Final Vow (25 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Summer in Keeneston…

“Take it off,” Katelyn told Bridget as baby Sydney crawled around the room.

“Yes, take it off
.” Tammy laughed as she set her daughter, Piper, on the play mat.

“But I don’t want to
.” Bridget almost stomped her foot in defiance.

“I like it,” Annie grinned.

“Well, of course
you
like it. But come on. Take it off,” Morgan ordered in her fierce negotiating voice as she bounced her daughter, Layne, on her knee.

“I don’t know
. . . He might like it. I mean, it is Ahmed we’re talking about,” Gemma giggled feeding her newborn daughter, Reagan, in one arm and dangling a rattle in front of Riley, Reagan’s little sister by sixty-four seconds, with her other hand.

“See,” Bridget grinned.

“I’ll bring you up on weapons charges if you don’t take that knife out of your garter,” Kenna threatened as she glanced at her son, Carter, staring wide-eyed at Piper on the play mat. The two were only a month apart and were fascinated by seeing other babies. Her three-year-old daughter, Sienna, twirled around the room in her flower girl dress, totally oblivious to the argument going on.

“While the knife is lovely,” Dani started diplomatically as she tried to tie the little bow
ties around Zain and Gabe’s necks, “it might cut him when he goes to pull off the garter at the reception. Blood on that beautiful white gown would be a shame.”

Bridget huffed and with a roll of her eyes pulled the beautiful knife from her garter. “It even had blue
on it,” she said wistfully as she placed the knife with the beautiful blue handle back in its case.

“
Something that doesn’t involve weapons.” Her mother clapped. “That I can do.” She dug around her bag and came up with a little box. “I wore this at my wedding.”

Bridget felt her heart swell as her mother pulled out an aquamarine necklace and slipped it around her neck. “
It’s beautiful. Thank you, Mom.”

“You’re welcome
, dear. Now, let’s go get married. We’re seventeen seconds behind schedule,” she laughed and hugged her daughter.

Ahmed tightened his bow tie and took a sip of the bourbon Cade brought. The women were holed up in Mo’s house as they got ready for the day.

Will s
tared at him and shook his head. “Is it not straight?” Ahmed asked.

“It’s not the bow
tie. Are you planning on shooting someone?” Will raised his chin to indicate the gun Ahmed had tucked in the small of his back.

“You never know,” Ahmed shrugged.

“Ahmed, really?” Mo asked as he shook his head. “Nabi and all the other guards will be there. Secret Service is swarming all over the place since the president is here. On top of it all, it’s your wedding day. Take the gun off.”

“Who wears a gun to a wedding?” Will chuckled.

Cy quickly buttoned his tuxedo jacket, but not before Ahmed caught a glimpse of Cy’s own weapon. The door opened and his soon-to-be father-in-law, Miles, Marshall, and Cade walked in wearing their blue dress uniforms with sabers attached at their waists.

“
Why do they get to wear a weapon?”

The general just smiled and looked pointedly at Ahmed’s gun.

“Fine,” he sighed as he placed it in his drawer and locked it.

“
Patty just called. The women are ready,” the general informed them.

“Nabi has the limo ready to take us to the barn,” Miles said as h
e drank down a shot of bourbon.

“What’s gotten into you?” Marshall asked. “You look kinda white.”

“You all haven’t thought about it?” Miles asked anxiously.

“Thought about what?” Cade an
d Pierce said at the same time.

“
All of us brothers have daughters. Someday we’ll be doing this,” Miles looked to the general. “How can you give your daughter away? Even the saying ‘giving her away’ is horrible. I’m not giving Layne away.”

“I’ll kill the first boy to touch
one of my girls,” Cy said as he absently touched his gun through his tuxedo jacket.

Cole just grinned and rocked back on his heels. “I don’t have to worry about that. We just found out the baby due in January is a
nother boy.”

“You’re lucky you
’re family and we don’t have to worry about your boys. Ryan is already a rogue,” Pierce joked.

“
Hey, I heard Ryan’s been putting the moves on Sienna at their play dates. You better teach him the word
Friendsville
,” Will said as he pointed at Cole.

“
Gentlemen,” the general said as he raised his glass. “To the women in our lives.”

“To our women
,” the men toasted.

“But, if you hurt my baby girl, I will hunt you down and kill you slow
ly,” General Ward whispered to Ahmed before slapping him on the back and smiling. “Now, we have a wedding to get to.”

* * *

Ahmed stood beneath the glowing lights decorating the yearling barn with Mo and Cy at his side. Annie and Dani made their way down the aisle, followed by Sienna who gleefully tossed flower petals straight up into the air and twirled around. Beautiful golden-yellow carpet had been put down in the parking area leading up to the barn. Soft padded chairs filled with guests in black-tie attire filled the transformed parking area. The scene was topped off with white paper lanterns, lining the aisle for Bridget and her father, who held her tenderly on his arm.

Bridget’s
dress was made of delicate lace. The bodice was fitted and hung gently from her body. Ahmed had never seen a more beautiful sight. She smiled at him and he fought the urge to run to her. It seemed to take forever for her to make it down the aisle, but then her father was placing her hand into his and Ahmed was finally able to touch her. He ran his thumb over her knuckles, and it barely registered when Mo handed him Bridget’s wedding ring or when Annie handed his ring to Bridget.

Before he knew it
, he was kissing his wife. How he had gotten so fortunate he didn’t know. But he intended to show her how much he loved her every day. The crowd cheered and soon they were laughing as they ran down the aisle hand in hand.

* * *

A white silk tent with a dance floor stood in the grass not far from the barn where they had just been married. Bridget looked into her husband’s eyes and knew this was just the beginning of a wonderful life together. He picked up the knife to cut their wedding cake, and she reached out to stop him.

“
Here.” Bridget reached under the sweetheart neckline of her dress and into her cleavage. “Use this,” she smiled as she handed him a Gerber folding knife.

“Am I the only one not armed?” Ahmed
complained as Annie whooped her approval of Bridget’s hidden weapon.

“We tr
ied, ladies,” Katelyn said with a long-suffering sigh.

“You have anything else hidden down there?” Ahmed whispered in her ear while
he cut the cake.

“You’ll have to wait to find out.” She opened her mouth and Ahmed placed a sma
ll piece of cake on her tongue.

“I think I’ll save a piece of this cake for later,” he said in a low voice. Bridget flushed with excitement. Oh,
yeah, she was one lucky woman.

* * *

Miss Lily hurried across the crowded dance floor trying to get to her sisters at the microphone. “Move out of my way,” she called as she burst through Henry and his new wife, Neely Grace. They’d been married just a month and were still in the honeymoon phase. Lily Rae should have felt bad, but she didn’t. Not when one of the biggest bets of the past year was about to be resolved.

Her
Easy Spirit shoes slid to a stop as Dinky and his wife, Chrystal, blocked her way while gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. They had married on New Year’s Day and still acted like goofy, love-struck teenagers. She tried to move around them, but Noodle and Dr. Emma danced by and cut her off. And that’s when she saw it . . . John Wolfe huffing and puffing as he ran along the outskirt of the tent. He tossed her a wink and she tossed him a smile. Bless his heart, he thought he was going to win. It had taken a lot of chasing, but they had settled into a playful relationship where beating each other for nuggets of gossip was foreplay. Someday her heart would heal and someday he might be ready for something more. Until then, they were having more fun than any of the kids in town.

“Get out of my way
—gossip coming through.” She pushed past the lovebirds and caught Violet Fae’s eye. She nodded toward John. Her sister grabbed a piece of cake, and bless her heart, threw it right at John’s face. The cake hit its bullseye and John was forced to stop and wipe the frosting from his eyes. It gave her the extra time she needed to reach the microphone first.

“What is it?” Daisy Mae asked as Lily tr
ied to figure out how to turn the blasted thing on.

“Why did I need to take out John with a piece of cake?” Violet asked.

“Look.” Lily pointed to the parking lot. Her sisters gasped and Daisy dug around in her purse for her notebook.

“Ladies and
gentlemen, Madam President, and Royal Highnesses, may I have your attention?” Lily asked excitedly into the microphone. The music turned off and soon everyone was looking right at her. “We have a little Keeneston news to share and then dancing will resume. I'd like to be the
first
to give you the results of the most hotly contested bet of the year. I can now tell you that Kandi Rawlings is back.”

The townspeople immediately started gossiping.

“Married to a ninety-year-old millionaire?” Bridget called out from where she stood next to the President of the United States. That had been her guess. After the incident at the café, Kandi had disappeared. Bill said she had gone to their lake house, but no one believed it.

“
Sorry, dear. But I can now tell you those who bet that Kandi went off to become a stripper were wrong,” Miss Lily stated as some of the people groaned.

“Yes
, it has to be escort,” Old Mr. Rogers called.

“No, mud wrestler
,” Henry stated matter-of-factly.

“Alien abduction?” Pam Gilbert asked with her fingers crossed.

“Nun,” Father James called out and then crossed himself. “Come on, has to be a nun. We need some new pews.”

Miss Lily raised her hands and quieted them down. “No
, I just saw her in the parking lot. She’s coming in with Bill and the boys. The bazongas are gone and she’s in a dress past her knees and not exposing any of her much-smaller cleavage.” The crowd gasped, but Lily hurried on. “They’ve reconciled and she went back to school. She got her associate’s degree in business accounting and is working in the back of Bill’s auto dealership. Unfortunately, no one guessed that occupation. However, half the pot will go to the winners who placed bets that Bill and Kandi would reconcile. The rest we decided would go to a charity of the president’s choice.”

The crowd clapped and
Miss Lily looked into the shocked and confused face of President Nelson. “It’s such an honor to have you here, dear.” Then she looked back out into the crowd. “And thank y’all for placing bets. We’re now opening the book on the arrival of Baby Mueez.” Miss Lily turned off the microphone and people hurried forward to place their bets with Miss Daisy.

“What kind of town is this?” President
Nelson asked with horrified curiosity.

“The best,” Bridget answered as she grabbed Ahmed’s hand and led him to the dance floor. “One last dance, husband?”

“Anything you wish, I will make happen.” Ahmed wrapped her in his arms and pulled her tight against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and he knew true happiness.

EPILOGUE

Keeneston, three years later…

Bridget lifted her face to the sun and enjoyed the warmth on her face. It was the beginning of June and the humidity had yet to set in. The grass in the pasture had just been cut; she closed her eyes and breathed in the fresh smell. She smiled as she heard the clicking of the camera.

“I d
idn’t know you were ready yet.”

Ahmed stood with his camera to his eye and snapped some more pictures of his beautiful wife enjoying the outdoors.
She lounged on a blanket while
Will You Marry Me
, fondly called Willie, munched grass behind her. Ahmed knew the picture he’d taken of his very pregnant wife would be placed on his ever-growing photo wall in the living room.

She smiled at him
, and he took a couple more shots before setting the camera on the tripod. They had decided to wait a couple of years before having a child and now their little bundle of joy was due anytime. Ahmed had needed time to get used to being a civilian and a married man. Bridget had needed the time to wrap up all her contracts with Marko and get the training facility up and running. The training facility had become so popular in the last year that she bought another twenty acres from Pierce and Tammy, built some houses, and hired two full-time trainers. Ahmed couldn’t be prouder of his wife. She’d just landed a contract to supply trained dogs to the Secret Service.

“What a perfect day,” Bridget sighed as she closed her eyes again and relaxed. Her parents were
to arrive in a couple hours for the birth of their grandchild, so Ahmed had suggested taking some pictures while they waited. Bridget had been so happy when he’d picked up his camera on their honeymoon. He found joy in his photography. The farm was growing, the upcoming stock of foals and yearlings was the best yet, and most importantly, they managed to fall a little bit more in love with each other every day.

“Okay, it’s ready.” Ahmed pushed the button for the timer and hurried over to his wife. He sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on their chi
ld.

He got up and checked the picture. Perfect. “Let’s do one more and then have lunch.” He pressed the button again and resumed his position, except this
time they looked at each other with eyes full of love.

“Oh
,” Bridget gasped as the camera continued to click. “I think I’m going into labor.”

“Okay, okay, we practiced this.
Five minutes apart for an hour. We’ve got this,” Ahmed said with a calm he really didn’t feel.

“Let’s just stay here for a bit and take a wa
lk. Emma said that would help.”

“You shouldn’t be walking
. You should be still and . . .”

“Ahmed,” Bridget said slowly. “It’s okay. Let’s just walk the pasture and then we can head to the hospital. I feel great.”

Ahmed looked at her. She was glowing. “You know, you kind of look like you did after you beat the crap out of those guys with Annie.”

“I feel like it. This is a rush to know we’re going to be meeting our baby soon.”

*
* *

Bridget gripped her stomach and screamed. “Why the hell didn’t you take me to the hospital?”

Ahmed looked around and felt completely helpless. Forty minutes ago
, Bridget had been happy and excited. Now, not so much. Unfortunately, the contractions sped up and intensified when they were across the pasture from the SUV. “I’ll run and get the car.”

“And leave me here?” Bridget gripped his hand
so tight that he thought she would break a bone.

“I can run very fast, my dear. We need to get you to the hospital.” Hearing the commotion
, Willie trotted over to check them out. Ahmed looked from his wife to the horse and across the pasture. “Bridget, I will be right back. Don’t move.”

“You
’d better be back by the next contraction or, so help me, there will be no more sex . . . ever!”

With a quick kiss to her cheek, he grabbed Willie’s mane and pulled himself up. He squeezed his thighs and Willie took off. Ahmed bent low over
the horse’s neck and urged him faster. His heritage did him well and they were back to the gate in no time. Ahmed gave his horse a pat on the neck as he slowed down and leapt from his back before Willie even stopped.

“Back
,” he yelled and then opened the gate. Willie looked fascinated by the idea of an open gate, but took a couple steps back and just watched Ahmed run for the SUV. He knew it was a cliché, but when they found out they were going to have a child, he turned in one of his sports cars and bought a Range Rover. He was very glad of that now. His little sports car could go a hundred and forty miles per hour without missing a beat, but it had no chance in the fields.

Willie reared up and tossed his head
as he shot through the gate. Thinking it was a race, the horse took off after him. They charged across the pasture and he’d never been more relieved than when he saw his beautiful, pissed-off wife.

“
The quickest way to the hospital is to take Route A at this time of day. The bag is in the car. I’m sending out the text to everyone now. See, calm and orderly. Everything will be fine.” Ahmed felt the kind of excitement bordering on panic that made leaping out of a plane pale by comparison. He was about to become a father.

He helped Bridget into the car and went
across the pasture as fast as Bridget could handle. Willie had grown bored of the game and trotted slowly behind. He shot through the gate and barely remembered he had to close it. “Gate,” he said as he was already jumping out of the car.

“Hurry up
,” Bridget cried as another contraction hit.

“
We’re good. Your contractions are three minutes apart. See, we’re on our way,” Ahmed said cheerfully.

“
We’re
good? Oh, I’m so glad
we’re
good,” Bridget said between clenched teeth.

Recognizing the tone of his wife’s voice
, he kept his mouth shut and sped up. Being married for a couple of years had taught him well. The countryside flew by and the outskirts of Lexington came into view as Bridget’s cursing grew worse. It was a sudden reminder that his sweet wife spent time with soldiers and could curse with the best of them.

“Give me a gun, sweetheart,” Bridget growled. “If this traffic doesn’t start moving faster
, I’m taking out their tires.” His sweet, kind wife rolled down the window and stuck out her head. “Hey, you—bald guy in the Miata convertible . . . The light is green! That means you press the gas pedal now. It’s the skinny one on the right.”

Ahmed
slowly slid his hand to the door and pressed the window button. As soon as it closed, he engaged the child safety lock for the protection of the other drivers. Luckily, a contraction overtook his loving wife and she didn’t realize he’d locked her in the car.

“We’re here,” Ahmed said with relief as he came to a stop at the hospital. He hurried around the car and he
lped Bridget into a wheelchair.

“Hi
, Bridget, Ahmed. Are we excited?” Emma asked happily with her curly hair bouncing as she walked toward them.

“Bite me,” Bridget snapped.

“Oh, does someone need drugs? And here I was worried about hotshot over there fainting before he could get you here.”

Bridget literally growled.

“Yes, drugs would be good,” Ahmed answered for his compassionate wife who had suddenly turned into a woman who could put a blush on a sailor’s face.

“Okay, off we go. I’ll get her some happy juice while you get her signed in. The nurses will want to know if Miss Violet is going to bring those red velvet cupcakes again.” Emma shot him a confident smile and disappeared down the hall while the most amazing woman in the world threatened to have
him castrated.

* * *

It seemed as if it had been days, but it had only been eight hours since her labor began. Bridget grabbed her husband’s hand and squeezed for all she was worth as she pushed.

“Great
,” Emma called from down below.

“Don’t l
ook. Can’t faint,” she ground out when she caught Ahmed turning toward Emma.

“For the last time, I don’t faint
. I’ve removed a bullet from my own arm.”

“R
ight. Do I need to show you the video Miss Daisy posted from the last birth you swore you didn’t faint at?” Emma asked. “We have a game plan and we’re keeping to it. Ahmed, don’t you dare look down here. Smile at your wife and here we go. One more good push, Bridget.”

* * *

Bridget smiled down at the perfect round face in her arms. Ahmed sat on the corner of the bed and took a picture of their daughter’s sweet face as she peacefully slept.

“Here. I bet she would love to snuggle with her daddy for a while.” Bridget handed her over to Ahmed and watched with more love than she could have imagined as Ahm
ed cradled their daughter.

“Hello, Abigail.
I’m your father and I will love you and protect you all of my life. You and your mother are the most precious gifts in the world to me.” When Ahmed kissed Abby on her head and then looked at Bridget, her heart managed to find room to love him even more.

* * *

Lily Rae, Daisy Mae, and Violet Fae sipped their glasses of special iced tea under the large leafy tree. Mo and Dani were hosting a Labor Day cookout at their farm. After a full day of activities, the sisters were enjoying some time relaxing in the shade.

“How precious is little Abigail?” Miss Lily asked her sisters.

“She looks so exotic with those blue eyes, dark hair, and lightly tanned skin. Poor Ahmed is going to be in trouble with that one when she gets older,” Miss Daisy said before taking a sip.

“And Tammy and Pierce are here with little Dylan,” Miss Lily clucked. “Piper just loves being a big
sister, bless her little heart. You forget how small they are. They just grow so fast. Look at our boys there—all in their thirties now. It was just yesterday they were Ryan’s age. I still can’t believe he’s already five.”

“Paige is having a time keeping those two boys in line. Ryan
is a rascal, that’s for sure. And his little brother, Jackson, is a sweetheart,” Miss Violet pronounced.

“Tr
ue, but there is mischief in those Davies hazel eyes they all inherited. I still can’t believe every Davies boy’s firstborn were girls. It serves them right for all the hell they raised as young men,” Miss Daisy chuckled.

“And look at little two
-year-old Wyatt toddling after his big sister, Sydney. How sweet it was of Katelyn and Marshall to name him after her grandparents. Ruth and Beauford are so proud,” Miss Lily said.

“And these twins
. They just wear me out watching them. Zain is so responsible and takes his role as oldest very seriously, even though he’s just four. See how he’s trying to keep Gabriel from pulling Reagan and Riley’s pigtails,” Miss Violet laughed.

“Oh my
.” They all gasped as little three-year-old Riley narrowed her eyes at Gabe. Reagan bent down behind Gabe, and Riley pushed, sending Gabe tumbling backward over her sister and leaving Zain grumbling in exasperation.

“Well, bless her heart,” the sisters cooed as Layne, now three and a half
, made her way over to Zain and patted his back understandingly.

“Look over there.” Miss Lily pointed to
the older kids, playing hide and seek. Sienna, the oldest at six, was with Ryan and Sophie. Sienna had her hands covering her eyes and was counting out loud. Sophie took off and started to climb a tree, but Ryan just smiled and crept toward her. Sienna finished counting and dropped her hands. That was when Ryan made his move. He leaned forward and kissed Sienna before she opened her eyes.

“Cole
,” Will yelled as the women dissolved in laughter and the other men looked nervously around at their daughters.

“These poor girls are going to need our help
with such over-protective daddies,” Miss Daisy said, looking at her sisters.

“
And these boys need to have an eye kept on them,” Miss Violet advised.

“I think we did a pretty darn-tootin'
good job with this first batch,” Miss Lily told her sisters while she looked around at all the happy couples sitting on blankets watching their children play. “But I bet we can do even better with this group,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

###