From Nanny To Wife (18 page)

"I will," Hope promised.

"Take hands and repeat after me," Minister Reynolds instructed.

Hope handed Pam her bouquet and joined hands with Ryan.

"I, Ryan Scott Kendall take you, Hope Elisabeth Landry to be my wedded wife."

"I, Ryan Scott Kendall take you, Hope Elisabeth Landry to be my wedded wife," Ryan repeated, gazing into Hope's eyes.

"To have and to hold, for better for worse."

"To have and to hold, for better for worse," Ryan said.

"For richer for poorer, in sickness and in health."

"For richer for poorer, in sickness and in health," Ryan uttered.

"To love and to cherish, from this day forward."

"To love and to cherish, from this day forward." Ryan squeezed Hope's hands.

Minister Reynolds turned to Hope. "I, Hope Elisabeth Landry take you, Ryan Scott Kendall to be my wedded husband."

"I, Hope Elisabeth Landry take you, Ryan Scott Kendall to be my wedded husband," Hope said.

"To have and to hold, for better for worse."

"To have and to hold, for better for worse," Hope said.

"For richer for poorer, in sickness and in health."

"For richer for poorer, in sickness and in health," Hope said.

"To love and to cherish, from this day forward."

"To love and to cherish, from this day forward," Hope vowed.

"Do you have a ring for the bride?" Minister Reynolds asked Ryan.

"I do." Ryan turned to William and took the ring from him.

"Please place the ring on the bride's finger and say: With this ring, I thee wed."

Ryan reached for Hope's cold hand and slipped the gold band on her finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."

"Is there a ring for the groom?" Minister Reynolds asked Hope.

"Yes." Hope took the ring from Pam.

"Please place the ring on the groom's finger and say: With this ring I thee wed."

Her hand trembling, Hope placed the ring on Ryan's finger and said, "With this ring, I thee wed."

"Let these rings be given and received as a token of your love, sincerity and fidelity to one another. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder. And so, by the authority vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Ryan, you may kiss your bride."

Ryan leaned in close and kissed Hope tenderly on the lips.

After an early dinner, followed by cake, at the hotel where Ryan and Hope were staying it was time for William, Gordon, Maggie, Zoe, Pam and Harvey to head for the airport. The plane was fueled and standing by ready to take them back to Newark. While Hope said her goodbyes to everyone Ryan took Maggie aside for a private word regarding Zoe's care.

"While I'm gone you're in charge of Zoe," he said to the housekeeper. "If she becomes a handful call me and put Zoe on the phone. I will set her straight."

"Very well, sir," Maggie said.

"One more thing," Ryan said. "If Laura shows up do not open the door. Call the police and tell them she is trespassing. If they wish to speak with me that's fine. Give them my cell number."

"Yes, sir," Maggie said.

Ryan glanced at his watch. "The van should be here any minute to take you to the airport. Do you have any questions?"

"No," Maggie mumbled.

"Then I need to say goodbye to Zoe." Ryan squatted down in front of his daughter and touched her cheek. "I want you to be a good girl for Maggie. Daddy and Hope will be home in a few days. You can call me any time you want."

Zoe wrapped her arms around Ryan and buried her face against his chest. "Bye-bye, Daddy."

Ryan's arms closed around Zoe and he laid his head against hers. "Bye-bye, baby girl. Daddy loves you."

"The van is here," Pam announced.

With Zoe in his arms Ryan straightened up and strode toward the van parked at the curb. He opened the sliding door. "In you go," he said, setting Zoe on the seat.

"Don't worry," Pam said as the others got into the van. "I'll help Maggie with Zoe."

Ryan nodded. "Thank you. I will see you in the office on Tuesday."

"Tuesday it is." Pam climbed in, shut the door, and the van pulled away from the curb.

Ryan stood there and watched the van drive away. "I haven't been away from her for more than a day in over two years."

Hope reached for his hand. "She's in good hands."

Ryan sighed. "I know she is, but I still worry."

"That's because you're a wonderful father," Hope said. "Come with me. There's something I've always wanted to do."

"What is it?" Ryan asked intrigued.

Hope smirked. "You'll see."

"The slot machine," Ryan said, standing next to one, five minutes later.

"I've always wanted to try one." Hope unzipped her purse and dug around for her wallet.

"You won't win," Ryan stated, glancing around at the rows of machines and the people in front of them. "No one wins. They rig these machines so a person will lose."

"I just want to try it once." Hope retrieved her wallet and removed two quarters from it. She dropped them in the slot. "Wish me good luck."

"Good luck," Ryan said dryly. "You're going to need it."

Hope pulled the lever and held her breath. The reels began to spin and then one by one stopped. A quarter fell out of the machine.

"Oh boy, a quarter," Ryan said sarcastically. "You hit the jackpot. Don't spend all of that in one place."

Laughing, Hope bent down and took the coin out of the tray. "I won something. It's better than nothing." She grinned at Ryan. "You want to hit the roulette table?"

"I'm a lot of things," Ryan said. "A fool is not one of them, but if you want to gamble your money away I'll watch."

"I'm not much of a risk taker." Hope dropped the quarter in her wallet and returned the wallet to her purse.

"Then why did you marry me?" Ryan asked.

Hope smiled softly at Ryan. "Because you and Zoe are a risk worth taking. What shall we do now?"

"Let's check in," Ryan said. "After that we'll play it by ear."

Chapter 20

Hope stood in the hotel's expansive lobby and gazed at her surroundings with awe. Everything was grand: the marble columns and statues amongst bubbling fountains, the lush plants in the large containers. She moved toward a bench and sank down onto it. Across from her, a crew was busy decorating a giant Christmas tree. As she watched them place ornaments on the branches she thought back to her childhood. Christmas had been a special time in the Landry household. Hope, her sister Becky and their mother would decorate the tree and then bake sugar cookies in the shape of Santa's, reindeer, stars, stockings, trees and snowmen. Mr. Landry had a knack for showing up just as the first batch came out of the oven. Mrs. Landry would put icing on a cookie and feed it to her husband. Hope remembered how she and Becky would roll their eyes at their parents.

Oh, how I would give anything to be back in that kitchen with Becky and Mom and Dad,
she thought, feeling melancholy.

"A penny for your thoughts," Ryan said, sitting down on the bench.

Hope turned her head and smiled at him. "They are worth more than that."

"Mind telling me what they are?" Ryan asked.

"I was thinking of my family," Hope said. She gestured at the tree. "Christmas was our favorite time of the year."

"Before Zoe came into the picture it was just another day to me," Ryan said. "I worked through it. Now I make an effort to spend time with her. I want her to look forward to Christmas. I don't want her to be a scrooge like her old man."

Hope rose from the bench and held out her hand. "Come on, scrooge. Let's take a walk and sight see."

"All right." Ryan took Hope's hand and stood.

They crossed the lobby and stepped out into the chilly night air. Hope shivered and quickly buttoned up her coat. Once she was done she looped her arm through Ryan's and snuggled close. His body heat warmed her and she sighed contently. They walked along for several minutes without saying a word. Both were content to look at the scenery around them. Hope found the bright lights and majestic buildings stimulating.

"It doesn't take much to make you happy," Ryan commented, seeing the smile on his new bride's face.

"I'm a simple girl at heart," Hope said. "Oh look. It's the Eiffel Tower."

They stopped in front of the
Paris Las Vegas Hotel
where a replica of the Eiffel Tower stood in front.

"Have you ever been to Paris, Ryan?"

"No," he answered. "Have you?"

Hope shook her head. "Luke and I wanted to go, but it never happened. I heard a few years back that he took his wife."

"Would you still like to go?" Ryan asked.

Hope glanced at him. "Are you offering to take me?"

"Yes," Ryan said. "We could go next summer. Take Zoe with us. I've been planning to do some traveling."

Hope squeezed Ryan's arm. "I would love to go to Paris with you and Zoe."

"It's a deal then," Ryan said, checking his watch. "There is something I want you to see. We have five minutes to show time."

Hope frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Every hour on the hour the
Mirage's
volcano erupts," Ryan said. "It's a fifty foot high volcano. It erupts forty feet in the air."