Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
Warm tropical breezes. The heady scent of plumeria and hibiscus. The gentle sound of the water lapping at the sand.
It was paradise, and Cat was enjoying every single second of it. The weather back in Winslow Heights was nice, but here on the island of Kauai, it was stunningly lovely, with temperatures in the eighties and dazzling sunshine.
Straightening her dress, she took a deep breath and picked up the bouquet of flowers that smelled heavenly. It was almost time to walk down the makeshift aisle the hotel had created on the sand. The guests were already seated, and in a moment, the band would strike up the wedding march.
Tate was already standing at the altar next to his brother Cooper, looking incredibly handsome and sexy. It ought to be illegal to look that good. Maybe they could duck out of the reception early and go back to their room.
All the men looked handsome, though, dressed in casual slacks and Hawaiian shirts.
“You look perfect,” Cat said to Jane, Cooper’s fiancée. “Absolutely breathtaking.”
Jane looked a bit nervous, but then she was getting married to Cooper in about two minutes or less. Tate’s spontaneous brother had popped the question, and now here they were watching the beautiful couple exchange their vows.
“I can’t believe I’m getting married again,” Jane marveled, looking gorgeous in an off-the-shoulder white silk gown.
Cat and Lucy were the bridesmaids, and they were wearing billowy, flowered sundresses that moved with each soft breeze.
All three of them were barefoot. “I swore I wouldn’t after my divorce. How did he talk me into it?”
“The Winslow men have a way of getting what they want,” Lucy laughed. “And Cooper is more determined than most.”
Cat and Tate had been a bit surprised that the couple hadn’t taken more time between falling in love and their nuptials, but Cooper had simply explained that life was too short. They were both adults, and they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Why wait to do that?
“He is, isn’t he?” Jane said, a dreamy smile playing on her lips. “I don’t know if I’ll be a good wife, but I know he’ll be a good husband. When Cooper decides to do something, he doesn’t do it halfway.”
“You’re both going to be very happy,” Lucy replied, as the music began. “Are you ready to do this? There’s still time to run, but I bet Cooper would follow and catch you.”
“I’m not running anywhere,” Jane declared, a big smile on her face. She looked radiant, ready to walk down the aisle to her future husband. “We’re going to have an amazing life together.”
They lined up, Cat first, then Lucy, and finally Jane.
Tate was Cooper’s best man, along with Sam and Zack.
Piper and Frankie had already gone down the aisle as full-grown flower girl and ring bearer, and now stood at the altar waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Uncle Mark sat in the chairs the hotel had set up right beside his partner Nigel, who, it turned out, was a British pop star from the eighties. There were no other attendees.
It was only family. Cooper and Jane had wanted it that way.
Slowly, they walked down the aisle to the music. Cat couldn’t take her gaze off of Tate. He was looking at her, too, even giving her a playful wink as the group gathered around the couple.
They didn’t stop looking at each other as Cooper and Jane said their vows, both of them choked up with emotion.
She didn’t know when, but someday she’d be standing next to Tate, holding hands and reciting vows.
They’d talked about the future, of course, and they’d agreed that marriage and kids were something they both wanted.
It didn’t really matter when, as long as she was with him.
Cooper and Jane kissed, and everyone cheered while Piper threw more rose petals in the air over their heads. Her heart squeezed in her chest so hard, and her throat clogged with emotion. They looked so incredibly happy. Their lives were only just beginning.
Zack popped open a bottle of champagne, and they all toasted to the couple’s happiness and health. The smooth golden liquid slid over her tongue, and the bubbles tickled her nose. Soon, they’d all go into the hotel for lunch and more champagne.
“They look pretty happy,” Tate said, reaching out to wind a stray strand of hair around his finger before leaning down to press their lips together. “Almost as happy as we are.”
“We got our second chance, and they did, too. It makes a person grateful because you know it doesn’t always end up like that.”
“I’m very grateful. I could have lost you.”
Yes, that day could have gone differently.
Winnie had been taken into custody, admitting that she’d shot Tyler that morning.
She said it had been easy to slip out of the kitchen, where everyone was busy cooking, pretend to go to the bathroom, and then hide behind the trees.
She knew where the security cameras were located as she’d been there the day they’d been installed.
She’d known that Tyler would be outside. He’d mentioned helping Josh and Rachel by taking their trash to the curb as soon as he finished getting dressed.
In truth, she hadn’t expected her chance to be that morning.
She’d actually been hoping to get him alone the night before, although she didn’t have any particular plan.
She’d put her handgun into her purse and waited for an opportunity.
She swore she hadn’t wanted to kill him.
She wanted to scare him, make him see that she was serious.
Tyler couldn’t be with anyone else. He belonged with her. He just didn’t understand that.
Then everyone believed the intended victim had been Josh, so she simply went with it. She rented a blue SUV like Rachel’s and ran him off the road. She hoped the investigation would swing to Rachel, and they’d ignore her and Tyler completely.
Due to her fragile mental state and increasing paranoia, Winnie had been evaluated by mental health professionals and deemed fit to stand trial. Finn had told them before they left for Hawaii that he didn’t think there would be one. He was hoping for a plea deal, but it was too early to tell.
Her husband, Glen, had already filed for divorce and was dating Lindsey, the local dog groomer.
Josh and Rachel were taking a trial separation and in marriage counseling. They both expressed hope to save their relationship, but Rachel had purchased a condo last week, so reconciliation was up in the air. Josh had custody of the couple’s dogs at their residence.
Josh hadn’t admitted to any affairs, telling his wife she was paranoid. He’d simply been stressed about work. Whether that was the truth, Cat didn’t know.
“I think we might just get our happily ever after,” Cat teased, running her fingertip along his jaw. “This time we’re older and smarter. We know what we want.”
“I just want you,” Tate declared. “But you are a woman who knows what she wants. And I’m going to be there every step of the way to help you.”
“Can you help me with my algebra homework?” Cat asked. “Math is not my strong suit.”
She’d turned down the skincare contract. She hadn’t really wanted to do it. She wanted to look forward, not back.
After what had happened with Winnie, Cat had marched down to Winslow University the next day and signed up for fall classes. She was planning to be a teacher. The same career she’d gone to school for fourteen years ago, but hadn’t finished.
She would this time.
“If I can’t, then I’ll hire you a tutor. I’ll do anything to make you happy. I love you, Cat. More than you can ever imagine.”
“I love you the same. I loved you then, and I love you now.”
The second time it was more. More of everything.
They’d wandered separately, but they’d found their way back to one another.
With love to guide the way.
Six weeks later…
Sam Winslow didn’t think he was the only one who thought hospitals sucked. Sure, the maternity ward was probably a joyful place, but the rest of the building seemed to always have that scent of antiseptic, desperation, and tears.
He’d been pacing the floor of the waiting room for hours, wanting to make a break for it through the nearest exit, but that wasn’t what he was going to do.
“The doctor says we can go in,” Frankie said. “But we can’t stay long. He’s exhausted, and he needs to rest.”
All the siblings were there, having received a panicked phone call from Aunt Kim in the middle of the night. The patriarch of their family, and sometimes villain, Joel Winslow, had had a heart attack, according to the doctors.
A bad one.
It should have killed him, according to the cardiologist, but Joel had never been a man who was easily defeated. He was a fighter, and he wasn’t going to let a little thing like a heart attack, they called “the widowmaker,” take him out of this world.
Their father, however, wasn’t out of the woods yet. It could still go either way.
Aunt Kim stepped into the waiting room, for once not looking chic and put together.
Sam wasn’t her biggest fan, but she did appear to truly care about their father.
Her face was pale and her eyes red-rimmed.
She looked shocked, and perhaps for good reason.
He assumed their dad had convinced her that he was indestructible.
“You ready?” Frankie asked. “Piper said she’s not going in.”
Piper held deep bitterness for their father, and even on his deathbed, she didn’t appear ready to forgive and forget.
Frankly, he couldn’t blame her. His dad hadn’t been any sort of parent to them and had basically been extra shitty to Piper because he didn’t want to bother to understand his youngest child.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
The group of siblings moved toward the hospital room door, but Frankie stepped in front of Joel’s friend Henry and brother Rick.
“Just family,” she said, holding up her hand. “Dad needs his rest.”
“I’m family,” Rick replied angrily. “You can’t keep me out.”