Chapter 27
Jesse
Ella and I are out walking the property with the dogs, letting them run and burn off energy.
She wanted to get out of the house. Winters here are long with not much to do when it’s too cold to be outside.
But today we’ve been given a rare gift, a surprising fifty-degree day in the second week of March. We’re taking full advantage of it.
“So, I was thinking about wedding stuff … and I think I want to get married in October.”
I laugh, thinking she’s joking, but she doesn’t waver.
“You’re being serious?”
She stops walking and lets go of my hand. “What’s wrong with October?”
“El, I work.” I gesture. “Pick any other time of year and it’s yours.”
“I want the fall. I like the colors, I like the weather. I want the fall, Jesse,” she argues.
I shake my head. “We can’t.”
“It’s one week!” she snaps.
“A week?! What kind of wedding are you planning?!”
“Um, honeymoon?”
I let out an accidental sigh and she huffs as if she’s offended.
“I didn’t mean it like that—”
“I didn’t know going on a honeymoon with me was so awful!”
“It’s not. Of course it’s not. I can’t wait for it, but we can’t disrupt my work.”
“Why can’t you just take off?”
“Because, Ella, it’s not some huge company. It’s me, Cody, and Dad. That’s it. I can’t just put in time off, that’s not how it works. It’s only four months of the year.”
“But—”
“We can’t afford it, baby.”
“You don’t even know what we can’t afford,” she argues.
“I know I don’t want to find out.”
She shakes her head.
“Please, just trust me.”
“Fine.”
“Pick another time of year. How about spring? A year from now? Or December? We’re done by December.”
“I’ll have to look at the calendar. I’d rather sooner than later.”
“Me too,” I assure.
We continue walking, hand in hand. The dogs are finally getting tired. On our way back toward my place, Ella lets out a sigh.
I give her hand a gentle squeeze. “What’s wrong?”
“Well, getting back on the topic of money …” she starts.
“Yeah?”
“There’s something you should know.”
I swallow hard. “Okay.” I keep my voice steady, but she has my full attention. Knowing she isn’t one for hard conversations and she’s bringing one up right now has me determined to stay extra patient.
“I have some debt,” she admits. “ Student loans and what not.”
My throat dries a little. “ How much?”
“Thirty thousand.” She holds her breath.
“Wow. Okay. Alright, that’s fine.” I shrug it off.
Her brows pull together. “Really?”
“Yeah. We’ll get it squared away. Eventually,” I joke.
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad? You’ve wanted to be a nurse since junior high, I kinda always knew I’d be helping pay it off one day.”
She smiles. “Aw, really?”
“Yes, really.”
She gets closer to me. Her voice drops to a whisper. “So you’re really sure we can’t do October?”
I sigh, not wanting to fight about it again. “Let me think about it.”
“Yay!” She kisses my cheek.
* * *
“So, did you pick a date?” Addison asks me from across the table.
Cody jumps in before I can respond. “They’ve only been engaged like an hour,” he jokes.
“It’s been almost a month, hasn’t it?” Mason asks.
I clear my throat. “Basically, yeah.”
“So did you pick a date or not?” Addison insists.
“Not exactly,” I mutter, wanting to watch what I say. Ella isn’t here this week; she’s working, but I still want to be respectful in case any of this gets back to her.
“I’m sure they have to talk about all that yet, Addison. Don’t pester,” Mom tells her.
“Well, I know what time of year she wants,” I offer. Everyone waits for me to continue. I, however, would enjoy it if they took a wild guess.
“If you say fall …” Cody threatens.
“Ding ding ding.” I sit back in my chair.
“No,” he replies.
I shrug. “I tried to tell her.”
“Tell her again,” Cody says.
“Hey, you stay out of it,” Dad tells him and then looks to me. “If she wants a fall wedding … do it.”
“What?” Cody and I say in unison.
Cody then adds, “I beg your finest pardon?!”
“You only get married once.”
“I barely have time to think during hunting season, let alone get married!” I point out.
“Seriously, there’s no way,” Cody adds, still in disbelief this is even a discussion.
“Figure out the date and we won’t book any hunts.” Dad shrugs like it’s no big deal.
“Seriously?!” Cody raises his voice. “We don’t all need to miss out on pay because he’s getting married.”
“You’re gonna be in the wedding, genius,” I point out.
Mom interrupts over Mason and Addison laughing. “Cody, just relax. Nothing is set in stone.”
Cody stands. “Weddings are the biggest money pit. If you’re really gonna have one, make sure you sign a prenup just in case things go south.”
“Cody!” everyone exclaims simultaneously.
“Hey, thanks for the support,” I say, as he walks out of the room.
“Jess, don’t listen to him. Just do whatever you guys wanna do, and don’t bother paying attention to anyone else’s opinions. It’s your guys’ day.” Mom’s voice is gentle.
Dad sits back in the chair and crosses his arms. “We’ll accommodate however needed.”
“Thanks. But I’m not really planning on fall. I got her to understand my concern.” I fork more food into my mouth. The tension at the table isn’t bad, but the tension between Cody and me is, and he’s not even in the room.
After lunch, I ask Cody to come check out a rattling noise on my truck. There’s not really a rattling noise, but it’s the only thing I could think of to get him alone for a minute. He was pretty fired up earlier, and I want to make sure we’re good.
“You know more about trucks than I do, so what do you actually want?” Cody asks, shoving his hands in his pockets as he waits.
I can’t help but laugh to myself, he’s right.
“I know you had a rough go-around with marriage. But that doesn’t mean Ella is going to pull the same thing Bree did.”
“Doesn’t mean she won’t either.”
“I’m a pretty good judge of character—”
“Oh, and I’m not?”
“Not what I’m saying.” I shake my head. “I’m saying with Ella and me, it’s different.”
“How? You think just because she loves you? Said yes to the ring means she’s never going anywhere? I had the same damn thing and it all went up in flames with barely a reason.”
“I know that. I know it sucked. I was there, and I’m sorry she did that to you, but you can’t just swear off all women because of her.”
“Have you even asked Ella about her previous engagement? Her reasoning for walking out on the guy? Is it even valid or was she just pissed off? Because—”
“Cody, stop. Stop it.” I point a finger, my voice sharp. “None of that is your business.”
“Well, as long as you make it yours, that’s all I care about,” he argues.
I actually hadn’t asked Ella for any more information on the details of her relationship with Tim.
I didn’t see the need; she said he wasn’t the one—okay, good enough for me.
So I thought. Cody’s kinda freaking me out.
What if there’s a deeper reason, what if he didn’t want kids and Ella does?
Or what if it was opposite, what if he wanted kids and Ella didn’t?
No. No, that’s not right, Ella wants kids. I know she does. She’ll be a great mom.
Cody crosses his arms over his chest. “Got your wheels spinning now, don’t I?”
“You need to stay out of our relationship. Okay? You said your piece, now move on.”
He shakes his head, the tone of the conversation shifting when his voice comes out softer. “I just don’t wish that pain on anyone.”
“I can only imagine how that felt, but please.” I shake my head. “Don’t treat Ella like Bree.”
He doesn’t say anything for a minute, like he’s trying to battle his thoughts.
“Okay, I won’t,” he says when he looks back at me.
He walks back inside, and I’m not far behind him.
I think the tension between us is a little better though not fully resolved.
Cody is pretty hardcore, stubborn, the wild one of us brothers.
He rarely opens up like this. Even if it’s not much, this just goes to show how much he genuinely cares about me.
Honestly, he did open my eyes up a little. I’d be interested in seeing what Ella would say about the engagement. More than just the run-of-the-mill “he wasn’t the one,” I want to know more. I need to talk to Ella.