by Jenny Hale
She looked out at the clear blue sky above them, the sunlight nearly blinding. But then confusion snaked through her when she saw an elderly man sitting on the bench under the maple tree. Everyone else was inside. Had he lost his way? Wouldn’t he have come with someone who could’ve helped him inside? Or… It couldn’t be… Holly started walking toward him and he stood up, facing her. He wasn’t senile or lost—it was clear by his expression that he was perfectly coherent. There was something undeniably recognizable about him, but she couldn’t place it.
“Hello,” she said, every inch of her on high alert.
The man dipped his head toward her once to acknowledge her greeting.
“Are you here for the Harrison-Barnes wedding?”
His mouth opened as if he was going to say something but the words never came. Finally, he nodded. Holly stared at his face, and the more she looked at him, the more she could feel something different about this man. He wasn’t just someone coming to the wedding. There was so much emotion in his face that he seemed like he might burst.
“Please, come inside. The ceremony is about to begin.”
His gaze shifted from Holly to the doors, but when his eyes landed back on Holly, that was when she figured it out: that familiar thing… It was the same curiosity she’d seen before, and her blood ran cold because she knew now without a shadow of a doubt who he was. She searched the man’s tanned face, that eye for detail of hers on overdrive, and the closer she got to him, the more she could tell exactly who he looked like. The man had a small birthmark on his upper right cheekbone, and Holly stared at it for the longest time before she remembered, her mouth nearly dropping open. That wasn’t a watermark on Joe’s photo.
Cautiously, she decided to try the name to see his reaction. “Harvey Barnes?”
The man’s eyes grew round and he stiffened at the mention of it, and it was then that Holly knew a miracle was happening right in front of her.
“Come inside,” she directed him.
The man shook his head and began to walk away.
Panic shot through Holly. She couldn’t let him go. No one had been able to find him; they’d lose him again. “Wait!” Holly started after him, panicked, her heels wobbling against the uneven ground, her arms shivering with no coat. She chased after him across the lawn, finally grabbing his arm.
He turned around.
“Wait.” She was quieter now, almost whispering, her breath coming out in exerted puffs. “Joe wants to see you. He asked you to attend his wedding. You’re here. Why won’t you come inside?”
That curiosity that she knew so well turned to intense interest, the old man’s resolve nearly faltering before he regained composure and started to walk away again. “I’ve changed my mind,” he mumbled, fear in his gaze as he looked over his shoulder at her.
“Don’t go,” Holly pleaded, her voice cracking, her eyes filling with tears, surprising her and him, but he kept going.
In that moment, she realized Joe had done so much for her. He taught her what she wanted in a partner, what it felt like to be with someone she truly cared about, he helped Nana through the pain of Christmas without Papa, and he gave Holly the opportunity to realize she could use her talents and change her future. This was her chance to give him something in return and she was going to fight to do that. All she wanted was to make Joe happy.
“Please!” she said, a sob welling up. She swallowed it down and took in a deep breath.
Harvey stopped, clearly to find out the reason for her emotion.
But right at that moment, Rhett pulled up and honked the horn lightly, waving to her.
Oh God. What time was it? The musicians were probably improvising by now. She had to get the wedding started. She waved at Rhett, but all her energy was going to Harvey Barnes. She walked up to him. “Please. Come in and sit in the back. Watch your son get married. He deserves to have his father at his wedding. I know how much he wants you there. He told me himself. That’s the least you could do.”
The old man seemed taken aback by her statement, but at the same time, the truth was evident on his face, and he dropped eye contact in shame. In that moment, he looked broken and sad.
“Don’t go anywhere,” she told him and then Holly ran over to Rhett.
Rhett put the window down, the truck purring.
“Can you just wait for me? This might take a little longer than I expected. I need to help this man inside.”
“I have two hot coffees to get us through until we can grab lunch together,” he said with excitement, pointing his thumb in the direction of the cup holder in the center console. “Don’t take so long they get cold!” Holly knew that as eager as he was to get the trip underway, he was going to be impatient.
“I’ll try not to.”
When she got back to the man, she was delighted to find he’d stayed put. Gently, she took him by the arm and led him inside. He followed hesitantly. She took him into the entryway and tugged the enormous door shut and led him across the shiny floors to the grand hall to find him a seat. As expected, the musicians were still playing, but their eyes, full of questions, found Holly. She nodded for them to keep going as she sat Harvey down.
“You can sit right here,” she said. “Please stay. Joe can’t wait to meet you.” Then she quietly let herself out and sprinted down the hallway to the groom’s quarters, bursting through the door.
Joe turned around and stopped Holly in her tracks. He looked incredible in his tuxedo. His hair was perfectly combed, his face clean-shaven. She’d never seen anyone so handsome in all her life, and just seeing him like that made the loop in her mind start again, tearing her heart out. He stood, alone in the room, his hands in his pockets, with a worried look. “What’s going on?” he asked.
Holly muscled her way through her memories to answer. “Your dad’s outside.”
“What?” His face crumpled in disbelief.
“I’m not kidding.” Holly stepped in front of him and looked up to meet his eyes, the intoxicating scent of him making her want to run right now and get into Rhett’s truck before she completely fell apart, but she knew this was too important. She had to push past her feelings and make sure this meeting happened.
Joe put his hands on her arms tenderly and she almost crumpled to the floor. “Holly,” he said sweetly. “How can you be sure?”
“He acknowledged that he was Harvey Barnes, but he didn’t have to. He has your eyes,” she said, tears starting to brim in her own. “He looks so much like you, Joe. He was sitting on a bench outside, planning to attend the wedding in the freezing cold. I wonder if he’s scared you won’t forgive him.”
Joe took in a breath, his chest filling with air. He began to pace the room. “Will you make an announcement and tell everyone the wedding will begin shortly? Tell Katharine… something. And then bring him to me? I can’t wait until after the wedding.”
“I’ll have the ushers pass out glasses of wine and I’ll tell the musicians to keep playing.”
He nodded, his anxiety over seeing his father for the first time in his life evidently making him speechless.
“What do I tell Katharine?”
His jaw clenched in thought. “Uh. Tell her that I’ve had an unexpected arrival from out of town and we want to be sure he’s comfortable before we start the wedding.”
“You still haven’t told her about your dad?”
“Holly,” he said in that way of his, the word breathy and sweet, making the hair on her arms stand up.
“Okay. I’ll think of something.”
On the way down the hallway, Holly’s phone pinged with a text. She looked down at it: Hey! You coming?
Rhett.
She tapped her screen, her feet moving at a record pace. I’ll be there soon. I promise. Just keep the car and the coffee warm for me.
He responded: I’m gonna drink your coffee if you don’t hurry.
Holly slipped her phone into her pocket. She found Katharine waiting with her bridesmaids in the room, a
n apprehensive look on her face.
“Sorry,” Holly said, coming in. “A relative of Joe’s is here from very far away—Joe never expected him to come. They haven’t seen each other… Um. Anyway, Joe wants to be sure the man is comfortable before we start the wedding, and he’s delighted that his… relative will be able to watch you two walk down the aisle.”
Katharine assessed Holly skeptically, uncertainty filling those big eyes of hers, and Holly felt like she was in the center of a courtroom.
She walked over to Katharine. “It’s a big deal,” she said honestly. “I’m sure Joe will fill you in as soon as he can, and the wedding will go off as planned. I’m telling everyone we’re just taking a bit to get started. The ushers are going to hand out drinks to keep them occupied.”
Katharine pulled herself together and regained her poise. “Don’t let him take too long,” she said. “I’d hate to make everyone wait.”
“Okay. Be back to get you.”
Then Holly ran back down the hallway. There was a low buzz across the crowd when she made the announcement, and the ushers sprang into frenzied action the moment she offered everyone wine.
Relieved to find Harvey still there, she rushed over to him.
“Joe wants to see you,” she said to him quietly as everyone began chatting and peering at their programs. Unwilling to wait for him to make a decision, Holly took him by the hand and headed toward Joe’s room.
Thirty-Three
Holly didn’t give Harvey any time to contemplate the situation before she opened the door to the room where Joe was waiting. The old man stared at his son from the doorway, unmoving. Holly felt Harvey trembling and just noticed that she was still holding his arm. Emotion had taken over his entire body and tears brimmed in his eyes as he took in the sight of his only family. Joe didn’t move.
Slowly, Holly urged Harvey forward, walking him in and shutting the door.
“I’ve seen you,” Joe said. “You spend time at the sandwich shop I go to on my lunch hour sometimes. You always say hello.”
Harvey acknowledged him. “I wanted to be near you,” he finally said, and Holly noted how much his voice sounded like Joe’s.
Joe nodded as if he’d wondered before about the man he’d seen in the shop. “You’re gone for long periods of time and then you just show up again, and I’ll see you for a couple of weeks.” Joe was cautious, not taking too large a step toward his father, his eyes intense. “Where do you go?”
“I live in a little fishing village on the coast of Mexico, but I come back to check on you, make sure you’re doing okay.”
Joe cut his eyes at Harvey. “Why?” His anger came out in the word. “You abandoned me and my mother.”
Holly let go of Harvey and stood next to Joe, feeling the need to give him her emotional support like he’d done for her those times back at the cabin. While he was keeping himself in check and his exterior was calm, she could sense the years of frustration and resentment surfacing in his words. He’d brought it on himself by not telling anyone about his missing father, but this wasn’t something he should face alone. He looked down at her before returning to his original question.
“I loved your mother,” Harvey said.
“The hell you did.”
Harvey wiped a tear away quickly. “Son.” Harvey took a step toward him. “I didn’t have the upbringing that you did. My parents weren’t loving people; I hardly knew them. I spent most of my time with nannies, and a lot of them weren’t very nice.”
“None of that excuses what you did. You left us.”
Harvey’s eyes hit the floor and stayed there as he continued to try to explain. “When your mom told me she was pregnant, I panicked.” He looked Joe in the eyes then. “I knew two things without a doubt: the first was that your mother would make the very best mom. I had no doubt in her ability to love, and in her kindness. But the second thing I knew was that I wasn’t good enough to be a father to you. I’d never had anyone show me how. I envisioned that you would be this perfect infant when you were born, so pure and lovely—I didn’t want to ruin you by screwing up your life the way my parents had done to me.”
He sat down on a bench near the door, his knees trembling. “I sold everything and cashed out my accounts. I gave your mother money for herself and for you, and I took the rest to Mexico, as far as I could get, so I wouldn’t interfere in your life. That was the best I could give you: my money. I have a friend I keep in touch with and, after I left, I made him swear not to tell your mother he knew where I was. When he told me your mom passed away three years ago, I came back to make sure you were okay…”
“I didn’t need a perfect dad,” Joe said. “I just needed someone to be there.”
“I was—”
“Someone to count on.”
“I know.” Harvey hung his head. “When I got old enough to realize that, I thought it was too late, and you’d never forgive me.”
Joe didn’t speak. Holly knew that Harvey had said that in hopes Joe would actually forgive him, and she hoped he would. He didn’t need to hold on to old anger. Harvey was trying to support Joe in the best way he knew how. Joe just needed to show him what to do.
Suddenly, Holly’s phone rang in her pocket, slicing through the moment. She silenced it quickly. It was most certainly Rhett, waiting for her outside. Joe looked at her. Then finally he spoke to Harvey. “We don’t have to do this now. Stay. We can talk later.” And she could tell by his tone that forgiveness had begun to surface.
Holly looked at her watch: eleven thirty. “Joe’s right. The guests have been waiting a half hour. We need to get started.” She went over to Harvey. “I’ll show you back to your seat. Joe, head to the ceremony and take your place.”
But just as she was about to open the door, there was a knock. Carefully, in case it was Katharine, so Joe wouldn’t see her before the wedding or it would be bad luck, Holly cracked the door and peered out of it. But it wasn’t Katharine. Instead, she found Rhett, holding two coffee cups. “These are empty,” he said, and she opened the door wider. “I drank them both. You’re the one who told me to be here. Is everything okay? We have a plane to catch.”
Holly turned protectively toward Joe, praying he didn’t find her or Rhett insensitive. That was not at all the reason for her leaving now. She took in those intense eyes of Joe’s, his broad shoulders, the way his lips were parted just so as he watched Rhett, and she knew that it would take her a very long time to get over him.
“I’ll go now,” Joe said, only half looking her in the eyes. “Just get Katharine to the doors and you can leave for your flight. We’ll be fine.” Then he leaned a little to view Rhett better. “I’m sorry I kept her,” he said. Without another word, Joe left through the door at the back of the room, taking Holly’s heart with him.
He didn’t have to be sorry. It was his wedding and Rhett was being impetuous. Although, in Rhett’s defense, he had no idea what was going on.
“Rhett, it’s my fault,” Holly said over her shoulder. She’d walked past him and was now hurrying down the hallway with Harvey, Rhett in tow. “Hang out to the side here and I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll explain everything on the way to the airport.” She peeked in to Katharine’s room and gave her the thumbs up and the bride began to make her way to her place out of view. The bridesmaids started to take their spots along with the groomsmen who’d assembled with them. That was when Holly realized Joe had been alone when she’d found him.
“Why weren’t you all with Joe?” she asked one of them.
“He had asked us to give him a minute,” one of the groomsmen said. “So we all came down here. Is everything all right?”
“Yes,” Holly assured them. Perhaps he’d needed some time for reflection. And he didn’t seem to be too big on crowds.
By the time she seated Harvey, the guests had already perked up because Joe had taken his spot. Katharine was waiting for her go-ahead and Holly cued the musicians and they began the intro for the wedding party.
The parents of the ring bearer and the flower girl were there and waiting, and the children started down the aisle. Two by two, the bridal couples made their way until the ushers shut the doors, and it was time for Katharine’s appearance. Holly ran quickly and signaled the staff to open the front doors of the estate.
“This is it,” she said to Katharine, forcing a smile and handing Katharine her bouquet. This was it in so many ways… Holly fluffed out Katharine’s train and straightened it along the floor. Katharine gave her a nervous but grateful nod.
The bridal music started, and the ushers opened the doors, the guests all gasping and getting to their feet at the sight of Katharine. Stepping perfectly in time to the bridal march, Katharine made her way down the aisle toward Joe, and Holly felt like the air was being sucked out of the room.
It all felt so wrong. Her heart broke. She turned away, unable to handle it, not wanting that image in her memory. While all eyes were on Katharine, Holly quickly grabbed Rhett’s hand and rushed toward the front door away from Joe.
* * *
After a sprint through the Nashville Airport, the race to the gate had been a blur. They had to stop quite a few times for Rhett to have pictures taken and sign autographs, and if Holly looked past him across the aisle, she was nearly certain a profile shot of him was being uploaded on Instagram at this very moment.
“We’re third in line for takeoff, folks,” the captain’s voice came through the speakers of the plane. “This flight has service to Denver with continuation to Los Angeles. Hope to have you in the air shortly. Looks like a smooth ride today; the weather is clear, so we should have you on the ground in Denver in two hours and fifty-five minutes. We’ll get the beverage service going once we’re in the air. Thank you for flying with us today.”
