Written on My Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

yourself married to Buddy so’s you can have that baby.
    â€œI will,” I whispered, my eyes shiny.
    â€œWell?” Evie said. I looked at her and nodded.
    â€œYou did good, Evie,” I said. “Thank you.”
    â€œYou’re welcome,” she said.
    We got ourselves downstairs and Madeline handed Dottie and me our bouquets, and then she and Evie joined the small crowd on the lawn. Dottie and I went out the kitchen door, away from the onlookers, to join Sam, who stood waiting for us. I kissed him on the cheek, trying not to be shocked at the yellow tint of his skin and by the fact that his eyeballs were yellow too.
    â€œChrist almighty, you look just like Florence did,” he said, seeing Grand, just as I had seen her. “Don’t she look like her grandmother?” he asked Dottie.
    â€œI guess,” Dottie said, too busy tugging on her dress to pay much attention to me.
    I buried my nose in one of the giant peonies in my bouquet. The smell of June filled my heart as the warm sun spun melted honey overmy head. A seagull laughed and I turned my head to see the water in the harbor winking diamonds at me.
    Someone on the lawn lowered a needle onto my old record player. The first notes of “Here Comes the Bride” sounded, and I hooked my arm through Sam’s. He kissed my cheek. “Glad to have you aboard,” he said. “You and Bud be good to each other, now, you hear me?” I nodded. Whiskey perfumed his breath, but we held each other steady as we began our march toward Bud and Pastor Billy Krum.
    Since we were holding the wedding on the lawn, I had decided to go barefoot, and the grass was smooth and cool beneath my feet. The baby rolled over just as my eyes lighted on Bud, and I smiled. He answered my smile with one of his own as he told me he loved me with his eyes. As Sam and I closed in on him and Pastor Billy, I saw that he was shaking.
    I may have been walking past people who had known Bud and me our whole lives, but that didn’t calm my nerves. The lawn seemed twice as long as it was, but finally, Bud and I stood face-to-face in front of the dusty pink fireworks display of peonies in bloom. I handed Dottie my bouquet, careful not to meet her brown eyes, as I was afraid I might cry or burst out laughing for nervousness.
    Bud’s dark eyes danced with tears. “You look beautiful,” he whispered.
    â€œIt’s okay,” Pastor Billy murmured, “it’ll be over in a minute.” His blue eyes twinkled and he winked. “Dearly beloved,” he began in his deep pastor voice. When asked, Sam gave his permission for me to marry his son, and then he walked over to where Ida waited for him.
    Pastor Billy heard our vows to love, honor, and cherish each other until death did us part. Glen fished two gold rings out of the pocket of a gray suit that fit like he’d probably borrowed it from someone. Bud’s trembling hand shoved the smaller ring over the knuckle of my swollen left ring finger. I did the same for him with the bigger ring. We kissed soon after that, a dry kiss that sealed our vows, and we were pronounced man and wife. We turned to face our families and friends.
    â€œMay I present Mr. and Mrs. James Warner,” Pastor Billy announced, and everyone clapped and whistled. “Now, let’s party,” Billy added, and everyone clapped and whistled some more.
    The reception was held about two yards from our wedding. Everyone grabbed something to eat or drink, and the party commenced.
    Dottie’s father came over and hugged me. He grinned and said, “So, when you two thinking about having kids?” I smacked him and he grinned and guzzled some beer. Stella, who had followed him over, grabbed both of my arms and said, “Oh, honey, you look so pretty. Your father would have loved to be here, and I’m sure Leeman wouldn’t have minded that you’re so far along.”
    She didn’t let me go