Tate (24 page)

“I don’t want to, but I want you to anticipate me.”

“I anticipate everything about you, Maisie.” I pulled her closer and kissed her, hoping that she felt every bit of love that I had to share with her. “Jesus, Maisie, I love you so much.”

“Remember that until tomorrow,” she said, and turned to go.

I eased her bag from her hand. “I’m going to walk you to Carlene’s room.”

***

Maisie

It was a hot night in late August as Carlene and I stood at the back of the chapel. I saw Tate and smiled because his mama stood with him. The look in his eyes brought a lump to my throat. I saw the anticipation that I hoped for, but mostly I saw love. I’ve never seen a look like that before, not from Tate or anyone else.

Fay’s hand quickly covered her mouth when she saw me, and Tate’s family, along with Dion and Deidre, turned to look. I know they were thinking the same as me; my dress was gorgeous. I’d pulled my hair up in a simple twist, held in place with a beautiful clip that Dion had given me. It matched the adornment at the neck of my dress.

I carried white carnations to remind me of Tate’s comment about what kind of flower I was - understated with a soft fragrance. They’d been sprayed with gold glitter that sparkled in the dimly lit chapel as Carlene and I made our way to the front. The music began and I heard what I thought would be Rascal Flatts singing
Bless the Broken Road
, but the voice I heard instead was Tate. In my mind, I heard him say ‘I have a surprise for you’ again.

The justice of the peace was whistling along, and I was so overwhelmed with love that I could barely hold it together.

Every long lost dream led me to where you are

Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms

This much I know is true

God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you.

Carlene took her place beside me and Tate reached for my hand.  “I love my vest. You look stunning. What’s under that dress?” he asked when he noticed my emotions. The gentleman officiating heard him and looked down to hide his smile.

“Not much,” I replied, with a wink.

“Let’s get this thing started!” Tate yelled, and everyone laughed.

We exchanged traditional vows, but before the justice of the peace pronounced us husband and wife, Tate stopped him. He took both of my hands in his. I watched as he fidgeted a bit, and gathered his emotions.

“I’ve got something I want you to know, Maisie.”

I looked at him and saw a heart full of love all over his face. I fought hard not to cry.

“I’m looking forward to every day with you. My heart is full of excitement. There’s something so wonderful in looking ahead to sharing our lives together, the good and bad, our trials and jubilation. I can’t wait for every morning to wake up and begin a new day with you. Thank you for choosing me to share these things with.”

I was good until that moment. I’d been able to blink back the tears that threatened to escape, but now, Tate’s beautiful words brought them quick and fast.

“Say it, sir. Say it quick!” Tate laughed.

“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your beautiful bride.”

He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me of the floor. His kiss was sweet, but the words he whispered – the ones that only I could hear – were far from sweet. He whispered taunting sexual teases and I couldn’t wait for later.

A photographer was there to capture the event. Family pictures for me meant Dion and Carlene. Then I joined Tate for pictures with his family.

“Those pictures will be beautiful,” Tate stated, and then proceeded to bring Carlene and Dion in to join in his idea of the family photos. “
This
is our family now.”

I loved the idea of that. I had a big family now, with two adorable nephews.
Can my life get any better?

Chapter Eleven

Tate

As Maisie was making the wedding plans, I had asked if I could plan the dinner party afterward. I only knew that gold and purple would be the colors she was using. I’d made reservations for a late dinner at The Belligio. When we entered, lots of guests crowded the lobby, cheering as they watched us make our way to a private dining room.

It pleased me how well it turned out. I saw that Maisie was as well. Two long tables faced each other in the center of the room so that everyone could talk – no leaning to talk around people at the other end of the table. More of the gold glitter-sprayed carnations sat as centerpieces, and a crystal chandelier twinkled above as we dined on filet and lobster. We sipped the finest Pinot Noir from bottles labeled ‘Congratulations Tate and Maisie’. It was an evening filled with animated conversation about the future. I liked that word; I loved the thought it put in my head. Later, we enjoyed a luscious chocolate ganache wedding cake with gold frosting and purple butterflies.

“I couldn’t live without chocolate, but the butterflies continue the message.”

“Do tell,” Maisie said, gently placing her hand on my cheek caressing tenderly.

“Butterflies represent new life, new beginnings, and a release from the old to new. It’s our time to soar.”

“Here, here,” Popie’s husband, Seth called out, and everyone chimed in.

That night, as Maisie lay in my arms, I wanted to keep her there forever, never release her from my embrace.

“Thank you,” she whispered against my neck amidst a trail of tender kisses and hot breath on my skin. “I’ve never felt so loved, so special, or so important, Tate.”

“You are the love of my life. You’re the woman, the partner, the lover, and friend that I’ve spent my entire life looking for. Thank you for letting me love you, it’s a privilege that I will never take for granted.”

But our bliss was short-lived.

***

We met everyone for breakfast the next morning. As we were all being seated, Dion stomped to the table and chucked a newspaper dramatically down in front of me.

“Bullshit,” he said.

Curiously, everyone turned to look at him, but the look on his face had me grabbing the paper to see what had him so pissed.

“It’s just plain crap,” he said. “Sorry,” he added, noticing the boys.

The National Examiner had a photo of Maisie and me from the night before. We looked like the happiest people on earth, but there was that headline.
Gold Digger
, it read.

I looked at Maisie and saw her blinking rapidly to keep the tears from coming as she read the headline. Mama put her arm around her shoulder and tried to hug her, but she backed away and quickly rose from her seat.

“Thank you all for coming. I need to go. I’ll see you soon,” she said in a whisper of a voice.

“Maisie Morrow!” Carlene’s voice boomed just loud enough for all of us to hear her and turn to look. Maisie stopped and turned back. Her face showed pain like I’d never seen. She just stood there. No one said a word.

“Maisie,” Carlene said once more.

“How could someone ruin something so special, so love-filled, and joyous? How can people accuse without knowing?” she asked.

She turned to the others and continued. “I don’t need Tate’s money. I have money from that horrid accident - lots of money. Tate knows. It’s invested for my future.” She paused. “For
our
future, for every ‘just in case’ that Redondo Trucking and my attorney could possibly anticipate.”

Everyone sat there, and finally, Carlene started to cry. “Why does this keep happening?”

I’d had enough and called Daniel, but he was already on it. The story had gone out to every major newspaper in the country. “We’ve not been taking this seriously enough! I want this to stop!” my voice boomed.

“I have an idea,” he said.

“An idea who?”

“No, just an idea,” Daniel replied.

“I’m all ears,” I snapped.

“Sell it, Tate. Make this story so frigging big that it backfires on whoever is responsible,” he told me. “I’ll meet you in L.A. to discuss more ideas.”

While I talked to Daniel, Mama and my sisters, along with Carlene, Deidre, and Dion, brought Maisie back into the fold and surrounded her with love. Before I finished, I made one more phone call.

“Audra. Tate. I want to release an official wedding picture and sell it to People Country. You negotiate the best deal. I want the money to benefit Little Ones, Carlene Duncan’s charity.”

“Here we go again,” she said in a snippy voice. “Why didn’t I know about this beforehand so that I could be prepared and ready? This isn’t going to be an easy sell, what with all the bad press…”

“Audra. Listen to me. I don’t care what it takes. Do it!” I said firmly. “I want big money. I think the ‘bad press’ will make them want to get a story. Negotiate a deal. Today!” I barked.

I looked up and they were all watching me. After I hung up, I motioned for Popie to change seats with me so that I was beside Maisie, and she looked up. “I’m not playing with them for less than two million.”

“Two million dollars?” she asked.

“Yep, we’re gonna make something good from this. The money will go to a good cause, and People will want a story. We’re going to give them one. Deidre, you’ll need to start on that.

“Maisie, come on,” I said, rising from my chair. “We’ve got a honeymoon to start. We’re not going to allow this to ruin our beginning. We’ll see y’all at the show tonight.”

When we returned to our room, Maisie laid down on the bed, her tears still flowing. I ordered room service and joined her while we waited. I cradled her in my arms and drank in the smell of her.

“It’s that sugary smell,” I whispered.

She turned into my arms. Her eyes wrecked me. “Why?” she asked - one word.

“I wish I knew the answer to that, love.”

“Yesterday was so beautiful. It was so perfect,” she said, and curled closer.

I kissed the top of her head. “There’s a saying I remember Mama using when we were kids and we’d come home crying or pissed about something.
Kill them with kindness, and bury them with a smile,
she’d tell us.
The best revenge is for you to slap a smile on your face and act like nothing happened. Show your confidence, even if you aren’t feeling it. Fake it in public and plan in private.
We need a plan, Maisie.”

“Plan?”

“Yes, we need to plan our ‘we’re not letting this affect us’ strategy,” I replied.

“You’re going to have to help me with that, Tate. I’m really struggling with this.”

“I know, Maisie. I asked you this before. Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she replied. “With my heart, my soul, and my life.”

There was a knock at the door. “Breakfast,” I said. But when I came out of the bedroom, Deidre was in the living room.

“Sorry to bother you.”

“It’s OK, Maisie is lying down. I thought you were room service with our breakfast,” I smiled.

“Maybe better,” she grinned, and called out to Maisie.

She rounded the corner with the biggest fake smile I’ve ever seen – cheeky, showing off pearly whites, reminding me of the smile she flashed to Audra the day I met her. “How am I doing, Tate?”

“You look mah’velous!” I chuckled.

“Can we sit down a minute?” Deidre asked. “I’m sorry that the morning was ruined, but I think the rest of the day just improved dramatically. I called Audra as soon as you left the table and told her not to bother you today with the People thing. If there was anything she wanted relayed to you, I asked her to please call me. She did, just a moment ago.” Deidre handed Maisie a piece of paper. She looked up in question as she took it.

“Open it,” Deidre encouraged.

I watched Maisie. As her eyes skimmed the paper, they widened and she let out a faint gasp. “Oh my.”

“What is it? I can’t stand the suspense a minute longer!” I said, and she handed me the paper. “Holy shit! That was fast.”

The message said that Meg Carlisle from People Country wanted to talk to Maisie. Not me, not us, just Maisie. They offered to pay two and a half million for the official wedding photograph to feature on the cover. All the money will benefit Little Ones as I’d requested.

“They jumped as soon as Audra called. She said they offered before she started a numbers game with them. 2.5 mil right out of the gate,” Deidre said.

“I can’t,” Maisie replied.

“Oh yes you can,” Deidre said. “You’ll put on that fake smile you just showed me and walk in there with your head high, and sell it like you sell it – with integrity.”

I nodded. “I can be there with you.”

“No, you can’t,” Deidre replied. “Just Maisie.”

“Oh, the dread,” Maisie groaned.

***

At The Joint, I walked up to the microphone and thought about Maisie sitting in the front row, waiting to see what the night would bring. I stood there a moment and the crowd started chanting, “Maisie! Maisie! Maisie!”

Without a word, I picked up my guitar from the stand and started strumming, looking out over the arena. It was another sellout. The cameraman videoing for the big screens around the venue zoomed in on fans holding signs that overwhelmed me. “SCREW THEM!” “WE STAND WITH YOU!” I read as they flashed on the screens and then I saw one that made me choke back my own emotions. “STAND TALL, MAISIE!” I could imagine the tears that I was sure were rolling down her cheeks.

I put the guitar aside. “Thank you,” I said. “You humble me. Yesterday, I married the most amazing woman. When you find your soul mate, you know it, and when I met her, I knew. We shared the most beautiful, intimate ceremony with our family and we were happy, ready to begin a new journey together.”

A beautiful picture from our wedding flashed on the screen and I continued. It expanded to show the headline that went along with it. “Overlook the headline. Look at Maisie. Look at me. Look how happy we were.” I swallowed hard, because my emotions were bubbling to the surface.

“It was a joyous time with our family, and then, for some unknown reason, someone did a cruel, vicious thing. Thanks to all of you for believing in
us
, and to the guy over here,” I said as I pointed to the crowd on my left, “Maisie
is
standing tall.” The cameraman zoomed in on the sign the man hefted above his head and shook once more. I paused a moment and finally said, “That’s all I have to say about that,” mimicking Forrest Gump. “Let’s get this thing started!”

Strumming the guitar again, I began to sing.

How do I love you? Well let me see

I love you like a lyric loves a melody

Baby, completely wrapped up in you

How do I need you? Well can’t you tell?

I need you like a penny needs a wishing well

Baby, completely wrapped up in you.

As the next chorus began, Garth came from the shadows with his guitar and the crowd went crazy.

Every now and then, when the world

That we’re living in is crazy

You gladly hold me and carry me through

No one else in the world has ever done

What you do for me, and I’d be

Sad and lonely if there was no you…

I ended the song, singing
Maisie, completely wrapped up in you.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the incredible Mr. Garth Brooks!” I shouted, as he hugged me.

“What about this guy trying to steal my spotlight?” he laughed.

He took his guitar and shouted, “Payback!” as he started to sing
I’m A Guy
.

He left the stage, and I stood at the microphone and started to strum my guitar. “I haven’t shared this one yet. It might not be the final cut, but this is where it is for now. Take it away, Jake!”  

She don’t work no sugar shaker

She don’t shake a money-maker

She’s a lady that I cherish

Sometimes a little devilish

And I love her

Them jeans she wears ain’t painted on

Her smile softly whispers ‘come on’

She’s the woman I that I need

She’s brought me to my knees

And I’m a lucky guy

I sang what Maisie had already heard. She liked this song, but she hadn’t heard the next part.

With lips like sweet red wine

Pressed up against mine

It’s a different kind of high

Like a moonshine kind of buzz

That I can’t deny