Kylie Cantrall's Arc

Chapter 52 of 78

The dresses hung in the closet, waiting. But Kylie still faced the hard part. Two red gowns, a puppy, and no way to reach the island unseen. If a driver or dock worker spotted them, the wedding would leak before the vows. She sat on the bed and stared at the two garment bags. She couldn't drive four hours with them herself and stay hidden. She couldn't ship them without a stranger reading the address. She had no plan. Arianna knocked and stepped in. "You're doing the thing," she said. "Planning alone." "I don't know how to move all this," Kylie admitted. "The dresses, your puppy, us. One witness ends it." Arianna sat beside her. "Then we ask the one person who already flies to the island. No car. No dock. No paper." Kylie understood at once. She picked up her phone and called Kara. Kara arrived an hour later the way she always did, dropping straight down past the window and landing soft on the balcony. She was the hero who had agreed to marry them and carry their license by hand, because no reporter could follow a woman who flew. She stepped inside, blond hair windblown, red cape settling behind her. She looked at the two garment bags, then at the shiba pup asleep in his den. "You want me to carry all three," Kara said. It wasn't a question. "Can you?" Kylie asked. Kara smiled. "I've carried buses." Then her face turned serious. "But dresses tear at speed, and a scared dog panics in the air. We do this right or not at all." Kylie relaxed. This was someone who cared about the details, not just the flight. They worked together. Kara held each gown while Kylie zipped the bags tight and taped the seams so wind couldn't catch them. For the puppy, Kylie built a padded carrier and let him sniff Kara's hand until he stopped shaking. Arianna clipped a small keepsake into her own bag, a paired figure of two hearts joined, engraved with their names. She said nothing, but Kylie saw it and understood. It was their wish for a family someday. Kara lifted the dresses over one shoulder and the carrier against her chest. "I'll set them in the seaside house and come back for you both tomorrow," she said. "No one sees the island. No one ever has." "Swear it," Kylie said. Trust still cost her something. "I swear," Kara said, and rose off the balcony, silent, gone in seconds. Kylie watched the empty sky. The gowns and the puppy were on their way to Palmcrest Retreat, unseen by any camera or driver. No witness. No leak. She turned to Arianna. "Now it's just us. We disappear tomorrow." Arianna took her hand. But Kylie's phone buzzed on the bed. Her mother's name lit the screen. The label was asking questions again, and Kylie hadn't answered. The dresses were safe. The silence was not.