by Melody Anne
She was sitting at the kitchen table, silently crying when Mark and Trevor walked through the door. They were laughing and talking about how funny the new horses were while learning to walk around. One of the puppies, which was now huge, was trailing at Trevor’s feet. The sight of them made fresh tears fall.
She turned away and wiped her face, not wanting to upset her son. She hated she was going to have to pull him away from the ranch and the entire family. Was she a terrible mother to do it to him? It was the only way to keep them together, she reasoned with herself.
Mark immediately could tell something was wrong and sent Trevor upstairs to clean up and change for dinner. Once he was safely out of ear shot Mark sat down and waited for Emily to tell him what was wrong.
“They found me,” she simply said.
“Who did?” Mark asked her with confusion. She realized at that point she hadn’t told him anything about her custody issues.
“It’s kind of a long story,” she said to him.
“Well there’s no time like the present to start then,” Mark reassured her. Emily took a deep breath and then began the story.
Mark never said one word as she explained her terrible marriage and the controlling husband she’d been with. His eyes turned to slits as she talked about her ex in-laws and how they had tried to take her son from her. When she finished with the part about the Judge being in their pocket, he simply nodded like he understood.
“I didn’t have any other choice but to get away from there. I had to keep Trevor with me. I know they can provide him with everything money can buy but they would never give him love. They only want him because they lost their only son and are trying to look like the loving and concerned grandparents. They’ve barely acknowledged his existence before, though. They are nothing at all like your family Mark,” she finished.
“I’m sorry you’ve been through all of that Emily,” Mark said, as he took her hand in his. “I wish you would’ve shared with me sooner, so I could’ve been there for you. We could’ve already had this dealt with as well,” he continued.
“Mark I can’t beat these people. They know where we are now. I have no choice but to leave,” she said, on a little sob, as new tears started running down her flushed cheeks.
Mark said nothing for several minutes, as her tears continued to fall. He sat next to her, rubbing her back, as she got the last of her emotions under control. He then lifted her chin up so she was looking him in the eyes.
“Emily do you want to leave?” he asked her. He needed to know how she felt. He was going to help her no matter what the answer was but he needed to know she wanted to be there with him.
“Of course I don’t want to leave. Trevor is so happy here and I love you. I just can’t lose my son,” she said, exasperated.
In the heat of her passion and frustration she hadn’t noticed she’d told him she loved him for the first time. Mark let it wash over him and felt his heart growing. They were going to be okay.
“Emily you don’t have to leave. I want you and Trevor here. We are going to get married and have the custody hearing moved up here, where the judge can’t be bought. First we will try and get the Jackson’s to settle but if they want to fight, we will fight them. If Trevor’s grandparents want to fight you, they are going to have to go through me,” he said to her.
Emily stared at him with a mixture of horror and hope. He’d just proposed, or more like, demanded marriage and promised to keep her and her son together. She didn’t know what to say to him.
“Mark I can’t ask you to do that,” she finally responded.
“Emily, I love Trevor already as if he were my son. My family loves him too and we protect our own. I also can’t imagine waking up each day without you. I want you here and I won’t let these people pull us apart.” He said.
He wasn’t quite ready to actually express his love. He knew he couldn’t imagine his life without her but if he told her he loved her and she rejected him, it would kill him. He couldn’t go there.
“Emily, I‘d never planned on marrying before. Then I watched as both my brothers got married and had children and I realized it wasn’t such a bad thing. We could be really good together if you’ll just give it a chance. If things don’t work out for some reason, it’s not like you would have to be stuck with me forever,” he said with a shrug like it was no big deal.
It hurt her more than he would ever know to have him talk about them ending like it was nothing but he was right. If them marrying would keep her with him longer and keep Trevor safe, she had nothing to lose. She loved him and he said he cared about her, so maybe that would turn into love someday.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked him, giving him a last chance to back out.
“More sure than anything,” Mark said and gave her one of his sexy smiles. He leaned over and kissed her with a desire that took her breath away and left her wanting so much more.
“I have a lot of phone calls to make to get things started. We will wed on Saturday. Are you okay having it here at the ranch, or do you want a church wedding?” he asked.
“I would love to have it here. It doesn’t have to be anything formal,” she said reluctantly. She had always dreamed of her wedding day, with all the bells and whistles but this wasn’t your typical wedding and she couldn’t expect to plan anything extravagant in only a couple of days.
Mark actually laughed out loud at her statement. “I’m sorry to tell you Emily but the second I call my father this wedding is no longer a small thing. He would never let that happen. Be prepared for one huge extravaganza,” he said. He then left her to make his calls.
Emily was a bit disappointed. She knew what he said but there was no way possible a huge wedding could be planned in only a couple of days. She didn’t necessarily want it to be huge; she just would like it to be magical.
She shook her head at her own selfishness. She shouldn’t be disappointed she wasn’t going to get her dream wedding, when she was getting her dream man. She smiled, as she thought about being Mark’s wife. Even if he was talking about it as a temporary thing, she was still going to be his wife.
Emily barely made it through dinner before she headed up to their bedroom to lie down. She was exhausted and just wanted to sleep for a while. She was out before her head even fully hit the pillow.
The next morning Emily awoke to find Mark already gone. That was unusual, as he almost always woke her up by kissing her softly all over her body. She was sure he just had a lot to get done that day.
She took her time taking a shower and getting dressed. She knew she was going to have to make a lot of plans in order to at least have some flowers and cake at her wedding. She didn’t have anyone to invite, so she didn’t need invitations, or party favors but she would ask Jessica and Amy to stand with her.
She wouldn’t have them go overboard with fancy dresses. She herself was going to most likely wear a simple church dress. There was just no time to find her perfect fairytale dress. Mark most likely wouldn’t like that anyway.
She heard voices as she walked down the stairs and stopped as she entered the den. She looked around her in shock. There were people everywhere and every available space was covered with items. No one noticed her at first and she looked around at all the items.
She heard Joseph before she saw him, “No, no, no, that just won’t do,” she heard him yell at someone, in his loud and overpowering voice.
“I’m sorry Mr. Anderson. I will get rid of these right away and get the next set,” she heard some man say and then saw a little guy with a panicked expression rush by her and out the door.
“I can’t believe he even thought that would be good enough for my youngest boy and his beautiful bride,” Joseph said to someone.
“Emily, there you are sleepy head,” Jessica said as she came running up. “I wanted to wake you up an hour ago but Mark threatened death to anyone who dared to disturb you,” she finished.
“What is going on?” Emily gasped.
>
“Plans for the wedding of course,” Jessica said, as if Emily had a screw loose.
“I don’t understand. Why are there so many people here?” she asked.
“You can’t have a great wedding in only three days without an army of people getting things done,” Jessica answered her.
“I just thought we would have a small backyard wedding,” Emily managed to get out, as she stared at all the chaos around her. Jessica actually laughed at her.
“Come on Emily, you’ve been around this family long enough to understand they never do anything half-way. There’s no way Joseph would allow his last child to have a small backyard wedding,” she said through more giggles.
“Don’t panic too much, Emily. I thought I would hyperventilate on my wedding day. I was so not expecting the huge event they’d planned. I thought it would be us and a judge but trust me, I’m grateful now I got my dream wedding. I look through the pictures with Jasmine and she talks about the beautiful princess in the pictures, which just so happens to be me. I actually did feel like a princess. Let us help you make your wedding day the best one in your life,” Amy said, as she joined the conversation.
“I guess then I’m in your capable hands,” Emily said and soon would regret those words. The girls dragged her throughout the house, which she soon found was just as chaotic as the den. She tried so many cake samples she got a stomach ache. She was also measured, plucked and waxed.
The only part of the day that wasn’t overwhelming was when she sat down with the wedding dress designer. He let her describe her dream wedding dress to him and wrote it all down. He said it would be worked on night and day to make sure it was perfect in every way. She didn’t think it could be done but secretly hoped.
By the time the day was finished, she was practically crawling up the staircase to reach her room. She was sore from all the beauty treatments and beyond exhausted. She climbed into her big bed and passed out instantly again.
The next couple of days were much of the same thing. She woke up to a houseful of people and ran from morning to night. She barely caught glimpses of Mark and didn’t even know if he was sleeping in the same bed. She couldn’t wait for the actual wedding to be over with.
“You’re not allowed to see Mark at all today. His brothers have whisked him off for a bachelor party, to an unknown location. The kids are all over at my house and will be tended to and we are off on the company jet to Las Vegas,” Amy said, as she came bursting into Emily’s room first thing in the morning.
“What?” Emily questioned her, trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes.
“It’s the day before your wedding, which means it’s time for your bachelorette party,” Jessica said, as the two girls jumped on her bed.
“I really hope you aren’t wearing one of your sexy lingerie pieces,” Amy added with a giggle.
“Me too,” Jessica said and then ripped the covers off of her. Luckily Emily had not been feeling sexy and was wearing her favorite old t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts.
“Hurry up and get ready, we are leaving for the airport in one hour,” Amy said and then the two girls gave her some privacy.
Emily groggily got up and obeyed the two women. She was downstairs in thirty minutes and incredibly grateful for the fresh brewed coffee sitting on the counter. She poured herself a large mug and burned her tongue with her first drink.
“Are you excited?” Amy asked.
“We are staying at the Mirage,” Jessica added.
Emily thought about it for a few moments and found she was actually excited. “I have never been there before,” she said shyly.
“Oh I wish it were for more than one day. There’s so much to do. I went there a couple years ago, for the first time with Lucas and had such an amazing time he let us stay a few extra days. We saw so many shows and I hate to admit it but I got hooked on black jack and ended up playing till it got light out one night. It was so much fun. I’m excited to have some girls to go shopping with this time. I love Lucas to pieces but he can’t understand the joy of shopping,” she finished off excitedly.
“Well let’s quit talking about it and go,” Jessica said.
“Don’t we need to pack anything?” Emily asked.
“Not a chance. We’ll buy whatever we need there. We don’t want to take anything with us, cause then that’s less room for bringing our purchases back,” Amy said.
“Sounds good to me,” Emily admitted. The three women headed out the door to the awaiting limo and drank some sparkling cider on the way to the airport.
They boarded the company jet and Emily looked around in awe. It was more beautiful than any of the hotels she’d been in. The luxuriously big seats were comfortable and there was even a flight attendant on board.
“Hello ladies. My name is Lana and I’ll be helping you on your short trip,” the far too perky blonde said.
“Hi Lana,” the three girls chimed together.
“What would you like to drink?” she asked them.
The girls put in their orders and Lana went off to get them their drinks. When she returned she told them breakfast would be served once they were at cruising altitude. Emily stared out the window, filled with excitement as the jet picked up speed and lifted off into the air.
“This is just too amazing,” Emily exclaimed.
“That was my reaction the first time too,” Amy said with a smile. “To tell you the truth it all still amazes me,” she added.
Emily smiled at her gratefully. They reached a certain altitude and the perky flight attendant came back with some fresh fruit and croissants. “The hot breakfast will be out in a few moments,” she said and left them again.
The girls ate their breakfast and made plans for the day. The first thing they were doing was some major shopping and then some gambling, followed by a couple of shows. Emily couldn’t wait until the luxurious jet ride ended.
They landed in no time and were whisked off from the airport in another limo. They drove down the strip and Emily’s eyes were glued to the window. She was looking everywhere she could. She wished they were going slower so she could see more of the area.
They pulled into the Mirage and were taken to their luxury suite. “Mark made the reservation for us. I told him it was silly to get such an expensive room, considering we weren’t going to be spending much time in it but he insisted on only the best for his bride,” Jessica said to Emily.
Emily was so awed by the amazing suite she had tears in her eyes. The room was bigger than her old apartment, by twice the size. There was a huge living room area and three bedrooms. Fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers were displayed on the table. She wished she had an entire week to spend in the suite alone.
“Time to go,” Amy said, barely able to contain her excitement.
“I agree, there’s a lot of shopping to do and very little time to do it,” Jessica added.
“Okay,” Emily reluctantly agreed and followed her two friends out.
Emily may have been reluctant to leave the luxurious suite but soon found herself glad she did. The strip was phenomenal and she wanted to stop and look at everything. When they reached Caesars Palace and started shopping, she was hooked.
She’d never been a materialistic person and was still reluctant to use the credit card Amy had placed in her hand but it was hard not to enjoy the gorgeous mall they were traversing through.
“Mark said if you didn’t come home with several bags, he wasn’t going to be happy,” Amy said as she pulled Emily towards an exclusive lingerie boutique. “I think this would be a great place to start,” she said with a giggle.
They shopped for several hours, then had their items taken back to the suite, while they enjoyed a buffet lunch. “I think I’m going to gain ten pounds on this trip,” Amy said, as she sat back, rubbing her very flat stomach.
“I agree,” moaned Jessica.
“I’m not going to fit into my own wedding dress,” Emily added with a satisfied smile.
“Well we
better go walk off all this food then,” Amy said and they were off to explore some more of the city.
They watched a pirate fight in front of Treasure Island and a volcano explode on the strip. They took a gondola ride and walked so much Emily’s feet were killing her by the end of the night.
The girls finally stopped in the casino and played some blackjack, which they were horribly unsuccessful with, then crawled back to their room as dawn was breaking, to catch a few hours of sleep.
When their car picked them up at noon, they were all much quieter on the trip home and fell asleep the entire jet ride back. Soon they were picked up from the airport, heading back to the ranch to be pampered and dressed for the evening wedding.
Emily didn’t even have time for her nerves to get the better part of her. Before she knew it she was standing behind a set of closed doors, waiting for her time to walk down the aisle. Her panic started to set in at that moment.
Chapter Eight
Jessica and Amy were fussing with Emily’s dress, making sure everything was perfect. She was breathing deeply in and out, trying to calm herself, as the music began. She couldn’t calm the rapid beat of her heart.
She reached up her hand to rub the pounding. She was scared to death. Her son was already out there, looking so handsome in his little tuxedo. She’d been so proud when he’d told her he was standing up with Mark as one of his best men.
“It will be okay, take some more deep breaths. Jessica and I will walk down the aisle and then you’ll follow us out in about two minutes okay,” Amy said to her.
Emily felt instant panic at the thought of walking down that aisle on her own. She didn’t think she’d be able to do it.
“Wait,” she said in a panic. “We don’t have to do it the traditional way, we can all walk together,” she begged the girls.
They looked at each other like she had lost her mind, saw the panic in her eyes and then shrugged. “Sure,” they said in unison.
