Two Years Later

  I knocked on the door to our bedroom a couple times before coming in.

  “Becks, do you want to use a green or red pillow for Megan?” I was looking down at both the pillows, not noticing Lizzy hastily shoving the soon-to-be-bride into our bathroom.

  “What are you doing here!?” Lizzy stomped one foot and planted her hands on her hips. Her attempt at a serious frown was equal parts adorable and terrifying.

  “I live here, I think? I wanted to ask Rebecca about the pillow Megan should use. Since the bridesmaids have green dresses, I thought it could make sense for it to be green.” I held it up like it was going to help my case.

  “It’s bad luck for the groom to see his bride in her dress before the wedding!” Lizzy huffed a few times before taking a couple calming deep breaths. “I realize this is your first time getting married, so I apologize if you did not know this before.”

  “Here, I’ll take the dress off,” Rebecca said, voice muffled by the closed bathroom door.

  Lizzy banged it once with a closed fist. “You keep your pants on! At least wait until your honeymoon.”

  I snorted and shook my head. “You know I’ve seen her with much less on in this bedroom, right? I just wanted to check about the pillows.”

  “Go with green. Good color and it kind of fits a wedding in late spring.” She paused and looked at me for a few seconds. “Huh. You look very handsome today. I didn’t know you’d clean up so well.”

  “Thanks, you look beautiful yourself. Lori, Rosie, and Val too. I'm serious, you knocked it out of the park with this whole wedding planning thing.” When I saw them all, I finally understood what Rebecca meant when she said I was surrounded by pretty women before.

  Their beauty was helped by the dresses that Lori nearly killed herself working on. That was why the wedding was taking place so long after I got engaged. It wasn’t just Rebecca’s dress that was made by Lori’s hand. Lori needed the hours to work on the dresses, but she had some help from her mother, and surprisingly Ryan. The kid took Lori’s lessons to heart long after his physical therapy was wrapped up.

  “Oh, if you think we look good, wait until you see this.” She threw both her hands toward the bathroom like she was presenting something. The door started to open and Lizzy started to panic. “Wait, wait! Not yet, I was just being dramatic. You’ll see him soon!”

  “I’ll get out of your hair!” I quickly made myself scarce before Lizzy went nuclear in my bedroom and killed both of us. Didn’t want to undo all the hard work she put in.

  Lizzy planned a fantastic wedding, but when Rebecca and I talked to her about it, we realized we just wanted a simple gathering. Lizzy was happy and said that made the whole thing easier on her. I think she was just excited to put all the ladies in their dresses and do their makeup. She could have handled the wedding no matter what the scale was. In terms of how a wedding was supposed to go, I had no idea. I treated it like a formal gathering of my closest friends and family, of which I didn’t have many, so we just decided to host the thing in our house.

  When I got downstairs, the three kids were still playing some video games in the living room. Having three kids around all the time was still taking a little getting used to. After we got back, Lori and Alex discussed bringing Ophelia in. After they saw the kind of foster care she was in, it didn’t take much pushing and prodding from Shelly and her connections to make it happen. The foster parents told Ophelia that her mother was a horrible person, and I couldn’t disagree, but I hated knowing that she had an idea of the things Heather did. The only silver lining was that Heather wanted to make sure the girl was taken care of when she passed. I decided to tell Ophelia the truth when Lori and Alex figured they were all ready as a family.

  But she had no trouble fitting in with Ryan and Megan. The trio quickly became best buds, and we were still going to do everything we could to support them through everything. Megan and Ophelia were not going to have to be tough kids anymore. They were going to get as much love, care, and help as we could give. Ophelia, looking like her mother, was probably going to get stares when out in public with her parents. Lori’s darker skin, Alex’s Chinese heritage, and a ghostly pale daughter with black hair was an unusual looking family, and people were just jerks about that kind of thing sometimes.

  When I went to the kitchen, Shelly hugged me for the billionth time. She’d been doing her best to keep it all together. It was a massive challenge for her. Knowing there was no chance every woman at the wedding was making it through without turning on the waterworks once or twice, Lizzy made sure to get the most waterproof makeup she could. As usual, Lizzy made the right call when it came to makeup.

  “I still can’t believe this happening.” She gently dabbed her face with a tissue. “Not even three years ago, we were barely making it a crappy apartment building. Neither of us had any idea what we were going to do with our futures. Now you’re here, getting married to a woman from the Civil War. Could you imagine telling yourself that when you were sixteen?”

  “It’s been something else.” I didn’t have the words to describe what happened. Outside of Shelly, I’d barely known anyone in my home if I stopped to think about it. And I knew I wanted them in my life forever. Shelly started to tear up again and I matched it. “If you cry, I’m going to cry. I’m not a manly, macho guy. I will start bawling.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m just so happy for you.” She took a shaky breath. “When Mom and Dad died, I didn’t know if I could ever be this happy. I didn’t know if you could be as happy as you are now.”

  “It wasn’t easy,” I admitted. I thought about all the times I was just a scared boy, haunted by the shadows that were some of the only company I could keep. With the others in my life and the shadows gone, it felt like a brand-new life I’d been able to live. To keep everything light, I put my hands on Shelly’s shoulders. “You pull off the tux well, I’m impressed. When you and Quinn tie the knot, I’ll wear a dress if you want me to be your maid of honor.”

  Shelly’s face went scarlet. “As funny as that’d be, it’s a little early for us to be-”

  I held up a hand. “I see how you two look at each other. I don’t need to be Lori to know where it’s all headed. Look, even though I’m your little brother, I am protective of you. I don’t want anyone to take advantage of my sister. Which is why I’m happy you have Quinn. I’ve never gotten a bad vibe from the guy once. If he makes you happy, is good to you, and has a solid head on his shoulders, I’m just counting down the day until I have to learn to walk in heels to repay you for this as your maid of honor.”

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  That’s when she did start crying. I was able to keep my own tears from flowing, thankfully. I would never apologize for being an emotional softie, especially when it came to family. Life is too short and too weird to bottle up your emotions around the people you love the most.

  It was just some more mingling until we were ready to get the actual ceremony started. Since the bride and groom all shared the same friends, it was basically just catching up with everyone. Alex had mellowed out since Ophelia was brought into his life, shedding a lot of that gruff exterior to turn into a nice father. I finally understood what Lori saw in him. Rosie mostly hung around Braden, but I’d take some time to sit and talk with them. With the McLeod business behind us and families finally feeling somewhat settled down, getting to know them better was something I wanted.

  Val was at the point where she was liked by everyone. Still, she had a lot of social issues she was trying to grow out of. She stood awkwardly in the corner, way too tall to effectively hide herself that way, and that was before her heels boosted her a couple inches. Getting a dress put together for her must have been a nightmare, so all the credit in the world went to Lori and Lizzy for managing to figure it out. She was about the only one in the house I hadn’t talked to yet.

  When I came over, she tensed a little, probably a little tired from all the energy in the place. We awkwardly embraced like the height-mismatched friends we were. She was the one who saved the day and had to make the impossible decision to kill her father. She’d earned some friendship and the chance to be at my wedding.

  “I feel so strange in this,” Val said, gently pulling at the dress. “Will I have to wear this every time one of us gets married?”

  I looked up at her face and couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m sure you can wear a suit. Sorry if you’re uncomfortable.”

  “No, it’s not that, I’m just not used to feeling...pretty?” She shook her head. “For so long...it was just training and McLeod’s goal. There were no dances, no ceremonies, no reason to wear anything but T-shirts and sweatpants when I wasn’t wearing armor. I thought jeans were fancy. Girly stuff like dresses, these shoes, makeup, and elaborate hairstyles just weren’t a part of my world.”

  “They don’t have to be, and you don’t need them to be pretty.” It felt like Val had more trouble adjusting to the world than Rebecca did. “Things like the dresses, heels, and makeup are just a small part of what your wardrobe could be. Everyone looks their best when they’re happy with who they are, not because of eyeshadow or stilettos.”

  “That was...surprisingly thoughtful.” Val gently pushed me and grinned.

  “After falling in love with a lady who didn’t know what a safety razor was until she was twenty-two, and whose shoulders were wider than my own for a while, I realized what we consider to be beauty standards don’t mean much to me. Shaved legs can’t hope to compare to her sparkling eyes and smile.”

  “Wow, I wish some of the guys at the gym were that poetic.” Val grimaced. “A lot of weirdos who see abs on a tall woman and they get gross about it.”

  “I’m sorry.” I didn’t want her adjustments to normal life to include being creeped on. It was disgusting, but at the very least, Val could absolutely handle herself.

  “Eh, I’ve told them it’s not appropriate to behave that way. Most of them apologized and seem to carry themselves with a bit more dignity.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “That’s a bit of a shocker. Creeps don’t tend to just stop because someone gives them an earful.”

  “I don’t think they were creeps,” Val said, “but I do think they were bad at flirting. Or whatever they were trying to accomplish. Who knows? It’s not like I’m an expert at courtship myself.”

  It was nice to see Val more relaxed. She was still dealing with a lot of guilt for what she’d done, and I wasn't going to try and absolve her of any of those feelings, but I thought she had been doing a great job atoning for those crimes. Officially, only a few people had known her identity when she was working with McLeod, so most people just saw her as a new hero and counterpart to the knight McLeod had when he first started terrorizing cities. She was busting her ass off to do good, and in my mind, that was infinitely more valuable than just throwing her in a jail cell. Not everyone would see it that way, but not everyone watched her kill the only family she had to save the world. Well, only family then. That was another thing we were working to correct.

  That was about all the mingling I could handle. I spared a few more passing words for everyone, but as time started to drag on, I was getting more nervous. Or maybe I was excited. I was getting closer to starting one of the most permanent things in my life, if not the most permanent. I was pretty sure some butterflies in my stomach were justified.

  After chatting with Val for a few more minutes, everything became a blur. I was pretty sure I talked to a few more people, but when everything was set up for the ceremony, I blinked and was suddenly at the altar. I knew there was a processional order to everything, and we kind of didn’t care. Everyone at the wedding who wasn’t the minister or a child was a maid of honor, a bridesmaid, a best woman, or a groomsman. Because of that, we decided not to sweat the small details, and we all gathered at the altar. All the kids were some mix of ring bearer and flower child. They were thrilled to share the responsibility.

  When Rebecca went through the back door to walk down the aisle, Rosie started singing. When I saw Rebecca, I couldn’t hear what Rosie was singing anymore. The rest of the world faded away and only the redhead who somehow fell in love with me was there. She was already the most beautiful woman on the two planets I knew of, but knowing she was walking down the aisle to make me her husband was nearly overwhelming.

  When I could come back to reality, I realized how much work Lori put in when making that dress. I wasn’t going to pretend to know any of the technical terms, and I didn’t care too much. Simply put, Rebecca was beyond stunning. Long sleeves embroidered with intricate flowers ran down her arms. The bodice was probably the simplest part, but even then, there was a large rose embroidered over the left breast. It narrowed at her waist before widening into an extravagant skirt. I could tell there were countless designs on it that I couldn’t make out. Even from afar, it added a certain visual texture and uniqueness to the dress, and I didn’t have to know exactly what the design choices were for them to make the dress look good.

  I spared a glance at Lori, who was wiping her eyes. She had every right to be proud of her work. I had no idea how she did it, even with a couple of years to give her some breathing room. Becoming a sudden mother to a girl with a very troubled early life and making all the dresses at the wedding? Lori was nothing short of incredible, not that she’d ever admit it to anyone.

  I offered her my hand up to the altar, which she took. She looked up at me, smile as wide as could be, and turned a little pink. Suddenly, she tossed the bouquet over her shoulder to the bridesmaids and maids of honor. No one expected her to do it then, so barely anyone reacted at first. Two sets of hands ended up around the flowers after a desperate scramble. Lori and Shelly looked at each other, both going red from ear to ear. The other ladies were quick to congratulate the co-catchers.

  The minister started doing his thing, and like with Rosie, his voice faded away. Sight was just about the only sense I had left to me. I was too busy staring into shining green eyes filled with love. I could only hope mine showed the same love hers did. I know I felt that love for her.

  “I understand the bride and groom exchanged their vows privately this morning.”

  “We did,” Rebecca and I said simultaneously.

  “Ugh, so you saw her anyway,” Lizzy muttered, folding her arms over her chest. She shook her head in mock disappointment.

  “Sorry.” I gave her a shrug. As much as we loved the people around us, we wanted our vows to be a private affair for our ears only. And private that sharing remained, much to the annoyance of our wedding planner.

  I took Rebecca’s hands, the words of the minister continuing to fade into muffled noise as I lost myself in her. It was a miracle I hit my cue without a delay. “I do.”

  More muffled noise from him when it shifted to Rebecca. “I do.”

  “You may now kiss the bride.”

  And the sealing of our little piece of forever was cheered by our friends and family before we were swarmed with hugs and congratulations.

  anyone enjoying it enough to leave a positive rating means the world to me. If you hated the story and still made it this far, I'm sorry! I hope it at least didn't feel like you completely wasted your time. Believe me, I know how it feels to finish a book/series you kind of hate. It can be draining.

  any characters from that first draft besides Lori and Ethan.

  and edit to get chapters out is likely not something I'll be able to do weekly. It may be every two weeks, but we'll see when we get there. To give a little bit of information, it's a story where Megan is the protagonist, and it starts when she's eighteen and in high school. I wanted to use a similar age range to explore a different structure and plot with the changes that would have come in the world by that point. It also includes a lot of returning characters from this trio (it's not going to be that much of a departure) who get to be a little older and wiser.