He pauses, then heaves out a sigh, sinking back onto the couch. “You’re right,” he says. “You’re always right.”

“And don’t you forget it!” Grandpa Al shouts. Suddenly, the tension is gone, replaced with more raucous laughter.

And there’s that feeling again, that warmth radiating out from my chest that can only mean one thing. Even with its ups and downs, fights and all, I’m finally home at long last.

25

LOGAN

Nothing prepares you for how you’ll feel on your wedding day. In fact, I don’t even think feelings were mentioned in our ultra-fast wedding-planning process.

We practiced our dance moves until we wore down the carpet in the living room, and I must have rehearsed saying “I, Logan, take you, Summer” in the mirror a dozen times, paranoid that I’d somehow manage to mess up that small phrase. But there’s nothing I could have done to predict the feeling in my gut as I stand here at the front of our barn-turned-brewery-turned-wedding venue, waiting for my bride to walk down that aisle.

God, if I could bottle this feeling, it would fly off the shelves.

I can only describe it as the best rush of adrenaline I’ve ever felt, mixed with a strange inner calm. No pre-wedding jitters or second thoughts. I’ve never felt more certain that this is where I belong—ready and waiting for a lifetime with Summer by my side.

I scan the wooden benches filled with familiar faces, soaking in all the love they’re sending my way. We kept things small—a smattering of Tates; Summer’s mentor, Les; and the minister. Just enough folks for it to feel like a special occasion without any extra faces I don’t recognize.

My side is full of dark-haired, blue-eyed folks in their Sunday best, looking like they stepped out of a Kohls catalogue instead of the usual Mountain Living.

Summer’s side, however, is a little sparse. Les and his wife sit quietly at the end of the second row, and I’m suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude for the man. I barely know him, but it means a lot to Summer that they came all this way. After losing her mom in that senseless accident, she has no family. We’ve talked about it before, but seeing it with my own eyes has my stomach in knots.

But it won’t be that way for much longer. A few I do’s from now, she’ll officially be a Tate, and she’ll have more family than she’ll know what to do with. The thought has me grinning like a damn fool.

“Shh!”

It’s almost time, but a snicker from behind me breaks my concentration. I turn to see Austen and Matt, each of them sporting a proud grin.