With Hearts to Hear| ✔

|39|

Anita had wanted to hear about all the details of the wedding— what month, where they would do it, how many people, if they wanted to have a western wedding or if they would be incorporating Rachel's culture... It was overwhelming. For the first time, the barrage of what it took to plan a wedding hit Rachel all at once.

"We've decided not to start planning until we've also told my family and friends." Killian managed to stall tactfully. He worried that Anita's eagerness would frighten Rachel, who clearly was still trying to process the fact that her mother was even on board with this in the first place.

"Well when are you planning to tell them?" Anita prodded, "the longer you wait, the less well received the news will be. These things require a degree of immediacy."

"Anita, you can't rush them." Mark put his hand on her shoulder from his place beside her. "If they need to take their time—"

"Let us not pretend that we did not tell our children about our decision to be remarried well after the decision had been made and it led to a very rough beginning for this family." Anita interjected.

Rachel was somewhat impressed that she was able to admit that in front of everyone, much less do so with just an objective tone. If there was one thing, her mother was never deterred from making her point; perhaps that is where Rachel's stubborn tenacity came from.

"Rachel I am telling you, especially if you have problems with this woman, you need to rip it off like you are having bikini wax."

***

Rachel let out a sigh, when they were alone in the car. She was grateful to her mother for agreeing to watch Diana, knowing they did not want her around if they were heading into a potentially confrontational situation.

"Are we crazy? Is this crazy?"

"Perhaps in human perspectives," Killian chuckled, his hand resting comfortably on Rachel's knee as he turned down the quiet road heading into the wooded area on the way to his pack. "Though for me, it's more crazy that I still haven't marked and mated you, having known you almost 3 years now."

"Glad to know we're both out of our depths here." She chuckled dryly, her hands intertwining with his on her lap.

Though she did not let it show, his words were a great comfort— she worried that she was the only one between them that was just going with the flow and not entirely knowing what to expect. A small contemplative silence fell over them, both lost in thought.

"How exactly are we going to do this?" Rachel suddenly spouted. At least in her mothers house she was both comfortable and confident enough to go with Killian's spontaneity. With his pack— as kind as they had all been when he took her on their tour, Killian had explained that they were treated not just as family, but as leaders. And that wasn't even considering the dilemma of Killian's mother.

"I asked Lendra to arrange a pack gathering, it's probably a good idea to announce it then." Killian murmured gently, stealing a quick glance at his woman seated beside him. "It won't be the only thing that will be announced so hopefully it gives my mother an opportunity to calm down, but I have a feeling that she'll want to talk."

"I never thought I'd be defending your mother, but considering she knew nothing about this and suddenly we're engaged... I could see why she'd be upset."

"I know, but I'm not letting her take it too far." Killian grunted, voice hardened with determination. He knew how much it had hurt Rachel, and he was not going to allow his mother even the merest illusion that her behaviour was acceptable if she tried it again. "Sure she can be angry at me, but she's not going to speak to you the way she did before."