Down To You (The Love On Edge Series) (13 page)

Chapter Fifteen

One Last Hurrah…

December 30, 2013

Rogue

“Everybody raise your glasses,” started Marv, prepared to give a best-man speech. He took the job seriously, and had prepared something to read, but decided to wing it at the last minute.

“I want to toast my daughter and my son, on the second marriage. I can’t believe that tomorrow is the big day. You notice that I did not say son-in-law. Brant, I think you know by now that you are a son to me. You are good to my daughter, and my grandchildren, and you have my blessing. Be good to each other. Life is hard enough on us all. Walk through life together as partners, and as one. Be honest but be kind… and if you hurt my daughter again, I’ll pop you right in your kisser!”

Brant laughed as everyone clapped. Marv might not be the most poignant best man, but his words were meaningful.

“Holly, my beautiful daughter. There is no such thing as a fairy tale life. You are tough as nails, but you have a sweet and tender heart. I hope your happy marriage will let you find a happy medium between both. Brant won’t let you down. Put your faith and trust in him.”

“I have, Daddy,” said Holly with a tender tone to her voice.

“And to the bridal party, I have a little poem for you:

Polish your shoes.

Steam your dress.

Do your hair,

And dress to impress.

But at this time,

Tomorrow night,

It’ll be time to party,

Until the morning light!”

Marv’s poem’s earned him applause from the Bridal party, specifically from Sloane and Luke, who were already two beers in before dinner had even arrived. Marv took his seat, and now Brant was standing before everyone.

“I want to thank you all for coming along with journey with us. The road for Holly and me hasn’t always been easy. But it seems when you really want something, it never is. I learned I don’t have to be the perfect husband. All I have to do is love my family and stand by their side no matter how hard it gets. I thank God for Holly every day of my life and I am so happy that tomorrow, she will be my wife again. A lot of people ask me, do you wish you could start again? And the answer is no. We’re not starting over. We have history. We have thirteen years of memories. Mostly good. It’s not starting over when you have that kind of history. Quite simply, it is deciding that you cannot be without that person in your life, and you have made the choice to continue the story on a better note. Holly is the one person in this life that I absolutely cannot live without. It was physically painful to be away from her, and I will never do it again. Besides, I don’t want to get beat up by old Marv McCresson…”

Brant earned a chuckle from the crowd. Holly stood up, with something to say for herself.

“Thank you all for being such wonderful friends and thank you for standing by as I marry my best friend. I cannot be happier than I am in this moment to have my family here and so tightly bound. Tomorrow will be among the happiest days of my life, and I cannot wait to get it started. So now, as a treat for our bridal party, please enjoy tonight’s dinner. There will be dinner served, desserts, and yes, Luke, an open bar.”

Luke put his arms up in the air in celebration, as everyone laughed in response.

*****

“I can’t believe tomorrow is the wedding,” said Holly to Brant as they gathered by the bar and waited for their drinks.

“No cold feet right?”

“My feet are quite warm, thank you.”

“No reservations?”

“None. Do you?”

“God no. I just want us to be a family again. I just want to be your husband.”

Holly kissed Brant on the cheek. He really was a diamond in the rough.

“Hey, I’ll be right back. Men’s room,” said Brant as he made a beeline for the bathroom.

The bartender served Holly a vodka and cranberry juice while she waited. She sat at the bar, slowly stirring her drink while deep in thought. Suddenly, someone sat down on the stool next to her.

“I thought you fell in!” said Holly, still looking at her drink, but when she looked up her face fell. Standing before her with a scraped up cheek and a shiner over his right eye was none other than Chris Beckman. The look on his face was pure anger, and Holly looked around nervously, hoping Brant would be on his way back to the bar by now.

“What are you doing here, Chris?”

“I’m here for a drink, is that okay with you?” he said snidely, clearly holding a grudge from Holly’s sucker punch the other day.

“That’s fine… but you don’t need to stand right there.”

“Cut the crap, Holly. I can’t believe you’re actually going through with this!”

“It’s none of your business Chris!”

“It
is
my fucking business, Holly!” said Chris grabbing hold of Holly’s arm and squeezing it tight.

“It’s none of your business, Chris! Leave me alone!”

“I love you, Holly! Why is that so hard to understand?!”

“You don’t know what love is then, Chris!”

“I thought we had something.”

“It was just one dance!”

“I loved you before he did!”

“I’m not a prize to be won!”

“Bitch!”

“Oww! You’re hurting me!”

*****

Brant pushed open the men’s room door and began walking to the bar when he saw it. Chris Beckman had his hands on Holly. He had her arms grasped tightly as he shook her. Chris was yelling at her, and then he violently knocked her off of her bar stool with a hard shove. Brant saw red.

Nobody messes with my Holly.

It took him only ten seconds to dart across the dining room and get in Chris Beckman’s face.

“I warned you, asshole, and now you’re going to pay!”

Chris laughed in his face, then spat right in Brant’s eye. Seemingly out of nowhere, Luke and Greg flew to Brant’s side. They grabbed Chris by the shirt and drug him outside, as Brant followed coolly behind.

“I don’t know who you think you’re messing with! Nobody lays a hand on Holly Edgemont. Now why don’t you try picking on someone your own size?” said Brant as he rolled up the sleeves of his button down shirt.

As soon as Brant and Chris were outside, Greg and Luke went back inside to make sure Holly was okay. They knew Brant could handle himself in a fight, especially with limp-wristed Chris Beckman.

With all the strength he had in his body, Brant threw an upper cut to Chris’ jaw sending him flying down to the asphalt hard.

“No one touches my girl like that! Nobody messes with my family! What a piece of shit you are! You were the best man at my wedding, and this is how you repay me!”

“She’s a fucking tease, Brant!” yelled Chris as he got up from the ground and took a swing at Brant’s head.

“You’re a goddamn idiot. All you wanted was a one-night stand, and she made you feel stupid, so you wanted to get back at her. She isn’t interested.
Clearly
. Get over it!”

Chris pushed Brant against the hard stucco wall of the restaurant, knocking Brant’s cell phone out of his pocket. It crashed to the ground below with a smash. The screen lay cracked into a million pieces.

“Get the fuck out of my face!”

Brant kicked Chris off of him, gaining some leverage.

“How dare you lay your hands on my wife! Piece of shit!”

Brant punched him again, this time sending Chris flying back into a parked car and rendering him unconscious. Brant looked down at his former friend with disgust. They had been friends for so long, but no one had the right to disrespect him or his wife like that. Brant leaned down to pick up his now destroyed cell phone as he left his former friend in the cold, bloody and defeated. In the distance, Brant could hear the faint wail of a police car.

*****

“Holly, honey,
are you okay?” asked Brant, still out of breath from his scuffle in the parking lot. Holly was talking to two police officers about what had occurred, and she agreed to press charges against Chris. Sloane was standing by Holly’s side for support.

“I don’t think I’m hurt. I’m just shaken up a bit,” said Holly in a shaky voice.

“They have him in the back of a squad car. It’s okay now.”

The police officers departed, giving Holly a number where she could follow-up if she had any other information. Sloane went back to the dining room to make sure their dinner party was still going as planned. When she left, Brant pulled Holly into a tight hug.

“What did you do to him?” asked Holly, her eyes wide with alarm.

“Nothing he didn’t deserve.”

“Honey, your hand. It’s bleeding,” said Holly with concern as she grabbed a napkin off of the bar to wipe it off.

“He’s got a hard head.”

“Yeah! No kidding!” said Holly as she lifted her still bruised hand from their previous altercation.

“I told you I could protect you,” said Brant proudly.

“I never doubted you for a minute,” said Holly with a smile.

*****

Brant went into the men’s room to clean himself off. With the exception of a few scrapes and bruises, Brant walked away from the fight fairly unscathed. The same could not be said for Chris Beckman. Brant scrubbed the blood from his hand and fixed his shirt before joining Holly back at the bar. Once he came back, Holly was eager to get back to the dinner party so he a
nd Holly rejoined the others in the dining room. With the exception of Sloane, Greg and Luke, no one knew that anything had gone wrong and that is exactly what Holly wanted. They were able to rejoin their dinner party without questions.

That night, Holly and the girls stayed at the house on Wallace Road, keeping in tradition that the groom was not allowed to see the bride until the wedding. Meanwhile, Brant and his groomsmen all converged at Marv’s tiny row house in South Philly. It was a one bedroom home that was suitable for two people, tops. Tonight Marv would need to provide sleeping arrangements for four grown men and an eight-year old boy. Fortunately, he made do with a pull out couch and three camping cots. It was not a comfortable rest, but Brant’s mind wasn’t exactly letting him lull off to sleep anyhow.

Chapter Sixteen

White Wedding

December 31, 2013

McCresson
Residence

The snow fell lightly over the city and onto the pavement as Brant peered out the front window of 27 Lee Street. A black stretch limo was struggling to get up the narrow street at a slow but careful snail’s crawl. Brant felt his stomach drop when the driver side door of the limo opened and a man in a black suit and hat climbed out into the wintry weather.

Brant glanced at the silver Rolex watch that Holly gave him as a wedding present. It was 4:00 P.M.; right on time. He took one more glance in the mirror. He looked irresistibly dapper from head to toe dressed in his black tuxedo and silver accents. His hair was neatly slicked and combed. He gave his shoes one more polish and he took in a deep intake of breath. From behind him Luke approached him, and slapped him hard on the shoulder.