44. Chapter 44
Chapter 44
Arlo
It’s been a month since our lives changed for the better.
Tyler is sitting in jail and won’t be getting out for a very, very long time. I moved into Rina’s house three days after everything happened, and we haven’t looked back.
But today? It’s time to give her something she’s always wanted but never made a fuss about.
First stop on the long list of shit to get done is a long talk with Ledger. Pulling up to the house he shares with Ainsley, I’m nervous. I never repaired our relationship from when we were kids, and I regret that. And now that Rina and I are married, I don’t want what I did hanging over us. I want to be a real part of the family, not someone he has to put up with.
Knocking on the door, I shift on my heels and wait until the door opens.
“Arlo, hey.” He looks confused, and I can understand why.
“Hey, man, can I come in?”
“Umm, sure.” He moves aside to let me in, and I follow him into the living room.
“What’s up?” he asks .
“I want to clear the air. When I left, I didn’t just hurt Rina; I hurt you and lost one of my best friends. I never really tried to fix that, and I would like to do so now.”
“You can’t really fix something that happened fifteen years ago,” he says.
“You’re right. But I’m hoping to marry Rina today, and it would mean a lot if there wasn’t any bad blood between us.”
“You’re hoping to what?” His eyebrows almost reach his hairline.
It’s not that we’ve hidden that we’re married, but we also haven’t thrown it out to the world as this huge announcement. All the Huttons know we’re legally married now, but no one expected us to have an actual wedding, especially Rina.
What he also fails to realize is that Ainsley, also Ledger’s fiancée, has been helping me plan the whole thing and is getting Rina ready for this elaborate plan today. And if he’s clueless, that means she took secrecy seriously.
“Umm, Ainsley helped me plan the perfect wedding for Rina. She’s helping me get her there today, and I would really love it if you were there to give her away.”
“Holy shit, who are you right now?” he asks with wonderment.
I chuckle at his shocked question. “She deserves it, man. I’m just trying to do right by her and make up for the past.”
He eyes me for a long minute. “When you left, I lost my best friend. When you came back, it was like we were never friends to begin with.”
“I know. Because of everything with Rina, I handled things with you terribly. I didn’t know how to be your friend when your sister was the woman I loved but I broke her heart. I thought you were all better off without me here. And then I got hurt, and I just shut myself off to everyone, not just you. I fucked up a lot of things, but I’m working on it.”
“You never needed my forgiveness, you know. I knew there were things that happened to you, but I just wanted you to feel comfortable talking to me—or hell, anyone—about it.”
“I get that now. I was … stubborn.” I scoff. “Really fucking stubborn. But I’d like for us to be friends again, whatever that looks like to you.”
He holds out his hand, and I eagerly shake it.
“We’re good, man. So, what’s this about a wedding?”
Relief hits me hard. Ledger’s always been a good guy, but he had a lot of responsibility back in the day. He’s different now, and I’m grateful for easy forgiveness. I fill him in on my plan, and he quickly agrees to walk Rina down the aisle.
He walks me to the door, hugging me once we’re there.
“Welcome to the family. I’ll see you later, I guess.”
I clap his back, clearing the emotion from my throat.
“Thanks, Ledge. Now, I’ve got to go see a man about a ring.”
The drive to Rosedale gives me time to reflect on how much has changed. Therapy is going well, and although I go less often than before everything with Tyler, I’ve kept it up. My back is slowly getting better. I started physical therapy, and it sucks so badly. After every session, I come home, collapse on the bed, and try not to cry from the pain. Rina’s taken to helping me into a super-hot bath with Epsom to lessen how long I’m down for. Her support has been instrumental in continuing through the torture that is physical therapy. Besides that, the twinge is lessening, so we’ll see what things look like in six months.
I’ve never been happier with my life, and it’s all thanks to Rina.
Pulling up to the jeweler, I step out and hope that the ring is ready. She’s been wearing the original ring I gave her, but I wanted to surprise her with not a replacement but an addition to represent our future.
“I was just about to call you,” the owner, Jack, says as I walk in.
“Oh, yeah?”
“I was just getting your ring ready. You want to take a look?”
I nod and walk up to the counter. An infinity band sits on a padded mat, and I gingerly pick it up. A thin line of baguette cut diamonds span around the small band. It’s simple but classic, and something that won’t get in the way of any tools Rina needs to use while she works.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathe as the reality of the day hits me hard.
I’m finally giving Rina the wedding she always dreamed of, the one she always should have had, and I can’t fucking wait to shout it to the world.
“Shall I wrap it up for you?”
“That’d be perfect, thanks.” I wait while he makes it pretty before I make the trek back to Bluebell Falls.
My phone rings when I’m about fifteen minutes away.
“Sheriff,” I answer.
“Hey, so we may have a problem,” Ainsley frantically answers .
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m at your house trying to get Rina ready, and she refuses to leave her damn workshop.”
“She shouldn’t even be working today. What the hell?”
“She said she needs an hour to finish up her project, then she’ll be ready for whatever nonsense—her words, not mine—I need. Does that leave us enough time?”
“It’s cutting it close as hell. Can you send an S.O.S. to the gossip crew and tell everyone to bump back an hour? My only worry is people showing up and ruining the surprise.”
“I’ll just call my dad, and he can make sure the town knows. Consider it done.”
“Thank you. I’ve got some things to pick up, then I’ll head that way. I’ll try to give you an hour to get her to your house.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you in a little bit!” She’s excited, and I’m glad she’s helping me out with this. I don’t think I could have pulled this off without her.
As I get into town, I know I need to kill some time, and I find myself parked in the driveway of Uncle Charlie’s old house.
I think he would be proud of me and the man I’ve become. I didn’t always feel that way. There were many years that self-loathing took over, but I finally feel content. I wish he was here to see this, though. He always loved Rina.
“Thank you for everything, Uncle Charlie,” I whisper before leaving and getting the rest of the things I need to make this wedding happen.
Ainsley texts me with the all-clear, and I head back to our house where Ledger, Oakley, and Lennox, of all people, are waiting for me.
“Well, this is a surprise,” I say as I climb out of my truck.
“Ainsley said you probably need help, so put us to work,” Ledger says.
They help me grab the cake that Kelly made as well as a shit-ton of flowers I secretly got from Ledger’s nursery thanks to Ainsley. Kelly is bringing food when she shows up later, so at least I don’t have to worry about that.
In a matter of two hours, we have an archway built and covered in flowers, and the only thing left is minimal decoration inside for when everyone comes back here and then changing into my suit. Setting up the ceremony spot won’t take long, and thanks to the guys’ help, it’ll take no time at all. The three of them take the flower arch and tell me to take a minute to myself and they’ll make sure things get set up properly. All I need to do is meet them there.
Changing into my suit is quick after I shower. As I sit on our bed, I take in this feeling. When we first got married, I didn’t feel nervous. I felt invigorated. Now, nerves tickle my chest and I have to call on my breathing technique to calm myself down. I’m not worried about Rina not wanting to marry me. We’re definitely past that, but I’m nervous that she doesn’t want the whole wedding with all our friends and family there to celebrate. Maybe she wants it to be just us.
Shaking my head, I remember that I know her, and as much as she says she’s fine with how things are, there’s a part of her that wants the big wedding and the celebration.
The only thing I want is to make sure all her hopes and dreams come true, so this is happening. I just have to shove my nerves down.
Grabbing my suit jacket, I put it on and stand in front of the mirror. Patting my pocket, I double-check that I have the ring, then take a deep breath.
“Go marry the love of your life,” I tell myself before spinning around and making my way to our spot to wait for Rina.