Playing for Keeps (25 page)

"And,
I'll be the one waiting for you at the end of it. I love you."

"
I love you too, sugar." She headed toward her room. She stopped and turned around one last time. "Mrs. Cooper, would you mind watching Sam during the ceremony? A friend can do it if not, but I just thought…"

Andrea smiled brightly.
"I would love to look after him."

Maddie looked at her father.
"Daddy? Would you like to walk me down the aisle?"

He got a funny look on his face, and for a moment
, Maddie was sorry she'd asked.
Maybe six years can't be erased in the blink of an eye.

Michael
Stewart wiped at his face and Maddie realized he was crying. "Yes, Madison, I would love to walk you down the aisle."

She grinned
, the widest grin of her life and pointed to the bathroom. "Fix your face, right through there. Mom and I will be right back." She led her mother to her bathroom, and they touched up Maddie's make-up.

Meg looked around the bathroom and nodded to the razor on the sink.
"So he does own a razor."

Maddie smiled.
"It's mine. If he gets in the mood to shave something, I let him use it on me."

"
Madison Michelle!" her mother said in horror.

"Just yanking your chain, M
other. I like his beard, I asked him not to shave."

Her mother shook her head and finished powdering Maddie
's face. "After all this time, you still feel the need to 'yank my chain'?"

Maddie grinned.
"You wouldn't want to come here and find a completely different person, now would you?"

"
I suppose not," she admitted, and had to smile at her daughter in the mirror. "I do like the hair. I've thought about cutting mine, but I just don't know."

"
Your hair is beautiful." Maddie smiled at her mother. "I can't believe you're really here."

Meg looked
through the bedroom window into the backyard. "I can't believe you're getting married in a yard with a dog and a bunch of people in jeans!"

"Come on, Mom." Maddie put her arm around her mother's shoulder. "He's a really nice dog. His name is Bo. He's your grand-dog, now."

They walked to the living room where Michael stood waiting for them.
"My two beautiful girls." He beamed.

"
I'm so glad you're here, Daddy." Maddie hugged him.

"
There's nowhere I'd rather be in the world," he said.

"
Did you hear, Michael?" Meg asked him. "We have a grand-dog, now. His name is Bo."

Michael looked from Maddie to his wife.
"I like dogs," he said slowly.

Maddie laughed.
"Let's do this thing, shall we?"

Chapter
Eleven

Maddie stepped out on to the porch where Sophie waited with Rosa and Smoky. "Mrs. Stewart?" Smoky extended his arm to her mother. "I'm Robert's friend, Leonard Dean. May I take you to your seat?"

"
Certainly." Meg nodded, and Smoky led her to the front row of chairs.

Maddie grinned at his formality
. Her mother ate it up.

Rosa
pushed a button on the C.D. player and the music began.

"
You're after me, kid," Rosa said to Sophie, who nodded.

Rosa
smiled at Maddie then walked down the aisle to where Rob and Fred stood with the judge.

When
her friend got to her place, Maddie said, "You're on, Sophie Belle."

Facing Maddie's father,
Sophie put her hands on her hips. "Who are you, and how come you get to walk with Maddie?"

He blinked a couple times, then composed himself. "
Why, I'm Madison's father, my dear. It's my privilege to walk my daughter down the aisle."

"
How come I've never met you?" Sophie persisted.

"
Sophie." Maddie smiled through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry you haven't been properly introduced. I promise, as soon as the wedding is over, I'll make it up to you. But right now you need to scurry down the aisle and sprinkle your rose petals like we practiced. Please? Before the judge gets unhappy and takes off."

"
Only for you, Maddie." Sophie nodded, turned and walked down the aisle, majestically.

Maddie bit back
her laughter and watched the child gallivant. When Sophie got to her spot at the end, they started down the aisle.

"
Is there really a dog?" Michael asked out the side of his mouth.

"A
big
dog. Be nice to him, he's very protective of me."

"
I'll remember that."

Maddie smiled at her guests
then finally at her fiancé as she reached the end of the aisle. Her father took her hand, placed a kiss on the back of it, and offered it to Rob.

Rob smiled at Michael and took Maddie
's hand in his. "Hey there," he said softly.

"
Hello." Maddie smiled up at him.

"
Finally made it."

"
Finally," she agreed, and they turned to the judge.

The patient, silver haired man began. "
We are gathered here tonight to join in the bonds of matrimony, Madison Michelle Stewart and Robert Edward Cooper. Marriage is a serious and reverent state, and one that should not be entered into lightly or inadvisably. Maddie and Rob, have you given this union earnest consideration and deliberation?"

"
We have," they said together.

"
Then who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

There was a slight hesitation before her father said, "Uh, her mother and I."

"
Good thing he was here," Rob whispered.

"
Would have been a major deafening silence," Maddie agreed.

The judge looked at them and they grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry," they both whispered.

"
Maddie and Rob wanted to write their own vows. So, Rob, please go ahead."

They turned to face each other, held hands, and Rob took a deep breath.
"Eh…" he started to say and Maddie's eyes widened."Ahem," he coughed, cleared his throat and smiled at her. "Maddie warned me she'd know if I used song lyrics for my vows, so bear with me while I wing it.

"
Maddie, the minute I met you, I felt a connection between the two of us. A spark. You had the most beautiful green eyes I'd ever seen, and hair that I wanted to run my hands through right that minute, if I didn't think Frances would have minded."

A
snicker ran through the crowd, and Maddie chuckled.

Rob continued
, "The more I got to know you, I found that besides being beautiful on the outside, you were a beautiful person on the inside. You were kind, gentle, very sweet with Sophie, and maybe the thing I liked most about you was your wicked sense of humor."

The crowd murmured again and Maddie grinned at him.
"But, the timing wasn't right for us, sweetheart, and everything we tried to do seemed complicated and forced. I had some things to figure out for myself. I didn't handle it well, and it was a bad time. It was hard being apart from you, I was miserable and miserable to be around."

Another murmur of agreement from the crowd brought a chuckle to both Maddie and Rob.
"With the encouragement of our friends, I tracked you down and was amazed to find out what you had done over the winter."

Full-out laughter
came from the crowd that time, and Maddie blushed. "But, I was never more thrilled to meet anybody in my life, and I've been counting my blessings since the day Sophie and I brought you and Sam home to live with us. So now, the point of all this rambling. Thank you for waiting for me to figure out what I needed, Maddie. Thank you for taking me back. Thank you for loving Sophie as much as I do. Thank you for sharing Sam with me." He laid a hand on her stomach. "Thank you for the new baby you're carrying."

A ripple of surprise ran through the crowd,
followed an instant later by wild applause.

Rob and Maddie smiled at each other, and held hands again.
"Thank you for loving me. Now for the vows part. This was supposed to be vows, right? I want to be here for you Maddie, night and day, whatever you need or want. I promise to love you, protect you, take care of you and our babies, and cherish you from now to eternity. I know I hurt you, Maddie, and I promise to never hurt you again. Your heart is safe with me. You can trust me, completely, be secure in our love, confident in our commitment. I want you to have no doubts or worries. We've got the whole deal, Mad, the real deal. And I love you very, very much."

Maddie attempted to brush the tears away before they fell, with no luck. Someone handed
Rosa a tissue, and she passed it to Maddie. Maddie chuckled and wiped her eyes. "Oh my." She smiled at Rob. "You're a tough act to follow."

She glanced around the crowd
then looked back into Rob's eyes. "I felt the same spark when we met. I floated on air for a week, hoping to catch a glimpse of you at the end of the day. Your beautiful blue eyes," she reached up and brushed his hair away from his eyes, "and the hair that never stays out of your face." Her hand went to his cheek. "And the beard that you keep trying to shave off."

"
Never again," he whispered to her, and winked.

Maddie grinned.
"I was the happiest I'd ever been with you and Sophie, but I lived in fear that something was going to happen and burst my bubble. Oh, it burst all right, big time. I thought about telling you I was pregnant so you would stay with me, because I knew you would. Something about that didn't feel right. I wanted you to stay because of me, not the baby.

"
So I waited. It was hard, and I was scared every day that I had done the wrong thing." She was sniffling now. "But I guess I did the thing I knew best, run away and hide." She glanced at her parents and saw tears in their eyes, too. She looked back at Rob, and reached up to wipe a tear off his cheek. "I was so scared. I loved Sam, but I felt incomplete. The day you walked back into my life, I suddenly became whole again.

"
So, thank you for coming to find me. Thank you for wanting me back. Thank you for not being mad about Sam. Thank you for sharing Sophie with me. Thank you for opening up your home to Sam and me. Thank you for opening up your heart to me, and making us both realize that what we wanted was right here all along.

"
They say timing is everything, and I guess I believe that. This time around, I'm not living in fear that something is going to go wrong. You've proven to me that I am the woman you want, and I have no doubts or worries anymore. So what can I give you in return? I promise to love and cherish you all the days of our lives. I will be here for you, to support you, to encourage your dreams and try to help make them come true. I'll help you raise Sophie, and all our babies, the best I know how, and together we'll give them love, happiness, a sense of fulfillment and a sense of humor.

"
We finally got it right, babe. This is the whole deal, the real deal, Rob, and I love you very, very much." They were both crying as she finished, and Rosa handed them each another handful of tissues.

They chuckled and took a moment to wipe their faces,
then turned back to the judge. "The wedding ring is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual bond that unites two hearts together." He looked at Rob. "You have rings?"

"
Oh, yeah!" Rob pulled two rings from his pocket, and everyone laughed. He smiled at Maddie, and she grinned back.

"
Rob, place the ring on Maddie's finger and repeat after me: "I give you this ring as a symbol of my unending love and undying devotion."

Rob did so, and Maddie repeated the vows as she placed Rob
's ring on his finger."And now," the judge concluded, "by the power vested in me by the state of Oklahoma, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

"
Oh, yeah!" Rob said with a sultry inflection, and took Maddie's face in his hands. They grinned at each other before he kissed her delicately. He pulled back slowly, and Maddie grabbed him and pulled him close for a better kiss. The crowd cheered, and the bride and groom kissed passionately.

"
Are we married?" Sophie grabbed one of each of their legs.

Rob reached down and hoisted Sophie up on his hip.
"Yes, munchkin, we are married." He kissed the side of her head and Maddie leaned in and kissed the other side.

"
Ladies and gentlemen," the judge added. "May I present to you: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Cooper."

Their friends and family cheered again, and Rob held Maddie with one arm and kissed her cheek.
"Hello, Mrs. Cooper."

"
Hello, Mr. Cooper." She grinned back at him, and they smiled at their friends.

"
I want cake!" Sophie announced, and Rob laughed and set her down.

"
You heard the girl. Let there be cake!" He turned to shake the judge's hand then led Maddie down the aisle to the table on the other side of the yard, where a two-tiered wedding cake waited. He and Maddie posed behind the table for some pictures, then they picked up the knife and cut two small pieces. Rob picked one up and turned toward Maddie.

She put her hand on his chest.
"You wouldn't smash that into the face of your pregnant wife, would you?"

His friends egged him on, but Rob smiled sweetly.
"I never considered it, dear." He fed her a bite gingerly and she took it, and smiled.

She picked up a bigger piece and looked at him. He took a step back and grinned.
"Uh, you wouldn't smash that in the face of an expectant daddy, now would you?"

"
Probably, yeah," she teased, but didn't do it. She gave him a bite and put the rest down. They kissed sweetly, and toasted with sparkling cider.

"
Okay Soph," Rob handed her a small piece of cake. "A little piece, but then you have to eat dinner, and maybe you can have more cake after that."

"
Speaking of dinner," Rosa spoke up. "We're ready to eat, if everyone wants to get in line over here… Bride and groom?"

Maddie shook her head and looked at Rob.
"Go ahead," he told Rosa. We're living on love, right now."

Mrs. Cooper stepped up and said
, "Come on, Sophie, let's get you something to eat." Maddie looked around and smiled when she saw Sam asleep on Mr. Cooper's shoulder, both of them sitting contentedly on the porch.

Rob led Maddie to a table and they sat
. Their guests passed by them and visited and offered congratulations. Sandy and Suzie gave Maddie hugs.

"
I'm so glad you could be here," she told them both.

Sandy
looked at Rob and said "We're happy you survived your tragic hunting accident."

He grinned.
"I've taken away Maddie's shotgun. Not taking any chances, here."

"
You be good to our girl." Suzie poked him in the chest.

"
I plan to." He smiled at her, and they went off to get some food.

"
This has been the best day." Maddie looked around at everyone, and focused on her husband.

"
Are you worn out?"

"
Nope." She shook her head. "Doing fine."

"
Good." He rubbed his thumb over the palm of her hand. "I have my favorite Keith Urban songs cued up for us to dance to."