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Birdie chuckled. “It’s a little late for that.”
I looked at the tattoo artist—his name was Gabe. “Can you give me one too?”
He shrugged. “Sure. My next appointment flaked.”
I grinned. “Great.”
Mara took my arm. “Are you sure?”
“I can handle a little pain,” I replied with a smile. “And besides, I want to remember my best friends forever.”
82
Tyler
“Not like that,” Liv said, gesturing her arms at us as we set up white folding chairs behind the house for the wedding. “It has to be a semicircle so everyone can see you two.”
Rhett grumbled, but the rest of us adjusted the chairs for the third time until it fit Liv’s expectations. With the chairs in place, Liv, Mom, and Tam flitted around the chairs, adding small bundles of flowers to the ones on the aisles.
We’d all decided to go with a wildflower theme, and with all the blooms thriving in Texas, we had plenty to choose from. It was already looking incredible. Dad had paid for a tent rental so there’d be some shade, and then he’d put up twinkle lights around the tables for the reception area.
In true Texas fashion, we had a hog roasted for barbecue, and some of the ladies from town volunteered to bring sides as a gift. There would be plenty of beer and soda covered in ice, resting in tin tanks.
But I didn’t give a shit about any of that as long as Hen was happy when we left for our honeymoon in Cancun tomorrow. According to Mara, it wastheplace to go.
With the chairs set up, Liv had us roll out a burlap aisle and stake it to the ground so it wouldn’t blow away if the wind picked up. But she had nothing to worry about. It was a perfect July day with crystalline blue skies and the sun gently setting. It was like the whole world knew this moment was always meant to be.
I kept moving chairs, but I didn’t get as much yelling from Liv. “Pretty quiet over there,” I said, looking up. Then I realized why everyone had stopped talking. Gage stood at the back of the house. Mom was frozen with flowers in her hand, staring at him. Liv and I looked between the two, waiting to see what would happen. And Tam? She looked like a woman slowly backing away from a rattlesnake.
Gage cleared his throat and said, “How can I help?”
Mom let out a strangled cry and walked inside.
All of Gage’s features pinched as he watched our mom rush into the house. “I should...” His sentence trailed off.
“I’ll handle it,” I said.
He and Liv nodded, and I put a hand on Tam’s shoulder just to let her know everything was okay before following our mom inside. I followed the sound of her quiet crying to hers and dad’s bedroom on the main floor off the living room.
She sat on her bed, one leg bent on the mattress and the other dangling over the edge. Her curly hair fell in her face, and she had her hand pressed to her mouth, trying—and failing—to quiet herself.
She looked up at me for a moment, then back at the bed, her shoulders shaking.
I took a breath and sat beside her, rubbing a hand on her back. This was the woman who’d lain next to me after every bad dream, made sure I always had a hot meal at night, who pretended she didn’t see me cry the day I moved into an apartment away from home.
She was the strongest person I knew, and I hated seeing her like this. “Mom...”
Her eyes were red as she looked at me. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head, rubbing her shoulder. “Don’t be sorry.”
“It’s just... I... his hairline changed.”
“Don’t tell him that,” I teased.
She laughed despite herself, but then her expression fell again. “How many years is it going to be before we make amends? Will I be old and gray before I get to have my boy over for dinner again?”
“You’ll never be gray,” I told her, brushing back a curl. “There’s hair dye for that.”