“Mr. Nash, your vows,” Pastor Ellis said, and Mae pulled back her hands so I could sign. But as she did, something in me snapped and I held on tight. Her brows pulled down in confusion; then she tried again. But I still didn’t let go. I knew she’d be able to feel the shaking of my hands as I gripped onto her. I knew she’d be wondering what the fuck was happening. So I looked to the pastor and nodded my head, urging her to talk. She looked lost as fuck as well, but I gave no shits. I fucking had to do it.

  Meeting Mae’s confused gaze, the pastor said, “Repeat after me. I, River Nash, take thee, Salome Nash to be my lawfully wedding wife.”

  Fucking dead silence followed her words. So quiet that I heard my heart beating in my ears. Heard Mae’s quickening breathing. I heard my lips parting and my harsh breath coming from my throat.

  “River, please, you don’t have to,” Mae whispered under her breath, her eyes widening as she realized what I was about to do.

  What I fucking needed to do. This was Mae. Our wedding day. And I was fucking going to speak.

  I tried to find the words, but all that came out was hot air. Swallowing, I ticced, my head flicking to the side—I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop those fuckers—and tried again. My fingers gripped on to Mae, and I found the ability to pathetically stutter, “I . . . I . . . R-R-R—” I closed my eyes and worked on loosening up my throat. “R-River . . . N-N-Nash.” A bead of sweat rolled down my neck. I opened my eyes, and the minute I saw Mae’s eyes shining with tears, fucking happy, proud fucking tears, I knew I had to keep going. Mae’s hands clutched onto me like she was my damn anchor. The bitch was, and she didn’t know just how much. “T-Take th-th-thee . . .” I paused, breathed, then stuttered, “S-S-Salome N-N-Nash t-t-t-to be, m-m-my lawfully w-w-w-wedded w-w-wife.” I blew out a breath like I’d just run a motherfucking marathon.

  I heard a sob tear from Mae’s throat, and her arms were around my neck like a vise. “I love you,” she whispered and I fucking held her close. “I love you so much. I am so, so proud of you right now.”

  I felt my throat try to close, but I would not let that fucker do it until I’d gotten through these vows. Mae stepped back, cheeks wet, as Pastor Ellis finished the last of the words.

  I got through them . . . just. Then the rings were in our hands.

  “I do,” Mae said and slid the black ring on my finger. I stared down at the piece of metal and knew that fucker would never be coming off.

  “Do you, River Nash, take Salome to be your lawful wedded wife?”

  Looking my wolf-eyed bitch right in the eyes, I opened my mouth and, without stuttering even once, said straight to Mae, “I do, babe.” The fucking smile I got from Mae could have lit up the fucking night.

  “Then by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. River Nash!” I felt something catch in my motherfucking chest and had to cough to the clear the fucker away. Something different settled down. Fuck knew what, but I liked it. “River? You may now kiss your bride,” Pastor Ellis finished.

  Before the end of her sentence had even left her mouth, I had placed my hands on Mae’s face and crushed my lips to hers. Mae moaned and fell against me. My brothers hooped and hollered, and I just took Mae’s mouth, ignoring them all. I pushed my tongue against hers and fucking held her tighter in my grip. I took and took until I pulled back to get a fucking breath. Mae’s eyes were dilated, and the tears still fell down her cheeks.

  Beautiful.

  “You spoke,” she whispered above the sound of everyone’s loud calls and celebratory gunshots. “You spoke, River. To me. In front of your club. Our vows.”

  “Y-yeah,” I stuttered and wiped the tears away from her cheeks.

  “My husband,” she said and turned her head to kiss the center of my palm. My fucking wife, I wanted to say in return, but the python was back in place and my words were gone. But for once, I didn’t give a shit. I’d spoken the ones that had needed to be said. And that was all that fucking mattered.

  An arm hooked around my neck. “You fucking dick,” Ky said, but I heard the damn pride in his voice, the fucking rawness. I looked at my best friend, and he winked then shouted, “Get the fucking music on, bitches! Get the beer flowing and the fucking grill on full blast. We got a fucking wedding and the Hangmen Mute finally speaking to celebrate, motherfuckers!”

  The brothers laughed and got to work. We ate, we fucking drank and, when the night closed in, Sia moved to the speakers and told all the brothers to get the hell out of the way. Mae took my hand and pulled me into the center of a makeshift circle. My brothers pissed themselves in laughter at me, but they didn’t have Mae in their arms so, as far as I was concerned, they could all fuck off.

  “I-I d-d-don’t f-f-fuckin’ d-dance,” I whispered into Mae’s ear.

  She laughed, the fucking high-pitched sound making my lips twitch. “Just this once, I promise,” she said when I heard familiar chords begin to play. I raised an eyebrow as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I gripped her waist as Tom Waits’s “I Hope That I Don’t Fall In Love With You” began to play.

  “I had to,” Mae said in response to my expression. “It was the song you sang to me when I woke from running away. The one that I will always think of when I think of you.” She shrugged and twitched that fucking nose, destroying me where I stood. “It is us.”

  I yanked her closer and felt her head tuck into my neck. And then I sang. I sang the words that had brought her back to me, made her fucking mine. And I sang every word until the end. As the music changed from Waits to Garth Brooks, I said, “I w-want you home n-now.”

  Mae met my eyes, nodded, and kissed me on my lips. “I want that too. I want to make love to you as man and wife. As Mr. and Mrs. Nash.”

  So we left.

  And I was gonna make her mine.

  *****

  I held Mae’s hand as we walked to the cabin. My thumb kept brushing against her wedding ring, and I couldn’t describe the fucking feeling that settled in my chest when it did. When I looked up, Mae was watching me, her pink lips pursed. “You like it as much as I do?” she asked, batting those huge black lashes of hers.