Chapter 25

twenty-five

DYLAN

Two hours later, I was shivering on the steps of The New Life Church, waiting for the rest of my family to leave the wedding rehearsal. It was better than I expected, but Luke was still unhappy.

Steve joined me, and I was glad to have some time alone with him, even if it was freezing. “Why is Luke so stressed?” I asked. “He hardly smiled during the entire rehearsal.”

Steve shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve tried talking to him, but he won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“Do you think it’s Jarrod?”

“If Luke was upset with him, he would’ve done something about it. At least we didn’t have to tell him our suits are missing.”

“I can’t believe you picked them up from the store. Why didn’t you tell someone?”

“Mom was getting her hair cut and I couldn’t reach you on your cell phone. I thought it would save the store from having to deliver them.”

At least Luke didn’t know what had happened. “Your lips are turning blue,” I said to Steve, noticing he was shivering despite his thick coat.

“So are yours. How about we tell everyone we’ll meet them at the restaurant? We could stop at your house for a coffee.”

“Or we could have coffee at the restaurant.” I knew what Steve was doing. He wanted to meet Alex. Our mom had told everyone about the nice man I was working with. And that, of course, led to a lot of questions I didn’t want to answer.

Steve stuck his hands in his pockets. “You know what our family’s like. They could be here for another hour. I’ll tell Mom and Dad we’re going to your place.”

“Steve,” I hissed. But it was too late. My youngest brother was running up the concrete steps, intent on finding our parents before I could stop him.

Pulling out my phone, I called Alex. Warning him was the least I could do. And if he was as intelligent as I knew he was, he might decide to visit a mall for a few essential supplies.