“You’re welcome,” she said, trying to hide the tears that had welled up in her eyes. She felt one slide down her cheek and tried to brush it away without Rosie noticing.
“Hun, are you crying?” Too late.
Leah shrugged it off as nothing, but Rosie wouldn’t let it go. She was sure she had seen a tear, if not more, slide down her cheeks. “Rosie, I’m fine,” she said. “They’re happy tears, honest.”
Rosie shook a finger at her and said, “Okay, but if I find out otherwise, ooh, I’ll be…”
Leah walked to Rosie’s side and kissed her on the cheek. “Rosie, I promise, I’m fine. It’s just so great to have you home.”
Home. Something that had more meaning now than it ever had before. Liam and his family had done their best to give her what she needed, and now she had it. She had everything she’d ever wanted and more.
“I need to go into town and make sure everything is the way I left it last night,” she explained to Rosie. She had decorated Levy’s late into the night. She somehow thought she’d have enough time to decorate, and had actually put it off until last minute—nothing new there—she had always been somewhat of a procrastinator.
“Okay, I’ll see you later then, hun,” Rosie said, with a quick peck to Leah’s cheek. “I think Wes has our costumes picked out and ready to go. At least, I sure hope he does.”
“I’m sure he does,” Leah assured her. Wes was one of a kind, and he loved that woman and would do anything for her. A true love that she hoped Liam and she could shadow perfectly.
With everything that had happened, she had waited until last week to purchase a car. She had been so happy the day she and Liam went to the local dealership and picked out her favorite car, a brand-spanking-new—in Liam’s words—dark blue Chevy Malibu. It had been her dream car since the day she got her license.
She grabbed the keys off the table and headed out the door with a final “see you later” to Rosie. The sparkling dark blue sedan waited for her in the driveway. Only after she chose her favorite radio station, she put the car in drive and headed toward the long gravel road that’d take her to the highway that had brought her to Cedar Valley—that had offered her a lot of hope.
29
Later that day, after clearing up some minor details, Leah sent a quick text to Rachel.
Hey girl. I hope you’re still coming tonight!
She hadn’t seen Rachel in the last few months; with everything that had taken up her time, plus with Rachel working more hours to help save up for the baby she would have in less than a month and a half, it had been difficult to find the extra time. The thought of seeing her best friend brought a whole new level of excitement.
We’ll be there! Can’t wait to see you! I’ve missed you! Muah!
Leah sent back an emoticon of bright red lips. She loved Rachel, and not seeing her in forever, she had plenty of juicy details she needed to tell her about.
When her phone rang and she saw Rachel’s name scroll across the screen, she couldn’t answer quickly enough. “Hey, Rach, what’s up?”
“I haven’t been completely honest with you,” Rachel said. She sounded worn out, but there was something else bothering her—Leah could hear it in her voice.
“Rach, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?”
“I’m still coming tonight, but Scott isn’t.”
Leah heard sniffling and a quiet sob. “Rach, what’s going on?” Leah’s heart sank at the thought of what Rachel had gone through—by herself. Over the last what? Week, two weeks or longer? Leah thought about the last time they had talked on the phone. It had been longer than a couple of weeks. She could kick herself in the ass right now. She had let everything stand in front of her friendship.
“He left me… He…” Rachel couldn’t finish even if she wanted to. Uncontrollable sobs echoed through the phone.
“Where are you? Are you at home?”
“No, I’m driving.”
“Do I need to come get you?” Leah asked, pressing her foot down harder on the accelerator.
“No, you don’t have to. I’ll be there soon. Like, a half hour or so.”
“Where are you?”
“Lee, I’m fine. I promise.”
“You can’t be driving when you’re this upset,” Leah pleaded with her.
Another bout of uncontrolled sobs. “He says he’s not ready for a baby,” Rachel said in between sobs. “I’m on my own.”
“You’re not on your own, Rach,” Leah tried her best to assure her best friend. “You have me and Liam. Hell, you’ve got the whole town of Cedar Valley.”
Silence echoed through the phone. She needed to figure out where her best friend was, and she needed to call Liam and tell him what was going on. It was getting closer to six o’clock. People would be crowding the parking lot, waiting to attend the grand opening.
“Rach, I’m coming to get you. Where are you?”
“I’m like, two miles from Cedar Valley.”
“Okay, are you all right to drive to Levy’s or do you need me to come get you?”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Rachel said. Leah couldn’t tell if she was still crying. “Love you.”
“Love you, too,” Leah said. “Please be careful. I’ll see you soon.”
With her heart broken for Rachel, she called Liam and gave him a quick heads-up.
“That’s horrible,” he said, with something rattling and rustling in the background. He must’ve been getting their costumes ready for the night. With the news they had just heard, she wasn’t sure she truly wanted to celebrate tonight. “You there?”
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“It’ll be okay,” he assured her. “I promise.”
“Don’t make empty promises.”
“Rachel’s a strong woman, and I’m sure she feels like hell right now, but she’ll be okay.” More shuffling in the background. “Besides, the guy was a total douchebag.”
“Liam!”
“What? I’m just saying she’s better off without him.”
“See you in a bit.”
“Good, because I can’t be the only one here with all of these people,” he joked. “Plus, I need my other half to go with my costume.”
Within a minute, she’d arrived at Levy’s and parked the car way out from the entrance, waiting for Rachel to pull into the spot next to her. She looked like hell had run her over, and reversed just to hit her again. Poor thing. Leah took a deep breath, preparing herself for the tear-shedding fest that was about to happen.
Their talk had gone smoother than Leah had thought it would. Within twenty minutes, Rachel had gone through the roller coaster of emotions, with Leah right there with her, and had been “good-to-go” shortly thereafter. She helped Rachel fix her makeup before climbing out of her car.
Leah took hold of Rachel’s hand, and giving it a squeeze, she said, “Everything will be fine. It may not seem like it right now, but this, too, will pass.”
Rachel fanned her face with her hands. “Okay, shut up,” she demanded, with a half laugh and half cry. “You’re going to make me cry and ruin my makeup all over again.”
Leah squeezed her hand. “Okay, but you know I’m here for you if you need me.”
Rachel rolled her eyes. “You just don’t know how to shut up, do you?”
Leah laughed and gave her a gentle push towards the entrance, where Liam was standing in his half of their Halloween costume. They burst out in laughter as they made their way through the doors. “What’re you two laughing at?” He hollered after them. “You just wait!”
Rachel helped her squeeze into her costume and laughed. “I can’t believe this was your guys’ idea of a costume.”
Rachel rolled with laughter as she bent over, leaning against the bathroom sink for support.
“I don’t think it looks that bad,” Leah said, looking at herself in the mirror. “We’re going to be the hottest plug and socket there is. We’ll be on fire.”
Their laughter echoed l
oudly as they made their way back to the main entrance. Rosie stopped them a few from the door. “Have you seen Wes?”
She was in the cutest costume Leah had seen yet. She was dressed as an old lady, with her fake boobs hanging down over the front of her walker.
Rachel and Leah lost it once again. “This costume wins the contest,” Leah hollered to Liam, who stood at the entrance, shaking his head, with a huge smile plastered on his face.
Rosie shrugged and said, “I figured what the hell, I need my walker and might as well make some fun of it.”
“It’s perfect,” Leah assured her. “And you won’t have that thing for much longer, I promise.”
Wes walked up with his old man costume on. Laughter ensued once again. “Well, I figured if she’s my old lady, I have to be her old man.”
“Well played, Gramps,” Liam said. Turning to Leah, he asked, “Are you ready to do this?”
“You two sure have the right tools to get it done.” Rosie chuckled at her own innuendo of their costumes.
Liam made a lasting joke of it as stepped closer to Leah. He asked, “Hey baby, can I plug into your socket?”
Leah instantly blushed. “Later,” she said, holding back her laugh. “I wouldn’t want to spark something in front of everyone.”
* * *
As everyone showed up, there was a lot of talk about costumes, but they had overheard more conversations about Levy’s. A lot of impressed costumers stood in awe, awaiting their speech for the grand opening.
“May we have your attention, please?” Liam hollered out above the crowd’s conversation.
Silence fell over the crowd as everyone turned their attention toward Liam, Leah, Wes and Rosie. Leah spotted Rachel in the crowd. She was standing next to Adam. They were laughing and carrying on between themselves. Leah smiled. It was good to see her friend smiling.
“As many of you know, my grandparents and I started this business before my grandmother passed away,” Liam began his speech. It’d be their secret that she helped him prepare for it. “My grandmother made Levy’s possible, because she believed in my grandfather and me.”
Wes stood to the side of him, and with an arm wrapped around him, Liam brought him closer. “My grandfather and I have gone through a lot in the last couple of years,” he admitted to the crowd, who stood still—listening intently. “When my grandmother passed away, we weren’t too sure what was going to happen with the family, or with the business. We had no idea it’d still be here to this day,” he said, gripping Wes’ shoulder. “Not only has this family seen its troubles, but the bar has, too. What was meant to destroy this family, this business, only made it stronger.”
The crowd clapped and cheered. It was amazing to see so much support from a small town crowd. Leah spotted quite a few familiar faces. She even spotted the nosey old lady from the city—who in turn, locked her eyes with Leah and smiled. Leah had already been smiling, but she continued to smile and she gave the lady a small wave.
“My grandmother’s cancer could’ve shut this family down, but it didn’t. And the fire that took the whole bar down and then some…” Liam said, stopping as he choked back the emotion. Leah squeezed his hand for reassurance. “It could’ve shut our business down, no doubt, but it didn’t. We’ve come back stronger and better because of who we are, and who we have beside us.”
Again, the crowd clapped and cheered. A few in the crowd watched on with tears in their eyes. She assumed they were the regulars of the business and were close to the family.
“I want to say a special thanks to Rosie,” Liam said, reaching out to Rosie on the other side of Wes. She grabbed hold of his hand, and with tears in her eyes, she smiled back at him. “If it hadn’t been for you, I’m not sure where our family would be. Most importantly though, is where my Gramps would be.”
Rosie wiped several tears away as they slid down her cheeks. Her bottom lip trembled, and she said, “You have no idea how much you guys mean to me.”
With a quick swipe, Liam flung a few tears from his face. He turned his attention to Leah. “Then there’s this girl,” he said, with his eyes completely flooded with tears. “If it wasn’t for her last minute decision to come to Levy’s for her high school reunion, I would never have met her. I owe a thanks to her best friend, Rachel, for not allowing her to sit at home while my fate depended on her showing up. She’s my best friend, my business partner, and the love of my life.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. The crowd lost it with applause and cheers that grew louder every second the kiss lasted. He pulled away from her and smiled. “You have no idea what it’s like,” he explained to the crowd. “Finding someone you get along with so naturally. It’s the best feeling ever. It’s like you’ve been friends your whole life. It feels like you’re coming home. You’re so comfortable with them. Maybe that’s what a soulmate truly is. Not someone who shares every stinking thing in common with you, but someone who feels like home.”
She wiped the never ending tears from her face, and tried to say something, but she was speechless, as her bottom lip trembled with so much emotion. He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight to her. He kissed the top of her head and gently pulled away from her, encouraging her with his eyes to say something, anything. One look at him, at that moment, gave her the courage to say what she needed to say. She wanted the world to know how she felt about him.
“Liam,” she said to him, while their eyes held each other’s gaze. She turned to the crowd and said, “You all have no idea how much this man means to me. He’s the sun to my dark skies, the stars to my night sky, and most of all, he’s all I’ve ever wanted, and so much more than that. He’s my dream come true.”
Liam brought her close to him once again as he said, “With that, I can guarantee you that we’ll be here forever. We’re not going anywhere.”
The mayor handed them the biggest pair of scissors Leah had ever seen. She held one side with Liam, while Wes and Rosie held the other.
“I want to thank every one of you who came here tonight,” Wes said, his gruffy voice filled with emotion. “We’re all one big family, and without any of you, this wouldn’t have been possible. Thank you all.”
“Let’s get this party started!” Liam hollered, and on his count, they cut the ribbon guarding the entrance to their brand-spanking-new, full-of-opportunity Levy’s.
Liam held the scissors above his head and kissed Leah—hard and full of lifelong desire. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Leah, and I promise that I’ll give you everything you’ve always wanted. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Liam Spencer
and
Leah Adams
Request the honor of your presence
as they exchange marriage vows
and begin their future together.
Saturday, the twenty-eighth day of
October
at four o’clock in the afternoon
Church of Christ
2250 Hwy 79
Cedar Valley
Reception immediately following
Levy’s Bar & Grill
2249 Hwy 79
Cedar Valley
Epilogue
Instrumental love songs played softly through the speakers in the church. She had thirty minutes until she made an entrance at the altar. Today was the biggest day of her life, and she was more than thankful for it.
A whole year and counting, the love they shared had grown stronger each passing day. A man she didn’t know one Friday night was now her best friend and was patiently waiting for her at the altar.
She had recited her vows more than she had recited the alphabet as a child. She was more than ready to marry him and tell the world how she felt about this man.
One last look in the mirror confirmed she had the look. The dress she had chosen, with the help of Rachel, held tightly to her curves, and flowed freely from the waist down. Liam was a lucky man, if she did say so herself.
Lightly sprayed cur
ls bounced along her bare shoulders as she walked around the dressing room in the back of the church. Liam had tried once to see her, but Rachel protested and kept him away—claiming it bad luck if he saw her before the wedding. She didn’t have to worry now, since the officiant had announced it was time to take their places.
Rachel hugged her. “I guess I’d better get out there,” Rachel said, on her way out the door, leaving the bouquet of flowers for Leah on the stand by the door. She peeked her head back in. “This is your last chance to run.”
Laughing, Leah shooed her out of the room. She ran a hand over her grandmother’s locket that hung from her neck. Tucked neatly inside was a picture of her grandmother on her own wedding day. Rachel had insisted Leah follow through with the old tradition—something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Grandmother’s locket—check. New earrings from Liam—check. Rachel’s hairpins—check.
Crap. Something blue. She searched for her something blue. She frantically paced around the room, searching for the blue studded bracelet that she needed to wrap around her bouquet of flowers.
Bouquet. Walking to the small stand by the door, she reached for the deep purple and pearl white colored flowers. There, wrapped loosely around the stems, was her something blue.
Smiling at the note Rachel had left her on the stand that reminded her to breathe and enjoy the day, she took a deep breath. A knock at the door told her it was her time to shine. It was time to marry the love of her life—the one she had always dreamed of.
* * *
Butterflies tripled in her stomach as she made her way to the aisle. With one hand clutching her dress and the other tightly gripping her flowers, she arrived in the doorway as Canon in D, a beautiful instrumental piece performed by Piano Guys, played as she entered. Although her father wasn’t there to walk her down the aisle, she didn’t feel alone—a warming presence surrounded her. Loved ones and close friends smiled as she walked past them.
All She Ever Wanted (Cedar Valley Novel Book 1) Page 24