Twist of Fate (Taking Chances #2) - Tia Louise Page 0,90
hand to shake, and I reluctantly do so.
Daisy wanted to invite him, with Hope’s support. They say it’s important for us to try and build a bridge. Daisy added it’s for Melody, but ever since I learned Becky convinced Daisy not to tell me she was pregnant, I don’t really want them around my daughter.
“Thanks… Dad.” I have to force out the word.
“It was all very beautiful.” Becky stands at his side in a beige sweater set and pearls. She’s only a year older than me, but she acts fifty. “We’re leaving a bit early. Your father can’t handle all that loud music.”
My eyebrow arches, and I glance at my dad. He looks okay to me. “Yeah, no worries. Glad you could join us.” Fingers crossed.
Her lips do something approximating a smile. “I see John is here with his new wife and baby.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “I’m sure you don’t care.”
“I thought she was going to open that silly restaurant, and now she has a baby.”
“The baby was J.R.’s idea. We actually want to have kids with our wives.” I keep the bitch part to myself. Becky and I have never seen eye to eye.
“How very provincial.”
I’m done. “Well, drive safe.”
I’d better go before I torch the feeble bridge I’ve built.
“Son, can I have a word?”
Again, if I say No, it’s bye-bye bridge. “Sure.”
We step to the side, and he hands me a narrow envelope. “It’s not much, but I wanted to give you a gift.”
“You really didn’t have to.”
“You were always my favorite, Scout.”
My eyes narrow. Who says that? “I appreciate how you showed it.”
“I couldn’t support you on the gay porn thing. That was too far.”
Exhaling heavily, I remember my brother’s advice, Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself…
“Let’s just leave it in the past. Good luck to you, Dad.”
He blinks and smiles, and I guess he feels absolved.
I feel like finding my new wife, which is exactly what I do.
Later that night, after the festivities have ended, and we’ve consummated our wedding… several times… I’m holding Daisy in my arms, watching the ceiling fan turn slowly in her small apartment over the store. Melody is spending the night with Coco, and we moved a bed from the store upstairs for when she returns.
Daisy props on her elbow, smiling down, and I wrap a golden curl around my finger. “You’re so pretty.”
“You are,” she leans forward to kiss my lips.
“We might have to consummate again. I think we missed a spot.”
That makes her laugh, and I love the sound of her happiness. “Hey, Daisy… I’ve been thinking. I really love this place, but it’s kind of small. When we have another baby, where will we put him?”
“So we’re having a boy next?”
“Chad says we’re outnumbered.”
Her nose wrinkles, and she shakes her head. “Well, I do love this place, but it’s not really mine. It’s included in the store lease, and Wyatt didn’t mind if Emberly used hers for a residence. I just followed her lead.”
“How would you feel if I bought your aunt’s bed and breakfast?”
She sits up fast, pulling the sheet around her. “You’d do that?”
The smile on her face is so big, my decision is made. “I’ll talk to her tomorrow. I wish I’d brought it up sooner so I could give it to you as a wedding gift.”
Leaning down, she kisses me again, slower this time. “You’ve given me the best gifts.”
And we take this time to do a bit more consummating.
Aunt Regina turns out to be very open to the idea of selling the old house. According to her, she’d only converted it to an inn because she couldn’t bear to sell it, but she’s also grown tired of running it. We’re able to reach an agreement by the end of the week, and Daisy and I take possession at the end of the month.
We’re postponing the honeymoon until the summer, when Daisy can find someone to run the store, and two weeks later, my brother, Hope, Sly, Gran, and the gang from the Village all pack into the theater to watch my big comeback, my breakthrough role.
I walk through the door on screen, deliver my one line, fire the gun, and immediately I’m shot dead.
The group bursts into applause, and J.R. shouts out, “Way to take that bullet, bro!”
I’m trying to decide if that’s a Rammin Rod joke…
Gran declares it the “E-all, bend-all” of death scenes, which I explain means the “Be-all, end-all.” She says that’s what she said, and my