wasn’t given a chance to catch his breath before Jackson gave him terse instructions to get things moving.
Relieved to see Jen upstairs on the balcony, Madison waved her down.
Within minutes, Jamie and Jackson’s friend, Collin, were standing on both sides of her. She’d forgotten all about Collin, the man she’d originally asked to marry her. Embarrassment heated her cheeks.
“How are you?” Collin asked, breathless from his quickness in coming to stand beside her.
“I’ve never been better,” she lied. “And you?”
“Very well, thank you. You can stop frowning,” he added. “Your secret is safe with me.”
She managed a smile, but then Jackson joined them, his brow puckered, and all cheerful pretenses disappeared. Not exactly the face of a man who was about to marry the woman he loved. With such poor acting abilities on Jackson’s part, he’d give their charade away before the ceremony started. Unable to bear his sour mood another minute, she nudged his arm. “You’re supposed to look happy about this, remember?”
He feigned an unexceptional smile.
She sighed at such a meager attempt.
The judge opened his book and began reciting from it before the guests even knew the ceremony had begun. People scurried around for a seat.
Red-faced and out of breath, Jen hurried to her place at Madison’s side. “Hello, Collin,” Jen said as she nudged her way between him and Madison.
Madison looked at Jackson. “What’s going on?”
“We’re behind schedule. The wedding was supposed to start ten minutes ago.”
The judge was talking, but Madison had to lean forward to hear what he was saying. The sun was unrelenting. Sweat dripped down the judge’s face and off the tip of his thin nose as he hurried through his lines and then invited all present to speak now or forever hold their peace.
Madison tried not to laugh as she waited. The heat and the booze were getting the best of her.
Collin didn’t flinch.
Jackson remained silent, staring straight ahead, like a sailor looking out to sea.
Just as her shoulders began to relax, a small voice screamed from somewhere behind her, “Stop the wedding!”
Madison turned about, surprised to see Adam and Erin, two kids from CFC, pushing their way through the gathering crowd.
Fourteen year-old Adam headed toward her, his pants low on his hips, showing off his boxers beneath. Erin, a year older than Adam, appeared in denim overalls, complete with holes at the knees. Breathless, the two kids trudged up the grassy aisle toward her.
Madison leaned over the platform. “What are you two doing here?”
“We saw you in the paper,” Erin said between breaths.
“Yeah,” Adam said. “Erin was lining the hamster cage at the center and there you were—you and that rich guy, right on the front page.”
At fourteen, the boy already had a giant chip on his shoulder. He was way too young and hardheaded to realize that people with money weren’t the enemy.
“My picture was on the front page?” Madison asked.
Erin nodded, still trying to catch her breath. “The Entertainment section.”
Jackson closed his eyes for the briefest moment and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The guests whispered to one another.
“Excuse us just for a moment,” Madison told Jackson before stepping off the platform and drawing the kids into a huddle. “What’s going on? Why are you two here? And who brought you here?”
Erin pointed to a volunteer at CFC. The seventeen year old girl stood near the gate and waved.
“We knew something was up—the way you’ve been acting all weird and stuff lately,” Erin said, trying to get a peek at Jackson while she talked. “We saw you and that man in the paper and figured it out. Adam says you’re marrying him because of us…because otherwise the center will be shut down. Is that true?”
“I’m marrying him because I love him,” she said, feeling badly about not being completely truthful.
Erin frowned at Adam. “Thanks to
Relieved to see Jen upstairs on the balcony, Madison waved her down.
Within minutes, Jamie and Jackson’s friend, Collin, were standing on both sides of her. She’d forgotten all about Collin, the man she’d originally asked to marry her. Embarrassment heated her cheeks.
“How are you?” Collin asked, breathless from his quickness in coming to stand beside her.
“I’ve never been better,” she lied. “And you?”
“Very well, thank you. You can stop frowning,” he added. “Your secret is safe with me.”
She managed a smile, but then Jackson joined them, his brow puckered, and all cheerful pretenses disappeared. Not exactly the face of a man who was about to marry the woman he loved. With such poor acting abilities on Jackson’s part, he’d give their charade away before the ceremony started. Unable to bear his sour mood another minute, she nudged his arm. “You’re supposed to look happy about this, remember?”
He feigned an unexceptional smile.
She sighed at such a meager attempt.
The judge opened his book and began reciting from it before the guests even knew the ceremony had begun. People scurried around for a seat.
Red-faced and out of breath, Jen hurried to her place at Madison’s side. “Hello, Collin,” Jen said as she nudged her way between him and Madison.
Madison looked at Jackson. “What’s going on?”
“We’re behind schedule. The wedding was supposed to start ten minutes ago.”
The judge was talking, but Madison had to lean forward to hear what he was saying. The sun was unrelenting. Sweat dripped down the judge’s face and off the tip of his thin nose as he hurried through his lines and then invited all present to speak now or forever hold their peace.
Madison tried not to laugh as she waited. The heat and the booze were getting the best of her.
Collin didn’t flinch.
Jackson remained silent, staring straight ahead, like a sailor looking out to sea.
Just as her shoulders began to relax, a small voice screamed from somewhere behind her, “Stop the wedding!”
Madison turned about, surprised to see Adam and Erin, two kids from CFC, pushing their way through the gathering crowd.
Fourteen year-old Adam headed toward her, his pants low on his hips, showing off his boxers beneath. Erin, a year older than Adam, appeared in denim overalls, complete with holes at the knees. Breathless, the two kids trudged up the grassy aisle toward her.
Madison leaned over the platform. “What are you two doing here?”
“We saw you in the paper,” Erin said between breaths.
“Yeah,” Adam said. “Erin was lining the hamster cage at the center and there you were—you and that rich guy, right on the front page.”
At fourteen, the boy already had a giant chip on his shoulder. He was way too young and hardheaded to realize that people with money weren’t the enemy.
“My picture was on the front page?” Madison asked.
Erin nodded, still trying to catch her breath. “The Entertainment section.”
Jackson closed his eyes for the briefest moment and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The guests whispered to one another.
“Excuse us just for a moment,” Madison told Jackson before stepping off the platform and drawing the kids into a huddle. “What’s going on? Why are you two here? And who brought you here?”
Erin pointed to a volunteer at CFC. The seventeen year old girl stood near the gate and waved.
“We knew something was up—the way you’ve been acting all weird and stuff lately,” Erin said, trying to get a peek at Jackson while she talked. “We saw you and that man in the paper and figured it out. Adam says you’re marrying him because of us…because otherwise the center will be shut down. Is that true?”
“I’m marrying him because I love him,” she said, feeling badly about not being completely truthful.
Erin frowned at Adam. “Thanks to
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