Free Wedding at Willow Lake by Mary Manners

he finally murmured, “Sit down, Cate.”
    She slipped onto the bench that she knew Ryder had fashioned out of oak harvested himself from the surrounding forest.
    “I’d like to say something, if you don’t mind.” Brody’s eyes were so rich and round with love that they rivaled the brilliance of the full moon caressing the sleepy shore of Willow Lake.
    “I...” Suddenly her heart skittered, and the sky seemed to brighten.
    “I love you.”
    “I love you too, Brody.”
    “Give me a minute here.” Brody’s voice grew husky as he knelt before her. “My presentation obviously needs a little work.
    “What? Oh, Brody…” She couldn’t say another word. Her heart had leapt into her throat.
    “Catherine Jones, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but loving you isn’t one of them. Loving you has never been one of them. I am impatient and short-tempered, and sometimes, as you so eloquently put it, even pompous—”
    “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean—”
    “My turn, so hush and listen.” He pressed a finger to her lips. “I have loved you since the first day I laid eyes on you and I’ve never, ever stopped. Nor will I.” He slipped his hand into the pocket of his jeans as his gaze held hers. True and steady. “I can’t imagine spending another day—another heartbeat—without you by my side.”
    “Brody…oh my!” Catherine’s pulse flew off the charts as Brody pulled a ring from his pocket and a diamond caught the light. “That’s the ring…the same ring. You kept it all these years.”
    “Of course I kept it.” He reached for her left hand. “Will you marry me, Cate?”
    “You kept the ring, Brody. Oh my goodness, I can’t believe you kept it! She threw her arms around him as the tears—happy tears—began to flow. “Yes, I’ll marry you. And I’ll love you forever, Brody Simmons. That’s a promise.”
    Cheers erupted from the inn’s deck, along with catcalls and whistles.
    “It’s about time you two came to your senses,” Ryder called. “Congratulations and welcome home, both of you!”
    “Now get back in here,” Josie added, “so we can celebrate.”
     
     
     
     

Epilogue
     
    “You couldn’t have ordered a more perfect day for a wedding.” Ryder crossed over to Brody, grinning like a man who’d already survived the matrimonial firing squad and was proud of it. “Are you ready?”
    “I think I’m going to pass out.” Brody tugged at the collar of his tux as he leaned against the inn’s deck rail. In the field below, a small crowd settled into white wooden chairs that had been lined along the lake’s shore. Trees exploded in a rainbow of festive autumn hues, reflecting off the water in an impressive quilt of color. Ali, Maci, and Josie, dressed in stunning shades of hunter green, gathered just beneath the deck. Their laughter drifted as they waited with Catherine for the crowd to settle and the wedding music to begin. “This is it…the real deal. I’m going to be a husband.”
    “And one day down the road, most likely, you’ll become a daddy, too.”
    “Oh…” Brody grabbed the rail as the floor tilted. His heart began to thunder. “I’m strangling in this monkey suit.”
    “There’ll be none of that.” Ryder handed Brody a glass of iced tea. “Drink it and take a breath. This is the hardest part—the waiting.”
    “I’ve waited ten years…what’s a few more minutes?”
    “I know. Been there, done that, and let me tell you—it’s worth every minute of the infernal wait.”
    “Look at them…” Brody paused to chug the tea, draining the glass in one long gulp before he set it on the rail. “Three women with bellies like a progression of small mountains. Maci’s due any day, with Josie and Ali to follow.” It had been a surprise to all of them when Ryder and Ali announced they were expecting their second child. “Soon the inn will be crawling with a platoon of kids.”
    “As it should be.” Ryder grinned. “This