by Kait Nolan
A long time later, she roused herself to reach for the picnic basket. “I’m starving.”
“I will endeavor to keep you fed for the rest of our lives.” It was a lazy promise, but Abbey couldn’t help but think about the future.
Container of chicken in hand, she came back to kiss him. “I like the sound of that. How does Monday sound?”
“For what?”
“To start the rest of our lives.”
Kyle blinked at her and sat up on one elbow. “You want to get married on Monday?”
She wanted to get married right now, to seal the deal so life didn’t have a chance to intervene. But Monday was as early as they could get a license. “Yes.”
“You still want to elope?”
How could she explain the depth of her fear that this would get taken away from her again? She didn’t want a chance for either of them to think or second guess. She just wanted to be his wife. “Yeah. The end result has always been a lot more important to me than the pomp and circumstance.”
His eyes searched hers. Abbey hoped the faint tinge of panic didn’t show. At last, he took her ring hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
“As you wish.”
Chapter 15
From the front passenger seat of his Land Cruiser, Kyle studied his brother with amusement. “Why the hell are you so twitchy? I’m the one getting married.”
Griff grunted, his eyes making the circuit of side mirror to rear view to straight ahead for what felt like the nine-thousandth time. “We should have gone to Knoxville.”
“There wasn’t time to get to Knoxville and back before our one o’clock appointment with the judge. Hell, even making it to Johnson City and back is pushing it, but by damn, I’m marrying Abbey in a tux and bringing her a dress. I know she said she didn’t care, but I don’t want her to look back on our wedding day and regret it isn’t more special.”
“That’s sweet and all, but Johnson City is the closest town of any size. Which means any paparazzi hanging around are probably staying there. I don’t like it.”
“That’s what you’re for, my brother. Besides, it’s a quick in and out. Easy peasy. No one knows I’m getting married, let alone that I’m going to be in Johnson City.”
Griff just grunted again.
It would be fine. They’d grab the proper wedding day attire and meet Abbey and Granddaddy at the courthouse. It’d be cutting it close, but the look on her face at his surprise would be worth it. Kyle wasn’t at all sure how her parents would react to being excluded. She’d originally intended to have a single witness, but Kyle knew how important it was to Granddaddy to be a part of things, and it hadn’t taken much to convince her to bring him along. He didn’t exactly like the haste she was pushing for, but he understood it for what it was. Even knowing they’d both been played ten years ago, she was afraid of a repeat.
Over his dead body. He was marrying that girl, come hell or high water. Maybe they’d have a big party for family and friends when everything was done. Once she accepted he wasn’t going anywhere, she’d want to celebrate.
Despite Griff’s dire predictions, they made it to the bridal shop without incident. After a snoop through Abbey’s closet to check, Kyle had already called this morning with his measurements and Abbey’s height and size. The proprietress had promised to have a selection of dresses available on their arrival.
He flashed the Nice Guy grin at the fifty-something woman behind the counter. “Order for Griffin Powell?”
Griff arched a brow, but Kyle just shrugged. Using his own name hadn’t been an option.
“Oh, of course. I have the tux right here, if you’d like to try it on.”
“I’d really like to see the dresses first.” One monkey suit was more or less like another, in his opinion. The dress was more important.
“Certainly. Right this way.”
Kyle trailed her through a curtain into a massive dressing room. Multiple stalls circled the space, and a small, raised dais occupied the center of the room in front of a three-way mirror. A single dress hung on the hook outside of each dressing room. Looked like they had the place to themselves for the moment.
“Based on what you told me, I pulled about half a dozen gowns. These styles will be the most forgiving if your estimates are off.” She moved from one dress to the next, listing features that meant next to nothing to him.
The last dress had some kind of design on the bodice that reminded Kyle of the spreading branches of an apple tree. It was a sign. “That one.”
“Oh, an excellent choice. A-line with a V-neck is flattering on a multitude of body types.”
Kyle didn’t much care what kind of alphabet soup features it had. He just knew Abbey would be stunning in it. “Wrap it up.”
“Certainly. And you should try on your tux while I do that.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.”
“I’m afraid I must insist. You don’t want to get to the wedding, and it not fit properly.”
Though he knew time was running short, he did as he was told. Maybe he’d just wear it back to the Ridge and save time.
Several minutes later, he stepped out into the main shop, looking for Griff. “Well?” Arms held out, he spun a slow circle.
But his brother was looking through a doorway on the other side of the counter, his granite jaw bunching and flexing.
“What is it?”
“A problem.”
Kyle crossed over and peered in himself, spotting a TV playing on low volume. His name flashed on the screen.
Kyle Keenan’s Estranged Mother Tells All!
The blood drained from his face. “No.” Even as he uttered the word, Twyla filled the screen.
He’d circled around the counter and barged into the office to raise the volume, despite the objection from the saleswoman.
“—been hard. But I want my boy to know, I forgive him. I only wish I could be there for his wedding today to tell him.”
His blood ran cold. “How? How did she know?”
“Question for later. We need to move.” Urgency thrummed in Griff’s tone. He disappeared from the office doorway, and the shop owner popped in.
“Sir, you can’t just…” She trailed off, looking from Kyle to where his face was now splashed on the screen. Her eyes went wide. “You’re... oh my.”
“Look, I’ll take the tux and the dress.” Kyle pulled cash out of his wallet. “And your silence. I don’t want any trouble. I just want to get married today.”
Her expression softened. She took the money, counted out a stack and gave back the rest. “No one will hear it from me.”
“Thank you.”
Griff came back, Kyle’s clothes in hand. “Wear the tux. We need to go before anybody finds you.”
The proprietress handed him the garment bag with the dress. Kyle draped it over one arm. “Need my phone. I have to call and warn Abbey.”
Griff slapped it into his hand. “Talk and move.”
He could wait ’til they got in the truck.
They burst out of the shop, and chaos descended. Cameras flashed; people shouted. Bodies pressed in close.
“Is it true you sent your parents to prison?”
Panic and temper surged, but he knew better than to let either fly. No comment was the party line until his team told him otherwise. The team he hadn’t yet talked to. Damn it.
Griff put himself between Kyle and the throngs. But he was only one man.
“Were you part of the embezzlement scheme?”
Someone shoved a camera in Kyle’s face.
“Did you make sure your parents took the fall?”
Someone jostled Kyle, and his phone went flying. The paparazzi surged forward, and the crunch of glass told him the phone was a lost cause.
“Fuck this,” Griff snarled. “Stay close.” He bulled his way through the crowd, much as he’d done as a defensive lineman in high school football. They broke through and bolted for the Land Cruiser. Press swarmed the SUV before the
y’d even gotten inside. They slammed their doors, nearly mashing a few fingers.
“Hold on to your butt.” Griff gunned it, and reporters scattered, leaping out of the way as the Toyota bumped over a curb and shot away from the parking lot.
“Shit. Shit. Shit” This couldn’t be happening. Not today, of all days.
“They’re right on our tail.”
Kyle curled his hand around the oh shit handle. “Can you lose them?”
“Yeah, but you’re gonna be late. There’s only one way to Eden’s Ridge from here, and we can’t take it.”
“Shit. I need to warn Abbey. Where’s your phone?”
“Pocket. Where’s yours?”
“Toast. Dropped it back at the shop.”
They careened around a corner before Griff dug his out and tossed it over.
Kyle stared at the thing in his hand. “What the hell is this?”
“A phone.”
“It’s a flip phone.”
“So?”
Now was not the time to give his brother shit for not being part of the twenty-first century. “Fine.” He flipped it open only to come up short. “I don’t know her number.”
“Seriously?”
“Why would I? It’s a button in my contacts. Smartphones mean we never have to actually dial anything.”
“Well, I don’t have it.”
“I’ll call the inn. One of my sisters will have it.”
“Don’t have that one either.”
And because it was a technological antique, Kyle couldn’t just look it up. “Well, who do you have?”
“You, a few other guys on the crew. Some friends from the Marines.”
“That’s it?
“In case it escaped your notice, I haven’t exactly been out making friends since I got out of the Corps. I’ve been babysitting your ass.”
Kyle slammed his hand against the dash. “Fuck! If I don’t show, Abbey’s going to think I bailed on her.” He couldn’t do that to her. Not again. Not as scared as she was of exactly that.
“Would you rather lead these cretins, straight to her?”
He thought of the overzealous press, imagined them mobbing her at the courthouse. Yeah, he didn’t want that as a memory on their wedding day either. “No.”
“Then you’ll explain later. I’ll back you up, and she’ll forgive you. Right now, my job is to keep you safe. But this situation is bigger than us. You need PR. So I’m taking you to your people.”
“What?”
“We’re going to Nashville.”
As the clock ticked closer to one, Abbey paced the third-floor hall outside the judge’s chambers. “Where is he?”
“Settle down, Butter Bean. He’ll be here.”
Granddaddy’s assurances did nothing to quell the anxiety curdling her stomach.
“I don’t understand why we didn’t come together.” So she could have kept an eye on her groom. Not that she didn’t trust him. Kyle loved her. She knew that. But despite understanding that they’d both been played ten years ago, she couldn’t shake the fear or the memories of devastation. She needed him here with her.
“He’s working on a surprise for you.”
Cluing in to the conspiratorial tone, Abbey zeroed in on her grandfather. “What do you know, old man?”
“I’m sworn to secrecy. But I promise, it’ll be worth the wait.” The twinkle in his eyes helped her relax enough to sit beside him. He folded her hand between both of his. “Are you sure you wanna do it like this? No family but me?”
“Yes.” She’d meant what she’d told Kyle. The end result mattered more to her than the wedding itself. “Are you disappointed?” Her parents would be, but she’d deal with them later. After the I dos were said and this nagging sense of disquiet had settled.
“It’s not what I imagined for you, but it’s not my wedding.”
Abbey appreciated that he wasn’t laying on the guilt trip. He could have. “What did you imagine?”
“I always thought you’d get married in the orchard. That we’d string up fairy lights and ribbon and make a long aisle down the east side. You’d have flowers in your hair and maybe wear your grandma’s veil.”
The picture he painted made her throat ache. Under other circumstances, she’d want exactly that. With friends and family there as witness to those vows of forever. Swallowing hard, she tipped her head to his shoulder. “That all sounds lovely. And you’d walk me down the aisle.”
“Not your daddy?”
“I always wanted you.” Who else but her favorite person?
Granddaddy’s wrinkled cheeks pinked with pleasure. “Well, at least we’ve got that. And this.” He reached down to pick up a flat box he’d brought and handed it over.
Curious, Abbey lifted the lid to find a neat pile of gauzy white lace. With trembling hands, she drew it out. “Grandma’s veil?”
“I thought it could be your something old.”
Touched, delighted, she smoothed the lace. “It’s perfect.” With careful hands, she fit the comb into her hair, trailing the veil down her back. “How do I look?”
“Beautiful.”
The door to the judge’s chambers opened. “Miss Whittaker and Mr. Keenan?”
Oh God, it was time, and Kyle wasn’t here. Panic flattered in Abbey’s gut. “I’m so sorry. The groom is running a little late.”
Judge Halsey checked his watch. “Well, we can wait a little bit, but I’ve got court at two.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.” As soon as he disappeared into his office, Abbey was yanking out her phone. “I’m calling him.”
But Kyle didn’t answer. The tone rang and rang. When it clicked to voicemail, she hissed, “Where are you? The judge is waiting. I’m waiting. And I’m getting worried.” Without looking at Granddaddy, she followed up with a text. But the message didn’t flip to read and there were no bouncing dots to indicate a reply. Something was wrong.
“Okay, seriously, I don’t care if he swore you to secrecy. You have to tell me where he went.”
Granddaddy sighed. “He wanted today to be special for you, so he went to...” At the sound of hurried footsteps, he trailed off. “See there? I told you he’d be here.”
But it wasn’t Kyle. The creepy paparazzo from the spa that first day trotted down the hall, his camera bouncing on the strap around his neck.
Abbey’s hands curled into fists. “How dare you show up here? Have you no shame? This is our wedding!”
The guy held up a hand as he struggled to catch his breath. “Not gonna... be... a wedding.”
Abbey’s mouth went dry. “Excuse me?”
“The groom’s headed back to Nashville.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Why would this asshat have any idea where Kyle actually was? Except that he’d made it his mission to track everywhere Kyle went.
“Lit out of Johnson City like his ass was on fire once the news broke.”
A cold finger of dread trailed its way down her spine. “News? What news?”
“His mama’s interview. Everybody else went chasing after him. I was a lot more interested in getting your reaction to being jilted at the altar.”
The words slammed into her. She wanted to deny it. To believe Kyle would never do that to her. But he’d called his mom’s bluff. If she’d already acted—and how would this guy know anything about Twyla if she hadn’t?—he’d panic. What had she said? How bad was it? And why the hell hadn’t he called her?
If this was just about damage control or even some kind of necessary postponement of things, he’d have called her. The only reason he’d avoid her calls and not respond to text was if he’d let Twyla and her bullshit into his head. If he believed what she’d been telling him for years. That he was worthless. That he didn’t deserve Abbey. That she was better off without him.
“No.” As the horror of it slid into her like a blade, a camera flashed in her face. Abbey raised a hand to shield her eyes, her face, from the onslaught.
Granddaddy swore and
shouted, “Security!”
Footsteps pounded down the hall. Someone dragged the guy away, but Abbey barely noticed. She was too busy clinging to control by her fingernails.
“After everything we’ve been through, how could he leave me at the altar? He knows what this means to me. How could he just run back to Nashville without a word?” Her voice cracked as her throat simply closed up with a knot of tears.
“Do you really believe that’s what he did, or are you just panicking?”
“Of course, I’m panicking. My groom is MIA!” The knot dissolved, and the tears spilled down her cheeks in a hot flood.
“Seems to be the case. But there’s more than one potential explanation for that. Maybe he forgot his phone somewhere. I do it all the damned time.”
Abbey blinked back tears and looked into Granddaddy’s patient face. Could it really be that simple and benign?
Sucking in a breath, she pulled out her phone and did a quick search of Kyle’s name. And there was Twyla, in all her hateful glory, along with an inset of video someone had taken in a parking lot. She clicked play and watched as Griff and Kyle straight up bolted to their SUV, diving in as if it were bullets rather than accusations flying. Kyle wore a tux and had a garment bag over one arm.
“What is that?”
“A wedding dress. He wanted to surprise you.”
The fist around her heart loosened a fraction. “He… went to buy me a wedding dress?”
“He wanted to make today special for you.”
He’d bought her a dress. He was wearing a freaking tux when he escaped. None of that said he was calling off the wedding. The panic began to ebb. They wouldn’t make their appointment today. Abbey had no clue what the hell was going on or why he’d gone back to Nashville without a word. But he had a reason. She had to trust him like she didn’t before. Trust that he loved her, and he’d explain when he had the chance.
Rising, she held out a hand to Granddaddy. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
