9. Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Keaton
Today was my funeral.
Or wedding. Same thing.
I pulled my Elysium into the crowded parking lot of Darkwater Refuge’s only courthouse in central Glam City, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. Three months had passed since Layne called to tell me she was down to get married. Knowing she couldn’t pass up a deal like that, it hadn’t come as a surprise. Today we’d make it official. While we already had our marriage license, we still needed the certificate.
I parked next to Rhyner’s black Ford Raptor and got out. Layne was waiting at the entrance of the courthouse, her brother towering next to her like one of the massive columns of the three-story concrete building. A blend of plumeria flowers and heavy city exhaust hung in the afternoon air.
I climbed the steps, and at the top, kissed Layne’s cheek. “You ready?”
“Yup.” Dark brown hair cascading down her back, she wore black jeans, a striped blouse, and sneakers. No dress.
Fine with me. I was dressed in my usual black slacks, white button-down, and black tie. Had to go straight back to work once this was wrapped up.
“Rhyner.” I extended my hand to him, and he responded with a firm grip. Was that scowl meant for me?
I pushed open the heavy oak door and let the two pass, then followed inside. Wentworth slipped in behind me. He was my witness, Rhyner Layne’s.
A lady in her mid-fifties approached us with swinging hips, her high heels clacking on the concrete floor, the sound bouncing off the arched ceiling. “Mr. Grady and Ms. Rhyner?”
I pulled Layne into my side. “That’s us.”
“Wonderful.” The lady beamed, probably thinking we were some young couple madly in love. She couldn’t have been further from the truth.
After we’d filled out the remaining paperwork, she led us to the courtroom. The interior of it boasted the typical woodwork completed with pews and the elevated judge’s bench. We hadn’t made it quite to the front when a side door opened, and a stern-looking man with a shock of gray hair entered.
“Mr. Grady and Ms. Rhyner.” Sighing, he took a seat at the judge’s bench.
Layne and I stood before him, facing each other, holding hands as he told us to do.
“We are here today to join you two in matrimony,” the judge said. “So if you please would say your vows.”
Straight to the point. I liked that.
I looked at my almost-wife. “I, Keaton Lancaster Grady, take you, Layne Rhyner, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until our paths part.” Yeah, I’d adjusted the ending. Saying that I’d love her was a flat-out lie.
“Now the bride, please.” The judge gestured at her.
“I, Layne Rhyner, take you, Keaton Lancaster Grady, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, I promise to love and respect you.” Unlike me, she hadn’t cut out the love part. Interesting.
“Then you may now exchange the rings to seal the promise.”
Layne and I both slipped our own rings on. So much confusion was written in the judge’s withered face that I had a hard time not laughing. Bet the old man had never seen a ceremony like this before.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” he concluded nonetheless. His gaze flickered to me. “You may kiss the bride.”
Layne’s eyes doubled in size as she stared at me.
Slipping my hand to the small of her back, I pulled her flush against me, eliciting a gasp from her. I lowered my mouth to her ear. “I want to kiss you until you forget your name,” I whispered, “but I know you don’t want that. So I’ll give you a rain check.”
I brushed my lips against her cheek as I drew back, smirking when she shuddered. “Where do we sign the certificate?” I asked the judge.
Blinking, he pushed a paper across the wooden bench toward me. I plucked my personalized LGD pen from my breast pocket and scribbled my signature on the designated line, then passed the pen to Layne. Without a word, she followed suit. The judge finalized the deal with his own signature.
Before he could put the certificate aside, I snatched it, pulled out my phone, and snapped a photo. After sending it to Regina, I pocketed the cell again. “Gotta get back to work,” I said to Layne. “See you tonight.”
With that, I left her standing and walked down the aisle.
A massive paw grabbed my shoulder and stopped me in my tracks. Rhyner.
“Treat her well, or you got a problem. We clear?” He said it low, for our ears only.
I nodded. “Crystal.” The way his dark eyes seared into mine, I knew this was the only correct answer. Anything else, and he would’ve slapped a choke hold on me with those log-like arms.
He glared at me a while longer, then let go of my shoulder and smacked my chest. “Congrats.”
“Thanks.” Suppressing the urge to rub my hurting pec, I turned and stalked out of the courthouse.
Tonight, I’d come home to a wife waiting for me.