First Love (31 page)

I
CAN’T
wait to see Kyle. We are all lined up just out of sight from everyone, waiting for the music to start. I am nervous, but it’s an excited nervousness. The music starts and Makenna starts walking, followed by Taryn, then Holly. They all look so beautiful. We chose silk flowers for the bouquets so that they would last forever. The girls’ bouquets are made of three purple and three black roses. Mine is made with six purple and six white roses. I hear the wedding march start to play. Beasley hooks my arm through his and smiles down at me.

"You ready?" he asks.

"More than ever," I tell him with a smile, and we start walking. As soon as we round the corner and I lock eyes with Kyle, everything else around me fades away. Everything I will ever need for the rest of my life is standing there at the end of this aisle smiling at me. That smile makes my knees weak. He is more handsome than usual standing there in that tux. It looks really good on him. When we reach Kyle, Beasley kisses my cheek and takes his seat. I hand my bouquet to Holly. Kyle takes my hands in his, leans in close to me, and whispers, "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You take my breath away, Princess." I just smile at him. The lump in my throat is so big there is no way I can say a word.

The ceremony itself is short. I hate going to weddings and having to sit for over an hour through a boring ceremony. I swore I wasn't doing that to our friends. We are going with the traditional vows. When the pastor says the magic words, you may kiss the bride, a huge grin comes across Kyle's face. He wraps me in his arms and kisses me like we are the only two here. In that moment, I don't care, though. When we finally break apart, we realize everyone is clapping and cheering. All of the guests head over to where we have everything set up for the reception while we stay to have some pictures taken. I notice my dad leaving toward the reception.

"Um ... Dad, aren't you going to stay and get in some pictures?" He has a surprised look on his face. I’m not sure if it is because I ask or because he doesn’t want to be in the pictures.

"It's okay if you don't want to," I say nervously.

"No, I would love to. You have just pleasantly surprised me twice today by calling me Dad," he says as he hugs me. Here I am, standing between the love of my life and my dad. I don't think I have ever been this happy. We spend the next hour taking so many pictures my cheeks are sore from smiling.

By the time we make it to where everyone else is, I’m starving. Kyle did an excellent job choosing a caterer. This is the best food I have ever had. The fact that it is all my favorites helped a little, too. After we finish eating, Kyle introduces me to the guys from Deuce.

"Guys, this is my beautiful wife, Amber. Amber this is Jake, Devlin, Cameron, and Logan." They all smile. Each of them stands and, one by one, come over to kiss my cheek and say hello. They are all very nice, not to mention gorgeous. I can just imagine the line of women that would be around when Kyle's band and these guys were all out together. Jake, Devlin, and Cameron are brothers. They are almost identical. They are tall with long blond hair. Their eyes are baby blue and they have deep, dark California tans. They remind me of surfers. Poor Logan sticks out like a sore thumb next to these three. He has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and is much shorter. The only thing in common, aside from being handsome, is that he also has the deep, dark tan.

Once everyone finishes eating, Kyle and I have our first dance. I am in heaven. We chose the song he sang to me the day he proposed,
Tangled Up In You
by Staind. I love this song. He holds me close and softly sings it to me in my ear. How could I not be in love with this man? I can't wait to get this reception over with and take my husband to bed. My husband. I love saying that.

"Was it everything you wanted, Princess?" he asks as he kisses me sweetly.

“No. It was so much better than I could have ever dreamed it to be. I still cannot believe we are married."

“I know, it feels like I am in the middle of the best dream I have ever had. Promise me, if this is a dream, don't ever wake me up. I have never been this happy and it’s all because of you."

“It’s all real. I have never been this happy, either. I never thought it was even possible. It just keeps getting better every day," I say, then kiss him. Every time I think of how happy we are, I can't help but think there is something waiting to take it all away. That something is Beau. I know it is just a matter of time before he resurfaces again.

After our dance, I dance with my dad. It still feels so weird to call him my dad. After all these years, it is weird to know I still have a dad that is alive. Beasley is all smiles for the entire dance.

When it is time to cut the cake, Kyle and I stand by the cake and everyone gathers around us. The cake we chose has four tiers and is in the shape of a heart. It is purple with white pearls around each tier. Kyle stands behind me as we cut into the cake together. I place a slice on the plate. This is the moment of truth. What is he going to do? Is he going to be nice when he feeds me a bite? He picks the slice of cake up and slowly brings it to my lips. I take a bite. It is awesome cake. Before he puts it back down, he runs the slice of cake along the tip of my nose, then quickly licks the tiny bit of frosting off. Oh, I couldn't wait for the honeymoon to begin. I pick up the rest of the cake and bring it to his mouth. Just as he closes his eyes, I smash it all over his lips. Everyone starts laughing. I try to run, but Kyle grabs me.

“You’re not getting away that easily, Princess." He laughs as he crashes his cake-covered lips to mine.

“Mmm ... raspberry." I laugh and kiss him again. When we finally come up for air, I notice I have frosting on my dress. I tell Kyle I am going inside for a minute to clean it off. He jokes and says if I am not back in five minutes he is coming to find me.

Everyone is out back, so the house is quiet when I walk in. I go to the kitchen and wet a towel in the sink. As I am wiping the cake from my dress, I feel someone come up behind me.

“Babe, it hasn't been five minutes, yet. Do you miss me already?" I joke. As soon as he speaks my blood turns cold.

“Of course I’ve missed you, Amber. Every single second we have been apart," Beau says, trying to sound sweet. I feel the gun poke into my back.

“You and I are going for a little ride. I suggest you be very quiet unless you want someone to get hurt," he says as he grabs my arm. He starts to pull me toward the front door. I am not going to do this again. I try to pull out of his hold, but his grip on me is too tight. I see a glass on the counter. I grab it and throw it toward the window, then everything goes black.

P
AUL AND
I are standing by the back door talking when, all of a sudden, we hear a glass break. We run into the kitchen, but no one is there. I look down on the floor and see a couple spots of blood. I panic. Paul is looking out the window.

"Oh, shit! He's got her … let's go!" Paul yells and starts for the front door. I turn and look out of the window so I can see what in the hell he is talking about. In one split second, my whole world is being ripped away. Beau is putting a lifeless Amber into a truck. I somehow get myself moving and follow Paul. By the time we get outside, Beau is already leaving down the driveway. Paul unlocks his truck and we jump in to follow. He calls Beasley to fill him in. Within a few minutes, his car is behind us, lights and sirens blaring. I can't take my eyes off of the truck, finding anything to focus on instead of my thoughts and shaky hands.

I look over at Paul and see he is concentrating on the road intently. As I watch Beau's truck, I get more nervous. The faster we go, the more dangerous and careless Beau seems to drive. I realize that when he put Amber in the truck, he didn't buckle her in. I can't lose her; I just fucking married her. Please, don't let me lose her.

Everything that happens next seems to be in slow motion. I glance at the speedometer and see that we are going about 95 MPH, which means Beau is going much faster. We are coming up to a fairly busy intersection. I see Amber sit up in the passenger seat. It looks like she is trying to open her door. Beau turns to look at her taking his attention away from the road. Our light turns red, but Beau isn't facing the road. Paul hits the brakes hard as Beasley skids to a stop next to us. The brake lights ahead of us never come on. Just as he reaches the center of the intersection a tractor-trailer slams into the driver's side of Beau's truck. The sound of the metal crunching and glass breaking pierces my ears. I see Beau's truck flying in the air and landing on the passenger side. I don’t even realize I am out of Paul's truck until I feel his arms around me trying to keep me from flinging myself at the wreckage. The truck is unrecognizable. The cab is totally crushed. The paramedics, fire department, and most of the sheriff’s department have already arrived. Beasley must have already called to have them on standby.

I keep looking around, praying to see Amber walk away safe and sound, but that never happens. The exact time Paul lets go of me, I spot her. She is lying about twenty feet away from the truck. My God, my Princess is lying in the middle of the road, still in her wedding dress. I take off running and manage to get to her before anyone stops me. She isn't moving and she’s covered in blood. I slowly reach for her hand.

“Please, Princess hang on. Don't leave me please." I am crying, begging. "Princess … you need to be okay. We have a honeymoon to take. We haven't even had a wedding night." I try anything I can to get some kind of reaction from her. I can’t lose her, I just can’t.

“Come on, Kyle. Give the paramedics some room so they can help her," Paul says as he pulls me up and moves me back a little. I fall to my knees and cry. I can’t stop. Not knowing if she is okay is crushing me. Paul is right beside me, comforting me as best he can.

“She has to be okay, Paul. I can't survive without her. Please tell me she'll be okay." I am still sobbing, but I don’t give a shit about what I look like right now. The only thing in the world that I care about is lying on the pavement, and I don’t know if she is alive or dead.

What feels like hours, but is only moment, pass before I notice Beasley next to us looking just as bad as I probably did. I grab his hand and hold it tightly. He is the only one who has any idea what I am feeling right now. He just got her in his life, too. This isn't fair. She didn't do anything to deserve this. Why is this happening to her? To us?

"We have a pulse, but it's weak. We have to go now," I hear the paramedic say. Oh, thank God. At least she’s breathing. I stand up. I am going in that ambulance with her. I am not leaving her side. She needs me, needs to know I am right here with her. I really don't know what I would do without Paul. He is always so calm and level-headed. He knows what I am thinking before I even open my mouth.

"You ride with Amber. I will go back to the house and take care of the guests. We will be at the hospital as soon as we can. Will you be okay?" Paul asks. Before I can answer, Beasley cuts in.

“He won't be alone. I will follow the ambulance to the hospital. I’ll be there with him. Go ahead and take care of the house, and we will meet you there. Don't worry, Paul, I'll watch out for my son-in-law," he says with a sad smile. Paul nods to Beasley and squeezes my shoulder. I watch him get in his truck and drive off toward my house.

By the time we reach the hospital, Amber had stopped breathing three times. The injury they are most worried about at the moment is her head injury. Apparently she was thrown head-first through the windshield. As we enter the emergency room, a nurse hands me a clipboard. She tells me to sit in the waiting area and fill out the paperwork, and they will let me know something as soon as the doctors have any news. As much as I don’t want to leave her, I know I have no choice.