Debra woke up to her cell phone ringing. She reached over and looked at the screen. It was Julie. She quickly sat up and answered. "Hello?"
"Debra?"
"Yes, Julie. How are you?"
"Do you want to meet me at the diner down the road from the ranch?"
"Sure. Is there anything wrong."
"No. I have decided to let Justin attend the wedding and spend a couple of weeks with Ace."
"Thank you, Julie." Debra said. "How soon do you want to meet?"
"I'm on my way now, so in about half hour?"
"Sure, that sounds fine."
"Great. See you then."
"Ok, Bye." Debra hung up and got out of bed. She went to the bathroom then came back and got changed. She picked up her boots and purse and carried them downstairs and straight out the front door. She sat down on the porch and put on her boots. She looked and listened, but the ranch seemed quiet. She hurried down to the truck got in and pulled out.
Debra sat in a booth at the diner eating when Julie and Justin came in. Justin ran up and hugged her. "I missed you Aunt Debra."
"I've missed you too."
"Your belly is getting big."
"Yes, it is." Debra said. "Julie, sit down. Would you like some coffee?"
Julie sat down. "That sounds good."
Debra waved her arm to get the waitress' attention. "Would you like some chocolate milk?" She asked Justin.
"Yes please."
The waitress came over. "Can I get a chocolate milk and another coffee?"
"Of course. Do you need a refill?"
"No thanks." Debra said. The waitress walked away. "How are you doing, Justin?"
"I'm good. I miss Daddy."
"I'm sure you do."
"There's papers I would like you to deliver to Ace if you don't mind. I hate to use you as a go between, but I'm not ready to face him yet."
"I don't mind Julie. Justin and I hit it off right away."
"I remember when he came home. He talked about you a lot." Julie said.
The waitress came back with the coffee and milk. "Thank you." Debra said.
"Mommy said that I can spend time with Daddy. Are you going to be there too?"
"After me and your uncle get married, we are going away for a few days, but then, we'll be back."
"When you come back, will you make some of your cookies?"
"Sure. What kind do you want?"
"Any kind. They are all good."
"You got it." Debra reached into her purse and pulled out some quarters. "Why don't you go play the video game while I talk with your mommy?"
"Can I mom?" Justin asked Julie.
"Sure." Julie said. Justin took the quarters and went over to the video game. "How is Ace doing?"
"I think these last couple days have been hard on him with his nephews there, but he's been working hard and being good."
"That's good."
"How's everything with you?"
"Me and Randy broke up. Mostly about Justin, but I'll pick my child over a man any day. I'm going to take this time to figure out what I want to do."
"All right and when I get back, you can call my phone to talk to Justin if you want."
"Thank you."
Debra looked at her phone. "I'm sorry. It's my florist. I had to get some last-minute things for the wedding." She texted the florist "You should be getting ready I guess."
"It don't take me long to get ready." Debra said. Edward's picture appeared on the screen. "I have a legal question for you. I know you are a criminal lawyer, but if the biological father of my babies denies that I am pregnant and I have a written statement or email, actually, from him saying he doesn't want anything to do with the babies, does he have any rights to them?"
"As far as custody, or whatever, you would have to have him give up his paternal rights to have everything legal in the laws eyes. But just that, he could possibly fight it, but it will help you in the battle."
"So, I would have to wait until they are born, then?"
"Yes, I believe so. I can give you the number for a great lawyer when that time comes."
"Thanks." Debra said. Edward's picture came on the screen again.
"You can answer that if you want."
"No. He can wait." Debra said. "He probably just noticed his truck was gone."
"You didn't tell anyone you were leaving?"
"No."
"That's not a good start to a marriage."
"He probably thinks I got cold feet and took off." Debra said.
"I should get going anyway. It's a long way back. Come on, Justin. Drink your milk." Justin came back to the table and drank his milk. Debra took some money out of her purse and put it on the table. The three of them walked out to the parking lot. Julie put Justin bags in the back out of Edward's truck. The florist van pulled up as Julie and Justin were saying goodbye. The florist loaded the flowers in the back of the truck. Debra thanked them and they drove off. Debra and Justin got in the truck and pulled out. Debra pulled out her phone and dialed Edward.
"Where are you?" Edward asked.
"I'm on my way back to the ranch. I had to pick up something in town."
"I got up and the truck was gone. Carrie said you weren't in bed."
"Are you alone?"
"Yes, why?"
Debra held out the phone to Justin. "Say hi to your uncle."
Justin took the phone. "Hi, Uncle Eddie."
"Hey Justin. How are you doing?"
"Fine." He said. "I'm coming to see you. Is my daddy there?"
"He's around here somewhere. You'll see him when you get here."
"Ok, bye." Justin said then handed the phone back to Debra.
"Have Ace meet me out front and you not around, please?"
"We need to talk about last night."
"Not now. I will call you when I got home."
"OK. I love you."
"I love you." Debra said then hung up. "Your daddy will be so happy to see you."
"I miss him. Mommy said it isn't my fault that he isn't there anymore."
"Some grownups don't get along after a while and they move apart. It can be rough, but you get to appreciate them more when you see them."
"Do you think they can be friends again?"
"I'm sure they will, but you have to give them some time."
"When I get mad at someone, I have to say sorry and then we aren't mad anymore. Why can't they do that?"
"It's different when you're an adult. Sometimes it takes longer to forgive someone who has done a bad thing to you."
"I guess it's one of those things that I will understand when I get older."
"Yes, I'm sure you will." Debra said then turned off the road onto the ranch driveway. She slowed down as she drove over the dirt and gravel. She finally drove up to the house and parked. Ace stood on the steps. Debra looked at Justin. "Go see your daddy."
Justin opened the door and jumped out. "Daddy!" He screamed as he ran. Ace's face lit up as he hurried down the steps and picked up Justin.
Debra slowly got out of the truck looking around. She didn't see Edward. She walked around the truck.
Ace met her on the other side holding Justin. "Thanks Debra."
"His bags are in the back seat along with papers from Julie."
"How long to do I have?"
"A couple of weeks," Debra said. "We'll talk later." She said then walked away and up the steps. She walked into the house and straight to the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee. She went into the living room and saw Carrie and Jared on the couch in the corner. "Carrie, the centerpieces are in the back of the truck."
Carrie got up and walked over to Debra. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine."
"Can I make you breakfast?"
"No. I ate at the diner." Debra said then saw Ace walk in. "I picked up a stray." She smiled. "I'm going upstairs and call Edward." Debra said then walked up the stairs. She went down to the bedroom, put her coffee on the end table and sat down. She pulled off her boots and sat back on the bed. She pulled out her phone and dialed Edward.
"Hey, darling."
"Hey. How are you doing?"
"I'm a little bruised, but I'll live."
"That's good."
"Debra, about last night. We didn't start the fight."
"I know. The sheriff told me and so did the owner."
"He shouldn't have called you."
"Would you have rather missed the wedding? You would probably be in jail if he didn't have the decency to call." Debra said raising her voice a little.
"I see you're still mad."
"Wouldn't you be in my shoes?"
Edward was silent for a moment. "I guess. I might be. Do you want to cancel the wedding?"
"No, do you?"
"No."
"Edward, I promised I would marry you and I will. I'm disappointed that this happened the night before our wedding. It doesn't change the way I feel about you. I love you. We can't change the past, so we can just move forward."
"I love you, Debra. While we were in the back of the police van, I thought you would kill me. I thought you wouldn't marry me, and you would leave me. Then you were there, and I had hope then when I got up, the truck and you were gone."
"Edward, you're rambling. Believe me, you have a lot of making up to me and so does the rest of the crew, but that can wait. I was still in bed when Julie called. I was happy and was in a hurry to see Justin. I didn't think to write a note."
"Did you eat?"
"Yes, we met at the diner, so I ate there. I also got the flowers for Carrie."
"I'm sorry, Debra."
"I know you didn't mean for that to happen."
"No, I didn't."
"I am going to lay down for a little while. I'm going to want to see Misty later, though. I'll call you when I'm ready to go see her, so you won't be there."
"Of course. You rest, darling." Edward said. "I'll see you in a couple of hours. I love you."
"I love you." Debra said then hung up. She reached over and picked up her coffee. She drank it then laid down. She closed her eyes and tried to rest.
About an hour later, there was a knock at the door. Debra rolled over and saw Ace standing there. She sat up. "Come in, Ace."
Ace walked in. "Were you sleeping?"
"No. I was just trying to rest."
"I just wanted to say thank you for whatever you did or said to Julie."
"Come over here and sit down." Debra said. Ace walked in and sat down at the foot of the bed. "I did it because I care about you. You tried to help me, so I had to try to help you."
"How did you talk to her?"
"I drove to her office. I told her it was important to me to have him at the wedding but mostly I knew you needed to see him. Julie needs time to figure things out. She broke up with Randy." Debra said. "She will be contacting me until she's ready to talk to you."
"Do you know what's in the envelope?"
"No, she just said it was papers." Debra said. "Enjoy your time with your son."
"I will. I'm sorry about last night."
"Don't worry about it. You can make up to me later. I'm just glad we got it worked out so I can get married."
"So, you talked Brett into not pressing charges in exchange for us fixing up the place."
"Something like that."
"Well, whatever you did, thanks." Ace said. "You didn't tell Julie about that, did you?"
"No."
"Good. Do you need anything for the wedding?"
"No. I going to go see Misty. I have to make sure Edward isn't there."
"He isn't. He took the truck down to the reception barn with Carrie."
"All right."
"I'm here to help out if you need me."
"All right." Debra pulled on her boots. She got up and they walked out of the bedroom.
Debra sat in front of the mirror in her bedroom putting on her make - up when there was a knock at the door. Carrie walked in. "It's just me."
"Is everything ready?"
"Yes. The only thing missing is the bride."
"Did Jason and Edith show up?"
"No. I'm sorry."
"It's all right." Debra said as she stood up. "How do I look?"
"You look beautiful."
"I can't tell if the babies are restless or I'm just nervous."
"Maybe some of both. Are you ready?"
Debra took a deep breath. "I don't know."
"You look great, Debra. Edward is waiting. He looks handsome. Are you having doubts about being a good wife?"
"Not really. I'm just nervous about all the people looking at me and falling on my face."
"Focus on Edward and put one foot in front of the other."
"What if I fall?"
"You won't. Would you feel better is someone met you at the bottom of the stairs to walk you to Edward."
"I thought I could do this alone, but now I'm not sure."
Carrie walked over to Debra. She touched her arm. "I know you can do this, Debra." She said. "Hold on to the railing coming down the stairs and I'll have someone at the bottom to hold you up if you need them."
"Thank you, Carrie." Debra hugged her. "I don't think I could do this without you."
"Yes, you could have." Carrie pulled back. "You're going to smudge your makeup. Are you ready to do this?"
"Yes." Debra smiled.
"Ok. Give me a minute to get in my place." Carrie hurried out the door and down the steps. She walked to where the men were. "Jared, Ace, meet Debra at the bottom of the steps and escort her to Edward." She whispered. The men walked off.
"Is she all right?" Edward asked.
"Yes. She's afraid she's going to fall." Carrie said.
"Do you think she'll need both of them?"
"I didn't know who to pick." Carrie shrugged then walked over to the boys.
Debra stood in the bedroom for a few minutes taking deep breaths and holding her belly. She walked to the door, took a deep breath then opened the door. She walked over to the top of the stairs. The wedding march came on and everybody stood up. Debra took a deep breath, grabbed the railing and slowly descended the stairs. She stopped at the bottom and looked at Edward. She took both Aces and Jared's arms and slowly started forward. She made her way through the house and up to Edward. Edward took her from his brothers. The preacher started the ceremony.
Edward kissed Debra at the end of the ceremony, and everyone cheered. Edward pulled back a little. "You look beautiful, darling."
"You clean up pretty good yourself."
"Are you ready to go, Mrs. Barlow?"
"I like the sound of that." Debra said then kissed him. Edward took her hand and walked her through the house and out the door. Debra stopped at the edge of the porch when she saw a horse drawn buggy waiting for them at the bottom. "Is this what you've been up to?"
"Yes. It's not what you dreamed but it's the next best thing."
"It's wonderful." Debra said. Edward escorted her down the steps and helped her to the buggy. He got in next to her and kissed her again. People gathered around the buggy.
"Whenever you're ready, Cal." Edward said when he separated from Debra.
"Yes sir." Cal said then started the horses forward.
"This is wonderful, Edward."
"Thank you. Your dress is amazing. I almost forgot to breathe when I saw you. You took my breath away."
"Thank you. I'm glad your brothers helped me across the room. I don't think I would have made it if they didn't."
"They would have carried you if they had to."
"I'm sure they would have."
"Are you glad to over?"
"We still have the reception to make it through."
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Edward said. He put his arm around her shoulders and the other on her belly. "How are these two treating you?"
"I think they fell asleep. It felt like they were doing summersaults when I was getting ready."
"That's good."
"Where are we going?"
"We are going the long way around so everyone can get down to the reception."
"Oh, ok."
"You do know everyone feels bad for last night."
"I know."
"We tried to stay out of it, but then they started to mess with some women. We asked them to leave nicely and take it down the road, but they threw the first punch."
"Yes, I know. Brett told me the whole story. I have a little confession. I didn't talk him into dropping any charges. He wasn't going to press any in the first place. The sheriff called me down there just to pick you up. I came up with that plan as I drove down there because it happened the night before our wedding. It wasn't the fact that you got into a fight. It was the timing."
"Yes, it was bad timing. So, the men don't have to go fix the place?"
"Yes, they do. If they don't, Sheriff Scott will arrest them for disturbing the peace."
"So, the sheriff is in on this plan, too?"
"Yes." Debra shifted and looked at Edward. "Don't get mad, Edward. I was upset and mad as all heck. Carrie didn't know what I was going to do. I felt like beating the crap out of all of you when I left."
"I'm glad you didn't do that."
"I wanted to teach them a lesson not to get me mad. They don't know what I could really do if I wanted to. They see me we helpless pregnant person."
"No, they don't." Edward said.
"I know it, Edward."
"Cal, do you feel that way?"
"No, sir, but Debra is right. Until last night they really didn't respect her much except for being your girlfriend."
"Oh." Edward said.
"You're not going to say anything about this are you?" Debra asked Cal.
"No ma'am. You earned respect without hurting them. I saw what you did to Ace when you first came here." Cal said.
"I really had no idea." Edward said.
"Don't you be getting mad now." Debra said. "I will tell them the truth after our honeymoon."
"No, you won't." Edward said. "You did good, darling." Edward said then kissed her. A few moments later, he pulled back. "It will do them good."
"All right."
"I thought I just married a beautiful and talented woman, but you are so much more."
"Well, thank you." Debra said. "Do you think we could stop for a few minutes?"
"Of course. Are you feeling all right?"
"The ride is little bumpy, but I just want to enjoy the quiet for a few moments."
"Sure." Edward said. "Cal, can you stop up here for a few minutes?"
"Yes sir." Cal said. He pulled the buggy to the side of the road and stopped.
"Do you want to get out and take a walk?"
"Sure, that would be nice." Debra said.
Edward got out of the buggy and helped Debra down. He took her hand and they started to walk away into the open field. Debra took a deep breath. "It's nice to be alone together out here. It reminds me of our first date."
"That was nice, wasn't it?"
"Yes. We don't get to be alone too much anymore."
"I know. We have both been too busy with doing things for the wedding."
"Well now that this is almost over, we need to do this more often."
Debra stopped and turned to Edward. "I love you, Edward. You have been my rock since we first met. You have helped me be strong in my darkest times."
"And I hope to be there for you whenever you need me."
"And I'll be there for you to whenever you need me even if is to get you out of jail."
"I might have been cuffed, but I didn't go to jail." Edward said, "I love you, Debra."
"I love you." Debra said then wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down and kissed him. They kissed for several moments before they separated. "I guess we should get to the reception to get that over with so we can get to the hotel."
"Or we can just skip the reception and go to the hotel."
"Yes, but Carrie worked so hard on it so we should at least make an appearance."
"You're right." Edward said. He put his arm around her waist, and they walked back to the buggy. He helped her inside then got in next to her. "Onward, Cal." Edward called. Cal started going.