Chapter 15 Blake #2
“Baby,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to my temple.
“You met me at my lowest. You were there for me in a way no one else was or could be. And then we fought through hell to get out alive. By some miracle, we came out in one piece, and I’m still not sure how that happened.
So, the nightmares, the panic attacks…and anything else that comes from that shit show is a piece of cake. We can deal with that.”
I swiped the tears from my cheeks and smiled at him. “I really am sorry about the window. Are you okay?”
He took a breath, holding it for a second. “Knight is here with everyone else. Define okay.”
Laughing, I hugged him tight again. “This really is going to be different from what we’re used to.”
“I know, but you’ll be great.”
“Are you sure about that? What if I get mad at our kid and throw him out a window?”
He shrugged. “Teaches him strength and character.”
“And you won’t be mad at me?”
“Well,” he grinned. “I might ask what he did to deserve it.”
Sighing, I shook my head at him. “Are you sure you want to marry me?”
“More than anything in the world.”
Well, at least I had laid it all on the line for him. It couldn’t get much worse than throwing your own kid through the window. If he still wanted me if I did that, where could we go wrong?
“Then I guess I’d better get ready.”
I pressed my lips to his, then slid off his lap.
“Uh…babe?”
“Yeah?” I asked, looking over my shoulder.
He winced, rubbing the back of his neck. “Have I told you that Hunter’s performing the ceremony?”
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Maggie asked.
“Of course. Why?”
“Well, you did just shove him through a window. Again.”
I was never going to live that down, and I regretted pushing him out that window now.
Mostly.
“He wouldn’t fight me.”
“Imagine that,” she deadpanned. “Your fiancé wouldn’t fight the woman he was supposed to marry today when she’s pregnant. Yep, that’s something.”
“I know it was irrational. This whole move has been stressful, and I took it out on him.”
“Oh, no. I totally get it, but you need to learn to be more productive with your rage. For instance, on my wedding day, I found a good story and chased it, then ended up throwing grenades. It was a great stress-reliever.”
“I can imagine it was.”
“Not to mention, it made the wedding night even more adventurous.”
“Right,” I cringed. “You know, I think I can get ready on my own.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can, but I have a gift for you.” Unzipping the dress bag, she unveiled what looked like a very sturdy corset.
“Um…I’m not sure I want to wear someone else’s lingerie on my wedding day.”
Barking out a laugh, she shook her head. “No, this isn’t lingerie. It’s a bulletproof corset.” She knocked her hand on the ribbing. “It’s very tough.”
Was she freaking crazy? Why on earth would I need that thing?
“Uh…that’s really great of you, but I think I’ll just take my chances.”
She shrugged, tucking it back in. “Your funeral. I mean, wedding.”
“Wedding,” I clarified. “There are no guns here. No men trying to kill me.”
“Or so you think,” she winked.
“So I know. Maggie, this isn’t Reed Security. We don’t have enemies waiting in the wings for the perfect time to attack. There are no viruses being unleashed, no crooked senators, and definitely no bombs about to explode.”
Very slowly, she pulled a grenade from a pouch on her side and grinned. “There could be.”
“Maggie…has anyone ever told you you’re completely insane?”
Her face fell as she tucked the grenade away. “You’re no fun. I was just trying to bring a little joy into your life before you have a kid and you’re chained to the stove.”
“That’ll be the day,” I laughed. “I’m pretty sure anything I cook would be considered hazardous material.”
“Still…don’t you just want to get out of here? There has to be someplace we could get up to some trouble before your last day of freedom goes out the window!”
So, this was what it was like after kids. Well, in all fairness, she was well on her way to having her own hockey team. It was no wonder she was trying to live vicariously through me.
“I’m positive. This is going to be a normal wedding. Because that’s what Parker and I are. Two very normal, very sane people, who are going to stand before the pastor and say our vows.”
“Well, sort of.”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you hear?” She grinned widely at me. “Hunter’s performing the ceremony.”
“No, he’s not,” I said stubbornly. If I said it enough, maybe it would come true. When Parker told me, I nearly called off the wedding. But I wasn’t about to send my family home without a ring on my finger.
Still…it was Hunter.
Groaning, I tried not to think of everything that could go wrong. After all, we were in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t like we were at risk of blowing anything up.
Right?
“Oh, shoot!” she gasped. “I should probably go.”
“What?”
“I have um…something to check on.”
“Maggie—” I warned, but she was out the door before I could figure out what she was up to.
Which left me all alone, but not for long. It was only minutes later that Krista, Lizzy, and Clara showed up to help me get ready, which I was eternally grateful for.
It was nice to have a few normal people around who didn’t want to influence me to blow something up for kicks on my wedding day.
“Okay, we should start with your hair and makeup,” Krista said, dragging a whole suitcase behind her as she entered my room.
“What is all that?”
“This? Oh, just a few things to get you ready. Don’t worry. I’m a professional. I mean, not actually a professional because I haven’t gone to school for this, but I’m very good at what I do. I promise, you will not walk down the aisle looking like Bridezilla.”
“Thank God for that.”
“And I have the champagne!” Lizzy announced, pulling out a bottle, and then a second one. “But non-alcoholic for you.”
“And I have the snacks,” Clara added. “Better eat up now. You won’t be able to once we get you in that dress.”
“I’m starving,” I murmured. What little I had eaten hadn’t done enough to get me through the day.
I hurried over to the platter she laid out, groaning at all the delicious cheese, crackers, and meats she’d carefully put together.
I was already stuffing my face while Krista and Lizzy set up everything for my hair and makeup.
“Thank God I’m pregnant. I can look fat in my dress and no one will care.”
“You won’t look fat,” Clara chuckled.
“Where’s the ceremony, anyway?”
“You don’t know?” Lizzy asked, surprised by my lack of knowledge.
“Well, honestly, I just let Michael handle all the details,” I said, cramming more cheese and crackers into my mouth.
“It’s going to be by the falls,” Krista answered.
“It would have been nicer on the other side of the river, but Dad has put that side off limits for some unknown reason,” Lizzy scoffed.
“Girls, your father is trying to help someone out. Just leave it alone.”
The other side of the river? “I thought everything on the other side of the river belonged to the Callahans?”
“It does,” Clara answered, “aside from one parcel we bought from them. Well, technically, it was Jim’s property, but when he died, it reverted to John.”
“Who’s Jim?”
“John’s twin. He died…oh, probably seventeen years ago. It was really hard on John. A connection like that—I can’t imagine what it must have been like for him.”
“How did he die?”
“Accidental overdose,” Clara sighed. “He’d been having trouble sleeping ever since his wife died.
Poor, MaryAnne. She was never in good health.
Anyway, after she died, Jim was a mess. He would take sleeping pills, but when that didn’t work, he drank himself to sleep.
And…well, the last time, he overdid it.”
Wow, that was…extremely sad. “That must have been hard on the family.”
“Oh, it caused quite the stir in town. See, Jim owned everything at the upper part of the falls, and the property wrapped around to the outskirts of town. Well, a developer wanted to buy that land off Jim to build some beautiful houses, but Jim wouldn’t sell.
And when the property reverted to John, he refused to sell, also.
The town was divided over whether or not he should sell.
We desperately needed to expand housing, and it was the perfect location. ”
“But you can’t force someone to sell,” I pointed out.
“Which was what caused such an uproar. If we tried to force him to sell, what other ranchers would they pressure into selling property?”
Who knew small-town politics would be so heated?
“Anyway, it’s your wedding day. We shouldn’t be talking about things like death and property sales.”
But as they started getting me ready for the big day, all I could think about was one thing.
How this all could be connected to the death of Dakota Walker.