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“But what about that house?” Pixie spoke up. “The market isn’t exactly booming right now. Jenner put a lot of money down for it.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I assured my sister. “We’ll find somewhere else.”
“You won’t have to,” Wroth announced, putting an arm around his wife. “We caused this trouble, we’ll fix it.” The two of them shared a look before Marissa nodded. “Doe, honey, the farm has been yours from the time you could ride a horse. We always intended for you to inherit it, but we think you should take over fully now. The house, the land, everything, it’s yours and Jenner’s. Your mom and I, we’ll buy the house from Jenner, and it will be our West Bridge residence.”
A devilish gleam filled Marissa’s eyes. “Yes, I think that’s the perfect solution. We’ve never had close neighbors before. I’m sure it will be fun getting to know the Cains and Dotsons better.”
Chapter 8
Doe
The idea of my parents living between two of my biggest adult tormentors in town nearly caused me to burst out laughing. The Cains and Dotsons having to deal with Mom and Dad on a daily basis seemed like the perfect visit from the Karma Fairy.
But as amusing as the thought of those two couples getting a dose of hell every morning, noon, and night was, I was far from wanting to laugh.
Their fix didn’t feel like it was fixing anything, at least not where my heart was concerned. Maybe I was overreacting, or maybe I’d just had too much, and for once, I couldn’t overlook having my heart stomped on, only to then have to go on about my life like everything was perfectly fine.
While Aunt Gabs and Uncle Liam joked with Mom and Dad about torturing their new neighbors, I just stood there, unable to speak for fear of exploding into a million pieces and taking everyone in the house with me. How was I supposed to pick myself up and dust myself off after everything they’d done?
Giving me a house and the farm didn’t ease the ache in my chest. It didn’t erase the way they’d used the man I loved. It didn’t excuse the pain I’d been put through and still felt while they laughed and joked around like nothing had happened.
Angrily, I tore my gaze from my parents and looked up at Jenner. “Do you want to marry me?” I demanded.
I heard Jenner’s breath catch in his throat as he looked down at me with emotion swelling in his eyes. I licked my lips, almost afraid of his answer when he didn’t immediately speak.
“Give the dude a second to catch his breath before you go giving him a heart attack like that, baby sis,” LJ teased, breaking the tension I felt growing in my body.
“Yes,” Jenner gasped, the air rushing back into his lungs. “Of course I want to marry you, little lamb. I have the ring right here.”
He pulled the box from his pocket, but I snatched it from his fingers before he could open it. “Good. Let’s go.”
“Wait, time out.” Jackson stepped in my way. “Where are you going?”
“To get married,” I announced. “Everyone is invited but Mom and Dad.”
My mom’s anguished cry behind me did nothing to ease the pain she’d caused me. Petty, sure, but I was done caring about everyone else’s feelings when they’d been so careless with my own.
“Doe, baby.” Jenner grasped my wrist and turned me to face him. “Slow down. This isn’t how this should go.”
I cocked my head at him. “How should it go, Jenner? You have two options. Come with me now and we fly to Vegas to get married, or you take the ring box back and we never mention marriage again.”
“What happened to discussing everything? Making important decisions together?”
“Yeah, not getting included sucks, doesn’t it? But this is me giving you the option. It’s now or never, and the option of now is quickly ticking away.” I glanced around the room, pointedly ignoring both my parents’ gazes while landing briefly on everyone else. “Piper, you and Pixie can be my bridesmaids. Bryant and LJ can be groomsmen, and Jackson can give me away. There, everything is settled. If we hurry, we can catch a flight out of Nashville.”
“Doe, stop it,” Jackson snapped at me. “You have every right to be pissed at Mom and Dad, but you’re being cruel. Mom’s already crying, and Dad’s got tears in his eyes. This isn’t you, baby sis. You’re not mean.”
I turned to confront my brother. “Maybe I’ve finally had enough. Maybe I’ve let the last person walk over me for their own gain. My heart is no longer the soft, weak organ that everyone so readily takes advantage of.”
“No,” Pixie denied vehemently. “That’s impossible. The Doe that I know, and love is too selfless to allow that to happen. You’re just hurting and want to make them hurt too. But don’t do anything you’re going to regret tomorrow.”
“Marrying Jenner isn’t something I’ll regret. Allowing anyone who isn’t worthy of witnessing our nuptials to attend the wedding, now that is something I will definitely regret.” Folding my arms over my chest, I looked up at Jenner. “Last chance. Are we getting married tonight or not?”
He scrubbed his hands over his face, into his hair, and ended by squeezing the back of his neck as if he was in pain. I slowly counted down from ten in my head, telling myself if I got to zero before he gave me an answer, that was it. Game over. We wouldn’t break up, but I’d never entertain the thought of being his wife again. This was his only chance; there would never be another one.
“Fuck it,” he muttered and scooped me up. “Pixie, I’m getting married. Get your Dr. Contreras and meet us at the airport.”
“But Jenner—”
