Butler, Vermont Series: Boxed Set, Books 1-3

by Force, Marie

  “What? Before what?”

  “Before he either killed me or forced me to marry him.”

  “Neither of those things will happen now, so you can stop worrying.”

  “I wouldn’t put it past him to kill me to keep me from testifying.”

  “We’ll get a restraining order and hire bodyguards if it comes to that, but he won’t get near you. Not while I have a breath left in me. You hear me?”

  She offered a wan smile. “You’re too good to be true.”

  “I’m not. I’m a regular guy who met an amazing woman two years ago and has thought of her every day since then. You have no idea what a relief it is to have you right here with me rather than having to wonder if you’re okay.”

  “I’m sorry you were worried. I didn’t mean to do that to you.”

  “No more apologies. The past is the past, and now we need to see to the future. You still want to marry me?” he asked with a cajoling grin.

  Her lips curved into a smile. “Yes, please.”

  “Let’s go see a man about a wedding.”

  As they made their way up the path to Elmer’s porch, the front door swung open. “What’re you doing out so early, boy?”

  “I’ve got important business,” Wade replied, charmed as always by his grandfather. Inside, they took off their boots and handed over their coats. “This is Mia.”

  Elmer stopped in his tracks. “Ohhhhh. Oh. Well…” He put the coats over a chair. “This is a very nice surprise.” He kissed her unbruised cheek. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

  Mia smiled at him. “You, too. Wade thinks the world of you.”

  “The feeling is entirely mutual. What can I get you? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Tea?”

  “What we really need, Gramps, is a JP.”

  Elmer blinked, glancing from him to her and then back to him. “Excuse me?”

  Wade produced the marriage license from his pocket and handed it to his grandfather. “We need you to marry us. If you wouldn’t mind, that is.”

  “You… you want to… Married?”

  Wade laughed. “You heard me right. Mia and I would like to get married. Today. Right now, if possible.”

  “Oh. So, now, then?”

  “Please.”

  Elmer glanced at Mia. “And this is what you want, too, honey?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Call me Elmer. Everyone does.”

  “Thank you, Elmer.”

  To Wade, he said, “Does your mother know about this?”

  “She does.”

  “And she approves?”

  “I’m not sure I’d say that, but I wasn’t asking for approval when I told her and Dad.”

  Elmer studied him for a long moment before he cleared his throat. “You need witnesses.”

  Wade groaned. Another delay. He ran through a quick list of family members who would be readily available and settled on Ella and Gavin. “May I use your phone?”

  “Of course. Help yourself.”

  Wade picked up the portable phone next to his grandfather’s recliner and placed the call to his sister.

  Her fiancé, Gavin Guthrie, answered. “Hey, Elmer. What’s up?”

  “It’s Wade. I’m at Elmer’s, and I was wondering if you and Ella might be able to come over to do me a favor.”

  “Sure, what do you need?”

  “Would you mind if I explained when you get here?”

  “Okay… Ella is in the shower. We’ll be there in thirty.”

  “Thanks very much.” Another half hour, and then Mia would be his wife. He could stand to wait that long. Just barely… “They’ll be here in half an hour.”

  “That gives us time to get to know each other.” Elmer ushered Mia into his cozy kitchen, where he held a chair for her.

  She glanced at Wade as she sat.

  He took the seat next to her and reached for her hand, hoping to provide reassurance. His family could be overwhelming on an average day, and there was nothing average about this day.

  Elmer put mugs of hot chocolate in front of each of them. “Wade told me about you a few months back. I’ve been hoping ever since that I’d get to meet you someday.”

  “I was hoping I’d get the chance to meet the big family Wade told me so much about.”

  “Someone hurt you, honey.”

  She nodded.

  “I’m very sorry that happened to you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Is that the reason you two kids are in such an all-fired rush to make it official?”

  “The man who hurt her was recently arrested for running a heroin organization.”

  “I suspected that might be the case.”

  “That’s what you were talking about that day you asked me about Mia.”

  “Yes, but I wasn’t entirely sure it was the same Mia, so I didn’t want to say any more. I was afraid you’d go off on a rogue mission to rescue her and get yourself killed.”

  “I probably would have. He’s been pressuring Mia to marry him so she can’t testify against him. If she’s married to someone else, that makes it impossible for her to ever be forced into marrying him. And we believe that if he were to get the chance, he’d threaten her life to get her to do what he wants.” Though he understood the necessity to explain it to his family, he was looking forward to putting the explanations in the past and getting on with the being-married part of the program.

  “Have you filed a report on the assault?” Elmer asked.

  “N-no,” Mia said. “I was focused on getting away from him.”

  “You need to report it. They may revoke his bail.”

  Mia glanced at Wade, seeming to seek his opinion.

  “I agree with Gramps, and we’ll do that next if you’re comfortable with reporting it.” His body vibrated with tension as he waited impatiently for Ella and Gavin to arrive.

  “I have the phone number of the prosecutor from the state’s attorney’s office,” Mia said. “I could call him.”

  “You should do that while the bruises are still visible,” Elmer said gently.

  Wade had no doubt that seeing her bruised and battered had affected his grandfather almost as deeply as it had affected him. Elmer had no patience for violent men who beat up on women—or anyone else for that matter.

  The three of them chatted until they heard car doors closing outside. Wade jumped up to greet Ella and Gavin as they came in.

  “What’s going on?” Ella asked. “Gavin said you were acting mysterious, and I said that’s not like you.” She stopped short when she saw Mia standing with Elmer.

  “El, Gav, this is Mia. Mia, my sister Ella and her fiancé, Gavin.”

  “Oh my God!” Ella went right over to Mia and hugged her. “I’m so glad to finally meet you!” Pulling back, she added, “And you’re hurt…”

  “I’m okay,” Mia said, looking at Wade. “Now.”

  Ella turned to Wade. “You told Gavin you needed a favor. What can we do?”

  “We need witnesses to our wedding.”

  Ella’s mouth fell open as Gavin gasped. “You’re getting married?” Ella asked.

  “Yes, right now, if the two of you are willing to be our witnesses.”

  “Holy shit,” Gavin muttered. “Didn’t see that coming.”

  “Will you do it?” Wade asked, feeling more anxious by the second to make it official.

  “Yes, of course we will,” Ella said. “Right, Gav?”

  “Yeah, sure. Happy to help.”

  “Great, thanks. Gramps? Can we get this show on the road?”

  His grandfather hesitated, but only for a second. “Give me a minute to get myself together.”

  After already waiting years for her, Wade could stand to wait one more minute. But not a second more.

  Chapter 7

  “A happy marriage is a long conversation

  which always seems too short.”

  —André Maurois

  Wade’s beautiful sister and her handsome fiancé were sh
ocked by their news. His grandfather had been, too. Everyone was. And naturally, they were worried about what Wade was getting himself into. The only one who didn’t seem worried about that was Wade himself. He had been steadfast since she’d first presented the idea to him, and he’d never wavered.

  Her belly fluttered with butterflies when Elmer arranged them in front of the woodstove with Ella to her right and Gavin positioned next to Wade and instructed Wade to hold her hands.

  “Dearly beloved,” Elmer said with a warm smile. “We are here today to celebrate the marriage of my wonderful grandson Wade Michael Abbott and Mia Elizabeth Simpson. Wade and Mia, have you both come here willingly, of your own free will, to join your lives in wedded matrimony?”

  “I have,” Wade said, looking at her as he said the words.

  At that moment, everything but him faded into the background. “I have,” Mia said.

  “Wade, if you’ll repeat after me: I, Wade, take you, Mia, to be my wife. To have and to hold from this day forward, barring all others, to love, honor and protect all the days of my life.”

  Wade repeated the vows, his gaze never wavering as he bound himself to her.

  “Now, Mia, if you’ll repeat after me: I, Mia, take you, Wade, to be my husband.” Mia repeated the words Elmer gave her, holding tight to Wade’s hands and the belief that they were doing the right thing. Whether they’d make a go of the marriage remained to be seen, but he was saving her from being forced into marrying Brody, and for that, she would always be thankful.

  “Do you have rings?” Elmer asked.

  Wade looked stricken. “Crap. I never even thought of it.”

  “Hold tight.” Elmer disappeared into his bedroom and returned a minute later with two plain gold bands in the palm of his hand. “These were mine and your grandmother’s. I had to take mine off when my arthritis made my knuckles swell.” To Mia, he added, “My Sarah died quite some time ago, but I think she’d approve of you having her ring.”

  “Gramps,” Wade whispered. “We can’t. They’re yours.”

  “If I didn’t want you to have them, I wouldn’t have offered. Take them. Please. It will make me happy to know they’ve found a good home.”

  Wade took the rings from his grandfather and then hugged him. “Thank you.”

  “I hope you two are as happy as Sarah and I were.”

  When he pulled back from his grandfather, Mia saw tears in Wade’s eyes that touched her deeply. He took her right hand and curled his grandfather’s ring into her palm. Then he slid his grandmother’s ring on her left hand.

  “Look at that,” Elmer said. “Fits like it was meant for her.”

  “So it does,” Wade said, visibly moved.

  Ella sniffed and dabbed at her eyes.

  “Wade, if you would, repeat after me: With this ring, I thee wed.”

  He squeezed her hand and said the words. Then she put his grandfather’s ring on his finger and repeated the words.

  “By the power vested in me by the state of Vermont, it’s my honor to declare you husband and wife. Wade, if you’d like to kiss your bride…”

  He wrapped his arms around her, and after gazing at her for a long moment, he kissed her softly and then hugged her tightly. “Everything’s going to be okay now,” he whispered in her ear. “I promise.”

  Mia hoped he was right, but was afraid of what would happen when Brody found out she’d married someone else.

  With the formalities completed, Wade could breathe easier. Mia was his wife. His wife. Despite the circumstances that’d led to this moment, he had never been happier about anything than he was about marrying her. It was the most foolish and impulsive thing he’d ever done, but so be it. He had what he wanted, and he would spend the rest of his life making sure she had everything she wanted or needed.

  “Thank you, Gramps.” Wade hugged his grandfather. “For marrying us, for the rings, for a lifetime of everything.”

  “Love you, son. I hope this marriage makes you very happy.”

  “It already has.”

  Elmer released him and hugged Mia. “Welcome to our family, honey. Now that you’re one of us, you have a formidable crew standing by you in good times and in bad.”

  “That’s very nice to know. I hope the good times far outweigh the bad. Thank you again, Elmer.”

  “My pleasure.”

  They accepted congratulations and hugs from Ella and Gavin.

  “I sure didn’t think you’d beat me to the altar, little brother,” Ella said when she hugged Wade.

  “Neither did I, but we both got the one we wanted.”

  “That we did. I wish you nothing but the best.”

  “Thanks, El. And thanks for coming when I needed you.”

  “Always.”

  Gavin shook Wade’s hand. “Congratulations, man.”

  “Thank you for being a witness.”

  “Happy to do it. Didn’t expect to go to a wedding today.”

  “That’s the Abbott family for you. You never know what’s going to happen next.”

  “True that.”

  “I need signatures from Ella and Gavin before you get away,” Elmer said.

  “And we need a picture of the bride and groom,” Gavin said, pulling out the phone he carried for work.

  “I don’t know,” Mia said, her hand covering the bruises on her face.

  “If we turn you this way,” Ella said, arranging them so Wade stood behind Mia. The camera would capture the unbruised side of her face.

  “How’s that?” Ella asked.

  “That’ll work,” Mia said. “Thank you.”

  Gavin took a picture of the two of them together and one with Elmer. Then Elmer took one of Wade, Mia, Ella and Gavin.

  As Ella and Gavin signed the marriage license, Wade took Mia’s hand and brought it to his lips. “How’re you doing, Mrs. Abbott?”

  “Mrs. Abbott. Wow. I’m doing great. Better than I’ve been in a very long time.”

  He stepped closer and kissed her. “Me, too, sweetheart.” Leaning his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes, swamped with relief after wishing for so long to have what he did now—Mia in his life and in his arms. “Me, too.”

  Before he left his grandfather’s house, Wade called his cousin Grayson to see if he was home.

  “Yep,” Gray said. “We’re hanging out and watching movies.”

  “Would you mind if I stopped by to discuss some business?”

  “Legal business?”

  “Yeah. I know it’s the weekend and everything, but—”

  “Sure, Wade, come over. It’s no problem.”

  “Thanks a lot. I’ll see you in a few.”

  He held Mia’s coat for her and then donned his own. Ella and Gavin had left to do some errands. Wade hugged his grandfather. “Thanks again for this—and for the rings. I’ll get them back to you when we have a chance to buy some.”

  “Keep them. I like that you have them, and I think it’s a sign of your grandmother’s approval that they both fit so perfectly.”

  “We will treasure them always, Gramps.” Wade kissed his grandfather’s cheek and hugged him again. When he released the older man, he saw tears shimmering in Elmer’s eyes.

  Elmer turned to Mia. “If there’s ever anything I can do for you, I’m here.”

  Mia hugged and kissed him. “Thank you so much.”

  In the time they’d spent at his grandfather’s, the sky had gotten dark and thick with clouds.

  “I can’t believe it’s going to snow again,” he said, holding the door to his truck for her. “We’ll go see my cousin, and then we’ll go home and get comfortable before it starts to snow again.”

  “That sounds good to me.”

  It sounded like heaven to him. Mia was his wife. Maybe if he thought it a few more million times, it would finally register. Wade wished he had the time to fully wallow in his new reality, and he would, as soon as he’d taken the necessary steps to ensure her safety. Nothing was more important to him than t
hat. For so long, he’d wished there was something he could do for her, and now there was nothing he wouldn’t do, as he’d just proven by legally binding himself to her. Nothing had ever pleased him more than looking into her gorgeous navy-blue eyes and saying, “All the days of my life,” to her, to them.

  Grayson and his fiancée, Emma Mulvaney, lived with her daughter, Simone, in a converted church about a mile from Elmer’s place. That mile was slow going on roads caked with slushy snow that would freeze during the night. They needed to make this quick and get home before the driving became more treacherous.

  “This is where your cousin lives?” Mia asked of the white church with the steeple.

  “Isn’t it cool? Wait till you see the inside. Ray lives in the cottage in the back.”

  “It’s nice that he lives close to her.”

  “They just moved up here recently.”

  “From where?”

  “New York City. Grayson met Emma when she and her daughter, Simone, came up with Ray for my brother Hunter’s wedding and Christmas.”

  “And they’re already living together. That was fast.”

  “When you know, you know,” he said with a meaningful look for her.

  She smiled and nodded in agreement.

  Hand in hand, Wade and Mia ran through the frigid cold to the side door that led to the mudroom. Wade rang the doorbell and stepped inside, since his cousin was expecting him, and it was freaking freezing.

  They were kicking off their boots when Gray appeared in the doorway, wearing flannel pajama pants and a Boston Red Sox sweatshirt. “I understand congratulations are in order for you two.”

  “Welcome to the Abbott and Coleman families,” Wade said to Mia, “where news travels faster than the speed of light, even though none of us has cell phones.”