Page 82 of Been There Dragon That
Rylee turned. Her mother stood in the doorway. Her father was right next to her, and Ayla was peeking over her mom’s shoulder shrugging her shoulders and mouthingsorry.
Fuck.
“Rylee Agatha Florence, are you pregnant?”
“Mom, no. Well, I don’t think I am. But that’s not the thing.” This was not going the way she’d planned. Of course she hadn’t planned. That was part of the problem. She’d just—avoided.
Her mother’s face was whiter than whip cream on an apple pie. “You don’t th—think you’re pregnant?”
“I’m on the shot. I shouldn’t be pregnant. Look, I—I didn’t want to talk about it all the way up here, but I’m getting married at noon. And I wanted you three here for it. And I wanted Dad to give me away. And I wanted you, Ayla, to be here with me.” Her words trailed off when her mother raised a hand. “And I—”
Owen and Tara stayed silent but didn’t back away. Rylee was grateful for the silent support.
“We haven’t even met the young man. And you’re telling us you’re marrying him at noon. Some deputy sheriff from Mystery, Alaska who you just met.”
“Mom, please. I love him. You know me, and I wouldn’t say that lightly. This man is the most important person on the planet next to you three. I can’t imagine not being married to him. Not seeing him every morning when I wake up. Not falling asleep in his arms every night. Not growing old together and having kids together. We fit. There’re no words I can use to describe it justly. We belong together.”
Rylee stared at her mom and dad. Her mom’s mouth snapped shut, but she didn’t respond. Her dad’s face was thoughtful. Still shocked, but not angry or disappointed. Not like the waterfall of emotions cascading over her mother’s face.
“Dad?”
Her father took a step forward and opened his arms.
Rylee ran into them, and he hugged her tight. “I want you to make smart choices and be happy, sweet girl. That’s all I’ll ever want. If this is what you want, then I’m behind you one hundred percent.” He took her shoulders and pushed her back so he could meet her gaze. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. And smiled. And tears rolled down her cheek. “So much.”
He smiled back and hugged her tight again. “Then I suppose we have a wedding to get to.”
“It’s more like a judge at the sheriff’s office,” she said, her voice muffled by his shirt.
Her mom made several unhappy squeaks before she formed actual words. “No. Wedding? Rylee, please.”
“Mom, Wrath and I want to be married now. If you want to plan a big white wedding like we…” She stopped, unwilling to bring up Jeff’s name.
Her parents knew what he’d done. They knew he was dead. And they knew that the police in Mystery had officially closed his death as accidental—crash due to pilot error. Which was easily believable because while Jeff had a pilot’s license, he rarely flew.
“I would love to have a party with all your friends and our family back in Texas. Maybe in the spring. But today, it’s about me and Wrath, and you guys being here with us for this special occasion.”
Her mother wiped a tear from her cheek and nodded. “I don’t want to miss out on those memories with you. You’re my only daughter.”
Rylee walked to her mother, and they hugged. “That’s why I pushed so hard for you guys to come this weekend. I wouldn’t get married without you.” She squeezed her mom and buried her face in her mom’s hair. The sweet scent of jasmine and home and safety filled her lungs. “I want those things with you too, mom. I need this with Wrath right now.”
“Because you might be pregnant?” Ayla teased from behind her mother.
Rylee glared at her friend over her mother’s shoulder. “You’re uninvited.”
Ayla snorted out a laugh. “Mmm, it’s okay. If more of the town looks like this guy over here—” She waved at Owen. “Do you have any single brothers?”
“No brothers.” Owen’s tone was amused, and he hugged Tara tighter.
The door swung open behind Rylee’s parents, ringing the bell.
“Owen, have you seen—” A very relieved smile spread over Knox’s face when he saw Rylee. “Thank fate, we can tell him you’re back. He was about to send us down the highway to find you.”
Rylee smirked at Knox and Kann. “He’s quite impatient.”
Ayla walked over to Rylee and leaned close. “Let me guess, neither of these are available either?” If a woman could’ve been caught drooling, her poor friend was dead to rights. Ayla was staring at Knox and then at Kann and then back to Knox. “I see why you want to stay.”
