Chasing Castles (Finding Focus #2)

by Jiffy Kate

  Moments later, Father Damon knocks on the door.

  “Are you gentlemen ready to take your places?”

  “Is Cami here?” I don’t even try to hide the excitement in my voice.

  “Not yet,” Father Damon answers, “but she should be any minute now.”

  As we all walk to the small room in the back of the sanctuary, I try not to worry about why Cami isn’t here yet. I mean, it’s not that she’s late, she’s just not on time. I’m sure she just needs some extra help with her dress or hair or something.

  Fifteen more minutes pass before my dad’s pocket starts buzzing. I watch him as he takes his cell phone out and reads the incoming text. When he’s finished, he looks up at me with an expression I can’t name. Is he sad? Worried? Angry? All I can decipher is that he doesn’t look happy, and that doesn’t make me feel any better.

  “What is it? Is Cami okay?” I ask, my voice full of desperation.

  My dad takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “Son, we might have a problem on our hands.”

  Camille

  Present

  TODAY IS THE DAY. THE day I’m marrying my best friend. The day I finally catch my ultimate castle—Deacon Samuel Landry.

  Taking a deep breath, I look at myself one more time in the mirror of my childhood bedroom. I wanted to get ready here at home. I don’t know why, but sitting at the same spot I got dressed in my entire life feels right. Plus, being here makes me feel closer to my mama, and I need that today. I always miss her more on important days, and I know today would’ve been a day she would’ve loved to see. I often wonder if she had any thoughts of who I’d eventually marry.

  I think she’d be happy about me marrying Deacon. She loved him. And she loved me. So, I think she would’ve loved the two of us together.

  I kiss the heart-shaped locket and lay it back against my chest. I think she’d love this dress, too. It’s simple. I always thought I’d pick something worthy of a princess, but when I went to pick out a dress, this is the one that called to me. It reminds me of the one my mama wore the day she married my daddy. Maybe that’s why I picked it. It’s lacy and elegant, but understated. And it makes me feel beautiful.

  “You ready?” Annie asks, sticking her head in the bedroom door.

  “So ready,” I tell her reflection in the mirror as she walks up beside me and squeezes my shoulders.

  “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re gonna make my baby so happy.”

  “I hope so.”

  “No hopin’ to it. You already do. And Sam and I are just glad we finally get to claim you legally.”

  We both laugh a little and try not to cry. I’m not going to cry today. It’s the best day of my life, besides the day I had Carter. There’s no need for tears.

  Nothing could ruin this day.

  As long as I’m Mrs. Deacon Landry by the end of it, that’s all that matters.

  “Gorgeous,” Stacey says, fluffing my veil as I walk into the hallway.

  “Oh, honey,” is all Kay can muster with her white hankie held to her face. Kay is a crier. And she’s a sucker for a good romance.

  “Come on, guys,” I say, like a coach to his team before a big game. “The goal is for me to make it to the church on time and with all of my makeup still intact.”

  Everyone smiles and nods as we begin to make our way to the front door.

  “Just wait until your daddy sees you,” Kay says from behind me.

  “Kay,” I warn, not needing to think about that just yet.

  “Oh,” I hear Annie say as she steps out onto the front porch and Stacey freezes in front of me.

  “What?”

  When I glance around Stacey, I see a sleek silver sports car parked in the driveway, and for a split-second, I wonder if I’m supposed to ride to the church in it. Maybe the place we rented the limo from got confused. But then I see him.

  “Tristan?” I ask, confusion and shock making me practically trip over my floor-length dress.

  “Camille.” His voice is even, but unsure.

  “What are you doin’ here?”

  “I—” he starts, but pauses, letting out a hard laugh and running a hand nervously through his hair. “I don’t know.”

  I can hear the honesty in his voice and see it in his eyes when he finally allows himself to make eye contact with me.

  “I was in a gallery last week, and I saw some of your work,” he says. “It was . . . different, but the same. It made me think of you and wonder . . . I just had to come and see for myself. I needed to know what happened to you,” he says, his hand dropping to his side. “I’ve missed you.”

  That confession makes my shock and confusion turn to anger. He’s missed me? After all this time? Now? He chooses now to find me and say he’s missed me?

  “What?” I ask, trying to make sense of what’s happening right now.

  I feel Stacey’s hand on my arm, and I hear Annie’s grunt of disapproval.

  “We were great together,” he starts again, taking a step up on the porch.

  “What?” I ask again, this time, my voice sounds a bit manic.

  He takes another step toward me.

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “No, you don’t get to do this. You don’t get to show up here.” I stomp my foot on the wooden porch, and the sound travels over the fields and causes a few birds to take flight. “This is my house. This is my wedding day. And you,” I say, pointing as I take a step toward him, years of anger boiling inside me, “you don’t get to ruin this for me. You lost that right when you wanted to get rid of my baby. We weren’t great together. We were toxic. You were toxic. I was blind, but that’s the past. You’re the past, and you can leave. Now.”

  His face changes from soft and reminiscent to hard. He was always good at schooling his features, but he’s failing miserably right now.

  I guess the mention of the baby is a little too much for him to handle. I’m also guessing he’s wondering about Carter about right now, and I’m daring him with my death stare to ask. I want him to. This is long overdue.

  “Go ahead,” I taunt as I feel a hand on my back, someone letting me know they’re by my side. “Ask me.”

  “What?” He looks confused for a second before realization dawns on him. “The . . . the baby?”

  “Is a boy and he’s wonderful. The best thing that ever happened to me apart from the man I’m getting’ ready to marry. So, I guess I should say thank you. Thank you for giving me something I didn’t even know I wanted or needed, and thank you for makin’ it so easy to let you go. We were never gonna make it anyway.”

  “I have a son?” he asks, his brows furrowing at the thought.

  “No,” I say, with a harsh laugh as I bite my lip and shake my head. “No, you don’t.”

  We stand there for a moment before Annie speaks up. “Now, if you’ll excuse us. We have a wedding to get to, and we’re late.” The piss and vinegar in her tone are evident, and I believe she shoulder checks Tristan on her way by. “Oh,” she says, turning around to face him. “If you ever step foot on this property or come near my daughter-in-law again, you’ll be sorry. My husband happens to be one of the best lawyers this side of the Mississippi, and he’d love nothing more than to take you to the cleaners.”

  When I pass by Tristan, I look him square in the eyes. I want him to know that he didn’t get any part of me and he never will. I don’t know what possessed him to show up here today of all days, but I hope this is the last time I ever see his face.

  As we pull away, I glance back just in time to see Tristan slide into the sleek sports car. My blood is still pumping feverishly through my veins, and the death grip I’ve had on my bouquet is making my hand ache. For a minute, I let him get to me. I let these last minutes overshadow the complete happiness I felt before I walked onto that porch.

  “Hey.” Annie touches my hand and makes me look at her. “Forget about that. Don’t let him ruin this day. He doesn’t get
to do that.”

  I nod, taking a deep breath.

  “What an asshole,” Stacey mutters beside me.

  “I’d like to kick his ass,” Kay adds.

  I glance up to see a scowl on her face, and it makes me laugh, like a full on belly laugh, because I can’t imagine Kay hurting a fly. And all of this feels like an episode out of the Twilight Zone.

  “We’re goin’ to get married,” Annie reminds me.

  “Yeah,” I reply, nodding my head and clearing my mind of all of the mess I left behind.

  “And we’re runnin’ a little late,” Kay chimes in, looking at her watch. “Gonna need you to step on it, Tom.” She leans forward yelling into the front seat.

  Tom must get the message because the car lurches forward, and we all hold onto each other for dear life.

  When we finally pull up in front of the familiar white church, I take a deep breath and then smile as I see my daddy jog over and open the door.

  “Hey, baby. Finally decide to show up for your own weddin’?” He peeks into the car at the rest of the ladies and gives Kay a wink.

  “We had a little delay,” Annie says, fixing my dress as I step out and take my daddy’s hand. “But we’re here now.”

  “Cue the music,” someone whisper-yells as I walk through the doors.

  Stacey gives me a smile and a brief hug as she passes by me and begins her quick ascent up the aisle.

  My dad pats my hand. “Nervous?”

  “Nope.”

  “You got ants in your pants?”

  “No,” I laugh, trying to see into the church. “I just need to get to Deacon.”

  “Well, let’s go,” he says, and we start walking.

  Everyone in the congregation is standing, and I can tell from the glances and whispers that they were wondering where I was. Maybe they thought I was a runaway bride? I laugh to myself at that thought. No way in hell. There’s only one way I’m running, and it’s straight toward the man staring down the aisle at me.

  Deacon’s big dimples are on display, and a tear is sliding down his cheek.

  When we finally make it to the front, he clears his throat and rubs roughly at his eyes before taking my hand from my daddy.

  “You okay?” he asks as his expression goes from adoring to concerned.

  “Yeah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you wait.” I don’t want to even think about anything but promising forever to Deacon. When I smile up at him, he smiles my favorite smile back at me.

  “Would’ve waited forever for you.”

  “I love you,” I whisper, wanting to hurry and get to the kissing part because I need to kiss him so damn bad right now.

  “I love you,” he replies.

  Camille

  IT’S BEEN TWO WEEKS SINCE I became Mrs. Deacon Landry.

  Two weeks of wedded bliss.

  Two weeks of pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming.

  It might not have been the fairy tale I dreamed of, and it hasn’t been perfect, but life isn’t perfect. It’s messy and unplanned.

  Walking up to the bar in the old barn, I pour myself a drink and search the room for Deacon. He left me a while ago to find some extra chairs for his mama and never made it back.

  I spot him standing on the opposite side of the barn, laughing with Micah and Tucker. When they’re together like this, it’s easy to forget all the years that have passed. They seem so young, like they don’t have a care in the world. Granted, most of the time, the three of them don’t.

  Tucker breaks apart from the group and makes his way onto a makeshift stage. Not only are we still celebrating our newlywed status, but this also happens to be Sam and Annie’s thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Outside of our wedding two weeks ago, this is the biggest shindig French Settlement has probably ever seen.

  As I look around the barn, it doesn’t escape me how much has changed since the last big anniversary celebration. On their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, I felt like Deacon and I were going our separate ways. It was the end of an era, the end of our childhood and us being attached at the hip. Everything changed after that night. But also, so much remained the same. Even though Deacon and I followed different paths for a while, we were still connected. He’s always going to be the one boy I want. I’m always going to love the life I was given and the people in it. Those things will never change.

  More people filter in through the doors, and I love watching their expression as they take in the transformation. The barn is decked out with a million tiny lights, making it feel more like a night sky than a dusty old building. Tables are set up all along the walls and out into the yard, past the double doors. And booze. There’s lots of booze. Annie also has a spectacular buffet lined up with gumbo, jambalaya, and shrimp cooked three different ways.

  These parties always start out as family and friends only, but tend to multiply quickly. All it takes is for someone to talk about it down at the Piggly Wiggly and word spreads like wildfire. Besides, everyone knows that a party at the Landry Plantation is the party, especially on a night like tonight.

  “Cami!” I turn my head toward the familiar shriek coming from the large barn doors that are standing open, flanked by outdoor heaters. Stacey is walking through the door with a tall, handsome fellow on her arm.

  Her new boyfriend Matt, I presume.

  And I approve.

  He’s looking down at her like she’s the belle of the ball, which she is, in her stunning white slacks and an off-the-shoulder sweater. Her hair is swept up in a sleek, yet messy bun. Everything about her screams grown-up, important, and put together, with a hint of edge, thanks to black heels.

  She throws her arms around me and squeezes tightly. “I missed you.”

  “You just saw me less than two weeks ago,” I tell her, smiling sweetly at the man standing behind her.

  “I know, but I always miss you. And I’m not used to seeing you this often. It makes me miss you more,” she says, ever the melodramatic.

  “You must be Matt,” I say, offering him my hand to shake, but instead he takes me from Stacey’s arms and pulls me in for a hug. He was supposed to come to the wedding as Stacey’s plus one, but something came up and he couldn’t make it.

  “You must be Cami.”

  “Sorry,” Stacey says, clearing her throat. “Where are my manners? Matt, Cami. Cami, Matt. I talk so much about both of you to the other; I feel like you already know each other.”

  “It’s really nice to finally meet you,” I tell him.

  “Likewise,” he says, looking around the barn at all the people who keep filing inside.

  Honestly, it’s like they’re coming out of the woodworks.

  “You both need a drink,” I tell them, motioning to the bar. “Annie and Sam have it well stocked and will be highly offended if you don’t partake.”

  “I think we can handle that,” Matt says with a wink.

  “Hard Limits is the entertainment for the night?” Stacey asks, watching Tucker do his sound check.

  “Yep, they’re supposed to start playin’ a little later.”

  “Cool,” she says, smiling. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been out here, but I don’t remember it looking quite this pretty. Well, except for your paintings. Those are always pretty.”

  “You did those?” Matt asks, pointing at the walls.

  “Yep, don’t look too closely, or you’ll see some of my earliest work, and trust me, it’s not pretty.”

  He laughs, but shakes his head. “It’s all beautiful. Really. You’re seriously talented. I’ve seen some of your pieces that Stacey has in her condo, but this is probably my favorite.”

  “Well, thank you.”

  Yep, we’ll be besties before the night’s over.

  I smile and send them to the bar as I go about trying to find Deacon . . . again because he’s already moved from where he was standing just a few minutes ago.

  “Hey, Cam,” Dani says, sidling up next to me.

  “Hey, Dani,” I reply, gi
ving her a little bump with my hip.

  Having another girl around here is nice. When I was younger, it was always Annie and me against everyone. Then as I got older, I depended on Stacey a lot for girl stuff. Thankfully, my daddy eventually found Kay, and that helped balance out the testosterone, but having Dani here is just what we needed. She’s perfect for Micah, and she fits in perfectly with our family. We’ve only known each other a few months, but she’s already starting to feel more like a sister than a friend.

  “Where’s my little buddy?” Dani asks, her eyes roaming around the room.

  “He’s at the cottage with one of the girls from church. She’s babysitting him there tonight. I figured since it’s close by and I can check on him if I need to, it’d be fine,” I tell her. “Besides, he’ll have a lot more fun watching movies and playing games. Not to mention, he turns into a Gremlin after nine.”

  We both laugh because Dani has witnessed Carter past his bedtime. It’s not pretty.

  “Who’s that?” Dani asks, pointing over to where Micah is standing talking to someone.

  I bend my neck a little further to see around him, and a tall, blonde comes into focus.

  “I think she’s someone we went to school with,” I say, thinking out loud. “I can’t remember her name . . . Allie . . . Alex?” My voice drifts off, and I look over to Dani, who can’t take her eyes off them.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she says, but I can see she’s not.

  “You don’t have anything to worry about,” I assure her. “Micah only has eyes for you.”

  “Yeah,” she replies, turning from them and offering me her best smile. “I just didn’t like how she was touching him. It was too familiar.” She frowns and it’s adorable.

  “Dani, sweetie,” I say, gently. “Micah was familiar with quite a few people.” I know no girl wants to hear that about the person they’re in love with, but she deserves to know the truth.

  “Oh, I know. I guess I just haven’t had to interact with too many of them . . . yet.”

  “Like I said, you have nothing to worry about.”

  Deacon

  “Hey, Maw, I put the rest of the chairs out, like you asked. Anything else you need?”