Page 71 of Once Upon a Holidate
“There was a parade, not a holiday.”
“So he’s saving that for the boy?” Jasper asked.
“Don’t even joke about it.”
Garrick and Jasper exchanged a high five.
“Laugh all you want,” Cade told them. “But one day the two of you will have more kids, and you’ll know it’s never easy. Even if your father-in-law isn’t royal.”
***
Wynn sat on her front porch. It was nearly ten in the evening. She was tired, but wasn’t sure she was going to be able to sleep—not with everything on her mind.
A familiar SUV pulled in next door. Garrick got out and walked over to sit next to her.
“How was the man-fest?” she asked.
“Good. The Seahawks won and Jasper made ribs with his new smoker.”
“He’s cooking? Good for Renee. She’s training him well.”
He looked at her. “How are you holding together?”
“By strings that are fraying as we speak.” She pulled her knees to her chest. “I haven’t said anything to Hunter yet. I just can’tfigure out how to start the conversation. Once I get my thoughts together, I’ll talk to him. In the meantime I called back the lady at Junior ROTC and answered the rest of her questions.”
He put his arm around her. “Do you know what you’re going to do?”
She shook her head. “I feel trapped. It’s what I said before. If I tell them what he did, which is the right thing to do, he’ll be thrown out of the program. If I don’t tell them, he can stay in but I’m teaching him a lousy life lesson.”
She looked at him. “I spent some time online, reading about the program. It’s really great. The main focus is leadership. They emphasize helping young women and minority students. He would be exposed to excellent ideals and learn a lot. There are Facebook groups for parents. It’s a wonderful program.”
“So why didn’t he just talk to you in the first place?”
“I have no idea.” She sighed, feeling the weight of her responsibilities. “I know what I’m supposed to do, but I don’t want to do it. I don’t want him to lose the chance before he even starts. I wish he’d talked to me.”
“Would you have said yes?”
A question she’d been asking herself all day. “I don’t know. I like to think I would have done my research and then I would have said yes, but I’ll never know.”
“I’m sorry.” He held her close.
“Thanks. I’ll get through this.” She straightened. “On the bright side, Joylyn’s friend Holly got engaged. Do you know her?”
“Yes. I met her at the wedding. How do you know about the engagement?”
Wynn told him about Joylyn coming by and asking for help with the wedding. “There was a recent cancellation at Weddings Out of the Box. The thinking is Holly and Rex can take that spot. Some things are already paid for. Renee’s putting together some numbers.”
“How far would a couple of thousand dollars go?” he asked.
She shifted so she could look at him. “What do you mean?”
“I’m happy to kick in the money to help pay for the wedding. If I’m remembering who Holly is, she doesn’t have any family to help. They’re both Marines, getting by on their salary. I doubt they have money put away for a wedding. I’d like to help.”
The sadness in her heart eased a little. “That’s really nice and a great idea. I’ll talk to Renee about it. I’m sure that kind of money would go a long way. I can donate some, too.”
“You don’t have to. You’re doing enough helping my daughter.”
“It would make me feel better about my life.”
