Chapter Forty-Eight - Diane

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

DIANE

I wake with a start.

It's Saturday, July Seventeenth.

I sit upright in our empty bed, the sheet falling back. I'm not at the gatehouse; I stayed in one of the spare bedrooms at the ranch house. Westin slept at Jensen's house. He's not supposed to see me until Sovereign walks me down the aisle.

Someone knocks timidly on my door.

"Come on in," I call, reaching for my dressing gown.

Keira steps inside, a tray in her hand. She's still in her lace robe wrapped around her stunning curves. Her red hair is piled on her head and tied with a headscarf.

"Good morning," she says, smiling. "Happy wedding day."

She sets the tray down. It's wheat toast, black coffee, and two slices of orange.

"I thought you might have a little bit of an upset stomach," she says. "You know, from the nerves."

I get up, taking inventory of how I feel. "I am nervous," I admit.

"Better eat something," she says. "Even if it's just fruit."

Obediently, I eat the orange and take a sip of coffee. Keira goes to the closet and takes out my dress. She made the pattern for me, and we worked on it with Maddie. It's pure white satin with a corset bodice, balconette cups that give me beautiful cleavage, and a flared waist with a skirt that falls to my ankles.

"It's so pretty," Keira says, hanging it on the back of the door. Her eyes sparkle.

"I feel like you're more excited for this than your wedding," I say.

"I was nervous for mine," she says. "I don't do well with that kind of thing."

"Enjoy yourself today," I say. "You did a lot to help me get ready, and I never thanked you properly. I do really appreciate it."

"Of course," she says, her voice soft.

"I mean it. I never had a friend before you," I say, feeling awkward.

She swallows, crystal blue eyes wet. "I know what that's like."

My lashes are damp too, and I swipe them with the back of my hand. Keira laughs, shaking her head back to keep the tears from falling.

"So, any wedding advice?" I say, sitting down on the bed.

She crosses her arms. "I haven't been married long."

I know Keira is shy when it comes to talking about sex—I am too—but just this once, I push her buttons.

"How about wedding night advice, then?" I say, smirking.

She blushes, rolling her eyes. "Oh, I think you know what to do."

There's a knock on the door. Keira frowns, leaning over and pulling the curtain back. I look over her shoulder, and everything seems normal. Sovereign's truck is in the drive. Cattle low in the fields. The horses stand in their paddocks, flicking away flies.

Keira jumps up and peeks into the hall. I hear her husband's voice rumble, and then she pulls the door ajar.

There's a beautiful woman, maybe in her fifties, standing in the hall. Her hair is tucked in a soft bun behind her ear, and she's in a fitted, dove gray dress. She gives off a soft, cozy aura that I gravitate towards.

Right away, I know who she is .

Keira steps aside, letting her into the room. Her eyes dart from the woman and back to me. "This is Mrs. Quinn," she says. "Sovereign picked her up from town this morning."

I can't stop staring. She's beautiful, so elegant. There isn't a hint of roughness, chestnut hair, or hazel eyes about her. Westin must have gotten everything from his father, because he looks nothing like his mother.

"Hi," I whisper.

"Hello, Diane," she says, her smile as soft as her voice. "I'm Eve, Westin's mother. He sent me over early to help you."

It's just like him to wait for our wedding day to introduce me to his mother. I'm not good with feelings, but suddenly, my chest is warm, like a dam burst. My lashes flutter, trying to keep back more tears. Keira appears beside me in a moment, her hand rubbing circles on my back.

"What's wrong?" she breathes.

I shake my head. "Nothing," I say, refusing to cry. "I just...don't have any family."

Eva steps forward and pulls me in, wrapping her arms around me. She smells good, like what I imagine mothers smell like. Cinnamon, like a warm hearth in autumn. I bury my face against her shoulder and wonder if my mother would have smelled like this too.

She holds me for a minute and pulls back, tucking my hair behind my ear. I see a hint of Westin then. Her kindness reminds me of him.

"You're beautiful," she says. "Westin is very lucky."

I smile, wiping my face. "I'm glad you think so. I'm lucky to have Westin."

"Oh, just you wait until he stirs up trouble," she says, her tone light. "Then you'll be trying to pack him up and send him back."

I laugh, glad she's changing the subject. I don't want my eyes to be puffy on my wedding day. Keira goes to the bathroom and turns on the tub. She leans in the doorway and crosses her arms.

"All these men are trouble," she says. "But they're worth it. "

"Sovereign spent so much time at our house when they were younger," Eve says reflectively. "He was a good influence on Westin, especially when he got sober."

"What was Westin doing?" I ask curiously.

She sighs, waving a hand. "Oh, drinking, getting in trouble, you name it. They were both rowdy, fighting each other and eating us out of house and home. It cost me a fortune to feed those boys."

Keira nods, smiling. "I've noticed. Luckily, they pay their own bills now."

"Anyway, Westin's a good one, just a bit like his father," Eve says. "He'll always treat you right, Diane."

"Does…he look like him?" I ask.

She nods. "He looks a bit like my father, but mostly like my first husband. So, yes. Anyway, show me your ring, honey."

She's trying to change the subject again—I can tell she doesn't like talking about Westin's father. I hold out my hand, and she inspects the diamond against the light.

"It's beautiful. He did a good job." She nods, pride in her eyes.

"Better have something more to eat," Keira says. "I'm running a bath, and then we'll do your hair."

I shake my head. "My stomach is a little unsettled."

Eve sets her purse down and sits on the edge of the bed. "Are you sick?"

"No, just nervous."

Truthfully, it's the fact that we're throwing the biggest wedding of the year today, and I'm the centerpiece. And David will be there. As much as I want him to see that everything he did to me was in vain, I'm starting to regret having invited him. I don't want to see his face.

Maybe I should have let the past lie.

Keira takes my elbow and pulls me into the bathroom. Bobby pins in her teeth, she gets to work fastening my hair up in curlers. Eve starts working on the other side, following after Keira to spray it into place. It feels nice that she's here, even though I don't know her well.

My stomach rumbles, and I put a hand over it, hoping it settles soon .

"Are you sure you're not…you know?" Keira asks quietly.

"Pregnant?" I say. "No, it's not that."

I don't want to explain about David, or that my husband-to-be is planning to do something terrible but I don't know what.

"I was pregnant with Westin on my wedding day," Eve says casually.

"Really?" Keira says.

She nods. "I wore my mother's dress, but it had the waistline lifted to cover my bump."

"I'll bet you looked beautiful," I say.

She shrugs. "I was scared. But that's a story for another day. Let's get you ready and into that beautiful dress, Miss Diane. We don't want to be late."

I'm dying to know more, but she's right, so I bathe and sit on the bed and let her and Keira brush out my curls and do my makeup. It's soft, with a hint of blue on my lids and a touch of pink on my lips. They pin my waves at the nape of my neck and weave daisies from the field into them.

I slip on the satin dress Keira and I labored over for the last few months. It settles over my body like a cloud, soft, hugging my curves in all the right places. Keira turns the mirror around.

I'm quiet, just taking in my reflection.

The gunslinger's bride looks back at me in shades of white, pink, and gold.

Beautiful. Ready for her wedding day.

"Westin won't know what to do when he sees you," Keira says, her eyes wet.

"He probably will," I say.

Keira giggles. "At least he will…later on."

Eve pretends she doesn't hear us. "We don't have much time. We should go."

Outside, there's a tent set up that's shielded from view. The aisle runs behind the ranch house, with what will serve as the altar beneath two trees by the lake. The day is warming quickly, but everyone will be shaded and cool by the water. I sink down and fold my hands in my lap. The chatter of distant voices wafts up the drive.

I was shocked by how many people Sovereign and Westin know. But then, they've lived in the South Platte area for their entire lives. I just assumed their reputations would scare people away from attending. More likely, their reputations made everyone too afraid to refuse.

My mouth is dry. I wonder what Westin is doing right now.

"Here are your flowers," Keira says, appearing at my elbow.

She puts a bouquet of yellow lilies in my lap, tied with a blue ribbon. From somewhere far away, I hear a violin. It's isolated, but the hills echo it back in a chorus. My heart aches, in the sweetest way.

"Is everyone here?" I ask.

"Everyone but Westin," she says, chewing her lip. "He's a little late, but I'm sure it's okay."

"He's late?" I ask, standing up. "What time is it?"

"He's late to being early," she says. "Sovereign went after him."

My heart jumps in my chest. If this had happened months ago, I would assume it was all a dream, but I know he won't walk away. I close my eyes, standing at the edge of the tent, and turn my face up to the warm sun. He'll be here; I feel it deep in my heart.

He'll always be here.

We wait a few more minutes, then Keira disappears and returns in a flurry. She seems more out of breath than usual, but she's brimming with excitement.

"He's here," she says. "Everything's ready."

Time slows down as I turn and look out over the lake. The row of trees shelter the guests from my view. I know there's at least two hundred people, and at the front of the aisle, Westin is waiting for me.

"You okay?" Keira whispers.

I nod. "I'm just…happy."

She hugs me gently so she doesn't crush my dress. Then, she tugs a little curl free by my ear, adjusts my neckline, and takes my arm to lead me out to where Sovereign waits. I stand alone, my palms sweating against the flower stalks while he walks his wife up and seats her. Then, he's back, and it's time.

I swallow, mouth dry. In the distance, cicadas buzz. The cattle low in the fields as they search for shade before the sun blisters the earth.

Sovereign glances me over, eyes sober. "Are you ready?"

I hesitate.

"Sovereign, what is Westin doing?" It comes out in a rush.

He cocks his head. "He's planning on marrying you—if you'll get up there and do it."

I shake my head. "No, he's going to do something. I hope it's not today."

Sovereign doesn't have an expressive face, but as soon as I say it, I know I'm right. There's a flicker in his stare. Then, he blinks, and his eyes go back to being ice.

"I've known Westin almost my whole life," he says. "You can trust him."

I nod, swallowing. "I know," I whisper.

He holds out his arm. I take it, and he leads me down the little hill and under the trees into the shaded, green grove. We pause, and the violinist to our left begins playing softly. My throat catches as I recognize the melody. It's the hymn my grandmother used to hum to put me to sleep.

My heart clears. My anxiety vanishes, leaving me with nothing but warm, summer sunshine.

Like the day he walked into my life.

I look up to find him standing there, dressed in his good pants and vest, shirt rolled up to his forearms, exposing all those barbed wire scars. The sun glints off his chestnut hair, making his eyes glitter like deep water. He's got a scratch on his cheek and two Band-Aids on his forearm.

Oh God, what did he do now?

There's nothing to do about that now, though. I'm walking up the aisle, and everyone is silent, watching me. Maybe they wonder because we don't look like we should be together.

He's hard, I'm soft .

I'm twenty-two, he's thirty-eight.

I've only ever wanted to live. He's in the business of killing.

But all they need to do is look at the way he's watching me to know, by some trick of fate, that this is meant to be.

Sovereign guides me to the front until I stand before Westin. He shakes his hand like he barely knows him, but then Westin leans in, and they say something to each other, their voices too low to hear. Whatever it is, they exchange a glance that lets me know it meant something before pulling back.

Sovereign takes my fingertips and hands me over to Westin. His hazel eyes catch mine, bright as the day we met. I smile and my mouth shakes.

Gently, he turns us to face the preacher. He stands before us in his starched black shirt and pants, rifling through his book. His glasses stick out of his breast pocket, and it takes a minute for him to find them.

He doesn't know my name, and Westin has to whisper it to him. I look sideways at Westin as we recite our vows, but he stares resolutely ahead.

He forgot to book the preacher. I know a rush job when I see one.

I'm exasperated, but just for a fleeting moment. Then, everything fades, because nothing but Westin matters anymore. The past rushes away, like the current of the river where he first kissed me, carried away like silt after heavy rain.

Tomorrow, the world will be right.

I know because he promised it would be.