“What am I, chopped liver?” my dad teased.
“Of course not, I’m so happy you’re both here,” she said and walked over, bending down to hug my dad in his chair.
“I’m going to need a kiss to make up for it,” he said, pointing to his cheek.
Addy gave in, giggling.
Daniel cleared his throat, and my mom’s eyes lit right up. “You must be Daniel,” she said excitedly and wrapped him up in a hug and kissed his cheek before he could protest. Then she pulled Daniel to stand next to Addy in front of my dad.
“Look, Matt, you can just see the resemblance. She has his wonderful dark hair and eyes. Tall, dark and handsome he is,” she winked at the sheriff. “I’ll bet you’re a ladies’ man,” she said, patting his cheek. She turned to Addy, “You keep an eye on him, honey. We don’t want your daddy getting himself into trouble now, do we?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at my mother’s treatment of Daniel. He seemed completely lost on how to act around her. He was usually quiet and stern looking, but she didn’t seem put off by it at all and completely ignored his brisk demeanor.
“We have so much to do. Oh, Addy, honey, I’m so excited!” my mother squealed, hugging my girl again. “Daniel tells me he got the preacher and the church squared away. I have the dress, and oh, yes…” My mother opened her purse and quickly dug out a little box. She turned to me smiling, as she handed it to me. “Now, Son, you can do it proper with a ring.”
“Here, here, boy, ask again,” my dad chided and winked at Addy. “We want to be sure he isn’t blackmailing you or anything. No way could our boy get a girl as wonderful as you without a little something up his sleeve.”
Daniel looked worried, like I was actually blackmailing Addy.
“Now you’re just being silly. Matthew is the sweetest guy I know. I’d be stupid not to marry him,” she said, wrapping her arms around me. I kissed her cheek and opened the box.
“Addy, baby, can I keep you forever? I promise to be good to you. Please, just don’t hurt me with the pepper spray.”
She rolled her eyes at me. My mother whacked the back of my head. Daniel chuckled, and my dad warned me not to mess it up.
I dropped to one knee. “Beautiful, will you make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?”
“Much better,” my parents said in unison.
“Only if you promise to put the toilet seat down when you’re done in the bathroom.”
I gasped in false offense. “I always put it down.”
“Well, then, we’re good. Sure, I’ll marry you.”
I picked her up, swinging her around and kissed her soundly. I slid the ring on her finger and was thrilled it was a perfect fit. I had been prepared to take it down to the jeweler in Livingston if I had to, but it looked like there would be no need. My Addy was perfect in every way. I just loved it.
What I didn’t realize was my mother had saved quite a bit from her wedding in three big boxes. The bows and bells needed a good washing and dusting, but they seemed to turn out pretty good. It took most of Wednesday to get the decorations cleaned up. My mom had my dad busy with polishing the bells, and her and Addy carefully unwrapped the ribbons, hand washed and ironed them, and then retied them when they were done.
I took Thursday off. I had noticed when I went out on calls on Tuesday and Wednesday that people were excitedly talking about my wedding. Honestly, I had no clue who all had been invited, but it seemed like the whole town was coming.
Thursday morning, Addy met me with hiking boots, several vases and a bucket of water. “Can you put these in the truck?” she asked me.
“Sure, babe, where did the vases come from?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Not sure, Amy just dropped them off, said I could use them and that the people they belong to will just take home their vase at the end of the reception.”
“Oh, okay, where are we getting flowers from?” I asked, wondering if this was going to cost me the rest of my savings.
“There’s this field that should be in full bloom, and since it’s early spring, I was thinking we could get some wildflowers,” she whispered nervously.
“That sounds wonderful, baby.”
“Oh, Addy!” my mother called. We turned to see her coming out with a shopping bag and a blanket. “You should take this, honey,” she said with a wink.
When we looked inside the bag, we could see it was a picnic lunch. “Looks like we’re going to have a fun day picnicking and picking wildflowers,” I said, wrapping my arm around Addy, pulling her to the cab of the truck.
She gave me directions out into the forest, and we finally parked and walked for a while, until she suddenly turned off the path. “Addy, aren’t you supposed to stay on the path?” I asked.
She frowned. “The field is this way.”
“How did you find it?”
“I was out here one day, when I saw some kids from school coming. I didn’t want them to do anything to me, so I went running off the path to hide. That’s when I found it.”
“So, it’s a private place,” I said with an eyebrow wiggle, trying to get her to forget the sad memory.
She started laughing and shook her head at me.
“It isn’t too far from the path, Matthew,” she chided, as we walked along, but we were walking for a good ten minutes or more, so it was probably close to a mile away from the main path. Private enough for me!
We came to a small clearing full of wildflowers, and Addy pulled out some clippers and passed me a pair as well. “Make sure you trim them low enough,” she said, leaning down and demonstrating. I found her bending over in front of me a little distracting, but she smacked my hand away, when I reached out and grabbed her butt. She did give me a flirty smile, so maybe she wasn’t completely against playing in the forest. “Get to work,” she said, swatting me away.
I went to a plant and cut a few stems off low, leaving a some of them behind, like Addy had been doing. There were red, yellow, blue, pink, purple, white, and orange flowers. They actually looked really pretty. We ended up filling fifteen vases full of flowers and greenery. I was a little nervous. It seemed like it was going to be one heck of a party.
Once I settled the last flower into the vase, I laid out the blanket and then pulled my girl away from her tentative flower counting. She pouted, until I started kissing her. It didn’t take long for her to get into it. My girl was moaning and begging for more. Tomorrow, she would be my wife, and we could do what we wanted to, and Daniel wouldn’t kill me.
My hands found her backside again. I pulled her tightly against me, letting her know my need for her. “Do you want to do it on our wedding night?” she asked.
My answer was a groan and a buck, as I kissed her hard. When I finally released her mouth and attacked her neck, she was left panting. “You should get condoms, then,” she moaned.
It took a moment to register what she was saying. We were going to have sex, and I needed to buy condoms. “Okay,” I grinned enthusiastically and attacked her mouth again.
When we made it back to the house, Daniel was moving the full-sized bed that used to be mine out of the downstairs guestroom.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
My dad rolled up behind me in his chair. “We thought you’d like to have the house to yourselves for your honeymoon, so we’re staying with Daniel for the last two nights.”
“You didn’t...”
“Boy,” my dad cut me off, “I don’t want to hear you on your wedding night. That’s sacred and only to be shared between a man and wife. Ain’t that right, Sheriff?”
Daniel pouted and let out a huff. I didn’t think he liked me touching his daughter, married or not.
My mom was in the kitchen. I was a little surprised to see Mrs. Baker in there with her, too. When she saw Addy and I walk in, she hugged us both tightly in her arms, kissing our cheeks. “I’m helping Dottie with the cake. I have a topper for you. It was mine and David’s, and though we were never blessed with chi
ldren, we had a wonderful marriage, until he passed four years ago. I hope it blesses you with the same lasting love.”
Addy had tears in her eyes and hugged Mrs. Baker tightly. “He was my favorite teacher. He was wonderful.”
I didn’t know Addy had known Mr. and Mrs. Baker, but I guess when you lived in a small town, you knew everyone.
“He really thought you were something special, Addy. He used to come home from work, bragging to me about how much progress you’d made and how you’d just drink it up. You were one of his favorite students.”
Addy hugged Mrs. Baker again tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered.
My mother broke the moment by clapping. “Come, come, ladies, we have a cake to decorate!”
I stood back in awe, watching as they worked. They had several square and rectangular-shaped pans of cake already baked. My mom began leveling them off, handing me a plate of cake mounds to sample, making me grin widely. My dad wheeled by and snagged a handful, following Daniel out the door onto the porch and out of the way. Smart man.
I watched them assemble and decorate the cake. Mrs. Baker had tears in her eyes, when she took out her cake topper, which was a pale blue pair of porcelain lovebirds building a nest. “Something blue,” she said and placed it gently on the top. My mom stepped in and tucked wildflowers around it, making it look like a real nest.
Mrs. Baker grabbed my hand, and I pulled her into a hug. “Thank you,” I whispered, and she smiled up at me and patted my cheek.
“You got that space in the fridge ready?” my mom asked Addy.
I turned to see that my girl had taken a couple of shelves out of the fridge to make room for the cake. Mrs. Baker and my mother carefully moved it, each holding a side of the cake board. Once it was put away and the fridge closed, my mother turned and hugged Mrs. Baker and Addy to her. “This is going to be amazing! The cake turned out perfect. Now, on to the centerpieces. Millie, would you like to help us?” she asked, and Mrs. Baker seemed thrilled.
When my mother listed off all that still needed to be done, Mrs. Baker grabbed the phone, and next thing I knew, my house was filled with little old ladies, tying ribbons and rearranging flowers.
Addy snuck over to where I was hiding in the corner. “Sneak out and go get the condoms, before your mom gets you busy doing something else,” she whispered.
I had almost made it to the door, before my mom stopped me. “Matthew, where are you going?” she asked.
“To the store, Mom, do I need to get anything?”
My mom tapped her chin. “Yeah, ice, more ice and more punch mix. I need to have plenty to keep the punch bowl filled!” she squealed excitedly.
I felt like a weirdo buying punch mix. I put it in the cart and then went to the condom aisle. I was amazed at the variety and a got a few different kinds that mentioned “her pleasure” on them. I wanted to be sure to do this right, and I wasn’t above getting a little help from the condom industry.
I went to the check out, remembering to tell the cashier I needed to get six bags of ice. The checkout girl snickered, as she dropped the rest of my purchases into a plastic bag. “Kinky,” she said under her breath, confusing me. I think if anyone was kinky it was her, because I had no idea what was kinky about ice and punch mix, but apparently, Ms. Dirty Mind thought I was a freak. I wondered what she said to the women who bought cucumbers.
Chapter 23 - Without a Hitch
Late Thursday night, my mother, Sharon and several of the elderly ladies I had worked for were still at the house. Daniel came knocking at the door and said hello, and the group all said, "Hello, Sheriff Stratton," and burst into giggles. I had a feeling that had something to do with his poorly-hidden interest in Sharon.
He just shook his head and pulled me aside. "We have to get out of here. Your mother called to let me know they'll be working on the dress next, and you need to be gone. Besides, they’re having a little women's get together while they work on it. Matt and I plan on taking you out for a drink."
"I don't know if I should be drinking, Sir. I'm getting married in the morning, and I don't want to do anything to upset Addy."
He smiled, letting out a chuckle and patted my back. "You're a good man, Matthew. My girl's doing fine by marrying you."
We headed out to my dad's van, and I was surprised to find Kyle there, along with a couple of guys who were introduced to me as Jason and Reed. Old Joe Riley was with them as well.
"Let's get our drink on!" Joe shouted, and Daniel just chuckled.
"Watch out, boys, Joe's wearing his drinking shorts," Daniel informed us.
I was happy to see someone had made Joe put some pants on over his "drinking shorts."
"Reed here is Josh's dad. Josh might meet us later for drinks," Daniel said.
I wasn't sure I liked Josh. I still remembered his uncomfortable behavior around Addy, and that really bugged me. Reed seemed really genuinely excited for me to marry Addy, though, so I wouldn't blame him for his son's bad behavior.
We pulled up to the bar, and Daniel patted my back. "Matthew has volunteered to be the designated driver!"
The men all shouted cheers and pulled me into the bar. We sat in a booth, and Daniel said he would buy the first round for everyone. I ordered a soda, and everyone else ordered draft beers, so Daniel just ordered another pitcher to refill the glasses. I noticed Kyle downed his drink and refilled his glass rather quickly. I bumped him, and he looked over at me and smiled.
"Hey, man, how are things in the big city? Have you found work yet?"
He frowned and shook his head. "No, but Leon has kept me afloat. He made my house payment out of his pocket, and I just got my paycheck from our last several jobs. He and Evette are talking about moving," he frowned and laughed blackly. "We're so screwed."
"Can you sell your house? There's a two bedroom for sale in town."
"And what the heck would I do in Podunk?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I could send some calls your way. The pay isn't great, but chances are you could pay off your house when you buy it, that'd cut back on a lot."
He looked up at me like he was really considering it. He rubbed his chin. "I own my truck, and we aren't in debt, other than the house."
"See, this could totally work."
"Are there any benefits?"
"No, sorry, we don't have any at all. Of course, I'm pretty sure with as little as we get paid, you'd qualify for state healthcare."
"That's what we have little David on now. Heck, we're even getting food stamps at this point."
"You might still qualify for them as well. You should talk to your wife about it."
He draped his arm over my shoulder. "Thanks, Bro, I really appreciate you looking out for us."
"Matthew," Daniel caught my attention, "Have you been introduced to Jason? He's the town architect."
I reached across the table and shook his hand. "I’ve heard you've been doing repairs, but you were into the building aspect before you moved here?"
"Yup, Kyle and I worked together down in Houston."
"Oh, is he your business partner?" Jason asked.
"He soon will be," I said with a smile.
"Do you have enough experience to build a house if someone asks for a builder?" Jason asked.
Kyle answered for me. "Yes, we can both read blueprints, and I did a stint in framing and plumbing, before I settled into doing electrical. I also went to a vocational school for construction."
"Well then, I might be giving you a call. I make most of my money off of plans I sell over the internet, but there was a couple who were inquiring on the real estate here, wanting to build."
"Well, let us know," I said with a smile, completely thrilled that Kyle would be around to help me with this project.
After another drink, I saw Kyle walk out of the bar and pull out a phone. I stepped out for some air. I was never one for a smoky atmosphere.
"I got a job, Darlene, but we'll have to sell the house and move," I heard Kyle talk excitedly. "I kn
ow you love the city, baby, but we've got to go where the work is...I know, baby, but we'll make it through this. I love you," he said and hung up.
He noticed me standing there and smiled. "Well, it looks like we're in business," he grinned, and we shook hands.
The rest of the night went downhill from there. Daniel and my dad became very intoxicated and were talking of things I would have rather not heard about. Apparently, Daniel was very into Sharon, literally. I so did not want to hear about that. My dad was also talking about how wild my mother could be, which just made Kyle and Reed laugh at how uncomfortable I was. Poor Joe Riley was just looking at them confused.
"Is Tamera coming?" a slightly sloshed Reed asked Daniel.
His face scrunched up. "Hell no, I don't give a flying rat's ass if she is her mother, she ain't coming within a state's radius of my little girl after what she did."
The table was silent, and Kyle looked at me questioningly. I just shrugged. I knew nothing about Tamera.
"Well, I heard she was in town," Reed said. "I don't know how she found out, though."
Daniel's face scrunched up again. "We've got to stop this before it starts. Where's she staying?"
"The Staley's, of course," Joe said. "That's where hussies congregate."
"Whores of a feather flock together," Daniel growled. "That damn Staley bitch. Let's go, we're having this out now!" Daniel said, swaying as he stood. Reed agreed, as did Joe and Jason. Kyle and I were only along for the ride.
Just as we made it out to the parking lot, Josh pulled up. Reed slurred what they were up to, and he surprised me by hopping in the van instead of stopping his dad from doing something stupid.
"We're not going to get arrested, are we?" Kyle whispered.
"I don't think so, Daniel is sheriff."
Kyle let out a relieved sigh. "Okay then, but if this turns bad, I'm in the bushes."
I started chuckling. "Me, too." He gave me a fist bump, and we drove our drunken load to a house on the outskirts of Woodville.
Daniel stumbled out the door and started shouting, "Tamera, you bitch, get out of here! I mean get out here! I want to tell you to get out of here."
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