“Are you kidding?” Melanie blinked in surprise. “You’ve been directly impacted by the way Mayor Stevenson runs this town. You just need to tell your story—let people hear what the foster system is really like. There are kids going through the same thing you went through. You could be their voice.”
“That’s an interesting idea…” I sipped my wine and nodded. “Those kids can’t vote, but I bet there are plenty of people that have no idea what they’re really dealing with on a daily basis. I didn’t understand why things were truly so bad until Hudson told me how the mayor cut funding and refused outside help.”
“There has to be something going on there. Who turns down money unless they’ve got something to hide?” Melanie raised an eyebrow. “Following the money is usually a good way to find out where the bodies are buried—so to speak. I hope there aren’t any actual bodies.”
“Maybe it’s time you brushed up on your investigative skills.” I chuckled under my breath. “You were a pretty good reporter when you wrote for the Andalusia High School student newspaper.”
“Yeah I don’t think gossip and football scores are going to help with this though.” She started to laugh. “I’ll do some digging though—maybe there’s something out there that nobody is really looking for.”
“That’s what we need.” I sipped my wine and nodded. “But first we have to get you married!”
“Yeah, well I expect the best bachelorette party ever before then. You know what Dave is doing right? He’s getting the guys from high school together—I’m sure there will be girls involved.” Melanie’s smile faded, and her eyes narrowed.
“You’re not worried, are you?” I cocked my head to the side.
“No, but you should be.” She leaned over and nudged me. “Hudson’s invited.”
“I trust Hudson.” I shrugged. “He needs a night to blow off some steam anyway after everything that has happened.”
After I retired to my room, I looked up some options for Melanie’s bachelorette party. She didn’t really want anything big, but I wanted it to be special. I didn’t want it to feel like it was just the two of us hanging out like we did most nights. Dave had already kicked off the wedding festivities early by showing up and taking her out on a date—a date where he presented her with something new, a gorgeous diamond necklace. She would definitely be wearing that when she walked down the aisle. Her parents would back in town in a few days too, and things would definitely get crazy when her Mom started slapping everything with her dose of perfection. I hoped I had laid a decent foundation at least, especially since I had been so preoccupied with my own stuff while I was trying to be the best Maid of Honor I could be.
* * *
The next morning
“You know you’re going to have to quit sneaking out here when your Mom gets back.” I smiled as I walked outside on the back porch to find Melanie smoking one of the cigarettes from the pack I bought.
“Yeah, but I’m nervous. This helps.” She shrugged and took a drag. “Do you want one?”
“Nah.” I shook my head back and forth. “I shouldn’t have bought them to begin with.”
“I’m glad you did, even if it’s a filthy habit.” Melanie exhaled and stabbed out her cigarette. “
I won’t touch one again after I finish off this pack.”
“You probably won’t have a choice. I bet Dave wastes no time knocking you up.” I giggled and nudged her with my elbow as we walked inside.
“He has mentioned that he wants to start a family—once he gets a little money saved up. That probably won’t take long since my parents are letting us stay in their house.” She shrugged. “Hopefully I’ll be a good Mom when the time comes.”
“You will be.” I reached out and took her hand once we were inside. “You will be the best one ever.”
“Okay, you’re going to make me cry.” She rapidly blinked and I saw the edge of her eyes getting damp. “Let’s go over everything for the wedding before you head to Hudson’s house.”
“Sounds good!” I nodded enthusiastically and walked over to pick up the notebook where we were tracking everything.
The wedding was as planned as I could have it, and unless there was some sort of snafu, everything was in order except for the bachelorette party. I was leaning towards a Chippendale show in Birmingham, complete with a limousine for the evening. It was expensive, but since I wasn’t worried about relocating to a new place where the cost of living was much higher than Andalusia, I could afford to spoil her a little bit. I felt like I owed her a lot more than that, especially since I wouldn’t have returned to Andalusia and learned the truth without her dragging me back to help with the wedding. I would have never reunited with Hudson. I would have never found out that he still carried a torch for me.
“Okay, this is as good as we can get it.” She closed the notebook and leaned back. “I’m sure my Mom will have plenty of input—and point out all the things we could have done better.”
“Yeah, but she’s paying for everything, so I guess she gets to have a little say in how it all goes down.” I leaned back against the couch. “You’re only going to get married once.”
“That’s for sure.” She chuckled and nodded. “I couldn’t go through all of this again.”
I went upstairs to get ready to go over to Hudson’s house, and booked everything for the bachelorette party before I left. Melanie was spending the day with Dave after having lunch with his parents. I was invited, but I was still concerned about Hudson. I hoped he didn’t already regret his decision after sleeping on it. It was a huge step, but I believed in him. Mainly, I just wanted to be close to him. I wanted to be able to take his mind off things if his decision was causing him stress or be there to help him plan things if he was as fired up as he was the previous day. Either way, my place was by his side and that was exactly where I needed to be.
I can definitely think of a few ways to distract him…
I turned down the road to Hudson’s house, and as I approached, I saw something that made my heart start to race. Hudson wasn’t alone. Preston’s truck was parked in his driveway. I contemplated just turning around and heading back to Melanie’s, but I wasn’t going to be able to ignore Preston forever. If I was going to be with Hudson, Preston would always be around in some capacity. I reminded myself that I had forgiven him. Things didn’t have to be awkward unless one of us made it that way. We were adults—even if there were a lot of feelings that would always connect us because of the history we shared. I just hoped I was brave enough to walk into Hudson’s house and have a civil discussion with Preston. I had managed to do that when I forgave him, but that was a conversation born out of necessity.