Exhaling slowly, I asked, “May I ask y’all a question?”
“Of course, Grace. You never have to ask if you can ask us something.”
Pressing my lips together tightly, I looked between the two of them. “With all the stuff that’s happened today, you don’t think it’s a bad sign do you?”
My mother slowly shook her head and reached out for me as I fought to hold back my tears. Meagan would kick my ass if I ruined my makeup.
“Grace, sweetheart. Push that right out of your mind. So you ran into a few problems today. It’s not the end to the beginning.”
“A few?” I asked as I heard my father chuckle. Pulling back, I glanced over and gave him a dirty look.
“Daddy, seriously. Everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong.”
My father’s face turned serious as he pushed out a quick breath. “Grace, this is the way I see it. Yes, some things went wrong, did I enjoy seeing Noah freak out like he has, yes, but—”
Dropping my mouth open, I hit him on the shoulder hard as my mother attempted to hide her chuckle.
“Dad!” I said as I narrowed my eyes at him.
Holding up his hands to calm me down, he kept talking. “Like I was saying, but, I think it all happened for a reason. Every day is some sort of struggle with Noah. Last night, when he and I were . . . bonding.” My father lifted his eyebrows and smirked as I rolled my eyes. My father had insisted on Noah and him going for drinks alone. I honestly was scared for Noah’s well-being.
“Yes, bonding; don’t look at me like that, Grace Hope. Anyway, Noah shared something with me.”
My interest piqued beyond belief, I whispered, “What?”
“He told me every day when he wakes up, he thinks back to when he was going through the withdrawals and the desire he had to take a pill just so his body could relax and he could go to that place where there were was no pain. No thinking about anything. The pain and hurt that he put you through when all of that was going on kills him, Grace. He told me he made a promise to God that he would live this life making sure he never saw that look in your eyes again.”
A single tear escaped and descended down my cheek. My father reached up and gently wiped it away. “Grace, today wasn’t a bad sign. Today was about Noah finding his strength.”
Pinching my eyebrows together, I asked, “What do you mean, Daddy?”
Nodding his head, my father said, “If ever this was a day to test his strength, today was it. Instead of wanting to run away and take a pill, Noah did something else. He stayed in the game and followed his heart to make this the best day of your life. I truly see how much that boy loves you, Grace. And I’ve never been so happy for you, sweetheart.”
My body trembled as I felt the onslaught of emotions. Launching myself at my father the best I could on one foot, he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “Just know, you’ll always be my little girl and I know someone who knows someone who will take Noah out if need be.”
Laughing, I reached over his shoulder and wiped my tears away.
“Oh lord. You ruined her makeup,” my mother said.
Stepping away, I gently attempted to dab the tears away as my mother grabbed my hand and pulled me over and sat me down. “Really quick, let’s fix this. Thank goodness, Meagan used waterproof mascara.”
Smiling, I watched my mother’s face as she touched up my makeup. Nothing in this world would ever top this day.
Standing up straight, my mother smiled. “All right. Let’s do this shall we?”
Nodding my head, I stood up and adjusted my dress. My mother kissed me gently on the cheek. “Deep breaths. You look beautiful.”
Barely finding the words to speak, I managed to push out three words. “Thank you, Mom.”
Giving me a small nod, my mother turned and kissed my father gently on the cheek.
When the door shut, my father and I stood staring at each other. “Now I know how your Grandpa Mark felt the day he had to give your mother away to me.”
Feeling my stomach dip, I pressed my lips together.
“I don’t want to let you go, Grace.”
Reaching for my father’s hands, I squeezed them. “You’re not. You’re just letting Noah borrow me.”
Grinning from ear to ear, he nodded his head. “I do have a surprise for you.”
Lifting my eyebrows, I said, “I do love surprises.”
“Grandma and Philip were able to catch another flight and they’re here for the wedding.”
Feeling like a bubble of happiness busted inside of me, I let out a scream as I covered my mouth. “Oh, Daddy! This is perfect! Everyone is here!”
