Page 34 of The One I Stood Beside

“You know this town.”

“I do.”

“We wanted to make sure it was going to work for us before anyone knew.”

“And does it? Work?” His eyes pierce into mine. He’s probably thinking he can sniff out my lie.

“Yeah.”

“Not because I denied you cosigning unless you were married?”

I stuff my hands into my pockets and rock back on my boots. “Not at all.”

He nods and looks outside the barn. It’s a sunny fall day, and the weather is turning slightly cooler. “It’s a no to the elopement then.”

I stiffen. “What?”

He stands. “If you’re going to marry Sadie Wilkins after all these years, you’re not going to sneak off. You marry her at The Knotted Barn. I’m sure Romy can slide you in.”

“We don’t want a whole big thing. Just the two of us.”

Lies. All lies. I’m pretty sure if I was marrying Sadie for real, she’d want a big wedding. Maybe not a huge one, but how many times when we were little did she make Emmett her groom because Ben and I refused? She’d pick wildflowers from the field and act as if they were her bridal bouquet.

“Are you going away to elope?” He stops at the edge of the horse barn and stares at our cornfield. The one I have to plow soon for the maze we have every October.

“We were going to the courthouse.”

He chuckles but stops before I question why he finds that humorous. “Son, let me give you some advice. There are a lot of women out there who would be okay with the courthouse. Others who want the destination wedding. But Sadie isn’t one of them. Have you forgotten how she wore that flower girl dress for a month after she was in that wedding? If you love her, you give her what she wants. Don’t half-ass this by going to the courthouse.”

Does he really not see through everything I just threw at him? That getting married is a formality to secure the loan?

“Also, do you understand that marrying her means you’re putting your stake in our land in jeopardy? There’s no coming back and asking for another piece.”

I gulp. I’ve thought about it, and it’s a risk, but I’ll bet on Sadie every damn time. And if something goes south, I’ll figure it out. “I do.”

He slaps me on the shoulder, and our eyes lock. “Congratulations, son. You’re lucky you found someone as great as Sadie to spend your life with. Let me know what you need me to do.”

He walks away before I can say anything, but he heads in the direction of the daisy hill cemetery. I wonder if it’s to tell my mom that I’ve finally gotten my head out of my ass, and I’m marrying Sadie Wilkins.

“Want to go for a ride?”

I turn to find Sadie at the opening of the other end of the barn. She’s got her horse, Brownie, by the reins.

“I just put Titan in, but I’m sure he’d love to spend time with Brownie.”

She laughs. Titan and Brownie have found a friendship throughout the years do to the number of rides we’ve taken together.

I go to the stall and bring Titan back out. Saddling him up, we both hop on the horses and ride out toward the trail worn from years of riding around our land.

“I wanted to thank you,” she says.

I really wish she would stop thanking me.

“It’s a big deal, Jude, and I promise you won’t lose your land.”

“I’m not worried.”

She moves ahead of me on the trail because we can’t both fit through the opening between the trees, and I admire the nape of her neck. Her hair is braided today, and for a second, my memory flickers back to when we were younger, and she’d always be playing with the end of her braid. She’s got jeans on and a short-sleeve shirt that’s tight enough to show off her body but not be revealing.

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