Jenny smiled her shy little smile and shrugged her shoulders.
“I’m so happy you like it Ellie. Do you want to go up and see the reception area?”
“Is it safe? Where will Gunner be?”
Jenny laughed. I’ll make sure that Aaron knows to keep him in the house and not to let him peak out the window.”
We headed up to the ranch house and to the main barn. Drake, Aaron and Dewey spent days cleaning out the barn so that the slab floor would be ready for the reception. I was going to have to do something special for them.
We turned the corner and I saw three large white tents set up right outside the house and the barn. I sucked in a breath of air.
“OH. My. God! It looks beautiful…..it all looks so beautiful.”
We got out of Jenny’s truck and started walking around. Ari grabbed my arm and we set off to explore. Each of the white tent legs were wrapped in white silk mesh tulle with soft pink ribbon wrapped around each leg. The white tables had white linen draped over the whole table with a smaller soft pink linen on top of that. I was so glad Jenny kept the white chairs plain though. She wanted to tie large pink bows on each but I wanted to keep it simple. I liked it simple and plain, it was more me I thought. Each table had a center piece of wild flowers in mason jars with a few small white votive candles.
I looked over to one table and they were setting mason jars all on it. That table would contain lemonade, sweet tea and ice water. Next to that was a giant trough that would have ice in it and filled to the max with beer. Last night Gunner was drilling holes and putting some tubing in it for the water that melted to drain out and away from the area. I smiled thinking about how handsome he looked last night. I looked back towards the house. I could not wait to see him.
The other table had the wedding cakes on it. The groom’s cake was a 4 tiered chocolate cake that had an orange longhorn on the front of each layer. There were chocolate covered strawberries on the edge of each layer and on the top of the cake. All along the bottom of the cake were small chocolate footballs and helmets. The bride’s cake was a three tier white butter cream cake with silver beaded accents on it. It was sitting on a piece of oak that Gunner had cut from a tree that had fallen in a spring storm. It was perfect! I wonder if Gunner had seen it yet.
Then I saw the fire pit that Gunner, Jefferson and Josh built yesterday. I smiled as I saw the table that had all the small pails with S’mores fixing’s in it. I laughed when I thought about how me, Ari, Amanda and Heather got so drunk while painting the pails with chalk board paint and then tried to write S’mores on them all. Gunner and Jefferson ended up having to finish them all. That was a fun night. The kids would have so much fun making S’mores and it reminded me of our first unofficial date at the coffee house.
The trees were all filled with white lights that would turn on right at dusk. I could not wait to see what it looked like! I looked around at all of the games that were set up everywhere. Horse shoes, croquet, washers…it was perfect. I had to giggle at the quilt on the ground with the chess set on it. That must have been Garrett’s idea.
“Ellie honey it all looks so beautiful.” Ari said as we started to walk towards the barn. Oh my god….this did not look like the same barn! I don’t know how Drake and the boys did it but the slab floor was cleaned and white lights where everywhere! The band was already setting up in the corner along with the DJ. I was feeling overwhelmed yet so happy. I couldn’t hold it back anymore. I started to cry. I was going to be Gunner’s wife in just a few hours.
“Ellie! What’s wrong?”Ari said as she took me in her arms.
“Nothing it’s all just so beautiful. More beautiful than I could have ever imagined…..” I was crying like a baby. Oh god…I was starting to hyperventilate. What the f**k was wrong with me?
“Ellie, breathe! Sweets you have to breathe! Hum, Jenny…..can you come here?”
I didn’t even notice Ari and Jenny taking me back outside. I couldn’t catch my breath. What the f**k was wrong with me?! They walked me up to the ranch house and set me down on a chair. Emma walked out right then.
I can’t get enough air…...OH MY GOD…… I am going to die before I even get married!
“Ellie darling look at me. Look right at me.” Emma said as she grabbed my face to look at her.
“Ellie take a deep breath in and blow it out.”
I tried I really did……all I could take was small gasps of air and that was starting to not be enough. Emma turned to Ari.
“Arianna, I want you to calmly go in the house and get Drew.”
Ari turned and ran into the house screaming out Gunner’s name.
Not thirty seconds later there he was. He came out of the screen door and our eyes met. He came running over to me and landed on his knees in front of me.
“Ellie baby what’s wrong?” Gunner said with nothing but panic in his beautiful blue eyes.
He grabbed my hands and I felt that familiar jolt of electricity. I instantly felt the tightness in my chest let up and I was able to take a deep breath. I threw myself at him and hugged him as hard as I could. He got up and lifted me up with him. I wrapped my legs around him and he started to walk off to the other side of the porch away from everyone. God I loved to be in his arms like this. It was my favorite way for him to hold me.
He was running his hand down my hair. “Shhh baby, it’s okay. I’m here sweetheart. Can you tell me what’s wrong baby? Are you having second thoughts?”
What?! NEVER!
I kept my face buried into him. My god he smelled so damn good. I was starting to get that ache in between my legs.
“NEVER! I want nothing more than to marry you Drew Mathews. I’m not sure what happened to be honest. All I know is I needed to see you and the thought of not being able to see you at that moment, I guess it made me panic. I love you! I love you so much!”
“Jesus baby you scared me. I love you too Ellie. I love you so damn much it hurts.”
I pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I feel the same way!”
He just laughed.
“You know we’re not supposed to see each other before the wedding. They say it’s bad luck.”
“I know for a fact that is not true. Emma told me that she and Garrett saw each other the morning of their wedding. Look how happy they are!”
Gunner just smiled at me as he pushed me into the side of the house and started to kiss me with so much passion I thought I was going to explode. Oh shit I could not wait to spend the night with him tonight!
“Can we sneak off somewhere real quick?” I asked as I pushed myself into him.
“My greedy greedy little girl. What am I going to do with you?” Gunner asked as he bit my lower lip. I let out a low slow moan.
“Um, Ellie…we really need to get you back and start getting ready.”
I looked at Gunner and made a sad face.
“Soon, baby……soon.” He slid me down his body in that oh so slow way he had.
“See ya soon?” I said as I looked up at him.
“See ya soon baby.”
After we got back from checking everything out I felt so much better. I think just being in Gunner’s arms is what calmed me down. The cabin was so full of hair spray I thought I was going to die. Jenny must have sensed it was bugging me because she told her friends Ron and Jet, who were stylists from Austin, to spray outside from now on.
“I just cannot figure out what the hell is wrong with him.” Ari was saying to Amanda. I was pretty sure she was talking about Jefferson. I needed to push that from my mind today. I looked their way and they both looked beautiful. Ari, Amanda and Heather were all wearing their hair down but curled. Heather was getting hers curled right now and then she would be next for the spray down.
Jet was doing my hair and I loved it! She curled it all in big curls and then piled it all on my head. She pulled pieces of my hair down to frame my face and the back of neck. I smiled as I watched her put baby’s breath all throughout my hair. I gave Gunner five minutes before he was pushing a piece of hair back behind my ear.
Jet was going on and on about something. I had tuned her out after the first five minutes and just thought about Gunner. I closed my eyes and pictured his blue eyes looking into mine as we said our vows.
“Ellie did you hear me honey?”
I opened my eyes to see Jet staring at me.
“Oh, I’m so sorry; what was that?”
“How do you like it honey, your hair. Do you like it?”
I looked into the mirror. I looked perfect. I had just a small amount of makeup on but the way Ari did my eye makeup really made my blue eyes stand out. The tint of pink on my lips was perfect and my hair…...my hair looked beautiful. Was that even me in the mirror?
“Jet……it is just so amazing. I love it so much! It looks elegant yet simple.”
Jet smiled from ear to ear then picked up a can of hair spray and sprayed the shit out of my hair. God I needed oxygen by the time she was done. Clearly she didn’t hear the NO spraying hair spray inside rule.
I didn’t even notice Ari, Amanda and Heather each going behind the giant sheet that was placed so everyone could change. I looked over and saw Ari walking out in the pale pink sleeveless sundress. Oh my…...she took my breath away. The gray silver cowboy boots she had on were perfect……just like she said they would be. She smiled at me as she put on her white cowboy hat. I wanted to jump up and down it looked so f**king good! Just then I saw Amanda and then Heather. They looked like super models……all three of them. I just stared at them. They started to laugh and Ari said something to Heather about getting the same reaction from Josh. Heather hit Ari in the arm and told her to go to hell.
Then Jenny walked up to me.
“Ellie, it’s time to put your dress on.”
Oh wow……this was it. I was putting on the dress that the four of us spent days searching for. We ended up finding it at the last bridal store we went to in Austin. I was so sick of trying on dresses I was ready to give up. I told Ari I was trying on one more dress and that was it.
When I looked at myself in the mirror before stepping out to show the girls I almost cried. MaryBeth, the bridal consultant who had been helping me try on dress after dress, leaned over and said, “That’s the one. When you look in the mirror and want to cry…..then that’s the dress meant for you.”
I looked over at her as I felt the tears roll down my face. I didn’t even bother wiping them away. I had to show the girls that very second.
I stepped out and heard three gasps at the same time.
“HOLY HELL!” Amanda said.
“Oh my Ellie it’s perfect honey!” Heather said.
“JESUS, MARY and JOSEPH, holy f**king shit…...that dress is beautiful!” Ari screamed out as she jumped up. MaryBeth helped me up onto the platform and spread the train all out. Oh my god it was beautiful.
MaryBeth started to tell us about the dress as I stared at myself in the mirror.
“Ladies, this is a Jim Hjelm wedding dress. It is a Silk Satin faced Organza A-line dress with a strapless embroidered bodice with crystals and hand-cut Silk Organza, Chiffon and Charmeuse. The natural waist is accented with a Platinum moire ribbon and has a bias cut asymmetrical ruffle skirt with a chapel train.”