by Amy Vastine
Piper pressed her fingers to her eyes to keep herself from crying. Was everyone right? Was this wedding a mistake that would haunt her forever?
“Please don’t cry. My brother will never forgive me if he finds out I made you cry.”
Piper waved her off. She would do her best to hold it together. Why did two days feel like not nearly enough time to prepare for a wedding but more than enough time for someone to convince them to cancel it?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
HEATH EMAILED PIPER the prenup the next morning with a warning that he and Piper’s mother and brother would be arriving this afternoon. She had waited to open it until she could do so with Sawyer. The whole thing made her feel sick.
“When your brother gets here, I want to ask him if he’ll stand up for me. Did you ask Faith if she’d stand up for you? I like the idea of our siblings being our witnesses.”
Piper had not asked Faith, because she knew Sawyer’s sister did not approve of the marriage in the first place. “How about I ask my brother and you ask your sister? This wedding is already nontraditional, why not mix it up?”
Sawyer seemed puzzled. “You mean Faith would be my best woman and Matty is your man of honor?”
“Why not?” Piper asked.
“No reason. I think it’s a great idea. I’ll ask Faith the next time I see her.”
Piper put her feet up on the chair next to her as they sat at the kitchen table in Faith’s kitchen with Scout lounging close by, hoping they’d drop some food. Sawyer scratched the dog’s head.
“Do you want to forward this prenup to your lawyer?” she asked.
“Why? I’m going to sign it. I’m sure it says I can’t have any of your money or property if we get divorced. I don’t need your money or property, so I might as well sign it and get Heath off my back.”
“Well, someone needs to read it,” Piper insisted. “Your lawyer’s job is to make sure you aren’t signing something that gives me all your money and property.”
“Do you want it? You can have it.”
She tilted her head. “I’m serious.”
“So am I. We’re not even going to need it. We won’t be getting a divorce.”
His optimism was so refreshing given the negativity everyone else had been spewing. “I couldn’t agree more, but you should still have someone read it before you sign.”
“Dean and Faith aren’t going to have a prenup,” he mumbled.
“Dean and Faith also have an engagement that will be more than a year long before they tie the knot. You can’t compare us to them. It’s like apples to oranges.”
Sawyer leaned over and kissed her. “You’re right, we’re so much better than they are, which is why we’re going first.”
Piper wanted to believe that was true, but doubt was settling in. Why did he suddenly want to rush to the altar? He’d accused her of doing what her father told her without question, yet wasn’t she going along with Sawyer’s wishes in the same way? The questions made her stomach hurt.
“What do you say to a horse as the ring bearer and flower girl? I have two horses who would be perfect for the parts.”
“I don’t have to ride them, do I? I don’t think riding horses is on my list of acceptable activities, according to Ruby.”
Sawyer’s dimples were on display. “Fine, no riding off into the sunset together at the end, I guess. They can definitely just be props.”
His phone rang and he hit Decline.
“Who was that?”
“No one important.” Aka his mom. Piper wanted Gretchen to stay away from the wedding as much as Sawyer did. She’d actually love it if the woman decided to leave Grass Lake altogether.
“What do you think she wants?” she asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” he said as his phone signaled he had a voice mail. “Whatever it is, it’s irrelevant.”
Faith came storming in from the barn. “We have a problem.”
Sawyer and Scout both jumped up. The dog barked and Sawyer asked, “What kind of problem?”
She tugged off her work gloves. “Three different people just pulled into our parking lot. They wanted a comment on a wedding that’s happening tomorrow.”
“What kind of people?” Sawyer asked.
“How in the world would they know there’s a wedding happening tomorrow?” Piper asked.
“Well, I’m going to guess paparazzi, given the fact that they thought they could take a few pictures of Piper’s bus while they were here.”
Sawyer and Piper bolted to the front of the house and pulled the curtains back. Sure enough, Jesse—Helping Hooves’ therapist—was out there directing some guys off the property.
“Great,” Sawyer said in an exhale.
“I can’t have them taking pictures of my clients, Sawyer. And Dean has some band coming in to record later today. We’re both still running businesses in the middle of this.” Faith’s hands were on her hips. As if she didn’t disapprove enough already.
“We’ll put up some No Trespassing signs and something that says this lot is only for Helping Hooves clients and guests,” Sawyer said, dialing his phone.
“How many more are going to show up in the next twenty-four hours?” Faith asked.
Piper knew from experience that where there was one, there were ten. Paparazzi had a tendency to multiply like rabbits. “We need to get some security down here, as well. I can set that up.”
“I can’t deal with constant interruptions today, so that would be helpful.” Faith went out the front door just as another car drove down the lane.
Someone had to have tipped them off. Or they could have found out about the marriage license. It was public record. That didn’t explain how they knew the wedding was tomorrow. The license was good for thirty days—it didn’t specify when Piper and Sawyer were getting married.
“Who would have leaked the details of our wedding?” Piper pondered aloud. “The only people who know are the few who are coming. And I can’t imagine they would have told the media.”
Sawyer hung up his phone. His face was red. “Gretchen.”
“How do you know?”
“I just listened to her message. She wanted to warn me that we might have a few ‘unexpected guests.’”
The woman was relentless. Piper knew she didn’t think Sawyer should get married, but she’d never expected his mother to try to sabotage it by creating yet another thing for them to worry about. They’d have to increase security, and privacy would be more difficult to come by. Seemed each of them had a parent who was determined to delay the ceremony.
“I’m going to run down to the hardware store and get some signs. You stay in the house. With people coming in and out without warning, it’s best if you stay out of sight,” Sawyer said.
“My face is on the bus out there. It’s not like they don’t know I’m here.”
“We’re going to be fine. And if worse comes to worse and this becomes some kind of circus, we’ll go down to city hall and get married in front of a judge instead.”
That was definitely not the way Piper wanted to get married. It was fine for some people, but she wanted something resembling a normal ceremony.
Sawyer grabbed his keys and took off. Piper peeked through the curtains as he shouted at a new paparazzo to move his car so he could get his truck out.
Everyone working against him seemed to make Sawyer that much more determined to see this wedding through. Piper worried that even his own fears about rushing into this were pushing him to prove them wrong.
* * *
SAWYER TOLD JESSE to send one of the volunteers to the end of the drive to keep the trespassers from getting close to the house.
“I’ll do it until my next appointment comes in,” Jesse said. “But we don’t have too many extra hands on deck today until later in the afternoon when the high school
gets out.”
Sawyer’s blood was boiling. He wanted to stop by Harriet’s, but that would only give Gretchen the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten under his skin. He wouldn’t say a word to her, because if anyone deserved the silent treatment, it was the woman who had given it to him for the majority of his life.
“Do your best until I can get back with some signs to post,” he told Jesse. “I’ll stop by the sheriff’s office and see if they have a deputy to spare until Piper can arrange for some private security.”
He was not going to let Gretchen win. He would handle this minor bump in the road and they would get married as planned.
Earl Bell sat in one of the rocking chairs outside Maddox Hardware. Old man Middleton was noticeably missing. Sawyer tipped his hat. “Morning, Mr. Bell. Where’s Hank this morning?”
“Across the street getting us some coffee and sticky buns,” Earl replied, gesturing toward the Cup and Spoon Diner. “I hear you’re getting married and having a baby. I can still remember when you were a baby and your daddy would bring you in here on his hip.”
“Time sure flies.”
“Faster and faster every year,” the older man agreed. “I also noticed your mother has reappeared. How you holding up, son?”
Small town. No secrets. “I’m fine, Mr. Bell. She might have given birth to me, but she’s not really my mother. I haven’t been troubling myself with her.”
“Well, I don’t blame you for feeling like that. Your father had a heck of time when she disappeared the way she did. I’m sure there are some awfully hard feelings. She looks the same as she did before she left, though. It was like seeing a ghost.”
Gretchen was definitely haunting Sawyer at the moment. “It was nice talking to you, Mr. Bell, but I have to get some things for the farm,” Sawyer said, cutting the conversation short. “I’ll see you on my way out.”
Maddox Hardware had been around long before Sawyer was born. He, like Mr. Bell, remembered coming in here as a kid with his dad and thinking of it like a toy store. Tools and gadgets galore lined the shelves.
“Sawyer Stratton! Mr. Nashville star. How’s it going?” Bud Maddox was the owner and great-grandson of the original Mr. Maddox, who’d opened the store back in the day. “I heard you were in town with your famous friend. Rumor has it there’s something big happening tomorrow out on the farm.”
Rumors were spreading faster than wildfire. “Oh, yeah? Where did you hear that?”
“Your mom was in here yesterday. Said you were planning a big ol’ wedding. Whole town is supposed to be invited.”
Gretchen was unbelievable. Not only had she notified the press, but she’d taken it upon herself to get everyone in Grass Lake involved. She must have thought if she created enough hassle, Sawyer and Piper would give up.
“She’s seriously lost her mind,” Sawyer mumbled in frustration. “Don’t believe everything you hear, Bud. Gretchen’s been gone a long time. She has no idea what’s going on around here.”
“Oh, no.” Bud frowned. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t worry about it. I just need to get these signs up before everyone in the entire state tries to get into this wedding.”
“Let me ring you up.”
“If you hear people talking, feel free to set the record straight. We’re keeping it super small. Just family and close friends.”
“Will do, Sawyer.” If anyone could get the word out, it was Bud. He would tell every single customer in the store today. By the end of the day, everyone in Grass Lake would get the message that there was no blanket invite. Gretchen would not ruin this wedding.
* * *
HEATH AND THE rest of the Starling family showed up while Sawyer was busy hammering the No Trespassing signs into the ground outside the entrance. He knew his future father-in-law was not going to be pleased with the leaks to the press. He liked to control those like he controlled everything else.
The two security guards Piper had hired each had a clipboard and a walkie-talkie. Faith had given them a list of all the people who were expected to show up today so they could let her clients through without much hassle.
“Move aside. I’m Heath Starling. I don’t need to show any ID.”
Apparently Faith had forgotten to put good ol’ Heath on the list.
“They’re cleared,” Sawyer shouted. “Let him on through.”
No thank-you from Heath, but Mrs. Starling waved at him from the passenger seat. Sawyer waved back, certain all of this was being filmed for posterity’s sake.
Some of the photogs’ vehicles were parked along the highway in front of the property. They knew better than to try to get too close, but it didn’t matter how far Sawyer pushed them back. Their mega-zoom lenses were attached to superpower cameras that must have cost a fortune. Sawyer figured there must be good money in getting ridiculous pictures of celebrities.
The paparazzi weren’t about to ruin the wedding day, though. Not if Sawyer had anything to say about it. Let them print pictures of him marrying Piper in every magazine out there. He wanted Gretchen to see his smiling face in all of them.
“I don’t want that in there,” Piper said as Sawyer walked into the house. She sat at the dining room table with her father, holding a stack of papers. “We strike that and I’ll sign it.”
“I strongly advise you not to do that,” her father said.
“What are we arguing about?” Sawyer asked.
“My father had the attorney put in the prenup that if we were to divorce, you would agree to giving me half a million dollars if you are caught having an affair at any time during our marriage.”
Heath was pulling no punches. He’d made it as clear as Gretchen that he didn’t want them to go through with this. “Only half a million?” Sawyer asked, trying to let cooler heads prevail.
“The press will have a field day with this and assume I fear him being unfaithful. It paints a terrible picture.”
“Anything in there about taking all my kids away?” Sawyer took off his hat and sat next to Piper.
“I learned you can’t put anything in a prenup about custody, unfortunately,” Heath complained.
“Let’s sign it,” Sawyer said, grabbing a pen off the table and reaching for the document. “I don’t care about a stupid unfaithfulness clause. It’s not going to happen anyway.”
Piper wouldn’t let go of the paperwork. “You need someone to read this for you first. You can’t sign it without knowing what it says.”
“I trust that your father made sure that in the event of a divorce you will be taken care of and all of your assets will be protected. That’s good enough for me.” He held out his hand, waiting for her to relent.
Heath seemed displeased with Sawyer’s response. “It won’t be enforceable if you sign it without legal counsel. You might also want to think about your family’s assets. If you personally can’t pay, we could come after your sister.”
He had purposely put something in there that needed changing. Heath was anything but stupid. He was a master of manipulation.
Piper flipped through the pages. “You put something about Faith’s farm in here? We need to remove that.”
“I’ll get my attorney to look at it today. It’s not a problem,” Sawyer said.
Heath grinned. “Well, our attorney won’t be able to look at the revisions until next week. Guess we’ll have to postpone this wedding to a later date.”
“I’ll sign it as soon as the revisions are made. We don’t need my attorney to look over it again,” Piper said in defiance.
“That’s not the way this works, sweetheart,” Heath said. “The lawyers will work it all out.”
“I’m getting married tomorrow whether you like it or not. If you don’t want me to sign this prenup, I’m good with not having one at all. If you insist I have one, it’s this one with the revisions Sawyer’s lawy
er makes.”
Mrs. Starling came out of the kitchen. “I think your daughter has learned more about negotiating from you than you wanted her to.”
Heath rubbed his forehead, struggling to find a way out of this. He needed to accept there was none. Piper had finally found her voice and she was using it.
“How’s Matty?” Piper asked.
“He’s resting on the couch. He had a seizure on the drive down here,” Claudia explained. “This is the first one since the medication change.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sawyer said. “Did he get accepted into that experimental treatment study?”
“We just got word last week that he has. Thanks to all the work Piper has done to get his name out there.”
“And all the money she donated,” Heath added.
Until now, he hadn’t realized how much this prenup could influence both families. He needed to take it more seriously. “I’ll fax this to my attorney,” he said, taking the papers from Piper. Time really wasn’t on their side. As much as it begrudged him to admit it, maybe they were moving a bit too fast. Sawyer couldn’t give up now, though. Not when they were so close.
* * *
PIPER COULDN’T BELIEVE the extent to which her father would try to delay the inevitable. Didn’t he understand that she was about to get exactly what she had hoped for since she found out she was pregnant? Sawyer was willing to commit to her. He wanted to be a family. Her father could not ruin this for her.
“Did you come here to help me or hurt me?” she asked her dad.
“Helping you is all I ever want to do. But it’s hard to sit by and watch you do something that might hurt you in the end.”
“With some support from our families, maybe we would have a much better chance of having a successful marriage. A little positivity could go a long way.”
Piper’s mother put a calming hand on her shoulder. “We’re here, aren’t we? Your father is overprotective. When that little baby is born, you’ll understand how hard it is to bite your tongue when you disagree about something.”