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KAREN WOKE UP RESTED and refreshed.  Drake had arranged for Trenda and Evie to each take a feeding shift with Andrew with some frozen breast milk.  What a boy scout.  Okay, maybe not a boy scout, but he sure was a sneaky planner.  Hers was the only room with a bathroom connected, the rest were sharing bathrooms.  She could hear the sisters laughing in the hallway. 

Karen watched with a grin when the doorknob started turning.  She had a bet that it was Bella, and when the dark curly head peeked in, she mentally won extra bacon with her breakfast.

“She’s awake!” Bella screeched.  “She’s awake!” 

“Well if she wasn’t, she is now.” 

Maddie tousled her niece’s hair as she walked in with Andrew.  “I’ve got niece and nephew duty during breakfast.”

“How’d that happen?”

“This isn’t going to happen for me again for a while.  So, I need to take advantage.”

Karen sat up in bed and fluffed her pillows behind her.  “You’re finishing your master’s program at the end of the school year, aren’t you?”

Maddie crouched down when Bella tugged on her sleeve.  “Yeah, I’ll be done.”

“So, have you considered moving out to California?  I know for a fact that Evie has told you she wants you to stay with her and Aiden for a bit.”

Bella placed a delicate kiss on Andrew’s forehead.  Could she be any sweeter?

“Right now, California is out of the picture.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicated.”  Maddie stood up.  “Come on, Sweet pea.  Do you want to help me feed Andrew his bottle?”

“Oh, I can handle this feeding.  Bring him here.”  Karen held out her arms.  “You feed Bella, and I’ll get Andrew fed.  Then you can take over while I eat.  Is it a deal?”

Maddie gave her a thoughtful look, but then nodded.  “Deal.”

“I want a deal.”  Bella smiled.  “Where’s my deal?”

“You get breakfast with me.  I think they have chocolate croissants.”

Bella jumped up and down.  “That’s my deal, all right.  Where are they?” 

Karen laughed, and Maddie handed over Andrew.  “Follow me, Miss Bella, and I’ll take you to your yummy breakfast.  But you have to eat your eggs and fruit too.”

“But I still get chocolate crows, right?”

“Right.”  Maddie winked at Karen and guided Bella out of her room.

Andrew blinked lazily up at her.  “Are you excited for the big day?”  Karen adjusted her nightgown so that Andrew could help himself, and he did.  “Dig in.  I need to fit into the dress, and there isn’t a lot of wiggle room in the bust.” 

Karen started humming the song that she knew would be playing during the wedding.  It was going to be a surprise to Drake.  He’d actually heard it once, and asked her who was singing.  High praise from a man who thought that Toby Keith and Lynyrd Skynyrd were the end all be all.

The ceremony wasn’t due to start until three o’clock.  Looking at the antique clock on the wall, that was eight hours from now.  It was going to be both the fastest and slowest eight hours of her life.  There was so much to get done she didn’t know how she could manage it all in such a short amount of time.  But then there was the fact that eight hours seemed like an eternity to wait to finally be fully committed to Drake. 

Andrew shook his head.  She was holding him too tightly.

“I’m sorry, Honey.  Mama wasn’t paying attention, was she?”  She lifted him to her other breast.  Three more hours and the boat would dock.  Drake and the men would arrive with the SEAL sisters, the caterers, wait staff and band.  The set-up for the wedding was being handled by folks over from Avalon, and they would be coming via bus. 

She sat up straighter.  Holy hell, they’d figured out the band for the reception, but how were they handling the music for the wedding?  Dammit, she wanted that song playing.  She had a whole list of songs she wanted played for the wedding.  How could she not have thought of this?  She’d been so focused on the music for the reception.

“Knock, knock.”

The door opened, and Evie’s face appeared.

“Uh-oh.  This doesn’t look like the happy bride.  This looks like the stressed-out bride.  What, did you find a pimple?”

Evie was shoved from behind and Trenda followed her into the room.  “Don’t pay any attention to her.  You look beautiful.  But we felt a disturbance in the force.”

“I felt a disturbance, you wanted to play with Andrew,” Evie corrected her sister.

“Whatever.  We’re here now.  What’s wrong?” Trenda asked.

“The music.”

Karen felt herself hyperventilating.  Andrew unlatched and pushed against her breast.  He let out a yell.  It was like he was psychically connected to her.  Breathe Eastman.  Breathe.  Wait, she was going to be Avery.  Just thinking that, calmed her.  She was going to be Karen Avery tonight.

“She’s gone.”

“Totally.  Off in la-la-land.”

“What?”

“You’re thinking sexy thoughts about our brother.”  Trenda smirked.

“Carnal thoughts.  She’s definitely thinking wedding night thoughts,” Evie corrected.

“Damned C-Section.”  Karen sighed.  “That’s still off the table.”  Shit, had she said that out loud?  To Drake’s sisters?

Evie and Trenda laughed.  “I love how her blush clashes with her red hair,” Trenda said to Evie.

“Stop it you two.  Focus.  The problem is the music.  I have a thumb drive of the music I want played for the wedding itself.  I forgot we weren’t having a DJ, and I don’t know what kind of sound system we have, and I don’t know who’s in charge,” her voice trailed off.

“Where’s the thumb drive?” Trenda asked.

“In my purse.  In the side zippered compartment.”  Karen waved her hand towards the dresser.

Evie went over to her bag and pulled it out.  “Got it.”

“Yeah, but what are you going to do with it?” Karen questioned.

“Give it to Lydia.  She’s got your six.  Don’t worry.”

“Six?” Trenda asked.

“She’s got you covered.  She’s watching her back.  It’s like the number six on the clock and you’re at twelve,” Evie explained.

She smiled.  “Got it.  Are you sure Lydia can fix this?” Karen asked.

“Honey, trust me, there’s nothing to fix.  I’m just stunned Lydia hadn’t asked you for this before now.  Are you sure you didn’t tell Drake about your song choices?”

Andrew was getting fussy, so she put him up on her shoulder to burp him.  “No.  I know I didn’t.  There’s one song I wanted to surprise him with.”

“Is it the Eagles?” Trenda asked.

“Nope.”

“Steve Miller Band?” she guessed again.

“Give it up,” Karen said smugly.  “Are you sure Lydia can take care of this?”  Please God say she hadn’t screwed this up.

“If she can’t, Clint can.  Between the two of them, they could tap into the Hubble telescope by breaking into a hardware store.  They’ve got you covered,” Evie assured her.

It was true.  How often had Drake bragged about Clint?  And Lydia was no slouch.  As soon as she sighed with relief Andrew settled down and let out a huge belch.  Karen and the two sisters laughed.

“He’s his father’s son,” Trenda said.  “Now give him to me, so you can go have breakfast.”

Karen reluctantly passed Andrew off to his aunt. 

“We have you covered,” Evie said, tossing the thumb drive up in the air, then catching it.  The girl was a nut.  “The twins are just getting up, so hustle up before the foods all gone.”

Karen threw back the covers and hopped out of bed.  God, it felt good to feel good.  Not a twinge of pain.  It wasn’t fair that sex, real sex, was still off the table.

“We’ll leave you too it.” 

Karen watched as Trenda nuzzled Andrew’s neck. 

“I get to hold him next,” Evie was saying as they left the room.  How much longer before she and Aiden had one of their own?

Karen went over to the bed she’d just vacated and grabbed the pillow to hug, and then tossed it back on the bed in disappointment.  Damn, it didn’t smell like Drake.

***

THANK GOD FOR SOPHIA, Lydia, Beth, Rylie and Angie, Miranda, and Kenna, except for them, Drake felt like he was on a mission.  Could he be surrounded by more testosterone?  What was worse, they were all giving him shit.  Except, of course, for the Eastman brothers.  They were still looking at him like he’d crawled out from under a rock.  Especially Leif. 

He watched as James Eastman left the circle of his sons and came to approach him.

“Karen loves you, she’s made that clear enough.  But my wife.  Somehow you have her convinced that you’re perfect for our daughter, and she doesn’t give her seal of approval to just anyone.”

Drake waited. 

“Wilma will work on the boys, they’ll come around.  You’ll see.”

Drake didn’t really care, except for the fact that Karen would. 

“And you?”

“You asked for permission to marry her.  That showed class.  I also trust my wife’s instincts.  In forty years I haven’t known her to be wrong.”  James paused and looked him dead in the eye.  “But the first time you fuck up with Karen, Jim will shoot, Alex will put your body through a band saw, and Leif will feed your remains to a bear.”

Drake snorted.  “Points for creativity.  I like it.”

James patted him on the back and walked back to his sons.  Drake saw that his limp was a little more pronounced on the rocking boat.  He admired the man.  Karen said that even with the prosthesis he still went downhill skiing with his sons, apparently, he hadn’t let the cancer beat him.

“Getting some advice from your father-in-law?” Finn asked.

“Not hardly.” Drake grinned.

“Like that, huh?  Well I can give you a few pointers if you want.”

Drake stared down at his friend.  “And just what do you think you have to offer?”

“A small piece of advice.  Something that I had to learn the hard way.”

Now this would be worth listening to.  “I’m listening.”

“Relax into the moment.  Don’t think of the past, don’t wander into the future, treat the present as the gift it truly is.  Cherish every second as it’s occurring.  I know you.  You’ll only ever have one wedding day.  Breathe it in.”

Drake opened his mouth to make a smartass comment, then shut it.  Finn’s eyes twinkled. 

“Bastard.  When’d you get to be so smart?”

“Dumbass, I was always smarter than you.” Finn grinned.  “I got the girl first, didn’t I?”  They looked through the plexiglass at the women who were seated on the inside of the boat. 

“Angie’s been good for you.”

“I could say the same about Karen.  How is it being a father?”

“Scary as hell.  But the best thing that’s ever happened in my life. Having Andrew has changed everything.  That thing you said about staying in the present.  It resonates.  I keep worrying about the future, but if I do that, I’ll miss the moments with him now.  And I sure as hell don’t want to miss any moments of this day with Karen.”  Then Drake glanced over at his future brothers-in-law.  “Well maybe I can gloss over some moments.”

“Bullshit, you were even worse to Aiden.”

“Well he deserved it.”

Finn laughed.  “You’re never going to change.”

“I hope that’s not true.  I have a son to raise.  I would hate to think I don’t mature right along with the kid.”

“If you feel that way, then there’s hope for you yet.” 

They watched as Avalon came into view.  Drake’s excitement rose.  This was it.  This was the day he was claiming Karen as his wife.  He couldn’t wait.

***

“NUH-UH.  WHERE DO YOU think you’re going?” Zoe and Chloe asked, their arms crossed.  Bella looked up at her two aunts, then crossed her arms as well.

“I’m going to my room,” Drake said.

“Karen’s in there,” Chloe countered.

“So?”

“You can’t see her until she walks down the aisle,” Zoe told him.

“That’s ridiculous.  Where am I going to put my stuff?” he hoisted his duffel bag and garment bag as he scowled at his sisters. Mason and Sophia walked past him, followed by the other couples of Midnight Delta.

“Hand it to me.  Please tell me you didn’t wad up your tux into the duffle bag,” Zoe said.

Drake gave her the evil eye.  Then turned so she could see the garment bag hanging down his back.  “It’s not a tux, they’re my dress whites.”

Zoe let out a low whistle.  “I forgot.  How in the hell did I forget that from Evie’s wedding?”

“I love a man in uniform,” Chloe said dreamily.  “You know Zarek wears a uniform.”

“Oh God, save me,” Drake looked up at the sky. 

“You go make yourself useful by helping with the set-up.”  Chloe pointed up the hill away from the lodge. 

“Yeah,” Bella said pointing in the same direction.  Drake almost cracked a smile.  Almost.  He wanted to see Karen.

“Where’s Andrew?”

“He’s being doted on by his aunts.  Go.”  Zoe pointed up the hill again.

Bella nodded.

Drake couldn’t help it.  He picked up Bella and tossed her up in the air.  She squealed with pleasure.  “Again!  Again, Uncle Drake.”  Damn, she’d learned how to pronounce her ‘R’s. 

“Can’t, Lovebug, gotta go.  You told me to, remember?”

“Can I go with him?” she asked her aunts.

“Sure you can.  Drake, you two need to be back here by one o’clock.”

“Then I get to see Karen?”

“No,” the twins said in unison. 

“You’ll be getting ready in another room, then you’ll go back to the hill where the wedding is taking place.  Karen and the bridesmaids will be driven up in the golf carts.  You manly men can hike it.”

Drake turned and counted the number of golf carts.  Hell, it was like they were at the La Jolla country club or something.  “Are you sure there are enough?”

“Not quite, but we’ll make do,” Chloe said seriously.

“You’re nuts.”

“Can I drive a golf cart?” Bella asked.  He looked down at his niece.  She barely reached his knee, and she wanted to drive.  He liked it.

“You can sit on my lap while I drive.  I’ll let you hold the steering wheel, how about that?”

“Yay!”

***

“DRAKE’S HERE.  HE’S getting dressed.” 

Karen’s stomach did a flip.  She hadn’t needed to be told.  It was like she had internal Drake Avery radar.  She had felt his presence fifteen minutes ago, and had known he’d arrived at the lodge. 

Trenda walked into her room.  “I’m going to kill my brother,” she fumed. 

“What now?” Zoe asked as she curled another lock of Karen’s hair.

“I had to put Bella in the bathtub.  She looked like she’d been rolling through a pig trough.  How one little girl could get so dirty is beyond me.  It’s going to take half a bottle of conditioner to get out all of her tangles.  You better be ready with a hell of a lot of hairspray and bobby pins, Zoe.”

“On it.” Zoe laughed.

Yep, they were definitely having more kids.  Drake needed to have at least one daughter.

“Did someone take a picture of the site?  I want to know what it looks like before I walk down the aisle.”

She saw the five Avery sisters in the room look at one another.

“What?”

Evie left the crowded room and shouted for Lydia.

It took a couple of minutes and she walked in wearing a pale blue dress.  She looked gorgeous with her dark skin and black hair. 

Her eyes immediately started to water when she saw Karen.  “Dios mio.  You look beautiful.” 

“You’re the beautiful one.” 

“Sorry Honey, the only beautiful woman on the day of a wedding is the bride,” Zoe said.  “It’s the law.  However, Lydia does look all Hispanic Hot.”

“Thanks.  And you look all Southern Belle Bridesmaid Bountiful,” Lydia returned.

The Avery girls laughed.

“Seriously though, you ladies rock those burgundy dresses.  I really like the black patent leather shoes.  They have style.”

Karen thought she might swallow her tongue she started to laugh so hard.

“Oh shit, I forgot.  What happened to the dyed shoes?” Lydia asked.

“We couldn’t donate them, that would have been too mean to someone, so we had a ritual burial ceremony.  We would have done the chant and dance and wished something special for Drake, but out of kindness for Karen, we didn’t.”

“You’re good women,” Lydia said.  “I might have cursed him just a little bit.  Maybe made him just a little bald.”

“No.  Not his hair.  I love his hair.  Maybe you could make him a uhmm, uhmmm.”  Karen thought, but couldn’t come up with anything.  “Nope, no curses.  I love everything about him exactly as he is.”

“There’s no hope,” Zoe said, shaking her head sadly.

“Drake deserves to be loved that much,” Piper said quietly. 

Zoe put down the curling iron and hugged her little sister.  “I totally agree, Honey.”  She guided Piper over to Karen.  “Karen if I haven’t said it before, let me say it now.  I adore my big brother, and I couldn’t be happier that you have taken him into your life and heart.”

“Zoe, you’re going to make me ruin the make-up you just did,” Karen cried.

“Dios mio.  I need to go hug Beth,” Lydia said.

“Not before you show me pictures of the site.  I don’t want to see it for the first time when I’m walking down the aisle.  I want my focus to be on Drake.”

Lydia handed Karen her phone.  “Scroll through the photos.”

What?  This couldn’t be real.  She thumbed to the next photo and it only looked more beautiful.  It wasn’t possible.  She zoomed through the next image and the next.

“Lydia, what is this?” Karen asked in amazement.

Lydia smile was huge.  “We wanted to give you a wedding present.  This was it.”

“It looks like something out of a fairytale.  How did you do it?”

“We had the whole set-up trucked over from Avalon.  That’s how you got the rose covered trellis, the drapery and the hanging arrangements of rose balls.” 

“Let me see.  I’ve never seen a rose ball,” Evie said.

Karen handed over the camera in a daze.  She’d never seen anything more beautiful in her life.  Even if she’d dreamed a perfect setting for her wedding, she couldn’t have come up with this.

“Oh my God, those are beautiful.  How many roses are in one of those?” Evie asked.

“They were Sophia’s idea.  There have to be at least fifty roses in each one,” Lydia said. 

“Wait a minute,” Karen said.  “Give me the phone back.”

She looked.  Yep.  “The aisle has cream rose petals strewn all over it.  It’s absolutely gorgeous, but what about Bella?  She has her heart set on throwing rose petals.” 

“Silly girl.  Who do you think threw those rose petals?” Lydia laughed.  “When Bella walks down the aisle, she’ll be throwing red rose petals.  She’s pretty excited that she gets to throw twice in one day.”

Karen sat back in the chair.  She should have known that these women would have thought of the little girl.  Every single one of them had their hearts in the right place.

“So, are we good?” Zoe asked.

“We’re good.”  Karen smiled.

“Thank God, because I still have a lot more curls to put in, and it sounds like Miss Bella is going to require some time as well.  Let’s get a move on.”