hands. For the first time ever she’s having a hard time talking. “There’s been an accident.”
Brooklyn breaks down in sobs. Kingston looks at her as though he doesn’t understand, and Phoenix and Sedona start crying.
“Your mom and dad are in the hospital up in Juneau,” Grandma says.
My heart plummets into my stomach.
Ten minutes later is when my grandma says it’s serious, that my parents are really hurt but the doctors are trying to fix them up. She says we should think positive, but the fact that she’s called Austin and Savannah home is a bad sign.
I walk out our front door because my dad always said no matter where they are, we all share the same sky—and almost scream when I see Colton on the steps of my house.
He stands. “It seemed serious. I stayed in case you needed me.”
We sit on the steps of my house, our legs brushing, but we don’t talk about the kiss we shared. He doesn’t hug me or tell me it will be okay; he just sits there.
It’s then that I know Colton will be a fixture in my life forever, not just here temporarily like Emily said. A friendship like ours can stand the test of time.
Six
Colton
I open the door of the only tuxedo shop in town and let Juno walk through first.
Mr. Johnson smiles at us and comes around from behind the counter. “Juno Bailey. I didn’t think I’d get to see your beautiful face today.”
He opens his arms and Juno falls right in, hugging him back. Mr. Johnson was a friend of our dads. If you grew up in Lake Starlight, you knew one another. So just like my dad, every guy who went to school with Mr. Bailey feels a sense of responsibility to the Bailey kids.
“Hi, Mr. Johnson. I’m here to tell this guy what to wear for the big day.” She thumbs toward me.
“He definitely needs the help.” Mr. Johnson smiles at me over Juno’s shoulder.
“Whatever. Let’s see what you got for me.” I rub my hands together.
Juno sits in one of the big leather chairs by the fitting room. “Fashion show time.” She pulls out her phone. “I’ll take a picture of each so we can see if it’s camera-worthy.”
“I already set some things in dressing room number one.” Mr. Johnson points at the small hallway. “I figured you for more of a classic guy, but I didn’t know how dressy you wanted to get. Don’t worry about fit. I’ll tailor it.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“I want to see each one, Stone.” Juno crosses her legs and picks up a magazine from the small round table. She’s back to her usual self, which hopefully means we’ve moved past the awkwardness of last weekend.
“Yeah, yeah.”
I shut the door of the fitting room and overhear Mr. Johnson asking Juno about her siblings, how the new babies are and how the new mothers are holding up. She’s polite and cheerful, but unfortunately, I hear the tone in her voice that says she’s being overly polite. Not that she’s not happy for her siblings—Juno lives for her family—but something is really bothering her lately. It’s like she’s in a rush to find someone one day, and the next she thinks she’s destined to be the solo Bailey.
I slide my slacks off my body and fold them neatly on the bench, then exchange my button-down for the classic white shirt Mr. Johnson put in the room. As I’m buttoning it, all I can think about is how I always saw Juno as my bride. How it wouldn’t be her voice on the other side of the fitting room door because she wouldn’t want to see me before our wedding day. But here I am marrying Brigette instead. It’s all so different than what I imagined.
I tuck the white shirt into the classic gray slacks, adjusting the waist to fit better.
I’ve always been a commitment guy. Always ready for the next step. I’m not surprised to be getting married, but I am surprised to whom, since I promised my heart to someone other than my bride-to-be a long time ago. I witnessed my parents’ loving marriage all my life. I saw how much they leaned on one another when my grandparents passed away and when Tim and Beth Bailey died. When fishing season wasn’t going well, and my mom had to get a job. Even though my dad was depressed because he felt it was a man’s place to bring money into the household, he made