Page 66 of Kiss the Girl
“You all heard her,” Jackson said with a face-splitting grin. “Now you have actual proof of what I’ve been saying for years. Ha! Suck it!”
Naturally, his brothers grumbled and tried to make light of it, but he was calling it a victory.
“And what about the two of you?” Cash asked Garrett and Emma. “Is there a wedding date yet?”
The two of them looked at each other and shared a knowing smile before they faced everyone. “Actually,” Garrett began, “we were sort of hoping to do it Saturday at Aunt Susannah’s place.”
“What?!”they all cried.
“We keep tossing dates around and something always comes up and we just felt like everyone’s already going to be together and we didn’t want anything fancy to begin with,” Emma explained. “So, we called Susannah a few days ago and ran it by her to see if she was okay with it, and she reminded us how it’s sort of a family tradition to do weddings this way, so…”
“Plus,” Garrett said in a more somber tone, “it would mean a lot if you were there, Dad.”
Glancing over at Cash, Jackson saw how touched he was by this gesture. “You don’t have to do this,” he said quietly. “Although you have no idea how much it means to me. I don’t deserve it, but…thank you.”
Emma went over and hugged him and Garrett did the same.
“Well, shit,” Austin said after a moment. “Now I want to call the doctor and see what we can do to make the baby come sooner!”
Everyone laughed.
“Don’t even try to make it sound like that’s for me,” Cash said with a chuckle. “Although, that would be amazing to watch Garrett get married and then meet my first grandchild before leaving this world.”
And just like that, the mood grew a little heavy again.
“Dammit, don’t do that,” Cash said firmly. “We all know it’s coming and it’s going to be a relief for all of us. Trust me. Let’s think of this as sending me out with a bang instead of a whimper!”
Oddly enough, that one statement seemed to do the trick because everyone seemed to relax again. They talked about wedding plans and food and how it was really going to be one giant potluck meal and very casual.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t have to dress up a little,” Garrett said to no one in particular, but his gaze lingered a bit on Jackson. “I’d kind of like it if we could coordinate at least a little.”
“Ooh…just like when you were all little!” Grace said, clapping her hands happily. “But…it’s only three days away. How are you going to do it all?”
“Well, I’ve got coverage at the clinic because this was something we really wanted to make happen,” Garrett explained. “Austin, you’re kind of your own boss, so I’m thinking you can take an afternoon or two off, right?”
“Absolutely! You just tell me where you need me to be and when.”
“Excellent! And Jackson, I’m guessing your schedule is kind of flexible right now, right?”
“Even if it wasn’t, I’d make it be flexible for this.” And it was true. Where his brothers were concerned, there wasn’t a damn thing he wouldn’t do for them, and he was just relieved that he was home for this. Not that long ago, they had thrown Austin and Mia a last-minute wedding after a blizzard had ruined their original plans, so this was going to be a no-brainer for the entire family.
“And what about your family, Emma? Are they okay with this?” Grace asked.
“Are you kidding? My mom is positively giddy about having one less wedding to pay for! Of course, my little sister now thinks she’ll get to have a bigger budget when she gets married, but considering that day is eons away, I’ll let them fight about it then.”
After that, the conversation primarily focused on the wedding and Savannah seemed to shrink into the background. Jackson wanted to draw her into the conversation, but he didn’t want to put her on the spot or make her feel awkward, so he had to bide his time until they were alone.
And that took another two hours.
Everyone was gone, Cash was asleep, and he suggested they go down to the beach and walk along the pier. It wasn’t nearly as big as the one in Magnolia, but it was perfect for a nighttime stroll.
She was still quiet on the drive over and it wasn’t until their feet hit the pier that Jackson decided to see what was bothering her.
“You were awful quiet tonight,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“Well, it was an important night and…I really shouldn’t have been there. It was a private sort of thing and…”
“There is nothing private with our family,” he said with a small laugh. “Trust me. The whole town’s known our business ever since Cash left when we were little. Plus, you know Aunt Georgia’s a big ol’ gossip, so really, there’s nothing we can’t do or say in front of other people. And besides, you’re family too.”