Both men nodded.
“Good. You head out there early. I’ve got my plane standing by tomorrow morning at the airport in Port Charlotte. As soon as we have her, we’ll head there and take off.”
“Where are we going?” one of the men asked.
“I have a compound in Montana. Well armed and well prepared. No one will find us out there.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next morning came way too early for Elain’s liking. It started out with Lina barging into their bedroom with a cup of coffee for Elain and running the men out.
“You guys can’t see her in her dress. It’s bad luck.”
Brodey scrambled to find a pair of shorts to put on. “Where are we supposed to get dressed?”
“You all can have the bedroom back after we get everything we need done for her. It won’t take you guys long to get ready.”
Ain leaned in and kissed Elain, who was blearily sipping her coffee. “We’ll see you in a couple of hours, sweetie,” he said.
“Move it, furball,” Lina playfully teased as she swatted him with a pillow.
When they were alone, Lina sat on the bed with Elain. “You okay?”
“I’m not awake, but I’m okay.”
Lina grinned. “Your mom’s been up since five thirty cooking breakfast.”
“Oh, man,” she groaned. “I didn’t want her going through all that trouble.”
“It’s okay. Your dad was up helping her.”
“He was?”
Lina grinned and dropped her voice. “I saw him kiss her, too.”
Okay, now she was awake. “What?”
Lina nodded. “Not swapping spit or anything, just a sweet kiss. But…” She shrugged, her beaming grin practically lighting the room. “I’m telling you, I’ve got a good feeling about this.”
“Feeling, or vision?”
“Not gonna tell you.” Lina laughed and clambered off the bed. “Let’s get you up and moving so the men can eventually get back in here.”
The rest of the morning moved along at a blur. Between Lina, Mai, Callie, her mom, and Lacey, they got Elain’s hair and makeup done and got her into her dress. When the photographer finished getting the obligatory staged candid shots, Elain stood in the guest bedroom with her mom and the other women gathered around her. She stared into the mirror at the dress. Somehow, she’d never really believed this day would come.
A glance at her hand once again showed no trace of Paul Abernathy’s blood on her skin or under her nails. She had to fight the urge to start reciting Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy.
Did I really do that to the guy?
Sometimes, she thought it’d been a dream, just a hazy nightmare she’d somehow managed to twist into a memory. Then she snapped out of that wishful thinking and tried to accept her new reality, that this was her life.
Carla dabbed at tears in her eyes even though she had a broad, beaming smile on her face. “You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
Elain smiled at her in the mirror. “Thanks, Mom.” She hugged her. “I’m so glad you and Dad are both here.” Over the past couple of weeks, even though Carla and Liam still had separate bedrooms, they’d gone out alone on several dates and spent a lot of time together when Liam wasn’t out working with Ain and the guys on the ranch.
“You are gorgeous,” Lina said with a beaming smile. “I might have to change my mind about actually marrying my guys.” When Lina and her men got together, she’d legally changed her name, hyphenating their last name onto hers. She hadn’t actually married either of them because she didn’t believe she needed a piece of paper to prove anything. And she worried they’d kill each other fighting to be the legal groom.
Mai also smiled. “At least y’all won’t need to brush up on anything to help me with our wedding.”
“That’s just in a few weeks, too,” Elain said. She turned and they shared a group hug. “Thank you, all of you, for being here. I love all of you.”
“Enjoy today, Elain,” Lacey said. “We have a little time before things get bad again. Today is your day. Don’t think about anything else.”
They heard a quick knock on the door before Liam opened it and stepped in, shutting it behind him. “They’re ready for ye in the living room,” he said. “And I’m about to strangle that bloody photographer. He won’t leave me alone. He’s wanting pictures of us together.”
Carla gave Elain one last kiss. “I love you, baby,” she whispered.
Elain fought a bout of happy tears. “Love you, too, Mom.”
Carla hustled the other women out, leaving Liam alone with Elain. She felt a little nervous, but not because of her dad.
He stepped over to her and hugged her. “Yer beautiful,” he said. “Yer mum would be so proud.”
“Thanks, Dad.” She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The scent from her childhood, from the leather jacket, filled her lungs and nearly started her crying again.
After a moment, he patted her on the back and ended their embrace. “Let’s go, sweetheart. The photographer wants his shots, and there’s three young men out there waitin’ for ye. Rather anxiously, I might add.”
She laughed. “Are they afraid of me backing out on them or something?”
He smiled. “No, I don’t think that’s their worry. Brodey keeps drooling over the cake. Cail’s threatening him with duct-taping his mouth shut.”
She laughed again. That was her Brodey. “Then let’s go. That would make a weird wedding picture.”
They called the photographer in so he could get his shots. Once he finished, Liam led Elain out to the hallway.
Only their immediate pack was gathered in the living room. Elain stood at the end of the hall with her arm hooked through Liam’s and looked at everyone gathered there. Extended family and friends were all outside mingling and mixing and preparing to take their seats.
This was the real wedding, as far as Elain and her men were concerned.
As Liam escorted her through the living room to where Ain, Brodey, and Cail were gathered with their attorney, she couldn’t help but let a smile crease her face. All three of them looked incredibly handsome in their tuxes.
For the briefest of moments, Elain thought she spotted a hazy, misty form reflected in the glass of the sliding doors, but upon second glance figured it had to be her imagination.
Even though it vaguely resembled a woman.
Liam handed her off to Ain before stepping over to Carla’s side.
Their attorney, also a shape-shifter as well as being a Notary, smiled at them. “Ready?”
Elain looked up into Ain’s grey eyes and smiled. They’d agreed they wanted to keep the private ceremony short and sweet. “Yes.”
Ain motioned Brodey and Cail forward. All three of them clasped Elain’s right hand, and while only Ain put a ring on Elain’s left hand as he said his vows, Elain repeated her vows with each man, slipping an identical ring on their left hands.
When they finished, the attorney smiled. “Ain, Brodey, Cail, I now pronounce you all men and mate. You may kiss your bride.”
Ain didn’t get greedy. He brushed a brief, gentle kiss across her lips before handing her off to Brodey. He knew he’d get his chance in public in a few minutes. Brodey, however, took full advantage. He grabbed her and laid a deep, passionate kiss on her that nearly melted her right out of her shoes and made her want him to drag her to bed right then and there.
They were interrupted by a good-natured throat clearing as Cail tapped him on the shoulder. “Dude, come up for air. Share.”