She gasped when I got directly in her face.
“I told you to stop talking while you were behind. You don’t fucking listen. Let me remind you one final time: keep my wife and Aiden’s name out of your mouth. Don’t talk about them. If you see either of them, cross the street. Don’t even dream about them because if you do, you’ll wake up to one very pissed Townsend.”
My top lip trembled with anger.
“Trust me when I say the last thing you want is to see me when I’m irate.” I took a step back and grabbed my motorcycle helmet. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
I slammed my helmet over my head and got on my bike, revving it up. I peeled out of my parking spot, still fuming.
Tricia was the last person to whom I felt the need to defend my marriage. She knew our relationship wasn’t going anywhere. Hell, no woman I dated over the past sixteen years was ever destined to be anything more than temporary.
Savannah had burnt that bridge for any other woman. And now she was back, seeking a divorce so she could get money from her grandmother’s estate. I huffed and flicked my wrist to rev my bike up to go faster.
The thought of Savannah and divorce brought on memories of the very day we said our I do’s.
* * *
Then
Ace
I looked out onto the sparkling water of the Gaines River, thinking back to the first time Savannah and I met. The sky above was a brilliant blue with not a cloud on the horizon. One of those perfect spring days that only Texas could deliver.
May ninth. Our wedding day.
I peered down the road, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. Nerves like I’d never experienced before crashed through my entire body. My stomach felt like I’d just gotten off a roller coaster.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have had that BBQ for lunch,” Micah said as he stood beside me in the parking lot.
I elbowed him. “Shut the fuck up,” I growled, feeling every bit of my anxiety.
“You need to be nicer. I am your witness for this. If I’m not here, there’s no proof you went through with it.”
We stood in the parking lot of a park that led down to an opening by Gaines River. In the center of the park was a white gazebo. This spot wasn’t too far from where Savannah and I first met, and it was the location of where we were to get married.
“She’ll be here.” Micah placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
No less than thirty seconds later did a Taxi pull up. I exhaled as Savannah got out of the car. All of the tension in my body fell away, but then my heartbeat kicked up for a different reason.
Savannah stood there next to the taxi, smiling at me. She looked like an angel dressed in a white dress that stopped a few inches above her ankles. It was a simple dress, but she’d paired it with a crown made of her favorite flower. Sunflowers.
She’d straightened her hair and wore it long.
“After the rain comes the sunshine. Sunflowers remind me of the sunshine,” she’d told me once when explaining why they were her favorite flower.
“Damn, my wife is beautiful.”
“She’s not your wife yet,” Micah reminded me.
“She will be,” I said with all the confidence in the world. As I took a step closer to the taxi, I noticed the passenger side door open. “Mom?” I couldn’t believe she was there.
“You didn’t think I’d miss your big day, did you?” my mother asked, looking at me with soft eyes.
I moved closer, taking her by the elbow to hold her steady. She was so weak from the cancer that riddled her body. I wondered how she was even able to get out of bed some days.
“How did you…?” I trailed off.
My mother turned to look over at Savannah. “Your fiancée invited me.”
