He shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s weird. She dated Thomas first. You just don’t do that.”
“Well, she did. And if she hadn’t, Trent wouldn’t be so happy.” I stopped at the edge of the sand, pointing to a small group of Maddoxes gathered at the water’s edge.
Travis was sitting on a white plastic lounge chair, puffing on a cigarette and staring across the ocean. Trenton and Camille were standing a few feet away from him, watching him with concerned expressions.
My stomach sank. “Oh, no. Oh, fuck.”
“I’m on it,” Shepley said, letting go of my hand to walk toward Travis.
“Fix it. I don’t care what you have to say or do … just fix it. They can’t fight on their honeymoon.”
Shepley waved back to me, letting me know that he had everything under control. His shoes flipped sand as he trudged to where his cousin sat. Travis looked devastated. I couldn’t imagine what might have happened between marital bliss just the night before and this morning.
Shepley sat with his feet planted between his chair and Travis’s, and he clasped his hands together. Travis didn’t move. He didn’t acknowledge Shepley. He just stared at the water.
“This is bad,” I whispered.
“What’s bad?” Abby asked, startling me. “Whoa. Jumpy this morning? What are you staring at? Where’s Shep?” She stretched her neck to look past me at the beach.
“Fuck,” she whispered. “That looks bad. Are you and Shepley fighting?”
I spun around. “No. Shepley went to find out what was wrong with Trav. You’re not? Fighting, I mean?”
Abby shook her head. “No. Pretty sure that’s not what anyone would call what he did to me all night. Wrestling maybe—”
“Did he say anything to you this morning?”
“He left before I woke up.”
“Now, he … he looks like that!” I said, pointing. “What the hell happened?”
“Why are you yelling?”
“I’m not yelling!” I took a breath. “I mean … I’m sorry. Everyone’s mad. I don’t want angry people at this wedding. I want happy people.”
“The wedding is over, Mare,” Abby said, patting my backside, as she passed. She strolled out to the beach.
Marriage had made her confident, calmer, and slower to react when something was amiss. Abby had the security of knowing that if a problem stood before them, they would figure it out and be holding hands on the other side. Travis the Boyfriend had been unpredictable, but Travis the Husband was Abby’s teammate, the only real family she had.
I could almost see triumph in the way she moved as she closed in on him and Shepley. Whatever was wrong, Abby was unafraid. Travis was unbeatable, just like her. They had nothing to fear.
That part of being married was appealing to me, but being married to a Maddox would be work, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that yet—even if my Maddox was Shepley.
The moment Abby knelt next to Travis, he threw his arms around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Shepley stood and took a few steps back, glancing at me for just a moment, before watching Abby work her magic.
“Good morning, sweet pea,” Mom said, touching my shoulder.
I turned to hug her. “Hi. How did you sleep?”
Mom looked around and sighed. The lines on each side of her mouth deepened when she smiled. “This place, America. You did a really good job.”
“Too good,” Dad teased.
“Mark, stop,” Mom said, nudging him with her elbow. “She’s already said she’s not in a hurry. Leave her alone.” She looked at me. “Are we still on for brunch?”
“Yeah,” I said, distracted by Travis hugging Abby on the beach. I chewed on my lip. At least they weren’t fighting—or maybe they were making up.
“What is it?” Dad asked. He looked in the same direction I was, immediately seeing Travis and Abby. “Good God, they’re not arguing, are they?”
“No. Everything is fine,” I assured him.
“Travis didn’t attack some drunken spring breaker for staring at his wife, did he?”
“No.” I chuckled. “Travis is calmer … ish.”