Chapter 3 WeatherNot
WEATHER OR NOT
CHRIS
“It looks like it’s going to rain. Those clouds look pretty dark.
Do you think it’s going to rain? The Farmer’s Almanac said the wind would be east-northeasterly at fifteen miles per hour today, but this feels definitely stronger than that.
This is Colorado, the weather literally throws all four seasons at us in one day. ”
I was peering through a crack in the side of the groom’s tent, spiraling, and my poor wedding planner was bearing the brunt of it. My brothers were supposed to be here to distract me, but not a single one of those jerks had shown up yet.
“Christopher. Take a breath.” Ciara Moosehouse-Weathervane, or whatever her name was, flipped her golden hair over her shoulder.
I had no idea how she could possibly look this calm.
The wedding was set to start in less than half an hour, and I felt like I was about to play in three Big Bowls at once.
“If it rains, it rains. You have two hundred monogrammed umbrellas on standby and tents strategically placed all over this farm.”
“All the pictures are going to look depressing,” I muttered.
“Cloudy days make better pictures. We can photoshop in blue skies later.” Ciara laid her hand on my arm. “Chris, I promise everything is going to work out just fine. Just relax.”
I felt a sense of peace wash over me at her words. I was glad we’d hired her, and I didn’t feel even a little bit bad about thrusting her upon the rest of my siblings. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I just want everything to be perfect.”
Poor, unsuspecting Declan chose that moment to come through the tent opening and was immediately besieged.
“Declan. Wonderful.” Ciara pointed at the couch. “Sit with your brother and help him think soothing thoughts. I have to go check on... anything else.”
She made a hasty exit before he could reply.
“What are you so worked up about?” Declan dropped onto the couch. “This day has been in the works for twenty years. I promise you Trixie isn’t going to leave you at the altar.”
“That’s the problem. This day HAS been in the works for twenty years. I just want it to be everything Trixie wants.”
My biggest little brother fixed me with a look that quietly called me a dumbass. “Chris, the only thing Trixie wants is you. Anything else is a bonus. Besides, you’re Chris Kingman. Everything you touch ends up golden.”
My head snapped up. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You are Chris Kingman. You’re practically Captain America.
You were a first-round draft pick, a Heisman trophy winner.
You have two Big Bowl rings and you’re not even thirty.
You’re obnoxiously handsome. And to top it off, you’re about to marry the literal girl next door who is completely in love with you.
” He raised an eyebrow. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to be your little brother?”
I was blindsided. Declan and I had fought a lot when we were younger, but I had no idea he felt like this. “Declan, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”
“No, man, don’t apologize.” He shook his head.
“When we were kids, I would get so mad because everything I wanted to do, you had already done first. You went to school first. You rode a bike first. You played football first. One of the reasons I played defense was because you played offense. I just wanted to stand out.”
“Yeah, that and you’re roughly the size of a barge.”
“Ha ha.” Declan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “You made it all look so easy. You’re outgoing. You’re funny. You never had any trouble making friends. I get stuck in my head sometimes. All that stuff is just harder for me. I always felt like I was running a race two steps behind.”
“I always thought we were running alongside each other,” I said. “And that’s what made it fun.”
“I felt like I had to work twice as hard just to keep up.” Declan’s expression grew serious, and he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “But after Mom...”
He paused, swallowing hard. I felt my own throat tighten.
“After Mom, I kept looking at you to figure out what we were supposed to do. You were my compass, Chris.” He shook his head slowly. “I kept thinking, if Chris can do this, I can do this. If Chris can get through this, I can get through this. I always knew you would do the next right thing.”
I didn’t know what to say. I remembered those days—remembered feeling like I was faking it every single moment, terrified that everyone could see I had no idea what I was doing.
“You helped Dad keep all of us together,” Declan continued. “You were always there—throwing a football around with Everett, teaching Isak to tie his shoes, learning to braid Jules’s hair and then making all of us learn too.”
That surprised a wet laugh out of me. I’d watched approximately forty YouTube tutorials to figure out a basic three-strand braid. Jules had been so patient with my clumsy attempts.
Declan met my eyes. “You’ve always been my captain, on and off the field.
You’re the brother we all want to be.” His voice roughened.
“And that’s why I know you and Trixie are going to have a great wedding and a great life together, and a great family someday.
I’m just glad I get to be your brother through all of it. ”
I hadn’t planned on crying before the ceremony, but I felt my eyes start to water. Declan and I never talked about feelings like this. I didn’t think Declan talked about feelings, period—except with Kelsey. His main forms of communication were grunting and glaring.
A large hand landed on my shoulder. “Your brother is right, you know.”
I turned to find Dad standing behind me with Everett. For a six-and-a-half-foot-tall man, he moved entirely too quietly.
“When your mother died, I felt so lost,” Dad said.
“The only thing I knew was that I had to keep going for you kids. That if I fell apart, it was all going to fall apart. Luckily, we had some great people in our lives. Sara Jayne and Mac stepped up and became the aunt and uncle we didn’t know we needed.
The Moores played a big part too. Your grandparents.
But watching all of my children work together as a team, loving and protecting each other—that’s what really helped me pull through.
” He squeezed my shoulder. “And you were the one who led that, Chris. You always set the example, and the others followed. Except for Jules, of course. She’s been leading us all from behind since the day she was born. ”
We all laughed at that.
“I remember what it was like before, Dad,” I said. “I remember how you and Mom were together. How much you loved each other. How she would sneak up behind you and hug you after you lost a game. How you could always make her laugh when she was mad at you.”
“Bridger Bogart Kingman, don’t you dare try to make me laugh when I am angry!” Everett mimicked in a high-pitched voice.
“Remember that night when she was mad at you for getting us all riled up before bed?” Declan grinned.
“She said you were going to have to put us all to sleep, and you insisted you couldn’t because you had to go to the bank.
When she asked why, you said you needed to get your quarter back.
She sprayed you with the hose from the kitchen sink. ”
We all laughed, but it was tinged with sadness. We were the lucky ones. We got the most time with Mom, the most memories to treasure. For my younger siblings, she was more of a concept than a memory. And for Jules and Isak, she only existed in pictures and the stories we told.
“I just really want what you and Mom had,” I said. “You two set the bar so high. I want nothing less for Trixie and me. I’ve seen the pictures from your wedding—you both look so in love. It was the perfect day, and I wanted that kind of start for us too.”
“Who told you our wedding day was perfect?” Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “The pictures lied, son. That day was pure chaos.”
“What do you mean? I never heard this.”
“The wedding started twenty minutes late because your grandfather accidentally slammed your mother’s dress in the limo door and ripped it.
Your Aunt May had to crawl up under her dress and fix it with a stapler from the church office.
The flower girl got bored at the altar and started eating the rose petals out of her basket.
I was so nervous I called your mother April Heraine De La Haine during our vows.
My defensive line got so drunk at the reception they streaked on the golf course.
And your grandfather’s weird friend gave us the ugliest tea set you’ve ever seen—one of the cups was even chipped.
Your mother swore there was a curse on it. ”
“What did you do with it?” Declan asked.
“It disappeared. Your mom used it one day when Mrs. Bohacek came over, served her some Earl Grey. She swore she put it back in the cabinet, but we never saw it again.”
“I had no idea,” I said. “You never told us.”
“Because none of it mattered, Chris.” Dad smiled, and I felt the knot in my stomach ease.
“At the end of the day, April was my wife, and that’s the only thing that counted.
It doesn’t matter what happens today. It matters what happens tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that.
That’s what I want for all of you—to find the person who makes your heart feel like it’s been struck by lightning and to keep choosing each other, no matter what. ”
“I have,” I said.
“Me too,” Declan said. “She makes me better in every way.”
“Same,” Everett agreed.
“Speaking of those chuckleheads,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, “where are they?”
Everett checked his phone. “Isak and the twins had to run back to the house for some kind of chicken emergency. They should be back any minute—said something about meeting Hayes at the supply trailer.”