She stood up and started to take off her wedding dress. It was impossible. All those damn little covered buttons and loops...Jeremy was supposed to have unbuttoned them, slowly, lovingly, and you know, yeah, she’d thought that once they were married and getting pregnant would be a joy and not an oops, their sex life would take off. It had always been fine. It’d been fine! But marriage, she’d just known, would only improve it.
Here she’d been lying naked with Jeremy Lyon, totally in love, believing him when he said she was beautiful and perfect, when he’d been thinking of Justin Timberlake dancing around in a hoodie. And while that was an entirely appealing image, the man she loved shouldn’t have been cramming it into his head to block out her. You know what? Justin Timberlake wasn’t even that good. Totally average. How dare he occupy Jeremy’s mind during sex?
Faith’s phone buzzed. Goggy, said the screen, featuring a photo of her scowling grandmother. Faith let it go to voice mail. A minute later, the phone chirped with a text. She looked. Pick up the damn phone. A second later, Goggy’s face scowled at her again.
It’d be easier to talk to her grandmother than dodge the calls. Goggy was a slab of granite when she wanted to be. “Hi,” Faith said.
“Go on your honeymoon,” Goggy said firmly. “Get out of here for a while.”
Faith was silent. At the moment, she couldn’t imagine standing up, let alone getting on an airplane and flying across the country.
“Do it, Faith,” Goggy said, her voice more gentle. “Spend a little time away from home, see the world.”
The words were horribly familiar, cutting right into the middle of Faith’s heart.
“You have the tickets, right? Use them. Go to San Francisco, honey, and just be away from all of this.”
If that wasn’t a rope, Faith didn’t know what was. “Okay,” she whispered.
“I’ll drive you.” Goggy sounded triumphant, but she was the type who never quite managed to hit forty mph on the highway.
“That’s okay. You stay here. I’ll get someone else. And, Goggy...” Faith’s voice broke. “Thank you.”
“I’ll call you tonight, sweetheart.”
Goggy was right. She couldn’t stay here. Jeremy couldn’t leave, and she couldn’t stay. Jeremy was her next-door neighbor, albeit a mile down the road. She’d see him everywhere.
And at this moment, that thought was unbearable.
Add to that, Manningsport had 715 people in it. Everyone now knew that Faith Holland was too stupid to realize her fiancé was gay. Nope, I didn’t suspect, they’d say. Not the way that kid threw the ball...but I didn’t sleep with him, either! Heh heh heh!
Her zombielike state shattered abruptly. She grabbed her suitcase and yanked open the door, flew down the stairs, her dress rustling against the family photos, knocking them askew.
Justin Timberlake. She hated Justin Timberlake.
Just as she got to the bottom, a quiet knock came at the front door. She jerked it open, out of breath.
Ah. The other man she hated. Levi Cooper, Wedding Destroyer. “You,” she hissed.
He was still in his dress uniform, his chest full of ribbons and medals. Mr. Hero. “Jeremy sent me to check on you.”
“Take me to the airport,” she ordered.
His eyebrows rose, crinkling his forehead a little. “I don’t know about that.”
“Do what I say, Levi,” she said.
“Listen, you’re probably not—”
“Shush. Just take me there.”
Her father came up on the porch. “Faith, sweetpea, I was just coming to check on you. How are you, honey? This is such a shock, I don’t know what to—”
“Daddy, I’m going to San Francisco. Okay? I’ll call you when I land.”
“Wait a second, sweetie, slow down,” he said, glancing at Levi. Why? Why glance at the guy who ruined her wedding and kept Jeremy’s secret, huh? “I think you should stay here, baby, with your family. This is a tough, tough day, but we’ll get you through it.”
“I’m going to San Francisco. I have tickets,” Faith said.
“Faith—”
“I—I—I—I have to get out of here, Dad,” she stammered, the hyperventilating starting up again. “I’ll just go to San Fran. Remember Liza? My friend from college? She lives there, so I won’t be alone. I’ll call her. She’s really fun. Okay? Call you later.”
“Now, Faith, this doesn’t seem like a good idea.”
“Daddy, I need to get out of here. I’m going.”
“All right, all right. Settle down. Just...if you want to go, give me a minute, and I’ll pack some things and go with you. Okay?”
“No. I’m going alone. Right now. I have to get out of here or I’m going to lose my shit, Dad.”
Her father looked startled. That’s right, Daddy, she thought irrationally. Don’t mess with me right now.
“Well, I’ll drive you. Don’t be silly, baby.”
“No. He’ll take me. Won’t you?” She narrowed her eyes at Levi, wishing looks really could kill.
Levi cleared his throat. “Is that all right, Mr. Holland?” he asked.
“Don’t ask him,” Faith snapped. “I’m giving you an order, soldier. Get to it.”
“Watch it,” he muttered.
“Faith, it’s not his fault,” her father said. She turned her eyes on him, and he actually held his hands up in defense. “Sweetie, I really think you need to take a few days at least—”
“I’ll call you when I land.” She kissed her father’s cheek, and the horrible weight crushed down again. “I love you, Daddy,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry about all this. I’ll pay you back.” The tears threatened again. No, no. Not now. Bottle and cork. She could fall apart later.
Then she tromped down the porch, stepping on the hem of her dress and tearing it. So what? She should burn the damn thing, right along with her own white hoodie (which had been a gift from Jeremy, ack!).
There was Levi’s car, a cheap rental with Michigan plates. She got in, stuffed the stupid dress down and gave Blue a few pats on the head as he tried to climb in with her. She wished she could take him. Hang on. She could take him. Dr. Buckthal had told her that some dogs could sense an oncoming seizure, and she’d had Blue registered as a service dog, more because she wanted to be able to take him with her wherever she went than because she thought she might need him. But he was registered all the same.
“Wait a second,” she said and went inside the house. Her sisters were there, Coll and Mrs. J., too, murmuring, asking, talking, but it was all white noise. She rummaged in the file drawer where she kept Blue’s records, and voila. Grabbed the paper, turned to the rest of them. Everyone was talking, offering advice, pats, trying to hug her, but they were like birds, fluttering around her head, and she waved them off.
“Look,” she said, her voice wobbling. “I’m gonna go to California for a few days. Maybe take that honeymoon solo, I don’t know. But I love you all, and I’m so sorry about this...fiasco. I’ll call you, but right now, I have to get out of here.”
“Let me drive you, Faithie,” her brother said, his voice so kind that her eyes swam again.
“I’ll come with you,” Pru offered.
“Nope. All set. Thanks, though.” She grabbed Blue’s leash, figured he could eat hamburgers until she