Author's Note: I made an adjustment in an earlier chapter on my end, clarifying that Beau and Penny went back to their home for the school year. In this chapter, they're back for fall break.
Onwards!
©2024 AMDS/Imaginationgirl35
Two Months Later
"So why are we here?" I ask.
Penny parks with a jerk in front of the La Di Da Salon, a quaint salon located about twenty miles from the ranch. The owners are two sisters, Mabel June and Mae July Allen. They volunteer regularly at the ranch and have been trying to get me to go to their salon for months now. I've been in desperate need of a haircut, but I've been so busy that I've kept putting my hair on the back burner. That's why I didn't throw a fit when Penny forced me into her car this morning, even though we still have so much to do at the ranch. My ends are so split they could win an Olympic Gold Medal. I pinch the ends of my hair between my fingers so I can assess the damage.
Eesh.
"Because, Lottie, we smell like poop. We always smell like poop, and I want to not smell like poop for a day. Just. One. Day. So, today, we're going to be girly girls. We're getting our hair done, makeup done, and nails done so we can finally get whatever this crud is out"--Penny holds her hand up to emphasize the dirt inside her nails--"Then, we're going to buy perfume, and make ourselves smell like anything but poop. I want Beau to smell my vanilla-infused-honey-blossom-gardenia-soaked self from a mile away. Okay?"
My eyes widen in shock at her outburst. I turn my head to take a quick sniff of my shoulder.
"I don't think we smell that bad--"
"We smell like poop. Now, let's go." She hops out of the truck and faces me with a cocked eyebrow. "Are you coming?"
"Yes, Ma'am." I'm quick to follow her out of the car and into the salon. Penny is clearly on a mission today and I have no desire to be in this girl's way.
The place is small with about four chairs total. It's nothing like the salons I'm used to back in the city.
"Well, it's about time you girls showed up here," Mabel says, spinning an empty chair around and patting the back. "Come on, Lottie, you're in my seat. Penny, you sit in the chair next to her. My sister will be out in a moment. That husband of hers is at the store trying to remember what brand of toothpaste they use. It might be a minute."
"Not a problem," Penny says as I take my seat. Mabel shakes out the black cape before wrapping it around my neck.
"Let us get started then," Mabel says, and our day of pampering begins.
I fill the ladies in on everything that's happening at the ranch. Penny and Beau have been back for a few days now because Penny is on fall break from school. They've been helping us get the ranch ready for the upcoming winter. It's good having them back. So much has happened since they left: I've been going to therapy, Daniel and I have been seeing a marriage counselor, and Escrow closed on the ranch a few weeks ago. We are now the proud owners of all the animal madness at the Last Hope Ranch. We're working with architects to design not only the bed and breakfast but also our family home that won't be too far from the bed and breakfast. Both will be built similarly to Huck and Lucy's cabin, and we hope to have them built within the year.
We have a lot more on our shoulders than before. Sure, we still have Huck and Lucy. Part of our purchase of their property was that they'd stay on as managers and help with the transition of ownership. They're welcome to stay on the farm in the home they built for as long as they'd like. Honestly, Daniel and I could use all the help we can get as we learn how to maneuver this new business adventure. Plus, they've become our family--our only family since the blow-up with our mothers and Abigail. We've gone completely non-contact, not that it matters much. Aside from a few angry phone calls from our fathers that we completely ignored, we haven't heard much from them, especially since bail was posted for Katherine and Abigail. They're still awaiting trial, a trial I hope will be also finished within the year so we can completely put everything behind us.
Cutting contact with our families is for the best. It's given Daniel and me time to focus on the future we're building together, a future that still has so many uncertainties but a future I've never been more excited for.
Luckily, this time, my husband seems to be on the same page as I am. Without me bringing it up, he promoted Jack to oversee the office in the city and hired an assistant for Jack. They're still in the transitional phase of Daniel handing over his responsibilities, but he hopes to only go to the office a few times a month once they find their footing with all of these changes.
I've always known my husband could move mountains; it's what attracted me to him to begin with. His free spirit and desire to do things his way. In the first part of our marriage, he did this without me, but this time he's keeping me right at his side. I've never seen him so alive as when we talk about all the plans we have for the ranch, plans that have taken up every second of my day.
"All right, doll, you're done," Mabel says as she finishes me off by spritzing my face with finishing spray. She removes the black cape and spins me around to look at myself.
"You look beautiful, Lottie," Penny says with a smile as she steps beside me.
"Thank you. So do you, Penny. I don't think the boys will recognize us," I say with a giggle. I barely recognize myself. I haven't looked this put together since before I arrived at the ranch all those months ago.
We both got simple manicures and pedicures. Our hair has been trimmed and styled into fancy braids that cascade down our backs. A few loosely curled strands hang around our faces, making us look soft and feminine. A smile pulls on my face as I look at myself. I love this elegant yet relaxed hairstyle. It's a much better fit for me than all those perfectly sleek, immovable buns I always used to wear to high society functions. I look like a woman who's not only going someplace grand but like a woman who's going to have fun when she gets there.
I look down at our bodies. We're both wearing a pair of jeans overalls. I laugh because our faces most certainly don't go with our outfits.
"Our outfits don't quite complement our new looks," I say.
Mabel and Mae chuckle as Mae says, "You're right about that. At least you won't be in them--"
"Ladies," Penny interrupts. "Would you mind bagging some of the fancy hair products for us so we can try and maintain some semblance of femininity while we're at the ranch? Include a bag for Lucy, too, please. She'll love how soft this stuff makes her hair."
"Of course," Mabel says. She and her sister turn away and quickly start pulling products from the shelves. It takes them no time at all to have all our stuff packed up and ready for us to go. Penny shoos me away when I try to pay.
"Don't even think about it, Lottie. Today is on me."
"Penny--"
"I will tell you, in great detail, what Beau and I did the first night we came back to the ranch...or should I say your ranch," she says, glaring at me. "It involves the tractor and a large package of Pumpkin Spice Oreos."
Ew. No. My hands go up in defense. "Pay away, Penny."
She closes out our bill. We pile back into her car and immediately head toward the ranch, which takes us no time at all to arrive home.
©2024 AMDS/Imaginationgirl35-- Second No More is a novel published on Wattpad. If seen on any other site, it's stolen from the author. Please read the entire story at https://www.wattpad.com/story/349290622-work-in-progress-second-no-more-a-novel.
"With all this effort, I feel like we should have gone out to eat or something," I say.
Penny's side-eyes me. It might just be me, but she seems nervous. Her eyes flick at the time on the dashboard. "It's still early enough. We'll get changed into something fancy, then go out. We'll drag the boys along."
That sounds like a good plan.
Penny and I chat about the ranch when we step inside Huck and Lucy's cabin. Immediately I know something is off. I look around, noticing we aren't being greeted by Pugsley's barks and no one seems to be around. There is always someone around here.
"Where's Pugsley?" I ask.
"Oh, I'm sure he's around," Penny says, not bothering to look at me. I have a sense she's brushing me off. "Lucy!"
"Up here in my room!" Lucy shouts from upstairs.
Penny practically skips away from me and begins jogging up the stairs.
Weird. But I follow her anyway.
I enter Huck and Lucy's bedroom right behind Penny.
"Here you go, Lucy. We got you some fancy shampoo and conditioner that will make your hair feel like fairy silk," she says holding out a bag.
"Oh, thank ya," Lucy says. I'm shocked to find Lucy wearing a gray satin, beaded tea-length dress. Her usually straight hair is curled and she's wearing a touch of make-up. My eyebrows drop. I'm about to speak, but my words get caught when I see what's hanging behind her. Tears rush and I don't have time to stop them as they fall down my cheeks.
Lucy steps up to me, cupping my face in her warm hands. "None of that, dear. Ya'll ruin your makeup now and we wouldn't want that--not until ya make your big reveal."
"Here," Penny says, dabbing a tissue to my face as she tries to stop the tears.
"What's this?" I ask, not believing what I'm seeing.
"Why, it's your wedding day, of course," Lucy says as her hands drop from my face and she looks behind her at my wedding dress--the one I always dreamed of wearing, not the one I wore over four years ago. "The one that matters, anyway."
My stomach sinks as nerves and doubts take over. My last wedding was, honestly, horrible and I'm not sure I can do this again. "I--"
"Don't. That man loves you. You've let fear run your life for far too long. It's time to let that fear go and run full force into the love that man is offering you, even if it means crashing and burning in the end. It's worth it, Lottie. That man, he's worth it," Penny assures.
Not being able to speak as I get choked with tears, I nod.
Because she's right. Daniel is worth it.
I know that now. I've seen it all these months. Before he was cold and distant, a man who couldn't be bothered. Now he's warm and vulnerable. He tells me everything and values my thoughts and opinions. It's not that he didn't value them before, he just never asked and I never spoke. Both of us were living our lives in the status quo of an arranged marriage in high society. I believed, and accepted, that he was a powerful man who would never be faithful. He believed, and accepted, that I was a status-seeker who only wanted him for the lifestyle he could provide. In the end, we were both wrong, so stupidly wrong.
We were fools, and we're working toward not being fools anymore. Daniel doesn't keep me at arm's length, and I don't hold back speaking anymore, even if I know it's going to lead to a difficult conversation. These past few months, Daniel has gotten the best of me and certainly the worst of me and I have certainly gotten the best of him and the worst of him. Therapy has given us some tools to help us communicate better. We both still have so much of our previous lives to unpack, but we're doing it together.
"I need to get downstairs. Will ya be all right?" Lucy asks.
"Yes," I whisper.
"Good. I can't wait to see the complete look on ya, dear." She leans in and kisses me on the cheek before leaving the room.
I walk toward my dress, allowing my fingers to gently glide over the organza flower appliques.
"It's a beautiful dress," Penny says beside me as she wraps her arm around me. I smile.
"I knew the moment I put it on that it was the dress of my dreams," I say. "My mother thought otherwise."
"Well, let's get it on you then."
I'm quick to undress and slide into the dress that I never got to wear. It feels like butter against my skin. It's so much better than that heavy and thick monstrosity I wore all those years ago. Penny helps zip up the back.
"What do you think?" I ask as I turn around so she can get a good look. I am surprised to find her already dressed in a pumpkin tea-length, off-the-shoulder dress that she must have changed into as I changed.
"I think your mother was wrong." Her tear-lined eyes look up at me. "So very wrong, Lottie. This dress was made for you."
A sob breaks through as I pull Penny into a hug. "Thank you, Penny, for everything." My mind races and sticks on a comment Beau made all those months ago. "And just so you know, Penny, I may have rage-quit that man all those months ago, but I forgive him. God, do I forgive him."
As Penny pulls away, she quickly dabs her tears to keep them from ruining her makeup.
"Good. That's the ending I've wanted from the beginning. You deserve a happy ending, Lottie," she says with a chuckle and squeezing my hand. "Now, there's a very handsome man waiting for you downstairs. I think it's time we finish this."
I couldn't agree more.
We leave the room so I can marry my husband for a second time.
Huck stands at the bottom of the stairs in a pair of dark jeans, a gray suit jacket, a Bolo tie, a cowboy hat, and brand-new gray cowboy boots. I've never seen Huck dressed so nicely and it brings a smile to my face.
"Lottie Girl," he says with a wide smile while spreading his arms. "Aren't you just pretty as a peach?"
"I'll give you two a minute. I'll see you out there, Lottie," she says, winking at me before disappearing to head outside.
Huck reaches for me, and I gladly accept his embrace.
"Now, I know I ain't your daddy, but it'd be my honor if ya'd let me walk ya down that aisle today. Would that be all right?"
Tears have rendered me speechless, and I nod with a smile that I couldn't fight off even if I wanted to. Honestly, I'd want nothing more than to have this man walk me down the aisle. He's been more of a father to me in the past few months than my father has ever been my entire life.
"Well, all right then." His voice breaks with emotion, and it warms my heart how much this man, who was nothing but a stranger all those months ago, cares for me, a once broken woman whom he found crying over a puff of cotton candy. He could have walked away that day. He could have brushed me off. He could have pretended I never existed. Instead, he chose to offer me kindness and a place to stay, a gift that would turn into the greatest gift I've ever received. Because of him, I figured out my dream and figured out how to speak. I fell in love with my husband...this time, for real and not just the thought of him. Most importantly, I found myself here. "We better get goin', darlin'. There's a very impatient man waitin' at the end of that aisle who has been a thorn in my side tryin' to pull this surprise off. We best not keep him waitin' any longer, Lottie Girl."
"Lead the way," I say as Huck offers me his elbow to grab. He leads us to the back of the house where music plays from outside.
"By the way, my Lucy's officiating," he says.
"I like that," I say.
"She made Beau help her get registered and certified with the state and everythin'. I told her it was pointless seein' as ya and Daniel are already married, but she wouldn't have it any other way than the right way."
This makes me giggle because it is such a Lucy move. "I'm sure she'll be the perfect officiant."
He stops us at the back door where the garden is. "Ya ready?"
Am I ready...after everything? Absolutely.
"Let's do this," I say.
He opens the doors and leads me outside. My eyes scan over the wedding. It's small and intimate. The colors and decorations are perfect for an intimate fall garden wedding. I only see the faces of the Hope family members, a few volunteers, and a bunch of animals wearing neckties and tiaras. A giggle slips through because it's in this moment where I never dreamed of this for my wedding, but their presence couldn't be more perfect. This is my life now. It may not be what I originally thought I wanted, but it's exactly what I needed, which brings a smile to my face because I know Daniel's hand is all over this. A conversation he and I had over a month ago comes to mind:
"So, beautiful. You didn't like our first dance song. Was there anything else about our wedding you didn't like...aside from the obvious?"
"You mean finding out about your deep, yearning desire for Abigail?" I had said while laughing. After that comment, I found myself thrown over Daniel's lap receiving quite the wallop on my bottom. Did it stop me from mercilessly making fun of him for ever having feelings for that ratchet toad? Nope. It only made me laugh harder.
I never thought we'd be at the point in our marriage where we could laugh about that painful moment in my life, but that's all I can seem to do now that I think of Abigail snarling like a rabid pig while in handcuffs. A perfect way to alter history, I suppose.
Anyway, after Daniel asked about our wedding, I went on a long rant about everything that was wrong with our wedding, including how the entire thing was planned by my mother and only my mother. I told him about my hatred for my monstrosity of a gown and the ridiculous number of guests who attended--the majority of whom I still have no idea who they are or how they're related to anyone. I then proceeded to tell him what my dream wedding would have been had I been allowed to decide . . .
. . . and now I know why he asked.
Sneaky, sneaky man.
To no surprise at all, Daniel's and my parents aren't in attendance. They aren't missed either. My mother would be disgusted with a wedding like this, which makes it that much more perfect. There isn't anyone from our past here, and that's okay, I suppose . . .
. . . wait.
I tear up when my eyes land on a familiar face, a face that brought me a great deal of comfort during the four years of my marriage when I felt utterly alone: Otto. As he did at our first wedding, he stands beside Daniel in a well-pressed suit and a bright smile. He gives me a wink.
My eyes move to Penny. She's holding a leash, a leash that's connected to a llama in a bowtie with a very worn, holey pair of underwear dangling from its mouth. At this point, they're practically string. I widen my eyes at Penny, but she simply shrugs her shoulder and mouths the words, "Daniel insisted."
I'm going to kill him, then her, and then the llama.
I look over to the man standing at the end of the aisle, waiting for me. He has a cheeky grin and tears in his eyes. He looks happy. He's nothing like the man I walked toward on our first wedding and I'm nothing like the girl who walked toward him. We're completely different now, and I couldn't be more excited for what comes next for us.
Maybe I won't kill him just yet because I'm about to marry that man . . .
. . . again.
Daniel grabs my hand and squeezes as Huck gives me away. The ceremony goes quickly. Daniel and I both have tears in our eyes and can't seem to stop giggling as we get through our vows. Our vows are personal, filled with jokes and love. They aren't only promises to each other but promises filled with hope. I don't feel like Daniel is just speaking from a script and neither am I. Our vows are how they should have been--how they always should have been.
"Now ya may kiss the bride," Lucy says.
Before I know it, Daniel cups my face and kisses me. It's not a polite kiss; it's an all-consuming kiss that overwhelms me as the cheers of our friends erupt around us. In the distance, Pigsley squeals in clear condemnation for interrupting his daily plotting of world destruction, which forces Daniel and I to laugh.
"Come on, my little Lottie Girl," Daniel says. "We have photos."
We're immediately shuffled off to have photos taken. This time, Daniel can't take his eyes off me and I can't take my eyes off of him either. I have a strong feeling our home will be littered with these photos.
"Thank you, Daniel," I say as we finish up with the photographer. "This wedding is everything."
He smiles. "Do you like it?"
"I love it."
"Good. Because we're about to make our grand debut."
We're ushered toward the garden where music plays.
"Thank ya'll for comin' tonight," I hear Huck say into a microphone. "Let's welcome to the dance floor for their second, and most important, dance as husband and wife...Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery!"
Cheers erupt as Daniel pulls me onto the dance floor.
"I hope you don't mind that I picked our song this time since you didn't pick a great one last time," he jokes in my ear. I shake my head before placing my head over his heart, listening to a song I haven't heard before. "It took me a while to find it, but I think this one says everything I needed to say. I hope that's okay."
The beat and the words flow through my mind, making tears drop from my cheeks. The external masculine grit pairs perfectly with the internal vulnerability of the lyrics. It's stunning.
"What's it called?" I ask.
"'What Have I Done' by Dermot Kennedy," he says.
"It's perfect, Daniel. Thank you." I stand on my tiptoes, pulling his head down so I can kiss him. His lips are warm and delicious. "I love you...so, so much."
"I love you, beautiful. I can't wait to do this right this time."
Me too. We were given the option to give up on this marriage, but we didn't. When it made sense to quit, we didn't. Instead, we fought. We grew. We changed.
My grip tightens as I hold my husband, a man who I thought would never see me. But here we are, standing on a broken foundation that we've spent months fixing and making stronger, filling the cracks with love and determination.
"Ya'd be amazed what two people can overcome when they heal and put their pasts to rest," Lucy's words replay in my mind. And that's exactly what we've done and will continue to do because healing isn't a moment. It's continual with highs and lows. I'm just lucky I get to go through this with not only a man I love but a man who loves me.
The gentle beats of the drum in the song sync perfectly with the beat of Daniel's heart, and I smile.
This is not only our song . . .
. . . it's our story.
©2024 AMDS/Imaginationgirl35