Page 103 of Marriage (Red, White &) Blues

Part of me wished I’d taken them up on their offer to help get her up as I struggled, putting strain on my injury. Blake watched for about two seconds before standing to get Sierra out of her chair. He also helped me get her up the stairs, where he transferred custody of my inebriated friend, kissed my cheek, and jogged back down to the others still gathered on the patio.

Once in the room, I started peeling the smelly campfire clothing off of her helping Si into her nightgown and then I pulled back the covers on the bed.

“He said he loved me,” she slurred, hiccupped, and then passed out again.

What? Who? Pete? Someone else? No, no, no… I needed more.

“Who, Si? Who said that?”

She mumbled something that sounded like, “Manfred Robie Wendel logged.” Since I never heard the name Manfred Robie Wendel in my life, I had to assume that I heard her wrong. Well, whatever she said, she said it with conviction.

I sighed. “Oh, Sierra… when are you going to trust me?”

“You and me both,” said a voice coming from the door in an Oklahoma twang.

“Pete?” I asked earnestly and he just shook his head sadly and turned away. I heard the soft footfalls of his cowboy boots hitting the hardwood floor traveling away from Sierra’s room and floating down the stairs.

Oh, boy… it was times like these I was glad to be married.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The next day, Sierra wore her grumpy pants thanks to the massive hangover that we’d caused. Pete was helpful with her, but distantly so. With the rest of us, he was great. Pete and Blake got along like best buds, but given that they’d both majored in finance, Blake at Harvard and Pete at Brown,andboth men ran—or in Blake’s casehadrun—their families’ companies, their burgeoning bromance made perfect sense.

At one point, while we prepped lunch, I asked Sierra, “Have you ever heard of Manfred Robie Wendel?”

She scrunched her nose up, really giving it some real thought. “Wasn’t he a poet?”

“I think you’re thinking of Oliver Wendell Holmes,” Pen corrected, then she looked at me. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know,” I said. “Si said it last night when I was putting her to bed.”

“I did?” she asked. “Now I want to know who I was talking about.” She started laughing. “Ow—” she said, pressing her hand to her forehead. “Don’t make me laugh.”

Well, at least there wasn’t another guy professing his love, because if push came to shove, I was backing Team Sete. Pierra?I liked Pierra. Which made Pete the rogue ‘I love you’er. Wow. So, then what was her deal? She already admitted to him packing more than a cocktail weenie in his boxers. And that he didn’t suck at the coital rumba. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why she pushed a good guy like Pete away.

All in all, this trip gave us the reprieve from our day-to-day that I, for one, needed.

Pen, Sierra, Ant, and Pete already boarded the boat. I stood on the pier, imprinting one more memory of the cabin. Blake pressed his body to my back, dropping his hands onto my hips.

“They’re waiting on us, Glory,” he whispered.

“I know. I just love it here.” I turned my head to look up into his diamond-flecked eyes, and he gave my hips a gentle squeeze. “I’m so glad I got to share this with you.”

He squeezed my hips one more time, then whispered, “Come on, we have to go.”

Ant held his hand out to help me up onto the deck while Blake helped steady me from the pier, climbing on behind me. The chilly wind scored through me, but I couldn’t get myself to go inside. I closed my eyes and let the fall sunshine heat my face.

Far too soon, Blake helped Ant navigate to dock back in the marina. The men unloaded us and our luggage, and then they unloaded the boat of any perishables to trash. Pen and Ant probably wouldn’t make it back until spring because once the weather hit, traveling over the water got treacherous.

I popped the trunk, and Blake loaded our suitcases in the back. “You driving, or am I?” I asked.

“I’ll drive,” he replied. “It makes me feel useful.”

I coughed out a laugh. “Useful? You’re my husband. How are you evernotuseful?”

He shrugged.

“Do you have to leave right away?” I asked, thinking about how reality was a pushy bitch who liked cause trouble.

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