Page 5 of The Yes at Yuletide

But Aurora had found a plain dress and made it spectacular. They’d talked to Holly Ann about making the cake. Judge would marry the couple. Lois had helped immensely with the decorations in the barn, getting the four-foot tall vases Aurora had seen on a Pinterest post.

Oliver’s aunt, Whitney Walker, had taken all of their pictures, designed their announcements, and printed off the ten or so pictures of a glowing, smiling Aurora and Oliver, who certainly looked like they could lasso the world and bring it to its knees.

They were absolutely adorable, but Montana knew better than most that marriage didn’t care if a couple looked good together.

She and Bishop had given them their trip to the Snake River Lodge in Jackson Hole. Tripp and Ivory had paid for the trailer and all the travel expenses to Savannah. They’d ordered theflowers and the food for tonight’s dinner and the actual wedding luncheon on Saturday.

Oliver was taking his truck with them to Savannah, and Aurora was leaving hers here. They had a tiny little house less than half a mile to the college they’d both be attending, and Montana and Bishop still needed to talk to Aurora about her job there.

Both Ollie and Aurora were planning to find work in the Savannah area to support themselves, though Bishop had paid the first and last month’s rent and a sizeable deposit on the house. They hadn’t even seen it in person, and Montana could only pray it wouldn’t be infested with spiders when they showed up next week.

People started to arrive, but she stayed next to Ivory and Tripp. Bishop had left to escort his mother to a table, and Ollie said, “I’m going to go check on that bread, Rory.”

“I’ll come with you,” she said. “I think the soup should be hot by now too.” Her voice faded the further she went from them, and Montana just watched them go.

She tuned back into the crowd when Ida and Brady arrived with two screaming babies.

Tripp chuckled and said, “I think Momma’s having flashbacks, and not the good kind. Let me go help her.” He left Ivory and Montana standing next to one another as he went toward his mother, who had taken Judy from Ida.

“At least she got one girl,” Ivory murmured. “Can you imagine? Seven sons?”

“Lois had six,” Montana said. “And then a girl who has a fiery temper and tongue.” She grinned as Zona entered the hall, her baby so chubby and adorable now.

“I think they’re going to make it,” Ivory said. “They do seem to work well together. He’s been with her for a long time already.”

Montana followed her gaze to the kitchen serving window, where Ollie and Aurora both stood, arranging dishes. “That he has.” She knew her daughter, and she could see the love radiating from her. She’d witnessed it when Ollie had proposed at Thanksgiving dinner, and she’d heard it in Aurora’s voice every day since.

“They just have to learn to rely on each other, and the Lord,” Ivory said. “And they’ll be fine.”

“It’s probably a good thing they’re moving so far away,” Montana said. “Then neither of them can run home when something goes wrong. They’ll have to run to each other.”

“Mm.”

“Listen,” Montana said, turning toward Ivory, as if putting her back to everyone else would quiet them. With every person who walked into the barn, the noise swelled. She met Ivory’s eye, a bit of trepidation marching through her. She didn’t want Ivory or Tripp to be upset with her or Bishop.

“I know they’re getting married. I know they’ll need to rely on each other and work hard. Bishop and I…we just don’t want things to betoohard for them.”

Ivory glanced over Montana’s shoulder, obviously searching for her husband. “Okay.”

“I want Aurora to focus on her schoolwork,” she continued. “I don’t really want her to work at all. They’ll need money to live, and Bishop and I were…well, we were considering offering them some money. They’d have to manage it. Make it stretch as far as they can, or else, yes, then they’ll have to go get a job.”

Ivory’s eyebrows went up. “How much money?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Montana folded her arms and faced the hall again. “We never got as far as deciding on an amount. We haven’t said anything to the kids.”

Tripp approached, and Ivory turned toward Montana and hugged her. “Let me talk to Tripp,” she said. “Maybe we canmatch it. I know they’ll have plenty of lessons to learn, and I have no doubt they’ll learn them. But if I can make things easier for them, I’d love to.”

Montana hugged her back, another swell of emotion threatening to ruin her makeup. She’d already nearly lost it when she’d hugged her daughter, and she looked up at the ceiling after Ivory released her, trying to get the tears to go back down inside her eyes.

“Rhett’s wondering if we can sit with the boys tonight,” Tripp said as he arrived. “I said we could probably make that happen.”

“No,” Ivory said, going with him. “Ollie said we have to sit at the front table, remember?”

Montana stayed in the back of the hall, watching every person as they arrived. Judge and June and Mister.

Sammy, Bear, Lincoln, Smiles, and Russell.

Ward and Dot, who both went toward the front of the hall, where Ward pulled up the music stand and Dot dragged over a bench for him to sit on.

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