The Maverick's Wedding Wager. Joanna Sims

Genevieve was special and she was going to be his bride.

      “Where are we going to do the deed?” she asked him as they left the mall.

      “It’s a surprise.”

      “I have to tell you, I’m not a huge fan of surprises.”

      “This one you’ll like.”

      * * *

      “Lawrence Park.” Genevieve read the sign at the public park entrance. She had been to Kalispell many times in her life, but she had never known that there was a park that shared her last name.

      “There’s a walking trail that leads to Stillwater River. I know you like the outdoors, so I thought that would be a good place to get married.”

      Knox’s thoughtfulness caught her off guard. She had always gotten the impression that he was a hardworking man—a good man—but he had never really come across as an overly romantic or thoughtful man. This gesture showed her a different side of Knox Crawford—a side that she had to admit that she liked very much.

      “There’s Sonny.” Knox nodded through the windshield at a heavyset man with a long white beard standing in faded overalls by an antique Ford truck. Beside Sonny was a woman in a long flowered dress and tennis shoes, her salt-and-pepper hair in a single thick braid down her back. In the woman’s hands was a simple bouquet of Montana wildflowers.

      “Is he officiating the wedding?”

      Knox nodded. He came to her side of the truck and helped her out. “He goes way back with my dad. I knew he would be willing to help us out on short notice.”

      “Hello, young man!” Sonny raised his hand in greeting. “You picked a mighty fine day to get married.”

      Knox clasped hands with Sonny, then hugged his wife, Cora, before he introduced them to Genevieve.

      “Knox wanted me to bring these for you.” Cora handed her the flowers. “He’s always been such a thoughtful boy.”

      Genevieve took the flowers, with a quick glance up at Knox who was watching her closely. She smiled down at the bouquet. Wildflowers were the perfect flowers for her.

      “Young love is always in such a hurry.” Cora smiled at her. “We were so surprised to get Knox’s call.”

      “You’re father’s not gonna be too pleased with me, what with all of this secrecy,” Sonny said as he thoughtfully tugged on his beard.

      “I appreciate you doing this for us.” Knox put his arm around her shoulder and she had to force herself to stand still and plaster a smile on her face. From this moment forward, she was Knox Crawford’s blushing and loving bride and she had to act like it.

      “Yes,” she said. “Thank you. This all happened so fast for us.” She met her fiancé’s eyes. “We just want our first moments as husband and wife to be ours.”

      “My Cora and I eloped, so I can’t really say I don’t understand your thinkin’,” Sonny said, still tugging on his beard. It seemed to Genevieve that there was a possibility that Sonny wouldn’t agree to marry them after all. But, in the end, Cora gently persuaded her husband to go forward with the ceremony.

      The four of them walked along the narrow path to the edge of the Stillwater River. They picked a spot where a small group of tall trees lined the bank of the river, shading them from the afternoon sun. With the sound of the water rushing over the rocks, Genevieve held her wildflowers tightly in her hands and stood before Knox, facing him, as Sonny began the intimate ceremony. Cora moved around them with her camera, capturing candid moments as her husband opened his bible to read a suitable verse from Corinthians on the patience and kindness of love.

      It was difficult for Genevieve to keep her focus on Knox’s eyes. It did not escape her that she was getting ready to commit herself to him on a dare—on a wager. Her parents had been married for over thirty years and they took their marriage vows seriously. They would be so disappointed in her for taking a vow, saying that she intended to love Knox for life knowing full well that the marriage would end sooner rather than later. That thought of her parent’s disappointment and the sad expression on her mother’s face when she found out that she had missed the moment her daughter took her wedding vows almost made her turn away and bolt down the path back toward the truck.

      Sonny closed his bible and added his own thoughts to the occasion. “The commitment you made here today will be the foundation upon which your marriage will be built. Don’t ever go to bed mad. Forgive each other and move on. Say I love you every day and never get too old to hold each other’s hands.”

      Sonny smiled at his wife for a brief moment before he continued. “You’ve got to give each other room to grow because, in the end, it will be the two of you, standing together, facing the challenges of everyday life. If you always remember this moment and the love you have for each other right now, this sacred union will last you a lifetime and beyond.”

      Cora stepped quietly forward and took the bouquet of flowers from Genevieve as Sonny prepared for the ring exchange. Knox took her hand in his and it flashed in her mind that she liked how strong, large and rough this man’s hand was. It was the hand of a working man.

      “With this ring, I thee wed.” He slid the simple white gold band onto her ring finger. She detected the slightest tremble when he did so, and realized that, beneath the seemingly calm exterior he was presenting, Knox was feeling as uncertain, off balanced and flustered as she was. A split second later, it was her turn. She didn’t look up at him as she slipped his wedding band over his knuckle until it was snugly seated on his ring finger. Then Knox squeezed her hand and when she looked up into his face, he was smiling at her kindly with his eyes.

      “Knox and Genevieve, you have come to this beautiful place to vow to love each other for the rest of your lives. You have exchanged rings as a symbol of this commitment.”

      “Genevieve, do you take this man to be your husband? Do you promise to love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health—and, forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

      It took Genevieve several seconds to make the words “I do” come out of her mouth. The moment the words finally did come out, Cora snapped a close-up photograph of her face and she hoped only that her internal turmoil wasn’t captured for everyone to see.

      “I do.” When she said those words, there was a waver in her voice that she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t her way to be uncertain about anything in her life; she lived her life as she raced off-road vehicles—pedal to the metal and full steam ahead.

      “Knox, do you take this beautiful woman to be your wife? Do you promise to love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health—and, forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”

      Knox lowered his head so she could see his eyes—eyes that were so steady and intent on her face. “I do.”

      “Well, then,” Sonny said as he rolled back on his heels a bit, “by the power vested in me by the glorious State of Montana, I am tickled pink to pronounce you husband and wife. Knox, my boy, you may kiss your lovely bride.”

      She couldn’t get her heart to stop beating so fast. Her chest was rising and falling in the most annoying way as Knox, still holding on to her hands, with a question in his eyes that only she understood, leaned down and lightly kissed her on the lips.

      It was their first kiss; it was their only kiss.

      It occurred to her in that moment, as she stood there with her eyes closed, focusing her attention on the first feel of her husband’s lips pressed gently upon hers, that she didn’t want that kiss to end.