“I’m so excited you’re here early, man!”
I nod, huge smile in place, but I’m distracted, biting my tongue, because I can’t decide if I should tell him I’m moving here or not.
On one hand, John is still grumpy toward me. But it’s only been one day and it was a surprise visit. I’ll no doubt win him over like I did in Vegas, and soon, he’ll be just as excited by my unannounced drop-ins as Blake.
On the other hand, will Blake find it suspicious that I’m moving here randomly right before his wedding? I still can’t tell him about John, so maybe for now it’s best I say nothing, even if John was totally cuddling me this morning. He wants me, I know it. I just need to get him to admit it. Good thing I’m persistent.
I decide to hold off for now and settle on, “Me too! You know I’ll come help anytime you need.”
Keeping secrets from Blake feels wrong, but my loyalty is to my husband now. I want to make him proud. Telling Blakeanything too early would only disappoint him, and that would devastate me.
“It’s going to be such a fun week!” Blake says, blissfully unaware I just relocated my entire life to this town without telling him. The donkey nudges my shoulder again, probably seeking to comfort me while I’m panicking over the lie.
I turn toward the unnamed animal, but my attention is immediately pulled toward a loud rumble that’s coming from outside the barn. It sounds a hell of a lot like a motorcycle, and there’s only one person I know who rides one.
A pair of black boots crunch on the gravel as my favorite person alive walks into the barn in his signature leather jacket, dark hair in a bun, and black jeans basically painted on. I don’t know how I was able to steal the heart of a hot, tattooed biker baddie and make him a softie for me, but it’s my proudest accomplishment to date.
Even if we still have a ways to go for him to readily acknowledge it, I know it’s true. I refuse to quit on us. I’ll get around his prickly exterior eventually.
“Well, hello,” I greet him warmly. “What a lovely surprise. Hi,John.” I emphasize his name in hopes he gets the inside joke. He’ll likely be upset with me if I call him hubby, so hopefully he understands what I’m doing there. Just in case, I give him a wink that Blake can’t see.
“Where’s Liam? He texted me he needs help fixing the goat pen before the wedding,” John says, ignoring me completely. Rude, but as always, I don’t take it personally. I know better.
“Oh yeah, Liam’s so worried that Jolene will cause a ruckus at the wedding. He thinks she’ll defy gravity, break out, and eat someone’s dress right off their body. I told him not to be so dramatic. It’s more likely she gets on the food table and eats everything,” Blake explains.
“So, where is he?” John asks once again, ignoring most of Blake’s response.
“Right, he’s probably already over there,” Blake answers, and John turns and walks away with nothing more than a grunt.
“What do you think they talk about?” I ask Blake curiously.
“Not sure,” Blake says, taking a moment to think. “Probably fixing stuff and the farm mostly. If they talk at all.”
I nod. That sounds right. Liam and John are both far quieter than Blake and I. I’m so glad they’re best friends though, because it’s what led me to meet my husband. My stubborn, closed-off, reluctant husband.
“Okay, if you’re here to help, let’s work our way down my checklist. We still need to finish packing the favors, and we should be able to knock those out—wait, no. I know what we need to do. Come on,” Blake says, leaving me standing there with the unnamed donkey. I look down at him, and he looks at me, but after a moment, I reluctantly leave, disappointed when he doesn’t follow.
We head straight for Wyatt’s house, and he’s on the front porch with Lucky. The two of them are as thick as thieves.
“Hi, Wyatt!” Blake calls out as we approach.
“Hey!” I echo. Lucky darts off the porch and runs over to us, spinning in circles at our feet. “Who’s the cutest dog in the world?” We both pet her as Wyatt smiles fondly at the interaction.
“I’m here for thething,” Blake emphasizes cryptically. I’m not sure what he means, but Wyatt seems to.
“Come on in.” He waves Blake and me inside his home, and we follow him to Liam’s old childhood bedroom, which has been updated to be a guest bedroom now.
Blake runs over to the closet door and pulls a blanket out to reach for items in the back.
“What are we doing?” I ask, confused by what seems so secret.
“Well, since Liam is going to be busy with John fixing the goat pen, I figured now is the perfect time to look at the tieswithout Liam barging in,” Blake explains. “The box was dropped off yesterday, but I haven’t been over to see them yet.” I’m not sure why Blake wants to keep the ties a secret, but he doesn’t keep me waiting long. He opens it, and his hand flies to his mouth. “Oh my God, they’re perfect.” He pulls out three ties, each one white with a floral lace pattern embroidered into them. It looks beautiful.
“She would love this,” Wyatt says quietly, teary-eyed, and I know I’m missing something.
“Wyatt let me use some of Liam’s mom’s wedding dress so we could incorporate it into our own day,” Blake adds quietly to me, the emotion in his voice obvious. Liam’s mom passed when he was ten, and I know he and Wyatt miss her every day. It makes me want to cry at how thoughtful the gesture is.
It also makes me think of John and how much I still don’t know about his story. He admitted he lost someone close to him, and the urge to go to him and find ways to support him like Blake is supporting Liam is at an all-time high right now.
