Chapter V

Luna stood in the mall in Texas the afternoon before they were going to be on the ranch, and she watched as everyone decided what they wanted to drink.

"Hey, are you okay?" Chase asked coming to stand next to her.

"I don't think this is a good idea." Luna said softly.

"Being in the mall?" Chase asked.

"No, being in the same not-so-confined space while we are engaged." Luna said softly. "In the bus it isn't hard to not get caught up, because there is always someone around. It was easy at your parents' place while I was okay with you around me but wasn't mentally ready for it and everyone was coming and going as well, but what about now at your grandparents' place? Everyone will have a room and going to bed behind closed doors, and there are wide open spaces."

"Hey, if we wanted to get dirty in the RV, there are plenty of times when it can happen." Chase said and he kissed her forehead. "We just need to make sure we behave ourselves and try and stay in public areas if we are going to be together."

"I'm just scared." Luna said softly. "I was never in Trevor's parents' house without there being a party going and not really being a reason to just sneak off, and we never went on 'secretive' dates even after being engaged because my dad never fully trusted him not to take advantage of the night. I thought he was totally fine, but the more I am around you, the more I know why my dad never trusted Trevor, because I can feel the difference, but I still feel scared. What if I disappoint my dad when he trusts me with a guy? On really busy days like yesterday where we hired a wheelchair and went all over the show, my meds caught me very quickly and made me beyond drowsy and confused."

"And it is times like that when mom or Joy helps you to bed and I say goodnight before you are lying down." Chase said. "I love you too much to want to hurt you."

"Hey, you guys need to decide on drinks." Cory said coming to them.

"Just water will do, Cor." Chase said.

"Okay." Cory said and he went back to their group.

"I have thought about the same stuff, but this is an experience I don't want to deny you or your siblings. You guys are loving this, and my siblings love it even more since your siblings are here, and my parents enjoy having the three of you along." Chase said. "We just need to be mature and levelheaded enough to step back before we get to a point where it's too late. Now stop stressing about it, and just have fun. We are going to look for some cowgirl outfits in a minute, and you need to take your head out of the thunderclouds and focus."

Luna nodded and she took a deep breath and felt her body relaxing a little when he kissed her.

"Let's go find you something cute and cowgirly." Chase said and he kissed her again before they went back to their families.

"You guys okay?" Sephira asked.

"Yup." Chase said. "We just have random anxiety moments to deal with."

"Okay." Sephira said and she looked at Luna. "We can always go back to the RV and just chill if you would rather do that while the rest does the shopping."

"I'm okay." Luna said and she felt like melting into a puddle when Sephira just gave her a hug that spoke books to her heart. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Sephira said and she smiled at the young woman and felt a little concerned when she noticed the young woman was still very absent minded while they were doing shopping. "Joy."

"Mom?" Joy asked coming to her mom.

"See if you can find out what is bugging Luna. She is very absent minded and borderline upset. Colt also picked it up because he is being extra attentive." Sephira said.

"Okay." Joy said and she looked through the shirts she liked before she took a black one with silver trimming and then went to where Luna was looking at some studded jeans. "Now this would make a killer outfit with those jeans."

Luna looked up and she smiled at June when she saw the shirt. "That does look pretty cool."

"I know a place where we could get the jeans embellished to our liking." Joy said softly. "The summer I graduated, grandpa gave me a job on the ranch for the summer because I wasn't sure what I would go and study yet, I wanted to be a cop but I also wanted to be a vet, so grandpa gave me a job on the ranch. He paid me the same as he would pay any other ranch hand and I had Saturdays off once my chores for the morning was done, and I would come to the mall with the men, and one of them showed me the little store."

Luna smiled and she looked at the jeans. "Yeah, I like the studded jeans, but they all seem a little hard-rock style."

Joy giggled and they got some unembellished shirts and jeans before she went and spoke to her dad and then joined Luna at the door. "Dad quickly paid for them."

Luna smiled and she went with Joy and by the time her stuff was done an hour later, and she had one of the shirts on, she started getting excited for the ranch stay. "I am still a little skeptical about these embroidered hearts you decided on for my jeans."

"They look cute." Joy said. "And my brother will love them."

"That is what I am worried about." Luna said.

"And that is why you are acting a little freaked out today." Joy said. "You are thinking of all that could go wrong."

"You could put it that way." Luna said and she changed back into her t-shirt. "I don't really want to talk about it, so could we please go?"

"Sure." Joy said and she went to the counter and paid for their stuff and thanked the lady before they went to the nearby little coffee shop. "Oh wow."

"What?" Luna asked looking up.

"To the left." Joy said.

Luna turned and looked at the bridal boutique and she went over and looked at the stunning gowns. "Wow."

"We just have to go in here." Joy said. "I'm grabbing us some coffee first though."

Luna smiled and she went into the boutique and looked at all the gowns on display.

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" A pristinely dressed lady asked coming to her.

"Hi. I am Luna Stone." Luna said. "And I am supposed to be planning a wedding but being on a road trip with my fiancé's family and being on meds for this, it is not going well."

"I can understand that completely." The lady said. "Do you have any idea what style you would like?"

"I already had a wedding gown, the marriage ended in a disaster after I was in a car accident, I am not going to go into details, but I did what my ex liked because I was young and a little stupid, and thought my wedding gown should be wow to him." Luna said.

"How disappointing." The lady said.

"Tell me about it." Luna said. "So I am going to be honest, my future parents-in-law gave me a shirt that is off the shoulder on the left side, but with straps and stuff. I am crazy about it, and obviously, my fiancé loves it as well."

"I would think so." The lady said and she shifted her attention.

Luna turned a little and smiled when Joy came to them.

"Give me five minutes." The lady said.

"Pretend I am not even here." Joy said. "I'm like the coffee caddy for now."

"This is my current best friend and my fiancé's one older sister." Luna said. "Joy Ashton."

"It is a pleasure to meet you." The lady said. "We were busy discussing gown styles. Do you have any ideas what would look stunning on this beautiful lady?"

"If you go higher than floor length and low at the front, I will kick you." Luna said. "And it will be a metal leg that gets you."

"Don't worry, I won't just suggest a wedding gown that is off the floor." Joy said. "I do believe though, that if you go for something that shows your shape at the top and down to the hips and then flows out, it will look amazing."

"I will agree there. I will quickly see what we have and then come back to you. Grab a seat and enjoy your coffee until then." The lady said and she left.

"Now that is a suggestion that I cannot say no to." Luna said and she went to the lounge area and sat down before taking her coffee from Joy. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome." Joy said and she handed her a pastry from her bag. "I thought you needed a little pick-me-up treat too."

"Palmier. Okay, you may stay my best friend." Luna said and she enjoyed the buttery flaky sweet treat with her coffee.

"Okay, so I found this gown, it has silky sleeves, which I am not sure if you would like, but it will give us an idea of yay or nay." The lady said coming to them with a gown and she pulled it on over a mannequin standing there.

"Ooh I love the neckline that looks like your shirt mom and dad bought you." Joy said.

"Yeah, but the bodice looks off." Luna said and she looked through the pictures on her phone and then showed the lady. "That is the shirt I was talking about."

"That is beautiful." The lady said. "I think I might have something more in that line. If you girls are done with your coffee, you can go to the dressing room so long."

Luna nodded and she finished her coffee and then went with Joy when she was ready. "This actually makes me feel more stressed."

"Use your pump." Joy said.

Luna nodded and she got comfortable in the dressing room and then used her asthma pump and took a couple of deep breaths before using it again. "Okay I feel a little less tensed, just a little."

Joy smiled and she hugged her around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Sarah freaked out when she went gown shopping because it took her a week to find her gown, I was on the verge of a meltdown with my gown because I couldn't find something I liked, it is actually normal to be stressed up about it because you want to feel and look your best."

Luna nodded and she looked up when the door opened.

"I need to go and get mom." Joy said.

"See if you can get June dragged here as well." Luna said.

"Sure." Joy said and she left.

Luna smiled and she looked at the gowns. "Let's try them on. I could sit here all day and say no, but until I haven't tried one on, I probably won't have a clue what I really want."

"Okay." The lady said and she helped Luna to get into the gown. "This one is a little baggy, girls usually opt for this type of gown if they are uncomfortable with their weight or if they are pregnant but not too far along."

"Yeah, I love the top part, but as Joy said, I would prefer a styled midsection." Luna said. "I don't do sit-ups and pull-ups as often as I can on a bus just to hide under baggy satin."

"Fair enough." The lady said. "The next one, is beautiful, but it might be a little low as you said you don't want low, but let's try it on and you can see."

Luna nodded and she got out of the wedding gown and then pulled the other one on and she touched the top. "I love the top, and I won't make any immodest judgments based on what I see from the top, because sometimes what I see from the top is totally the opposite from what I see in a front view."

"Good." The lady said and she tied the back up. "What do you think about the sleeves?"

"I love the sleeves." Luna said. "I am comfortable in the gown. I just feel a little off with my foot and I can't see myself."

"Give me a moment." The lady said and she secured the ties at the back and then pulled it right in some places before she went to the mirror. She turned when the door opened and smiled at Joy who came in with June and Sephira.

"Wow." June said.

The lady smiled and she took the cover from the mirror.

"Oh wow." Luna said and she turned a little with Joy's help so she could see the back. "It's a little exposing at the front, I mean to what I am usually wearing, but I love it. Styled front, unique neckline and a wide but flowy bottom. I feel like a little girl who just got a beautiful dress. Do I have to take it off?"

"You found your dress, you could be married before the week is over." Joy teased.

"Oh sure. What about the cake and the venue and the caterers, not to mention bridesmaid gowns, tuxes." Luna said. "And flowers."

"You are in Texas and on the way to a ranch community. They don't do fancy caterers for weddings unless it is a city girl, at least not this one. Aunt Leah does just about every wedding cake ten towns wide, or that is how it feels, the most amazing flower farm is next door to my grandfather's ranch, I used to help out there over summer vacation when we still visited by plane rather often, usually it was only me and Chase." Joy said. "And what cowboy would wear a tux when he can wear his best cowboy shirt and some jeans."

"And Chase will let you pick the venue of your dream, but..." Sephira said.

"His ultimate wedding venue will be his grandfather's ranch." Luna said. "Right, no wonder he doesn't want to give me answers. He is afraid if he tells me, I will be freaked out or something because I am a city girl, or so he thinks."

"Yeah." Joy said.

"And I haven't decided on a date because Chase hasn't really seemed into the whole planning thing, and he keeps telling me there is still plenty of time left." Luna said. "And you know, I should work on the finer things like gowns and colors and so forth. Well I am currently wearing my gown, I just need to convince my dad of the price, oops, and I am going for aquamarine, teal, bronze and chocolate brown. The teal and bronze are only to help the accents. Chase loves my aquamarine style, and he said as long as I throw in some chocolate brown, we can do our room that color when we get married."

"There, half your wedding is planned already." Joy teased. "Trust me, the hardest part for me was to decide on colors and to find my gown. My maid of honor's mom did their gowns as soon as I had decided on colors because I went with infinity gowns, because I had such a wide spectrum of styles from my girls that I battled with the gowns for like a day, before I asked about infinity gowns and they all agreed. Kaylo and I both love red velvet so the first thing we settled was that we were doing red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. We were told we could use the golf course where Kaylo and his dad both have had memberships since before Kaylo was born as long as no one wore heels and it was unique so I went for it, which also sorted out shoes because we did sneakers, since it was a golf course. Kaylo handled the men once we had sorted out colors, and the golf course catered a wide range of finger foods."

Luna smiled and she got out of the gown and pulled her jeans and shirt back on. "One tiny detail, I am still walking with crutches."

"We will hire one of those motorized scooters." June said.

Luna giggled and she threw her sister with the empty coffee cup. "Silly."

"So can I put this in a bag for you?" The lady asked.

"Yes please? And if you can find some rustic style bridesmaid gowns, you will be the best. I am thinking brown for Jet and Jess." Luna said.

"Definitely." Sephira said. "She is a little bit of a tomboy."

"Age bracket?" The lady asked.

"Five to six and two to three." Sephira said. "And a twelve to fourteen in aquamarine."

"We will sort out the rest once we have a style." Luna said.

"I am going to go find the rascals." Joy said.

"And bring Chase with. I don't care what he says, he can help decide on bridesmaid gowns. I was at one wedding that I can remember the details off, and all I heard every time the photos were mentioned, was that the groom disliked the bridesmaid gowns because he didn't like it that the girls were showing some leg. Knee-length gowns and gladiator style shoes. He hated it, they should've worn floor length gowns." Luna said.

"Wow." Joy said. "Well let me go and pry them away from the coffee shop."

"Thanks." Luna said and she lifted her leg onto the chair standing next to her. "Wake me up when the gowns get here."

"What shoe style are you thinking about?" Sephira asked.

"I like the rustic theme, so cowgirl boots all the way." Luna said. "Now leave me alone for just a few minutes. Go look at jewelry or something."

Sephira smiled and she left the room with June and enjoyed the young woman's enthusiasm when showing her some head gear and hairclips. "I don't think your sister would be interested in a tiara."

"Yeah I know. The first things she got rid of after the divorce was her wedding stuff, and she said she refused to wear a tiara if she ever got married again, she is not doing loose hair, because people fuss too much over it, and roses are overrated. She likes roses, but she said she won't ever use just roses again. Her last wedding was more of what Trevor and his mom wanted, than what she wanted. It was white and ivory. Nothing else. The men wore white and black tuxes and the girls had to wear pastel pinks, pastel blues, lilacs and pastel green. She hates yellow, so no yellows or apricots were allowed. Trevor's mom that is. It was actually nauseating, and I'm not the only one who thought so. All the bridesmaids wore black dresses because the bride had to stand out. Luna did barely any, if any, of the planning for her last wedding. She chose her own dress, and even that came with a list of do's and don'ts." June said.

"Wow." Sephira said. "No wonder she has been wanting my input and Chase's input so much."

"Yeah, and I have noticed that it is frustrating to Chase especially." June said. "But I also don't want to blurt out in front of everyone that Trevor and his mom was actually very controlling, because even though Cory doesn't get icy and on the verge of rude when it is brought up, I know it still upsets him."

"I can imagine." Sephira said. "Maybe you and your sister shared some pictures from before she got engaged."

"Oh yeah." June said and she took her phone out and scrolled through a bunch of photos before she showed Sephira a picture of a woman with a curly bun, braid and some loose wisps of hair and a flowery branch clip in her hair. "She said if she ever got married, she wanted a look like that because to her it looks so romantic because most guys go crazy when their girls have their necks exposed, yet the loose wisps frame your face and it tickles them pink."

"Now that I love." Sephira said. "And it will compliment her gown beautifully."

June smiled and she took one of the similar clips from the show case and smiled when Chase joined them.

"Apparently Luna wants me." Chase said.

"Yeah. She is taking a little timeout." Sephira said.

"Okay, so what are we looking at?" Chase asked.

"Trying to help my sister find hair accessories." June said. "Tiaras are out."

"Well I particularly like the one you are holding." Chase said. "And I did notice it among some pictures I saw in her file she started compiling."

"Great." June said and she placed it in his hand. "Go pay for it and surprise her with it. She loves being surprised with stuff she loves, but she doesn't do surprises that include stuff she has no idea what it is for or what it does."

"So why not just give it to her now?" Chase asked.

"My sister's only experience in planning a wedding, is getting a to-do list and doing whatever her guy and his mom wants." June said.

"That bad?" Chase asked.

"Yeah." June said. "And she might not admit it, but this time she feels like she is the one being pushy, so you need to set down some ideas, like the hair clip. You love it, you bought it for her, see how she will react to it. Give her options. You like chocolate dipped strawberries for dessert, maybe with some ice cream. What does she like? Communicate, she needs it, more than ever."

"Which is why she wants me to come and help her decide on bridesmaid gowns." Chase said.

"Yeah." June said. "And because the one wedding she remembers going to, she never stopped hearing about how the groom hated the bridesmaid gowns."

"Fair enough." Chase said and he looked at all the hair accessories. "I want to be a little bold and say I want these little childlike sparkly white butterfly clips added, for the bridesmaid, and especially for my little sister."

"Go ahead." June said. "Luna loved them."

"Until the other guy, or until she matured?" Chase asked.

"The first." June said.

"Great." Chase said and he took a large bag of it and kissed her cheek before he went to the counter.

"And I just solved half of my sister's wedding planning mayhem." June said.

"I wouldn't go as far as to call it mayhem, but I think I agree with you." Sephira said and she smiled when Joy came in with Faye, and a crying Jet. "Why all the tears?"

"She wanted to play further rather than look at princess gowns." Joy said. "Dad eventually threatened to make her sit at the table and do nothing if she doesn't get off and come with me, because this was important. Jess needed to get cleaned up before they could come, so Sarah will bring her just now. We are talking pink milkshake all over her mouth and face, and chocolate cake everywhere."

"Fair enough." Sephira said and she picked her youngest up. "We can go play as soon as you have a pretty dress again, and you cannot get a pretty dress while you are crying like that. So the sooner you stop crying and calm down, the sooner we can get you a dress, which means..."

"Can go play again." Jet said through the tears and the sobs.

"Good girl, so are you going to stop crying and get a pretty dress?" Sephira asked.

Jet nodded and she laid her head on her mommy's head.

"That's my big girl." Sephira said and she took them to the dressing room and smiled when the found Luna barely awake with a cup of coffee.

"Don't talk to me, and don't mention anything about my wedding until this coffee is done." Luna said.

"Someone had just enough of a nap to be grumpy." Sarah said coming in.

"Shhhh." Luna said and she had a sip of her coffee to hide the smile when Jet and Jess began giggling.

"These are the aquamarine gowns we have in stock." The lady said coming in. "Now it is getting a little cramped in here."

"Everyone just grab a seat." Sephira said and she smiled when her daughters all sat down.

Luna moved a little and she smiled when Chase came in with a little bag. "Come stand here."

Chase went to her and he kissed her and then placed the bag on her lap before he shook the lady's hand. "Chase Colton."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. So your fiancée decided on aquamarine and chocolate brown as the main colors, with teal and bronze details. The two little girls are getting chocolate brown gowns, my assistant is working on that right now, and these are the bridesmaid gowns we have in stock in aquamarine." The lady said.

"Okay." Chase said and he stepped back and watched as she took them out of the bags. "What shoes are you wearing?"

"Cowgirl boots." June said.

"If you want to wear cowgirl boots, I am going to be a little demanding and say I want them on show." Chase said. "But nothing higher than just under your knee. Sound fair?"

"Definitely." Luna said and she lifted Jess onto her lap. "June, see if they are your size and do some modeling."

June nodded and she checked the sizing and then went in behind the divers and changed quickly. "If you get this gown, I'll excuse myself from your bridal party, even if I have to fly to Timbuktu."

"Okay, then take it off and try a new one." Joy said.

"Nope, I don't like any of these." June said coming out about ten minutes later. "The one is like halfway up my leg, the one is too low down here, and the other two are meant to be tight. Eww. The one I liked the most, came down too low."

"Well there goes the modeling." Luna said. "Let's look at the flower girl gowns."

"Okay." The lady said and she left with the gowns and soon got back with a few little girl gowns. She took one of the little gowns out among the others and held it up. "This one I believe would look amazing as it is brown silk at the top for the little bodice, and then it has layers of brown tulle and this aquamarine bow that my assistant added. It was originally white, but things like that are interchangeable. This is a two to three gown."

Luna lifted Jess off her lap and took her shirt off when Sarah nodded. "Are you going to pull on a cute gown for Uncle Chase?"

Jess nodded and she held her hands above her head and giggled when Joy pulled the gown over her head and secured it. "Uncle Tase, look."

"Wow, are you a little princess?" Chase asked and he smiled when she nodded before running to her mommy. "You are not getting that off of her now."

"There's ways and means." Sarah said and she smiled when Jet eager took the gown she got handed and scooted in behind the divider with a thanks.

"Luna, promise we can have these gowns?" Jet asked from behind the dividers.

"How can I promise if I haven't seen you yet?" Luna asked.

"Okay." Jet said and she came out with her hair held back in a ponytail. "I like this. Please can I wear my hair in a ponytail?"

"Sure, but don't you think Luna might have a cuter hairstyle in mind?" Chase asked.

"No." Jet said.

"Well she does have a point." Luna said and she tied the little girl's hair up. "And then we add a little clip or something, and tada."

"How about these?" Chase asked taking the butterfly clips out of the bag on her lap, making his little sister squeal.

"Please Luna, please?" Jet asked.

"Sure." Luna said and she smiled up at her fiancé. "I cannot remember when last I had some of these."

"I can." June said.

"When doesn't matter." Sephira said and she took some of the clips and untied her daughter's hair. She did two braids at the front and then tied everything back into a ponytail and added two clips at the front and two clips to the back. "We don't want to overdo it."

Jet shook her head and she ran to the mirror and smiled when Jess joined her soon enough. "It's cute."

"It's very cute." Chase agreed.

"When are you getting married, Chase?" Jet asked.

"Whenever Luna says we are ready." Chase said.

"Are you going to get married on the ranch?" Jet asked.

"Yes." Luna said and she smiled when she could see the joy in Chase's eyes.

"Tomowow?" Jess asked.

"No." Both young adults said making everyone laugh.

"Okay you two little jabber mouths." Sarah said and she pulled the gown over her daughter's head and then pulled her shirt on again. "If you throw a tantrum, you are not getting ice cream tonight like pa promised, okay?"

Jess nodded and she touched her clips and then moved away when her mom wanted to take them out. "Mine."

"Sarah, there's enough." Chase said. "I did take the biggest bag they have."

"Okay." Sarah said and she gave her toddler a firm look.

"Tankoo uncle Tase." Jess said and she looked at her clips in the mirror.

"Well that is handled." Luna said and she took the little box out of the bag on her lap and opened it before she looked at her fiancé. "How did you know I like this?"

"I might have been paying attention to your wedding file more than you think." Chase said and he kissed her. "Mom and June were looking at clips and I recall seeing a photo of some sort with that type of clip in."

"Yeah, it is the only thing in my last wedding that I really wanted, which I never got, and now I am glad I never got it." Luna said. "Because now I can do it now, and not feel bleh about it."

Chase smiled and he kissed her intimately. "I love you."

"I love you more." Luna said softly and she handed him the box and the bag of clips before she got up carefully. "I still need to convince my dad of the price of my gown."

"What price are we looking at?" Chase asked.

"Two point five." Luna said.

"Is it worth it?" Chase asked.

Luna nodded and she tucked her hair in behind her ear. "But he said max two."

"Well then talk to him, and if he doesn't budge, then we will pay in the extra five hundred." Sarah said.

"Sarah." Luna said.

"My husband is one of the most recommended architects, especially if you want to go a little unusual, we can afford it." Sarah said. "I had the gown I wanted, regardless of the price because my best friend's mother pitched in when my dad couldn't afford it, Joy had her gown because Kaylo's parents paid half of it, because again, the gown she loved the most, and the gown dad also said looked perfect for her, was just above what they could do."

"My dad has the money, he is a very successful ER doctor, who deals mostly with critical care patients, some days I just feel like he is a little stingy. I mean my grad gown was four-k and he just paid it, but my prom dress wasn't allowed to be over one-k." Luna said.

"Calm down. You are feeling a little overwhelmed right now." Chase said. "Let's go and get some supper. I will pay for your gown, and if your dad doesn't want to do the full two point five, then someone in the family will do either everything or the excess if they hear about it before Sarah does, okay?"

Luna nodded and she hugged him and then thanked the lady and they took the stuff to the counter.

"It's paid, so it is yours, and if it screws up my savings, that is fine as well." Chase said after Sephira had taken the gown after he paid it. "You deserve the gown that makes you feel like the bride of the year, and money isn't going to stop us in this family, even if we do not have the most money. No one in my family just spends money loosely, okay this trip is an exception because we have been saving up for it and grandpa is helping us have the summer we haven't had since Austin was a little boy, but in general we use our money wisely, but if you can convince them that it is necessary or like now, the wedding gown you really want, my grandpa will pay it for you because it will make you happy, and none of us can buy that type of happiness, ever."

Luna nodded and she buried her face in his shoulder. "I used to be able to handle things like this easily."

"I know." Chase said and he rubbed her back and just held her close until he could feel she had calmed down. He kissed her softly and then took her to the coffee shop where the other men were waiting.

"So for when do I have to dig out my tux?" Bryon asked when he saw Luna and Chase.

"Hopefully, not at all." Luna said.

"I am a little confused." Bryon said.

Luna smiled and she scooted in next to Chase and then looked up at him. "If the family agrees, and we could fly in some people, I would like to get this done with while we are on the ranch, because we don't know when will be the next time everyone can get leave for a trip to the ranch as a family."

"You are kidding." Chase said.

Luna shook her head and she touched his cheek when the tears welled up in his eyes.

"You want to get married, on my grandfather's ranch, where I spent as many summer vacations as I could?" Chase asked.

"It is special to you, and it will mean more to both of us than spending thousands on a venue and décor." Luna said and she felt like her heart did a summersault when he kissed her softly but with meaning.

"I thought you might be joking when you said yes when Jet asked if we were getting married on the ranch." Chase said softly.

Luna shook her head and she smiled when he let out a deep breath.

"Now who needs to calm down?" Joy teased her brother.

"I can offer you my asthma pump." Luna joined in.

"We do need bridesmaid gowns still." Sarah said.

"Let's get food first." Bryon said.

"I actually just want a good plate of oven baked potato wedges with a little olive oil and herbs, and a good old toasted cheese sandwich." Luna said. "And orange juice as fresh as you can get it."

"I will join on the orange juice and the toasted sandwich, but with the bacon." Chase said.

"I should've known you two would be down to earth and quick." Sephira said.

"I'm in on that." June said.

"Me too." Cory said. "With bacon."

"I am going to call dad." Luna said once everyone's food order was in. She took her phone out and called her dad and then put it on hands-free. "Hi dad."

"Hi pumpkin. How is the trip?" Jeremy asked.

"It's going good." Luna said.

"Well I am glad to hear. Do I have to ask why you called?" Jeremy asked.

"No, not really." Luna said.

"So are you going to wait for me to ask?" Jeremy asked.

"Well firstly, we were wondering if you guys would be available to fly in to Texas on Thursday, otherwise we could probably put the trip on hold for a week, and then do it next weekend." Luna said and she bit her lip and listened as her dad called her mom.

"We could probably arrange something for Thursday as we are only flying out to Paris on Sunday, what is the occasion if I may ask?" Jeremy asked.

"My wedding?" Luna said and she put her hand over her mouth to prevent the giggles from escaping when she could hear her mom squealing. "We kind of want to do it while everyone is still on leave since I will be off the crutches by the end of summer and a couple of my new to-be family members are cops, and doing it on the ranch would be much more meaningful to us since it is Chase's childhood paradise, instead of spending thousands on a venue close to home, that still don't have the same specialness to it."

"I hear you." Jeremy said. "But don't you think you are cutting it a little close. I mean you have only been engaged for a week."

"Maybe a little, but I found my gown, and the flower girl dresses, and we are going to see what we can do in such a short time. I mean, it's not the nineteenth century anymore where you have to have this elaborate do with seven courses of food and a cake as high as the empire state building. I might not even do an actual cake, depending on what Chase says." Luna said.

"Good point. How much is your dress?" Jeremy asked.

"Two point five, and I know you said only two but..." Luna said, and she took a deep breath and bit her lip for a moment. "I really liked it, and it felt like me."

"Then you may have it, and I will send the money over to your account." Jeremy said.

"Thank you, daddy." Luna said and she buried her face in Chase's neck when he hugged her close.

Chase kissed her head and then took the phone from her. "Hi, we already paid for it."

"Okay, so who do I have to reimburse?" Jeremy asked.

"Me." Chase said, and he gave a chuckle when Jeremy laughed. "We are still a few hours out of my grandparents' town, so I couldn't let her walk away from it and first call her dad."

"Well I am proud of you, both of you." Jeremy said. "And we will see you guys on Thursday. Why Thursday?"

"Enough time to meet the family, and then we can decide if we want it Friday or Saturday." Chase said.

"We will send invites out tomorrow." Luna said softly.

"Luna said we will send invites out tomorrow." Chase said. "She has had an overwhelming afternoon, so I think we will say goodbye for now and we will chat through the course of the week."

"We will keep in touch." Jeremy said. "Love you guys."

"We love you too, dad." June said leaning closer.

"Hi and bye Junie-bug." Jeremy said.

"Bye dad." June said and she smiled at Chase when he ended the call.

"Well that is sorted." Chase said and he called his grandfather from Luna's phone and waited for him to answer it. "Hi Grandpa, its Chase."

"Chase, I hope you are calling to say you pulled in at the gate." An elderly man said.

"Not quite. We are still a few hours out." Chase said.

"Okay, so why did you call? And whose number is this?" The elderly man asked.

"This is Luna's phone, and I am calling because we are sitting in a restaurant waiting for our supper, after we got a little sidetracked, and I have to ask you something." Chase said.

"Fire away, son, I'm all ears." The elderly man said.

"Well as I told you, we are engaged, but now we have a wedding to plan, and you know, there's flowers and venues, and food, and other stuff to do." Chase said and he smiled when he could see his siblings were trying hard not to burst out laughing. "And well you know, we are doing a family reunion on the ranch this year before Sam and Leila go to Kenya to help set up schools and stuff for the next x-amount of years, so we were wondering with everyone being there anyway, could we reserve Friday or Saturday afternoon and evening for a wedding?"

"You want to get married on the ranch, on Friday?" The elderly man asked.

"Or Saturday." Chase said.

"Keaton is flying out on Saturday morning after breakfast because he barely got leave to be there on Friday." An elderly lady said from the background.

"Friday it is." Chase said. "If you guys don't mind?"

"Mind, who are you trying to fool, young man?" The elderly man asked.

"No one." Chase said. "I was just being polite."

"Okay fine, you win, this round." The elderly man said. "I will have to inform everyone to bring smart clothes."

"Rustic." Chase said. "Barn dance style. We will send out invites, maybe even still before we get to the ranch."

"You do that. Your aunt is leaving Seattle before the chickens can crow." The elderly man said.

"Thanks grandpa." Chase said. "Oh and, you are welcome to invite the community for the reception."

"Tell grandpa potluck and barn dance style." Joy said softly.

"Oh grandpa, Joy says it will be a potluck barn dance reception, so the community is welcome, and if Mrs. Jenson doesn't make some of that amazing potato salad she always made when I was a kid, I will have to tell her that my girl makes the best potato salad in the U.S." Chase said and he smiled when his parents just shook their heads.

"I will be sure to pass on the message. Now your moma is showing me to put the phone down and eat before this roast she made is cold, so I better be going." The elderly man said.

"Our food is arriving too. Missed you grandpa, love you. Bye." Chase said and he ended the call after his grandpa said bye and he smiled when Luna sat up when she got her potato wedges.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a bear." Titus said and he took his little brother's hand before he took Chase's hand.

Bryon smiled at his son and then said grace before everyone tucked in.

"Kids can go play for another ten minutes while the adults have coffee." Sephira said when the kids were done eating. "No jumping."

The kids all nodded and ran off, the twins holding Faye's hands.

"Cream lattes for everyone left." Bryon said when the waiter came to them.

"Even for me?" Titus asked.

"Unless you want a soda." Bryon said and he smiled when his son shook his head.

"No thanks, I will take the latte." Titus said.

"I have made a checklist of more or less what we need." Sarah said and she handed it over to Luna. "I am going to the stationary store quick. Joy, are you coming?"

"Nope, I am just going to enjoy sitting here for now." Joy said.

"I will come with." June said. "My journal is full, so I need a new one."

"Okay." Sarah said and she kissed her husband before they left.

Luna looked at the check list and then looked up at Chase when he held his finger at the cake.

"What is brewing in that head of yours?" Chase asked.

Luna looked at him and then took her purse out and she placed the Cinnabon business card on the table. "We can just find out."

"I agree, but do you want it stacked like a cake, or just on the table instead of cake?" Chase asked softly.

"I was thinking BonBites in some of these shiny cupcake wrappers." Luna said. "And then we place them on cupcake stands, and if you really want, we can do a small cake."

"I like the idea." Chase said. "We could always do a full size one on top, or even wrap that in icing."

Luna nodded and she smiled at him and then looked at Sarah and June when they got back just as their coffee arrived.

"I found this." Sarah said and she handed Luna a plastic clipboard with some small laundry pegs with hearts on, and little cards. "And I did a more professional looking checklist at the shop."

"This is cool." Luna said. "So we write the ideas on the cards and peg them to the item that needs doing."

"Basically, yes." Sarah said.

Luna smiled and she pegged the Cinnabon card to the cake area and then ticked off the wedding gown, venue and flower girl dresses. "Flowers we will do at the flower farm I got told about. We need to find a shop that does bridesmaid dresses tomorrow, or the day after on the latest."

"What style do you have in mind, sweetie-pie?" Sephira asked.

Luna unlocked her phone and went into google and before long showed Sephira the style of gown. "Some people call it a pixie style."

"I can see why, and it will work wonderful with the cowgirl boots." Sephira said.

Luna nodded and she took her phone again and wrote on the clipboard after showing the other girls and Chase.

"What are we doing for party favors?" Chase asked.

"I don't know just yet." Luna said. "Maybe something like an emergency s'mores kit or you know, something rustic and outdoorsy."

"I like that idea. You can put a skewer, three or four marshmallows, some graham crackers and one of these small flat chocolate bars in a bag and tie some raffia around it with a thank-you card." Cory said.

"But then we do them for after the wedding, instead of at the reception." Luna said.

"Remember, the community is wide, but there is like only ten percent of the people in the same ten-mile radius to what there is back home." Cory said. "Let's go on average around two hundred people will show up other than our friends and family."

"And if there are extras, mom throws them into our baskets in the RV for when we are camping." Austin said.

"Exactly." Chase said.

Luna nodded and she wrote down on a little card and clipped it to the side.

"But I think it is time we get back to the RV and back on the road. Grandpa won't be up all night waiting for us." Bryon said.

"I'll get the kids." Joel said.

"I want to pop in at the dollar store quick." Luna said.

"Okay." Chase said and he moved out with her and took the clipboard and other supplies from the table. "Thanks for supper, dad."

"You guys are welcome." Bryon said when everyone quickly said thanks. "Hurry up, we need to go."

Chase nodded and he smiled when Cory and June joined them, and they went to the dollar store together.

"Find some skewers, and some tea light candles." Luna said and she went to the cutlery area and looked around. She took some medium sized enamel mugs and showed Chase. "What do you think? If you put a candle in here, and light it, it will be the perfect way to stop kids from burning, contain the heat and roast a marshmallow, plus you can keep it as a keepsake afterwards, or use it when you go camping."

"I like that idea." Chase said. "How many are in a pack?"

"This size, four." Luna said.

"I will find out if they don't have boxes full of them. Any color?" Chase asked.

"Yeah." Luna said.

"Okay." Chase said and he went to the back.

Luna looked around some more and took a large bag of raffia before she went to where Cory and June were looking at something. "Hey."

"Hey." Cory said and he placed his hand on five large boxes of candles. "A fifty candles in each, and there is five more here."

"Good job." Luna said and she put the raffia on the counter. "See if you guys can find brown fancy foil cupcake holders, and aquamarine ones."

Both young adults nodded and headed off, and it wasn't long before they were back.

"We found plain ones, and then these ones that is only for décor purposes." June said holding them up. "So we got brown, aquamarine, teal and bronze in both types, and we made sure there were six hundred in total. So a hundred and fifty of each."

"And we took a roll of cellophane." Cory said.

"Thank you." Luna said and she smiled when Chase came to them with two boxes while a young woman followed him with more. "Where are we going to put the boxes?"

"Upstairs on the beds. No one is going to sleep in the RV tonight." Chase said. "Except the kids, probably."

"True." Luna said and she watched as they brought boxes and boxes out. "How many is in a box like this?"

"Forty." Chase said. "I don't want to overdo it, because this is still going to be quite a bit of money, but I have no idea how many we need."

"Are you guys planning a children's camp?" An elderly gentlemen asked coming to them with his wife.

"Interesting observation, but no." Luna said.

"We are going to make little s'mores kits for party favors at Luna and Chase's wedding on Friday." June said. "So we are going to put a candle, skewer, marshmallows and chocolate into the cup and then close it up with the raffia."

"Assuming you are Luna, young lady, how are you getting married in that whole getup?" The elderly man asked teasingly while showing to the crutches and braces.

"I have not figured that one out yet." Luna said. "Then again, if I wear my moonboot and cowgirl boot, I should be evened out and not have to limp the whole place full."

"We will cross that bridge when we get there." Chase said. "We have four hundred cups here, what do you think?"

"I don't know, it seems my siblings are thinking in the line of five hundred and six hundred." Luna said.

"How big is your guest list?" The elderly lady asked.

"We don't have a formal guest list, yet." Luna said. "At least not numbers, but the reception will be a potluck, and the community is invited."

"Fair point. I would say minimum five hundred, you never know how many of the ranch hands decides to pitch. Most of them are out at taverns or places, but you know." The elderly lady said.

"I will do three more boxes." Chase said. "And then I need to find shopping carts."

"There is a couple outside." Cory said and he went outside with June.

Luna smiled and she had the cashier start ringing it up.

"And you can put these scented candles through for my wife, and I will pay everything." The elderly man said putting six four-packs of candles on the counter.

"Are you sure?" Luna asked.

"Of course I am sure, young lady. You still have cake to buy and dresses to buy and shoes, and makeup and photographers." The elderly man said, and he handed the cashier the money. "And here is a set of lavender candles for you."

"Thank you." Luna said and she gave him and his wife a hug and then took the bags with the stuff and waited while Cory and Chase packed the carts. She placed the bag in a hole she found and then followed them out to the RV.

"What are you guys doing? Starting up a new dollar store?" Bryon asked.

"No." Luna said, and she climbed in and opened the first box that came in and showed them the mugs. "I told Chase if we put a candle in here, it will prevent kids from burning, it will contain the heat and then you should be able to roast a marshmallow."

"And it will keep the goodies all nicely together." June said coming in with a box.

"Just toss it on a bed, June. We will carry it upstairs soon." Luna said.

"Okay." June said and she tossed it onto her bed.

"I just thought, maybe we should make a thank-you stencil with our wedding date underneath it, and find some heat and water resistant paint." Luna said.

"Enamel paint. It's not like you will be painting it on the inside." Joel said.

"I think we will do a metallic blue and silver." Chase said. "There are pink, purple, orange, red, yellow, you know it. Bronze will not work on all of them, and neither will aquamarine, so find a neutral blue like a deep ice blue or something."

"Tomorrow." Luna said. "I need to take my meds."

"Same." June said.

Luna smiled at her sister and she drank her medicine and then went and sat on her bed. "I screw up my leg, and then decide to get married two weeks later. That is messed up."

"Totally." Joy said. "But hey, what would life be if it didn't have messed up moments that could turn out to be the greatest days in our lives."

Luna smiled and she fell back on the bed and looked at the ceiling that has gained a glow-in-the-dark star for every night that she fell asleep as a result of her medication before they got to their camping grounds, and thus missed out on watching the stars, which has been almost every night after the first one. "What are we going to do with an extra open bed?"

"Storage space, like for snacks or now, boxes." Chase said. "We will have to move in with mom and dad for a while again?"

"Why?" Luna asked.

"Because my apartment isn't allowed pets. They can't do anything to me if a friend who has a service dog spends the night or comes for a visit, but getting married to someone with a service dog, their policy is just, you knew what the rules are etcetera." Chase said.

"Fair enough." Luna said and she moved deeper onto her bed. "I'm tired."

"Catch a nap." Chase said and he went to her and kissed her softly before he helped her to turn on her side with a pillow under her knee. "I love you."

"I love you more." Luna said softly and she buried her face into her pillow and drifted off to sleep while he was pulling her shirt a little down and tucking her hair back.

Chase kissed her cheek and then left the room and carried boxes upstairs, leaving them on the double beds. Afterwards he sat down on his bed and did some races against Titus, Cory, Joel and Kaylo on one of their favorite racing games.

"Time to start packing up." Bryon said around eleven.

"We arrived?" Chase asked and he closed his laptop and before anyone could really do anything about it, he was sitting in the passenger seat next to his dad.

"Chase." Bryon said and he smiled at his son. "You haven't been this excited in a long time."

Chase smiled at his dad and then lowered the window when they took the turnoff into the ranch and he felt like putting his elbows on the door and just staring out over the wide-open fields.

"I want to see." A very sleepy Jet said coming to them.

"The best you can see right now, monkey, is up there, is the ranch house." Chase said lifting her onto his lap. "You can see more tomorrow."

"And tonight is an exception because we are off the road, but if you ever come to the front without an adult to secure you into a seat, you are in big trouble, young lady." Bryon said.

"Yes sir." Jet said and she laid her head against Chase's chest.

"Let's take you back to mommy." Chase said.

Jet nodded and she curled up on her mom's lap as soon as Chase had taken her back to Sephira.

"You should check on Luna." Sephira said softly.

"She is still lights out." Chase said. "She isn't high maintenance, mom, and she doesn't want to be high maintenance. If she is sleeping, just leave her."

"That sounds about right." June said coming off her bed. "All I really want now, is a bed that doesn't go vooooom the whole time."

"You will have that soon enough." Chase said and he went back to the passenger seat and watched as his dad pulled up to the main house. He only waited until his dad pulled up the handbrake before he jumped out and then flopped down on the ground and looked at the stars.

"Chase, get off the grass." Bryon said.

"Why?" Chase asked and he jumped up when the front door opened and hugged his grandparents. "I missed you guys."

"Okay huggy bear, your parents want to get a chance too." Sephira's mom said.

Chase nodded and he grinned at them before he stepped back.

"Go wake Luna up." Sephira said. "Either you wake her up, or you carry her out, one of the two."

Chase nodded and he went back into the RV once everyone else was out and he went to Luna's bed and kissed her cheek. "Hi angel-bug. You need to wake up."

Luna moaned softly and buried her face in her pillow.

"Come on, stunning girl." Chase said. "We're on the ranch."

"Does it have to be morning already?" Luna asked.

"It's not morning, silly." Chase said and he stood up and got her to sit up. He helped her to her feet and pulled her pillow closer before he took it with her phone and then picked her up like a sleeping little girl. He kissed her head when she laid her head on his shoulder and then went down the steps carefully and into the house.

"Someone is tired." Sephira's mom said when she saw the young woman. "Here is proper farm style hot cocoa."

"Do you want some hot cocoa, bugs?" Chase asked softly.

Luna nodded and she clung to him when he placed her on her feet. "I'm a little wobbly."

"I know, shhhh." Chase said softly and he kissed her head and then went around her and placed his arm around her waist. "That is Grandpa Richard and Grandma Lila, and that hulky guy is the foreman, Josh."

Luna gave a quick wave and then rested back against him.

"Okay, new place, its dark, new people. Where is Colt?" Chase asked.

"I think he needed a run around and with Luna being asleep at that moment..." Bryon said, and he stopped midsentence and just looked at his son when he whistled sharply.

"Daddy got a fright." Jet said and she began giggling.

"Chase Colton." Lila reprimanded. "What was that for?"

"That." Chase said when Colt came running in and sat down next to Luna.

"You will give the people a heart attack." Lila said and she placed two mugs on the table. "All yours."

"Thanks Moma." Chase said and he got Luna to sit down and then he sat down next to her and sipped his hot cocoa. "Where is Cory?"

"Here" Cory said coming in and he sat down where there was still a seat left. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome, young man." Lila said and she sat down next to her husband. "Now what is this about a wedding on Friday?"

Luna looked at Chase and then laid her head on his shoulder.

"Someone needs to go to bed." Sephira said.

"Finish your drinks and then we will show everyone to their rooms. We will be doing double ups, except for Chase. He spent so much time here he has his own room." Lila said. "Sarah, I hope you guys don't mind if the twins sleep on the floor in your room for tonight. We were thinking we would let them sleep in the lounge on the floor with the other two, but pa said to make them a bed in your room for the first night at least."

"That is perfect, thanks moma." Sarah said. "Jason doesn't wake up in the middle of the night unless he is really sick and as long as someone he knows is around, he is okay. Jess will have to get used to the new place first."

"But that happens a whole lot faster if she and Jet can crawl into the same bed." Joel said.

"Jess is a little live cuddly bear." Jet said.

"Good. Does she kick?" Richard asked.

"No." Jet said, and she wiped her mouth. "If she kicks me, I kick her back."

"Fair enough." Richard said and he smiled at his youngest grandchild.

"Finished." Jet said putting her mug back on the table. "Thank you, moma."

"You are most welcome, angel child." Lila said. "Shall we go and get your jammies and bedding?"

Jet nodded and she ran off with Austin.

"Sugar high for ten minutes." Bryon said.

"I wish this one would hit that sugar high for a few minutes." Chase said.

"A sugar rush hasn't been able to break through the meds in the last week." Sephira said.

"I know." Chase said and he stood up carefully and looked at Luna when she took his hand, and he leaned down and kissed her softly. "I'm just going to fetch your bedding and then you can go and sleep further."

"I want to sleep in my bed." Luna said softly.

"There are beds for everyone in the house." Chase said and he picked her up and took her up the stairs. He took her into the one spare room and smiled when he saw his grandparents moved the massive bed up to stand against the wall and put a bunk bed in for Faye and June.

"I want to sleep in my bed." Luna said.

"Luna, don't start any nonsense." Chase said and he placed her on the bed. "Is it comfortable?"

Luna nodded and she took her pillow from him and lay down.

"Do you want your bedding?" Chase asked while pulling the bedding out under her.

Luna shook her head and she placed her pillow under her knee and buried her face into one of the pillows that were on the bed.

Chase smiled and he kissed her cheek and then tucked her in under the duvet and felt relieved when she just went back to sleep like nothing happened. He dimmed the light and smiled when Faye and June came in. "One on top, one at the bottom."

"Let's resume our positions in the RV." June said. "I am still on meds."

"Fair point." Faye said. "Means I get to sleep at the top, yay!"

"Shhhh." Chase said and he helped her to make her bed.

"We need to pull our pajamas on." Faye said softly.

"Did you bring them?" Chase asked.

"We did." June said.

"Go brush your teeth, say goodnight and then come change." Chase said.

"Okay." Faye said and she took her toiletry bag and headed out.

"Faye." Chase said and he waited for her to come back in and opened a door in the corner that led to a beautiful bathroom with a bath and shower in it. "There are two spare rooms in this house with a bathroom. You girls got one, it makes it easier for Luna so that she doesn't have to try and get dressed in a slippery bathroom, and don't have to walk down the hallway trying to keep her dignity intact with the crutches and all, and mom and dad has the other one."

"Cool." Faye said. "Can we all shower at the same time too?"

"I think you can." Chase said and he kissed her cheek. "Good night."

"Night Chase." Faye said and she went into the bathroom.

Chase smiled and he looked at June. "What are you thinking?"

"What?" June asked looking up and then smiled. "Nothing, just daydreaming."

"Don't dream too much." Chase said. "You need to get to bed."

June nodded and she hugged him. "Nighty night."

"Sleep well." Chase said and he went downstairs again and fetched some stuff from the RV before he said goodnight to everyone and went upstairs. He went to his bedroom and placed the stuff at the wardrobe and by the time his mom checked in to say goodnight after being with the girls, he was crashed out and sleeping peacefully.

Sephira smiled and she closed the door and went to bed.