The McEllis Boys

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

"I'm a colt in your stable, I'm what Cain was to Abel, mister catch me if you can!"

Andrew sang along loudly to the Bon Jovi blasting from the speaker. Bethany smiled as she glanced over at him. He was grinning from ear to ear and playing the drums on her dashboard.

"Andrew?" she said and then she rolled her eyes and shook her head with defeat when she realized there was no way he would hear her over that music. She reached out and turned it down and he pulled his head back in the window and looked at her.

"I love that song," he admitted with a grin.

Bethany nodded as she slid her hair behind her ear, "I noticed." she replied and his grin turned sheepish.

"So rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. What are we rehearsing exactly?" Andrew asked.

Bethany sighed, "Their wedding."

Andrew frowned, "They gotta have practice?" he asked. "Are they really that forgetful?"

Bethany found herself laughing, "I'm not sure. I guess they just want to make sure everyone knows exactly what to do."

"It's not real complicated is it? The preacher says some words, the man and woman say some words then there's a kiss and boom it's done."

"Maybe we just make things too complicated nowadays," Bethany admitted. "I've always just wanted a simple wedding. Me, the groom, the few people who mean the most to us. And I always wanted to get married outside...." Bethany realized what her words probably sounded like and quickly clamped her mouth shut and focused on the road. She had no experience with men but even she should know better than to start describing the kind of wedding you wanted to a man you had only known for a little over a week!

Andrew grinned as he stuck his hand out the window and let the wind beat against it. A simple wedding outside was something he was fairly certain he could manage... Then he frowned. No he couldn't. Nicole had let him and his brothers know that times had changed. There were drivers licenses, I.D's., social security numbers and birth certificates. All of those things were things that you needed to get married and all of those things were things that Andrew did not have.

Bethany looked over at him and saw, with quite some shock, that he was holding completely still and he looked sad. She reached out and took his hand and he turned and offered her a smile, though she saw it didn't reach his brown eyes, "What's wrong?" she asked gently.

Andrew sighed and leaned his head against the headrest, "It's just sinking in, I guess, that I don't really exist in this time."

Bethany bit her lips as she pulled to a stop at a set of stop lights in town, "And that makes you sad?"

Andrew nodded and pulled her hand to his mouth, pressing feather light kisses against her knuckles that caused her to tremble, "I can't give you what you want."

Bethany frowned and then she let out a nervous bark of laughter, "You mean the wedding?" she gasped.

Andrew cocked his head to the side as he looked at her, "Yeah, why is this funny?"

"Andrew, I didn't say all that so that you would think that I wanted you to.... Um.. That is..." Bethany sighed and gave up on trying to speak. Her mind and her mouth just couldn't' seem to get in sync for some reason. Andrew frowned and rubbed his free hand up and down his thigh, "Are you saying you don't want to marry me?" he asked sadly.