In Your Honor (53 page)

Lucy had protested briefly when Miranda had
first asked her to be a bridesmaid, but Blake explained that the
O'Neil's had been his home away from home. They included him in all
family events and holidays, and she was part of that family now
too. So Lucy happily accepted, but refused to wear the high heels
that the other girls were wearing.

Blake looked down at Greta's feet as she
parted ways with David at the altar. She and Lucy had the same
shoes on. He wondered who had led the rebellion on that one. More
than once over the years, Greta had reminded him of Lucy. They had
a similar build and bone structure. Dark hair, loud laugh,
infectious personality, and hatred of conforming to the norm. But
where Lucy's eyes were the color of melted dark chocolate, Greta's
were a striking blue. Completely different from her brother and
sister's brown ones. It had set her apart, and she often spoke of
the recessive but powerful blue-eyed gene that gave her super
powers.

While Miranda and Harrison were cautious and
sensitive creatures, Greta was a wild child. In fact, she had just
flown in from California the night before, barely in time for the
rehearsal dinner. She had slid into her seat across from Lucy, and
you'd think the two had known each other for years.

The wedding march began and Blake watched
Miranda come down the aisle with her father. He stole a glance at
the groom and saw that Carl's face was relaxed and happy. He wasn't
the brusque and hard road manager today. No, today he was very much
in love.

The vows made Lucy cry, as expected, and
Blake winked at her from across the aisle. She shook her head at
him as she dabbed at her happy tears. Damn, he loved that
woman.

He looked over his shoulder at Luke, Mike
and Sway, wondering what the next adventure would be in their
lives.

The band was on an indefinite hiatus as
their lives began to grow and move in separate directions. Lenny
was competing again, Harrison and Mike were working on a solo
project, Lucy had officially signed to Double Blind Records, and
Sway was going on tour with a band he had admired his entire life.
At one time, that would have made Blake nervous. But not anymore.
As a band, they were great. As friends, they were even better.

Blake whooped loudly and David whistled when
Carl and Miranda were pronounced man and wife and Carl laid a big
wet one on her. That meant they could get to the reception and he
could take off his tie. Not really known for his posh dress code,
Blake had agreed to the tux simply because Miranda was practically
his sister. But the sooner he got out of it, the better.

They had to take two limos to fit the entire
wedding party and Blake only kind of had to pretend to have to keep
Lucy on his lap.

“
Are you guys going to take an
official honeymoon?” Lenny asked, sitting directly across from them
towards the front of the elegant car.

Blake nuzzled his face into the space next
to Lucy's neck as she tried to push him away. “Everyday is an
official honeymoon.” His nose grazed her jaw lightly. “At least it
is for me.”

Lucy grinned and shook her head. “We're
taking some time off as we get the house fixed up.”

Blake had given her grandparents' house to
her for a wedding gift. She'd cried, not surprisingly. They had
gutted the interior and were having renovations done, with brand
new pretty-much-everything installed. It was so much bigger and
better than he had ever dreamed it could be.

“
I love that you guys just ran off and
got married. That's something that I would like to do someday. But
I don't know if mom would go for it,” Greta spoke up from a couple
people away.

“
From you? She's probably been
expecting it since the day you were born,” Blake joked.

“
True story,” Greta responded dryly.
“I just think it's so cool how you knew exactly what you wanted and
went for it. I'm adding that to my list of things that inspire
me.”

“
You want me? I'm currently
available,” Sway said from beside her.

“
Oh Sway, we've been over this before.
I like my men like I like my Olympic swimmers: with Olympic
swimmers' bodies,” Greta responded with feigned
sweetness.

Sway grinned, not even offended. “Well,
maybe you can at least keep me company on the dance floor for
awhile.”

“
Of course, love. Which girlfriend are
we hiding from tonight?”

The car had stopped and the rest of the
wedding party was starting to exit, so Blake didn't catch Sway's
reply. He had his hands full trying to pretend that he was helping
Lucy get the skirt of her dress decent when in actuality he was
enjoying how smooth her thighs felt in his hands.

“
Easy, tiger.” She gave him a light
slap to the back of his hand and he growled. “We have plenty of
time for that later.”

“
Yeah, but I hate waiting,” he
whispered roughly in her ear. She bit down on her bottom lip as she
smiled at him. He loved driving her crazy.

The hotel where the reception was held was
dressed up deluxe. Fancy tables, fancy waiters, fancy lights. Blake
was a little disconcerted when he realized he had to sit at the
head table where everyone could see him and he couldn't make out
with Lucy in private. He didn't mind the audience so much, but she
had something against it.

The food was good, the music was safe. Blake
was starting to get bored and was considering hauling Lucy into an
elevator just to get a little action when David stood up to give
his best man speech.

***

David stood, his
aging face showing a hint of amusement at what he had written down
on his napkin several minutes ago.

Carl had asked him to give a best man’s
speech and even though David was no good at public speaking, he
decided to wing it.

Caroline had urged him to prepare and plan,
to make a really nice toast to the happy couple, but every time
David had sat down to write something, nothing ever really came out
right. He had managed to procrastinate just up until the point when
everyone was finding their seats and then he knew, it was show
time.

So David wrote down the only things that he
could think of, and most of them now painted the picture of a
bromance that stretched states wide.

He cleared his throat and adjusted his
tie.

“
You know, I always liked M.” He looked over at the bride and
smiled. “Although I didn’t think she liked me very much, not in the
beginning. But I’d like to think I won her over.” He winked and
Miranda shook her head, laughing at the joke.

“
I’d like to say that I wasn’t the reason for why Miranda and
Carl met, but let's be honest, Carl needed help with his grades and
I just didn’t care about such trivial things. I was more interested
in… well, not going to class, and of course, Carl was a very good
friend, so he stuck by my decision.

“
Good thing Miranda was there, to make a proper student outta
him.” David chuckled at his own joke and rubbed his jaw.

“
But things weren’t always like that with Carl. Before
Miranda, he could be a right ass if you let him, and even when you
didn’t. He was mean, he smoked, he drank, he did things that would
make even a sailor blush. I know he made me blush all the
time.

“
It was Carl who told me that he wasn’t the settlin’ type,
right before he threw a cherry bomb into the toilet at the country
club and ran away. Naturally, I thought that’s how he would always
respond to marriage proposals, not just mine, but here we
are.

“From the time we were
just little whipper-snappers, we were inseparable. It was only
after he took up with this little band, you might have heard of
them, Double Blind Study, did our lives diverge. He ran off with a
rock band, and I stayed here at home, holding down the
fort.

“
Because that’s what you do when you love someone. You let
them follow their dreams, because they’re bound to come back, and
if they don’t—at least you’ll have a rather bitter section of your
best man speech at their wedding.”

David laughed at his own joke again and
looked at Carl this time, who was trying not to smile through his
scowl.

“
But all humor aside, Carl is the best friend a guy could
have. He’s a busy devil, so you better be ready for fast phone
calls, but when you need him, he’s there. He’s more perceptive than
people give him credit for, and I don’t know if it's because of
that brow or his height. He was there for me when my parents died,
and he always made sure I knew I was making a huge mistake whenever
I dated a lady he didn’t approve of.

“
He looked out for me because he cared about me, and now I
couldn’t be more happy to say, it looks like he’s got someone to
look out for him, full-time.

“
So watch him, M, and don’t let him get near any musicians, he
collects them like lost puppies and pretty soon, if they get a van,
he’ll run. You lock that down.”

David paused, realizing he had run out of
steam, out of thought, and a part of him panicked, but he held it
together. “That’s all. Speech over. Goodnight.”

He sat down and looked over at the Maid of
Honor. It was her turn in the hot seat now.

***

Not to be outdone, Greta reached for the mic
and cleared her throat into it loudly.

“
When I came into this world, Miranda
had already been here for a solid twelve years. So, needless to
say, she had a lot of wisdom to impart. And you better believe I
paid attention! Usually after the fact, though. There is not one
bad decision in my past that I cannot attribute the fixing of to
Miranda.

“
What I remember the most is how
loving she was. Indulging in our brother's very questionable
choices in friends. She would drive them to and from band practice,
pack them sandwiches because she didn't want them to skip any
meals, and listen to countless hours of jam sessions while she
studied and still managed to get straight As all through high
school and college. She volunteered every summer with Habitat for
Humanity and would begin the school year with blisters, sunburn and
usually a broken bone. And of course, she would bring home every
stray animal she found, nurse it back to health and then find it a
good family. Which brings me to Carl. He was the puppy who would
never leave.

“
I'll never forget the first time he
followed her home. She was a tutor at the university while working
towards her degree... in whatever she does to help people... And
there was this very rough and frowny man sitting at the table with
her. Apparently he needed help in one of his classes, and he'd been
assigned to Miranda. He talked back, was sarcastic and had to take
several breaks to go out and smoke. I liked him right away. Miranda
did what Miranda always does, and she never lost faith or patience.
And eventually, Carl passed that class and immediately asked Ran
out on a date.

“
When Carl ran off with rock stars, I
thought for sure she would move on to a classier and more deserving
guy. But that goes to show she still had so much to teach me.
Because love doesn't follow the logical progression of time. It
doesn't get old or weary. It doesn't quietly slip out the door one
night while you're sleeping, leaving you free to love someone new.
It's the fire that keeps you warm, it's the light that keeps you
hoping, it's the star that guides you home.

“
And Carl, I'm so glad you finally
came home. She's been waiting. May you ever endeavor to deserve
her.”

Lifting her glass, Greta toasted the new
couple, and Blake saw Lucy wipe a tear off her cheek. He put an arm
around her shoulder and hugged her to his side.

“
That was a good speech,” she
whispered, and he chuckled against her neck.

“
Knowing Greta, she probably didn't
even write it down. She's always been the
fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants girl.”

“
I used to be really worried about
you,” Lucy turned to him seriously. He sat back slightly but waited
for her to continue.

“
I used to worry about where you were
and if anyone was being good to you. Finding out that this family
is where you were hiding out makes me feel so much better. I'm glad
you had them.”

Blake gave her a crooked smile and then
planted a kiss on her lips. “I love you.”

“
I love you back.”

The bride and groom were ushered out onto
the dance floor, where they danced to Al Green's “Let's Stay
Together.” Blake had never seen Carl look at a woman in complete
adoration. His frown was non-existent and he was surprisingly light
on his feet. Miranda's ivory gown shimmered in the soft light, her
dark hair pulled off her neck and piled in curls on top of her
head. She looked so young and so in love.

Lucy's hand slid over the top of his leg and
she squeezed. He understood, without her having to say anything.
This was one of those rare moments in life where everything was
perfectly right with the world.

As the dancing progressed into the night,
Carl never let Miranda go. With the exception of the dollar dance,
where David demanded more dances with Carl than Carl wanted to
give.

Blake was right about earlier, he did indeed
make out with his wife on the dance floor.

“
Is there ever a time when you're not
stunning?” he asked in her ear as they swayed to the
music.

“
Yes, usually in the morning before
I've had my coffee,” she reminded him playfully.