A Cowboy's Christmas Proposal by Cathy McDavid

Author:Cathy McDavid
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2018-08-14T15:49:33+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

OWEN STOOD TO the side and watched the exchange between Molly and Bridget and the newlyweds and their two witnesses.

“Best wishes and good luck to you.”

“Thank you for your service. We’re honored to have hosted your wedding.”

“We can’t tell you how wonderful it was.”

The small wedding had gone smoothly. Owen had stuck to a mostly traditional ceremony with the couple reciting their own vows.

With the groom in uniform and the bride wearing flowers in her hair, the service had been sweet and heartfelt and very moving. Everyone there knew the groom would be shipping out soon for his overseas tour. The couple talked excitedly about him returning in the spring for leave, with no one mentioning the possibility that he might not return in one piece or at all.

They were spending the night in a cabin, a gift from the groom’s out-of-state parents. From talking to the couple after the ceremony, Owen had gathered they didn’t have a lot of money, and the honeymoon stay was a real treat for them.

Molly and Bridget must have decided the same thing for Bridget had provided her specialty wedding cupcakes at no charge and Molly had arranged for champagne and fresh strawberries to be delivered to the cabin.

Not much, Owen mused. Cupcakes, champagne and strawberries. But the gestures would likely be treasured memories that lasted the couple’s lifetime. Hopefully, a long lifetime.

Molly and her sister clearly belonged in the wedding business, because their hearts were truly in the right place. Their grandmother must have known that when she’d put them in charge while she was gone.

As Owen watched, Molly escorted the couple from the parlor to the foyer where she took several more pictures of them kissing beneath the mistletoe. She’d taken pictures throughout the ceremony—the couple couldn’t afford a photographer. Though it was chilly outside, she continued to stand on the veranda chatting with them.

“Good heavens, she must be freezing!” Bridget appeared beside Owen.

“Maybe I should bring her a coat.” He’d rather put his arms around her.

“Not a good idea.” Bridget wore a bemused expression.

“I’m guessing you heard.”

“About your stowaway? Yes, indeed.” She tsked, though with a hint of mirth that made him think she wasn’t mad about the kitten. “Owen, Owen, Owen. What are we going to do with you?”

“I blew it. I get that.”

“Have you always been such a rule breaker?”

“Not exactly. More like a risk taker.” Another trait that had helped propel him to the top of his rodeo and sales careers. “With a spontaneous streak.”

“Yeah, Molly’s the polar opposite of spontaneous.”

“So I’m discovering.”

“She wasn’t always like that,” Bridget said. “Dad dying when we were young affected her. Affected all of us, Mom included. Just look at her and Doug. A marriage not made in heaven because Mom dreads being alone.”

“Tragedy changes people.”

“Molly became a stickler for rules. They make her feel in control and give her a sense of security. Something she didn’t feel after Dad died.”

They stood adjacent to the reception counter in a shadowy corner of the foyer.

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