Looking up at him, she knew she had made a good choice. He would never cause their daughters the pain her father had caused her, and he would teach their sons to stand by their sisters through thick and thin, just like their parents would for all of them.
“You’re a good man, Malcolm.”
“I try my best to be.”
“You are,” she said, leaning back against him again and just letting him hold her for a while.
She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that before finally stepping apart. He made sure she was okay again before leaving to check on the progress of the house being built next door. It was only weeks away from being finished. Their wedding would take place on the patio behind it, so even if it wasn’t completely done, that wouldn’t change.
She busied herself with the wedding plans, marveling at how much work it was just to have a small gathering. She had done most of the hard work, but there were still so many small details to tend to and her dress wasn’t even finished yet. She tried to shut out the nagging thoughts about her father as she focused on them.
It took her several days to realize that she and her father had never truly been close. She had looked up to him, idolized him when she was younger, but he had always been somewhat cold to her. When she was older and realized why that was, her feelings for him had begun to fade. She wasn’t one of those girls that tried twice as hard to please him. She had let him go.
What was bothering her now wasn’t her father at all. It was her mother and the thought of her being there all alone. Even if Rain was home, he would most likely be leaving again at some point, either because he was being restationed or just wanted to get away.
Rain had promised her that he would take her away somewhere when he got home, but she’d not been able to wait. He had never felt like he belonged in the clan any more than she had. They had been close, and she’d been surprised when her mother had told her that he was angry with her, but did it mean he was just upset she had taken her bike, or had he truly written her off?
It was something she might never know with her mother being the only one who knew she was alive. Even she wasn’t sure where to find her, so there was little chance of them ever crossing paths again and that, Autumn realized, was why she was so sad. Her mother would die one day too, and she would only know because she stopped answering the phone.
The thought of that sent tears flooding down her face again. She was glad that Malcolm wasn’t there to see them, as he would try to comfort her, and what she needed right now was to be alone with her thoughts and let the pain out as best she could, though there was no way to purge the entirety of it in one go.CHAPTER FORTYMalcolm
“I don’t have anyone to walk me down the aisle,” Autumn said.
“What? Of course, you do. Anyone in this pack would be more than happy to walk you down the aisle. Foster would be honored, or David,” he told her.
“I know they would, but you know what I mean,” she replied.
“Would you really want him to walk with you?” he asked her, knowing this was more emotional than anything.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Rain would have walked me down the aisle. I would have liked that,” she said.
“I know. I’m sorry that you’ve lost so much. I wish I could somehow fix it for you.”
“I do too,” she admitted, hugging him before walking away.
Her state of mind had deteriorated ever since her father had died. Even with the wedding approaching, she had been in a dark place that she didn’t seem to be able to escape. He told himself just to let her feel what she was feeling and not try to make it better. Somehow, he knew that would only make it worse, but as the weeks passed and she was still in a funk, he began to worry.
Now, they were less than a week from the wedding. The house was finished, and they were trying to get everything moved into it while also finishing up last-minute details. He had tried to tell her not to worry about the move until after the wedding, but she was adamant that they get both done. Perhaps keeping busy was what she needed, he thought, but it didn’t seem to be helping.
He knew he had to do something, but he wasn’t sure what. Finally, he had made a decision. He did the only thing he knew might make her feel better and kept it to himself until he was certain it would work out.