Chapter Twenty Nine
"You're not getting cold feet are you?" Heath stood grinning from ear to ear. It had been four months since Jarrod and Nick came to his and Brydie's rescue, and the day his older brother was to marry Norah had finally arrived. Jarrod stood in front of the mirror trying to take care of the tie he would be wearing during the wedding ceremony that would soon join him and his bride to be for life. The union was taking place inside the church house the Barkleys faithfully attended. Jarrod looked more than nervous, which was what prompted Heath's question-even if there was a sound of teasing in his voice.
Jarrod started beaming and shook his head as he looked upon Heath, who was to be his best man. "No way, are the Van Slycks here yet?" Norah's parents had been elated when they'd received the news and wrote back that there was nothing that was going to stop them from coming, only they hadn't arrived when Jarrod had driven up to the church.
"I don't know. I haven't seen…." Heath started to answer only to hear the sound of canes hitting the hallway floor. He turned and stepped out of the door expecting to see Nick coming their way; he was. The hot tempered rancher had adjusted to his life with the canes and braces and was moving around nearly as fast as he had before. Of course, the clicking of the canes against the floor gave him away just as fast as his spurs did.
"Got to find a way to silence these things." Nick chuckled when he saw Heath step out of the room.
A small part of Heath felt badly for Nick, but he never said a word. Why should he when Nick and Jenny had made it crystal clear they were fine with their lives and wanted no one's pity. It might not have been easy to tell the part of him that felt badly to shut up only Jenny-who he could see at the end of the hallway-was five months along with the child she and Nick had tried for. That being the case, Heath simply chuckled. "They sound fine to me." He wasn't surprised when Nick playfully growled; he'd expected nothing less. Heath then repeated Jarrod's question to Nick.
"They're here." Nick smiled as he thought on the friendly Dutch couple and the laughs he and Norah's father had already shared. Too bad the Van Slycks were dead set against moving away from their home; they would have made an excellent addition to Stockton; Nick was sure of that. "Arrived about fifteen minutes ago, Reverend Stacy sent me to ask if you were about ready."
"More than ready, let's take our places." Jarrod answered before Heath could, and then hurried out the door. Naturally, his quick exit had both Nick and Heath laughing as they followed their brother to the chapel.
As they made their way up to the front of the chapel, they passed Audra, her husband and their new son, Bryan Jr. Victoria sat next to them. Eugene, his wife and their daughters-Victoria Maria and Martha Georgianna were seated on the pew in front of Audra's family and Victoria. The youngest Barkley son and his family had surprised everyone when they'd arrived the day before. Jenny, and Nick's children were seated close by as well. When it came to Brydie, she was sitting on the same pew as Eugene and his family. The fact that she and Heath were finally going to be blessed with a child could no longer be hidden as her abdomen was just starting to show a small bulge. It made Heath beam just looking at his wife, though he continued walking with Nick and Jarrod.
Soon Jarrod stood in front of the preacher, Nick and Heath were by his side, as Mrs. Van Slyck played the wedding march. The site of his future-in-law walking Norah-who was dressed in beautiful sky blue gown with various shaped flowers sown around the bottom of the skirt, along with white ruffles around the wrists and the collar, she'd refused to wear white-made Jarrod's heart skip a beat. By the time Norah stood by his side, it was all Jarrod could do to keep himself focused on listening to the reverend and then exchanging their vows.
"You may kiss the bride." Reverend Stacy closed the Bible and smiled as Jarrod pulled Norah to him and did just that, causing shouts and congratulatory remarks to be shouted out. The happy couple then turned and hurried down the aisle as family and friends began throwing rice at them.
Once Jarrod and Norah drove away, Victoria turned to the Van Slycks and invited them out to the main house, an invitation Norah's parents gladly accepted. They followed Victoria down the street, as they needed to go to the wagon they'd driven into town and park alongside the church. On the other side of the building, Nick led Jenny and his children towards their buggy. It has been a long morning; his back and legs needed a rest before he attempted to attend the reception.
"You still owe me a ride. Think we can go on one and still make it back in time for the celebrations tonight?" Brydie, who had just exited the church, walked over to her husband and slid her arm around Heath's waist.
Heath started beaming as he took a hold of Brydie's hand and started walking away from the church. "As long as you waited for it, I'd like to find out."
Epilogue
Heath who had ignored the wind that was blowing through the air; he had been too busy trying to catch Brydie who was racing him to the North Ridge, now sat under a tall oak tree. His arms were wrapped around his wife as she was sitting in front of him and resting her back against his chest; his hands rested upon her slightly swollen stomach. He was sure that such rides would be coming to a halt in the next week or two, only he wasn't about to say so out loud.
"Penny for your thoughts," Brydie turned sideways and snuggled up to her husband, resting her left hand on his chest as she did do.
"Thinking about family," Heath answering as he ran his hand over her rounded abdomen. "Can hardly believe all that's happened since that earthquake. Wonder if Jarrod and Norah will find an excuse to stay awhile longer, wonder if we'll be waiting for them to come home longer than was planned." Heath chuckled as he thought on Jarrod and Norah's combined family. The children-no matter how behaved they might choose to be- would have been more than a handful for everyone only Norah's daughter and son-in-law had brought their son, Lee Johan, to the wedding. Afterwards, the couple had offered to watch Jarrod and Norah's four children if the Barkleys would allow them to use the guest house on the ranch. No one had argued. "Trying to think of way of getting Nick to come along on the next cattle drive. He could ride in the cook wagon if he needed too."
Brydie smiled as she snuggled just a little bit closer to her husband, happy that Jarrod had found happiness with Norah. She was also positive Heath would succeed in getting Nick to go on a longer cattle drive. However, she didn't care to talk about the newly married couple or Nick at the moment. "Maybe, don't really care at the moment. Right or wrong, all I be carin' about at the moment is I got what I was waitin' for and more." She held onto Heath for all she was worth.
For Heath's part, he could see him and Nick in the barn a few days before Jarrod's wedding. He could hear Nick saying 'I don't know what I ever did to deserve such a good wife, but she's made a world of difference through all this'. Heath bent his head slightly and kissed the top of Brydie's head. As he did so, he silently said 'Amen, brother. I couldn't have said it any better."
