Chapter 1
2105 Words
Chapter One
EVAN
“Shut the hell up,” Jackson says, glancing down at me as he stands on the top step of the ladder.
“What happens if you fall off and break your neck right before the wedding?” I try to reason with him, but he’s impossible. Though I’m holding the ladder steady with a death grip, it won’t help a damn thing if he loses his balance and comes toppling backward.
“Then I guess I’ll be glad you went to that fancy medical school so you can fix me right up.”
I roll my eyes at his snide comment. “It’s dangerous, and that’s not how it works if you break bones. I can’t just whip up a solution to fix you by Friday,” I remind him. Being a doctor doesn’t mean I can magically repair bones like some s**t out of Harry Potter. It’s much more complicated than that.
“Dangerous is my middle name.” Jackson looks down at me, flashing a s**t-eating grin in my direction as he continues to hang strings of lights in the tent with both feet on the top step. Our youngest brother Alex’s wedding is in two days, and Jackson has a death wish today. If he makes it through this afternoon without hurting himself, I’ll be surprised.
“You know there’s a warning sticker for that right here. DO NOT STAND ON TOP STEP. You’re the only dumbass around here who gets on a twelve-foot ladder and stands on his tippy-toes.”
Jackson shoos me away with one hand.
“Fine. Do whatever you want, but if you fall, I’m taking a step back. I’m not your damn landing cushion.”
Jackson pretends to lose his balance, and I’m ready to climb up the ladder, drag him down to the ground by the collar of his shirt, then give him a good ole Southern ass whoopin’. I’d make sure not to punch him in the face, though; can’t have two black eyes for the wedding. With a daring look in his eyes, he stares at me with a smile. Sometimes, I don’t know how we’re related.
“Go ahead. Fall then. c***k open your head. Might actually knock some sense into you,” I say over his laughter just as he finishes hanging the last strand of lights.
“You’re gonna hurt yourself,” John says, carrying folding chairs across the tent as he looks at Jackson being an i***t.
“The both of ya need to live on the wild side every once in a while.” Jackson finally climbs down the ladder and rolls his eyes at John. As they stand in front of one another, it’s as if they’re looking in a mirror, but personality wise, they’re Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—complete opposites. Jackson is daring and reckless while John is reserved and responsible; it’s the only way to tell my twin brothers apart.
“Are you three bickering in here?” Mama asks, tucking hair behind one ear as she carries a tray of sandwiches with her other hand. “There’s barely been anything done in here other than a few chairs stacked and the lights hung. We’re running out of time. Rehearsal is tomorrow,” she reminds us, setting the food down on a table. The wedding day stress is making its rounds already.
“Yes ma’am,” I say, giving my brothers a look, hoping they don’t open their mouths and dig a hole for us because if they get Mama worked up, we’re all dead. I’ve learned over the years that sometimes agreeing is the best response. Getting her annoyed when we only have days before the wedding isn’t a good idea because if she can make our lives heaven, she can surely make them hell. Something none of us have time to deal with at the moment.
We go to the food like vultures and finish off the sandwich halves as Mama walks around and gives us more s**t to do. She was meant to be a lead foreman the way she barks orders left and right. Every day I realize how much of a saint my father really is.
“I expect all the tables and chairs to be set up before dark. The dance floor needs to be laid and speakers hung as well. Lanterns and lights placed in the oak tree. Chairs set up outside for the ceremony. Do I need to come out here and supervise you boys?” she asks with just enough attitude in her tone to instill the fear of God. “Please have it done before the sun sets.”
“No ma’am,” John responds, smiling. “We’ll have it all taken care of, Mama.”
Jackson bursts into laughter, and I nudge him hard with my elbow. Mama shakes her head and walks out of the tent, leaving us with a laundry list of tasks and a deadline.
“You’re asking for it,” I tell Jackson.
“I’m always asking for it,” he admits. “Makes things more colorful.”
“And this is why you’ll be single forever. No woman’s gonna take your s**t for the rest of their lives,” John adds, walking out of the tent toward the lowboy full of tables and chairs that need to be set up.
This time, I’m the one chuckling as Jackson’s demeanor slightly shifts.
“You’ll be single forever too!” Jackson finally yells, and I know John heard him because I can see him flying the bird high in the air. Just as I follow them outside, Alex pulls up and gets out of his truck with a big smile on his face. It’s been there permanently since his engagement to River. At least one of us Bishop boys isn’t doomed to the single life. After meeting in Key West last year, River and Alex have been inseparable since finding out they were expecting their little boy, Riley. She moved here from Wisconsin, and they’ve been a clichéd ending to a romance novel ever since.
“Finally!” John shouts over Jackson’s bitching.
“You knew I’d be here to supervise,” he taunts. “Just kiddin’. Couldn’t let y’all do all the back-breaking work alone. Just had to make sure the animals were fed first,” Alex tells us, grabbing as many chairs as he can carry.
Behind him stalks his best friend, Dylan, who’s shaking his head. “I’m a ranch hand, not a damn party planner.” He grunts.
“If Mama hears you say that, she’ll slap you upside your head,” Alex warns.
Jackson and I carry tables across the grass into the tent, then finish setting them up over spray-painted X’s on the ground that Mama laid out for us. She takes her party planning to the next level. Once the tables and chairs are placed, it actually looks like a real reception area. I’m sure tomorrow we’ll be responsible for setting tablecloths and centerpieces too. After we have electrical cords run from generators and the dance floor laid, the four of us walk inside and let Mama know our progress.
Flowers and lace, along with other decorations, are stacked and scattered around the house. It looks like a wedding threw up in here. As Mama reminds Jackson and John of what else she wants to be done, Alex and I stand by the door.
“How’s River holding up?” I ask, knowing how much she’s working and taking care of the baby all while planning their wedding. They live on the property, so Mama is around to help out with Riley a lot, but River still has to commute an hour to and from work.
“She’s doing good but wearing herself out. Her parents and best friend are staying at the B&B, and she feels obligated to entertain them. Between that and Riley, she’s overextending herself.”
River and I work at the hospital together, and lately, she’s been pulling double shifts. Even though she works on the pediatric floor and I work in the emergency room, we cross paths often because the hospital isn’t very big. The last time we spoke, she swore that she’d relax the few days leading up to the wedding, but I knew that was a lie.
“So much for a mini vacation beforehand.”
“Exactly. She’s going to need to go back to work just to catch a break.” He laughs.
Mama interrupts our conversation. “And you two boys can work on hanging more of those lanterns. The tree looks bare out there, and we’re trying to set a mood.”
After we’ve been given our reminder list of b***h work, Alex and I head out the door. Dylan follows, not paying too much attention because he’s too caught up in his cell phone to care, probably texting Jessica, the girl he also met in Key West last year. Since she moved here from Ontario, it’s become serious.
John and Jackson are busy stringing lights through dozens of extra lanterns Mama had. Before long, there are about one hundred of them on the ground with lights inside, and we stare with wide eyes. Mama wasn’t kidding about wanting more lanterns, but this amount seems like it will light the whole damn town. Hell, the fire department might come out. Moving the ladder closer, I climb up and start hanging them on the hooks that Jackson and John are busy nailing to the bark. Alex and Dylan form an assembly line to hand them to me one by one.
“Are you nervous?” I ask Alex as I grab a lantern from his hand.
“I’m just ready to make it official and make River a Bishop. Something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time. Can’t imagine her not being in my life now. It’s crazy when you find the person you’re meant to be with, and you just know she’s your other half.”
“Don’t be getting all sappy on me, geez,” I tease him with a smile just as I hear my sister yelling our names from the back porch.
“We’re over here,” Alex yells back.
In the distance, I can hear Jackson and John laughing with Courtney, and they’re heading this way. As soon as Courtney sees Alex, she runs toward him and pulls him in for a big hug.
“So happy for you! So happy River will finally be my sister,” she continues. “Now the rest of you need to go find a woman and have babies too. I need more sisters and nieces and nephews.”
“Shut up. You’re sounding like Mama more and more every day, which is scary as hell,” I tell her, pulling her into a hug. “You look good, Court. Like you’ve been kicking Drew’s ass for the past six months.”
She chuckles. “I have. After carrying three babies, he deserves a good ass kicking.”
For a moment, she stops and looks around at the tent and all the decorations and gets a little emotional. “Reminds me of my own wedding. Seems just like yesterday.”
“And now look at ya; baby sister’s all grown up being a mom and a wife,” Jackson pipes in, and she stops him with a death glare before he can continue teasing her.
“Oh, I picked up all your tux rentals from the shop when we got Drew’s. They’re inside,” Courtney adds. “Anyway. I should probably go check on Mama and Aunt Charlotte and make sure the babies are still doing okay.”
“You’re really going to make sure they haven’t eaten Drew up and spit him out,” Jackson adds.
Courtney flips him off and continues on her way.
Time flies, and I don’t realize how late it is until it starts getting dark. We work on the rest of the tasks we were given until Mama yells from the back porch that it’s dinnertime. Before we go inside, we plug in the lights to see our handiwork in action. The trees twinkle and glow with lights, and I get what Mama was saying about setting the perfect romantic mood—it’s perfect.
“Wow. River is gonna love this,” Alex says, standing back with his arms crossed over his chest.
Jackson pats him hard on the back. “Holy s**t, dude. This party’s gonna be the s**t! Did you invite any single ladies?”
Alex shakes his head. “I have no idea who’s showing up to this shindig. I think Mama invited three hundred people— basically the whole damn town.”
“I’m calling dibs on the first hot one I see,” Jackson claims while Alex laughs.
“You would.” I roll my eyes.
As we walk toward the house, I can’t help but think how Alex is really getting married to the woman he loves. He’s grown up so much over the past year, I can hardly believe he’s the same guy who went out and got pissed drunk the night River thought she was in labor. She called me hysterically because she couldn’t find him, and I ended up driving over to help her through the Braxton Hicks contractions. None of us would’ve thought the youngest brother would be the first to get married, but I couldn’t be happier for all three of them.
- Writer
