Montana Reunion (18 page)
Authors: Soraya Lane
“I’ll take of your daughter, Gus.
You have my word.”
He received a slap on the back as
he put his arm around her father, embraced him before taking his bride’s hand.
“I know you will, son. It’s the
only reason I’m letting you have her.”
Maddison’s
smile took over her entire face as they stood together holding hands, eyes
fixed on one another’s and nothing else. They went through the motions, they
said the things they’d practiced and suddenly there was silence.
“Jack, you’ve prepared your own
vows?” the celebrant asked.
Maddison
squeezed his hand tighter, and he laughed.
She
thought he was going to let her down.
Instead he dropped one of her hands
and reached into his pocket, because he’d spent hours sitting under a tree
trying to
wrangle
the words, and he didn’t want to
miss so much as one of the damn things.
“
Maddison
,
twenty-two years ago, I spent weeks trying to get rid of you.” He paused,
wishing no one else was hearing these words but her, that he’d made only her
chuckle instead of everyone gathered around them. But it wasn’t about him,
today was about
Maddison
, and it was his one chance
to tell the world how he actually felt about her. “And then I realized that
maybe having a girl sidekick wasn’t so bad.”
She had a tear running down her
cheek and he moved her veil enough to reach for her face and brush it away with
one finger.
“You became my best friend that
summer, and I’ll never forget the kind of friend you were to me. It wasn’t
until you came home that I realized how much I’ve missed you all these years,
and as my wife, I know that the most important thing is our friendship. The
friendship that we started as kids with scraped knees is what brought us back
together, and my only regret is that my mother couldn’t be here today to see
the woman you’ve become.”
Maddison
had too many tears running down her cheeks now for him to wipe away– big plops
that were forcing her to bite her bottom lip to stop her from crying.
He had to clear his own throat as
he stuffed his note back into his pocket and took both her hands in his.
“I promise to love you and cherish
you,
Maddison
, for every day of my life. I promise to
be the dad you keep telling me I can be, and I promise to protect you against
anyone and anything.”
Maddison
smiled and lifted her veil, stepping toward him and kissing him, lips moist
with tears as she pressed her lips softly to his.
“I can’t believe I thought you
hadn’t written your vows,” she whispered.
He laughed. “It won’t be the first
time I surprise you, baby.”
She kissed him again, before he
cleared his throat and pushed her gently away.
“If I’m not mistaken, I don’t think
it’s time for me to kiss the bride,” Jack murmured.
“But
later?
You’re
gonna
be begging me to
stop
kissing you, Mrs. Gregory.”
She laughed at
him, holding his hands and taking a step back. “You’re on.”
THE END
Want to read
another great book by
Soraya
Lane?
The Navy SEAL’s Promise
(Amazon #1 Bestseller)
With only 48 hours back on home soil for
Christmas, United States Army Corporal
Saskia
Cullen
is desperate to spend every minute with her young son. So when heavy snowfall
closes JFK airport and she misses her connecting flight, she’s devastated.
Until Navy SEAL Luke Gray offers to keep her company… and then does everything
within his power to get her home.
Luke is back in the US on leave, waiting to
hear the details of his next mission, and
Saskia
proves
to be a pleasant distraction. And when he hears that
she needs to get home to see her son, he’s prepared to do anything to help the
sexy single mom. Trouble is
,
he hadn’t planned on falling
for anyone, let alone a beautiful soldier about to return overseas.
The Soldier’s Sweetheart
Larkville
hero comes home!
Returning Special Forces soldier Nate
Calhoun is struggling to adjust to small-town life. It's a relief to get back
to the bunkhouse with only his memories and a bottle of bourbon for company.
Only Sarah Anderson can see straight through
Nate's surly exterior to his pain. As childhood sweethearts they were
inseparable—until he left, shattering her heart.
But hanging out like they used to—racing
horses and shooting the breeze on the ranch—they begin to see that there really
might be that spark still between them….
Other books currently available from Harlequin Romance by
Soraya
Lane
The Navy SEAL’s Bride
Back in the Soldier’s
Arms
Rodeo Daddy
The Army Ranger’s
Return
Soldier on Her
Doorstep
Coming soon…
Rescued by the Rancher
(February 2013)
Montana Homecoming
(April 2013)
Montana Legacy
(August 2013)
Montana Christmas
(December 2013)
About the Author
As a child,
Soraya
dreamed of
becoming an author. Fast forward more than a few years, and
Soraya
is living her dream! Working as a freelance writer and now a professional
author too, she writes every day and loves her job.
Soraya
describes being an author as "the best career in the world", and she
hopes to be writing romance for many years to come.
Soraya
loves spending her days thinking up characters for books, and her home is a
constant source of inspiration. She lives with her own real life hero and son
on a small farm in New Zealand, surrounded by animals and with an office
overlooking a field where their horses graze. For more information about
Soraya
, her books and her writing life, visit
www.sorayalane.com or follow her on twitter @
Soraya_Lane
.