Wrecked for You

by Mayer, Kristin

  “Hayden and Kory might get married,” Kane quipped.

  Hayden stared off into space without a word. We had to be a sight.

  Amie paused for a second. “I was only gone for a couple of minutes.” She didn’t say anything else, just began to cut the pie.

  How can she be so calm in a moment like this?

  “A shit ton happened in those minutes.” Kane held up his hands when she whipped her head around to glare at him. “That S-bomb was for dramatic effect.”

  Amie threw her napkin at Kane. “That does not give you an excuse to start cussing all the time, Kane Foster.”

  He shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

  I stood, and my chair made an awful noise against the floor. “Would you excuse us? Hayden and I need to talk for a second.” My voice sounded unnaturally high and squeaky.

  Taking my hand, Hayden led me to the office. Someone else could fill Amie in on all the particulars of us getting married. Hayden and I sat on the couch staring at each other, not saying a word. I wondered what he was thinking. Finally, I broke the ice. “Hayden, we don’t have to do this.”

  “I know, but honestly, Kory, it makes sense.” He sounded distant, and his eyes weren’t completely focused.

  He was right; some parts of it did. I swallowed hard. “But we’re not ready.”

  After blinking a few times, he turned his eyes to mine. “No, we’re not. But if it keeps you safe, I’m all in. I don’t want to lose you. I love you too damn much to lose you.”

  My throat tightened. “I can’t lose you, either.” I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. “I just hate that I’ve put you in this position, Hayden. I just can’t stand bringing all this drama into your life. I never wanted to cause all these problems.”

  Hayden held out his arms to me. “Come here, sweetheart.”

  I climbed onto his lap, and he stroked my hair. “I’m taking all this on with you willingly. Yes, I was a little shocked at the suggestion, but it makes sense. Take the emotions out of the equation and think about it rationally. Landon can’t marry you if you’re already married.”

  Rationally wasn’t how I wanted to discuss my wedding. I wanted nothing but love. There had to be a way to make this work. I thought for a second before I spoke. “If we do this, I don’t want it to be our official wedding. I want it to simply be a means to an end.”

  Hayden cupped the back of my neck and tilted my head to look into my eyes. “When we’re ready, I’m going to give you the proposal of your dreams, sweetheart. And one day, we will be ready.”

  “Yes, we will.”

  Relief swept through me. He got it; he understood where I was coming from. In fact, Hayden wanted the same thing.

  He leaned over and kissed my lips. We were going to be okay.

  Knock.

  Knock.

  Knock.

  Hayden pulled back and smiled. “You good?”

  “Yeah, You?”

  “Yeah. I will be.”

  I pecked him on the lips one more time before I called, “Come in.”

  Alexa poked her face in, her bottom lip firmly stuck between her teeth. “I’m so sorry if I caused an issue. I shouldn’t have said anything. I wasn’t thinking.”

  I walked over to her and opened the door. “No, you should have. It was a brilliant idea. I think it just took us off guard.”

  Hayden joined us. “We’re taking your suggestion.”

  She winked. “So, we’re planning a wedding.”

  Vehemently, we shook our heads, and Alexa tipped her head in confusion.

  At the same moment, Drake walked around the corner. “Everything okay?”

  “Yes. We decided we’re going to use Alexa’s idea and get married, but we’re keeping it businesslike, almost clinical.”

  Alexa nodded. “I get it. Completely.”

  Drake shook his head. “I can’t believe this asshole is going to beat me down the aisle.”

  We laughed, and Alexa rolled her eyes. It was just the right amount of levity needed to diffuse this immeasurably stressful situation.

  If only there weren’t other more serious issues to worry about lurking around the corner.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Hayden

  I was married.

  To Kory.

  I had a wife.

  It had been three days since Alexa suggested it. And today in front of the preacher, we’d said our vows. It was more like a business transaction, which was what we both wanted.

  But fuck, I’m married.

  The idea still hadn’t fully sunk in, especially considering the circumstances.

  One day, I would make Kory my wife for real, the way we both wanted. But for now, marriage was a means to an end.

  To help diffuse the stress of the day, Mom suggested having Hollis and Devney over for dinner. Not a celebration dinner, just friends getting together to shoot the breeze. At first, we’d been skeptical, but I believed it had been a good idea. Kory seemed to agree.

  We still hadn’t heard a word from her parents. I hoped to hell they came through for us because if they betrayed Kory, I would find a way to make them pay. Typically, I wasn’t a vengeful person, but there were some lines that should never be crossed. Betraying your flesh and blood to a psycho was one of them.

  The creak from the back door brought me out of my thoughts.

  Hollis came out with Drake and Kane. He handed me a beer. My parents had space heaters and a firepit that allowed the back porch to still be used during the winter. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks, man. I needed one of these.”

  They sat in high-back Adirondack chairs that were arranged in a semicircle around a firepit. Kane shuddered. “We can never, ever let the girls win movie night. They’re watching and crying while painting their toenails.” He grimaced. “That’s some fucked-up shit. Something about a girl named Shelby dying at the end of the movie. Hell, the movie just started. And before she even dies, they were boohooing about what was to come. I feel like I’ve entered an alternate reality.”

  I chuckled and took a swig of my beer. “They’re watching Steel Magnolias. It’s Kory’s favorite.”

  Kane glared at me. “You should shut your mouth. The fact that you know the movie because I said a character’s name makes me ashamed to call you my brother.”

  I quipped back, “Alexa told Kory that Drake watched Pretty Woman with her the other night. At least I’m not actually watching it. So be more ashamed of having Drake as your brother.”

  Drake shrugged and then smirked. “And I got rewarded for it afterward.”

  Clinking my beer to his, I said, “Nice. And that’s the way it’s done.”

  “Exactly.”

  Kane looked up to the ceiling of the covered porch. “I’ve never been so disappointed in my older brothers. I need to remind myself to never look at them as role models.” He turned to Hollis. “Have you been watching any of that shit with Devney?”

  Holding his beer up, Hollis grinned. “Last night Devney and I watched Deadpool.”

  “Hell yeah. Finally, another man in my midst.” Kane held out his fist for a bump. “Don’t let her yank you around by the dick and talk you into watching something that’ll make you a pussy. It’s not very Alaskan.”

  Kane held out his beer bottle to Hollis and they clanked them together. Hollis toasted, “To Alaskan men.”

  Drake and I held out our bottles, but Kane shook his head. “No, you can’t be part of this toast. You can toast to crying, princesses, and being a disappointment to the Foster name.” Kane stood and shook his head. “I need to go carve something to get all this pansy stuff out of my head. Maybe I’ll help Dad make some furniture. Anyone want to join me?”

  “I will.” Drake stood. “He’s working on a new liquor cabinet for me. Maybe we could help him.”

  “Sounds good.”

  They crossed the lawn to Dad’s shop. Hollis chuckled. “Man, your brother is one of a kind.”

  “Yeah, he is.”<
br />
  One of these days, when he finally found someone, I was going to give him so much hell.

  The silence of the night was peaceful and calming. Hollis took a swig before asking, “How are you dealing with this?”

  “I’m dealing. I hate that our hand was forced. But hopefully the way Kory and I did it, it won’t be ruined when we do it next time.”

  Today we decided to tell Hollis and Devney about what we were facing, excluding the Fraternity stuff. It seemed the fewer people who knew about the organization the better. We’d told them everything else about Kory’s controlling parents and the arranged marriage to Landon. No matter how we tried to describe them, they sounded like psychos.

  “That makes sense. If you need anything, just know you can talk to me. I know I sometimes come off a bit… off-kilter, but I’m here.”

  “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. So how have things been with you and Devney?”

  He let out a sigh. “After the auction, I refused to let Devney pay for the date. I paid the two grand. It kills me knowing how hard she has it and having the means to help, but she won’t let me. She’s independent, and I respect that. I explained that she saved me from what would have been a wretched date with whomever won, and she gave me an answer about where we stood.” Hollis leaned his head back. “And things were great, fantastic even.”

  Were? That didn’t sound promising. Hollis seemed to have more he wanted to say as he stared off into space, so for now, I stayed quiet.

  “I feel something different for Devney. I’ve never felt it before in my life. We’re not to the I love yous yet, but I think we’re headed there. Well, that was until she dropped the bomb on me last night.”

  “What bomb?”

  “Her mom wants her to move to Washington so they can get a place together. Since Devney lived with her dad as a kid, she feels obligated to help her mom now. I don’t think her mom even knows about me, which adds another layer of confusion.”

  Women were confusing. Hell, I had been tied up over one for quite a while before I flew to get her.

  “Is her mom pressuring her?”

  “No. Yes. Kind of. I can’t tell. It’s like things get on track with us just to fall off the rails again. I can’t win.”

  “Have you told her how you feel?”

  Hollis took another swig of his beer and stared out into the night. It was like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “No, I don’t want to add to her pressure.”

  Man, I knew right where he was emotionally, and it was a bumpy ride. “If she doesn’t know how you feel, she can’t make an informed decision.”

  “Yeah… I get it. It’s a lot to think about.”

  And I understood. If Hollis put himself out there and she still chose to leave, it would hurt like a motherfucker.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Kory

  We waved good-bye as Devney and Hollis drove away. Before they’d left, we loaded up Hollis’s SUV with leftover food Amie insisted they take. I had noticed a lot of people sent extra food home with Hollis. Apparently, he could burn water if left to his own devices.

  A day that had started out stressful and with me on edge had turned out to be pretty wonderful. When Amie initially suggested a get-together with friends, I hadn’t really wanted to. As it turned out, it was exactly what we needed.

  Hayden laced his fingers with mine, more relaxed than he’d been in days. I leaned into his side for warmth. The air was cold and crisp. As the SUV turned onto the road and the taillights disappeared, I realized how much my heart ached for Devney and Hollis. They were in such a rough spot right now. “Did Hollis mention Devney possibly moving?”

  “Yeah, I think he’s pretty torn up about it.”

  “So is Devney. I don’t know what she’s going to decide.”

  “Me either, sweetheart.”

  Devney had mentioned earlier that she wasn’t sure how serious Hollis was about them. Devney hadn’t wanted to talk about it with Alexa since she was best friends with Hollis. My only suggestion was to tell Hollis how she felt.

  “Let’s head inside. I’m worn out.” Now that the day had come to the end, I was ready for bed.

  Hayden led me inside the house. “Head on up to bed. I need to clean up our beer bottles from the back porch and say good night to Drake and Alexa.”

  “Okay, sounds good.”

  In the small sitting room to the right, Drake and Alexa were going over the suggestions I’d given for their wedding. During some of my free time this week, I’d begun a list of possibilities that seemed possible to pull off in a short amount of time, given the logistical issues of getting things to Skagway during the winter. Hopefully my suggestions would spark what they wanted.

  “Night, guys,” I called.

  “Night,” they answered in unison. I could get their notes in the morning. I figured it would be easier for them to discuss things on their own. Drake looked so ecstatic to finally be to this point. I doubted the type of greenery on the fireplace mattered to him. He wanted to be in the moment with Alexa. I admired Drake for how in tune he was with himself and not afraid to admit his feelings.

  Hayden and I reached to the bottom of the stairs. “I’ll be up in just a few minutes. You need anything, sweetheart?”

  “No, I’m good. See you in a bit.”

  He gave me a quick peck on the lips, and I headed up the stairs. I needed a few minutes to myself to get my thoughts centered.

  I wasn’t sure it had sunk in yet.

  It was still hard to believe I was married. I was a wife. Yet, at the same time, I felt like we weren’t married. And I had insisted that Hayden sign a prenup. I brought nothing to the marriage, financially speaking. Hayden was well off. And it made our marriage feel less like a true marriage by having a contract. And I wasn’t going to go by Mrs. Foster. I would still go by Kory Reynolds. No one but the family would know we were married.

  If it kept Landon away from me, it would be worth it in the end. But I hated having to be forced into this. My parents hadn’t responded to either my phone calls or text messages, which left me uneasy about what was going on with them.

  Did they betray me?

  There were times in my life where I thought I’d felt their love. But they would remain with the Fraternity. And that was something I would never subject my kids to. The price was too high. If they had been responsible for my grandparents’ deaths… that was unforgivable. I just wasn’t sure where I stood with them, but I knew in some way, I might never get closure.

  I got ready for bed. Taking off my makeup and putting on my flannel pajamas brought me comfort. I folded back the blue down comforter—with the other two blankets on the bed, plus the heat Hayden generated, the comforter made it too warm.

  I spun the propeller on the little plane on the nightstand. This reminded me of Hayden. The whole room did. I could picture him as a little boy, playing with his airplanes and models in this room. He’d wanted to be a pilot since he was three.

  For as long as I could remember, I wanted to be a mom. I wanted to love my kids and be there for them in every way. Maybe someday. Kids were so far off. We still needed to have the wedding we actually wanted first. And before that, a proposal. There were a million steps before we got to kids.

  Hayden came in and locked the door behind him.

  “Is everyone headed to bed?”

  “Mom and Dad are. Kane is off to who knows where. It looked like Drake and Alexa might be up for a while going over that folder you gave them. It’s hard to believe their wedding will be here next month.”

  “It’ll be here before we know it.”

  “Yeah… I’m going to take a shower.”

  “Okay.”

  We still hadn’t discussed our wedding. After we said our vows, we got in the truck with his parents and came back here. The rest of the day had been filled with other people. Now I was worried Hayden regretted the decision.

  The shower turned on, and I listened to him get in. This was ridicu
lous. If I was worried about something, I needed to ask him. As soon as he’s done. Accosting him in the shower probably wasn’t the most productive way to begin this discussion.

  The water turned off, and shortly after, Hayden walked in with a towel wrapped around his waist. He pulled on some lounge pants with a great yawn. It had been a long day.

  My cell phone rang beside the bed. It was one of my parents. I put it on speaker before I answered, “Hello?”

  It was my mother. There was music in the background. “I can’t talk long. We’re at a party, and I snuck away to call you.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “We haven’t been able to find a minute to communicate with you until now. Since we’ve gotten back, we’ve been staying with Landon’s family. They’re preparing for a wedding this weekend, Kory. Your wedding.”

  I felt a little dizzy, and I focused on her words. My wedding. Me? Landon plans to marry me this weekend? Hayden narrowed his eyes; he was beyond angry. We’d decided we wouldn’t mention our wedding to my parents just in case they decided to tell Landon. I barely managed to choke out, “Is there anything else?”

  “We’re still looking. Your father is meeting with Eric right now. Kory, you need to know Landon plans to bring you back to Washington on Saturday. The wedding is scheduled for Sunday morning at dawn. One thing you should know, the Fraternity won’t recognize a successor conceived out of wedlock. No exceptions.”

  My palms were clammy, and my mouth went dry. Children? With Landon? My stomach knotted. “Thanks, Mother.”

  “We’ll be in touch if we find out more. Got to go. Bye, Kory. Your father and I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  It was weird hearing the words from them. But maybe they were trying to right the wrong choices they’d made when I was a child for the small amount of time we had left together. They told Hayden on the porch we would never really have a chance to have a relationship. It was a choice—a choice they left up to me.

  I ended the call but stared at the phone. My breathing began to increase, and I felt an odd sort of pressure on my chest. “I won’t marry him. I can’t. There’s no way… I would rather—”