Read Silent Hearts (Hamilton Stables 3) Online

Authors: Melissa West

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Family Life, #Contemporary Women, #Forever Love, #Adult, #Bachelor, #Single Woman, #Sensual, #Hearts Desire, #Domestice Life, #Hamilton Stables, #Series, #Kentucky, #Horse Racing Royalty, #Champions, #Hamilton Brothers, #Horse Stables, #Ranchers, #Cowboys, #Family Business, #Kentucky Farm, #Childhood Friends, #Corporation Buy-Out, #Tomboy, #Advice Seeking

Silent Hearts (Hamilton Stables 3) (19 page)

BOOK: Silent Hearts (Hamilton Stables 3)
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Epilogue
T
he time was ticking by too slowly and Becca thought she might go crazy any second. For some reason, when she’d pictured this day, she’d envisioned it at the beach, overlooking the waves. But instead it had become “an affair to remember.” Or that was what the invite in the
Tribune
had said.
“Look who’s in love.”
Becca turned around in search of the familiar voice and grinned wide when she found Priscilla in Room 1, beaming despite the cast around her left arm. “What, did you get in a fight with Caroline over the mayor?” Becca joked.
Priscilla scoffed. “Like that would be a competition.”
“True enough.” Becca reached for Priscilla’s chart, read through the specifics, and then tsked at the patient. “Fell climbing a tree? What in the world were you doing in a tree? You’re in your sixties; you realize that, right?”
“Says my birth certificate, not my mind. And Curly Tom crawled up the tree. What was I supposed to do? Let my cat fall to his death?”
Becca thought
better the cat than you
but knew better than to say it. “Cats are built for that kind of climbing, and he would have survived the fall just fine. Haven’t you ever heard that cats land on their feet? Priscillas? Not so much. You could have called the fire department or that mayor you’re spending time with these days.”
Priscilla grinned again. “I let him know when I need him, don’t you worry.” Then she took in Becca’s name tag and the grin spread to take over her face. “I always knew you would do it, ya know?”
With Becca’s emotions already so high, she had to look away, blink back the tears that threatened to pour down. When had she become such a crier? She needed to fix that, stat, or else she was going to lose all respect in the ER. “I know you did. Thank you for that. For everything. But now, if you’re good, I need to head out. They tell me I have someplace to be.”
“Becca . . . what time is it?”
Becca shrugged innocently. “I don’t know, four?”
“You’re getting married in an hour. One hour. And you’re here working? Your mother would have your hide if she knew it. You’ve got makeup and hair and all that other mess to do. Pictures! Your photographer is probably beside himself.”
“Something tells me they’ll wait for me. I’m the bride, after all. Surely that means something, right?” She winked at Priscilla, but all joking aside, it was possible her mother was indeed freaking out and driving everyone else up the wall trying to figure out where Becca was and why she hadn’t made it to the church yet. And it wasn’t that Becca was trying to avoid getting married; she just wanted to avoid the whole giant wedding thing.
Who knew a town of so few could put together a wedding of so many? At last count there were supposed to be 500 people there, and that was 499 more than Becca cared about. All right, so maybe her parents. And her niece and nephew. But the rest? She could take them or leave them. The same with the fancy dress and crazy makeup and hair that she would never be able to brush out. The whole thing oozed a lifestyle that wasn’t her.
But then she thought of Nick again, of the proposal in Fiji after one of their dives, the assurance that he would love her forever. She wished she could have frozen the moment and lived in it forever, happiness surrounding her. They should have gotten married there in Fiji, without all the hoopla of the event that was the Stark-Hamilton wedding. With the board of trustees involved and the invite in the paper, it had turned into a giant affair, and Becca had never been one to enjoy this much attention.
Sure she couldn’t avoid it any longer, Becca said good-bye to the rest of the staff and walked out of Triple Run Memorial, a new skip in her step. She had completed her degree, was officially a nurse, and was well on her way to finishing her physician’s assistant certification. Everything was wonderful in her life, happiness overflowing. Until she reached her Highlander and found her mother’s car parked beside it, said mother seething as she stepped outside the car and marched toward her.
“Now, Becca Reed Stark, I know you’re a mess of stubbornness, but this is too much. The whole town’s expecting you to show and you do this? What will Nick think? He must be beside himself.”
“Mama, I still have an hour.”
“Are you insane? Your wedding started . . .” She checked her watch. “Six minutes ago.”
“No, no, no. My watch clearly reads six after four, not five.”
With a loud and dramatic sigh, her mother grabbed her arm and directed her toward the car. “You didn’t set your watch after the time change last night, did you?”
Time change? “Oh my God. Oh my God! I’m late for my own wedding.”
Her mother waved through the air. “I think I already said that. I’ll text them that we’re on our way.”
“But there’s no time for the dress and makeup and I look crazy. I can’t get married in scrubs. Oh my God.”
“Deep breath, baby girl. We’ll get you there.”
And she wasn’t lying. They sped out of the hospital parking lot, ran two traffic lights, and Becca thought she might not survive this trip, let alone make it to the wedding. The tires screeched as her mother threw the car into park.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Becca jumped out of the car and raced toward the door of the church, ignoring the crowd around the doors, the whispers that once again a Stark had pulled a Stark.
The main doors to the congregation were open, and she peered down the aisle, planning to just glance at it, take in the decorations, but then her eyes found Nick, in his beautiful suit, looking like he’d stepped out of a magazine. His eyes lifted and a smile as big as the sun spread across his face.
“There you are,” he shouted. “Way to worry a man. Get on down here.”
Becca’s cheeks burned as all five hundred people in the congregation turned to look at her.
She held up a finger. “I’ll be right back. Five seconds. I need my dress and makeup and . . .” Her eyes found Nick’s again, and he started for her slowly, his gaze never leaving hers.
He reached out to her once they were face-to-face, his fingers threading through hers. “I don’t care about the dress or the makeup or any of the rest of that. I only care about you, and to me, this is you.”
“I’m in scrubs.”
Nick shrugged. “Details. I never much liked those giant dresses anyway.”
Becca laughed at the glare he would surely receive if her mother heard him say that. “I love you.” Becca reached up to kiss him, and he held her close.
“So much,” he said back. “Please marry me and put me out of my misery. Every second I wait to call you my wife is a second too long.”
A loud huff sounded from behind them, and Becca’s mother pushed her father at them. “She’s at least walking down the aisle.”
Nick grinned. “Fine. I’ll just go back to my post. See you in a second, Becca Stark.”
Becca’s heart filled with warmth and she thought yes, this, this was the moment she’d waited for her entire life.
She walked back out with her parents and the ushers closed the doors to the congregation.
“He’s a keeper, you know,” her mother said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “Not every man would agree to marry you looking like that.”
Becca rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Mama.”
And then the string quartet someone had hired for the event—Becca had no idea who—started playing, and Becca expected to hear the wedding processional. Instead they played “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts, and there was no holding back her emotions.
The ushers opened the doors and everyone stood, but Becca’s eyes were locked on one person, the boy she’d fallen in love with all those years ago, now the man who would forever hold her heart.
Nick mouthed the words to the song he’d sung in her ear the night he proposed, dancing under a star-filled sky, unwilling to let go long after the band stopped playing and the crowd had dispersed. Because one thing Becca knew for sure: they had both traveled down broken roads, but those roads only ever had one end.
“I love you,” Becca said as she reached him. “I will forever love you.”
“I love you, Becca Hamilton.” And then, ignoring the rules, the crowd, the head shakes of disapproval, Nick pulled her to him and kissed his best friend, his love—his wife.
About the Author
Melissa West
writes heartfelt Southern romance and teen sci-fi romance, all with lots of kissing. Because who doesn’t like kissing? She lives outside of Atlanta, GA, with her husband and two daughters, and spends most of her time writing, reading, or fueling her coffee addiction.
 
Connect with Melissa at
www.melissawestauthor.com
or on Twitter@MB_West.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
 
LYRICAL SHINE BOOKS are published by
 
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
 
Copyright © 2016 by Melissa West
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
 
 
Lyrical Shine and Lyrical Shine logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.
 
First Electronic Edition: May 2016
ISBN: 978-1-6165-0829-6
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-830-2
ISBN-10: 1-61650-830-2
BOOK: Silent Hearts (Hamilton Stables 3)
13.75Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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