Chapter 11

Jared

"You're coming too, right, Mom?" I ask while drinking my coffee, shifting my eyes toward her.

"Because Mrs. Smith and Cassidy will be there, and I know she's bringing her binder with her. Since we have minimal time, I'm sure they won't mind the help."

"Yes, I am!" Mom exclaims. "I'm so excited that she said yes, Jared. I may finally get some grandbabies to spoil."

She sobers when she remembers what Cade's ex-wife did. It was definitely a hard time for all of us and I'm sure it's one of the reasons Cade seems to have turned over a new leaf. Granted, he was snarky when I first started dating Cassidy, but once I put him in his place, he's acting better. Only time will tell as far as I'm concerned, because he's always been an asshole and slightly narcissistic as well.

"Can we have a little bit of time for just the two of us?" I tease.

"Well, you built that gorgeous house with all those bedrooms so don't take too long to fill them," she retorts, smiling at me.

"Since Cassidy will have a say in this, how about I discuss it with her first?" I ask.

"Fine, fine. Are you ready to go yet?"

"Come on, Mom, I'm excited to show you the house."

She hasn't seen it since the walls went up, although she's gone over the blueprints multiple times. Thank God, she helped me find the things I knew Cassidy wanted in a house, so I was able to convey that to the contractor.

* * *

I can hear the three women giggling and talking up a storm in the kitchen while they plan the wedding, look for a venue, and buy furniture, as I go through the punch out list with the contractor. So far, the things I've found have been minor which is a good thing. As we head into the kitchen, I lean over Cassidy's shoulder to see she has bedding pulled up.

"I like that one," I whisper in her ear. "What do you think?"

"It's between two now. Do you like this one?" she asks, clicking over to another screen.

"I prefer the first one if you're okay with it," I reply.

"Yeah, that one's the prettier one, but we can always get the other for a backup."

"Then do it. We're heading out to the other house now," I say, leaning closer and giving her a kiss. "Shouldn't take too long then I'm all yours to help with this, but I think we'll relocate to somewhere so we can eat. What do you ladies think?" I ask.

"Food sounds pretty good," Mom says. "I have your dad checking on something with regard to the venue, then we can move forward to get invitations ordered and sent out."

"Mom, we want peoples' presence, not presents," I reply.

"You know as well as I do that you'll likely get both," she retorts. "Now, hurry and get the other house done so we can eat. Your father is going to meet us there."

"Why is Dad meeting us for lunch?" I ask.

"To help celebrate the fact y'all are engaged, of course."

I just shake my head because at this point, when it all rinses out in the wash, I'll be married to my best friend.

Cassidy.

* * *

"I'd like to make a toast," Dad says once we're sitting at the restaurant out at the country club.

The place itself gives off that old world southern charm, with beautiful gardens, and antebellum style buildings. There's even an area that was built several years ago for large events, including quincea?eras, bat and bar mitzvahs, and weddings. The reason Dad wants to make a toast is we were able to get the venue for the wedding when another couple canceled. Not only that, but when Mrs. Smith heard, she whipped out her checkbook and paid for it in full.

Once everyone's glass is raised, he says, "Congratulations to Jared and Cassidy. This has been a long time coming and we're proud to welcome you both to our family, Maureen and Cassidy. I see good things with this upcoming marriage, as well as Jared's new branch of the firm, and am excited for you both. May y'all be as richly blessed as your mother and I have been, and Maureen and Wayne were, God rest his soul. I know the wedding will likely be bittersweet since he isn't here, but I'd be honored to walk you down the aisle, Cassidy."

By now, all three women are openly crying, their small sobs breaking my heart. I turn Cassidy toward me and take my cloth napkin and gently wipe her face before I kiss her. Due to our current location, it's little more than a lip touch, but I can tell she's equal parts happy and sad.

"Thanks, Dad," I reply after we've all drank some of the champagne he insisted on.

"Mr. Knox, I'd be… I'd be honored if you would walk me down," Cassidy manages to say. "Thank you."

Dad, who's never been comfortable with tears, claps his hands and clears his throat before he asks, "So, who wants to try the seafood special?"

As we enjoy our bread and salads while we wait for our entrees, Mom and Mrs. Smith start working on the invitation list. Because of my position in the community, there'll be a lot of people who are there that Cassidy may not know. Then again, she works at the grocery store, so she likely comes into contact with pretty much everyone in town.

"Who's going to stand up for you, Jared?" Mom asks.

I clear my throat then reply, "Dad."

I watch as Dad gets choked up but truly, since I became an adult, he's one of my best friends. I sure as hell can't ask Cade, and I don't want to start a family feud by asking my younger brother, Lachlan. I know my best male friend, Augustus, won't be able to get leave. He's serving in the Marines and is on a deployment.

"What about Augustus?" he questions.

"He's on a six-month deployment right now," I reply.

"Then I'm happy to do it."

"I presume Mags will be your maid of honor?" Mrs. Smith asks Cassidy, who merely grins while nodding her head.

"She's going to do the catering and also the cake for us," Cassidy replies once she's swallowed what she was chewing when her mother asked her about her attendee.

"When are you going to look for a dress?" I query.

"Mags will be home tomorrow, so we thought we'd go next week when I'm off," she says.

"Then I'll make sure I block off the time because that's when the furniture is supposed to arrive."

"Crap, I forgot about that," she mutters.

"No worries, sweetheart, your dress is more important."

Actually, I can't wait to see her out of the dress, but I'm not going to say that around our parents.

"Well, I can come out to the house when we're done and help arrange things," Cass states. Her chin is jutting out, so I know she's trying to be stubborn, but what she doesn't know is I like her fire.

"That sounds good to me."

"You two also need to set up a registry," Mom adds.

"For what?" I ask. "Mrs. Smith ordered all the stuff we need."

"Oh, I don't know, glassware, dishes, kitchen gadgets, linens, just to name a few things," Mom teases. "Because I know Maureen got the furniture and I also know what you used in the apartment isn't good enough for our girl."

Mrs. Smith laughs while I scowl. "Mom, you make it sound like what I had before I moved back home was nothing more than thrift store finds."

She raises her brow at me and retorts, "It was if memory serves. Because I went with you, remember?"

"Busted," Cassidy whispers, giggling.

"Yeah, I didn't care about that kind of thing to be honest, so I guess you and I have some shopping to do."

"Sounds… thrilling," she says, still giggling. "Oh, look! Lunch is here!"