Estelle In Denver (In Denver Series Book 2) (19 page)

I’ve been staring at this ring box for the last month. I know I’m going to ask Estelle, but I'm not sure she will say yes. She is like a force of nature, doing her own thing, finally comfortable in her own skin. She is her own person now.

I head out to my favorite spot at Sloan’s Lake. I sit and watch the ducks and geese swim around. I like to come out here in the early morning right before dawn; it’s peaceful and I can think.

I suddenly feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I look around, but I don’t see anyone. I still have that uneasy feeling, but I try and shake it off, focusing on the geese. A few minutes go by and I get that feeling again, but this time I feel cold as well. I feel like I'm losing my damn mind. What the fuck is going on? I stand and then I see it at the edge of the water—it’s a swan. I look away and then look back, and it's still there, gliding slowly towards the shore. All of the other birds have stopped and are focused on this one beautiful swan. When it reaches the shore, it stops. I know I must look crazy because I'm talking to a swan.

“Celine?” I ask, the swan doesn’t acknowledge me.

When it doesn’t respond, I realize that I just spoke to a swan like it was Estelle’s dead mother. Yet, I feel like this is a sign, I’ve never seen a swan at this lake and I've been here a million times. I turn and head towards where I parked my car. But when I get that feeling yet again, I whip around and the swan is gone. In its place I see a woman. I don’t step towards the water because I'm scared as hell. I know it’s crazy, but it is Celine—she is standing at the water’s edge, smiling. She doesn’t say anything, she just puts her hand over her heart and nods her head, yes. I close my eyes for a second and when I open them again the woman and the swan are both gone, and the ducks and geese are swimming and frolicking in the water.

For the next couple days, I’ve had to make myself scarce. I’ve pulled everyone in on my proposal plans. When Estelle had first seen the ring, she told me exactly what she wanted; she wanted romance and that’s exactly what she’s getting. I hate blowing her off, but I'm horrible at keeping secrets, and this is too important to her and to me. I drove to my parents’ house and let them know what my plan is. My mother instantly called Rose and Kennedy and told them it was CODE ENGAGEMENT. Apparently, she has been planning this wedding since I bought the ring and has had all the plans on freeze until I grew a pair, as she explained. But the wait is over and according to her, our wedding would be the highlight of Denver society and we only had eight weeks until the big day.

“Mom, don’t you think you might want to ask Estelle what she wants?” I ask mother, shaking my head. 

“No dear, because unlike men, women notice everything and when she was pulling Kennedy’s day together, I watched and I saw everything. She lingered on this, it’s her dream wedding down to the dress. So all you need to do is make her want to say yes.” She pats my cheek and walks away.

“Dad,” I turn to my father, looking for advice.

“Hell no! Last time I gave advice I ended up sleeping in the den and your mom wouldn’t give me any until the situation was resolved. Don’t ask me a damn thing. Estelle is a great girl and you will be lucky to have her as a wife.”

“Jesus, dad. Seriously, don't say shit like that about my mother. Oh god, I need to stab myself in the ears.” I groan.

Mom walks back in and sits on my dad’s lap. “You learned your lesson, honey.”

She gives him a kiss, at that I turn and jog away, cursing the whole way to my destination. Who does that crap in front of their kid? I head to my two partners in crime, Kennedy and Tristan, to work out all the details. They have everyone at the conservatory working to get the banquet area set up early. Estelle thinks she needs to come and make sure it’s all set up properly, but the delivery was made early, so my surprise can all be set up.

The next day, everything is getting set up in the banquet hall for Operation Wow Estelle. Hadley is a really nice girl, but she seems an odd match for Pins, the biker, but sometimes the oddest combination produce the best results. She is super conservative, she looks like she stepped out of an ad for J. Crew, while Pins is all muscles and tattoos. I ask Hadley five times what color flower petals she ordered. She laughs and tells me that her and Pins have it under control and to just relax. All I need to remember is the ‘will you marry me’ part. I hand her my credit card to pay for the flower petals, and she tells me she will be back the day after tomorrow and skips out into the hall. Pins looks suddenly lonely. 

“Hey Pins, all the heavy stuff is done. Why you don’t go with Hadley? I heard she won’t get on the bike, but take my car.” I tell him as I throw him my keys. 

“Seriously? You're letting me drive your Aston Martin?” He asks with a giant smile on his face. He doesn’t say anything else, or wait for a reply, maybe thinking I’ll change my mind, but heads out to catch up with Hadley before she makes it to the parking lot.

About twenty minutes later, everyone arrives and I walk over to Antonio.

“I asked you once before for your permission to marry Estelle. I just wanted you to know that I will always take care of your daughter. She will always come first to me, no matter what and I will never hurt her again.”

“Rhydian, we are men. We make mistakes and bad choices, but I'm holding you to that. Her brother will also hold you to that” Antonio said while slapping my back.

I haven’t seen, Vaughn, he has kind of been in the wind the last couple of weeks. I see him looking over at Anastasia, who seems to have not even been acknowledging that he is breathing the same air. I am looking over when I see Crash shoot up from his seat. I turn towards the door, thinking Estelle somehow gotten through the locked front door, but everyone’s attention is focused on Ashleigh. I see Crash look around the room to make sure no one is making a move. 

“Holy shit, Ash! When the hell did you turn into a woman?” I say.

“Are you trying to tell me I look nice, Rhydian?”

“Kid, you look amazing!” I say with brotherly love.

“I brushed my hair, wore my contacts, and put on a dress. I figured this was something to dress up for. The lady at the shop said this was engagement party appropriate.” She looks down at the dress and heels.

“You did good kid. You seem to have gotten a certain Viking’s attention.” I say with a wink.

“Nope, he took too long. The A train has left the station.” She folds her arms over her chest and nods her head.

“Well, make sure you tell him that because he is headed this way.” She straightens her spine and makes her way over to the stage to say hi to Tristan.

It’s then we get the signal that Estelle is in the parking lot.

Tristan starts singing and I walk out to meet her on the dance floor. After our dance, I get down on one knee and ask her to spend the rest of her life with me. My heart stills when she says yes.

We are dancing and having a good time, when I notice Estelle talking to my mother. For some reason, she seems upset. As they head to the bathroom, I follow and overhear the conversation. I stand outside the door, and listen to her worries about her scars and what people will say if she wears a dress with an open back. I realize then that I haven’t done a good enough job letting her know she is perfect and flawless. I intend to make sure I spend the rest of my life letting her know exactly how I feel.

I slip on my shoes to complete my outfit. It’s my wedding day. I’m in my dream dress at the Della Terra Mountain Chateau. My dad walks in and he wipes the tears from his eyes as soon as he sees me.

“The journal you gave me, it had something taped between the last page and the back of the book.” He pulls a locket out of his pocket. On the inside it has a picture of me and my mother. He puts the locket around my neck. “This was also in there.” I take the envelope with my name on it.

Mon trésor,

Today is your wedding day, how I wish I could have been there with you. I am glad you have found your father, he is a wonderful man. Estelle, the locket he gave you was a gift from him, it was the first present he ever gave me. I have put our pictures in it, but if you look closely, there is a third part to the locket. I have put a lock of my hair in there so I can be with you on your special day. I hope that the man you are marrying is kind and wonderful. Estelle, I want you to love with all your heart. Have a wonderful and happy life full of joy and wonderful things. I will always be with you, my darling daughter. If there is a way to make it back to you. I will. I have never known love like the love I have for you. 

With all my love

Celine,

I hold the letter to my chest and choke back my tears. I fold it and put in the bust of my dress over my heart. I needed to have my mother there with me today.

“Estelle, Princess, are you ok?” My dad asks with a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah dad, I'm ok. I just I wish she could have been here. I know she died before I really knew her, but I still want her here.”

He doesn’t say anything, he just hugs me.

I’ve kept the wedding simple. My dad would walk me down the aisle, instead of the traditional wedding march I walk down the aisle to Swan Lake Op. 20 (Lake in the Moonlight). Kennedy will stand for me, and Easton will stand for Rhydian. The ceremony is beautiful, but we keep it short, using traditional vows. We have a wonderful reception filled with music and dancing.

“Thank you so much, Elena. This was really amazing. You have no idea how much I loved the whole wedding.”

“It’s no problem, my dear. Now, I just have a few more people to get together.”

I laugh. “Are you playing matchmaker, Elena?”

“Always. You young fools wouldn’t know a good thing if it hit you in the face.” She grins and continues, “Michael is trying too hard to not fall in love with Katie, but the damn fool doesn’t realize he never fell out of love with her in the first place, so trying to keep her out his heart is pointless. It’s been occupied by only her since they were teenagers. That Tristan, he is the worst and he isn’t even my damn son. What he needs to do is throw Frankie over his shoulder and show that girl a good time. He loves her and that boy. I mean look at him.” I look over and he has Sebbie on the dance floor, doing the robot while Frankie looks on longingly. “And let’s not even get started on Killian, he is the biggest fool of them all, letting Thea get away like that.” I look at Thea, who was here with her new boyfriend, and Killian looks none too happy about it. Rose and Liam are happy and I’m glad. This is the first time I’ve seen them smile at each other in a long time. I was wondering if they would even make is to the wedding. Just then Max steps to the microphone. “If everyone could please turn their attention to the dance floor.” Avery gets down on one knee and asks Stacy to marry him, which she happily accepted with his little girl, Quincy, jumping into Stacy’s arms. 

“That’s not going to end well” Elena tsks disapprovingly. “She has been in love with Reed Sterling since she was in training bras and braces. I hope she comes to her senses before that little girl has to pay the price. Sorry dear, this is your special day and I’m acting like a wet blanket. I just want my children to be happy.”

“I know, Elena. Everything will work out. Kennedy told us good things were in store for everyone, they just have to work it out in their own time.” She tsks again, before heading towards her husband.

“Mrs. Kerrigan, I am ready for another dance” I hear Rhydian say behind me. 

“Well, it just so happens I'm also ready for a dance, Mr. Kerrigan.” We spend the rest of the night dancing and laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, we left for our honeymoon. We spent a week in France, where I visit the Paris ballet and watch Swan Lake. I cry the entire time, knowing my mother had been on the stage. We hit all the European hot spots, but after eighteen days of globe-trotting, I was feeling homesick and ready to go back to work.

We are done with the construction of the new facility on the Anderson Street property. We don’t have any patients yet, but we are ready to go when the time comes.

Heading back to the States is exciting, before we left, Rhydian had moved some of his things into the house. At some point, his apartment will go to one of the other Kerrigan kids. When we arrive home, there is a fully stocked kitchen and the house smelled of lavender and vanilla. I’m grateful to come home to everything in order, I hadn’t been feeling so great when we returned from our honeymoon.

As the days pass, I get more and more sick. I can’t keep anything down, my entire body aches, and I’m so tired I sleep most of the day. On day ten of my misery, I finally have Rhydian drive me to the doctor. I can’t stand being sick anymore.

They draw blood and we wait for the results. It’s about thirty minutes before the doctor comes back into the room to tell us we are pregnant. I’m confused because I have in IUD and should have been protected for five years. At that, my regular doctor refers me to Dr. Felix for an appointment the next day. It turns out IUDs can be knocked out of place. Rhydian takes pride in the fact that according to him, he knocked it loose. All I can do was shake my head. Dr. Felix is only able to confirm the pregnancy through my HCG levels, and tells me that I need to come back in a few weeks to set up a prenatal visit. When we step out of the office, Rhydian picks me up and spins me around.

“Princess, this is the best news ever. I can’t wait till he gets here. We have to go shopping, baby-proof the house, and get car seats.” He says excitedly.

“Babe, let’s wait awhile for all of that. We don’t need to do anything yet. And how do you know the peanut is a boy? It could very well be a girl.” I say with a smile. 

“No, that’s not going to happen. I'm going to have all boys.” He says, puffing his chest out. “We also need to get you a bigger car. The Mini Cooper isn’t safe enough.” He looks out the truck window.

“Okay, we can go look in a few days.” He seems shocked that I don’t have an argument. “I’m thinking it’s time for the Mini Cooper to find a new owner anyway. Zasha has been saving. I’m thinking she has enough to get insurance. I will sign the car over to her when she turns sixteen. It’s perfect for her to get to and from work and it’s great on gas. Can you handle the paperwork for me, babe?” I say with a yawn. I really am exhausted. This is going to be a very long pregnancy if this is how I’ll feel the whole time. Married life is different than I imagined. It’s a series of compromises and working together through things. Rhydian is everything I could want in a husband, and he makes sure to tell me every day how beautiful I am, even when I'm bent over the toilet. Whoever said it is just morning sickness is out of their mind. It’s an all-day kind of sickness. Kennedy and Rose both tried to make every kind of ginger, peppermint, home remedy on earth, but nothing is working, even the pills Dr. Felix prescribed aren’t working.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today is the day we find out what we are having. As much as I’m glad Rhydian is here, there are just some things you need your best friend for. So Kennedy is sitting right next to me, holding my hand, just like I did for her. We can see the family waving from the iPad. I see Rhydian out of the corner of my eyes, he is watching Dr. Felix closely.

“Dr. Felix, why aren’t you saying anything?” he asks.

“Be patient, babe. He is getting all the measurements out of the way.” I say, giving Rhydian an eye roll. “You are the most impatient person I know.”

“I'm not impatient, I’ve been waiting to find out what we’re having for the last couple of weeks. I know it, I feel it in my bones, we are having a boy.” He says with a grin.

“Actually, you are having a girl.” Dr. Felix points to the screen, “see this right here?” He creates a circle on the screen. “These three lines say you are having a girl.” I see Rhydian walk over the machine for a better look.

“Are you sure there is just one in there? Us Kerrigan’s seem to have a thing for babies sneaking up on us.”

“No, there is only one and she is a little girl.” Dr. Felix responds, printing out the pictures.

We look over to everyone cheering on the iPad, and Easton yelling at Rhydian that he needs to start buying guns and ammo now.

Rhydian can’t seems to help the tears in his eyes as he walks over to me and says, “Now you’re my queen, since we have a new Princess on the way.”

“I like the sound of that,” I say with a smile and give him a kiss.

We finish up at the doctor’s and head over to the Kerrigan estate for a celebration dinner. I’ve sat at this table as so many things—hated ex-girlfriend, liked new girlfriend, liked fiancé, beloved wife, and now as a mother. I look around the table at this amazing family, one that forgives and embraces easily, if the Kerrigans lost every dime they ever had, they would still be rich by being this amazing family that loved and protected each other, but also called each other on their bullshit. I’m part of this family now, I’m a Kerrigan, and I know with all my heart that it‘s all because one woman came into our lives. I look at my best friend, and I can’t help but get misty eyes. Our daughters will grow up together, they would be cousins and best friends, and when the time comes, they will help each other over all the hurdles that life throws their way. I smile at my husband, who is throwing me the ‘let’s get out of here’ eyes.

“Estelle’s tired,” he announces to the room. “I need to get her home so she can rest, it’s been an exciting day.”

I cut my eyes over at him as he starts gathering our things.

“Yeah, that smile on her face makes her look super tired,” Tristan says from across the table, trying not to laugh.

“Shut up. Frankie is over there looking just as tired as I am.” I say with a nod of my head in her direction. He quickly looks over and blushes when he sees Frankie staring at him.

“That girl doesn’t know what she wants, and I'm through playing games. She knows how I feel about her and Sebastian, but I guess I’m not worth taking a chance on.” He shakes his head in disappointment.

“Tristan, everything will work out, I promise.” I say before we tell everyone goodbye and head home.

“Princess, are you ok? You seemed quiet during the car ride home.”

“Yes babe, everything is fine, but I wanted to ask you something. I wanted to talk about baby names.” I say, putting the food we brought home in the fridge.

“Princess, our daughter’s name will be Celine Elena Kerrigan.” He walks towards me and tells me to sit down as he proceeds to tell me about a trip to Sloan’s Lake he took, where he swears he saw a swan turn into my mother. He says he knew our lives were going to be perfect because he saw the signs all around him.

“Princess,” he says, wiping the tears from my eyes, “your mother is always right here.” He puts his hand over my heart. “Maybe she didn’t make all the best choices in life, but she loved you and you have to know that she came to Kennedy in death to warn you and to tell you she would be by your side. And she came to me at the lake to show me she approved. Even in death, your mother is still watching over you. I love you so much and this little girl is going to be loved and cherished like no other. She is going to have an entire family full of people, who will love her and protect her. You are going to be an amazing mother to all of our children.”

“I love you Rhydian Kerrigan.” I say, kissing him.

“I love you more, Estelle Kerrigan.”

I squeeze his hand and look at him. He is mine and I’m his and nothing on this earth is going to tear us apart. We’ve survived everything thrown at us, we did have our bumps in the road, but in the end, true love really does conquer all.