On the Rocks

by Kandi Steiner

  He turned to me, then, straightening his bowtie before he reached for my hands. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get back to the altar.”

  “No,” I said, tugging my hands away.

  His eye twitched, but he smiled, looking around us nervously. “Baby, this is madness. Come on. Everyone came here for a wedding today.”

  “Well, they won’t be getting one from us.”

  Anthony’s eyes narrowed, his voice a low whisper as he stepped into my space. “Ruby Grace, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

  “No, I’m embarrassing you,” I corrected. “But, I don’t care anymore.”

  “Get your ass back up to that altar,” he seethed, pointing to Pastor Morris, who was watching us like we were all demons personified.

  Dad’s brows rose at that, and Mom reached for me from behind, tugging me close to her and Mary Anne. She said something under her breath, something that sounded a lot like what did you do?

  “Alright now, that’s enough. I think we all need to go our own way for now, cool down, catch our breaths.”

  “No, what we need to do is get your ungrateful daughter back up on that altar,” Anthony seethed once more, stepping into Dad’s space until they were nose to nose. “This family has been nothing but a pain in my ass since this wedding was announced. Now, I’ve had enough of this. We can edit this all out of the tapes, but your daughter is marrying me today.” He turned on Noah again. “And this sonofabitch will be kindly escorted out by my team.”

  The security that traveled with Anthony as he filmed his documentary stepped forward from the back on that cue, grabbing Noah by the lapels of his jacket where he still laid sprawled on the ground and ripping him up to stand again.

  “Leave him alone!” I cried.

  I heard the flurry of gasps and murmurs as Anthony exposed himself to the congregation. He couldn’t keep his cool any longer, and I didn’t have it in me to care about keeping his cover anymore, either.

  “He’ll be fine,” Anthony murmured, smoothing out his tuxedo as Noah struggled against the security. “Now, let me escort you back down the aisle.”

  The entire town of Stratford watched with rapt attention as the scene unfolded. I was surprised no one had popped popcorn and started passing it out. Of course, no one had left, no one had done anything but stare and hold their hands over their mouths, some even had their camera phones out filming this shit show.

  They loved the scandal — no matter the cost.

  “You don’t even love me, Anthony!” I tried to reason, shaking my head and pleading with him. “I heard you say so yourself on the phone with your father. I’m a trophy, a piece of your perfect political puzzle. Please,” I said on a whimper. “Just let me go.”

  “That’s absurd,” he said, shaking his head like I’d made it all up. “I would never say any of that.”

  I stood taller. “I’m not marrying you.”

  “Oh, yes, you are,” he said, grabbing my arm.

  “Don’t touch my daughter,” my father interjected, stepping between us and peeling Anthony’s fingers off my arm. “I think she’s made her decision very clear.”

  “Oh, has she now?” Anthony asked, lowering his voice. “And what about our deal? What about the debt you can’t pay, Mayor Barnett? Maybe you should fill her in on that before you let her make a decision.”

  “She already knows,” Dad answered.

  His voice was strong, loud and steady, as if he didn’t hear the growing murmur of the congregation over what Anthony had just revealed. My father looked at me, then, his eyes determined, and he nodded.

  That nod told me more than any words could.

  “What’s he talking about?” Mary Anne asked from somewhere behind me. I turned, seeing the confusion on her face, and my heart broke for my older sister. She’d been in the dark, living in Europe with no clue of the chaos going on back home.

  I’d explain everything to her later.

  For now, I had a dad who needed me.

  Anthony’s face was unreadable as I reached forward, threading my arm through my father’s. “I do,” I reiterated. “I know everything — including your plans to cheat on me as soon as this whole wedding was over, if you haven’t already,” I spat. “Classy, by the way.”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “And as far as my father’s business goes, we’ll handle that together. As a family,” I said, squeezing my father’s arm. “Without your help.”

  Anthony scoffed. “You daft woman. Clearly you don’t understand anything about the amount of money your father owes to some very important people. There’s no way you’ll ever be able to pay it without us.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.”

  The voice came from the front of the church, and Betty stood slowly, balancing herself with one hand on the back of the pew in front of her. She leaned against it, a victorious smile on her face.

  “This old lady’s got some savings that she can’t take with her when she goes. I’ll gladly contribute to the cause, if it saves Ruby Grace from marrying the likes of you.”

  The church was silent, every person inside it so still I wasn’t sure any of us were breathing.

  Anthony chuckled. “You clearly have no idea the amount of shit he’s in.”

  That earned a gasp, and a flurry of whispers began again.

  My poor father stood there like he’d seen a ghost.

  “I’ll help,” Noah said, shaking the men off him as he readjusted his tuxedo jacket and tie. He stepped toward me, reaching out for my hands, and when I placed them in his, he squeezed tight. “I don’t care how long it takes or what we have to do to settle it, we’ll handle it without you,” he said, eyes hard on Anthony. “But, let me make this crystal clear. There is no way I’m letting the woman I love marry a monster — especially not to pay a debt that was never hers to begin with.”

  A collective sigh rang out, and I swore I heard some girl cry out her injustice that Noah Becker was in love with someone who wasn’t her.

  I smiled at that.

  “This has gone on long enough,” my father said, standing between me and Anthony once more. “The debt is mine, and I will pay it. If you haven’t noticed, I have a house and cars and plenty of equity to figure out my own solution.” He swallowed, turning to face me then. “I’m just sorry I ever put you through this, Ruby Grace. I’m sorry I didn’t step up sooner.”

  My heart squeezed, and I nodded in thanks. It was a wound I knew wouldn’t heal for a long, long time.

  But my father showed up for me in that church.

  And for that, I was thankful.

  Anthony growled, launching his fist into the side of a pew before he pointed one finger straight at me. “This is ridiculous. Get your ass back to that altar. Now.”

  Noah’s face hardened as he turned, guarding me from Anthony. “What aren’t you getting here, buddy?” he asked. “It’s over. And you can leave now.”

  “Excuse me?” Anthony stepped into Noah’s space, but not before my father laid a hand hard on his chest.

  “You heard him, son,” he said. “I think you should leave now, before you do something you regret.”

  Anthony’s mouth popped open, and he watched my father incredulously before turning to me, and then to my mother. He pointed at her next. “You’re really going to let this happen?”

  Everyone looked at Mom, then — who was pale, her eyes wide as a doe’s, lips trembling. I waited for her to cry, or yell at me, or scream for everyone to look away so they could start the whole ceremony over. I waited for her to kick into crisis mode, to say it was all one big show, that it was a joke. Haha, we got you!

  Instead, she swallowed, pulled her shoulders back, and lifted her chin up high as she stared directly at Anthony. “I don’t think my husband stuttered when he said it’s time for you to leave.”

  A few whistles rang out at that, some laughter and some clapping, and Mom fought back a smirk as Anthony’s mouth fell open wider.

  “No,” h
e shook his head, running to the men holding the cameras. “No, no, no. Turn them off. Cut the tapes. Turn them off.” He was spiraling, raking his hands back through his full head of hair as he shook his head. “My father… he’ll kill me… he’ll disown me… I can’t…”

  And suddenly, it all made sense.

  The man who had gotten down on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage was under pressure from his own father. Did he even want to be in politics at all? Or was he just a pawn in his father’s game, the way he wanted me to be one in his?

  His father wasn’t even there, on his son’s wedding day. That told me more than words how important he was in his life.

  Just like he wanted me to play a part, that’s what he wanted Anthony to do, too.

  My heart ached for him, for the man I thought I knew, for the friend I’d found in him over the year we’d spent together. I stepped forward, wanting to comfort him, but the instinct died as soon as he leveled his cold, hard eyes on me again.

  He shook his head, a disgusted look on his face. “After all I did for you, all I could have done for you… you ungrateful bi—”

  The curse didn’t even leave his mouth before Noah got his chance to return the favor from Anthony’s sucker punch earlier. His fist landed hard against Anthony’s eye, busting it open as he flew backward, the crowd gasping in horror again.

  “Sorry, your warnings are up,” Noah said, shaking out his hand. “Now, if you won’t leave, then we will.” He turned to me, then, offering his arm out for me with a smirk. “I’ve got your getaway car parked out front. What’dya say, Ruby Grace? Want to give this town something to talk about?”

  My heart swelled in my chest, and I stepped forward, threading my arm through his as I leaned up and pressed my lips to his.

  “Bonnie and Clyde,” I whispered.

  “Except a way better ending,” he replied, and then he kissed me again — this time to the tune of four-hundred clapping hands and a frenzy of cheers.

  Noah broke the kiss long enough to bend down and scoop me up into his arms, which earned us another loud cheer as I laughed, head back, eyes cast up to the church ceiling. I looked back at the congregation as Noah walked us toward the doors — at my parents, who both had tears in their eyes; my sister, who smiled at me reassuringly, though I knew she was hurt in her own way by what had happened that day; my best friend, who threw her fists into the air in victory; my town, who wore expressions ranging from excitement and scandal to confusion and anger.

  And when I found Betty, I smiled, waving and blowing her a kiss.

  Thank you, I mouthed.

  She just winked, waving me off as the church doors swung open and Noah carried me out into the Tennessee heat.

  I didn’t know what came next.

  I didn’t know how my father’s debt would be paid, or how Anthony would react once the dust had settled, or where Noah and I would go from here. I didn’t know if my mother would ever forgive me, or if I would ever forgive her. I didn’t know what the future held, but there were two things I knew for sure.

  Everything would be okay as long as I had Noah.

  And that day was a day that the town of Stratford, Tennessee, would never forget.

  Noah

  Staring up at the stars my father had made in the tin roof of our treehouse with the weight of Ruby Grace’s head on my chest, I decided there wasn’t a single moment in my life that anything had felt more perfect than it did right now.

  I ran my fingers through her long, silky hair, still wavy from the braids I’d unfolded slowly before I slipped her out of her wedding dress. That dress now hung from a limb outside the tree house, and her bare chest rested against my rib cage, her arms wrapped around my middle, legs tangled with mine under the flannel blanket that covered us both where we lay.

  The crickets sang a song outside the house, the sound mixing with the smooth, steady breaths Ruby Grace and I exchanged. She drew lazy circles on my chest with her manicured nails, and I could feel the curl of her smile against my chest as I let her hair fall from my fingertips before reaching back down for her scalp to start the trail all over again.

  It was a dream.

  It had to be.

  It didn’t seem real — the church, the wedding — or rather, the not wedding. I wondered if I’d imagined Ruby Grace running toward me in her dress, if I’d dreamed her into my arms now.

  But the soreness of my jaw told me that sucker punch from her former fiancé was real. The dozens of missed calls from my family and half the town on my now-dead cell phone told me it had all really happened. Ruby Grace’s hair in my hands, her breasts against my skin, the sweet, sated euphoria we both bathed in after spending the entire evening making love told me it was far, far from a dream.

  It was the best reality I’d ever existed in.

  I sighed, wrapping her in my arms tightly before pressing a kiss to her hair. She squeezed back, and after a moment of silence, she chuckled.

  I felt the vibration of it through my chest, and I smirked, cocking one brow as I looked down at her mess of red hair. “What’s so funny, Legs?”

  She shook her head. “Just thinking about the look on Pastor Morris’s face when you scooped me up and high-tailed me out of the church.”

  A short exhale of a laugh hit my chest. “I think he might need therapy after today.”

  “I think the whole town might.”

  “Any regrets?”

  She leaned up on one elbow, then, resting her other arm over my chest as she faced me with bent brows. “Not a single one. You?”

  I pressed my lips together. “Come on, now.”

  Ruby Grace smiled, leaning her cheek down on top of where her hand rested. Her golden eyes searched mine before they trailed over every inch of my face, like she was about to paint it, or like she was memorizing every detail.

  “I feel like there’s so much to talk about, but I don’t know where to start.”

  I twirled her hair around my knuckle, letting one strand fall before I picked up the next. “Why don’t you start with the first thing on your mind.”

  “How did you find out about the real reason I left that night we were here?”

  “Oh, that’s easy. Betty.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Well, I know that — at least, now I do. But I don’t understand how, or when.”

  “She wrote me a letter,” I explained. “Slipped it under my screen door while I was at work.”

  “How in the world did she get away from the nursing home… and did she walk to your house? How did she even know where you live?”

  “She said something about having a little helper,” I offered.

  Recognition lit up in her eyes, then. “Annie.”

  “Maybe,” I said. “Anyway, she — or they — left it the night before the wedding. Otherwise, I would have come a lot sooner.”

  “Why do I have a feeling she did that on purpose,” Ruby Grace said, smirking as she shook her head. “That woman lives for the movie-like drama.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah, well, she got some today.”

  “That she did.” Ruby Grace was still smiling, but it slipped as another moment passed between us, her fingers trailing up and down my chest. “I wish I could tell you all the hell I’ve been through these past three weeks, from the moment my mother told me about my father’s debt. I know it probably doesn’t make any sense to you, but… I felt this obligation to my family, to my father. I couldn’t abandon them, couldn’t walk out on them when it seemed I was the only way we could save our home, our possessions, our reputation, our… everything.” She sighed. “I feel foolish saying it out loud, but, it’s who I’ve always been. It’s the way I was raised.”

  “Hey,” I said, tapping her chin until she looked at me. “I understand. I promise, I really do.”

  “How can you, when I don’t even understand myself?”

  “That’s easy,” I offered with a shrug. “I would have done the same for my family.”

  Her brows rose. �
�You would have?”

  “I understand that family tie. Blood is thicker than anything. And no matter what knucklehead in my family gets in trouble, we all rally behind them to make it okay again. There is no judgment, no pointed fingers — only love and understanding and, like you demonstrated, sacrifice.”

  She smiled. “I’m thankful you understand… but I think you and I both know what my parents did goes a little past what’s acceptable.”

  I swallowed. “Yeah… it does.” I paused, heart stopping on my next question. “Do you think you could have really gone through with it? Marrying him?”

  “No,” she answered immediately. “I thought I could. I had the decision made, solidified, and I was walking to the grave of what I thought my life could be as I walked down that aisle. But when I saw you… I knew I couldn’t. I knew there was no path I could take that didn’t lead to you in the end.” Ruby Grace bit her lip. “And, honestly, I knew even before I saw you. I was walking down that aisle in a fog, trying to figure out what to say, when to say it, how to get myself out of that church and that dress and that whole situation. When I saw you… well, it was just the last kick of courage I needed.”

  I smoothed my knuckles down her cheek, over her jaw. “You surprised the shit out of me when you came barreling back down that aisle.”

  She chuckled. “I think I surprised everyone. Well, except for maybe Betty, who seemed to be plotting it this entire time.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe she stood up like that and offered to pay part of my father’s debt.”

  “She loves you,” I explained. “Plus, according to the letter she wrote me, she insisted that she couldn’t take it with her when she goes, anyway. And she doesn’t have any kids… other than you.” I smiled when Ruby Grace’s brows bent together. “Those were her exact words.”

  She frowned. “Wait… so you were both talking about paying off my father’s debt even before today?”

  I shrugged. “We didn’t have a plan or anything… but, I think both of us knew we would do anything to keep you from having to be responsible for a debt that wasn’t yours. Like I said, Betty loves you.” I paused, eyes searching hers. “And so do I.”