by RC Boldt
Lucas and I were about to step up into the helicopter—joining Brent, who was readying an additional tourniquet for the wounded soldier—when suddenly the hair stood up on the back of my neck.
Oh, shit! The thought ran through my mind just as we heard the warning over our radios along with shouting from the nearby squad of Green Berets.
“Small arms fire from the Northwest! Repeat, small arms fire from the Northwest!”
Ping! Ping! Bullets hit the side of our helo, mere feet away, making a pinging sound as Lucas and I both reached for our guns which were strapped to us. I saw it, spotted the asshole firing upon us, and never once hesitated. Somehow I just knew that he was aiming from his perch along one the many small to medium-sized mountains in the valley we were now in. Knew what he was aiming for.
Lucas.
There was no way in hell I was going to let this motherfucker shoot—perhaps even kill—a man who had become like a brother to me. A man whose wife had just given birth to their first child.
Reacting instantly, I shoved Lucas out of the way, pushing him with all of the force I had, yelling, “Get down!” before turning my attention back to the asshole firing upon us.
But I was two seconds too late. The bullet ripped through my flesh, flinging me back against the helo with such force that it made me lose my breath. Our trail chopper had fired upon the asshole—luckily, it didn’t go against our shitty Rules of Engagement—killing him.
“What the fuck was that shit?” Lucas snarled at me, lifting me into the helo, readying supplies to inspect and dress my wound. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed.”
Feeling a bit dazed and woozy suddenly, I shook my head. “You know why.” Forcing what I hoped was a cocky grin, I said, “Lane’ll thank me at some point for it.”
Lane. His son. The small newborn who had a lifetime ahead of him, to be filled with memories of spending time with his father.
Lane. That sweet boy needed his father and I certainly wasn’t going to be the one to rob him of that.
“… did it for Lane …” I whispered brokenly through the pain coursing through my body.
That was the point where I finally gave in to the blackness that overtook me.
* * *
The dark gray shade of the chiffon dress Lee wore for Laney and Zach’s wedding contrasted with the deeper tan she’d acquired from them going running so often in the mornings, or in some cases, in the evenings if he’d had to teach an early class at the gym. And she looked unbelievably hot, he silently mused, recalling showing her just how hot he thought she looked.
By a slick little, Oopsie daisy, did my hand just grab your fine ass? My bad.
Shockingly enough, she’d seemed unfazed by it. Had merely given him an eye roll while shaking her head at him. But he’d still noticed her smile.
“Did you know that Laney picked those dresses because it matched the color of my eyes?” Zach bragged to him, batting his eyelashes as they stood off to the side, chatting amongst themselves. The women were inside Mac and Raine’s home assisting Laney with her dress.
He eyed his best friend with a smirk. “I’ll have you know that I’m also wearing underwear that matches your eyes. What do I get for that?”
Zach threw his head back on a laugh. Mac, who was standing with them, spoke up. “I’m pretty sure it’s not the same, Laws.”
“So tell me,” he turned back to Zach, “how much of a deposit did you have to put down on renting this place out for the wedding? Because I hear they charge a pret-ty penny these days,” he joked, eyeing Mac, who leaned against the deck railing, hands in his pockets.
“Yeah.” Mac’s infamous dimple, which all the women seemed to swoon over, popped into sight as he grinned. “I should start charging you yahoos rent. This’ll be the second wedding we’ve held here. Not counting my own, of course.”
Kane approached them, joining in the conversation, and gestured to Mac. “It’s probably because anyone can see that you love love, too.”
Zach laid a hand over his chest, acting as though he were breathless with emotion. “That was just … so …deep.”
“Speaking of deep …” he trailed off suggestively with a grin.
“You guys at it again?”
Turning to find Pearce joining them, Lawson replied, “Always, Hadley. Always.”
“Where’s my sweet brother-in-law at?” Zach called out, spotting Foster stepping out onto the deck from the house with Miller trailing behind him. Nudging Lawson, Zach mumbled, “Wait for it, wait for iiiiiit …”
“It’s not final yet. She could still back out,” Foster responded with a stern expression.
Zach gave his future brother-in-law a disbelieving look, gesturing to himself. “As if she would pass up on this smorgasbord of sexiness.”
“Smorgasbord. Choice word.” He and Zach exchanged a fist bump.
Kane attempted to placate Foster. “Now, Fos. You know Laney’s in good hands now.”
“Yeah, Fos,” Zach wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “She’s in really good hands now.”
Foster shot Zach a dark glare. “Do anything to hurt her and no one will ever find your body.”
After a brief pause, eyebrows lifting to nearly his forehead, Zach stared for a moment. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean, that’s it?” Foster shot back.
With a look of disappointment, Zach shook his head. “I expected more of an ‘I’ll rip you limb from limb and feed your body to the sharks’ kind of thing.”
“I can amend it. Don’t worry,” Foster remarked darkly.
“Hey, Kronos!” The men turned to see Noelle standing at the threshold of the home, the sliding glass door to the house opened a few inches. “Your mother needs you for something.”
“Coming Medea,” Foster shot back, instantly walking up the steps of the deck to follow her inside.
“Those two and their pet names,” Pearce remarked with a laugh.
“Try working with them,” Miller said, making a face.
“Eh,” Kane shrugged, “it’s not so bad.” Miller shot him a disbelieving look and the Texan amended his response. “Okay, it’s pretty bad, at times.”
“So …” Mac rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “You ready, Mayson?”
When Lawson turned to face his best friend, waiting for his answer, he watched as Zach’s face transformed. “Feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for this moment,” came the quiet response.
“Time to get down to the beach and take your places!” Momma K. announced, exiting the house onto the deck with his own parents and Raine’s father trailing behind her. Noelle exited shortly thereafter with Foster who just happened to be following her, eyes every so often glossing over the blonde’s form.
As the guys made their way down the wooden walkway out onto the beach where the flowered arbor marked the spot, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like if he were the one walking down to the spot on the beach to await his bride. Wondered what it would be like to be down there, standing at the arbor with his friends by his side as he awaited his … forever.
Someday, he thought to himself with a wistful smile. Someday.
* * *
“You look stunning,” Raine said breathlessly, gazing at Laney standing before them in her wedding dress.
“I can’t believe this is it.” Laney’s voice had a tinge of nervous desperation to it. “This is it.”
“Deep breaths, Kavanaugh. Deep breaths,” Tate commanded, her tone laced with amusement.
“Speaking of stunning …” Laney suddenly turned to face her. “You did a great job with your hair and makeup, Lee.” With a teasing tone, she added, “Little Miss ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’ pulled it off.”
Clearing her throat, she shifted uncomfortably. “Actually, I didn’t do it.”
“Then who did?” Laney asked, confusion lining her features.
“No way,” breathed Raine, before a wide smile spread across her face. “Serious
ly?”
She merely nodded with a small smile.
“Wait a minute. What are we missing here?” Tate’s eyes darted between her and Raine.
Laney gave them a sharp look. “Who did your hair and makeup, Lee?”
Raine grinned, answering for her. “Laws did.”
The expressions of shock on Laney and Tate’s faces were priceless.
“Are you serious?” Laney asked slowly.
Nodding, she answered simply, “Yes.”
“Aww,” gushed Tate. “I swear, I love him even more now.”
“Laws is a pretty spectacular man.” Laney cocked her head to the side with a smirk. “He can also be spectacularly odd at times, but he’s pretty amazing just the same.”
“That he is.”
“Well,” Raine clapped her hands together, “you ready, Kavanaugh? Because I know a certain guy who’s chomping at the bit to make it official.”
“Ready.” Laney gave a firm nod. “Let’s do this.”
As they walked out of Raine and Mac’s large master bedroom, making their way down the hallway, through the sliding glass door onto the back porch, she couldn’t help but wonder. Wonder what it would be like to be in Laney’s position, walking down to the beach where the man of her dreams waited for her.
Wondered what it would be like to walk down to that beach and have Lawson Briggs be the one waiting for her.
C
HAPTER FORTY-ONE
Gold’s law: If the proverbial shoe fits, it’s ugly.
Langley’s take: I can’t lie. I totally had to consult with the girls on this one and they all agreed. Not to mention, I ended up getting schooled on exactly what ‘wedges’ were. I had no idea they were an actual type of shoe … or that they were a million times easier to walk in than the run of the mill girly-type of heels. Go figure. Learn something new every day with these ladies.
~
“ON THIS DAY, I GIVE you my heart. I promise to love you, to always keep our home stocked with coffee, and not get mad when you steal all the covers.” Zach grinned when Laney made a dismissive noise before turning serious, his gray eyes full of love and adoration as he gazed down at her. “I promise that I will walk with you, hand-in-hand, wherever our journey leads. Always together.”
As his best friend and his bride spoke their vows, their heartfelt words washed over him, and he found that his eyes were drawn to the tall brunette standing across from him.
“… I promise to be your partner in all things, I promise perfect love and perfect trust, for a lifetime with you could never be enough. This is my sacred vow to you, my equal in all things.”
He was unable to draw his eyes away from Lee until someone nudged him in the side. Eyes darting back to Zach and Laney, he found they were now looking at him expectantly, as was the officiant.
“Oh!” His hands patted his pockets before sliding down into the right front pocket of his pants, removing the small box containing the wedding rings. Reaching out to hand them to his best friend, he winked. “Sorry, man. Got a little caught up in the romance, there, for a minute.”
“Was more than a minute, dude,” Mac cough-mumbled from beside him.
Ignoring his friend’s remark, he met Lee’s gaze again as the ceremony proceeded. Seeing the amusement in her eyes at his recent gaffe, he winked at her, before returning his attention back to the Laney and Zach.
And, as he witnessed yet another couple not only fall prey to the “love bug” but tie the knot, officially joining their lives together, moving forward as one, he finally knew.
He finally understood what the fuss was all about. Finally knew why his friends had wanted this.
It wasn’t to tie down one another or to officially have “an old ball and chain”. No. It was quite the opposite. It was because they had found the one person who never made life boring, who could always manage to make them smile even when circumstances warranted otherwise; the one person they wanted to see at the end of every day and the beginning of each morning.
His friends weren’t perfect people. Not by a longshot. But somehow, they’d managed to find their other half, the other pea to their pod. They complemented one another in ways no other person could.
He’d never before understood it. Because while he had witnessed this love amongst his friends, he had never experienced it himself.
And there, on that beach, with the waves of the Atlantic lapping gently at the shoreline, while witnessing the third wedding amongst his friends, he finally realized why things hadn’t clicked with him.
Because it had taken some extreme—and some unfortunate—circumstances to show him, to bring him face to face with what he’d been missing out on.
To finally show him his Lee.
* * *
“I’m just saying.” Tate lips curved upward in a smug smile directed at her. “If those hot looks had been directed at me, I’d have to change my panties.”
“If you were wearing any,” a deep voice remarked from behind them, and they turned to see Tate’s husband standing there.
Tate playfully shoved at Miller. “He’s joking, of course.”
“Or am I?” Miller posed the question playfully, cocking an eyebrow. Sliding an arm around his wife, he tipped his head in the direction of the designated “dance floor” area on the large outer deck of the home where two people were slow dancing. “Did you see that hell froze over?”
She and Tate glanced over at the couple Miller had gestured to and their gasps were nearly simultaneous.
Noelle and Foster.
“No freaking way.” Tate shook her head in disbelief before turning to look at her and Miller. “Am I really seeing that, right now?”
“Uh-huh,” she murmured, dumbfounded.
Lowering his voice, Miller explained, “I heard Momma K. threaten both of them, saying they’d make her cry if they couldn’t at least get along enough for one dance. She added that, if they made her cry, her blood pressure would skyrocket and she’d have to be taken to the hospital—or worse.”
Tate’s brows furrowed. “But … Momma K. doesn’t have high blood pressure to begin with.” She paused as if unsure. “Does she?”
Miller made a face. “Not even. It’s actually really low.”
“Manipulative little thing, isn’t she?” she commented.
“You have no idea,” Tate and Miller replied in unison before turning to stare at each other and snickering.
And it was then that she felt a little pang—envy at having a person who knew you inside and out, the person who spoke your thoughts at the same time you did.
A part of her yearned for that.
You can have it with Lawson, an inner voice proclaimed.
You’re not good enough. You’ve never been good enough, another inner voice, one which sounded eerily similar to Regina’s, cried out.
Shivers erupted down her spine just then and she knew, without turning, that he was behind her. His hands cupped her shoulders before he bent to press a kiss to the side of her neck left bare by the simple up-do he himself had done. And she knew.
She knew she couldn’t let that second voice—couldn’t let Regina—win. She was done with the past determining her future. It was time to dig deep and use that bravery, the courage she’d utilized during her time as a PJ.
It was time to lay her heart bare for Lawson Briggs.
* * *
“If I might have everyone’s attention, please,” Lawson announced over the din of music playing softly in the background along with conversations.
“Oh, no,” Laney groaned good-naturedly, leaning her head upon Zach’s shoulder. The music was muted and he waited for the others to quiet before he began his best man speech.
“As most of you know, I’m Zach’s best man and best friend.” Schooling his expression into one of wistfulness, he said, “It all began many moons ago, on a hot, humid August day when I met him in the Media Center of our school for the new teacher’s orientation. Sadly,” he shook his head, pretending
to wipe away a stray tear from his check, “I was his rebound since he’d struck out talking to this beauty,” he waved in Laney’s direction, “right there. But it worked out.”
Smiling at the couple, he continued. “Zach and I became friends and he’s been like the brother I never had. Always there for me through thick and thin, through some really crappy times as well as well as fun ones. He’s always been the guy who’s had my back even when I did some sketchy stuff.”
Grinning, Zach called out, “Tiny Tim still misses you!”
Chuckling, he turned to address their family and friends, expression sobering. “But there’s a big difference here compared to most speeches—or mourning—from the best man. Well,” his eyes went squinty as he frowned, “except for when he took me ring shopping. Because, let me tell you, people, that stung.” He tapped his palm to the center of his chest. “Right here, down deep.” Heaving out a dramatic sigh, he added, “Because, alas, it was not me he was going to propose to.” Shaking his head, eyes downcast, he heard collective groans intermixed with chuckles.
Collective groans and laughter were pretty much a constant baseline for him. If he got one or the other, he was pleased as punch. But both?
Both meant he was a mad genius with delivering his brand of humor. Insert mental fist pump.
As if attempting to compose himself, he began again, “Today, I’m not mourning the loss of my best friend moving on with his life and marrying Laney. Not even close. Because I am one lucky SOB. These two people,” he gestured in the couple’s direction, “happen to both be my friends. While I don’t have anything to mourn, what I do have is complete and utter happiness that these two found their way to each other after all this time.
“I’m thrilled that my dear friends are going to allow me to continue to be a part of their lives and watch them as they work through the nuances of marriage and, God willing,” he held up both hands, fingers crossed with his eyes looking up to the evening sky, “they’ll make me an uncle someday, too.”
