A Winter’s Wedding (Christmas Cove #3)

Chapter 18

If stressing was America’s sport, Leo’s was walking things off, though he also enjoyed kicking rocks from time to time. Today had turned out to be the perfect day for a stroll to allow his irritation to subside. The motel was merely a block and a half away from the diner and, in addition to cooling down his nerves, walking the distance allowed Leo to stretch his legs before getting back into the car for a final day.

Dense snow and half-melted slush squished beneath their sneakers as they shuffled along the sidewalk. Steadying America with a firm grip on her gloved hand, Leo also hoped to keep her from checking her smartwatch for the hundredth time. It was clear the morning’s bad news had flustered his bride, and there was little else he could do while she worked out her deep moral conflict.

Feeling helpless tore at his heart. He wanted only one thing right now. Ensuring America’s happiness had become his whole objective and he felt like he was failing. There was no denying that he wanted a grand love of his own, but the more obstacles they encountered, the more he had to fight the little voice in his mind that he was sure was lying to him. He reminded himself that one rough day alone doesn’t tell the whole story.

As they came around the street corner where a plow had shoved a pile of snow as big as small car up over the curb, Leo saw the culmination of all of his fears. He tugged America’s hand and spun her to face him, not wishing her to see what he had just seen.

“What is it?” she said with a smile that dissolved as she read his expression. “Leo?”

“I’m going to tell you something, and I don’t want you to be upset.” Leo focused his eyes only on hers. “Do you love me and trust that everything is going to be okay?” This was his moment to prove to them both what sort of husband he was going to be. Was he going to panic and overreact to every bump in the road, or would he be a calm steady presence with clarity of mind to bring them through fire together?

America winced. “You’re scaring me, Leo. Of course, I love you. What’s all this about?”

He hated having to tell her what she was about to see for herself. His face hurt, he cringed so hard, and he pointed towards where their car was parked outside the motel. America turned her body first. Her eyes were the last thing to go. Her shoulders raised and then slumped as she took a deep breath. With a single nod of her head, she walked forward without uttering a word.

All their luggage had been tossed out of the car and lay in the filthy black slush where the road met the curb. His overnight bag was half submerged. The thin garment bag that held America’s wedding gown was draped over her suitcase with the bottom end hanging into the grimy gutter. From their distance down the block, he could see how the satin fabric had soaked up the gray water to about halfway up the bag. The scene only worsened as his eyes shifted to the car itself. The rear window of the Rover had been shattered open and pebbles of tinted glass stuck out from the piles of snow.

“America,” he said and reached for her as they approached.

With determined steps, she marched to the luggage, unabated by his grasp. With a skip, she kicked the suitcase over and took the dress, slamming it against the ground. Grunting expletives under her breath, she let out all the frustration that had no doubt been boiling up since last Saturday.

He reached for her again, but the scene was reminiscent of a badger attack. “America, stop it.” She avoided his hand again and kicked the suitcase harder this time. “America. Stop. This isn’t helping anything.”

“Don’t tell me I can’t throw a fit!” she growled. “I think I have earned the right to be angry. I’m tired of this trip from hell. I’m tired of being in the car. I’m tired of sleeping in terrible beds. I’m tired of lying about being married already. I’m tired…” Her rant turned to sobs, and she collapsed onto the ground.

Although he reached for her, he wasn’t quick enough to save her from sitting down in the snow. Her coat barely hugged her bottom enough to keep her butt out of the wetness. Leo knelt beside her and pulled her face to his shoulder as she cried. He ran his fingers through her soft hair and devised a plan to make it all better. If not all of it, his mission was to fix whatever he could.

But he had no idea what to do next. His bride was breaking under the stress of the week. She had warned him that if one more thing went wrong, she was gonna lose it. Having her belongings—her wedding dress—thrown out on the curb most definitely qualified as one more thing.

While holding her against him, Leo pulled out his phone and looked up the number for the local police department so he could report the break-in. A pop-up blanked the screen and read ‘Unusual credit card activity reported. Your account has temporarily been frozen’. Duh , he thought, and his neck heated with anger. When the alert cleared, he remembered the VIP car rental app, and figured their representative should be able to sort this out.

America’s sobs eased and she wiped her face with the back of her glove. “What are we going to do?”

“Get a new car and go home,” he said. “Nothing’s going to happen if we stay here.”

America stood and picked up the suitcase from where she had kicked it into a pile of snow. She righted the bag onto its wheels while Leo retrieved his weekender from the gutter. Half his belongings had been rifled through and his toiletry bag spilled out in the middle of the road. While he gathered his loose items, America lifted the dress bag. When he came back to the rear of the vehicle, she had hooked it onto the roof rail and an oily dark liquid ran out from the seam at the bottom like moldy pond water.

“That doesn’t look promising,” he stated the obvious to which America rolled her eyes.

She pulled the zipper down and exposed the delicate white fabric at the top. The bodice didn’t look as bad as the bag did, but as her hand traveled downward, the dress turned from white to gray and a line of brown muck demarcated the dry from the moist fibers.

“Nope. I’m done. I’m not going anywhere.” America unhooked the hanger and dropped the dress bag back onto the slush-covered sidewalk and walked away.

“America,” he said and acted with speed to grab the bags and the dress. Using the fob, he triggered the back liftgate to open. He tossed their soaked belongings in with the broken glass. Closing the hatch, he slapped himself in the forehead at having gone through the process of opening and closing an already broken-into back hatch. He locked the doors nevertheless and ran full speed in her direction. “America. Wait up,” he hollered. Even if someone did see their belongings, it’s doubtful anyone would steal such a disgusting mess after so much as a single look. “Where are you going?”

“I’m done, Leo. With all of this,” she said and turned the next corner past the motel. “You want to know what marriage is like? It’s seeing someone hit their breaking point and letting it happen anyway.”

“You think I let this happen?” Leo said as he matched her cadence.

“If you hadn’t come to Vegas, none of this would have happened.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked as all of his fears about not having a model love like his parents had had, crashed against his heart all at once.

“All I mean is that you shouldn’t have come. I would have finished my assignment, flown home, and finished with all the wedding stuff just like I had planned to.” America stomped along with the last couple words spoken.

Like a dagger, her sentiment twisted inside Leo. Everything was falling apart around them, around her. “You forget one thing; your flight would have still been canceled. You can’t plan around God.”

She stopped at that remark. “You’re right, and now he’s punishing us.”

“What are you talking about? That makes absolutely no sense.”

“It’s the only thing that can explain how chaotic this week has been.” America threw her hands up. “I can’t do this right now,” she said and ran ahead.

Leo stood there. “That’s not how any of that works, America,” he yelled out and shook his head at what had come out of her mouth. Did she really wish the whole thing hadn’t happened? The most romantic night on the town in Vegas, nor the accidental wedding could compare with receiving a native blessing, or watching shooting stars in God’s Garden, or saying their vows under the biggest wedding arch on earth. The best part was when he got to make love to his gorgeous bride for the first time. This accidental road trip was one of the best times of his life and it hurt that she didn’t see it the same way.

With as sideways as things were, there was only one thing left to do; call in reinforcements.

Leo took his phone out and texted Vivian, America’s mother, and hoped she was getting service wherever they were.

SOS.

…

America needs you ASAP.

What happened?

Long story, but she’s refusing to get back in the car and go home.

Where are you?

Buffalo still

Hold tight. We can be there in a couple hours. Anything I should know?

We accidentally got married in Vegas. She’s wracked with guilt over lying to everyone, and now everything is going wrong. Dress destroyed. Credit card declined. Come quick.