Waking Charley Vaughan Part 18

"Hey, what can I get ya?" he asked. I couldn't tell if he was faking his disinterest, or if he really wasn't interested. I reminded myself that I had to fight for what I wanted. And I wanted him.

"Blue Moon, please," I said sweetly. "It's my favorite beer." He gave me half a grin.

"Coming up," he said, walking away. I took a deep breath and waited for him to return. He put my drink down on the bar.

"I'm glad you're back," he said and my heart jumped.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I was up to," I said. "I didn't quite know what to say. I just needed to act and not talk about it, ya know?"

"Kind of," he said quietly.

The few people who were in the bar began filtering out. Brennan handled their tabs and walked casually around the bar, cleaning up small messes here and there. He wasn't as into this conversation as I'd hoped he would be.

By the time the last person other than Brennan and myself left the bar, I'd had enough of being ignored. I jumped off the barstool, walked over to the door, and locked it. Brennan looked at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked, exasperated.

'I'm getting your attention," I told him, being as stern as I could. "I need to talk to you!"

"Fine," he said, sitting at the bar. "But, Charley, you don't owe me any explanations. I understand that I blew it. You don't need to try to make me feel better."

He thinks he blew it? I thought. I had to laugh.

"That's funny?" Brennan asked.

"Noit's justfunny," I said, unable to find the right words. "I've spend the past several days thinking your speech about me finding myself was you blowing me off."

"Oh," he said quietly.

I walked over to where he was standing. "You were right about a lot of things, Brennan. I was treating you like you were going to hurt me. You didn't deserve that. I'm sorry."

"You don't need-" he began, but I stopped him.

"No, I do," I said firmly. "You deserve to hear it, and I owe it to myself to say it." I grabbed one of his hands in both of mine and looked up at him.

"I was wrong to treat you the way I did, and to a.s.sume what I did about your intentions. I can't ever thank you enough for everything you've done for me. You are kind, generous, funnyyou're just wonderful." I was starting to feel self-conscious. I could hear Codey calling me a cheeseball in my head.

"The point is," I began again.

"Charley, I love you, too. You're all I've been thinking about since I met you." he interrupted me.

I looked at him, shock coating my face. His face fell.

'Oh no," he breathed, "that's not what you were going to say was it?" he looked panicked. "Look, I mean what I said, but, I know you probably aren't ready to jump into something. If we need to just be friends, I'm ok with that. I just love having you around. I love how I feel every day since meeting you. I love so much about you. These past few days of thinking you were gone for good were torture."

I gave him a huge smile. ''Well, first I was going to tell you that I like romantic comedies, but next time, I'd rather rent something with more guns and maybe some zombies," he looked at me, one eyebrow c.o.c.ked.

"You like zombie movies?"

"See?" I said smiling. "You don't know everything about me." I took his other hand so that both of his were in mine.

"You were wrong about a few things," I said, and I gave each hand another squeeze. "I am ready," I said stepping closer to him. "I don't want to be your friend." I took another step, and stood on my tip toes reaching up to kiss him, "and that was what I was going to say." He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.

EPILOGUE CHARLEY.

Sara was, as usual, talking a thousand miles an hour. "Where is the dress?!" she shrieked. "It was supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"Sara, just breathe," I said, taking a line from Brennan.

"Charley!" she huffed. "There is no time for breathing! Why are you not freaking out more about this, Charley? You need your dress!"

She started fussing with my hair. "It amazes me that you can be so mellow at a time like this."

I laughed. "Sara," I said, putting my hands on her shoulders. "It will get here. It will be as beautiful as it was when you helped me pick it out, and the rest of the day will be even more beautiful than anyone could imagine." She took a deep breath and looked at me.

"OK," she breathed.

"Good." I said firmly. "Now, go put on your dress!"

"OK!" she squealed as she ran toward the door where her dress was hanging on a hook.

It was a beautiful dress.

It surprised me how obsessed she was with my outfit. Although I guessed it shouldn't have. That was kind of Sara's way: obsess about everything.

Codey and Casey should have been back from the bakery by now, and they were supposed to have my dress with them. Leave it to me to have forgotten such an important part of the day.

I was so lucky to have my sisters here with me.

Codey and I had visited every bank in a 50 mile radius that first week. We'd brought in samples of our baking, hoping to woo bankers into helping us out. The baked goods had impressed, but hadn't landed us any loans. Until the day we got a call from a bank just down the street from the spot we wanted, we'd started to think it was hopeless. We'd started talking about just starting the business online instead of having a storefront. That day, everything changed.

The woman who called was named Lydia. She told us that after a second review of our application, it had been accepted. I had put her on speaker phone, so Codey and I were dancing and high-fiving around the living room, just sure that we had done it and our persistence had paid off. It wasn't until we went to sign the paperwork that we realized what had happened. There, on the co-signer line was the neat and perfectly legible signature of one Jackson Vaughan. We also noted that the loan amount was about ten thousand dollars more than what we'd originally asked for.

It wasn't until two days later when the letter from our father came, that we understood. The package was delivered late in the afternoon. It consisted of a thick doc.u.ment box which was accompanied by a small doc.u.ment envelope. One was recipes, and the smaller envelope was the bank account information for each of our trust fund accounts set up by Grandma Lylah. It was in this envelope that we found the letter from our father. It read: Dear Girls, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for the length of time that it took me to come to my senses. I thought that what I had been doing for all of these years was keeping the peace, and making things better for you girls. It was that young man, Brennan who first tried to open my eyes to the fact that I was letting you girls down.

Charley, by the time you came out to fetch your sisters, I was convinced that none of you wanted or needed me anymore. I had taken so long to do the right thing, I thought it was too late to start now. When Casey came to me and told me about the trouble you girls have been having getting a loan, I realized that I had a small opportunity to do the right thing for you girls. Co-signing for a loan is a small step, but I hope that it will carry us in the right direction. For what it's worth, your mother is adamantly opposed, as I'm sure you could guess.

Take a little time to pay back this loan. I know you have more than enough to cover it in just one of your accounts set up by your grandmother, but don't pay it all off instantly. Give yourselves time to set up some credit. That's just a small piece of fatherly advice. Do with it what you will.

I hope that we can begin to repair our relations.h.i.+p. I promise to work my hardest to not let you down like I have in the past. I look forward to seeing what great things you can accomplish with the tools your grandmother left to all of you. I am so proud of all of you, and I know that your grandmother would be, too.

All of my love, Dad.

Codey and I stood motionless for a solid two minutes before erupting into squeals and laughter.

Codey and I managed to get the bakery almost ready for opening by the time Casey graduated in May. We'd gone to watch her graduate, and as a gift, we'd given her an embroidered chef's coat. We all had them: both in chocolate brown and teal. Our mother's only comment on the subject was to say that our complexions were too dark for brown, and that we should consider wearing hues within our, "color wheels."

She just did a lot of sighing and complaining for most of the visit. We were not allowed to stay at the house while we were there, and once Casey packed her things, she was no longer welcome in our childhood home either, according to our mother. My father had made a point to tell us before leaving that anytime we wanted to come home, we were more than welcome, and could stay as long as we wanted. Anyone who had a problem with his daughters staying in the home his hard work had purchased, he'd said, was welcome to find alternate lodging.

My sisters and I exchanged "uh oh" looks after my father said this, none of us believing what we had heard. Now that all of us were gone, we didn't expect the marriage between our parents to last much longer. It was sad, but at the same time, I thought it might be better for both of them. Maybe they could both be happy that way.

My sisters came into the room then, breaking up my thoughts of all that had happened over the past few months. They were already in their dresses, and they looked beautiful. Codey handed me mine, "Could you try not forgetting things like very important dresses from now on? You're lucky we had time to run back to the apartment."

"I know," I said, smiling. "Thanks for doing that for me. I would have been in big trouble without this." I ran back to the bathroom to put my dress on and check my hair. Thanks to my sisters, the curls had been tamed and defined and my hair was gently pulled back at my neck, leaving small curls around my face. It was one of the first times that I actually liked my hair.

By the time I was dressed and my make-up was touched up, I had about two minutes to get into place for the ceremony. Casey and Codey took their places in front of me. When the music began to play, my heart jumped. I had promised myself that I would try my best not to cry. The first of the bridesmaids and groomsmen hadn't even made it down the aisle yet, and that was already starting to look impossible. By the time it was my turn to walk down, I was working extremely difficult to keep my tears contained. The whole thing was just so beautiful.

The moment Brennan took my hand, my defenses broke, and a few small tears of joy flitted down my cheeks. He looked down at me and smiled his beautiful smile, and I loved him all the more.

"You look beautiful," he whispered as we walked.

"Thank you," I said, keeping my eyes forward. "So do you."

He smiled at me again. "Thanks," he laughed.

Once Brennan and I were in place, the music changed, and the whole church stood to watch the beautiful and radiant Sara walk down the aisle. Her gown was cla.s.sic: long and flowing with beautiful beadwork. I saw Matt and his parents in the front row, all beaming at the beautiful bride. Matt had been released about a month ago. We didn't speak much, but we were polite. I think it was just understood that the part of our lives we had shared was now over. It was hard to be mad at him though, in some strange way, and although it wasn't his intent, he had made so many people happy. I was with Brennan, and Sara, as of today, was with Adam "as long as they both shall live".

Codey, Casey, and I all gave our dad a small wave. He, too was in the group of people gathered to see Adam and Sara today. Although, he had mostly been there to see us, he was starting to think of Brennan and Adam as sons. He'd been here about a month now, on what he called an "extended vacation". Codey, Casey, and I were taking bets on how long it would take for him to just buy a house here. He and our mother were now separated, so there wasn't anything keeping him in Mississippi.

It sounded bad to say we were happy about their split. But the truth was, they got along much better since being separated, and I was finding that my mother was somewhat easier to get along with. Not pleasant, but tolerable.

Adam and Sara exchanged their beautifully written vows and I cried some more. Brennan caught my eye from across the aisle and smiled at me. "I love you," he mouthed.

"I love you," I mouthed back.

As Adam placed the gold band on Sara's ring finger, I couldn't help but look down at my own hand. The s.h.i.+ny princess cut diamond sparkled at me from its place on my left hand. It was hard to believe it had already been there two months. In five more, Brennan and I would be exchanging our own vows. This time, it felt right. This time, I had given my heart to someone who truly deserved it.

end.