“Oh, wow one at a time boys. I said with a grin. “And to answer your question, Caleb, I’ve been drinking this stuff for years.”
“I can dump it and get you a decent beer if you want,” Caleb said.
“I’m good. The last thing I need to be doing is getting drunk at my rehearsal dinner,” I said.
“Who said anythin’ ‘bout gettin’ drunk?” Andrew asked.
“I just want to make sure Michael knows I’m not getting wasted over here, okay?” I asked.
“Katie, is everything all right? There’s somethin’ in your eyes that’s not right,” Dylan inquired with concern in his eyes.
He always knew how to read me. They all did. I should’ve known better than to think I could hide my feelings from them.
“I’m not sure I’m making the right choice,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Very smooth Katie. Throw all your troubles on them the first minute to see them.
“What? Why not?” Wyatt asked. “He done somethin’ to you?”
“I’ll beat his fuckin’ face in,” Andrew said.
“Slow down, guys,” I said.
“Yes. Give Katie some room to breathe and process,” Dylan said. “When she’s got her thoughts together, she’ll talk.”
“Thanks, Dylan. I just—he called me ‘stupid’ earlier.”
“Okay. Where the fuck is he?” Dylan asked.
“You got Dylan cussin’. Shit got real,” Andrew said.
“You think he’s getting cold feet like me?” I asked.
“Cold feet is when you don’t know if you should be walkin’ down the aisle in front of hundreds of people. Callin’ an educated woman ‘stupid’ is straight uncalled for,” Caleb said.
“I’m gonna knock his fuckin’ head off,” Wyatt said.
“What else has he done to you, Katie?” Dylan asked.
“Guys really it’s nothing serious. He’s just… being distant. Not really talking to me. I doubt he even realizes I’m not at the table right now,” I said.
“The fuck you wanna marry someone like that for?” Caleb asked.
“It’s not too late to back out,” Dylan said. “Doesn’t sound like you’re happy.”
“Doesn’t look like it, either,” Caleb said, murmuring.
“But he was there through everything. Mom. The treatments. Flying me back and forth—”
“You think you owe him somethin’ for that?” Andrew asked. “That’s what you do for someone you love, not some favor he did you.”
“I’d done the same damn thing if I were in his position,” Caleb said. “Wouldn’t mean you owed me your future.”
“I don’t know,” I said with a sigh. “I just don’t know.”
“Like I said, if you need anythin, you ask us, doll,” Dylan said.
His hand came down onto my shoulder as I drew in a deep breath. It was warm and welcoming like I remembered the brothers to always be. I threw back the rest of my wine, grimacing as it went down. I hugged them all one last time before I made my way back to my seat.