Every Glance (Every Life #3)

by Tasha Ivey

  But I’d say it was pretty damn perfect.

  Sawyer surprised all of us by singing and playing his guitar. Makenna cried during the entire ceremony, a watery smile plastered to her face. Callie was stoic—probably doing all she could to maintain composure. Wes and I exchanged looks every few minutes, silently taking bets on when her façade would crack. All in all, it was short, sweet, and exactly what we all needed to lighten our moods after our rough week. I’m glad William told them not to postpone.

  The best part of it all was watching Sawyer’s face as Makenna floated down the aisle in billows of white fabric. I looked back and forth between the two of them, and I saw exactly what I knew would be there. At that first glance, they exchanged so many promises and so much understanding.

  Almost immediately, my eyes found Devyn in the crowd, and I noticed her somber smile as she watched Makenna make her way down the aisle. Her expression was a little hard to read at first, but judging by our talk earlier, I believe she was reliving her regret again, silently wishing to do it all over again. And I plan on giving her the chance to do that someday.

  Even now as I look across this reception hall, watching her with Simon on the dance floor, it’s all so impeccably clear. Three short weeks is all it has taken to completely turn my life upside down, changing everything I thought I knew or wanted. I’ve always balked at stories of people falling in love and getting married after only just meeting, never imagining the possibility of knowing that the other person was your other half in such a short time.

  Hell, a colleague of mine from my residency days even went to Vegas with some friends one weekend to do some gambling and came back married. Four short days was all he’d known her. Four days was all it took for him to take that kind of chance.

  I remember sitting in the cafeteria, reading a medical journal article about the whole body effects of hyperthyroidism, when he slumped into the seat across from me, looking like he hadn’t slept at all that year.

  “You look like shit,” I muttered to him. “Must’ve been a hell of a trip. Win anything?”

  He didn’t answer, so I looked up from my article again. Waiting for my full attention, he nodded. “Yeah,” he said, raising his left hand into view. “A wife.”

  I remember being astonished, not completely believing the words until I saw the thin gold band encircling his finger. “You didn’t even have a girlfriend before you left.”

  He only shrugged. “She was in the room across from mine and had locked her key card inside. I let her use my phone to call the front desk. We ended up going out for dinner that night, and I didn’t let her out of my sight for the rest of my stay. The night before I was supposed to leave, she told me that she couldn’t imagine not having me in her life, so I asked her to marry me. We got married first thing yesterday morning before we both had to leave for the airport. She’s driving up from Georgia tomorrow with all of her stuff. We’ll have to go out to dinner, so you can meet her.”

  “I hate to rain on your parade, but don’t you think she might realize how fast all of it happened and change her mind? Divorces are a bit of a pain, you know.”

  He shook his head and smiled, not even fazed by my negativity. “No need for that.” He stood and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Sometimes you just know. Sometimes life throws you a bone, and you’re given exactly what you’ve always wanted or needed, without even realizing what it is yourself. But when you get it…you know.”

  And I do know now. There’s not even a niggling of doubt in my mind.

  I never knew that I wanted to settle down and have a family. I never knew what it could be like to want to fill every waking moment with their smiles and laughter. I didn’t think that I could enjoy snuggling up on the couch with a little boy who cackles dramatically at the silly cartoons on television. Or that I could hold a woman in my arms and feel complete for the first time in my life.

  Devyn and Simon have changed everything.

  “I never thought I’d say this. Not ever.” Sawyer leans against the wall next to me. “But you’re next, you know.”

  “Yeah, I do know. And I never thought I’d say it either.”

  Sawyer smiles, his amber eyes are brighter and more alive than I’ve seen them in years. “Love looks good on you, brother. It’s about damn time you joined the club. I was really starting to worry about you.”

  “Devyn has always had this way of breaking down my defenses. The moment I laid eyes on her in the clinic, my bachelorhood went down in an explosion of flames. I never had a chance. The only thing I’m struggling with now is stopping myself from asking your minister to marry us right here and now. I don’t want her to get away again.”

  Sawyer leans in closer and nods toward the group of women across the room, causing me to follow his gaze. At that very moment, Devyn sneaks a glance at me, smirking when she knows she’s been caught.

  “See?” He asks. “I’ve been watching her watch you all day, so I know she’s got it just as bad as you do. She’s not going anywhere.”

  “I sure as hell hope not.” I throw an arm over Sawyer’s shoulders and squeeze him. “Congratulations, man. Why don’t we go dance with our beautiful women over there instead of standing here like a couple of dopes?”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” Sawyer chuckles, returning my embrace before making his way across the room. I follow close behind him, but my attention is snagged by a paper napkin airplane whizzing by my head and immediately crumpling onto the floor.

  Simon jumps up from his seat so quickly that the springs of curls around his head bounce. “Sorry, Dalton. I was just trying to see if I could get it to fly.”

  “No problem, buddy,” I say, reaching out to ruffle his hair. I’m immediately reminded of his mood change last night, so I decide that dancing with Devyn can wait. This is a problem that needs solving. “Uh, listen...I think you and I should talk. You wanna go for a walk outside with me? I hear there are horses in that fence out there. It’s pretty dark now, but I bet we can still spot them.”

  He blanches slightly but nods. “Okay, sure.”

  We snake through the raucous crowd and out the back door, wordlessly making our way to the fenced area on the other side of the barn. The air carries a chill, but the cool, fresh air feels good on my slightly heated skin.

  As soon as we reach the fence, Simon steps up onto bottom plank of wood, giving him a better view across the pasture, and I rest my arms on the top of the wood next to him.

  “Do you know why I wanted to talk to you?” I ask him, working hard to make sure my tone isn’t accusatory or defensive. I don’t want him to think I’m angry with him. I’m just concerned.

  “I have a pretty good idea.” He looks straight ahead into the darkness, pretending to be occupied with searching for the horses, but his gaze is fixed onto an indiscernible object in the distance.

  “Do you want to talk about what’s eating at you? Did I do something wrong?”

  He lets out a long breath before answering. “No. That’s the problem.”

  “What do you mean by that? Why would you want me to do something wrong, Simon? I care about you and your mom more than I could ever express, so I don’t want to do anything to hurt you.”

  “You’re supposed to say that.” His head snaps toward me. His eyes are watery but determined. “I know I’m only a rock. And once you get my mom, I’ll be out of the picture.”

  “Simon, that couldn’t be the furthest from the truth. Who told you that? And what makes you a rock exactly?”

  He jumps down from the fence and walks away from me. “I don’t have to see my dad right now, but he still calls to talk to me. He told me to watch out because I was only a rock that you were walking on to get to my mom. And he told me to watch out because, as soon as I think everything is perfect, I couldn’t be more wrong. He said that you only want my mom, and you don’t realize you’re only pretending to care about me.”

  “Simon.” I reach out to grab his shoulder to stop him and kneel
down in front of him. “Did your dad say I was using you as a stepping stone?”

  “Yeah, that’s the word. When the three of us were on the couch watching the movie last night, I was thinking about how cool it was and how my Dad never did stuff like that when he lived with us. But then I remembered what he said. I’m not going to let you take my mom away from me.”

  Damn, I hate Carter. It’s one thing for him to mess with me, but he’s filling this little boy’s head with lies just to make him miserable. I’m going to have to talk to Devyn about this. If Carter wants to talk to Simon, she’s going to need to start listening in. I’m sure she has no idea what bullshit he’s filling Simon’s head with.

  “Your dad is upset with me right now, and I’m sorry he said something like that to you to get back at me. But he’s wrong, Simon. You and your mom are a package deal. And you should know your mom well enough to know that she wouldn’t let anyone get in between you and her. You’re no stepping stone, Simon…you’re part of what I want. You’re the coolest little dude I know.”

  Simon stares at me for a moment, his expression unreadable. His stiff shoulders finally relax. “Well…he did also say that you’re a loser, but I don’t think you are. You’re really smart and you make sick people feel better, so I think that makes you like a hero. Maybe my dad is jealous. And maybe he’s mad because, with you around, he can’t be mean to my mom anymore or take me away.”

  “I think you’re right, buddy. I would never let anything like that happen to you or your mom again. I promise you that. But there’s one thing I can’t promise…I can’t say that everything with the three of us is going to work out according to plan and everything from here on out will be perfect. But that won’t stop me from trying. You and your mom are worth fighting for. I haven’t told you this, but I love her. And I love you, too.”

  Simon lunges forward so quickly it nearly knocks me off balance, throwing his arms around my neck and squeezing tightly. I, too, wrap my arms around him. His narrow waist feels even smaller than it looks.

  “I love you, too, Dalton,” he whispers. “I’m sorry for being rude to you.”

  “Don’t apologize. You were only trying to protect yourself and your mom. I’m proud of you for doing that.”

  I feel him nod against my shoulder as he sniffles, and tears are pricking my eyes, too. This kid is pretty damn cool.

  After a moment, he pulls back and swipes at his face with his jacket sleeve. “Does this mean you’re going to marry my mom?”

  I smile wide, unable to hide the happiness that thought makes me. “Honestly? I’d really like to someday. Would you be okay with that?”

  “Yeah, it would be all right.”

  “Good.” I stand and take his hand. “Now that we have that settled, why don’t we get back inside? There are a couple of pieces of cake calling our names.”

  He snickers softly and leads me back toward the building without saying a word, but right before we reach the door, he pauses. “You know…my mom is really good at making lasagna, and she always smells like flowers.”

  Our little matchmaker strikes again.

  “You know you don’t have to convince me how amazing she is, right?”

  He shrugs and a little devious smirk curls his top lip. “You can’t fault a guy for trying to solidify the deal.”

  This kid kills me. “It’s rock solid, buddy.”

  “How solid, exactly? On the Mohs’ scale of one to ten.”

  If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear he was my son. Who else in the world would use the Mohs’ scale of mineral hardness as an example?

  I lean forward and smile at him. “Definitely a ten, Simon. Do you know what mineral is a ten?”

  “Of course,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest as if I’m insulting his intelligence. “A diamond.”

  “Mmmhmm.” I raise an eyebrow, waiting for him to make the connection.

  And, as suspected, he does. “Better get her a big one.”

  ONCE WE GET back inside, he opts to take his cake and join the group of kids at the back table, so I set out to find Devyn, easily finding her being spun around the dance floor by Wes. “Better watch where you put your hands on my girl, Baxter,” I joke as I come up behind them. “Shouldn’t you be dancing with your wife?”

  “Just keeping her warmed up for you,” Wes fires back. “Callie is exhausted and you weren’t tending to your date, so Cal told me I should drag Devyn out here to keep her mind off what a bum you are.”

  Devyn takes my hand and pulls me toward her until our bodies touch. “Pretty sure you’re next on my dance card, stud.” She looks back at Wes. “Thanks for the chat.”

  The lights dim to a soft glow, and the band begins to play a slow, haunting melody, suddenly making me forget everyone else in the room. I wrap both arms around Devyn’s waist and hold her as closely as I possibly can, making a silent vow to never let her go. She, too, holds me tight and rests her cheek over my rapidly beating heart.

  “Where have you been?” she asks as we sway back and forth to the hypnotically slow beat.

  “Talking to Simon.”

  “Oh? What about?”

  “You,” I answer, not wanting to ruin the mood right now with talk of Carter. “What were you talking to Wes about?”

  “You.” I feel her smile. “But don’t worry. It was all good things. Is everything okay with Simon now?”

  I press my lips to her temple and rest my cheek against her forehead. “Perfect. I’ll explain everything later. He did make another sales pitch, though. I hear you make damn good lasagna…I already knew how good you smell, though.”

  “Oh, goodness,” she giggles. “What on earth is he trying to sell to you now?”

  “Just being a good son and making sure I understand exactly how special you are.”

  She lifts her head and presses her mouth to mine, the subtle hint of wine on her lips tastes divinely sweet. The world around us melts away, and she becomes the very center of my universe, the pull of gravity holding me tighter and dragging me in with no chance of escaping. Not that I’d ever want to. I know right now, in this very moment, that nothing could come between us, nothing will alter my course.

  She is my everything. She and Simon.

  They’re going to be my family. I may not have had the best role models in that department, but I do know that we can make the best of it together. They’ve shown me what having a family can be like, and I’m not scared of it anymore. I can’t wait to start that new part of my life.

  And I want to start it right now.

  I place my hands on either side of her face and pull away from the kiss with a silent vow that I’d never willingly do that again. She looks up at me bewildered, her eyes hooded and her lips shining from a sheen of moisture from our kiss. It takes everything I have in me not to dive right back in.

  “What’s wrong?” Her voice is barely a whisper.

  “Devyn, I…I know we haven’t exactly been together very long at all, but I know, without any doubt, that I love you and that I can’t imagine a future without you and Simon in it. A few years ago, a friend told me that when you know, you know…that time doesn’t matter, and I completely agree with that now. I don’t need any more time to figure out what I already know. More than anything in this world, I want you to be my—”

  “Dalton!” Sawyer’s voice jerks me back into reality. “I need you to come with me. Now.”

  “Can this wait? I’m kinda in the middle of something.”

  He grasps my elbow and tugs. “We have somewhat of a medical emergency. I don’t care if Devyn comes with you, but you need to come with me.”

  Without another word, I follow him, scanning the room for signs of someone in distress, but if anything is going on, the crowd is oblivious to it. Sawyer turns down the hallway leading to the bedrooms, and I can’t take the suspense any longer.

  “Seriously, Sawyer, what’s going on?”

  He throws a glance over his shoulder. “You’re about to
find out.”

  Knocking on the girls’ dressing room, he waits for Wes to open the door. I follow him inside to see Callie panting at the foot of the bed, glistening with sweat.

  “She’s in labor? Take her to the hospital, dumbass.”

  Wes rolls his eyes, but pretty much ignores my comment. “Too late for that.”

  “Way too late,” Sawyer agrees. “I called for an ambulance, but it’ll be at least twenty minutes before it can get all the way out here. She wouldn’t let me check her, but she says she thinks the head is coming down.”

  “Oh, God,” Devyn gasps. “Callie, how long have you been in labor?”

  Callie grimaces. “About four or five hours. I thought I’d have more time. I didn’t want to ruin the wedding.”

  “Are you kidding? I’m excited!” Mackenna beams.

  “Damn.” My head begins whirring in a hundred different directions, going through all the training in my repertoire, thankful that I spent quite a bit of time in labor and delivery. It’s definitely not my specialty, but I’m confident I can handle this. “Okay, Makenna, get some clean towels or blankets, whatever you can find. Sawyer, grab my bag from my trunk. Wes, pile up the pillows behind her, so she can be comfortable.”

  “Anything I can do to help?” Devyn asks. “I’ve been through this before, but I’m not sure there’s a whole lot I can do.”

  “First of all, you can help me wash up.” I step into the small bathroom and shrug out of my jacket and remove my tie. Devyn helps my roll my sleeves up and turns the hot water on, so I can scrub my arms up to my elbows. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”

  “You have delivered a baby before, right?” She looks as panic-stricken as I feel inside.

  “Sure. But this is Callie. I’ve seen many sides of her, but this one will definitely be new.”