Chapter Twenty-Seven Violet
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Violet
The morning had started out gray as rain clouds hovered above.
I was convinced that Pissy Missy had brought the doom and gloom with her to Blushing, Alaska.
But the last two days had been tolerable because Paris, Huntington, and Brenton were here. They’d met Charlie and Harper, and we’d all stayed up late last night talking before Charlie had to get his little girl home and in bed.
I was shocked that Missy had actually agreed to let them stay with me. Even though they were grown adults, she’d always been a helicopter mom on steroids the way she tried to control everything they did. My brothers stayed in the guest room, and Paris slept with me.
I’d invited my father over to see the place, but he declined because he felt obligated to follow his wife around while she barked orders at everyone she encountered.
A tinge of something crossed through me when he showed no interest in seeing my first home. The one I’d purchased all on my own. The one I’d renovated to make it everything that I wanted.
But that tinge left as quickly as it had arrived.
I’d come to realize that people show you who they are. I’d just chosen not to believe my father.
He may be a giant asshole, but he is a consistent asshole.
I didn’t need to wonder what he’d do anymore, because I already had the answers.
He’d shown me over and over again.
And just like Harper’s mother was a stranger to her—my father had always been a stranger to me.
Of course my siblings had all gushed about the place, and I didn’t mind hearing them go on and on about it at the rehearsal dinner last night. My dad had congratulated me, and per usual, he shot me the same old guilty look he always did when he was around me.
But that was his burden to carry, not mine.
And now that I didn’t have to try to fix things, it was a hell of a lot easier.
I’d been over at the venue all day, while my siblings went and explored downtown Blushing before heading back over here to get ready.
The Blushing Inn was a charming wedding venue that we’d designed to fit our needs. The outdoor space was unbelievable, with views of the water and plenty of space to accommodate weddings of up to three hundred people.
We had an area for the bride and her wedding party to get their hair and makeup done, as well as a very cool room for the groom and his groomsmen to get dressed and have cocktails while they waited for the ceremony to start.
Velveteen hadn’t asked me to be in her wedding party, which didn’t surprise me. I was the wedding planner, after all, so I’d be busy making sure everything went off without a hitch. But the truth was, we weren’t close, so I wouldn’t have expected it.
Paris had been furious about it, thinking she at least should have extended the offer, and if I was too busy with planning the event, I could have backed out.
But I was exactly where I wanted to be today.
Busy overseeing the chaos.
Because I’d stopped in the room with Velveteen and her mother, and the tension was so thick I couldn’t get out of there quick enough.
“Take me with you,” Paris pleaded as she followed me into the hallway, laughing.
“Get back in there and do your job.” I pointed at the door, making no attempt to hide my smile.
“Ugh. I can’t wait until you are off duty and can have a cocktail with me. You promise you’re going to be off the clock at the reception?”
“I promise.”
“And Charlie and Harper will be here too, right?” she asked.
“Yes. They’ll be here.” I blew her a kiss just as Missy whipped the door open and growled at Paris to get back in there.
The rest of the bridesmaids sat silently on the pink velvet sofas and sipped their champagne.
That room was not giving off good wedding vibes, but I couldn’t control what went on in there.
I came around the corner and found Montana’s father, Daniel, in the kitchen with his crew, getting everything prepped and ready. He was the best chef in town, and he catered most of our weddings.
“Smells delicious,” I said, snatching a carrot stick from the trays he had out on the enormous kitchen island.
“Yep. It’s going to be damn good.” He leaned forward, keeping his voice low as he said the next statement. “Man, that stepmother of yours makes me want to dip my work boot in her soup.”
I laughed loudly. Daniel Kingsley was a good man. A kind man.
“Keep your boots on, please.” I winked before grabbing one more carrot. I was walking out toward the living area when Montana called a 911 in my headset. Blakely was also on the call.
I held one hand over my ear as I walked. “I’m here. What’s up.”
“Uhhhh . . . come outside, please. I’m to the left of where the ceremony will be held.”
“Don’t tell me it’s raining,” I said. We needed the weather to cooperate just for the ceremony.
In case it rained and we had to make some changes, we had a backup plan to move the guests to another tented area we’d put up.
I’d made the judgment call to move the ceremony to the tent, but my sister and her mother had refused the idea.
Velveteen did not want to get married under a tent. She loved the open green space with the water in the distance. I agreed that the outdoor option was prettier, but I also knew that getting soaked in the rain would be a disaster.
“I’m on my way,” Blakely said, and she sounded like she was running.
When I turned the corner, my mouth fell open. Ralph’s brother, Robby Parker, was lying in the grass, passed out and stark naked.
Montana’s eyes were wide as she gaped at me, just as Blakely came jogging up behind me.
“Oh.” I covered my mouth with my hands to keep from laughing.
“‘Oh’? I mean, the man isn’t budging.” Montana threw her hands in the air. “I’ve yelled his name, and I used this stick to poke him a few times.”
“Is he dead?” Blakely asked, just as a loud snore escaped Robby.
“That’s a good sign that he’s still alive,” I said with a laugh.
“I mean, he’s just putting it all out there,” Montana chuckled. “We can’t move him with his—johnson on full display.”
“I’d say that’s a little johnson,” Blakely said, smirking.
I glanced over near the reception tent to see a pile of linen napkins on the cart where they were setting things up. I hurried over and grabbed a napkin before tossing it over Robby’s “little johnson.”
Then I leaned down near his head and shouted in his ear. “Robby Parker, wake your ass up.”
“Ma! Don’t turn the hose on me,” he grumped before one eye opened and he met my angry gaze.
“I’m not your mama, Robby. But it is my sister’s wedding day, and you will wake your naked ass up and go get dressed right now, or I swear I’ll have no problem turning the hose on you.”
Robby sat up, glancing down at the linen napkin on his crotch. He just chuckled like this was perfectly normal. “Ralph told me you’re the fun sister.”
“Well, he should have told you that I’m also the most violent family member, and I’m not afraid to use physical force on you. Get your ass moving, buddy. Guests will be arriving in less than an hour.”
He glanced at each of us, winking awkwardly as he moved to his feet. We all turned our backs to him, even though we’d already seen all there was to see. But it seemed like the right thing to do.
We slowly turned to see a tall, freckled Robby walking toward the main house with his white ass covered in a very large tattoo out on display.
“It’s a full moon tonight,” Blakely whispered. “What the hell did he write on his butt cheek?”
A loud laugh escaped my lips. “Huntington told me that Robby got a tattoo at Ralph’s bachelor party.”
“What does it say?”
“‘Sparkle,’” I said dryly, waiting for them to look at me. “That was the stripper’s name, and our Robby boy fell hard and fast for Sparkle Moonlight that night.”
“Nooooooo,” they both said in unison.
“He said it was love at first sight. And she came back to the hotel with them and spent the night with Robby.”
“Really? And they’re dating now?” Blakely asked.
“Nope. She robbed several of the guys. She stole their credit cards, a couple watches, and she even took Ralph’s cell phone and tried to blackmail them with the photos on his phone from the bachelor party.”
I’d gotten the whole rundown from my brothers last night.
“That’s so savage,” Montana said.
“Well, they caught her, because she didn’t turn her location off on Ralph’s cell phone, so he was able to track her down.”
“Where’d they find her?” Blakely asked.
“The strip club she works at. The jackasses never thought to try that first.” I rolled my eyes. “They got everything back, aside from the money she’d spent on bagels and Starbucks with the cash from Robby’s wallet, along with his dignity.”
More laughter.
“Okay. One crisis averted. Let’s go get ready for this wedding,” Montana said as thunder boomed in the distance.
“She’s really not moving the ceremony into the tented area?” Blakely asked, shaking her head. “The rain is coming.”
“Nope. I’ve tried to convince her, but she’s stubborn. I’ll go try again, and I’ll call you if I can persuade her to do it. We’d just need to get all the chairs moved inside the tented area.”
“Got it,” they said in unison, and we all went our separate ways.
Duty called.
The last hour before a wedding was always filled with challenges.
But this wedding would go down in the books as the most eventful.
The guests started arriving. They were led to their seats outside, since Velveteen had refused to move it inside. Never mind the fact that a black cloud hung above the chairs; she was determined to have the wedding outside.
“We cannot have this outdoors, Vi,” Montana said into my headset.
“Listen, I tried. This is her day. She refused to have the chairs moved into the tented area. She said she’d take her chances.” I kept my tone down as I stopped at the bride’s suite to get the wedding party ready to line up, while Montana went to get the groomsmen.
“It’s game time, ladies,” I said.
Paris gave me a look that let me know the shit was about to hit the fan.
Literally and figuratively.