by Alison Mello
He flinches slightly, then turns to face me and his eyes go slightly wide. “I wouldn’t call it avoiding you. I’ve just been busy.” His voice is snippy, like he wants no part of this conversation.
My brows shoot up. “I would call it avoiding me. Why? Why can’t you simply talk to me?”
Sudden frustration flashes across his handsome face. “Because I’m broken, Brooke. I’m not the same man you met all those summers ago. You have no idea what my life is like. The things I’ve seen, they haunt me in my sleep. The roadside bombs I’ve watched wiping out half a convoy; the gunfire that takes place while we try to recover men and a few broken down trucks; or how about this…have you ever seen one of your guys drop as he’s standing right beside you, dying at your feet from his battle wound? These things haunt me on a daily basis. For a short time, I thought I had it under control, but I don’t, and I don’t know what to do.” He pauses, but he’s panting, and part of me wants to respond, but part of me wants to let him continue. I decide to give him a minute. “I can’t even fucking stay for the fireworks tomorrow night because I’m afraid I’ll either have a flashback or a panic attack, and I don’t want to embarrass you or your family.” A tear rolls down his cheek. “I’m standing here torn, Brooke. When you’re not with me…” his words trail off as he tries to calm himself down. “When you’re not with me, I’m a mess and I fucking miss you. When you’re with me, I fear I’m going to hurt you or embarrass myself again. I don’t know if I should push you away and fight the pain I feel in my chest when we’re not together, or hold you close and try to love you, risking it all.” I assume when he says risking it all, he’s referring to losing both myself and his friend, but Remy would never turn his back on Vaughn.
He’s leaning against my bedroom door, staring inside with tears running down his face. I get it now, he came up here to think about me, to think about us, and now I know what I have to do. I wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my face to his chest, and inhale his scent. “Oh, Vaughn, you may be a broken man, but you’re my broken man, and you need to see that love can heal many things. I made a mistake when I walked out on you the other day. I should have shown you that I would support you and be there for you, and instead I ran. I’m so sorry.”
He sniffles and kisses the top of my head. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed this, holding you in my arms. I feel like it’s been forever.”
“I’ve missed it too.” I plant a kiss on his chest.
He let’s go to wipe away his tears. “I’ve never thought I needed help before. I always told everyone I was fine. Shit, even at my evaluation after my last deployment I told them all I was good. I lied about the nightmares because I thought I could handle it, I didn’t think it was a big deal, but now I’m starting to think different. I’ve been home for quite some time now and the nightmares have gotten worse again. I had a panic attack the other day in my office.” I rub his back, encouraging him to continue speaking. “I’m so thankful I was in my office and not in front of my guys. I was able to calm myself down, but it took me a while, and then Callen walked in toward the end. He knew something was wrong and told me I needed to get fucking help.” He shakes his head. “Dude finally fucking yelled at me.”
“You’ve been through a lot and always have guys leaning on you. It’s time you lean on someone else. I’m not saying you have to regale me with stories of your past, but let me help you. I want to be there for you. I love you.” I gasp. I don’t want him freaking out at those words. I’ve been holding back because I wanted him to admit he needed help, and I wanted to wait until I knew it wouldn’t cause him to push me away even more out of fear, but the words came out so naturally
He pulls away and looks into my eyes, searching. I’m trying to show him I mean it. I’ve had a crush on him for so long now that I think I’ve loved him from the minute he first kissed me. “God, I love you too, Brooke.” His lips crash down on mine, hard. I can taste his tears mixed in with the beers he’s had.
When he pulls away, we’re both panting. “Go use the bathroom right there and wash your face. My brother is worried, but I told him I would look for you.” He nods and wanders into the bathroom to clean up while I wait for him by my bedroom. When he comes out he looks a lot better, but I can still see concern on his face. “Listen, I promise to help you through this.”
He gives me a tight smile and kisses me on top of the head one more time. “Thanks, Brooke.”
“Come on. Let’s get back outside.” He puts his arm around me and we make our way back downstairs. When we get there we find everyone picking up the yard in preparation for the big day.
We both start folding up chairs and setting them aside when Remy comes over. “You good, man?”
“Ya know, for the first time I’m starting to think I will be.” He winks at me and I know he’s slipping his mask back into place so he won’t worry Remy the night before the big day, but I won’t give up and I’ll stay on him. I have to. I love him and I want to see him get better.
They hug it out. “I’m glad to hear it. Remember, no matter what, Vibe, I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, man. Listen, do you guys need more help? If not, I think I’m going to head home and try to get some sleep before tomorrow.”
I give him a warm smile. “Go, we’re fine, but you have to do me a favor.”
“What’s that?”
“Give Brody a hug for me.”
He laughs. “You got it. He’s a good boy and is feeling so much better. Thank you for helping me find him. I’m not sure where I would be right now without him.”
“Drive careful.” I press up on my toes to give him a kiss.
“I will. Good night, beautiful.”
“Good night.” I watch him walk out of the yard with his head down. I can almost see the wheels turning as he heads toward his car.
My brother puts his arm around me. “Is he really as good as he says he is?”
“Not yet, but I won’t give up on him, and he’s made the first step. He’s admitted that he needs help, now we just have to help him get it.” He kisses me on the head.
I look up to see a pained expression on his face. “Please make sure you let me know if I can help in any way. That’s my boy and I want to be there for him.”
“I will, now go get some rest. You’re getting married tomorrow.” He chuckles and runs into the house. He’s spending the night here and we’re all getting ready at their place tomorrow. It’s going to be a gorgeous day for a wedding.
Chapter 15
Brooke
We’re all at Kenzie’s and we’ve been getting ready all morning. We just have to help her slip on her dress before the photographer gets here and she’ll be ready to go. Her dress is exquisite. She’s wearing a beautiful strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline. “Look at this.” She pulls out two garter belts, one that says ‘Army Wife’ on one side with ‘Bennett’ on the other, and the other says ‘You’re Next.’ She slips them both into place under her bathrobe.
“Those are so cute, but you know what’s even cuter?”
“What?” she asks, confused.
“This. Remy asked me to deliver it to you today and told me to have you wear it around your neck.” I open the box that displays a white gold necklace that holds a single white gold dog tag he had made special for her. It has a solid diamond on the tip of it and it’s engraved with ‘Bennett’ on one side and on the other it says ‘Near or far you’re always on my mind and in my heart.’
Her hands are shaking as she pulls the box from me. “It’s beautiful.”
I smile at her. “No crying now.”
Lilly hands her a tissue to dab her eyes. “It’s gorgeous. Let me help you.” Lilly pulls the necklace from the box and places it around her neck. It lays perfectly on her chest. “Let’s get you dressed, the photographer will be here any minute, as will the limo, and you promised Remy you wouldn’t be late.” She takes a deep breath, trying to maintain control over her emotions. She’s don
e well up until this point. We girls are all dressed and ready to go. Kayla and I are wearing red halter dresses, with some embellishment below the breast to dress it up slightly. Lilly is wearing the same dress but hers is blue to go with the patriotic theme for the military wedding that’s about to take place.
“Let’s do this.” She finally stands and slips off her robe to reveal a beautiful white corset and thin white stockings. I grab her dress from the hanger and Lilly and I get busy helping her into it.
“The photographer is here,” Kayla shouts to the back room.
“We’ll be out in one minute,” I shout back.
Lilly tells Kenzie to hold her dress in place while she zips up the back. Once she’s dressed, we sit her down and we each get busy helping her put on her shoes. She thought it would be funny to wear boots for the wedding, so without Remy knowing, my mom took her on base and got her fitted for a pair of women’s boots. It’s funny, but in reality probably smarter than heels. It’s July 4th, and with the wedding being outside in the south, she would only sink into the grass, causing her to worry about falling. Once her boots are laced up, we all walk into the living room, and as soon as we do, she picks up the dress, revealing her glamorous shoes. The photographer bursts into laughter and starts snapping pictures. She also gets a close up of her new necklace.
The photographer is a hoot. She has us doing all sorts of silly things. She takes a fun picture of us checking out her camouflage garter with shocked looks on our faces. We also take a shot pretending to help her with her boots, and then she takes some serious shots of us as well. When Aunt Kenderly and Uncle Jasper arrive, she takes some nice photos of the three of them, as well as some of her and Uncle Jasper alone. He’s giving her away today since he’s the only family she has left, and she’s close to him. Poor guy got choked up when she asked him at one of our family dinners.
It takes the photographer a little bit to take every shot that Kenzie had requested, but she does it in her allotted time. As she’s finishing her last shot, the limo pulls up to the house. It’s silly she got a limo when we’re only going from her house to ours, but it’s what she wanted, and Remy told her she could have anything she wanted. My understanding is that was their compromise. He wanted a backyard wedding and she wanted a limo. “You ready to do this?” Lilly asks Kenzie.
“Let’s get out of here.” She walks to the door and the photographer is behind us snapping pictures as we help her into the limo. Uncle Jasper and Aunt Kenderly follow right behind us and the door is closed with the five of us seated inside.
When we pull up to my parents’ house, I’m totally shocked. It almost doesn’t look like their house. There’s a sign out front with rings on it that says ‘Congratulations Remington and McKenzie.’ There are wildflowers and decorations all over the place. There’s no way that you could mistake which house the wedding was taking place at. Kenzie has a huge smile on her face as the limo comes to a halt. “Wait here. I want to make sure they know you have arrived before you get out of the car,” Uncle Jasper tells her as he climbs out. The limo has pulled into the driveway. It’s the only car in front of the house. Mom and Dad have valet parking set up to move cars away from the house so the caterers and everyone else can do what they need to, plus she didn’t want anything to take away from the decorations or the sign she had put up.
“Well, in a few minutes we’ll all be getting out to start this amazing ceremony. Are you ready?” Kayla asks her.
She takes another deep breath. “I’m excited. Is that weird?”
“No. I was excited on my wedding day, but I felt like I didn’t breathe until after I said ‘I do,’ and then it was all a breeze from there.” She gives her a warm smile.
She chuckles. “That’s kind of how I feel. I keep taking deep breaths, like I’m gasping for air, but I’m excited, not really nervous.” She rubs her hands together and suddenly the door opens.
“They are ready for you.” Uncle Jasper gives her a huge smile and we all pile out of the air conditioned limo.
“Damn, it’s a hot one today,” Lilly fans herself.
“Come on, girls. Let’s get you into place before you all melt in this heat.” Aunt Kenderly ushers us to the side of the house where we’re supposed to wait for the music to start so we can make our entrance into the backyard. The honor guard stands by the entrance we are to walk through, as we enter there’s a white path telling us how to get to the archway set up in the shade toward the back of the yard. I peek around the corner to see the yard is filled with people, most of which are our family. There are teachers from the school, and I believe one of Kenzie’s cousins made it.
The air is sucked from my chest when I spot them. Remy and Vaughn are standing together in uniform and they look amazing. They hug it out and Remy takes his spot at the altar with Dawson by his side. The music begins and Kayla begins her walk down the aisle. I turn to Kenzie. “You look gorgeous.” I give her a quick hug and begin my walk down next with Lilly following. When we’re all lined up, I can’t help but glance around the yard at all the decorating that was done today. There are white tablecloths on each table with red and blue napkins. There’s a huge chalkboard set up with the schedule for the day in military time. Vaughn catches my attention and winks at me when the music changes and Kenzie walks down the aisle holding on to Uncle Jasper. I can’t help but giggle at her boots peeking out from her dress and I know the minute Remy catches it because he bursts into laughter. As soon as she’s at the altar and Uncle Jasper has given her away, he pulls her in and tells her she’s amazing. He’s about to kiss her when the priest reminds him that it’s not time for that yet and we all laugh.
The priest says his speech and they go through their vows, both my mom and Aunt Kenderly light the candles, and they light their unity candle, which I absolutely love. It’s white with camouflage wrapped around both the single tapers and the bigger one that they lit together. They once again take their place, and after a few more words from the priest, he’s finally announcing them husband and wife. The honor guard has taken their places at the altar again, lining the aisle. Remy and Kenzie finally turn to their guests. “I’m honored to introduce to you for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Remington Scott Bennett.” Everyone in the yard claps and cheers for my brother and his wife. My eyes well with tears of joy. I’m so happy for my brother and I’m excited to have a new sister-in-law. The honor guards raise their swords up in the air and Remy and Kenzie step down to walk under them. When they get to the end guys, their swords drop, stopping them in their place. Remy leans in and kisses Kenzie sweetly while the photographer snaps a dozen pictures. The swords go back up in the air for the rest of us to walk under. Lilly walks down with Dawson, I walk down with Vaughn, and Kayla walks down with Keaton.
When Vaughn links his arm with mine, I can’t help but look up at him. “You look mighty fine in that uniform, Vibe,” I tease.
He chuckles grabbing my arm and walking me out to the front of the house where we’re going to take a few pictures. “Yeah, well, you look delicious in that red dress.” I bite my lip and fight the blush that creeps up on me. The photographer starts snapping pictures of Remy and Kenzie as we follow behind them, honor guard included.
When the photographer announces for everyone to stand around the bride and groom in any order, we all bunch in. Vaughn being tall is toward the back, and I stand in front of him. The photographer gives a few directions and then hands two of the honor guard guys each an end of a sign that they hold up for the shot. She tells Remy and Kenzie to kiss, and as soon as they do, she starts snapping pictures. She tells us to look at her and smile, then she tells us to turn our heads to face the bride and groom with excitement. When we’re done, we get to see the sign says ‘Mission Accomplished.’ I can’t wait to see these photos.
It takes a while, but we finally manage to get through all of the photos that Kenzie and Remy wanted of their bridal party and family. Luckily, the catering staff had been walking around with appetizers, because w
e’re starving at this point. We finally make our way to the backyard, where there’s a reserved table for the bridal party, as well as the honor guard. Once we’re seated, the photographer takes a few more pictures and the DJ announces that it’s time for the first dance. We all watch Kenzie and Remy take to the dance floor that was set up in the yard. They sway to Wanted by Hunter Hayes, staring into each other’s eyes Remy sings to her and she can’t stop smiling. They look absolutely blissful together.
Their song comes to an end, and when it does, wait staff appear by the table with plates of food for us. They’re holding them up with covers on them, waiting for Remy and Kenzie to take their seats. As soon as they do, the plates are placed in front of us and the covers removed. The wedding is set up buffet style, but Kenzie wanted her bridal party served. We all put an order in for what we wanted off the buffet and the staff served it. I told her I didn’t think it was necessary but she disagreed. The caterers send the honor guard up to get their dinner and then start sending the remainder of our guests.
I look over to Vaughn, who sits beside me. “How’s your food?”
He wipes his mouth. “This is so good. I love southern barbecue food.”
“For a New Yorker you certainly fit in down here.”
“Good, because I don’t plan on leaving.” He has a grin on his face. “Listen, will you stay with me tonight?”
“Is that what you want?” I’m so excited, but I’m really trying not to show how eager I am.
“Well, you know Brody really misses you, and I think it would be good for him if you spent the night,” he teases. My jaw drops and I smack him playfully. “I’m kidding. Yes, that’s what I’d like. I meant it last night when I said I miss you.”
“Then yes, I’ll stay with you.”
Dinner is finally over and I’m thrilled, because that means we all get to change. Remy doesn’t know it, but we all had t-shirts made up and they’re in my room for us to change into. “You ladies ready to get out of these clothes?”
