Chapter 39 #2
“But I’m real glad to have tomorrow to celebrate the two of you,” Johanna continues.
“This wedding has given me the opportunity to get to know you more, Addison, and it is painfully obvious why it was so easy for my Luke to fall in love with you. You are salt-of-the-earth goodness, honey, and I’m thankful you see in my son what I’ve always seen.
His big, open heart. To Addison and Luke. ”
“To Addison and Luke!” Everyone cheers and clinks glasses.
My dad holds his drink up to me, catching my eyes for a long moment before I feel Luke’s hand on my cheek as he turns me toward
him.
He presses his lips to mine in a sweet, soulful kiss that I lean into, prolonging the contact because in some strange way,
it feels like the first real kiss I’ve had with him. My heart is open too now. It’s as vulnerable as Johanna said. And somewhere
along the way, I’ve given it to him completely and I hope he’s given me his in return.
“Okay, guys!” Everly claps her hands, ripping us from our moment. “The officiant texted and she’s on her way up the mountain
so we can head outside to do the rehearsal now. Bundle up, it’s going to be cold.”
I move to glance out the window and Everly sidesteps to block my view. “Not yet! I need a ten-minute head start so, Luke . . .
control your woman.”
Luke laughs as Everly throws on her coat and runs outside with Jo to greet the person in charge of the service tomorrow.
“Quite the ordeal,” my dad murmurs under his breath as he slips his work coat on and zips it up to his chin.
“They all mean well.” I glance over to Luke, who’s waiting at the front door for me.
“I’m not saying it like it’s a bad thing. This is all very nice.” He offers me a crooked smile as he helps Edith with her
coat. “I’m happy for you, Addie.”
“Me too, sweetie,” Edith confirms as she wraps her arm around my dad and smiles warmly at me.
I stare at the two of them holding each other, finding each other even later in life than I’m sure they wanted.
But they just work. It’s plain as day and I’m happy for them.
I’m happy they have each other. Edith is good for my dad, and he deserves it after all the pain he’s suffered.
His suffering has been greater than mine in many ways.
He lost a wife, a son, and became a single father all in one horrific night.
It’s a wonder he’s even allowed himself to find love again at all.
Without thinking too much about it, I attack them both with a hug that clearly shocks them as they harrumph in stereo into
my ears. Their bodies tense with surprise, but Edith catches up to the moment quickly as she squeezes me back, her sniffles
echoing in my ears while my dad begrudgingly accepts the forced affection. It’s not the most elegant of embraces, but if my
old man can soften up enough to accept love, then surely I can too.
“Alright, alright. Don’t get all soft on me.” He huffs out an awkward noise and wiggles himself free.
Edith’s smile is grateful, and I feel excited about the future of our relationship now. So much has changed, and I hope this
means only good things to come for our family.
My dad nods toward the door, ignoring my tears. “Let’s go see what all the fuss is about. They probably flew in fucking penguins
or some crazy shit.”
I can’t wipe the smile off my face as I hold Luke’s arm, and we shuffle out into the cold, boots crunching over the snow-packed
driveway toward the yellow lights shining just past the tent that’s all closed and dark. According to Everly, I don’t get
to see that space until tomorrow. The girl seems to be running the show now that she’s here and I wonder what we’d do without
her.
“Whoa,” Luke says, stopping us in our tracks. “This is beautiful.”
I inhale sharply as I take in the sight of where our ceremony is happening tomorrow, positioned directly in front of the memorial
bench of Luke’s father like we’d planned. It’s the perfect lookout point on Fletcher Mountain, and it feels as if it was meant
for exactly this kind of setup. And what a setup it is.
Yellow twinkle lights illuminate several white chairs lined up neatly in the snow with an aisle down the middle framed with garlands and glowing lanterns. The city of Jamestown glows at the base of the canyon walls, just below the captivating view of the starlit winter sky.
Everly and Johanna appear before us, smiling ear to ear. “Everything is lit with LED lights because Uncle Wyatt is a freak
about open flames up here,” Everly says, nudging her uncle.
“Eighty-five percent of forest fires start because of careless humans,” Wyatt grouses.
“Yeah, yeah, we got it,” Everly murmurs, side-eyeing me.
“Do you guy like it?” Jo asks, turning around to stand beside me and take it in from my vantage point.
“I love it,” I reply, moving toward her to give her a hug. “You knocked it out of the park, Jo . . . and Everly, I suspect.”
Everly squeals excitedly and claps her hands.
“Where did that pergola come from?” Luke asks, frowning back at my mom. “Was that from the rental company?”
Calder steps forward with a sheepish smile on his face.
“You made that?” Luke asks, his face slack with shock.
He shrugs and waves his hand casually. “Yeah, you know, I had some extra wood lying around.”
“Jeez, man.” Luke shakes his head in disbelief.
“It’s stunning,” I offer, stepping closer to admire the wooden pergola draped with Edison bulbs, asymmetrical evergreen garlands,
white roses, and hunter-green velvet ribbons.
“I thought we could put it over Dad’s bench after the wedding stuff is over. Give us a little shade when we sit there.”
“It’s too much,” Luke says, stepping closer to Calder and pulling him into a hug. “That was too fucking much.”
They clap each other on the back, not saying anything, and we all watch as they share a quiet brotherly moment together, Johanna
fighting back tears.
“Wait until you see inside the tent tomorrow,” Everly whispers to me.
“I’m already blown away,” I state, still taking it all in.
“Are we all ready?” a woman dressed in a tan one-piece snowsuit asks, walking up to us with a binder in her hand. “I’m Sharon
and I’ll be doing your service tomorrow. I know it’s cold, so I’ll make this rehearsal quick and easy so we can all go home
and . . .” The woman’s voice trails off as she looks up into the night sky. “Oh my, it’s snowing!”
Everyone’s heads lift as large, puffy snowflakes begin to float and swirl all around us, illuminated by the moon’s silvery
glow. It’s beautiful and feels like some sort of magical gift. Luke’s eyes find mine and we smile at each other as the flakes
cling to our lashes and hair.
“Well, this wasn’t in the forecast but will certainly make for some beautiful pictures tomorrow,” Sharon says with a bright
smile. “Let’s begin, shall we?”
Luke moves toward me, taking my hand in his and leading me down the snow-kissed aisle. I never thought this would be my life.
I’d been determined to miss out on this, if I’m honest. And now I understand Luke’s annoyance that I’d planned to marry a
logger. Nothing about the wedding would have been real or special. And despite the fact that I’ve never dreamed about getting
married, Everly and Jo have somehow made this a wedding of my dreams.
Fact: I’m about to marry my best friend . . . and I’ve never been happier.