Page 66 of The Third Girl

CHAPTER 30

MATT

The sun shines brightly on Travis and Kennedy’s wedding day. It’s warm, but not overly hot yet, literally the perfect North Carolina day. There’s a sea of people before us, seated in chairs on either side of a long aisle set up in the middle of a beautiful garden. They’ve already turned in their seats to watch as Mom and Dad head down the aisle, all smiles. Logan and I each lend Mrs. Stratford an arm, and we take off slowly together as a string quartet plays. At the end of the walkway, there are two caregivers ready to help Kennedy’s parents, and they guide her to a seat so we can join the officiant to wait for Travis at the wedding arch. I glance up at it as we take our places and chuckle. All these white flowers are totally Kennedy’s doing. But I’ll admit, it’s very pretty.

Shifting my gaze, I watch Travis making his way toward us. He puts on a show for everyone, smiling and winking and waving at people as he walks. He looks sharp in his tux—of course, Kennedy was fully in charge of what he’s wearing. When he gets to our parents, the true emotion of the moment slides over his face, and he stops off to hug them first, then crosses the aisle to hug Kennedy’s mother and exchange a word or two with her.

“Nervous?” I ask, my voice low as he settles in beside me to wait for his bride.

My brother turns his head to meet my gaze, his eyes twinkling. “No,” he says with a smile, “I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life.”

With my lips pressed together, I clap him on the back, nodding as a grin tugs at my cheeks. “I’m so happy for you both.”

“You’re going to be okay, you know.” Travis glances quickly at me from the corner of his eye as the music changes slightly, signaling the entrance of the ladies. Skylar is here somewhere, but I haven’t seen her yet.

A lump clogs my throat, but I push past it to murmur, “Yeah. I’ll get there. It’s taken me some time, but I know what I want.”

Travis sneaks one last look at me. “I never doubted you.”

Our attention is grabbed as Laney appears and walks down the aisle, followed by Lucy, who pushes a fancy baby carriage with Aidan in it, and a pillow with the rings attached.

And then, there they are. Skylar looks so beautiful I ache for her. All that red hair catches the sunlight and makes it look like her head is surrounded by a halo of swirling, braided fire. My lungs cease to function, yet my heart takes off like a runaway train barreling toward her. With my chest still constricted, it makes for an impressive moment when I have to remind myself to breathe.

My forced exhale must have been a little loud because from beside me, Logan whispers, “You good?”

I nod, watching as my baby girl in her beautiful dress wanders in a bit of a zigzag pattern down the aisle with her hair fancied up and full of flowers. Her pink cast draws everyone’s attention at first, but it’s quickly overshadowed by the way she’s picking the flower petals out of the basket she’d been given, looking at them, then tossing them aside. This is all much to the delight of the crowd, who watch, chuckling and giggling, as she makes her way toward us.

About midway down the aisle, she stops and plops down right in the grass with the basket. I can only assume that maybe she’s done with having to carry the basket with her good hand and pick the flower petals out with the casted one. I press my lips together, stifling the urge to call out to her.

Skylar hurries to the rescue, bending down to whisper to Sailor. Her smile tugs at my heart as she nods at whatever my daughter has said and helps her back to her feet. Skylar makes an attempt to hand Sailor the basket, but my princess shakes her head. She holds her arms up, and very loudly states, “Up, Skywar.”

I hold my breath, waiting to see what Skylar will do next. Very matter-of-factly, she bends down, letting Sailor put her arms around her neck and scoops her up. The sight of the two of them together nearly bowls me over. Skylar whispers something else in Sailor’s ear which makes her giggle, then she grabs at the petals in the basket and throws them with a delighted squeal.

The entire crowd cheers as Skylar finishes the walk down the aisle with my daughter in her arms, happily tossing fistfuls of petals everywhere. When they get to the end of the aisle, Skylar lets my mom take the basket from her, and carries my baby girl over to the open seat beside my dad.

This.This is what I want.

Sailor spots us in front of her, and waves enthusiastically. “Daddy! Unca Twav! Unca Wo-an!”

The entire crowd titters with laughter while Skylar whispers in Sailor’s ear again. I can only imagine she’s offering her some sort of bribe—not because that’s what Skylar would do, but that’s definitely what I’d do. Sometimes it works.

Whatever Skylar’s said seems to have worked because Sailor settles, curling up on her lap, just as the music changes to announce the entrance of the bride. Before I shift my gaze, I capture Skylar’s eye and mouth, “Thank you.”

She nods and gives me a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes before mouthing, “You’re welcome,”and immediately looking away.

Shit.I need to get her alone so I can talk to her. I don’t want her to pull away from me. I need her so much it hurts.

My eyes flick over to Kennedy as she and her dad make their way slowly down the aisle to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” They’re both smiling big as they look our way. My new sister-in-law looks amazing, and one glance at my brother would say he’s in complete agreement. He’s dumbstruck, a silly, happy grin on his face.

When Travis, Logan, and I had talked about our favorite memories, Travis had brought up the way Terri looked at me on our wedding day. He’d wondered if Kennedy would look at him the same way. Well, I think he has his answer. That woman has stars in her eyes, and every single one is for Travis.

When they make it to the end of the aisle, Kennedy stops and presses her lips to her dad’s cheek, and then, while his caregivers help him be seated, she reaches for her mother, hugging her tightly before she turns around.

Travis leaves my side, going to his bride and bringing her before the wedding officiant with him.

I wish I could say that I remember every word of their ceremony, but I don’t. There were vows of love and hope for their future together. But seeing the way they look at each other—it’s enough for me. They’re so damn happy. And they deserve every bit of it.

As Travis kisses the hell out of Kennedy, much to the delight of the wedding guests, I draw in a deep breath, and turn my head to look at Skylar. The image of her holding my sleeping daughter with tears in her eyes will forever be burned into my mind.

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