Chapter Sixteen

Laurel

“Holy shit,” I whispered as I stood next to my car, looking up at the very large and very opulent ski resort.

I mean, I’d seen pictures of places like this in fancy magazines and movies, but I never really thought they existed. If I thought the Sons of Hell clubhouse was fancy, this place made the clubhouse look like a little rinky-dink shack!

This was just fucking WOW!

Three stories high and damn near a football field long, the Rosewood Ski Resort wasn’t just some hotel for the rich and famous, it was an experience, and that experience started before you even entered the hotel. The place looked like a winter wonderland, with the hotel sitting smack dab in the middle of everything, surrounded by beautiful cultivated and trimmed pine trees, decorated in sparkling twinkling lights and every colored ornament you could think of. Garland wreaths hung from every surface, while old-fashioned decorative light posts lit the way toward the entrance.

It was stunning.

I never knew they could build log cabins this big, because that’s what the hotel was, the largest freaking log cabin hotel in the world.

Okay, maybe not the world, but it was pretty damn close.

A large awning covered the entrance to the hotel, held up by pillars of stone that gave the place a truly rustic feel, as if the log cabin wasn’t enough.

Frozen to my spot, I took everything in while I watched a limousine pull up to the entrance under the awning as a fancy chauffeur stepped out. A bell hop walked toward the trunk of the car as the chauffeur opened the back door, allowing the passengers to get out.

“Mom, you can’t afford this place. God can’t even afford this place. We’re gonna have to find somewhere else. Maybe we can talk to Mr. Williams over at the high school about using the gym for the reception.”

My mom smiled beautifully. She hugged her wedding binder close to her chest as she took in all the lavish amenities. “This place is perfect.”

“No, this place is expensive.”

“Can you imagine it?” she added in a daze as she let her imagination flow wild. “A horse-drawn carriage, followed by the guests at the wedding while snow lightly falls around us. Sweetheart, I’m gonna be rolling in high cotton.”

“No, you’re gonna be bankrupt,” I snarked. “Mom, this place is too much. You can’t afford it.”

“Oh pish,” she scoffed, waving her hand. “No place is too good for the McDonalds.”

There was no arguing with her now. She saw all the glitter-and-sparkle possibilities and wanted it all. Nothing, not even all the gold in Fort Knox, would sway her away from this place. My mother was many things, but reasonable wasn’t one of them. Not even God could change her mind now, and with the current guest list, I prayed this place had insurance.

“Good morning, Laurel,” Josephine Hennessey greeted happily before she smiled warmly at my mother. “Ms. LeeAnn, what do you think?”

“It’s magnificent.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Josephine replied. “Shall we go inside so I can show you around?”

“Please.” My mother smiled like the cat that ate the canary.

Following behind, I shook my head. “Uh, Josie. Just out of curiosity, you have insurance on this place, right?”

Josephine chuckled. “Yes. Why?”

“Good, cause you’re gonna need it after this wedding.”

For the next two hours, I watched and listened as Josephine escorted my mother around the opulent place. Shaking my head and groaning occasionally but I kept my mouth shut when my mom asked question after question, then checked off every box in her wedding binder with glee.

This wedding was going to be worse than the Battle of Gettysburg when all was said and done.

Nobody saw it, but I did.

You see, even I knew there was a difference between the classes in the South. There was the old South, like Virginia, North and South Carolina and certain parts of Georgia. Now, those southerners were what people in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida liked to call Old Money. The hoity-toity richy-rich southerners who accepted the defeat of the Civil War with grace and dignity.

Yeah. Where I came from was another story.

I was one of those backwood cousins the fancy folks spoke about in hushed corners. The hillbilly rednecks that didn’t give two shits in a holler about anything but mud-doggin’, drinkin’ beer, and huntin’, while we waited for the South to rise again. Now, those were the folks that were about to descend on this beautiful place. From what I knew of them, it would take a nanosecond for them to destroy this place and bring it to the ground faster than when Sherman burned down Atlanta.

Even faster if Jack Daniels was involved.

This was going to be an unmitigated disaster of epic proportions.

After dropping my mom off back at the house, I needed a break. She was full speed ahead with the wedding nonsense, and now that Josephine offered her the ski resort free of charge, even throwing in the resort’s chefs to cook the reception meal, my mom was in her element. Wasting no time, she called my sisters, who quickly jumped on board the crazy train and never looked back.

Heading into the Irish Rose Tavern, I prayed they had some Southern Comfort behind the bar because I planned on drinking a bottle or three.

“Laurel! Over here!” I heard the second I walked in. Looking around the local bar, I spotted Bailey with a pretty redhead sitting at a table day drinking as the vibrant woman waved her arms in the air like she was flagging down a Boeing 747.

Figuring why not, I headed over to join them.

Pulling out a chair, I sat and asked, “So, why are you here before noon?”

“It’s Sunday.” The pretty redhead grinned. “It’s our day off from motherhood. It’s the one day we don’t have to worry about kids. I’m Jessica, by the way.”

“Laurel.” I smiled as Enigma walked over, placing a cold beer before me. Looking up at him, I asked, “Got anything stronger?”

The cute brother grinned. “Sure. What would you like?”

“Southern Comfort. Bring the bottle.”

Enigma blinked, then nodded before walking away.

“Nash or your mom?” Bailey asked.

Groaning, I leaned forward, placing my head in my hand and said, “My mom.”

Bailey chuckled. “So, I take it she loved the resort.”

I nodded, then frowned. “So, where is everyone else?”

“Well, Sarah isn’t old enough to drink yet. Skylar hates alcohol, Henley is still recovering from her C-section, Lidi said sleep was more important than hanging out with us, and Phoebe will be here shortly,” Jessica advised.

“Didn’t you just have a baby?”

Jessica nodded. “Sure did. My fourth. Well, technically I have five. We have Savage’s niece, Hailey, who is six, almost seven. Then I have Shane who’s almost five. Twin boys, Travis and Tucker, who just turned three, and now I have Helena.”

“And you left all of them with their father?”

Jessica nodded. “Sure as hell did. Fucker likes keeping me pregnant, then I get one day a week all to myself.”

Bailey chuckled. “Not that he will be getting you pregnant again anytime soon. How is his dick, by the way?”

Jessica grumbled, “Worked just fine this morning.”

Bailey threw her head back and laughed before she turned to me. “Savage lost his shit when Jess birthed Helena. Fucker actually shouted at Georgie to stick his hand up Jess and dig around for the boy he thought he was having. Jess didn’t like that and grabbed Savage’s balls, damn near castrating the mouthy fucker. Poor bastard was walking around with a limp for about a week.”

“I would have just culled him right then and there,” I smirked.

“Would have if George would have given me the scalpel,” Jess snarked.

“So, this is a weekly thing, then?” I asked as Enigma returned with a fresh bottle of Southern Comfort and five tumblers before walking away again.

“Hello, bitches.”

Turning, I smiled as Devlin Never plopped her ass down next to me, grabbing a tumbler and the bottle of Southern Comfort, pouring herself a full glass, before she chugged the whole damn thing. Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, she slammed the glass back down and sighed. “Damn, that’s smooth.”

Gaping at the spitfire woman, I asked, “Everything okay, Devlin?”

“Fuck no,” the woman groaned.

Devlin was one of the first women I met when I moved to Rosewood. She was a pistol with a snarky mouth.

We hit it off instantly.

Grinning, I asked, “What did he do now?”

Instead of answering, she pulled out her phone and flipped through some apps before handing it to me, showing me a picture.

Laughing loudly, I leaned toward Bailey and Jess so they could see.

“Are those stuffed alligators?” Jess smirked.

“Yes. Stupid fucker keeps sending them to me. They are everywhere! I can’t walk around my apartment without seeing them.”

“Well, he’s persistent, that’s for sure.” Jessica laughed.

“He’s fucking annoying and it’s pissing me off,” Devlin muttered. “The last one arrived yesterday with a big red bow around its neck, along with a plane ticket. He wants me to visit him.”

“Are you gonna go?” I asked, handing her back her phone.

“Why would I do that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Dev, because you like him and he’s the best dick you’ve had in years.”

“Hold up!” Bailey interrupted. “You slept with Gator!”

Devlin groaned. “Fucker wore me down. I was drunk and he was handsy. Bastard has more hands than an octopus.”

We all laughed when Phoebe walked into the Tavern.