*
It was hard to drag themselves out of bed the next morning, but the sound of Matt very deliberately banging around the living area and the smell of coffee proved to be adequate motivators. Faith had trouble looking her son in the eye at first, but Kieran had no such compunction.
Sean was beaming from ear to ear when they met him at the private airport. He spotted the ring on Faith’s hand right away and hugged her, saying he was glad to be the first to officially welcome them into the clan.
The plane ride home was more pleasant than the ride down. Sean let Matt sit up front in the cockpit with him, which, according to Matt, was “beyond sick.” Faith felt none of the unease she had on the commercial flight, but she wasn’t sure if it was because of Sean’s mad skills or because nearly all of her attention was focused on the impossibly perfect man she now found herself engaged to marry.
Kieran started moving some of his things into Faith’s cottage as soon as they got back. One night, he said, had only made him realize he never wanted to sleep alone again. Matt, surprisingly, was accepting, though he did manage to let Kieran know it was only because they were getting married right away.
Less than a month was not a lot of time to plan a wedding, but the Callaghans rose to the challenge. Apparently Taryn, Lexi, Maggie, Nicki, Rebecca, and Lacie had been mentally planning the event since mid-summer (after the infamous county fair incident), and already had most of the details worked out. It had been relatively easy, they said, since both Faith and Kieran were very much alike in preferring the simpler things, neither one being prone to lavish or extravagant tastes.
Christmas was a blur. A near foot of powder painted everything in glistening white. The Callaghan men – much less concerned with the myriad of details involved in pulling together a last-minute wedding, made sure that Matt got the full benefit of experiencing his first NEPA winter wonderland. They took him skiing and snowboarding and snowmobiling over the mountains. Sean even let Matt ride along in the big plow truck, much to Matt’s great delight.
Faith was shielded from much of the details, a fact she was secretly happy for but felt slightly guilty about. It became clear very early on that it would take time for Faith to adjust to the skills and resources of their clan, and accepting so much help was proving a hard thing for her to do.
Kieran did his part by attempting to distract her at every opportunity, but letting others do for her after so many years of doing for herself took a lot of effort on her part. After nearly hyperventilating when she caught sight of the pricelist for various wedding items, they decided it was better for everyone involved to just tell her where to be and when. That worked for her.
They broke up into teams. Maggie and Lacie took Faith for her gown (a classic and simple candlelight white with a fitted bodice, modestly full skirt and train, and off-the-shoulder long sleeves) and all the necessary accessories (shoes, purse, veil, and bustle). They handled the flower arrangements, too, selecting colors that best complimented the bride, but tried to stick to a wintry theme with deep cranberries, forest greens, and pale, shimmery silvers.
Lexi and Aidan naturally assumed control of the reception arrangements. They reserved a private ballroom at the Goddess – one with an entire wall boasting a spectacular view of the valley in its snowy splendor. They planned the custom menu and had their professional decorators make sure everything was picture-perfect.
Taryn, Nicki, and Rebecca threw together one hell of a bachelorette party, and were ultimately in charge of the extra-special tradition among the Callaghan women that had Kieran shackled to a bed in his room at the Pub and Faith arriving in nothing but sheer veils via a dumbwaiter. It was the special gift offered from one croie (or several croies, as the case was) to another: a night of total sexual domination over her alpha male. It was a tradition and gift Faith embraced heartily.
The wedding was a simple but breathtaking candlelight ceremony, held in the church in Pine Ridge. Kieran and Faith exchanged vows before the entire Callaghan and Connelly clans. Matt gave his mother away, then proudly took his seat next to the stunning blonde in the first pew.
Epilogue