Jolene scattered a few rose petals as she walked down the center aisle and stopped in front of an archway covered with ivy and red roses. She turned and winked at Dotty, who was sitting on the front row of chairs, along with Flossie and Lucy. Then Sugar appeared at the back of the room with her arm looped in Jasper’s.

Everyone stood up, and it took only a couple of minutes for her to make her way to the front of the arch and hand off her rose bouquet to Jolene.

“You may be seated,” the preacher said and began the ceremony.

Tucker tried to listen to the preacher, but his eyes kept shifting from his beautiful wife to his baby daughter. The Magnolia had been the best thing that ever happened to him. Within these walls he’d come to grips with his grief, given up the bottle, and learned to love again. And now he and Jolene had a beautiful little black-haired daughter with big blue eyes.

“The ring,” the preacher said.

Tucker reached into his pocket and handed it to him. Maggie continued to fuss. Dotty tried giving her a pacifier, but that didn’t work. The preacher kept talking about the significance of the wedding ring, but Tucker’s daddy instinct was on high alert. Finally, he could stand it no longer. He took a couple of steps and reached for his daughter. Dotty handed her over, and Maggie immediately settled down.

The ceremony ended, and the bride and groom quickly made their way to the office. Pictures would be done in a few minutes, but all the guests were invited to the reception in the Tipsy Gator.

Jolene looped her arm into his. “Aren’t you glad we didn’t do it this way?”

“Amen, darlin’.”

With his wife on one arm and his baby nestled in the other, there was no place on earth that Tucker would rather be than at the Magnolia Inn.