Falling Away (32 page)

She breaks away and her brown eyes go apprehensive, hopeful. “Do what, Benji?”

I dig the ring box from my pocket, and open it as I go to one knee. “Echo Leveaux, I love you more than I can even say.” I have to swallow past emotion and hunt for the words. “I tried scripting this out, but nothing sounded right. All I know is I love you, and I want to be with you forever. Be my present, and my future, Echo. Will you marry me?”

She lunges at me, sobbing in joy, and we both topple backward to the cement. I cradle her weight on my chest and keep a good hold on the black velvet box. Lying on me, crying, laughing, Echo takes the ring from the box and slides it onto the ring finger of her left hand, and then dips to slant her mouth over mine.

“Yes,” she whispers through the kiss, through joyful sobs and laughter, and I taste salt on her lips. “When can we get married?”

I laugh. “Eager much?”

She nods, her face in my neck. “As soon as we can, please?”

I caress her cheek. “Echo, baby, we can do it however you want. I think our family and friends would probably like be there, though, right?”

She shrugs. “Yeah, probably.”

“And my mom would like to help you pick out a dress.” I say this quietly.

“She would?”

I tilt her face to look at me. “Echo…yes, she would. My mom loves you, and so does my dad. They’ve been waiting for me to do this almost as impatiently as me.”

“I’ve been ready for a year and a half, Benji.” She gazes down at me.
 

“Well, like I said, I wanted it to be the right time.”

She kisses me again, and then slides off me and gets to her feet. “Come on, let’s go home. I want to celebrate.”

“And how will we do that?” I ask.

She hikes the hem of her dress up around her waist, revealing that she’s not wearing any panties. “Why, naked in our bed, of course.” She wiggles her ass at me and then runs, and I chase after her.
 

She lets me catch her, and we almost don’t make it back to the apartment.

EPILOGUE

Echo

Six months later

Who knew planning a wedding could be so much work? Jeez.
 

Well, everyone, I guess, except me. I just assumed that because I had no family to invite that it would be easier. Turns out, it’s not. We invite everyone we know, everyone from the band and their plus one if they have one, my grandparents, Oz and Kylie, the Harris Mountain Boys—Buddy Helms, Amy Irons, and Gareth Fink, who have become good friends to Ben and me and to the band—as well as Ben’s family and the Calloways, Echo the Stars’ producers and label owners. That’s about it.
 

And today is the day. I’m nervous, but in an excited sort of way. I’m ready, so ready.
 

The wedding is going to be amazing. We booked a church and flew Father Mike up here from San Antonio to peform the ceremony for us, with the reception at a hall not far away. It’s so perfect. The Calloways and the Dorseys have paid for the entire thing. I argued at first, of course. I mean, Nell and Colt are incredible, but why would they pay for my wedding? I’m just some girl on their label. But then Ben reminded me that Colt and Nell are like second parents to him, that Colt was the one that helped him get his head out of his ass and suggested he leave Nashville for a while, to get some space and time from everything. And once I realized that, I realized that Colt and Nell aren’t just great producers and amazing tour-mates, but they’re genuinely incredible people. They’re warm, and generous, and they’re invested in me. Nell and Becca—Ben’s mom—helped me pick out my dress, and they took me and Mim out for a spa day as my bachelorette party.
 

I grew up with no one but Mom and my grandparents around, never had a lot of friends. And now, suddenly, I’m surrounded by people who seem determined to love me despite myself. Becca and Jason…god, those two have welcomed me into their family as if I’ve always been a part of it. Becca and I meet for coffee every week, and I just love that woman to pieces.
 

And the band, they’re always there, loving me, investing in me, reminding me that I’m not alone. They keep me accountable when it comes to drinking. I realized pretty early on in the process of recovering from my epic fuckup that the only way to make sure that kind of thing never happens again is to just stay sober full time. It sucks, especially when Bray and the gang want to go out and party after a show. They try to include me, but it’s just too hard to be around it and not take part. I would always try to convince myself that I’d be fine, that it was only ever a problem when I had problems. It was Becca who reminded me, over early morning coffee at her kitchen table, that life would always have problems, and that nothing was ever easy and never would be. So I stay sober.
 

And now, here I am, standing in front of a mirror in a room off the chapel, Becca dabbing under my eyes with a napkin, Nell fussing with my train, Brayden hovering at my side, tall and beautiful in his tux, my man of honor. Kylie is here too, watching with tears in her own eyes. She and I have an odd relationship. It was tense and strained at first, but then we sat down and aired out all the awkwardness, talked it through, and we’ve become friends. She’s Ben’s best man, or, as we’ve joked, his best maid.
 

“Okay,” Becca says, smiling at me as I take a deep breath and compose myself. “You ready?”

I nod. “I’m ready.”

I stand by the double door at the back of the chapel, waiting, Grandpa at my side. Grandpa’s hand is strong and firm on mine as I hold onto his forearm, and his eyes are warm on mine as we exchange a look.
 

The doors swing open, and I hear the wedding march played, of course, by my band in true bluegrass/folk glory, Vance sawing at his fiddle, Mim tapping her bass, Will on the banjo, Atticus with a single snare drum. Kylie is standing next to Ben, who has eyes for no one but me. My dress is strapless with an empire waist, a beaded sweetheart neckline, and a loose and floating tulle train. It’s molded to me, fitted to my curves. I knew the moment I put it on that this dress was the one, that Ben’s eyes would bug out of his head when he saw it. And as I approach Ben, squeezing Grandpa’s hand tighter and tighter the closer I get, I see that Ben is having trouble breathing and I’m pretty sure he’s barely holding himself back from jumping me right here in the church.

Brayden adjusts the train of my dress as I move to stand facing Ben, and now I’m blinking hard and fast to keep the tears from falling. Ben is grinning ear to ear, and his hands are strong and warm and steady as they engulf mine. I barely hear Father Mike as he talks about love and the sanctity of marriage.
 

I take a moment to look at the gathered crowd before I read my vows to Ben. I look at Brayden, see the happiness in his eyes for us, but at the same time I notice a heaviness lurking behind it—something that’s been there for so long now. I don’t know any details, but I make a note to pin him down on it, later.
 

I glance at Kylie, a knockout in her dove-gray pinup-style bridesmaid dress, and she offers me a warm smile. Oz is beside her, one of Ben’s groomsmen, along with Colt and a couple of the players from the Titans that Ben is close to. God, that arrangement of groomsmen is enough to make a girl swoon, let me tell you. The three football players are massive and gorgeous in a rugged sort of way, and then there’s Colt, who is hot as hell for an older guy, his electric blue eyes standing out against his swarthy skin and black hair. Oz is the tallest one in the line-up, standing nearly six-five and pretty built in his own right, although the football players dwarf him in terms of musculature. He’s rough and hard looking with tattoos and pierced ears, but he’s heartstoppingly attractive as well. And then…there’s my soon-to-be husband. And to me, obviously, he’s the sexiest of all of them.
 

He’s tall and broad, filling out the tuxedo like he was made for it, his eyes shining as they meet mine.
 

I draw a deep breath, and then read my vows from the notecard. “Ben, I have to admit I struggled with what to say to you in these vows. Nothing seems like enough. I could promise you I’d love you and only you forever, but…that’s implied in the fact that I’m marrying you at all, I’d say. The first and last time I’ll wear white…remember that? I could also promise you I’d be faithful and true, but I could no more betray you than I could tear my own still-beating heart from my chest. I could promise to take care of you in every circumstance life throws at us, but again, taking care of you, being there for you, being your companion and your soul mate and your life partner…that’s as much a part of who I am as my music is. So, in the end, all I could think of to say is…I love you. Now and forever, come what may.” I swallow hard, and Ben squeezes my hand.
 

He clears his throat. “Well…I’ve got even less to say, then. I didn’t even write it down, because it’s just what’s in my heart. I promise to love you and only you with all that I am, for as long we both live, and I promise to love you in whatever lies beyond this life. I promise to be at your side for every adventure and hardship and success that life throws at us. I love you, Echo. You’re my everything, now and forever, come what may.”
 

I have to laugh, then, and glance at our family and friends to explain. “We wrote our vows separately, and didn’t share them. So the fact that we both ended our vows the same way?” I’m fighting tears, breathe through it until I can continue. “It just shows you how this is meant to be.”

There’s one more thing we have to do before we can say I do: there are four white candles on a small, cloth-covered table, a large one in the center, with three smaller ones around it, one to the left, one to the right, and one in front. I light one candle, Ben lights one, and then we each touch the lit wicks of our individual candles and light the third smaller one with both of ours, and then we use that third candle together to light the largest. There’s an extra step to this candle ceremony, an extra candle: one for me, one for Ben, and one for Mom. I hold on to the candle that represents Mom for a second, gaze into the flickering flame, and whisper a prayer to her memory. It’s a moment just for me. I breathe through the pain of missing her, blink away the tears, and set the candle down beside the largest one that represents my union to Ben.
 

Father Mike takes my hand, places it in Ben’s. “Echo, do you take Ben to be your lawfully wedded husband, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part…now and forever?” He smiles at me as he adds the phrase from our vows.

“I do,” I say, my voice strong, my eyes bright.

“And Ben, do you take Echo to be your lawfully wedded wife, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, till death do you part, now and forever?”

“I do.”
 

“Then by the power vested in me by the State of Texas, and more importantly by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” He turns to our gathered loved ones. “May I be the first to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Dorsey!”
 

It’s done. I’m Ben’s wife. I feel giddy, overwhelmed with joy, brimming with completion.
 

Ben and I walk down the aisle together, the band playing “Forever and Always” by Parachute, Mim doing the vocals in that raspy, bluesy voice of hers.
 

When we reach the front steps of the church, we are overwhelmed by a crowd of loved ones—family and friends—waiting to greet Ben and me.

Colt hugs me, huge, tattooed arms around my shoulders, whispering congratulations, and then Nell is patting my cheek and crying with me, and then there’s Jason Dorsey, my father-in-law, already a father to me. And Becca, her deep brown eyes, so like Ben’s, on mine and shining with an overflowing wealth of love. Grandma and Grandpa are pulled into the melee by Ben’s mom and they are laughing and hugging with everyone, glad to be part of this celebration.

 
Atticus, Vance, Will, and Mim all hug me in turn, congratulating Ben and me, telling me they love me. And then there’s Brayden, and I’ve got a special hug for him, a long, tearful embrace.

The rain of rice, the cheering of my friends and Ben’s family, now
my
family as well. Everyone is so happy. It all seems like a big, beautiful dream.

A perfect dream. One I never thought would be mine. A family to embrace me. Friends who respect me. And a man to love me. A man who saw something in me I couldn’t see in myself.
 
A man who loves me for who I am. A man who will inspire me for my whole life long. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

THE END

POSTSCRIPT

That’s it. The end.
 

There will be no more books in The Falling Series. I’m emotional as I write this note. Okay, so maybe I’m crying, just a little. I mean, I had no idea when I wrote
Falling Into You
how deeply rooted into the DNA of my identity as a writer these characters would become.
Falling Into You
is so special to me, being so instrumental in propelling me to where I am today, thanks to all of you, and how much you love these characters. Colt and Nell, Jason and Becca, Oz and Kylie, and now Ben and Echo…they’re special people. Their stories are part of the song my stories sing. I’ll miss them.

But I have to leave this on a happy note, so let me tell you now that even though there won’t be any more Falling books, this isn’t the total, final END.
 

Brayden needs his story after all, doesn’t he? I think he does. And so do Atticus, Vance, Mim, and Will (not necessarily in that order).
 

So…(Drum roll, please):

Look for:
 

Echo the Stars: Brayden

Coming in 2015

PLAYLIST

I should probably mention that
Falling Away
technically takes place in the theoretical future, some eighteen or twenty years after the events of
Falling Into You
and
Falling Into Us
. But, as this isn’t a science fiction novel and I’m not interested in discussing time travel, we’re just going to happily ignore that little technicality and pretend that all this music is current and relevant to these characters. I hope you enjoy these songs and the incredible artists who created them as much as I do. Support them. Support art.