Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

***ARCHIE***

A rchie stood on the dock, shifting nervously from foot to foot, watching the boat come in from the ocean, his stomach twisting with anxiety, reminding himself he was a grown man, and a doctor at that. Once Felicity's parents got to know him, it would be fine; they'd see that they were perfect for each other and that he was more than capable of taking care of their daughter. He couldn't blame them for being upset. Getting that phone call about their wedding must have been a big shock, but he had Brittany on his side, and he knew that would help.

"Will you just relax; you're making me nervous." Brittany said. "And I'm not the one in trouble."

"We're not in trouble," Felicity said, rolling her eyes at her sister. "We're adults, we don't get in trouble."

"I don't think we'll ever get old enough not to get one of Dad's lectures," Brittany said. "I bet he's been working on one since I called yesterday. You know how he is when he gets worked up."

Felicity's eyes widened. "Was he that worked up?" she asked, then groaned when her sister nodded. "Is it too late to run away?"

The boat was almost to the slip; butterflies erupted in his stomach, and his palms began to sweat. "You two are not helping," he said. "What if they hate me?"

"They won't hate you," Felicity said, giving Brittany a dirty look. "My dad just likes to lecture us when we get in trouble. It was kind of a joke when we were kids. The longer he lectured us, the more trouble we were in."

"That's kind of sweet," he said, feeling a little better. "But maybe we could just wait quietly for them."

Felicity squeezed his hand. "Archie, quit worrying; it's going to be fine," she said, looking up at him. "Trust me, they're going to love you."

He let out a long sigh, trying to calm himself down, relieved when Felicity and Brittany let silence fall between them, but it was only a few minutes before the boat was pulling up to the dock. Grabbing the lines from Montgomery, he quickly tied the boat off like he'd been taught, then waited as Felicity's parents climbed out of the boat, his heart pounding.

"Mom, Dad, you're here," Felicity said, running over and giving them a hug. "I'm so glad you could make it. I can't imagine getting married without you."

Felicity's father made a sound in his throat, "We'll see about that," he said. "I haven't decided yet if I'm going to allow this to instantly go forward."

"Now, Tom, stop that, we just got here," Felicity's mother said, then studied Felicity for a few seconds. "You look good, sweetheart, happy and healthy. Your father is just worried, you know how he is."

Felicity turned to him and held out her hand. "This is Archie," she said, pulling him up next to her. "These are my parents, Tom and Nancy. "

"It's nice to meet you," he said, holding out his hand. "I know this is a bit unusual, but I want to assure you that I love your daughter more than anything in the world, and my only goal in life will be to make her happy."

Tom made another noise in his throat but shook his hand. "And how do you propose to do that?" he asked. "Can you support her?"

"Dad, stop that. I don't need Archie to support me; I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself," she said. "Behave yourself. At least wait until you've had a chance to unpack and rest. I'm sure it was a long trip."

"Honey, Felicity is right, we've been traveling for hours," Nancy said, putting her hand on his arm. "A little rest would do us some good. Maybe we can meet up with the kids for an early dinner."

It looked like Tom was going to argue for a second, but Nancy gave him a look, and he let out a long sigh. "I guess it can wait for a few hours," he said, then looked over at Archie. "But you aren't off the hook, young man, I'm not going to let you marry my daughter until I'm satisfied that you're not……"

"Hey, how about if I show you to your cabin," Brittany cut in. "Max assigned you one of the best on the island. He had a last-minute cancellation, so you got lucky; you can see the ocean from the deck; the rest of us only get to hear it."

"It's really nice to meet you, Archie," Nancy said. "I hope we can get to know each other better very soon."

"Thank you, Mrs. Russell," he said. "That would be nice."

Nancy studied him for a second. "Please call me Nancy, we're going to be family after all," she said with a nod of her head. "I haven't seen that sparkle in Felicity's eyes for a long time. I think you're good for her."

"She's good for me too," he said, looking over at Felicity. " She was the light in the darkness, and I'm darn lucky that she agreed to marry me."

"Let's not get started on that again," Nancy said, patting his arm. "But I'm on your side."

He felt much better when the three of them walked away, but he knew he still had to earn Tom's respect and he didn't have much time. "Come on, let's go arrange something fantastic for dinner, that will soften my father up," Felicity said. "He's actually taking this better than I thought he would, and you did great. I told you it was going to be fine."

"I'm just glad we have your sister on our side," he said. "I think I'm going to like having her as my sister-in-law."

"You say that now, but you just wait until she starts poking her nose into our business," Felicity said. "She's a big old busybody, but she means well."

"Busybody or not, she's saving my rear right now," he said. "That puts her number one in my book."

***Felicity***

Felicity set the last dish on the table and sat down next to Archie. "Well, dig in, everyone. You're in for a real treat. You can't find fresher fish than this," she said. "Some of this might have been from the catch we brought in the other day."

"We went out on a fishing boat," Brittany said, reaching for a dish. "It was a blast, except for the storm."

"You went out on a fishing boat?" her mother asked, looking between them. "And actually fished?"

"And hauled in crab traps, and rode out a storm out in the ocean," she said, picking up another dish. "I want to go again before we leave; maybe you and Dad could come."

Her father was quietly putting food on his plate, and she just grunted, but she could see interest in his eyes. She started explaining crab traps and the bait they'd used. When she was finished, their plates were all full, and everyone settled down to eat in silence for a few minutes.

When they were all finished, her father pushed his plate away, then looked at the two of them, "That was a wonderful meal, best fish I've ever had," he said grudgingly. "Now what is this crazy plan the two of you have to get married?"

Archie opened his mouth, but she put her hand on his arm, "Daddy, it's not crazy. I know it seems sudden, but we love each other, really love each other," she said. "I know you're just trying to protect me, but you don't have to worry about Archie. He's a good man, and he'll take care of me, just like I'll take care of him."

Her father studied her for a second, then let out a long sigh. "I think Archie and I need to talk alone," he finally said. "Why don't you three go on inside and leave us alone for a few minutes?"

Her mother gave a slight nod of her head when she looked over at her. "We'll clear the table and do the dishes while you talk," she said, getting to her feet. "Then we can have some dessert and a cup of the wonderful coffee Max grows on the island."

In the kitchen, she started to pace, worrying what her father might say to Archie, but her mother grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the window. "Shhh, if you listen from here, you can hear them talking," she said, then winked at her. "If you get caught, I'll never admit it was me that showed you."

She kissed her mom on the cheek. "Thanks, Mom," she whispered. "You're the best."

Hunkering down by the window, she listened. "Now tell me why this wedding has to be now," her father said. "I'm curious what the big hurry is."

"Well, sir, I love Felicity, I don't want to wait any longer than I have to," Archie said. "This island is special to us. It brought us together, I guess you could say, and I just wanted to honor that."

Her father didn't say anything for a second, "Hmmm……that's interesting," he said. "Brittany tells me that you're a plastic surgeon. That's very interesting as well. Are you going to fix my little girl's face?"

"No, sir, I'm too close to Felicity to operate on her, and right now I don't think that's something she wants to do," he said. "I think she's beautiful just the way she is, but should the day come that she wants to have it changed, I know some of the best surgeons in the country."

After letting out a satisfied grunt, her father was silent for a moment. "And where do the two of you plan to live?" he asked. "You must have a practice somewhere."

"Well, sir, that's a bit of a sticky situation, but one that I'm trying to remedy right at the moment," Archie said. "But I hope to donate a year of my time working for a charity a friend of mine runs. I've asked Felicity to come with me; she'll be able to teach again, which I think will make her very happy."

"She did love teaching," her father said, his voice warming up a bit. I'm sure you can understand why I'm a bit protective of my daughter, Archie. What happened with Joe scared and shocked us all. We're just a normal family trying to live a normal life, but it's my job to make sure nothing like that will ever happen to someone in my family again."

"I understand, sir," Archie said. "I promise you, all I want is for Felicity to be happy. I want her to follow her dreams and I'd like to be right by her side as she does it. What makes her happy will make me happy, I know that sounds like a……well, a line to try and convince you, but it's true. Felicity has become the most important thing in my life, and I'd like to spend the rest of my life making her happy."

The silence from her father lasted a lot longer this time. " You seem like an upstanding young man. Your words sound right, and I can see that you believe them," her father said. Felicity does seem much happier, so I won't stand in your way, but it's going to take more than just words for you to prove yourself to me."

"Yes, sir," he said, relief pouring through him. "I understand, and I don't blame you. After all, actions speak louder than words, and I promise you won't be disappointed in me."

"I hope not, I don't want to see Felicity hurt again," her father said. "Now you might as well get the women back out here, I'm sure we have some details to work out."

Felicity jumped up and quickly walked away from the window, but Brittany and her mother couldn't miss the big smile on her face. "It's going to be okay," she said. "Dad's not going to fight us getting married, and he didn't even give Archie a lecture."

Her mother gave her a big hug, "I'm happy for you sweetheart," she said. "Your father and I just want you to be happy and safe."

"Archie would never hurt me, Mom; he's not that kind of man," she said. And I know that he'll protect me if anyone else tries to hurt me."

"Then we're all in agreement," her mom said, smiling at her. "Now, what are you going to do about a dress?"