Maizy the Bear Charmer(Diving Creek Ranch 16)(151)

Woody smiled but his bushy white eyebrows drew into a line and he replied, “I know it may sometimes seem like Divine has been set against those of you who are involved in ménages but don’t lose heart. Groups like yours have been in this area a long, long time. It’s only recently that they’ve become a little easier to spot. You might even be surprised to find that there are some you still don’t know about.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really, but I won’t be telling any secrets that aren’t mine to reveal. And you don’t worry about Tabitha Lester, you hear? I do believe she finally revealed publicly what a crackpot she is with that stunt she pulled right before we got started this afternoon.”

Maizy chuckled, still a little shocked at the way Tabitha had shown up, picket sign in hand. “Who protests a wedding? I mean, I know you give an opportunity during the ceremony for anyone who wants to speak up if they don’t believe the marriage should continue, but…showing up with a picket sign?”

Woody nodded. “Not a picture you’d want in your wedding album, huh? I think she is wearing out her welcome in the community. She was relieved of her job, or so I’m told.”

Maizy tried for a shocked expression but wound up giggling. “Woody, are you gossiping?”

“Don’t tell my wife,” he said with a chuckle. “She swears up and down that men are worse gossips than women. I’d rather talk of nicer things anyway. You look just like your mother did on her wedding day,” he said as he took her hands and held them out wide. “I know Amelia must be so proud of you.”

Woody had been friends with Maizy’s family since before her parents were married and had been at their wedding too, in which her mother had worn the dress that she now wore on her wedding day.

“Thank you for marrying us, Woody,” Maizy whispered. “It makes the occasion even more precious to me.”

Woody nodded and smiled at her and blotted her tears with his handkerchief. “None of these tears, now.”

Earlier that afternoon, amidst the oldest of the antique roses near the Divine Creek just off of downtown, Woody had performed the wedding ceremony that united Maizy and Cody. There had been a little drama, thanks to Tabitha Lester, but it hadn’t been anything Divine’s stalwart sheriff, Hank Stinson, couldn’t easily handle.

Shortly after, Ethan Grant had performed the private ceremony in the tent set up nearby for the wedding reception that bound the four of them as husbands and wife. From that moment forward, she would always equate the scent of Souvenir de la Malmaison roses with the joy she felt on her wedding day. Almost all of her family had been in attendance, even her father, who was slowly coming around to the fact that in the short space of an afternoon he’d gained three new sons-in-law.

Roberta had been noticeably absent which was a good thing, since her involvement with Tabitha Lester was only just coming to light. She might not have been the one threatening Maizy but she’d done some of the legwork and she’d admitted to Maizy that she had shared a picture of the four of them at the wedding with Tabitha, more as an expression of outrage than as fuel to fan Tabitha’s fire. Under the guise of a family emergency, Tabitha was currently out of town but Maizy had hopes that she’d be dealt with fairly, and soon.

Cody, Heath, and Spencer stood off to the side near the rose garden entrance, under the sprawling Lady Banks roses, talking with Ethan Grant, Ben Lawrence, and Quinten Parks. Her three bears were entrancingly handsome in their black tuxedos and she felt like their fairy princess dressed in the ivory lace wedding gown, which was low-cut in the back, with a row of tiny buttons from the waist down. The bodice of the dress had a deep V-neck that revealed her generous cleavage. Her mom had blushed when she’d helped her get dressed and Maizy had commented on how much cleavage the dress revealed. Her mom had giggled and said, “At our wedding your father laid eyes on me in this and could scarcely string two words together.”

It’d had a similar effect on her men when they’d seen her in it for the first time, as she’d been escorted down the rosebush-lined walkway by her father.

Drawing her attention back to the present, Woody nodded to Mr. Ambrose when he approached and said, “Might I have this dance, Mrs. Welsh?”

Hearing her new name made her heart leap with joy and she gladly accepted after looking up at Woody, who nodded and stepped back. Mr. Ambrose was dressed as dapper as ever in his suit and his bow tie which always seemed a little tight.

“Maizy, I’m so pleased you decided to complete the school year with us.”