said and done, and the blackguard buried, she then pledged her life to the two gunslingers who’d seen her safely to this place. Sarah Carmichael married Caleb Benedict but called his brother, Joshua, husband, as well. Sarah, Caleb and Joshua were my parents.
“Sarah’s cousin Amanda Dupree arrived in Waco, destination this tract of land, to meet her cousin for the first time and to embark on a personal quest of her own. Two men who were more than friends to each other agreed to help Amanda—a woman who had also been wronged and threatened by another scoundrel—and, in so doing, those two men fell in love with her, and she with them. Amanda, Adam Kendall, and Warren Jessop were my parents-in-law.
“Together, these six people founded a town, a dynasty, and a way of life.”
“Our forebears, in their wisdom, and yes, in their love, saw to it that we not only had a place to call home but a place where we could live freely as our hearts demanded,” Grandmother Mattie said. “They also provided a solid moral, legal, and financial foundation for themselves and their children and their children’s children. This legacy remains intact and untarnished today. And it is in the tradition of those first Kendalls, Jessops, and Benedicts that we are gathered here, for this very special occasion.
“Today, we celebrate the lifetime commitment of Pamela Franklin with Adam and James Jessop.
“Adam, as the oldest man, it falls to you to please begin by giving Pamela your pledge.”
Adam nodded then faced Pamela. He took a moment, and Pamela knew he was gathering his thoughts. “I was a man dedicated only to medicine, to being a doctor alongside my brother, and following in our father Warren’s footsteps. Since adolescence I knew I wanted to find a woman James and I could both love, but I had no idea how to go about making that happen. Then we met you, and I knew with a sense I’d never felt before that you were meant to be ours. But I didn’t know how to take that first step. I didn’t know how to court you. And as I tried to figure that out, time was slipping through my fingers. I became unsure of myself, afraid that you’d reject us and the kind of family we wanted to build with you.
“And then fate stepped in, and I didn’t have to think. I just reacted, and because I skipped those early steps I was afraid to take, I very nearly destroyed our chance at building that family. But there you were, loving us when I didn’t even know that you did. You saw through my clumsy attempts at courtship and my heavy-handedness. You saw my fear of losing you, but you also, miraculously, saw my heart. You sure as hell saw all my many flaws, and yet, you still loved me.
“Pamela Franklin Jessop, I don’t deserve you, but I’m keeping you. You’re the center of my world. I love you now, and I will love you for all of this life and into the next.”
Adam placed a sweet kiss on her lips. His gaze promised more, but later, when they were alone.
“James, please give Pamela your pledge.”
James nodded to Grandmother Mattie then turned to look at Pamela. “Sweet Pamela, the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the woman we’d been waiting for. I cherished every moment we spent together, and as the days passed, I worried we’d never figure it out, Adam and I. And yes, I was as clumsy, as awkward as he. We weren’t blessed with smooth tongues or winning words. But that doesn’t matter, because, in the end, we were blessed with the greatest gift of all—you. You saw us for the men we were and loved us anyway. You’re our miracle.
“Pamela, I love you with all of my heart. I will love you and care for you until I draw my last breath. You’ll be able to count on me
