Coach Love(64)

At some point, Antony slid in on his other side. Aiden got in next to Dom. All the brothers sat and watched as the love of Kieran’s life turned to face her future husband. He held his breath, more grateful for his family than he’d ever been in his entire life.

He would move on, find someone new. Hell, he’d even pondered asking Hope, the high school principal out on a date. He’d probably get in trouble for trying to date his boss of course, but....

“Stop!” a hoarse voice called out to his left, confusing him. Terrified that the sound had come from him, he glanced over at Antony. But his brother’s mouth hung open as he gaped past him. Kieran followed his gaze, feeling and hearing every pop and creak of his neck ligaments.

Dom had gotten to his feet. He gripped the pew so hard his knuckles were white. Aiden got up and put an arm around his shoulders.

They all knew that Dom’s un-medicated volatility sometimes expressed itself with public outbursts. But why now? He glanced at the couple still standing at the altar. His brain made a snap connection, recalling Cara’s reaction to his strip show that night in the office. She’d been trying to tell him something, to say something about Kent. But she’d stopped.

Aiden kept urging Dom to take a seat. But he remained on his feet, face coated in a sheen of sweat.

“He’s not taking his medication,” Kieran said under his breath. “He could be having another break, a bad one, I think.”

Antony nodded at Aiden. “Get him out of here,” he said under his breath.

Aiden tried to tug Dom out of the pew. Kieran observed as if from a million miles away as Dom shivered so much his teeth chattered, recalling the detox effects when Dom had last stopped taking his meds.

But somehow he knew something else had to be going on. Kieran rose in slow motion, never taking his gaze off Dominic’s agonized face. “Stop,” the man called out again, louder this time, still focused forward.

Kieran stood by his brother and faced front, his gaze pinned on Cara’s. She blinked fast, looking from Kent, to Dom, and then to Kieran. His heart pounded so fast it scared him. Kent frowned, keeping Cara’s hands in his. Kent’s mother rose, her face draining of color when she caught sight of Dominic.

Kent sat down hard, legs sprawled out in front of him. Kieran gripped Dom’s arm to keep him from bolting out into the aisle.

Cara crouched down next to Kent. “It’s okay, honey.” Her words echoed, ricocheting around the completely silent chapel like rogue bullets.

At that moment Dom broke free, stumbled past Aiden, and ran out the back door. Kieran hesitated, while Cara and Kent sat with their heads close together at the altar then followed him, hitting the open door in time to see his car peel out of the field and onto the road with a screech of tires. He jingled the keys in his pocket.

Asshole always was a hotwiring savant.

The car fishtailed when Dom hit the curve then disappeared. Kieran took a deep breath, walked to the open door, and gazed down the aisle. Kent still sat. Cara had her arm around him, her lips near his ear. The murmuring amongst the wedding guests had reached a fever pitch.

Lindsay appeared, and looped her arm through Kieran’s elbow. “He gonna be all right?” She shaded her eyes, facing down the road where Dom had taken off like a bat out of hell.

“Hope so,” he said, his pulse racing. “But we need to have a long talk about him pretty soon.”

“Damnation, ya’ll are the most drama-filled bunch of yahoos.” Anton Love joined his wife and put an arm around her. “I thought that little redheaded gal was your girlfriend, Francis.” Lindsay’s expression begged Kieran not to explain. He shook his head and went inside the sanctuary.

Kent rose slowly, cleared his throat, and faced the crowd.

“I’m afraid that I have to apologize to everyone,” he stated, using his best courtroom voice. “We, um, need to ask for your patience, and....”

The expression on Cara’s face made Kieran want to punch a hole in something, like maybe her fiancé’s face. She did love Kent. Why wouldn’t she? They were going tie this particular knot, right now, despite the embarrassing scene Dominic had made. The man in the tuxedo nodded at her and Cara turned to face the gathered guests. Kieran clenched his jaw, willing her to say, “this is a mistake and I love that redheaded dude down there, would you mind, dearest Kent, moving aside so Kieran, the underemployed, sometime stripper can marry me?”

Antony moved closer on his left, Aiden on his right, bracketing him, holding him up.

“I’m afraid that Kent and I aren’t being honest with each other, or with you,” Cara said with a clear voice and dry eyes. The group gave a collective gasp. “I know most of y’all know that Kieran and I...we were together for a lot of years and....” She stopped and bit her lip.