And the last part of the prayer has always felt like it’s about something bigger than the job.
“Help me to be loyal and true, respectful and honorable, obedient and valiant,” I murmur into the peace of the car.
I want to be all those things for Maddie, with Maddie, if she’ll give me the chance.
I let the medal fall against my chest, remembering the way Maddie slid it over my shoulder that night in the ocean, and hoping that by tomorrow night she’ll be back in my arms. For good.
Chapter Twenty-One
Maddie
Hope your birthday was lovely.
Looking forward to seeing you soon.
Wanted to let you know that Jake has asked Jamison not to be in the wedding. I think it’s a mistake, but he’s not listening to me, so you may have another best man standing across the aisle come tomorrow afternoon.
Ugh. Men. So stubborn!
Anyway, I’ll keep you posted…
Get home safe!
I have to read the texts Naomi sent to Dawn’s phone for me three times before their meaning fully sinks in.
Once it does, it’s all I can do not to jump in the car and drive back to Bliss River that very second to confront Jake. If it weren’t ten-thirty at night and tomorrow a day everyone needs their sleep for, I would seriously consider it.
“How can he do this?” I ask, pacing across Dawn’s newly cleared living room. I spent the afternoon helping her unpack, finding bringing order to the chaos of the apartment a soothing way to spend my thirtieth birthday. “Jamison’s his brother. They love each other. One mistake doesn’t change that, and certainly shouldn’t mean he’s kicked out of the wedding!”
Dawn nods smugly from the couch, but I cut her off before she can speak.
“Don’t say a word,” I warn. “I get it. Boy, do I get it.” I lift my fists into the air and give them a shake, consumed by the urge to fly into battle on Jamison’s behalf.
He isn’t perfect—far from it—but he’s always had Jake’s back and he loves his brother unconditionally. There’s nothing Jake could do that would make Jamison turn his back on him. Nothing.
Once you have Jamison’s love and loyalty, you have it for life.
He made that clear every time he stood up for me on the playground or glared at my high school boyfriend with a silent promise to open a can of whoop ass if Tim didn’t behave himself after prom.
Jamison might have made a hobby out of teasing me, even after we were both adults, but he’s always been on my side and quick to apologize when he accidentally hurt my feelings.
Jake is being ridiculous and cruel to punish Jamison like this…and so am I.
I should never have run away.
I should have stayed and talked through my anger and confusion with the man I love, because he can handle a tough talk and deserves the same love and loyalty that he’s shown me.
I stew all night, so frustrated and upset I barely sleep at all.
I’m up and out of Dawn’s apartment by seven a.m. the next day.
I push the speed limit on the highway and pull into Icing’s back parking lot just as the Saturday morning rush is picking up steam.
I breeze through the bakery, pausing long enough to make sure Lucy and Aria’s sister, Melody, who’s helping hold down the fort while Naomi’s on her honeymoon, have everything in hand, before I dash upstairs for a shower.
I’m clean and my hair set in curlers to prep for my updo in less than half an hour. I take a few more minutes to throw together everything I’ll need for the wedding and then barrel back down the stairs in shorts and an old T-shirt, my pink rollers covered with a red scarf and my plastic-encased bridesmaid dress in hand.
Naomi has a hairdresser coming to the bride’s quarters before the wedding, so I don’t have to worry about getting pretty yet. And I don’t have to head over to the church until one o’clock.
But on the off chance that convincing Jake to stop being a stubborn jerk takes the rest of the morning, I figure it’s best to bring all of my bridesmaid paraphernalia with me so I can go straight from Jake’s house to the church.
I give Lucy and Melody a thumbs up as I sweep back through the bakery. I grab my phone from the “personal stuff” basket behind the counter and am already halfway to the door when Melody calls out, “Wait, Maddie!”
I wince, but then turn with a smile, trying not to let my eagerness to escape show on my face. “Hey! What’s up?” I ask as Melody hustles around the counter wearing Naomi’s bright pink apron.
The twenty-something blonde looks gorgeous, as usual, but tired, too, as if she’s feeling the effects of the four a.m. bakery wake-up call.