Room For Just A Little Bit More (Cranberry Inn Book 2.5)

by Beth Ehemann

  She was right. The room did have a big bed and a large couch in it, in case Brody ever wanted to spend the night, but it was so much more than that. A large dark walnut shelf sat prominently in the middle of the largest wall, and it was overflowing with Brody’s hockey memorabilia, both from the Wild and from college. His college goalie helmet sat on the top shelf with a tiny spotlight on it. Dozens of glossy action shots and newspaper articles were framed and stuck in between hockey pucks and sets of gloves, each with their own significance. I stared at the big shelf, feeling a little sad that I didn’t know him then. I know if I had, things between us might not be the same, but I wish I could’ve seen him get his first NHL save.

  “Awww!” Lauren’s coos pulled me from my trance. I turned toward the door as Lucy and Piper walked into the room in their ice blue dresses, with my mom following along behind. My hands flew up to my mouth and tears stung my eyes when I saw them. They looked so grown-up with their blonde hair pulled up in loose buns and a few soft pieces curling around their faces.

  I walked over to them and squatted when I got close. “You guys look so beautiful. No one’s gonna notice me today because they’re going to be too busy looking at you.” I sniffed.

  Neither responded, but they both smiled shyly, not used to all the attention.

  “Is that mascara?” I squinted and got closer to Lucy.

  “Uh huh. Gigi put it on us.” She beamed.

  Mom winked at me. “Just a tad.”

  “You two are just the sweetest little things,” JoAnn said, shaking her head slowly. “Kacie, I’m gonna leave you girls to get dressed. I have to get ready myself.”

  “I’m gonna take them and head downstairs too.” My mom followed. “You three need to get moving and you don’t need us gawking at ya. We’ll see you downstairs in a bit.”

  I bent down and planted soft kisses on Lucy’s and Piper’s cheeks. “See you soon, loves.”

  “Kacie, what’s this?” Lauren picked up a small blue box on the desk. “It has your name on it.”

  “It does?” I took a couple steps across the room and she handed it to me.

  It was a simple little ice blue box with a perfectly wrapped white ribbon on it. Before I lifted the lid, I knew exactly who it was from, though that didn’t lessen my shock when I saw the shiny necklace looking back at me. It was a beautiful, delicate white gold chain with a large diamond in the middle and two stones on either side.

  “Wow, that’s so gorgeous.” Lauren peered over the top of the box.

  “It really is,” Alexa agreed. “Are those emeralds?”

  “No.” I shook my head as a small smile crossed my lips. “They’re peridots, the birthstone for August.”

  “Oh my God…” Alexa took a step back, tilting her head to the side as she laughed incredulously. “Lucy and Piper’s birthstone.”

  I nodded at her as a tear rolled down my cheek.

  “No. No. No crying,” Lauren squeaked as she jumped up and grabbed a tissue off the desk. “Your make-up looks fantastic. No more crying.”

  “Sorry.” I sniffled as she wiped my eyes.

  Alexa took the box from me and set it back on the desk. “Hurry up. Get in your dress so I can put that thing around your neck.”

  Lauren unzipped the bag and pulled my dress out as Alexa helped me undo my buttons. “Do you think he knew, about the birthstones?”

  “He knew.” I nodded confidently. “He pays attention like that.”

  “Wait.” Alexa stood up and stared me square in the eye, pulling her perfect brows in tight. “Did you get him a wedding present?”

  My face grew hot as I looked toward the ground, not wanting the girls to see me.

  Alexa gasped. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” I snapped defensively. “I’m not telling you guys. It’s embarrassing.”

  “Like hell you aren’t.” Lauren was practically drooling as she abandoned my wedding dress and sat on the edge of the couch. “Spill it, girl.”

  Sighing, I peeked around the corner to make sure Brody’s mom wasn’t coming down the hallway. I closed the door quietly and plopped down on the bed, dropping my head into my hands. After another deep breath, I looked at Alexa and Lauren, pleading with my eyes. “You guys can’t tell anyone, promise?”

  They nodded in unison, both of them leaning forward slightly.

  “Okay, here goes. You know how sometimes women get those photo shoots done in like, lingerie and stuff for their boyfriends or husbands?”

  Lauren sat up straight, clapping her hands like a teenager. “Oh my God, yes! Like a boudoir photo shoot?”

  The back of my neck heated as I nodded. “Well, I did that. Some in lingerie and some in… hockey stuff, like his jersey and helmet. Stuff like that.”

  “Holy shit, you’re the coolest wife ever! I got Derek a flask for our wedding. He was so excited I thought he was gonna hump it.” Alexa rolled her eyes.

  “You are the coolest ever.” Lauren’s sparkling eyes were wide as can be. “I’m not brave enough to do something like that. Good for you.”

  I shrugged. “I just wanted to step out of the box. You know how shy I can be when it comes to certain things. I wanted to shock him a little.”

  Lauren stood and picked up my wedding dress again, carrying it over to me. “Put this on. We gotta move. Did you give them to him yet?”

  “I was too chicken,” I admitted, glancing back and forth between the two of them, “so I left the album in a pretty box in the workshop, where the boys are hanging out right now, with a note that read Open when you’re alone.’”

  “Oh, great. So if he’s hard when we walk into the barn, we’ll know why,” Alexa joked.

  “Deep breath. You ready, kiddo?” Fred squeezed my hand as we stood on the side of the barn all alone, waiting for the bridesmaids to finish walking in. I would’ve given anything to see Lucy and Piper walk down the aisle, tossing their flowers as they grinned at all the attention, all while leading Diesel down with them, our rings tied around his neck. Thank God for videographers. When Brody told me he wanted Diesel in the wedding, I laughed at first. I thought he was kidding. He looked offended, whining that my babies were in the wedding; he wanted his baby to be too. So we went out and bought an ice blue leash and collar to match the tux Brody’d had made for him.

  “I’m so ready. I can’t wait to see him. Them. Everyone.” My stomach twisted and churned as I listened intently for the barn doors to close. That was our cue to move to the front and wait for them to open back up.

  “Did you guys decide what you were doing with your vows? Your mom mentioned you were talking about it the other day,” he asked, trying to keep me calm and distracted.

  “We decided to go with traditional vows. Actually, I decided. I can’t help it. There’s something romantic about reciting the same promise that people have been saying for decades and decades.”

  “I think that’s sweet.”

  I reached out and straightened the collar of Fred’s tux. “I think you’re sweet, Fred. You look so handsome.”

  He lifted his hand and gently rubbed my cheek with the back of his fingers. “No one’s gonna be looking at me, baby girl.”

  “Stop it.” I lifted my eyes toward the sky as I waved at them to keep them dry. “No crying before the wedding. It’s a rule.”

  Fred laughed as we heard the doors close. “Here we go.” He smiled.

  He offered his arm to me, which I gladly accepted. My heart started beating faster with each step we took toward the barn entrance, and suddenly I was worried that I was going to pass out. The barn doors would open and people would turn to watch the bride walk, but instead they’d see me lying in a heap on the ground with Fred standing over me, not sure what the hell to do.

  Maybe we should have just eloped.

  Seconds before a full-blown panic attack took over my whole body, the rusty hinges of the barn door squeaked, and Big Mike’s face smiled at me as he pushed one of the barn doors open. Shea’s new husband,
Ricky, opened the other one.

  “Looking good, sis.” He grinned as he shifted the door all the way open and stood behind it.

  The minute the doors opened a weird calm washed over me, taking my jittery nerves right along with it. I glanced over the sea of fifty or so of our family and best friends and immediately looked for Brody.

  I needed to find him.

  I needed to see him, but the sun was in my eyes.

  The band started playing “Here Comes the Bride” softly and we started walking. Two steps into the barn and the sun shifted, allowing me a clear view of the front of the barn.

  There he stood. My man. Looking sharper than I’d ever seen him in his black tuxedo with a black vest underneath, slightly different from his groomsmen, who wore ice blue vests under their jackets. Brody stood tall, calm and cool as ever, until we locked eyes. That’s when the mood shifted from light to intense. I bit my lip hard, determined to keep it together and not cry the whole way down the aisle. I recalled Fred saying something to me, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember what it was. All I could focus on was Brody.

  When we finally, after what felt like twenty minutes, reached the front of the barn, I was desperate to touch Brody but needed to wait my turn. Fred turned and gave me a slow kiss on the cheek, lingering for just a second before he turned to Brody. Fred offered his hand, but Brody grabbed his shoulders and pulled him in for a bear hug as our guests chuckled. They pulled apart and Fred joined my mom in the front row, squeezing her hand as he sat down. I stepped toward Brody and reached for his hands.

  “You look beautiful,” he leaned in and whispered as the band finished playing.

  I reached up and touched my new necklace, mouthing “thank you” back to him.

  He cocked an eyebrow at me and the sexiest smirk tugged at the left side of his lips as he leaned in one more time. “Thank you.”

  My face flushed instantly as I realized he was talking about the pictures.

  The music stopped playing and our ceremony began.

  A small speech from the officiant.

  Candle lighting.

  Then came time for our vows, and I was hell-bent on not crying my way through them.

  Brody went first. He took my hands and stared straight at me with his stunning green eyes. “I, Brody Michael, take you, Kassandra Elizabeth, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

  Brody nailed it, like he’d been practicing for weeks. He made it look easy.

  Our officiant turned toward me, signaling me to start.

  My hands shook as I took a deep, cleansing breath. “I, Kassandra Elizabeth, take you, Brody Michael, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.” My voice started cracking as I rushed the last part out.

  Brody’s eyes never left mine. In that moment, I felt like we were the only two people in that whole barn, maybe even the whole world. I meant every letter of every word of every sentence in my vows. No matter what came our way, we would conquer it, together.

  Time for the rings.

  The officiant took a deep breath. “Here’s where we would normally do the ring ceremony,”—my head snapped over to him—“and I promise it’s coming. But first there is one more set of vows to be said.”

  Before I had time to be confused about what was going on, Brody released me and took a step to his left, out toward our guests. Lucy and Piper walked up to him and each took one of his hands as he squatted down. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my mom’s hand fly up to her mouth, and the guests let out a collective, “Awww,” as I tried to breathe past the huge lump in my throat.

  Piper peeked up at me and grinned before looking back at Brody.

  “Okay, you guys ready? Just like we practiced, okay?” he whispered.

  “I, Brody, promise to love you, Lucy and Piper, just as much as I love your mommy. I promise to love you and protect you and always take care of you, no matter what. From this day forward, you will always and forever be my Twinkies. And I Twinkie swear to always kill all the spiders.” He held up his pinky fingers and the girls giggled as they wrapped theirs around his.

  Every woman in the barn wiped her eyes as Alexa bumped my elbow to get my attention. I turned to my side and she handed me a wad of tissues. Holy crap, did I need them.

  Lucy lifted her hand to Piper’s ear and whispered something to her. They recited in unison, “We love you, Brody, and we’re happy you’re marrying our mommy. Thank you for our castle.” The room erupted in light laughter as Brody’s head fell toward the floor, bouncing with his own laughter. He peeked up at me and grinned. “They wrote their vows all by themselves.”

  Brody stood up and turned, taking something from Andy. When he turned back around, he walked behind the girls and placed a necklace, identical to the one he’d given me, around each of their necks before squatting back down and pulling them into a loving hug.

  I tried my best to contain my sobs but was losing the battle a little more every second. I had no idea they were going to do that. It was the most amazing surprise ever.

  The girls walked back behind me and took their places with Lauren and Alexa as Brody stood before me and took my hands one more time. I couldn’t believe I was expected to carry on with the rest of the ceremony after that. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around the man standing in front of me and never let go.

  Never. Ever. Let. Go.

  Brody placed my ring on my finger and I placed his ring on his.

  The officiant closed his book and a big grin crossed his face. “I hereby pronounce you husband and wife, you may now… pay the toll.”

  Once again, my eyes flicked to him and then immediately back to Brody’s, who smirked and winked at me before closing in and softly placing his lips on mine. He slid one hand around my waist while gently gripping the back of my head with the other one and pulled me in tight against him. Our guests cheered and hollered.

  It was our first kiss as husband and wife, but easily the most intimate one we’d ever shared.

  After the ceremony, everyone had to exit the barn so the staff could move the chairs and set up the tables. I took that opportunity and grabbed Kacie’s hand to steal her away for a few minutes.

  I closed the door to my dad’s workshop and pulled the curtain before turning around and grabbing Kacie’s face, planting a firm kiss right on her lips. She opened her mouth, inviting me in and my tongue RSVP’d happily. We stood for a few minutes kissing, hugging, and rocking back and forth.

  “We did it.” I was breathless when she finally pulled back. “We’re married.”

  “I know.” Her eyes sparkled as she rewarded me with the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face. Her pink lips were swollen from my kiss, but I didn’t care. It was our wedding, we were in love, and we could do what we wanted as much as we wanted. “Seriously, did someone challenge you to see how many times you could surprise me today, or what?”

  “No, but I’d gladly take that challenge.” I laughed, kissing her again.

  “I was emotional enough with the necklace this morning, but then the vows with Lucy and Piper and the necklaces for them?” She shook her head slowly back and forth. “I don’t even know what to say, Brody. You’ve made this whole day so special.”

  I hooked my finger under her chin and raised her face to mine. “It’s the least I could do. You’ve made my life special.”

  Her eyes filled with tears again, and she pulled a tissue out of the cleavage of her dress.

  “Got anything else in there?” I joked, yanking the front of her dress out just a bit and peeking down it.

  A huge smile broke out across her face as she dried her eyes. “I’m thinking you saw what was down my dress earlier with that photo album.”

  “What photo album?” I asked.


  Her face fell serious. “The black album? I left it here for you earlier, with a note on it?”

  I shook my head back and forth. “I didn’t see an album.”

  All blood drained from her face as her eyes bulged.

  “Kacie, Kacie, I’m just kidding. Relax.” I grabbed on to her shoulders and held tight, just in case she passed out. “Babe?”

  “You ass!” Her tiny fist punched my chest as hard as she could. “You nearly gave me a heart attack! A heart attack on my wedding day, of all days.”

  “I’m sorry.” I laughed, not really feeling all that sorry. “I just wanted to freak you out.”

  “Mission accomplished.” She narrowed her eyes and glared playfully at me.

  “You deserved it.”

  “For what?” Her tone raised defensively.

  “That album. It was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my twenty-eight years on this planet. I sat here and looked at it for about ten minutes, and my dad came in and wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk before the other guys got here. I had to hide behind his workbench for another ten minutes before my hard-on went away.”

  Kacie threw her head back and laughed hard, exposing her sexy neck. I took advantage of the opportunity, kissing, biting, and sucking on her. “You’re evil,” I groaned in between kisses.

  “Mmmm, I’m glad you liked them,” she moaned, “but that was only half your present. I’ll give you the other half later tonight when we’re alone.”

  I nipped at her clavicle area, tasting her sweet skin. “I like the sound of that.”

  “No, you hornball.” She giggled. “I really have something for you, but I wanted to see your face when you opened it.”

  A knock at the door brought us back to reality. Kacie walked over and opened it as I hid behind the workbench again. Barely through the door, Viper swept Kacie up in his arms and spun her around as she squealed.

  “Congratulations, Mrs. Murphy.”

  “Thanks, Viper.” She reached up and planted a small kiss on his cheek. “Who knew you’d clean up this nicely? You cut your hair and everything.”