The Wager(100)

He was still staring after her when Kacey said, “I never thought I’d see the day.”

“What?” Jake scratched his head nervously and approached Kacey. “What day?”

“You know.” She crossed her arms and nodded toward the section of the room where Char and the rest of the bridesmaids were sitting. “The day.”

“Still not following.”

She shrugged. “Call it puberty. You actually grew up and fell in love.”

“So I’m a man now?” Jake squinted.

“Congratulations.” Kacey laughed. “Oh my gosh! I bet you even have chest hair!” Jake winced. He’d always been the type of guy to manscape, and perhaps he took things a little far, what with his monthly facials.

He slapped Kacey’s hand away when she went to touch his chest. The brat.

“You ready?” he asked, changing the subject.

“I think so.”

“Good.” Jake laughed. “Prepare to be awed. In fact, prepare to cry. I heard you and Grandma had a good chat.”

“That woman can’t keep a secret to save her life,” Kacey grumbled.

“Well, I have Char on alert just in case.” Jake reached out and grabbed Kacey’s’ hands in his. “Kacey, I’ve known you since you were a little girl with pigtails. You were obsessed with Barbie and told me I should be your Ken. In fact, I’m pretty sure I played Ken more times than I’d care to admit.”

Kacey giggled.

“We’ve laughed together, cried together, yelled at one another, fought, hated each other…” Jake tried to rein in his emotions. Damn it, forget Kacey crying, he felt like losing it. “I broke your heart and never fixed it.” He licked his lips and let out a breath. “He did.”

Kacey reached for Jake’s hand and squeezed it.

“He fixed it, my brother.” Jake closed his eyes for a brief moment. “Kace, I took your heart, in college. I took it and I wasn’t careful with it. I was careless, young, stupid, you name it.” He released her hand and reached into his pocket to pull out the gift. “So here’s to me, returning the broken pieces so that he can have it all. Travis deserves it all. I wanted to mend what I broke, I wanted to fix what went wrong, but you know it’s kind of hard to do that, so here…” He held out the pin for her hair. “It’s a blue heart, a sapphire. Your something blue is also your something new.” He shrugged. “I’ve always loved you, Kace.” He tucked the pin in her hair and kissed her forehead.

Kacey slapped him on the shoulder. “Stop making me cry!”

“Sorry!” He pulled back and lifted his hands.

“Oh, come here.” Kacey pulled him in for another tight hug. “Thank you, Jake. For everything.”

Music sounded from outside. “Well, I’m not done just yet.” He held out his arm just as his father came around the corner.

“You ready, dear?” Dad said as he wiped some tears from his eyes after he’d kissed Kacey on the cheek.

“Ready.” She swallowed and looped one hand through Jake’s arm, and the other through his dad’s. “Let’s do this.”

Char approached, holding Kacey’s flowers. Jake sent her a quick wink before turning back toward the door.

Jake felt Kacey shaking beside him.

“I love you, Mom and Dad,” Kacey whispered under her breath.

“I am so proud of you,” Dad said, and a tear fell down his cheek before he could walk away. “And I know they are, too.”

Jake squeezed her arm tighter and nodded at his dad, fighting with everything he had not to fall prey to his emotions.

But it was hard.

Especially when the music started.

And just like that, the memories came.

* * *

The wedding ceremony was near the tree house. Kacey was transported back in time, as she watched her five-year-old self run around the tree, Jake chasing her the entire way.

Her mom came around the corner yelling. “Kacey you put that down! Don’t you dare throw mud on him!”

Kacey didn’t listen.

And then the memories skipped ahead a few years, the same tree house, same boy. Jake was older then, he and Travis were arguing, and then Travis told her he’d found a snake and held it in front of her face.

Her mom came running out of the house with Bets, screaming at Travis to kill the snake.

And then it was high school. Travis was watching her from the house while she and Jake went out by the river. She looked back at him and rolled her eyes as he and her dad came out on the back porch to put the rest of the fishing gear in the truck.

“Be safe!” She’d yelled.

“Always!” Her father called back, and then, as if he’d just remembered something, ran toward her, arms open wide. “I almost forgot!”