Page 22 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

As their stalemate continued, I glanced toward the stairs wanting to escape the tension that filled the room.

Beck huffed out a rough breath. ‘I thought we settled this already. That it was going to be a private ceremony.’

‘It’s complicated but I understand where the network is coming from. We were part of the focus for Season One. It makes sense they’d want to bring our story full circle.’

‘Don’t you think it’ll take away from the intimacy of it all?’ he said, pushing the food around his plate.

‘I don’t know.’ Torran turned her attention to me. ‘What do you think?’

‘Oh no. I am not getting involved.’

‘Let’s talk about it later.’ Torran’s voice wavered. ‘Give it more thought. There has to be a compromise that would make us both feel comfortable.’

Beck nodded even though he’d been clear about what he wanted.

In a quiet moment after they’d gotten engaged at the P&P, we talked about our parents. About how happy they’d be that we’d both found our way home to Ivy Falls. That they’d be thrilled he was marrying Torran. What went unsaid was how acutely we felt their loss every day. How a part of his reticence about the filming was that it would make the gaping hole they left behind more acute. That their absence would eventually come up via an interview or off-handed comment.

Beck wasn’t always against the show’s presence. At the beginning, he didn’t mind Hearth and Home documenting the restoration of our house. What he hadn’t anticipated was the audience’s reaction to the show. How it’d turned Torran and Manny into mini celebrities.

Fans started flocking to Ivy Falls after the first few episodes aired. At first, it was wild to see people filming the square. Taking selfies in front of the Dairy Dip and Sugar Rush. It got less amusing when fans started showing up on our doorstep, asking for photos, or to come inside like we lived in a tourist attraction. It freaked me out enough that Torran and Manny talked to Lauren about it. Convinced Hearth and Home to pay for a privacy fence to keep people out.

Even though he didn’t say it, I think Beck worried that somehow his wish for a small and quiet wedding would turn into a circus with cameras around.

‘How were things at the theater today, Pipe?’ Beck asked, eager to change the subject.

‘Uh, fine.’

Now I was the one pushing the food around my plate. I wanted to keep what had happened with Dex a secret, but Ivy Falls gossip tended to spread across town in its own kind of tsunami. Beck and Tor would hear about it soon enough.

‘The kids were good. They’re excited about the show… but there was one small hiccup.’

Beck paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. ‘Hiccup?’

‘One kid thought it’d be funny to shove a gummy bear into his ear.’

Torran smothered a laugh. ‘Why would anyone do that?’

‘Preteen boys. Dare them to do anything and they’ll make bad choices.’ I stared Beck down. ‘In fact, I remember you doing a few things that made our mom’s hair go gray.’

Torran set her hands on the table. ‘Oh, now this is interesting. We’ve known each other for a long time, Beck. What are you hiding?’

‘Piper.’ Beck’s voice held a thin warning that was all bark and no bite.

‘When we were young, we were playing hide-and-seek. Beck thought it’d be funny to climb up into the eaves of the attic to hide, but he got so high that our dad had to use a ladder to get him down.’

‘What is it with you and the attic?’ Torran teased.

When Beck first bought the house after bidding it away from Torran at auction, he acted like an asshole, thinking he could restore it on his own. That was until he put a foot through the floor in the attic and almost fell through. Torran had to show up and save him, which was something I regularly ribbed him about.

‘It was a good hiding spot,’ he chuckled.

‘Like I said,’ I gave my brother a smirk, ‘preteen boys.’

‘What happened with the kid?’ Torran said.

I was afraid of this question. The looks of worry I knew would cross their faces. ‘I had to take him over to the community health center.’

Torran’s eyes narrowed. ‘Did you meet the new doctor? My dad says he’s a traveling physician. That he recently spent time on a hospital ship in Senegal, but he’s originally from Harpeth Manor.’