Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Sixteen
ETHAN
O ur phones were going off all morning with calls about Jessa’s plan to divert the paparazzi to another location for the wedding. Fake vendors arrived all morning at The Sawmill with decorations, flowers, and even a cake, and all reported that the photographers were hovering outside the building. Cooper made calls to Zack, his agent, and Sharlene, his production manager, as well as a few of his celebrity friends who would be attending the wedding. They all agreed to make an appearance at The Sawmill to help with the ruse. It was brilliant and hysterical, and I was proud of Jessa for thinking of it. Hopefully, everything would go according to plan.
In the meantime, one of the real wedding photographers arrived at Luke’s house to take pictures of us getting ready. Cooper was bouncing off the walls, anxious to see Ellie.
“Looking good,” I said when he had his suit on.
“Thanks, man.” He picked up his guitar and started strumming while he softly sang a few lyrics.
“Is that the song for Ellie?”
He nodded. “I don’t know if I can get through it without crying.”
“It’s okay if you cry. She will be.”
“Yeah, I know. I practiced a bunch with my eyes closed in case I can’t see my guitar through the tears.”
“Nice.” My phone rang then, and I smiled at Jessa’s name. “Hey.”
“Hey, are you guys about ready?”
“Almost. How ‘bout you?”
“Yep. Just want to remind you to head over to The Sawmill first. They need to see you going in so they’ll stay there waiting for the fake ceremony while the real ceremony is happening.”
“We’ve got this. Don’t worry,” I assured her.
“Okay.”
“Who’d you guys get to be the fake wedding guests at the last minute?”
She chuckled. “Ellie hired a wedding coordinator friend of hers to help us find some actors from drama clubs and modeling agencies in all the cities around us. She found a guy and girl who look similar to Ellie and Cooper to come out of the building with their faces covered after the fake ceremony and take off out of town. Hopefully, those guys will follow their limo far, far away.”
“That’s hilarious.” I updated her on Cooper’s friends who would be helping out too.
“I think it’s gonna work.” I could hear the excitement in her voice.
“It’s a great plan.”
“Thanks.” There were a few beats of silence before she said, “I gotta go get ready.”
“Okay. See you there.”
“Yeah. Bye.”
She hung up, and I smiled. She may have rushed out of my room last night mid-conversation, but I had hope. Something was happening between us, and I was determined to get her to stop fighting it.
Before we left, the photographer took some posed pictures of us, then we headed to The Sawmill to make our appearance. Cooper was pleasant and greeted the paps kindly as we rushed past them into the building then escaped out the back on our way to the real ceremony.
I said a prayer that they would believe this fake wedding was real and not bother trying to find the actual wedding. I wanted Ellie’s day to be special and perfect. Already, there was a chance of rain all afternoon, so I prayed that would pass us by as well.
We arrived thirty minutes before the ceremony and greeted family and friends when they arrived on the shuttle.
I went inside to have a moment with my sister and found Gram, so lovely in her dark rose-colored dress, standing in Ellie’s bedroom doorway.
“You look gorgeous, Gram.”
“Thank you, my sweet boy. You look so handsome.”
I struck a GQ pose, and she chuckled.
“Is she ready?” I looked toward the room.
“Almost.”
Just then, I noticed Ellie walk across the room, looking breathtakingly beautiful, practically glowing like an angel. “Wow, Ell. Just wow.”
Her smile lit up her face.
We moved into the room, and Gram laid a hand over her heart. “You look so much like your mom on her wedding day.”
Ellie waved her hands in front of her face and blew out slowly.
I grabbed a tissue from the nightstand and handed it to her so she could dab her eyes. Then I tucked a few into my pocket for later. Yeah, I was going to cry. That was a given.
“Seriously, you look so beautiful, Ellie.” I went over and gave her a loose hug so I wouldn’t wrinkle her dress, but she wrapped her arms around me and held on tight.
“I love you,” she told me.
Now, I was the one who needed a tissue. “I love you too.”
I left her with a kiss on the cheek, and on my way down the hall, I heard the other girls getting ready in Gram’s room. I wanted so badly to peek inside and see Jessa, but soon enough, we would walk down the aisle together, so I headed outside to greet guests and make sure everything was still secure.
It appeared the plan was working, which was a relief, but Cooper had taken it a step further and hired security to stand guard around the property. The police had also blocked off the street and placed an officer at each end. Nobody was let through without an invitation unless they were known to the officers or on the guest list. The same went for the shuttle at the church.
As the ceremony time drew near, the grandparents and Cooper’s parents moved near the house to wait where they had practiced lining up. I glanced over at the door as it opened and inhaled sharply as Jessa walked through in front of Penny and Tally. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders in loose curls that looked as soft as silk. My fingers twitched with the longing to get lost among the tresses. The dress fit her form on top, and the skirt flowed to the ground, except for a slit that opened when she stepped, showing off her long, toned leg. The sun peeked through the clouds and illuminated her, glinting off a silver bracelet on her wrist. She was stunning, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.
I watched for a minute as she stood with Penny and Tally, looking at the ceremony site, and then her eyes met mine. She looked me up and down, and a little smile lifted her lips. My cheeks warmed at her obvious admiration, and I smiled back.
And that’s when I heard it … a loud buzzing noise that caused me to look up. I caught sight of a drone, hovering over our driveway on a path for the ceremony, and my heart rate quickened. I moved without much thought straight for the house as Jessa looked up to see what I’d been staring at.
“Whatever you do, do not let Ellie step foot outside of this house,” I told her.
“Someone sent up a drone?” She stared at it with her mouth hanging open as it hovered over us. “Is it the paparazzi?”
“I don’t know.”
The other groomsmen were at our side now too, and the guests who were already seated turned to see what all the commotion was.
Cash rushed up to us. “Does anyone have a shotgun? I’ll take it down.”
I frowned disapprovingly. “We aren’t firing a gun with all these guests around.” A sudden idea popped into my head. “Hold on. I think I’ve got this.” I pointed at Cash. “Move the guests to the yard behind the tree.”
My heart pounded in my chest as I headed for the garage, making a beeline for Dad’s radio-control airplane. I took it down along with the controller, praying the battery still had some juice, and headed outside.
Jessa spotted what I was holding, and her eyes widened. “Ethan, you don’t have to use that. We can find another way. The security guards can find the owner and get them to take it down.”
“There’s no time for that. I have to do this for Ellie. Just keep her inside, okay?”
I rushed out to the road to give me enough runway for takeoff, took a deep breath, and went for it. The plane zoomed forward and lifted off, and my mind was flooded with so many wonderful memories of times with my dad. My throat tightened with emotion, but I was on a mission.
I was a little rusty, but I remembered enough to maneuver the plane in the right direction. I circled around on a path for our house and aimed straight for the drone, my heart clenching in my chest in anticipation. As the plane approached its target, tears blurred my vision and spilled over my cheeks. I barely registered the sound of cheering over the loud crunch of plastic, and my heart shattered on impact.
I wiped my eyes as the drone and plane plummeted to the yard below and quickly jogged over to assess the damage. The drone was off to one side, cracked and lying upside down, but I didn’t care about that. Our poor plane’s front end was smashed in, pieces of plastic were scattered about the grass, and the right wing was hanging off. It was most likely beyond repair.
“Is it gone?” Ellie called out the window from the kitchen, keeping herself hidden from Cooper.
I stared at the dead airplane. “It’s gone.”
Cooper joined me as one of the officers walked up and took the broken drone.
“Security found the guy with the drone,” Officer Cobb said. “He tried to tell us you asked him to take aerial shots of the wedding, even though they found him controlling it from behind some trees on the edge of your property. I threatened to toss him in jail for trespassing unless he fessed up. He was planning to sell the wedding photos and make a buck.”
“Did you cuff him?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Who was it?” Cooper asked.
“Cody Cunningham. He’s a local.”
I gasped and shook my head in disgust. “Jerk.”
“We know him,” Cooper frowned.
“Well, I’ve got him in the back of my car. What do you want me to do with him?” the officer asked.
“Throw him in jail,” I blurted.
“How about you keep him in your car until after the wedding,” Cooper said, “and then escort him home.”
“I can do that.” He looked at me. “Do you want to file trespassing charges?”
I shook my head, even though Cody could’ve used a little time behind bars.
“Thanks, officer,” Cooper said.
“You bet. Congratulations.” He headed down the street toward his car.
“You’re much nicer than I am,” I told Cooper.
“Thanks to you, he didn’t get what he came for. But you didn’t have to destroy your plane in the process.”
“Anything for my sister and brother-in-law.” I squeezed his shoulder.
“We appreciate what you did for us, Ethan. Truly.”
He helped me pick up the mess, and I returned the broken pieces to the storage shelf in the garage. The airplane might’ve been irreparable, but I couldn’t bear to throw it away just yet.
The guests soon returned to their seats, and the processional music began to play. Cooper seated the parents and grandparents, and the wedding party lined up on the patio.
My heart was still beating faster than normal because of the airplane, and when Jessa stepped up to my side and took hold of my arm without me offering it, I took in a sudden, involuntary deep breath.
“That must’ve been hard for you,” she said softly.
I slowly let the breath out as my heartbeat slowed. “I didn’t even think. I just did it.”
She squeezed my arm. “You’re a good brother. And a good guy.”
I looked over at her curiously. “You’re being awfully nice to me. I thought you wanted to go back to the way things were before.”
She dropped my arm. “I do.”
I took hold of her hand and wound it through the crook of my arm again with a wide grin, and her attempt at a scowl cracked into a smile.
When it was our turn, I walked Jessa down the aisle and left her to line up with the girls, then made my way to the house to walk my sister down the aisle.
Ellie was the most beautiful bride I had ever seen. She was radiant and beaming with joy and love. I so wished Dad could be there, but I was honored to escort her in his place.
I walked to her side and offered her my arm. “Are you ready for this?”
She nodded resolutely. “I didn’t get to show you this earlier.” She lifted her bouquet of flowers to reveal a tiny oval frame tied securely with a ribbon that held a picture of Mom and Dad on their wedding day. “I feel them here with us.”
I pressed my lips together to hold back tears, but it was no use.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Ellie waved in front of her face like she had earlier. “I can’t cry and mess up my makeup before the ceremony even starts.”
“Here, I’ve got a—” Tissue was the word that didn’t make it past my lips when I saw her reach into the bust of her dress, pull one out, and dab under her eyes.
I shielded my face. “Okay, I didn’t need to see that.”
She giggled. “It’s the most convenient place to keep it.”
We laughed together as the music began.
“I’m really happy for you, Ell.”
She looked over at me, her eyes sparkling with tears. “Thanks, E.”
“Now, let’s get you down that aisle.”