Chapter 17
“M orning baby,” Corey said wrapping his arms around Lisa with a soft kiss as she came into the breakfast area.
“Morning again,” she said with a smile as her mom and Diane finished making breakfast. “Nothing for me,” she said waving off the eggs and coffee.
“You need to eat Lisa, you’re looking pale, and your cheeks are a little hollow,” her mother argued sitting the plate down in front of her. The sight and smell of the eggs made the nausea take over and she hurried from the space thankful that no one else had been in the room who didn’t know other than her mother.
“Are you feeling okay now?” Corey asked, meeting her in the hall as she left the bathroom.
“Not really, first thing in the morning my stomach revolts massively. I’ve been living on toast and peppermint tea for about two weeks now. It usually clears up by lunch or late afternoon though,” she said resting her head against his chest as he ran a hand up and down her back.
“Let’s get you some toast then, I’ll keep all eggs away from you I promise,” he stated kissing her temple before leading her back to the kitchen.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” her mom asked sliding her hand onto her cheek then forehead. “You don’t feel hot.”
“I’m fine Mom, really,” she said knowing she’d never rest until she knew the truth. “I don’t want everyone to know just yet but I’m pregnant.”
“What? Oh honey, wait…this is why you had Corey come out here and told us all, isn’t it?” Elaine asked cupping her cheek with a smile.
“I couldn’t hide this from him and in order to be together the way we wanted I had to tell him about Abby. I didn’t know if I could have done this more than once, so I had him meet us here,” she admitted as Diane smiled bringing over some toast and crackers.
“You knew she was pregnant yesterday when you showed up and didn’t tell us?” Elaine asked Corey.
“No, not until late last night, after she’d agreed…” Corey paused glancing at Lisa who smiled taking his hand.
“Until after he’d asked me to marry him and I’d said yes,” Lisa finished and her mom gasped, her eyes growing bright with plans and ideas.
“Oh, honey, that’s the best news ever,” she gushed hugging her.
“What’s the best news ever?” Ashton asked moving into the room with her brothers and dad.
“Hopefully that we’re going down to the police station and having that bastard arrested,” Kirby said moving over to drop a kiss onto her hair. “He can’t get away with this Lisa.”
“No, I’m not going to the police,” she said reaching across the counter for Abby’s hand. “Not right now, this trip is about family, about protecting our hearts and the only way to do that is to just let it go. If he tries something then we’ll talk but I just want to spend Christmas with the people I love, let you all get to know Abby and love her too.”
“You’re just going to let him off, pretend it never happened, and let the entire town call you the horrible things we did?” Gerald asked her.
“If anyone says anything to their faces, they’ll have me to deal with,” Corey stated resting his hand on her hip. “They’re my girls and anyone who hurts them will see how much I protect what’s mine.”
“I’m not saying I’ll never tell,” Lisa added knowing the instant Benton stepped outside of their deal she’d bring everything down on his head. “I just don’t want this visit to be about that and just that.”
“It should be about Mom and Corey becoming Mom and Dad,” Abby added making her smile. “That’s what my wish and Corey’s wish for Christmas is; we want to wake up Christmas morning as a real family.”
“Real family as in…married?” Kirby asked in surprise.
“Yes, Corey asked me last night and I said yes,” she replied seeing her Dad’s shoulders relax as he watched them.
“It’s about damned time,” Gerald stated with a laugh.
“But what happened to the sister who said she’d never get married?” Ashton questioned.
“She met someone who still loved her even after the truth came out, who loves her daughter, and who she can’t live without any longer,” Lisa answered looking up at Corey with a smile in her eyes. “Seeing you with Abby this morning…I want nothing else than to be with you and our girl, happy and safe.”
“Will you marry me before Christmas then?” he asked cupping her cheek as Abby squeezed her hand. “Will you marry me, let me be Abby’s father, and wake up Christmas morning my wife?”
“Yes, I couldn’t think of anything better,” she said easily, and Abby bounced excitedly as Diane hugged her, while Corey slid his hand back into her hair and kissed her.
“Then I think our first trip this morning will be to get a license and find someone to perform the wedding,” Corey stated when he finally lifted his lips from hers.
“And somewhere to have it,” Gerald said.
“Why not just have it here at the lodge?” Lisa suggested glancing at her mom to see if she’d be okay with that. “We could see when one of the rooms is available, I’m sure there’s one that we could have for an hour or so. They’re already decorated so that won’t be an issue. We can go dress shopping and pick out something,” she added to Abby who beamed brightly.
“Well, let’s see,” Elaine said pulling up the reservations for the rooms on her tablet. “The Hickory Room is free most of the day on Christmas Eve or…the Lumiére Hall is open from five until eight that night.”
“Perfect, absolutely perfect,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t we hold it and finish breakfast then I can show you two which one it is,” Lisa added to Corey and Abby who nodded.
The instant they stepped into the room Abby fell in love and Corey pulled her back into his arms holding her tightly as he lowered his face down towards her. “You’re sure about this?”
“Positive, about it all Corey, I love you. I want to marry you. I know you would never take my ability to choose away. You’ll always do what’s best to protect all of us and I will do everything I can to keep us safe,” she said resting his hand on her stomach. “The idea of being with you and Abby as a real family is too much to turn down. So yes, I’m sure about this, about marrying you on Christmas Eve and having the perfect Christmas with everyone I love.”
“I love you baby, you, our daughter, and this one, last year I wanted all of this, wanted you to give us the chance to have it and I refuse to let anyone take it away now, take you away from me.”
“Good, you’re stuck with me because without you I’m miserable…plus if you left, I think David would probably come track you down and beat you.”
“I’m trying not to be jealous but this David person…” Corey said needing to know the truth about them and who else she’d turned to while they were apart.
“He’s just a friend, I promise,” she said touching his cheek. “No one could take your place. I didn’t even date while we were apart Corey. I couldn’t because they weren’t you and I didn’t want them. You are the only person I want, the only one I need.”
“There was no one who got to discover your amazingness while we were apart? No one else discovered that you have your own warning label across that beautiful butt of yours?”
“No one Corey, I don’t need them, just you,” she promised, and they headed out to see about getting the marriage license and seeing who was available on Christmas Eve to do the wedding.
“Baby, would you mind if I invited my mother? She’ll likely be overbearing but she’s still my mother,” he stated as they headed into the office with Abby between them.
“You’ve seen my mother and my family; I think we can handle having yours around. There are plenty of rooms at the house. If there aren’t any open rooms at the resort, Mom can open the backside of the house if you want to invite your brother too. It’s kept shut up most of the time now that we’re older and the rest of the family doesn’t come out for holidays.”
“I’ll let them know once we have someone to do the wedding,” he said, and she nodded bracing herself for when they ran into someone who knew her. There was no doubt that Abby was hers, and she didn’t want her daughter upset because of rude comments or people. She’d dealt with enough snide remarks from kids her age when they knew her mom was only sixteen when she was born.
“Lisa Branson, I haven’t seen you in ages,” she heard and turned towards the voice with a smile. The person attached to it hadn’t changed a bit, but his eyes did widen when he saw Abby beside her. To his credit, he didn’t say anything else, but she knew he was curious.
“If it isn’t my favorite judge,” she stated keeping her arm around Abby as Corey stepped behind them. “Rumor has it you’re ready to retire.”
“You how rumors are, especially around here,” Regan replied. “What brings you in here on a day like this?”
“A marriage license,” she answered, and he smiled. “This is my fiancé Corey and my daughter Abby.”
“Nice to meet you both, I’d say your mom wasn’t too much older than you the first time I saw her in the sheriff’s station. I hope you don’t give her the hassle she gave us,” Regan said looking at Abby.
“You were in the sheriff’s station? And you grounded me for a month for catching a bus to New York?” Abby asked lifting a brow at her.
“I was sixteen, you were barely thirteen and took a bus from LA to New York alone, there’s a difference there. I was only in there for a class assignment. Judge Henry here’s just joking around, I never was arrested or brought into the station in a cop car.”
“No but we expected it, we certainly weren’t expecting to meet a teenage daughter though,” Regan stated eyeing the group.
“No one was, I kept Abby away from this place for a reason. I wasn’t going to let anyone run her out of town.”
“I think you and I should have another discussion,” Regan said moving out of the way for a group to pass by them. “That one we had at sixteen certainly is bringing up questions now.”
“No reason for it to,” she said with a shrug trying to stick to her part of the agreement. “But…you could possibly help us out.”
“How’s that?” he asked, seeing the way Corey tensed slightly, and Abby turned her gaze away from him at her reply.
“We’re trying to find someone to perform the ceremony, and you could probably point us in the right direction of someone available for Christmas Eve,” she answered, and he smiled.
“Christmas Eve, huh? Let me guess you’re getting married at the lodge.”
“We’re hoping to, it’s a bit spur of the moment but we want to be together as a real family on Christmas. It’s Abby’s Christmas wish, and we certainly can’t deny our girl her Christmas wish,” Lisa told him as Corey smiled down at her daughter.
“No one does Christmas Eve quite like your mother, so I’d be more than happy to perform the wedding as long as it includes an invitation to dinner,” Regan said hoping it’d allow him to find out what was going on with her and her daughter.
“I guarantee Mom will put you at the family’s table. She wants me married more than anyone else. She would have had me married to Corey last year when we were here if she could have talked me into it.”
“So would have I,” Corey stated kissing her temple.
“Well, we’re here now and I cannot wait for Christmas Eve,” Abby said with a full smile. “I want Corey to be my dad, he’ll be the best one ever and I’m so happy for that.”
“Me too Abs,” Corey assured her with a kiss to her hair.
“Let me know what time you want to have the wedding. I’ll clear my schedule for the day,” Regan stated letting them head towards the office to file the license.
“Looks like we have two of the three things we need,” Abby said brightly as they filled out the paperwork.
“We’ve got the third right here,” Corey said glad that he’d grabbed his important papers before he came here. He’d been hoping that he could convince her to marry him, that whatever she’d wanted to talk about would lead them to this place and maybe even Vegas.
“This was the second, cause we all knew the wedding would be at the lodge,” Abby stated. “The third thing is your dress, Mom.”
“Right, well once we’re finished here, I know the perfect dress shop to head to, and while we look for dresses Corey can call his mom and brother,” she suggested, and Corey was glad to see a smile on her face as they walked through town.
He noticed a man in a wheelchair watching them and stepped closer to Abby, keeping her from sight until he could get her into the dress shop. He wasn’t about to let some monster harm his daughter.
That’s what Abby was to him. She was his daughter and if anyone began to hurt her, he would destroy them.
He kept an eye on him as Lisa moved Abby through the store towards the dresses for sale, realizing that the man was keeping track of how long they were inside as he kept glancing at his watch. He didn’t trust the man, knew it was the bastard that’d hurt Lisa, and didn’t want him to upset her or Abby.
He called his mother relaying the invitation to the wedding and laughed when she shrieked and yelled with happiness and questions. His brother kept asking if it’d been the hot girl from the bar that his bartender told him about, but he refused to answer.
“Come on man, Tony mentioned some hot chick you’d met last year that you took upstairs to the loft. After that Mom said you’d been seeing someone, so is it her?”
“Yes, Lisa and I met at the bar, we broke up for a bit but we’re back together, completely together now and we’re getting married on Christmas Eve. If you can make it that’s fine, if not, I won’t argue too much. I’d prefer to spend time with my girls rather than keeping you from saying something inappropriate.”
“Wait…you just said girls. Is she pregnant?”
“I’m not answering that. Lisa has a daughter, she’s thirteen and if you say a single word about it, I will make you sorry.”
“You’re marrying someone who has a kid…a thirteen-year-old kid? Tony said the chick you met seemed young.”
“Lisa’s thirty, so she’s eight years younger than me, and yes, she was sixteen when she had Abby. There’s more to it than that and I’m not getting into it over the phone. So, if you want to meet her get out here and do not upset her understand?”
“Okay, I take it she is pregnant though. You refusing to answer the question pretty much answers it but if she’s not far enough along to be showing I’d say that’s why you’re getting married. You don’t want her looking trashy or something?”
“I will kill you if you say a single word about it to anyone, but I didn’t know until after I proposed. It didn’t make me want to marry her faster. It just made me happy. I want a baby, I want Abby as my daughter, and I want Lisa forever.”
“What about Donna? She’s going to flip when she finds out you’re married again. Ever since she saw you last year at Christmas with some chick—this Lisa I’m guessing, she’s been stopping by the bar more and more looking for you, asking questions.”
“Yes, she was out here for some reason last year and I’ve made sure no one lets her near my office or tells her where I am because she tried calling and stopping in several times after New Years. So yeah, I know she’s likely to be pissed I’ve moved on, especially after the guy she was here with last year dumped her but let her flip out. Lisa is my world, my present, my future, and that’s all I need. I’ll keep Donna away from her and we’ll have our family. If you want to be part of that then get your ass out here and stop asking me questions,” Corey stated before hanging up finding the jerk still waiting for them.
“I think we’re all set,” Lisa said giving him a kiss.
“You found a dress?” he asked, seeing Abby’s huge smile.
“We found dresses and I think you’re going to love them,” Lisa said noting his preoccupation. “What’s going on?” she asked when Abby looked at a pair of shoes that she pointed out for her.
“I don’t want you upset but…I think he’s watching you,” Corey admitted turning her enough to see the jerk in a wheelchair across the street in a diner window. Her face tightened and he held her closer to him. “That’s him, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…let’s just go, keep Abby on the far side of us and get back to the lodge,” she suggested and was thankful when Corey did just that, carrying the dress bags to block his view of them until they were back at the car and leaving town.