The Roommate

Chapter 8

I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was perfect, and everything was going okay. The food was running late but not so late that we'd notice, but other than that, it was going okay. My father and his mom walked in, smiling at me. "Hey daddy."
"You look beautiful baby girl." He kissed the top of my head, before lowering the veil over my face.
"Baylock is ready." She said and I nodded. We walked over to the stables after I grabbed my bouquet.

And then there was Baylock. Allie said he was a grey dapple, and he was honestly one of the most beautiful horses I'd ever seen. He was a clients horse, but the client had agreed I could use him for the wedding. His tack was all white with black and gold accents. As they helped me up, I sniffled. The photographer took my picture, and I laughed as Baylock tossed his head up.
"You ready daddy?" He took the lead rope and nodded. The music started as the barn doors opened and I smiled as we walked towards the altar. Jacob was already crying, but he was so handsome. The horse came to a stop at the end of the carpet, and turned to the side. "Steady Baylock." I said softly, and he flicked his tail as my father helped me down. Allie took Baylock, tethering him at the back. My father and I walked down the aisle, smiling at Jacob the whole way. He kissed my head as he let me go, nodding in respect to Jacob. The officiant smiled at us both, before addressing the crowd. As I looked out, I realized that a lot of my family had come. Even my great grandma was here, and she doesn't leave the house, even for bread, due to health problems. I saw my uncles, my aunts, their spouses, their kids, my grandparents, and even some of my cousins.
"You okay?" I heard a soft voice ask and I turned to Jacob.
"I didn't expect half of these people to show up." I said softly. He chuckled.
"Is there anyone here who thinks that these two should not be joined in marriage today? Speak now, or forever hold your peace." There was a bit of silence, followed by a whinny in the distance.
"Charley, shut up." Jacob said and everyone laughed. The officiant smiled as he continued. Soon it was time for the rings. "The rings, please?" I gasped as Honey trotted down the aisle, with a little ring box on her back. I gasped, my hands going to my mouth.
"Wait, this is what you've been doing for the last few weeks with her?" I said and Jacob nodded as Tyler retrieved the ring box from her back.
"Go to grandma." Tyler said. She walked over to his mom and I smiled as Tyler presented the rings to us.
"Repeat after me." The officiant said, turning to him.
"I, Jacob Warner, take you, Harper Lancaster, to be my wife. I promise that from this day forward I will regard you not only as my equal partner but as my closest friend. I promise to comfort you in sickness and in health. I promise to demonstrate my commitment to you through love, laughter, and compassion. I love you." He said as the man instructed and I sniffled as he put the ring on my finger. "With this ring, I thee wed." My turn.
"I, Harper Lancaster, take you, Jacob Warner, to be my husband. I promise that from this day forward I will regard you not only as my equal partner but as my closest friend. I promise to comfort you in sickness and in health. I promise to demonstrate my commitment to you through love, laughter, and compassion. I love you." I repeated, putting the ring on his finger. "With this ring, I thee wed." I whispered. Jacob wiped a tear away from his eye, making me smile.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Jacob grabbed my veil with a shaky hand, lifting it off my face. It felt like an eternity passed as he lifted it but once it was out on the way, he stepped forward, closing the gap between our lips. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Time seemed to slow down as he kissed me. My arms were around his neck, almost daring him to let go. He tasted like salt, probably from the tears. He started to pull away but I pushed back into him. I felt his chest vibrate with laughter as he kissed me back. I gently broke the kiss, blushing as I tried to hide my face behind my bouquet. He pushed my hand down, kissing my forehead.
"You are the most beautiful bride I'd ever seen. I've been wanting to say that ever since you rode in here on Baylock." I blushed. "I love you." He kissed me gently, and we turned to the crowd who was clapping and cheering. Pretty soon we were talking with friends and family, smiling and laughing.
"Aunt Gene!" I said, hugging her.
"Oh honey, I was so worried after Danny. I'm so happy for you." I blushed madly.
"Wow okay." I said, laughing nervously.
"I just mean that you didn't really jump back on the horse, but there is nothing wrong with that." I nodded, walking over to my great grandma. She smiled up at me, and we hugged.
"Oh you look beautiful my darling." I blushed, smiling at her.
"Thank you, grandma." I said. "I wasn't expecting you to come."
"I told myself, Vivian, if you don't go see your great granddaughter get married, you'll never forgive yourself. Not many women get to chance to say that. I do. It was a beautiful wedding, my dear." I giggled. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and smiled at Jacob. "You certainly snatched a hottie." I coughed in shock as Jacob smiled at her.
"I like to think I did." He said, smirking at me. I was beet red, trying to recover from the embarrassment. She giggled.
"He's a keeper. Go mingle with everyone Harper. I'm not the only one that flew in." I nodded, pulling him away.
"That was-"
"Your great grandma Vivian. Your moms dads... mom." I nodded, shocked that he'd taken the time. "A lovely lady."
"How did you know that?"
"Your dad gave me a copy of the family tree like four months ago." He explained. "I tried to memorize as many as I could." I nodded, smiling softly.
"That's really sweet." He kissed my forehead.
"Harper!" I turned to the source of the voice. "You didn't even tell most of us you were dating again, let alone getting married! And then I get a letter in the mail saying I'm invited to your wedding?!" I giggled as I hugged my cousin.
"Sorry Jacqueline." I said with a laugh. She giggled and turned to him.
"Nice to meet you." She said. "If you hurt her, your balls go in my ball jar."
"Well I plan on keeping them. So, put the jar away." She grinned as she hugged him.
"Good. Oh, I gotta find Lukas and go fill up my Mimosa." She toddled off, making us both laugh.
"She's funny." He said and I nodded. By the end of the night, my feet were sore and I'd seen so much family that I felt nauseous. Jacqueline was the one to catch my bouquet, and her boyfriend Lukas was all smiles after that. I sense a proposal there. Our parents had put together some money for us to go on our honeymoon, so when the party was finally over, we got in a limo and it drove us home to change and grab our bags, before driving us to the airport.
"Okay, I still don't really understand Montana as a honeymoon location." I said as he grabbed our bags. He chuckled.
"Well I want a little privacy." He wiggled his eyebrows. "The wedding was all you. The honeymoon is all me." I nodded, smiling softly. "We are going to The Green O. There's snow on the ground, we can go on trail rides. Sleigh rides, skiing, dogsledding." I giggled. He was really excited, and to be honest it sounded like a blast. A few hours later, we were landing in Montana. As we walked out to the lobby there was a man waiting with a sign. Mr. And Mrs. Warner. The Green O. "I forgot we get picked up." He said, smiling. He waved at the man, who walked over.
"Hello, welcome to Montana!" He said. "I can take your bags ma'am." I blushed as he took them, leading us to a car out front. I shivered, putting my coat on as we walked outside into the snowy landscape. As we drove up into the mountains, I snuggled into Jacob.
"Cold?"
"A little. But it's winter in Montana." I said and he wrapped his arms around me. I gasped as we pulled up to the check in cabin. Once checked in, they handed him a set of keys. A car key, and a building key.
"You are in the third car." She said, pointed to her left. "The gps in the car is set to your cabin. There is a book of phone numbers on the entryway table, let us know if you have any questions or concerns." He nodded and we grabbed our things, loading up and heading to the cabin. I gasped as we pulled up, looking at the cabin. We went inside and walked to the bedroom to put our things away.