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“It’s okay,” I whisper, as the pastor begins speaking and the ceremony commences. Jeff nods, but his face is tight. I reach up and touch him. “It’s okay,” I tell him again, knowing I need to say more, but realizing that we need to be alone for that. He gives me a tight smile.
“Before we begin, does anyone here have reason why these two shouldn’t enter into vows of holy matrimony?” Pastor Kurt says, addressing the crowd. I grin as silence rings out. I give Jeff a wink and even he smiles—at least a little.
“I guess that would be me, Pastor.”
Gasps explode all around me as shock fills my body. I hold onto Jeff’s hand to keep my knees from buckling. I turn to look as Jake strolls up the aisle. Barbara grabs Lennon in her arms and out of the corner of my eye, I see her taking him inside. I’m completely grateful, I don’t want him to see any of this.
“What are you doing?” I hiss.
“I think before you say ‘I do’ to my brother, you and I need to have a talk, Katie.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
“We can talk about it alone, or in front of everyone here. The choice is yours.”
I look up at Jeff. Oddly enough, he looks resigned as he steps back from me. “Go talk to him, Katie. It’s past time.” He sounds so weary, so tired, that I don’t know how to reply.
“Jeff, sweetheart…”
“Just do it, Katie.”
I nod. It’s not like I have a choice. It looks like instead of a wedding day, I’m going to have a day of reckoning with Jake Ryan.
CHAPTER 29
Reed
“Is she okay?” I ask, leaning against my truck. Callie comes out of Katie’s house, and I can see she’s been crying. She looks at me, and I hate seeing the sadness on her face. It brings back too many memories that I’d rather we both forget. I open my arms, and Callie doesn’t even hesitate as she runs into them. I wrap her up, pulling her into my body, letting her hold onto me. I close my eyes. I hate that she’s upset, but I can’t deny how good this feels—or how right it is that I’m the man she’s depending on again.
“She’s a mess. I can’t believe all this happened.”
Her head rests against my chest, and I hold her like that for a bit. The frogs are singing in the background, and the summer air has cooled with the setting of the sun. It’s the most peaceful I’ve felt in a long ass time.
“It’s going to be okay, Bluebird.”
“I don’t know how,” she whispers. She pulls away from me and then gasps. “You’re hurt!” She reaches out and touches my lip gently.
“I’m fine.” I ignore the pain and try to give her a smile.
“You’re not. You’ve been bleeding, and it’s swelling. What happened?” she asks.
“After Katie called the wedding off, Jake needed someone to vent his rage on,” I shrug. “I volunteered.”
“I…You…Jake… Are you insane?” she huffs. “He has no right to hit you.”
“He does. We were best friends for a lot of years. I kept my knowledge of Lennon a secret. He has every right to be pissed at me, baby. Hell, he’s pissed at all of us and in a way, he has a right to that, too.”
“The hell he does. He’s the one who told Katie the worst thing in the world that could happen to him was to have a child and be stuck in Macon for the rest of his life. His words and contempt of having a family with Katie kept her quiet. It kept us all quiet!”
“Calm down, sweetheart. We all understand that’s why Katie made the choices she made. I think even Jake understands.”
“Then why make such an ass of himself and hurt everyone today?”
“Because he’s hurting, too. He made some wrong choices, and he’s seeing the consequences of that.”
“You sound like you’re taking up for him,” she mutters, stepping away from me.
“I understand him,” I argue, rubbing my finger against her chin, not allowing her to put distance between us. “I’m just now realizing the wrong choices I made.”
“Don’t do that, Reed.”
“Do what?”
She shakes her head back and forth in denial. “Don’t compare the decisions you made—decisions I forced on you—to Jake’s. You did what was needed and despite what you’re thinking, it’s still needed. You don’t belong here any longer.”
“We’ll see,” I state with a grin. “Are you hungry?”
“I’m not sure I could eat after all of this. I hurt so much for Katie. Jake’s insisting on seeing Lennon tomorrow, and Jeff isn’t answering her calls. It’s a mess. I was going to stay with her, but her grandmother told me to leave. She gave Katie some pills to help her sleep and is taking care of her.”
