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I smiled at that. Damn right. The spot really was beautiful, and it made all those picture-perfect wedding shots people loved to post on their social media look like bullshit in comparison. I liked the peaceful vibe of the tree, the way the grass billowed around it, the birds chirped from within it, and the frogs croaked in the pond nearby. We’d be hard up to find a place nicer than this.
My eyes drifted past Maddox to the forest line. I found another tree that stood out, and hope sparked in my chest.
“How about there?” I asked Maddox, pointing at the other tree.
Maddox looked, and then he raised a brow at me. “Really? That half-dead, raggedy as fuck old Oak?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. Pointing at the Willow, I said, “This tree says happiness and serenity. It says we work hard all day, come home, spend the evening eating dinner and talking about our days, and then fall happily into bed.” I pointed to the Oak, and said, “That tree says I’ve seen some shit, I’m still standing, and I ain’t fucking going anywhere. That’s more us, right? Like, it says, I’ll try to make dinner but I’ll fuck it up, you’ll get pissed at me as you fix all my mistakes, and then we’ll glare at each other while eating the half-ass salvaged meal, and end up hate fucking in a broken bed.” I looked at Maddox, wondering what he thought. “It’s more our style.”
To his credit, he actually studied the Oak, trying to decipher if it said all that. There were crows on the branches, and I couldn’t remember if they were a good omen or a bad one, but they looked nice, so I took it as a win. The grass surrounding the tree was all brown and dry, like the Oak had greedily sucked all the water away like a selfish old goat, and even the other trees sort of leaned away from it like it was an outcast. I liked it. Maddox stared at it for so long that I shoved my hands into my pockets to let him drink it all in.
“It says, you’re a dumb fuck who can’t read trees, but I’ll marry you anywhere because clearly, I’m equally as dumb.” Maddox stood next to me. “Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I agreed. I leaned into his side and slid my arm around his waist. “I hope you like it, Madd, because this shitty tree, me, and a marriage certificate are about all that our wedding will have. We’ll be fishing in that pond for our wedding meal.”
Maddox laughed. “I never minded frog legs.” He kissed the side of my head. “I bought our rings with a week of free labour. That’s why I didn’t get paid the first week.”
My mouth fell open. “You shady fuck! I knew something was up.” I punched him in the shoulder. “I love you for it. Thank you.”
“Alright, well, since I’ve done all the hard work, the marriage certificate shit is on you.”
What an asshole, but he had a point. I kissed him by the tree that would be our wedding spot, feeling pretty damn good despite all the shit that happened with my dad last night.
We had eyes on my dad now thanks to Patrick Harris, but the waiting game killed me. I wanted to take him out now, get rid of him, and get married without his shadow casting down on us. Hanes was in on everything, but he said he wouldn’t act until he had video evidence that my dad was doing something illegal. We’d have to wait until he did and then get him the footage without involving Harris with the cops at all. Hanes even set up additional security around the evidence room—that Davis wouldn’t know about. I guessed all we could do was wait for it to all start happening. We were set up, so… waiting fucking sucked.
“Hey, Madd?”
“Mm?”
“Time for you to bend over.”
“Yeah, I don’t think so, Devon.” He whirled on me, pressing my back into the trunk of the Oak. “I’m starting this marriage off on the right foot.”
“What foot is that?”
“Your knees.” He shoved me to them, but the way he looked down at me made me feel bigger than him.
“Don’t worry, Madd,” I said, repeating words from the gravel pit so long ago as I undid his pants. “I’ll bring you to yours, too.”
44
-Maddox-
Likeanidiot,Iran out of gas. Sitting on the steps of Pete’s front porch, I waited for my brother to show up with a tank of fuel for me. I mean, Pete had a fuel tank for the farm equipment, but I didn’t want to push my luck by using some when he wasn’t home. I needed this damn job, and to be honest, I liked it well enough, too.
Xavi pulled up twenty minutes later, already laughing at me.
I told him to fuck off as a greeting. “Did you bring it?” I stood, dusting my ass off.
Xavi chuckled. “Yeah, you twat.” He pulled the can out of the back of the truck and handed it to me. “Hurry up, though. Something is going down with Davis.”
I poured faster. “What?”
Xavi shrugged. “I don’t know yet, but Hanes called to say he’s up to something and that he’s being monitored.”
“That’s vague. Something with Jim?”
I couldn’t wait for this whole thing to be over. We’d been dealing with Jim so long he was like a lingering smell. I was sick of thinking about him, talking about him, and plotting against him. I just wanted to marry Devon and get the fuck on with our shitty lives.
