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Cassie was right to a certain degree. The last ten years had been hectic for her. She’d worked hard at OSG, initially being hired as an entry level Support Desk Analyst and working her way up to a Senior Systems Engineer, responsible for the IT Service Management system they used to manage the support desk, computer assets, and IT change management process. All the while attending night school to first earn her BS in Computer Science and then her MBA six months ago. Maybe Cassie had a point—a weekend brain reboot might be what she needed.
“Maybe you’re right.”
Cassie smiled brightly at her, her sparkling blue eyes filled with love and understanding. “I know I’m right. So just go with the flow this weekend and have fun. Whatever fun means to you. Regardless of what happens today and over the weekend, know in your heart you’ll be all right. That everything will be all right. Can you do that?”
“Cassie, we really need to take our places,” their father said through the door.
“Okay, Dad, one second,” Cassie called out to him.
Abbey smiled back at her sister. She felt the stress of the last couple of days slowly drift way. She would do her best to do as Cassie asked. To go with the flow and have fun. She could pick up the pieces of her life on Monday.
“I will, Cass, I’ll relax and have fun this weekend. I promise. And I’ll be fine come Monday.Now enough about me, let’s get you married.”
****
All the men looked at the door. Heath looked visibly relieved, assuming the conversation about Leah had ended. Luke didn’t think Jake would be so easily deterred.
“Come on in,” Jake called out. “We’re not finished talking about this,” Jake told Heath.
Hannah and Luke’s Uncle Darren stepped inside the office. “Darren,” Jake, Heath, and Rocco called out.
Luke stood back while the guys greeted his uncle. His stomach tightened as he looked at the strong, vibrant man before him. In his mid-sixties, Darren Stryker was still a force to be reckoned with. Six-feet-two with a full head of mostly gray and blond hair, he had the outward appearance of a healthy and successful businessman.
And at the moment, Darren Stryker was exactly that. He had inherited ownership of the Chicago Cobras from Luke’s grandfather Bradford twelve years ago, along with all real estate amassed by Stryker Real Estate Holdings. Stryker Real Estate Holdings owned and managed a significant number of commercial and residential properties throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, as well as properties in Nevada where the Cobras’ Triple A minor league team, the Windy City Rattlers, was located. Darren had grown the company’s real estate portfolio several times over since inheriting it. The success of the Cobras, Rattlers, and his real estate holdings had made his uncle a billionaire. Darren had never married, making Luke his uncle’s sole heir.
Luke felt a boulder-sized lump form in his throat and his eyes burned. Shit, he was going to lose it in front of everyone. His shoulder problem was nothing compared to the news his uncle had shared while he was in the hospital Wednesday night and Thursday. Darren turned to Luke and shook his head slightly.
Luke stood up straight, cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. Then another. He nodded at his uncle.
Keep it together. It’s not over yet. Uncle Darren, Dad, is the toughest man you know. Just relax and enjoy the weekend. Darren’s counting on you.
Luke looked around the room. Darren’s long-time companion wasn’t here. “Where’s Maureen?” Maureen Taylor, a lovely woman in her early fifties, had been with his uncle since the day she interviewed with the Cobras Children’s Foundation five years ago. She made his uncle happy, and he loved her for it.
“I already escorted her to her seat. I’ll join her in a minute. I wanted to see you boys first,” Darren replied.
Jake shook Darren’s hand and clapped him on the back. “Thank you for everything, Darren. Everyone with Hailey’s has been amazing. They’ve made preparing for today a lot less stressful. Cassie’s been thrilled rather than stressed out and we have you to thank for that. We wouldn’t have been able to book Hailey’s otherwise.”
Darren waved a hand dismissively. “No need to thank me. You’ve been like a brother to my boy and so has Heath. Anything you two need, just say the word.”
Luke was touched by Darren’s sentiment. It couldn’t have been easy for him when Luke’s parents died and Darren became an insta-daddy to a devastated ten-year-old boy. Luke’s father James, a former Army veteran and a member of the All Army Sports Program for softball, was Darren’s younger brother by two years.
The brothers had been close and Darren hadn’t hesitated in becoming Luke’s guardian after his parents’ death. Although a confirmed bachelor with no children of his own, Darren did all he could to fill the void that losing Luke’s parents had created in his heart. He would be forever grateful for his uncle’s guidance and support the last twenty years. Luke was the man he was today because of Darren’s guiding hand, sound advice, and influence.
“Thank you, sir,” Jake and Heath both said.
Darren turned to Hannah, who had been sneaking glances at Rocco. An adorable blush stained her cheeks. “They all cleaned up pretty well, wouldn’t you say?”
Darren looked at Luke with a brow raised. Luke grinned and shrugged.
“Um … well yes they did. The tuxedos fit perfectly. But what about the boutonnieres?”
Jake grabbed his out of the box on the table and handed it to Hannah, looking embarrassed. “Yeah, no way any of us would have been able to pin these on. Can you give us a hand?”
Hannah made quick work on pinning Jake’s boutonniere to his tuxedo lapel. The groom’s boutonniere was comprised of a white and cornflower-blue dyed rose with some additional frilly flowery stuff attached to it. Luke’s and Heath’s boutonnieres were only a single cornflower-dyed rose with the same frilly flowery stuff attached. Hannah pinned Luke’s and Heath’s with quick care and stood back, admiring her work.
“Perfect. I think you three are all set. The ladies are here and they look absolutely beautiful. Wait until you see Cassie, Jake. She’s stunning.” Hannah smiled at Jake as he tried to make his way out the door. She grabbed him by the shoulders, doing her best to stop him.
Luke ran to the door, standing in front of it, blocking Jake’s escape. “Whoa, you can’t see her now, Jake, you know that.”
