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“Sorry about that. You should watch taking the Lord’s name in vain here. Someone might go apoplectic.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’re way past that for me.”
He laughed. And suddenly, we were kids again. My big brother, the perfect model older brother, who did everything right, and his wayward little sister. It felt right in its own way, even if the dichotomy was unfair.
“I’m surprised you came back,” he said.
“You and me both.”
“Especially with a King at your side.”
“Wasn’t exactly planned.”
“That’s not how Mom is spinning it.”
I groaned. “What is she saying?”
“You know. The same old, same old. It’s why I couldn’t believe you were here. And that you’ve kept your mouth shut so far.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Should I be pitching a fit?”
He shot me an even look. “After what happened in LA, I wouldn’t blame you.”
I stopped at the top of the hill and looked out across the festival below. “I’m still not happy with them. What they did was horrible, and I’ve never gotten an apology.” I sighed. “I really don’t expect one either. And if Dad wasn’t dying, I probably wouldn’t be standing here right now.”
But I didn’t have to forgive and forget what had happened. I didn’t have to do anything but live through this moment. I couldn’t change what had happened with Safia, but I couldn’t change that my dad was sick either.
“How’s he doing anyway?” I asked before he could respond. “Really doing?”
Wyatt’s shoulders drooped. “I don’t know. He won’t say much to me. He’s keeping his head up and pretending like nothing is wrong. Mom told me the immune therapy seems to be helping, but he’s too proud to admit any of it to me.”
“That’s so frustrating. Why does it have to be a secret?”
“I honestly think he’s just trying to get through to this wedding.”
I dropped my head as the weight of it all crashed down on my shoulders. This wedding. Which had started out fake and was getting more and more real as the days went on. A reality that I couldn’t even deny that I liked. I wanted what Gavin and I had to be as real as it felt to be in his arms. It didn’t alleviate some of the guilt though that it had all started out as a lie.
For a moment, I wanted someone else to know. Someone who was dealing with all the same stuff with my parents as me. Someone who had known me my whole life.
“About the wedding …”
Wyatt frowned. “Please don’t tell me that you’re breaking it off. I don’t think I could keep Mom together if you did.”
I shook my head. “What? No, Gavin and I are getting married.”
“Okay, good. I just … you know … I never thought you’d get married. I couldn’t believe it when Curt told me that he’d seen you in Midland.”
“So, that is how Mom found out!”
“Well, no. I wanted you to be the one to drop that bomb on her. But someone at church got to her first. I had to act surprised when she told me.”
“Jesus,” I grumbled.
He cracked up and shook his head. “So, what about the wedding?”
“Gavin and I … it’s not … it didn’t start out … real.” I stumbled over the words, unsure of how to get them all out.
Wyatt’s brow furrowed. “What does that mean?”
