The Wedding

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “Neil, do you still want to marry Candy, even though she can’t have kids?”

  He knew she was waiting for an answer, but he couldn’t answer her because, in his own mind, he still hadn’t been able to separate Candy from the children he wanted. He flicked the signal light on the truck and passed another vehicle as they approached the freeway into Seattle.

  “Neil, you’re going to have figure out what to say to Candy. You have to understand that she may not want to come with you,” Emily added when he didn’t answer her.

  “I know. I just don’t have a clue what to say. If this were a business deal, I’d charm her.” He smiled at Emily, but she frowned in return.

  “Can I give you some advice, Neil?”

  “Am I going to want to hear this?” he replied.

  “Neil, just speak from the heart. Tell her how you really feel about everything,” Emily said.

  “What if she won’t listen? I mean, she knows I bought her property, and me not telling her is―”

  “Exactly what she did to you when she asked me to help her get a pregnancy test without sharing her suspicions with you.”

  Neil did a double take, surprised. “Uh, I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think you would get it.”

  “Neil, I want you both to be happy. I don’t want to see either of you hurt―”

  Neil’s cell phone rang, interrupting Emily. He grabbed it with his free hand, noticing the long-distance number. “Stella, what’s going on? I’m almost there.”

  “Well, you better hurry. That girl is freaking out. I just got off the phone with her again. She’s waiting at the ticket counter for her new passport to arrive from the consulate.”

  “Wait a second. How is the consulate able to send a passport just like that?” Neil snapped.

  “They’re not,” Stella barked. “I lied, but she doesn’t know that. The girl believes I can perform miracles, so you better not blow this, or that girl will never trust anyone again.”

  “Got it. I’ll figure something out. I’ll call you after I’ve found her.”

  Neil hung up and tossed the phone on the seat, pressing the gas and moving into the fast lane.

  “Neil?” Emily asked, setting her hand on the dashboard as he sped up.

  “Just hang on. Candy is still at the airport, waiting for a passport that will never arrive. I just don’t know what shape she’s going to be in when we get there.”

  “Then we better hurry,” Emily said just as a siren and lights flashed behind them.

  “Oh, shit,” Neil said as he spotted the police cruiser behind him. He slowed and pulled over, rolling down his window as the cop approached.

  “Any idea how fast you were going?” the cop asked.

  “Sorry, Officer. My girl is at the airport, and she’s hurt…”

  “Save it. License and registration, please,” the cop said, cutting him off. He’d probably heard that story a million times. Neil checked his watch and sighed, and the cop peered across at Emily. “Get comfortable,” he said. “This could take a while.”

  Neil watched the cop walk back to his car and climb in, and he wondered what curveball could possibly come next.

  Chapter 33

  Candy had purchased a sweater at the hotel gift shop, along with a pair of sweatpants. She was still wearing her sandals, the ones she had worn in the hospital after Emily brought them from the ranch. She was exhausted, uncomfortably warm and achy, and she just didn’t feel well. Her hair, she knew, was a mess. She’d brushed it in the airport bathroom as best she could before tucking everything she had into the same plastic bag she’d left the hospital with, stuffed with only her shampoo and toothbrush, along with the prescription she had yet to fill for her pain meds.

  Her eyes ached from staring at the clock as she waited for another passport to arrive. She’d missed her flight and was furious when she realized Neil had the passports. Hell, he had everything, but at least Stella had come through for her like only a fairy godmother could.

  “Candy?”

  She heard the familiar voice and jumped around in her seat, wincing from the sharp pain in her stomach at the sudden movement. Then he was in front of her, hovering over her, touching her shoulder, and she didn’t have the strength to push him away. He sank down in the empty chair beside her, and she noticed Emily with him.

  “What do you want?” she said to Neil. She met his eyes briefly and saw the concern, so she had to look away. No way was she getting sucked back into that after what he’d done. She felt herself choking up and set her trembling fingers to her mouth, struggling to hold it together.

  Neil touched her forehead. “Candy, you’re clammy and warm. You probably have a fever. Damn them for letting you go. You should still be in the hospital!”

  “I’m going home, Neil. Stella has already―”

  “There’s no passport coming, Candy.”

  She glanced up at Emily first, who frowned and nodded. Then she narrowed her eyes at Neil. “Stella lied to me?”

  “Candy, you need to listen to Neil,” Emily interrupted, standing right in front of her.

  “Why? He stole my property. It was all he ever wanted, and now he’s got it. He didn’t have to marry me, and now, since…” She couldn’t say the words, that she had lost the baby and had a hysterectomy. Her tongue thickened and wouldn’t move.

  “Candy, I didn’t steal your property. That piece of land was the only thing that always came between us, so I was walking away. The bank took it, and it was gone. I was happy about that because it was you I wanted, but then I found out that a developer was buying it and planning on building condos up and down the beach. I knew you wouldn’t be able to live with that, so I bought it. After, I didn’t know how to tell you. I was waiting for the right time, which never came.”

  “So when does the construction start on your fancy resort?” she spat out.

  “It doesn’t,” he said, watching for her reaction.

  “I don’t understand. You want that resort. You hounded my father for years for that property! You dreamed of that resort…”

  “Yes, I did, but I also dreamed of you, Candy. I still want that resort, but I can’t just go ahead and build it.”

  She must have been in worse shape than she thought, because Neil was making no sense. Maybe it was her expression of confusion and puzzlement that made him reply.

  “The property is in your name, Candy.”

  She wasn’t sure she had heard him right. “I don’t understand. How can it be in my name if you bought it?”

  “I bought it for you because you love it,” he said, sliding his arm over the back of the seat she was sitting in. He moved closer to her, turning and leaning forward so that she had to look at him.

  “But what about your resort?” she asked again.

  “Well, that was the reason I was having trouble telling you. I knew you’d believe I had an ulterior motive for the property, which is why it was in your name. I wanted you to trust me enough to know I wouldn’t just start building a resort on something you loved so much, but I didn’t know how to convince you to let me build it.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Neil,” she said.

  “There’s nothing to say, because I can’t build on something that’s yours.”

  When she glanced up at Emily, what she saw was someone she trusted watching Neil with compassion.

  “I don’t want you to go, Candy,” he said. He reached for her hand, and she couldn’t see him through the sheen of tears.

  “But you didn’t want me, and you blame me now because I can’t have kids,” she said, choking on her tears.

  Neil put his other arm around her to block her from other passengers. “Candy, I was furious with you, and I still am. This is about trust, and when I found out you hadn’t told me how you were feeling, even after we had just gone through the same thing about the wedding plans, I felt betrayed. I didn’t stay because I didn’t want to hurt you with what I’d say. I wanted to shake some sense into you
, and I wanted to yell at you. That’s what I would have done if I’d stayed, but I never would have said I didn’t want you. I want children so badly, and you knew that, but I also want you. I was confused because I couldn’t separate you from our children. I shouldn’t have left you alone. You should have told me of the complications and how you were feeling, because we should share everything, and I should have told you I bought your property.”

  She didn’t understand what he was saying. “Neil, maybe it’s too late for us. Maybe there’s been too much hurt between us.”

  “I’m not willing to throw it all away yet, Candy. Are you?” he asked.

  She stared at this difficult man and then up at Emily, who encourage her to answer him. She sighed, not pulling away from the only man to have her whole heart. “No, I guess I’m not, either.”

  Neil pulled her against him and then whispered, “Let’s get you into bed.”

  He scooped her in his arms and carried her out of the airport, and Candy sighed as she caught the odd looks from strangers. Emily watched her with an expression of support, as if maybe she was beginning to understand her man.

  Chapter 34

  Candy brushed her straight, dark hair and applied just a hint of makeup to a complexion that once again had some nice color. She slipped her robe off and stared at her body in the full-length mirror. She wore a lacy white bra and matching underwear, and she ran her finger over the healed scar. It hurt; not physically, but emotionally—the pain of what she couldn’t give Neil, the choice taken from her, an ache they now shared. She slipped on a simple white dress, nothing fancy, just knee length and sleeveless.

  After a month of lying around and resting, she felt better, but she also felt restless. Both she and Neil had come through a life-altering experience, with a lot of hurtful and harsh words spoken by both of them, but now when he yelled and said what was on his mind, he didn’t leave her side, not for one minute. He hugged her and held her.

  She remembered the night he had driven them back to Brad’s. She’d leaned against his shoulder and slept most of the way. When they pulled in, the family had rallied around her. Diana, Emily, and Becky had made it clear to her that she was one of them now, family, and family didn’t run. Two days later, Neil had flown them home, and she’d been recouping ever since. This time, Neil stayed beside her and held her every night while they slept.

  Candy stared at the envelope in front of her, the same envelope Neil had given her the first day home. It held the property ownership papers, in her name, for the property Neil had bought for her. Not once since that day had he approached her or asked her about building his resort. The property was hers to do with as she wanted.

  He loved her. She loved him. He wanted children, and she saw the emptiness in his gaze every time she looked at him. It would always be a shadow between them, but they talked and mourned together. There were options they still had, and they decided they would explore them together.

  A tap on the bedroom door stirred her from her thoughts. Neil stepped in, all fitted in a dark suit and red tie that brought out the bronze in his whiskey-colored eyes.

  “Wow, you look gorgeous.” He bent down and kissed her. “Are you ready?”

  She stared deeply into his eyes and then reached up to touch his smooth jaw. “I am, but first I wanted to give you a wedding present.”

  He pulled a face and then laughed. “You don’t have to give me anything! Besides, wouldn’t you rather wait until after we’re married?” Neil asked her.

  “No. After the ceremony is family time. Besides, I wanted to give you this before,” she said, handing him the white envelope.

  “What’s this?” He hesitated in taking the envelope, sliding out the papers, and reading her handwritten note. “I don’t understand.”

  “It’s self-explanatory. I’m giving you the property to build your resort,” she said, watching as his expression softened. “I trust you, Neil, and I know how much that resort means to you. I just have one request.”

  “Only one?” He pulled her into his arms and hugged her so tight. He kissed her deeply, sliding both hands over her cheeks and pulling back just enough to watch her.

  She licked her lips, still tasting him. “I want a part of the beach to remain private for me. I’d like to have a private place to ride Sable that’s not flooded with people, a place that’s just ours, a place that only you and I can go.”

  Neil tucked her long hair behind her ears. It was a good thing she hadn’t primped for hours or cared that her hair and makeup were pristine. “I’ll tell you what; you’ll have that piece for you, for us, but you’ll also know every detail of the resort. No secrets.”

  “No secrets,” she whispered back.

  Neil tucked the papers into his jacket pocket and then took her hand. “Are you ready?”

  “I am more than ready to be your wife,” she said.

  Neil walked her outside. There was no band, no musicians, just their garden, a few flowers, and Neil’s parents, along with Emily and Brad, and Jed and Diana, standing with them. Francesco, a short, dark-haired Mayan wearing a simple white shirt and dark pants, would marry them.

  All of the kids were there, as was their friend, Stella, decked out in a red cocktail dress and heels that had all the men taking a second look. Andy and Laura, sadly, were on their way to Montana and hadn’t been able to come. Neil had been disappointed, but he’d promised Andy they’d come and visit once he and Laura got settled.

  The wedding was short, simple, and had been planned entirely by Candy after she’d told Neil, in no uncertain terms, that there was no way he would plan any part of it—Becky had stood beside her when she told him.

  The ceremony was quick and simple, and the ring Neil placed on Candy’s finger was made of six large diamonds surrounded by a beautiful, square, pink one. As Candy stood in Neil’s arms, with his family around them, she knew without any doubt that she was now a Friessen.

  THE END

  Yes, by fan request, The Friessens will continue in a brand new series, The Friessens: A New Beginning. The first book is Andy & Laura’s story as they head off to Montana, in The Deadline. And for news on upcoming stories and series, click here to sign up for Lorhainne Eckhart’s newsletter. I promise not to flood you with emails but I will notify you of all new releases and special promotions.

  Afterword

  Thank you so much for reading THE WEDDING, this book was so much fun to write bringing back all the characters of Friessen clan. Although the Wedding is the last book of The Outsider Series, I will be releasing a brand new series for Andy and Laura as they venture off to Montana, The Friessens: A New Beginning. The first book, The Deadline.

  If you enjoyed THE WEDDING, please do me a favor and leave a review. All authors depend on reviews and it takes only a couple minutes to leave one, but it would really mean a lot to me. Thank you so much.

  Now, although this book and all my books have been edited and proofed, editors, proofreaders, and I are all human. If you spot a typo, please email me at lorhainne@lorhainneeckhart.com and let me know. Also, I would like to thank everyone who has emailed and told all their family and friends about my books. If you’d like to know more about my other books please scroll to the next section or visit my website at www.LorhainneEckhart.com.

  If you’d like to sign up for my newsletter, I promise not to flood you with emails, but I will notify you of all new releases and special promotions.

  All the best,

  Lorhainne Eckhart

  Other Works by Lorhainne Eckhart

  Saved, (The Saved Series)

  Growing up, I had dreams that one day I’d fall in love, get married, and start a family. Then one night, I was taken.

  But I survived, I escaped, and I was saved. Eric didn’t see me as damaged. He didn’t see my baby as a monster. He protected me, he kept me safe...he saved me.

  To download a sample or purchase Saved simply click here.

  Vanished (The Saved Series)

  She
thought her nightmare was over…

  To download a sample or purchase Vanished simply click here.

  Walk the Right Road Series

  *Warning – This series is not for those looking for a light easy read. It is filled with rough language, sexual tension, and steamy hot romantic suspense!

  LOST AND FOUND ‘A 2013 Readers Favorite Award Winner’

  “Genius at weaving a story of love and redemption”—Amazon Reviewer –Kyblondern

  “There was not a human emotion I did not go through while reading this book. I will forewarn you, you will need a box of tissues and a punching bag while reading this dynamic tale.”-Romance Junkies

  The Choice: One Woman. Two Men. And a choice that could kill her.

  Lost And Found: A Hit and Run—A Deserted Country Road—A Parent’s Worst Nightmare.

  Merkaba: Everyone thinks he’s dead, and that’s exactly how he needs it to stay. But the mysterious dark-haired beauty has secrets of her own and could ultimately be his undoing.

  Bounty: Most cops have a past, a past they can speak of, a past they can share …But not Diane

  Blown Away, The Final Chapter: Imagine that the man who’s been the source of all your misery shows up on your doorstep. Imagine this man wants your forgiveness for every bad thing he’s done to you and your friends. Would you believe him?

  Walk the Right Road - The Complete Collection

  Includes all five books in this sizzling romantic thriller

  To download a sample or purchase Walk the Right Road, The Collection simply click here.

  The One, Book 1

  The Wilde Brothers

  Margaret Gordon was once a prominent Seattle surgeon, until a slip of the knife leaves a young boy without a future. Margaret is fired and returns to her hometown, the perfect spot to hide out from everyone and to lick her wounds, with no one around but her horse.