And now she had Dwight—her future husband.
Winona stared at the satin-and-lace gown the saleswoman had said flattered her figure, and pushed down the hankering she had for something more traditional. It didn’t matter what she wore. All that mattered was that she would be standing at an altar with the man she loved.
With both of them!
Oh, God, snap out of it, girl!
Winona shook off the thought. As a teenager she’d secretly and longingly pined for Grant Culhane to look at her as something other than his best friend—only admitting the truth in the diary she wrote in—but never letting Grant know how she felt. As she grew up, she accepted that she was in the friend zone and that’s where she would stay. She stood by and watched him fall in love with a girl in high school, and then fall out of love just as swiftly. She remained his sidekick as he hooked up with one woman or another over the last decade, always ending the relationship within a couple of months. Grant didn’t do serious. He didn’t do commitment and he certainly would never do marriage. But he was the shoulder she always cried on. And she did love him—but she wasn’t in love with him anymore, like she had been back in high school. That would be an obvious waste of her time. Now she was in love with Dwight. It had worked out exactly as it should have.
Her cell pinged and she grabbed the phone, recognizing Grant’s number.
I’m in the foyer and all checked in.
Winona’s heart skipped a beat. The hotel wasn’t the flashiest in Vegas—but it was the best she could afford. She’d told Dwight she would make all of the arrangements, including booking the honeymoon suite. The room was huge and almost hideously decorated in shades of lime green, gold and red, with embossed velvet curtains and ornate furnishings. She was sure Grant would have something to say about the outrageous color scheme—not that she expected him to see the suite. No, she’d be sharing the room with her husband in just over five hours. Dwight was on his way. He’d called her that morning and they spoke briefly, making arrangements to meet at the chapel. Winona had thrilled at hearing his voice, and suggested they catch up at the hotel first, but he’d teased her, saying it was bad luck to see one another on their wedding day.
She grabbed her key card and tote and quickly left the room, heading downstairs to the foyer. The place was busy, and she noticed a bride and groom walking toward the elevators. Newlyweds were certainly in plentiful supply in Vegas. Winona spotted Grant immediately—he was hard to miss! Well over six feet, dark hair, broad shoulders and dark green eyes that were blisteringly intense. She saw a few women glancing at him appreciatively. He was hot, no doubt about that.
He hauled her into a hug the moment they collided and held her close. His arms had always made her feel safe and she hung on tightly for a few extra seconds. He smelled good, too, his cologne woodsy and familiar.
“What?” he said when he released her, holding her a little away, and looking at her jeans and shirt. “No bridal gown?”
“It’s upstairs,” she replied and laughed. “Don’t want to get it wrinkled before the big event.”
He glanced at his watch. “Countdown in two hours. Enough time for us to have a drink and catch up.”
She gripped his arm. “As long as you keep your promise not to try and talk me out of it?”
He sighed. “I’ll do my best. Where’s the marine?” he asked and looked around.
“Dwight will be here soon,” she assured him, thinking that he never used the other man’s name. “He’s meeting me at the chapel. He said it was more romantic that way.”
Grant rolled his eyes a little. “Okay, Winnie, let’s find a cozy spot at the bar over there and you can tell me exactly why you want to marry this guy.”
“You know why,” she refuted and walked him toward one of the bistros. “He loves me. I love him. That’s why people usually get married.”
The hotel was busy and several people were milling outside the bistro, but Grant quickly wrangled them a booth seat inside. He ordered drinks—an imported beer for himself and wine spritzer for Winona, her usual when they went out.
“Did you tell anyone?” she asked once the waitress left their booth.
Grant tapped several fingertips on the table. “You asked me not to breathe a word of your plans, remember?”
One thing she knew for certain—she could trust Grant. “Thank you.”
“So, what happens after the wedding?” he asked. “Are you coming back to Cedar River?”
“In a few days,” Winona said and nodded. “Dwight has to head back on Monday, so I’ll return home then and probably stay for a couple of months. His tour finishes in seven weeks. After that I’ll move with him to Fort Liggett.”
“California?” He raised both brows. “That’s a long way from South Dakota.”
“It’s only for a couple of years. After that, we’ll probably come back to Cedar River and settle down. Dwight plans on leaving the army and, once we have kids, I want to make sure we’re close to Papa. I think I told you that Dwight’s parents are divorced, and since he hardly sees his dad and his mom got remarried, he’s happy to live in Cedar River.”
Grant leaned back in the seat, one hand around the untouched beer. “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.”
She didn’t miss the judgment in his tone and shrugged. “I’ve got plans for the future, like most people.”
His mouth flattened. “If that’s a dig, I’m not biting.”
“I guess some people just aren’t the marrying kind,” she said and sighed. “But I am.”
“Which is why you’ve agreed to marry a guy you haven’t seen for the last ten months,” he said quietly.
Winona frowned. “I know what I’m doing. Dwight is a good man. Once you get to really know him, you’ll think so, too.”
He didn’t look convinced and it was exactly what she expected. Grant was concerned about her and she understood why he had reservations. To an outsider, it might look as though she didn’t know Dwight all that well. True, they hadn’t spent a lot of physical time together since they first met, but he’d visited her in Cedar River a couple of times in the first six months of their relationship. And they talked every week, and texted almost every day, while he was deployed.
“We’ll see,” Grant said and sipped his beer and then sighed heavily. “Okay...I’ll try.”
“And you’ll behave yourself when we’re at the chapel, won’t you?” she urged, feeling a little panic rise up and curdle in her belly. Since she’d been surprisingly calm since Dwight had proposed, the sudden attack of nerves startled her. She didn’t want to have doubts. She didn’t want to live a life with her glass half-empty. She wanted stability, family, real love. And she wasn’t going to let her commitment-phobic best friend make her feel any different. “I mean, you are kind of my maid of honor, after all.”
He looked appalled by the idea. “If that’s what you wanted, you should have invited Ellie along to this gig.”
Winona loved Ellie like a sister, but the other woman had a reputation for speaking her mind. “Ellie would have blabbed to your family and to my grandfather. You know you’re the only one I trust.”
Her words made him stare directly at her. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I won’t,” she assured him. “But I appreciate that you’re looking out for me.”
“I always will.”
She knew that. “You know, Dwight knows how important you are to me.”
That much was true. Although her fiancé wasn’t entirely thrilled about her close friendship with Grant. For a while she suspected Dwight wasn’t convinced that their relationship was strictly platonic. But it was. It always had been.
“Where’s your engagement ring?” he asked, looking at her bare left hand.
Winona shrugged. “There wasn’t time for that. And the chapel said they could supply wedding b
ands.”
He raised a quizzical brow. “Did you purchase the complete bridal package online?”
She smiled. “Something like that.”
“Organized down to the last detail, I see,” he said and grinned.
She smiled. “You know me.”
He nodded. “That I do. You know, I’m gonna miss you when you leave for California.”
Winona met his gaze and her throat tightened. She’d been so caught up in the excitement of Dwight’s online proposal, she hadn’t taken much time to think about the consequences. Like living in another state, or being away from her grandfather for the first time in years, or being separated from the only home she’d ever known. From her grandfather. From her friends. Especially Grant.
“I’ll miss you, too,” she said, feeling the meaning of her words down to the soles of her feet. “More than I can bear thinking about. We’ve been a part of each other’s lives since we were kids.”
“Since Red took in his wildcat granddaughter,” Grant reminded her. “You were what...eight years old?”
“Nine,” she corrected. “And you were twelve. Do you remember finding me in the hayloft that first day?”
He nodded. “Yeah...you were angry at the world.”
“But you understood,” Winona said as the memory kicked in, tightening her throat. “Because you’d been there yourself. And you’re right, I was angry and hurt. My mom had just left me. But you were kind to me that day. You talked me down from the loft and taught me how to halter a horse.”
Winona recalled the moment as if it were yesterday. Her mother had dropped her at the ranch, with nothing but a pink backpack and her favorite books. It was just for a few weeks, she’d said. Looking back, Winona knew her grandfather didn’t believe it. And when her mom finally made contact over twelve months later, Winona chose to stay with her grandfather after that. Looking back, it was the right decision—even though at the time she’d experienced the range of emotions associated with being abandoned by her only parent. And still did, she suspected. But rationally, she knew she’d had a much happier childhood growing up at the Triple C with Red than she would have had she stayed with her mother. The first day had been hard—but Grant had made her feel so welcome, so much a part of things—and from that first day she developed a little bit of hero worship.
Over time, that turned into a serious crush—and by her thirteenth birthday she was convinced he was the love of her life.
Silly, she supposed, to think about that now, just as she was about to marry Dwight.
Thinking about her fiancé made her sit up straight and then shuffle out of the booth. “I have to get ready,” she said. “Meet me in the foyer in an hour.”
“How are we getting to the chapel?”
She checked her watch. “Taxi.”
Winona took off and headed back to her room. Once she was inside, she showered, slipped into the white lace underwear she’d splurged on, before doing her hair and makeup. Not too much, since most days she went makeup free, but she swept her long black hair into an updo and added the pearl earrings Grant had given her for her eighteenth birthday. She stepped into her lace gown, which was long and figure hugging, off the shoulder in design, and pushed her breasts up in a flattering way.
Giving herself one final look, she double-checked her purse to make sure she had all the documentation she needed and then headed downstairs. Since brides in white gowns were obviously the norm for the hotel, she barely got a glance from the people she passed in the corridor, or in the elevator. Although one older lady did smile and say she looked lovely.
Grant was waiting for her in the foyer and gave her a long and appreciative look.
“You look beautiful,” he said when she reached him.
Winona took in his dark suit, white shirt and tie and raised a brow. “You look pretty good yourself.”
He smiled. “Do you have everything?”
She nodded and rattled her purse. “Just need to get to my groom.”
“Lead the way,” he said and grasped her elbow.
Ten minutes later they were at the Love Is All Around Wedding Chapel. There was a couple just finishing their ceremony and Winona watched from the waiting area, nerves settling big-time in her belly. She looked around, noticing how quaint and nicely decorated the place was, and thought it looked exactly like it had online.
The couple at the altar came out arm in arm, laughing happily, and nodded in their direction, with the minister and a well-dressed middle-aged woman following in their wake, throwing confetti. Once the other couple were out of the chapel, the minister approached her and she confirmed their appointment.
And waited for her future husband.
At ten minutes to four, when Dwight still hadn’t turned up, Winona got twitchy. “I’m sure I told him 3:45,” she said to Grant and looked at the time on her cell again. “The minister said we needed about fifteen minutes to fill out the paperwork.”
“He’s only five minutes behind schedule. Maybe his flight was held up, or he’s at the hotel changing into a suit.”
She shook her head and called Dwight’s number. “He’s wearing his dress uniform. But you’re right, he’s probably caught up in traffic or something.”
When the call went to his voice mail, she left a message and then sat back down, the uneasiness in her stomach increasing as the minutes ticked by. And then, after she tried his cell twice more and the time clicked past four o’clock, Winona knew something wasn’t right.
The minister approached her at ten minutes past four and said he had another ceremony booked in twenty minutes and couldn’t hold the spot much longer. Winona was about to call his number again when her cell pinged with a text message. She looked at the caller ID. It was from Dwight. Her stomach churned and then she took a breath. She was imagining the worst for no reason. He was late, that’s all. He was stuck in traffic or his flight was delayed. Right?
Except, when she read his message, her hopes were crushed.
I’m so sorry, Win. I just can’t do it. I’m not ready for a commitment like this. I know you probably hate me right now, but this is for the best. I’m sorry. D.
Her hand shook and she gasped, pressing her other hand to her chest.
“Winnie?”
Grant’s voice. Suddenly, he was sitting beside her and she turned to face him, her hand still shaking. She held the phone up and shuddered out a reply. “He...he’s not coming.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he asked in disbelief.
She shoved the phone at him with a shaking hand. “Read it.”
He took a couple of seconds and then wrapped his hand around hers, placing the phone in her lap. “Winnie, I’m so sorry. But...maybe this is for the best.”
“I don’t understand...he promised...”
Winona’s insides hurt so much she could barely breathe. And then, somehow, Grant’s arm came around her and she dropped her head to his shoulder. He held her, murmuring that he’d take care of everything, he’d make sure she wouldn’t be alone. Oddly, despite the hurt and the chaos screeching though her brain, she felt better.
Because Grant’s arms were exactly what she needed to shelter her from the pain of being abandoned.
Again.
Copyright © 2021 by Helen Lacey
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ISBN-13: 9780369710048
Not Their First Rodeo
Copyright © 2021 by Christy Jeffries
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Not Their First Rodeo Page 22