Page 18 of Marrying the Accidental Groom
He’s not who I thought he was.
And I’m not sure what that means yet.
She clicked the pen closed and stared out at the view. The mountains stretched in every direction, golden light catching the dust that danced in the air. Redemption Ridge wasn’t her world. But it had a pull to it. Slow and steady, like a current she hadn’t expected to step into.
The same could be said of Gideon.
She’d expected reckless. Immature. Someone who could laugh off a sacred commitment because he’d never taken it seriously to begin with.
Instead, she’d found someone kind. Capable. Someone who clearly bore more weight than he let on.
Someone who, despite everything, she wasn’t quite ready to walk away from. She told herself this trip was about fixing a legal mistake, but deep down, she knew it was more than that. Marriage was a covenant, not a clerical error, and if God allowed it, maybe there was something here she was meant to wrestle with.
A shadow crossed the edge of Juliana’s journal.
She glanced up, startled.
A petite woman with a messy ponytail and dusty jeans stood just off the porch steps, one hand on her hip, a kind smile curving her mouth. She looked vaguely familiar—something about the eyes. She was petite, maybe five-foot-two, but carried herself like someone used to being in charge. Her jeans had dirt on the knees like she’d just come from the garden.
“You must be the old ball-and-chain,” the woman said without a hint of humor.
Juliana froze. “I—what?”
The woman laughed, breaking the tension. “I’m Cassie. Gideon’s sister.”
“Oh.” Juliana scrambled to her feet, suddenly aware of how stiffly formal she must seem, perched on the porch with her monogrammed journal and sensible sandals. “I’m Juliana.”
Cassie crossed the porch with an easy confidence that made Juliana feel like the new kid on the playground. “I heard you two had a beach wedding. Something about pineapples, I think? Or was it mangoes?”
Juliana blinked. “Wait, what exactly has Gideon told you?”
Cassie dropped into the rocking chair beside hers, grinning. “Not nearly enough, apparently. But you showing up with a suitcase and yelling at him in the parking lot? I connected the dots. And honestly, we’re not even surprised. Gideon’s always had a knack for stumbling into the absurd.”
“I didn’t stumble,” Juliana said automatically, then winced. “I mean, we both—It was symbolic. At least, we thought it was.”
Cassie nodded, her smile fading into something more thoughtful. “He didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Juliana looked away. “He didn’t. Not really.”
The truth was, he hadn’t promised her anything. And yet somehow, he’d managed to leave a mark she couldn’t explain.
“What about you? Are you going to hurt him?”
Juliana hesitated. “Even if this...” She forced out the unfamiliar word. “Marriagewasn’t what either of us planned, I would never intentionally hurt Gideon. I do care about him. I’m just not sure we are meant to be together forever, you know?”
Cassie leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “You know, you’re not what I expected.”
Juliana arched a brow. “Let me guess. You expected a girl who surfed in a wedding dress and danced barefoot under the stars?”
“Well, yeah. Kind of,” Cassie said. “But I figure if you agreed to marry my brother—even on accident—you must have something surprising under all that polish.”
Juliana didn’t know what to say to that.
Cassie stood and dusted off her jeans. “We’ve got a campfire tonight behind the bunkhouse. Some of the trail guides areplaying music. There’ll be s’mores, and Zeke’s making his caramel apple cobbler. You should come.”
Juliana hesitated.
Cassie gave a knowing smile. “It’s not a trap. You don’t even have to sit next to him. But it might help you see more of what you came to understand.”
