Chapter 2

Father of the Bride

Jarrod sat down on the bed beside his wife and kissed Maggie. Then, he placed his hand on her ample but still growing belly. "I hope this baby will hold off at least until tomorrow."

Maggie laughed. "It's not even due for another four months. I hope I can just take it as easy as the doctor wants me to."

"Well, at least you're not bedridden just yet. You're sure you don't want to try to come down for the festivities?"

Maggie shook her head. "I don't want to risk overdoing it and ruining Audra's day. We talked about it, and she understands."

"But I wish you could see me walk her down the aisle like a proper father of the bride."

"I can use my imagination. Don't worry, I have several books to keep me company, and knowing me, I'll fall asleep anyway. I wouldn't want to fall over into the aisle as you walk Audra down."

Jarrod kissed Maggie again. "Do you know how much I love you?"

Maggie nodded. "Do you know how much I love you?"

Jarrod nodded. "I have to get down there so I can be ready when Nick has his panic attack – he's trying to get all of us fit to do our jobs, you know."

"I doubt he'll really panic."

"Well, if he does, I'll describe it in hysterical detail to you. And I'll come up sometime during the reception and look in on you."

Maggie squeezed his hand as he got up and turned to go toward the door. "Good luck, Pappy."

Jarrod smiled and winked.

XXXXXXX

It wasn't that Jarrod thought he needed the scotch to fortify himself. He wasn't even that nervous about giving the bride away. And when he was only two sips into the shot he had poured, he was no longer interested in drinking it. Liquor didn't sit well on his stomach these days, and with the excitement of the past few days, his stomach had more buttlerflies than usual.

Okay, he was that nervous about giving the bride away after all.

He came back into the library from the porch and put the glass back on the refreshment table. He sat down in the chair near the fireplace, and smiled. He was remembering his little sister and all the wonderful times they had shared over the years. From the moment she was born when he was 14 years old, she had been special to him. He didn't like the memory of leaving her when she was only four to go fight in the Union army, and he especially didn't like her reaction when he came home four years later – she didn't have the slightest idea who he was and the sight of him in his blue uniform frightened her. But today he smiled even at that.

Many more memories made him smile – the first time he waltzed with her when she was ten, her coming out party when she was 16, the first time she waltzed with another man (boy actually). The day she announced that Carl Wheeler had asked her to marry him and she accepted.

His brother Nick came into the library. Like Jarrod, he was decked out in formal attire, and he actually looked pretty comfortable in it. Jarrod gave him a grin. "Well, there, Brother Nick. Looks like you're ready for the nuptials to begin."

"You're the one who better be ready," Nick said. "The guests are all here and it's only five minutes until showtime."

Jarrod got up. "I am ready," he said, spreading his arms.

"Come on, then. It's my job to get you to where you belong."

"You're the best man," Jarrod said as they left the library. "Isn't it your job to get Carl where he belongs?"

"He's been in place for five minutes already," Nick said as they headed down the hall to the doors that led to the foyer. Once there, Nick straightened Jarrod's tie.

"I'm fine, Nick," Jarrod said. "Go see to Carl's tie. He's the one who looks like a jersey bull in formal wear."

Nick said, "Audra will be down the stairs in only a couple minutes. You stay put."

"I am put," Jarrod said with a laugh as Nick went off to the hall that led to the kitchen, where he'd put Carl.

Heath, acting as usher with his brother Eugene, came back from the living room to where Jarrod stood. The guests were all seated, facing the fireplace. Some of them glanced Jarrod's way, probably hoping to get a look at the bride coming down the stairs.

"All set?" Heath asked.

"All set," Jarrod assured him. And then he caught the sight of Audra, coming out of his room upstairs, on their mother's arm. Jarrod smiled to know she had stopped in to see Maggie – or rather to let Maggie see her, in her gown. Her gown, lace over satin, accentuated her slim heights, and her veil drew his eyes straight to her beaming face. "My God, she's breathtaking."

Heath looked up and smiled. "She sure is," he said, and went to take his place at the bottom of the stairs, where he would take his mother's arm and escort her as Matron of Honor.

Jarrod was right beside Heath as the ladies reached the bottom of the stairs. Heath offered his arm to Victoria, who was already brimming with tears, and escorted her to the front of the gathering. Nick and Carl came out from the side and met the priest and Heath there.

Jarrod offered his arm to his sister. "Are you ready to be Mrs. Wheeler?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," she said.

Jarrod then escorted her down the aisle as the guests stood up for her. Carl was smiling ear to ear as she came to him. The priest even smiled more than Jarrod had ever seen him smile. When they arrived, the priest said the "who gives this woman" words, and Jarrod said, "I do," and lifted Audra's hand for Carl to take.

Jarrod took his seat next to his brothers Heath and Eugene and was lost in the beauty of his sister for the rest of the service. Part of him was hurting because his father was not here to do this honor, but another part was as happy as he could be to be doing it himself. After his father's death, he'd been more father than brother to Audra and Eugene anyway. He was Pappy, an honor he bore with pride even if the nickname occasionally irritated him. He let the parade of memories and emotions flood over him, until he heard the words, "You may now kiss the bride," from the priest and the guests erupted into applause. Then he watched as Carl led his wife – his wife – back down the aisle and out the front door, where they would greet the guests departing for an outdoor reception in the garden.

Nick offered his arm to his mother, who was full of smiles and tears, and then Jarrod, Heath and Eugene came along behind them.

Outside, Jarrod kissed his sister and said, "You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen, Mrs. Wheeler."

"And you're the handsomest Father of the Bride I've ever seen," Audra said. "Or maybe, Pappy of the Bride would suit you better."

Then Jarrod took his mother's hand. She was still brimming with tears. He smiled and kissed some of them away.

The weather was glorious. As soon as the bride and groom stepped outside, they were bombarded with rice from the Barkley ranch hands and the Wheeler ranch hands, all of whom were invited to the reception and the great food and dancing that was planned for the afternoon. Only half of the hands were there – in a couple hours they would switch off with the other half, who were tending to the regular ranch chores.

The musicians – a guitarist, a banjoist, and a fiddler player – were already playing as the first guests greeted Audra and Carl at the entrance to the garden. Then the party was on, and everyone lost track of everyone else.

Before they did, though, Jarrod swept his mother around into a waltz, saying, "The first dance is for me, Lovely Lady."

And they danced as if they were the only ones on the dance floor.

Nick broke in for the next dance, and Heath for the one after that and then Eugene, but it was several dances later before Audra and Carl were through greeting guests and came in to dance as well. Everyone cleared the floor for them as soon as they came into each other's arms.

Jarrod took Audra for the next dance, and Carl took Victoria. "I hope you know how beautiful you look, Princess," Jarrod said to his sister, complimenting her yet again because he just could not help it.

"You haven't called me that since I was 12," Audra said.

"Today, you are a princess," Jarrod said. "Thank you for allowing me to give you away."

"Well, you know you'll never really give me away," Audra said. "You'll always be my big brother, and my Pappy."

Jarrod chuckled. "I don't know how that nickname got such staying power."

"Because it suits you perfectly," Audra said. "Thank you for being the father I needed all these years."

Jarrod leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you for allowing me to be."

Audra danced with each of her brothers after that. Exhausted from all the excitement and dancing, Jarrod sank down into a chair with a glass of champagne and watched as everyone, even the hired hands, came to dance. Audra's girlfriends were very much in demand, what with all those single cowboys around.

Jarrod made his way upstairs to check on Maggie after he had gotten some of his energy back, but as he peeked in the door to their room, he saw that Maggie's energy was gone. She was sound asleep with a book in her lap. Jarrod smiled. This was his wife, the soon-to-be mother of his child. On this day when another couple was happily married, he was lucky enough to be happily married himself.

For a moment, as he closed the door, he remembered Beth, his first wife, and felt a pang go through him. Funny, even though he was blissfully happy with Maggie, there was a part of him that still wondered what might have been, but today he was not going to let that run away with him and lead him down that dark, ugly path he had followed once. Despite the complications of his life – despite the illness that dogged him every minute – there was not a bit of darkness or ugliness in his life right this minute. There was only joy and light.

It was a wonderful afternoon, and at the end of it, Carl took Audra off in a buggy decked out with a "just married" sign and shoes tied on long ropes. Even the horse wore a feather in his halter. The newlyweds were set to take off to San Francisco in a few days, and then they would come home to Carl's ranch not far away.

Surrounded by her sons, Victoria said, "I don't think I could be happier than I am right now."

"Just wait til I get married," Nick said.

"I don't know, Nick," Eugene said. "Would you really have any girl who would marry you?"

Nick swatted his youngest brother and chased him back into the house while Victoria, Jarrod and Heath laughed at them.

Jarrod said to Heath, "This is the way it always went when Eugene was about four and Nick was about 15. Eugene loved to bait Nick, and Nick loved to take the bait."

"And nine times out of ten, I had a broken something or other to clean up somewhere in the house," Victoria said.

"You know, Mother, you must been exhausted," Jarrod said. "I know I am."

"I haven't come down from the clouds yet," Victoria said, "but I suppose I'd better relax for a little while."

They went back into the house to find the chairs already put away and the living room back to its usual state of furnishings, plus some extra flowers. Nick and Eugene had already flopped into the chairs by the fireplace. Jarrod escorted his mother to the settee and sat down beside her while Heath just stood near the fireplace.

They chatted a bit and the conversation turned to the idea that Victoria might just consider doing some traveling, now that Audra as well as Jarrod and Eugene no longer lived with her. To the surprise of her sons, she sounded like she liked the idea.

Nick fetched himself a last glass of wine for the day and passed glasses all around to his family. Then he raised his glass high. "I'd like to propose one last toast – to the bride and groom, and to the Matron of Honor and all her children – especially the Pappy of the Bride, who I think our father would be very proud of today."

"'Pappy of the Bride,'" Eugene said after they all drank. "It suits you, Jarrod."

Jarrod remembered that Audra had said the same thing, and he smiled. "Yeah, I believe it does. Here's to me!"

They all laughed and drank again.

XXXXXX

It was early when Jarrod wandered up to see his wife again. This time, Maggie was awake in the bed, reading. She looked up when he came in.

"I looked in on you earlier, but you were asleep," Jarrod said, sat down on the edge of the bed and kissed her.

"I know, I was out like a light for almost two hours," Maggie said. "Guess I needed it. How did everything go?"

"Flawlessly," Jarrod said. "Everyone asked about you. Do you feel like coming down now? We're going to have a light dinner, we remaining Barkleys, that is."

"I think I would just prefer to stay up here. Will you bring me a sandwich – and a slice of wedding cake?"

Jarrod kissed her again. "Your wish is my command, my love."

"Thank you," Maggie said, and added, "Pappy."

Jarrod shook his head. "I'll never get rid of that nickname, will I?"

"Not a chance," Maggie said.