by Lily Graison
He looked back over at Luke. “She asked me if I was insane.”
Luke laughed. “Hate to tell you man, but you’re acting a bit insane. You spent weeks being the most neurotic I’ve ever seen you and acted like a kid the minute we hit this town. You’ve gone from one end of the scale to another in the short time we’ve been here and one innocent remark from Faith’s father and you’re throwing it all away? Yeah. I’m beginning to understand why she asked.”
“So what do you think I should do?”
“It’s not my girl I left behind,” Luke said. “You’ll have to make that decision on your own but I will tell you this. If I were standing in your shoes right now, I don’t think I could leave Roxy just because I had some doubts. I’d find out the truth before I did something I might spend the rest of my life regretting.”
Mick looked back across the highway. He wasn’t any closer to an answer than he was when he got out of the car. The only thing he did know was, the further they got from Barton, Georgia, the more he felt like he’d left something behind.
Eight
Faith felt every eye in the church on her as she made her way down the center aisle to her seat on the first pew. Her father sat in the pulpit, staring down at his notes on the sermon and the hushed whispers echoing across the sanctuary increased as she moved closer to the front of the building. When she reached her seat, she forced a smile on her face when Jacob looked up at her. She took her place beside him and tried to not look as miserable as she felt.
For two days she’d done nothing but sit in her room while her heart bled out. To be left and unwanted was the worst feeling in the world. Knowing Mick thought she’d lied and tried to trap him hurt more than him leaving. She could understand his reluctance. She hadn’t at first but after analyzing everything from every angle, she could see things from where he was standing. What hurt the most was him not trusting her. That he thought she would purposely manipulate him.
Her father stood, walking to the podium, and smiled out at the congregation. His words were lost as he spoke, everything around her still a dull buzzing inside her head.
The regular hymns were sung and she mouthed the words hoping no one would know she wasn’t participating. When her father started his sermon, she stared down at her lap and knew every word he said was directed at her. She listened for over ten minutes before tuning him out.
Faint whispers started at the back of the sanctuary and her father’s words slowed, the volume in which he was speaking lowering until he stopped completely. When the whispers grew in volume and people started shifting in their seats, Faith looked up. Her father was staring at the back of the church and like everyone else in the room, she turned to see what he was looking at.
Her heart nearly stopped when she did.
“I’m in the middle of a sermon,” her father said.
“I can wait,” Mick said. “I’ve got time.”
“There’s nothing for you here, Mick.”
Mick smiled. “My wife is here,” he said. “And I’m not leaving without her. I can take her now or when you’re finished. Doesn’t really make a difference to me.”
Faith glanced back at her father. His face was red, his breaths panted out. He was livid and she knew her normally soft-spoken father was about to show a side of himself to the congregation that he never wanted them to see. She stood, hoping to diffuse the situation and didn’t know where to direct her attention… at her father or at Mick.
Her father chose for her. “Sit down, Faith.”
“Daddy—“
“Faith,” he said. “I said sit down.”
She glanced to the back of the church, her gaze finding Mick’s. He smiled at her and started down the aisle, her pulse racing with every step he took. The whispers grew louder, every person in the room watching him as he advanced and by the time he reached her, she wasn’t sure her knees would hold her up much longer.
He stopped in front of her, smiling before saying, “I’m sorry. I act before I think and I should have never left.” He reached behind him, pulling something from his pocket before handing it to her. It was the divorce papers. “I was going to burn them but I wanted to make sure you still wanted to do that first.”
Faith stared down at the document, the pages wrinkled, the edges torn. Her hands were shaking as she stared at it knowing what happened next was all up to her. She looked up, staring at Mick and wondered why he’d changed his mind. Does it matter?
Her father walked to the edge of the pulpit and she turned her head to look at him. She held her breath, wondering if she left with Mick, if her daddy would ever forgive her.
“For those of you who haven’t figured it out yet, this is the young man who married my daughter.” Audible gasps were heard through the sanctuary and Faith glanced around the room, noticing the wide eyes and whispered murmurs. “As you can see,” the Reverend said, “He not only disrupts our lives but also our Sunday worship service. For what, I’d like to know.”
Mick turned and faced her father, leveling his gaze on him. “I came for my wife. Told you that already.”
“Your wife? The young woman you married while so drunk you don’t even remember it?”
Mick clenched his jaw and Faith hoped he didn’t say something they’d both live to regret. When he smiled instead she feared the worst. “I might not remember marrying her,” Mick said, “but it doesn’t make the fact that she is my wife any less true. Like it or not, Reverend, I’m not going anywhere unless Faith asks me to.”
Her father turned his gaze on her and lifted one eyebrow. “Looks like it’s all on you, Faith. What’s it going to be? Are you ready to throw away everything you know and run off with this man because some no-name person in Vegas had you recite some vows, in which neither of you remember taking, and pronounced you married? Are you willing to sacrifice your happiness on the chance that this might all work out?”
Mick turned and smiled at her before closing the small distance between them. “I love you, Faith. I don’t know anything about you other than your name and you tend to snore but that’s enough and I’ll spend the rest of my life doing whatever it takes to see that you’re happy. Just say the word, Tink, and we’re out of here.”
Faith grinned at him, fully intending on correcting the snoring business and glanced at her father. He was still watching them but the look on his face had changed. He didn’t seem as mad as before and she wondered if Mick’s softly spoken declaration had anything to do with it.
When she saw Mick move out of the corner of her eye she looked back at him, her eyes widening when he held his hand out to her. “I think we skipped this part the first time around,” he said, holding out a ring box. The lid was open and two wedding bands sat nestled in blue silk. She stared at the rings, her vision becoming blurry as tears filled her eyes.
“Mr. Weston,” Mick said. “I don’t remember marrying your daughter but I’ll do it again if that’s what it takes for you to accept this. She’s still my wife whether you approve or not but I’d rather leave knowing you’re okay with it.”
“Make him marry her before God!”
Faith turned to see who shouted but couldn’t tell. Every person in the room was staring at them, the looks of curiosity overwhelming. Her father took the two steps down from the pulpit and walked to where they stood. She looked up at him and held her breath.
“Is this what you want, Faith?” he asked, quietly.
Faith looked back at Mick and said, “Yes.”
Reverend Weston leaned toward Mick and whispered, “And what about the baby, Mick?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “If she says the baby is mine, then I believe her. Even if its not it won’t change how I feel about her.”
For the first time in days, Faith saw her father smile. He stared at Mick, studying him before clapping a hand on his back and nodding his head. “That’s all I need to know,” he said. He reached out and took the ring box from Mick’s hand and looked down at the rings. “What do you
say we end all the rumors and gossip and get you two married properly?”
She looked at Mick, wondering what he’d say. When he grabbed her hand and said, “Will you marry me… again?” she had her answer.
Laughing, she said, “Yes.”
“All right then!” He turned and walked to the center of the aisle, turning to face her before glancing at her father. “Let’s do this, Reverend. We have a plane to catch.” He stepped closer to her and smiled before whispering, “and a honeymoon to get started on.”
Epilogue
Mick remembered facing the Reverend the first time and had imagined the worst. Now as he looked at him and saw the pinched look on his face, and the looks on the faces of Faith’s five brothers he wondered why he was even standing in the same state with them.
The ear-piercing scream that came from the other side of the door reminded him.
He turned and walked back to the door, reaching for the handle. She’d kicked him out five times now, replacing him as her Lamaze coach with Jessi, and going back in to get yelled at wasn’t at the top of his list of sane things to do but standing in the hall and being glared at by the Weston clan didn’t seem like a smart idea either. Another scream, this one sending gut wrenching spasms up his spine nearly brought him to his knees. He should have insisted on the drugs but she’d refused them repeatedly. It was torture listening to her in so much pain while he could do nothing but stand there and wait. Maybe he should have asked if they had anything for him instead.
The wail of a crying baby split the air the next instant and Mick’s heart skipped a beat. He spun on his heel, looking at everyone waiting and couldn’t find his voice. He stared at them, seeing the wide eyes and smiles before he jerked the door open.
Faith was the only thing he saw. The doctors and nurses, Jessi, all the equipment… it vanished as he stared at her. She was smiling at him. For the first time in hours she looked happy to see him.
“Go on in,” Holly said from behind him. “I think its safe this time.”
He walked in, letting the door shut behind him. A nurse with a tiny bundle haphazardly wrapped was looking at him, smiling. “Would you like to see your son?” she said.
My son?
He grinned and nodded his head, walking across the room and looking down at his son. He knew without a doubt the baby was his the moment he looked at his tiny face. He was a funny color and still needed a bath but there wasn’t any denying who this kid belonged to. He looked like his dad.
“He’s tiny,” the nurse said, “but he appears to be perfectly healthy.” The nurse gestured to a bassinet in the corner and said, “Let’s get him cleaned up and you can go show him off.”
He started to follow her but stopped, looking back over at Faith. She was still staring at him and he crossed the room to her with three long strides. He leaned down and kissed her sweaty forehead, her eyes and cheeks, then her lips before saying, “I love you, Tink.”
“Love you too, Mick.”
He smiled down at her, straightening when her eyes widened all of a sudden and she gasped. He glanced to the doctor, watching as she stepped back between Faith’s parted legs.
“Faith, you were right,” she said, looking up briefly. “You were too big to only have one tiny baby in there.”
Mick’s eyes widened and he had to force himself to take a breath.
“I see the head,” the doctor said. “Give us a big push, Faith.”
When Faith grabbed his hand, Mick nearly collapsed. Twins? Jessi laughed and stepped closer to the bed. “Mick? You did know Faith and Jacob were twins, didn’t you?”
He looked up and shook his head. Jessi’s laughter grew, Faith’s moans got louder and the room slowly dimmed. The doctor saying, “It’s a girl!” was the last thing he heard before his eyes rolled back and he hit the floor.
The End
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Other books by this author
Western Romance
The Lawman (Willow Creek #1)
The Outlaw (Willow Creek #2)
The Gambler (Willow Creek #3)
The Rancher (Willow Creek #4)
His Brother's Wife (A Willow Creek Novel)
Contemporary Romance
Wicked: Tempt Me Not (Wicked Series #1)
Wicked: Leather and Lace (Wicked Series #2)
Wicked: Jade Butterfly (Wicked Series #3)
Wicked: Sweet Temptation (Wicked Series #4)
Wicked: The Complete Series (Wicked Books 1-4)
Blame It On The Mistletoe (single title romance)
That First Christmas ( single title romance)
Paranormal Romance
The Calling (Night Breeds Series #1)
The Gathering (Night Breeds Series #2)
About the Author:
LILY GRAISON resides in North Carolina, a stones throw away from the Blue Ridge Mountains and a few hours from the Outer Banks. First published in 2005, her debut novel won a Reviewers Choice Award. The author of over a dozen published books, Lily writes in the Western, Contemporary and Paranormal Romance genres.
When not writing, Lily can be found at her sewing machine creating 1800’s Period Dresses or at a nearby store feeding her obsession for all things resembling office supplies
For more about Lily Graison, visit any of the following locations around the web:
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Wicked - The Complete Series - © 2012 Lily Graison
Wicked: Tempt Me Not - © 2008 Lily Graison
Wicked: Leather and Lace - © 2009 Lily Graison
Wicked: Jade Butterfly - © 2009 Lily Graison
Wicked: Sweet Temptation - © 2009 Lily Graison
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
The right of Lily Graison to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First electronic release, December 2012
Second Edition, May 2013
All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover art created by Lily Graison