Renegade Ridge by Arabella Steedly

Author:Arabella Steedly [Steedly, Arabella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781980244738
Publisher: Sweetwater Creek Publishing
Published: 2018-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

14

On the first Saturday in May, when Renegade Ridge was painted in the pastel colors of spring, family and friends were gathered for Vanessa and Jake’s wedding day. For weeks now, Jake, Tucker and many others had been working hard under Vanessa’s watchful eye to construct a gazebo that transformed the backyard into the perfect place to celebrate their nuptials. The florist had been at the ranch for the past two days busy arranging potted ferns, and fig trees that created an outside border for the rows of white folding chairs. That morning they had finished placing an array of white and yellow flower arrangements here and there that matched the forsythia that Jake’s mother had planted years ago along the sides of the ranch house.

Vanessa’s heart raced as her mother buttoned up her ivory lace dress that had been perfectly tailored to accentuate her curves then adjusted her waist-length veil. With it, she wore Eleanor Morrow’s engagement ring and a new strand of pearls she had purchased to match the pearl earrings borrowed from her mother. A satin garter with blue ribbing adorned her leg beneath her wedding dress just above a pair of new cowgirl boots.

Moments later, after her mother had handed Vanessa her bouquet and taken her seat on the front row near the gazebo, she stepped out on the back porch and waited for the small ensemble to start The Bridal Chorus. She could see Jake standing in front of the gazebo wearing a stylish black tuxedo with his hands clasped together in front of him. Tucker, his best man, was by his side. Heather, her maid of honor, was standing across from the men in a pale-yellow dress stitched with the lace pattern that matched Vanessa’s bridal gown. Her father walked out on the porch behind her and offered his arm. She laid her hand in the crook of his elbow and stepped down the stairs of the porch as the music started. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Apollo running up, but he stopped and wagged his tail. Even Apollo was on his best behavior that day.

Vanessa heard her father say, “You look beautiful. Almost as beautiful as your mother did on our wedding day.” He must have sensed she was a bit nervous when he whispered, “You’re doing fine. Just put one foot in front of the other,” as she glided over the white linen runner that had been rolled out between the chairs. Before she knew it, he was kissing her on the cheek, and Jake stepped forward to take her arm.

Jake’s heart was beating like a tom-tom in his chest, he had never seen a woman more beautiful, and now she was going to be his, all his. He swallowed hard, took her arm and turned to help Vanessa up the stairs of the gazebo where the Methodist minister from the church he had attended as a boy nodded and smiled at them.

Vanessa and Jake stood before the

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.