Chapter Three
AVERY STARES OUT OF the window in awe as Logan drives the truck through the expansive farmland.
It had been almost a year since she moved her life to Carson, North Carolina on a whim.
She had been living as a shell of herself after her loved ones had all passed away.
Her heart still aches every now and then when she remembers her sweet sister Aria and how she was taken from the world far too soon.
They pass a driveway with a bright red mailbox in the middle of the wooded area on Avery’s left and she smiles remembering that her brother Austin had been working on a house for their sister Cassidy. Her family would now all reside in the same town once more and she couldn’t be more thrilled.
Logan’s truck takes a right turn and Avery’s smile widens as they begin to approach her parent’s neighborhood.
The large brick house that once terrified her now holds a sense of warmth and love.
She remembers the very day last fall when she stood on the porch holding a box of cupcakes and a note proclaiming her the daughter of Joseph Connelly.
She hadn’t known that they would open their arms wide for her, to embrace her into their family whole-heartedly.
Joseph and Amy had been searching for her for years after receiving a letter from her lunatic of a mother and couldn’t have been more surprised to find her on their doorstep.
The Connelly family was everything she had imagined having as a child – a fairytale.
And now she was living her own fairytale. She watches Logan as he twists their fingers together after helping her from the truck. He had been her savior, her reason to breath, to love, and to live. He is as flawless on the inside as he is on the outside.
They had been married on New Year’s Eve, much to the dismay of many of the women in Carson, and they are expecting their twins in another month or so. Nothing could be more perfect than this.
“I love you, Logan,” she whispers as she slowly climbs the front steps.
Logan takes her hand wound with his and brings the knuckles to his lips where he leaves a soft peck.
“And I love you more than anything, beautiful.”
The door swings open, startling them; their eyes wide as they take in an overly-ecstatic Nikki at the threshold.
“Get in here, would you? I’m so hungry I could eat a cow,” she cries out as she wraps an arm around Avery’s shoulder. “Logan, would you be a dear and see if Joseph needs any help setting up the lunch outside? It’s so beautiful out, Amy thought we could have it out on the porch.”
Logan nods his head and leaves a kiss on Avery’s cheek.
“Eating outside sounds nice. I hope Amy didn’t go through too much trouble just for us. Everything she cooks is amazing.”
Nikki turns around and grabs a halo of flowers and begins pinning them into her hair.
“What are you doing?”
“Amy had some new blooms in her garden and I was bored,” she claims as she places a bobby pin into Avery’s dark wavy hair before standing back and clapping her hands joyfully. “Now, can you do mine?”
“Sure,” Avery responds as she grabs the second halo and places it atop Nikki’s blonde strands.
After a few pins in place, Avery stands back and gestures for Nikki to glance in the mirror.
“Perfect. Aw, and look, we even dressed alike. We’re, like, cute pregnant hippie mommas.”
Avery giggles and shakes her head in exasperation.
“Whatever you say, Nikki. Now let’s go find something to snack on. These little ones are making it known that they’re hungry,” she adds with a small sneer of pain as her lower abdomen contracts once more.
“Are you, alright?”
“Yes, Dr. Burnett says I have Braxton Hicks and they have been acting up like crazy this last trimester. I think I’m going to have to take his advice and go on bed rest. He says it may help.”
Avery steps behind Nikki as she opens the French doors leading to the backyard and gasps loud enough to grab the attention of everyone in the yard and tent.
“Oh!”
Nikki spins on her heels and beams at her best friend.
“Welcome to our baby shower, Avery.”
“Oh, Nikki. I didn’t…how did you….I…”
“You’re welcome. Everyone helped. We wanted it to be a surprise.”
Avery’s eyes start to well up from the love pouring out by everyone in attendance.
“I can’t believe you were able to pull this together. I want to hug you, but I don’t think we could reach,” she says with a pout.
Nikki and Avery figure out a way to give an awkward side hug after their bellies indeed keep them from wrapping their arms around each other.
“Come on, Amy helped me set up and get everything together. It is beautiful.”
Logan and Austin step up to them with Amy trailing from behind, camera in hand.
“Pictures please,” she shouts.
Logan wraps his strong arm around her waist while she leans into Nikki whose head rests gently on her shoulder. Amy takes a few shots and then separates them to get some individual couple shots.
“Come on, let’s go walk around a bit to say hello. The entire town is here.”
“Wow really?”
“Yes, Cassidy and her man are here even after all of the drama from last week.”
“I can’t wait to see her. I wonder if Ryker will show up. I don’t see him with Jameson,” Avery exclaims as she glances around the tent, her eyes zeroing in on Jameson and his friend Nora as they sit at a table together.
“I think Cassidy said he had a photo shoot that he couldn’t get out of, but he did send a gift.”
Spinning around Avery wraps her arms around his neck as she asks, “Did you know about this.”
Hesitantly he replies, “Yes, I did,” as he rests his hands on her hips. “I know that you don’t like surprises, but I thought you may make an exception for this one.”
She narrows her eyes jokingly and she leans up and kisses the underside of his jaw; all she can reach on her toes.
“It’s a wonderful surprise and I love it. Thank you. I’ll show you how much later tonight”
“I’m looking forward to it and you’re welcome.”
Shirley and Temple Fitzgerald interrupt their rendezvous and chat with the couple as a few other townspeople descend upon them.
Avery smiles happily at the people surrounding her and she immediately feels a sense of contentment as Logan wraps his arms around her from behind, chiming into the conversations when necessary.
“If you all don’t mind, I’m going to snag Avery away to grab some food. We’ll catch up in a bit.”
“Thank you, my stomach was about to revolt in hungriness,” she giggles.
Logan laughs and responds to her thanks.
“Well, what would you like to eat,” he asks as they eye the large buffet table spilling over with food.
“Everything. I want everything,” she claims ravenously, licking her lips in anticipation.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Not distracted from her view of the smorgasbord before her, but she swears she hears Logan laughing.
***
SCOOTING THE CHAIR OUT next to her best friend, Nikki plops her plate onto the table and dives in. She doesn’t hear any of the conversation going on around her, just simply indulges herself in the melt-in-your-mouth ribs; her plate is piled high with the stacks of barbeque goodness.
Finally pulling the last rib bone from her mouth, she takes a napkin to wipe the messiness around her lips before looking up to glance around the tent. The ten tables are scattered around and she smiles inwardly.
Finally, her father catches her attention and he winks in her direction as someone she doesn’t recognize goes to sit beside him.
Nikki nods and continues to glance around the space.
Most of the Lady Busy Bees, the town’s local community group of women and the reigning queens of gossip, all sit closely together while their significant others all sit at the adjacent table.
Nikki finds Cassidy, Harlan, Sydney, and Dylan sitting at a table with Amy and Joseph laughing loudly at something Dylan has said and on the opposite end of the tent sits Jameson and Nora, Cliff the local tattoo artist, Sydney’s part-time employee Jessica.
Beside Jessica, Everleigh stars daggers at the tent opening where Brooks saunters in with a scantily clad Tiffany, a girl Austin had previously dated before her.
“Uh oh, trouble has arrived,” Nikki says to the air as she takes a sip of lemonade.
“Did you invite her?” Austin asks.
Avery chimes in after sticking a massive spoonful of mac and cheese in her mouth, “Brooks had mentioned that he had lunch plans with her. I guess he assumed he could bring her.”
“I’m fine with it as long as you are, darlin’,” Austin adds as he takes a sip of beer.
“I’m not sure you need to worry about me,” Nikki mentions as Joseph walks over to greet Brooks and a livid looking Everleigh stands from the table, her chair practically falling from its place.
Captivated by the scene before her, Nikki watches as the flowy peach summer dress Everleigh wears swishes around her thighs as she stomps across the tent to where her arch-nemesis stands still shaking hands with her father.
Her blond curls bounce with each step and jerk when she knocks her shoulder into Brooks’ arm roughly as she passes.
Joseph steps back to retire to his table and Brooks guides Tiffany to the empty seat at the closest table.
As he steps back he takes a moment to glance back at the house and run his fingers through his styled hair, leaving waves in its wake.
He takes a deep breath before slouching into the chair beside Tiffany and starting a conversation with the others.
Nikki actually feels her heartache for both Brooks and Everleigh.
Something keeps her from reaching out and taking hold of something that everyone else can see when the couple is together.
And, by the way she stormed off when Brooks arrived with someone else, Nikki knows that Everleigh cares for the man she swears that she hates.
“That was interesting,” Avery admits bashfully from her place beside her.
“Everleigh just needs to admit that she wants him. It would be easier for everyone.”
“Yeah, but she’s skittish about it. About relationships in general. I don’t think I’ve heard of her ever having a boyfriend.”
Amy steps up to their table, breaking their secretive conversation and announces that it was time to play games and eat cake, Nikki’s favorite part.
Sydney, Dylan, and Jessica scurry out of the tent and come back a few minutes later carrying a three-tier cake with white etched icing, lilac ribbon, flowers, and a small gum paste teddy bear sitting on the top.
It’s beautiful and perfect and now Nikki understands why they wouldn’t let her see the masterpiece before this moment.
“Oh, Sydney, it’s beautiful,” she and Avery cry as they rush from around the table and wrap their baker sister in their arms.
“You’re very welcome. Now cut the cake and let’s get these games started. I am ready to play some baby bingo.”
Everleigh finally returns once Nikki and Avery start cutting the cake and apologizes for storming off then moves her way over to Sydney’s table to play the games as the boys head out of the tent to play horseshoes; all of the men except Brooks, who keeps a not so subtle gaze in Eveleigh’s direction. Luckily, Tiffany seems oblivious.
The games keep the group laughing, especially when Brooks guesses the dirty diaper candies correctly.
“What? I like chocolate,” he says with a shrug, erupting the room in more cackles until Tiffany adds loudly that he can put chocolate anywhere on her.
The tent quiets noticeably enough that Austin and Logan rush into the tent to make sure everyone is alright. Nikki coughs and lets Austin know that they’re about to open gifts if he wanted to bring the crowd back into the tent.
Soon, Amy has piled a mountain of gifts around Nikki and Avery, the stacks tower over their heads. Nikki turns her gaze towards Avery who stares in wonderment at the boxes before her.
“Are you ready?” she asks.
With gleeful determination, Avery declares, “Let’s do this.”