The Wedding Plan

by Melissa Shirley

  “She’s your mom.”

  “A convenient fact she only remembers when she needs something.”

  He took her hands in his and brushed the back with his thumbs. “Nat, let her stay tonight and tomorrow, I’ll rent her an apartment. It’s one night.”

  “You’re going to end up paying her bills for the rest of your life, Jacob.” This wasn’t so much a warning as a fact, a historically proven bit of wisdom.

  “I can afford it.”

  Nat shook her head. “And she knows it.”

  “It’s one day, Nat.”

  More famous last words had never been spoken.

  * * *

  NAT: At first, having my mom there was tense. But then, we went full-on, weapons out of the closet war. She…we had to get the rules straight. I mean, I lived with her so I was used to it, but I think Jacob had an awakening of sorts. She’s my mom and I love her, but between my hormones and the way me and my mama fought, I understood the extra hours he spent at work. Even though I acted like I didn’t. And let me tell you, there were days I wished I had a job to go to.

  11

  God, she wished her mom wasn’t sitting a few rows back hearing all the mean things Nat had said about her. She patted Jacob’s hand. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

  He nodded, always so understanding, probably knowing she would want to talk to her mom before Nat knew it herself. His intuition about all things Nat reached far beyond anything she recognized in anyone else, herself included. It was one of the reasons being with him was so easy.

  She crushed the nerves churning in her belly with a deep breath then took the seat beside Ellen Quinn. “I’m sorry, Mom.” It was always best to start off a conversation like this with an apology.

  But instead of being lashed out at with the hurt she’d expected, her mother smiled. “Oh, Nattie. I know what you were going through. I wasn’t always the best mama, but I loved you every minute. You were always my special girl. I hope you know that.”

  Nat smiled. “I do.”

  Ellen turned in her chair to face Nat. “So, are you still planning to leave town?” When Nat didn’t answer, Ellen continued. “It’s a shame is all. Now that I’m getting my life together, I would love for us to spend time together.” She patted Nat’s knee. “Professor Manicotti—or whatever his name is—says I have real writing potential. I was thinking we could work on a book together. I’ll need you for all the details, but I would love to tell my story.”

  If this was her mother trying to grab fame, Nat wouldn’t be a part of that. “Mama…”

  “Not your story, Nat, mine. The one where I loved and lost your daddy, the one where I finally discovered something more important than drinking.”

  Nat shook her head. “I don’t know your story with Daddy. I don’t even remember him.”

  “I would love to tell it to you.” Her mother’s eyes softened, misted and Nat wrapped her in a hug.

  “I would like that, too.”

  * * *

  HELEN CARON: Being neighbors with those two…mmm, mmm, mmm. The things I saw. Why that girl was up on the roof, out mowing grass, doing man’s work my husband would never have let me do while I was carrying a baby. Heard some doozy fights on that lawn, too. But, on the other hand, I had a front row seat for their story. I saw all of it from my living room window. I was rooting for them since I saw him take her in his arms that first day in the rain. I knew right then they had what it took to last.

  * * *

  220 Days Earlier

  “I told you I would mow the grass when I got home.” His voice was steel. “You shouldn’t be out there doing it.”

  “I didn’t want the trick or treaters getting lost in the weeds.” Besides, her mother had been harping about something—probably the television not having the right program or something equally out of Nat’s control. She’d needed the time alone—just a girl and her mower.

  “Jesus, Nat, I said I would do it.”

  “Like last week when you said you would take my car in for service or you would clean the gutters?” She’d already done both herself since her husband was too busy caring for everyone else in town.

  “I better not catch you on that roof.”

  “What are you going to do? Spank me? That would be a nice change. And don’t worry your pretty little head, Dr. Jacob. You didn’t catch me.” He could just get over himself. She was perfectly capable of maintaining the house and the cars and all the other thousand things he’d let go since her mother moved in and he’d chosen to stay away more than he’d chosen to come home.

  He shook his head and stalked inside. In fairness, he hadn’t slept much these last few weeks. He’d taken extra shifts at the hospital, worked in more appointments to his day than usual. She suspected it was to get the hell away from her and her mother, but she missed him, missed his smiles, his warm kisses, and the hot ones too.

  She stomped up the porch, yanked open the screen and followed his steps. “Don’t walk away from me, Jacob.”

  He slammed the bedroom door, and she flung it open so that it hit the wall behind it. He loosened his tie. “Well, excuse me, but I didn’t feel like getting yelled at in front of the whole damned neighborhood.”

  She stepped closer, accidentally inhaled the remnants of his cologne as he turned away to fling the tie into the laundry basket. It had been so long since she’d felt his skin, since he’d done more than peck her cheek before he dashed out of the house or fell asleep. She licked her lips trying to remember the feel of his brushing against hers, the taste washing over her entire body. “Jacob.”

  He looked up, smiled and crooked his finger. “Come here.” When she had her head against his chest, he held her close. “I could spank you for getting on that roof.”

  “If we’re gonna get kinky, we better shut the door.”

  * * *

  NAT: Not every day was sunny and happy. We had some arguments and discussions about things, but at the end of the day, we worked it out. I think it was determination to make this work as much as anything else until that wasn’t the reason anymore. Until every day we were together, I knew it would be harder to leave. And then, like someone had brushed all the clouds away, I knew. I loved Jacob. But I didn’t have the foggiest idea how to tell him. Those weren’t words I took lightly or that I’d ever said to anyone but my sister and my mom.

  God, he’d missed her. And not just the sex, although he’d missed that, too. He’d missed her smile, and holding her while she was awake, missed all the things that having her mother around had led to. He’d missed that look in her eyes that told him more than the words she wouldn’t say. Of course, he hadn’t said them yet either.

  “I miss you, Jacob.”

  Her voice waved over him, made him want to stay this way forever. Forget the house for her mother, the extra hours he’d been putting in to pay for it. He should have just taken the loan Lucia offered him, but he wanted to do this on his own. For Nat. “I miss you, too.” He kissed the top of her head. “But, Nat, I need you to stop climbing on rooftops and standing on ladders.” When she tried to wriggle out of his arms, he held tight. “I need to know you’re safe. That the baby is safe. Please.” Nope. He didn’t mind begging for something this important.

  “I just can’t stand being stuck in this house. I know I’m the one that said she had to quit drinking if she wanted to be around this baby, but I think I liked her better drunk.”

  He chuckled. He’d missed most of the fights between Nat and her mom, thank God since the ones he’d seen were loud and nasty, but he knew the toll they’d taken on Nat. Felt it firsthand when she tossed and turned at night. “It won’t be much longer.”

  “I still have months and months of being pregnant, and our contract is gonna end long before you ever get her out of here.”

  He hated when she talked about the contract. He was quite happy to pretend it didn’t exist, but she just kept throwing it in his face at every chance she got. Still, he’d swallow it because he didn�
�t want to fight. Not now. Instead, he snuggled her closer. Maybe it was time to just tell her. Maybe if she knew what he was doing…or maybe, he should show her that he had a plan for their future—a white picket fence, babies in the nursery kind of plan.

  “Can we go somewhere tomorrow? Just the two of us? I have something to show you.”

  * * *

  JACOB: It was the biggest surprise I’d ever tried pulling off. There were papers to be signed and contractors to meet with. It was a logistical nightmare. And I was trying to manage it in between hospital shifts and extra appointments. I wanted to build a nest egg for us without my trust fund or Lucia’s help because I thought it would be better for Nat if she knew I was doing it all for her, for us and the baby. I probably should have clued her in a bit.

  She’d tried all morning to get it out of him, but this was a surprise, and even when she’d tried to kiss it out of him, he held strong. But dammit. She was getting tougher to resist. She ran her hand over his zipper and his body stirred. Would it always be this way with her? And would he always be so weak for her? He wondered that at least once a day. He hoped it was a question he kept getting to ask himself.

  “I’m going to run off the road if you keep doing that.” It wasn’t much further, but the white line on the road blurred more with every stroke of her fingers.

  “You really want me to stop?”

  He chuckled when she let her hand hover a few inches from him. “It’s just a few more minutes.” Then, he hoped she would be happy enough to finish what she’d started. And if she wanted to finish it over and over again in every room, he’d cleared his schedule. They had the whole day.

  She settled into her seat. They were at the outer limits of Rangers End where an orchard butted up against a vineyard with the driveway of the house between, far off the main road. It had apple trees and a peach grove on the property along with a two-story house and enough bedrooms they could have ten kids if she wanted. He turned down the lane and drove slowly over the newly poured pavement. He’d had the house painted and updated with a dishwasher and closets that had been missing from the original design, but he’d left the interior because he didn’t know how she’d want to decorate it. His stomach rumbled nervously. He wanted her to love it.

  When he pulled to a stop, she tilted her head. “It’s a house.”

  He grinned, so happy he could finally share this with her. “It’s our house. I’m giving your mom my house.”

  Her face pinched. “You can’t just buy me real estate or give my mom a house. What are you thinking?”

  What? This was definitely not the reaction he’d hoped for. He’d planned for a little shock, some disbelief maybe, but anger hadn’t made the list. Still, her eyes flashed with it. “Nat, it’s for us and the baby.” He reached for her hand, and she jerked away.

  “No, Jacob. I don’t want a house. We don’t even know where we’re going to be…if we’ll be together.” She shook her head. “Our contract ends in…” He waited while she did the math. “Seven months.”

  “Would you stop with that? It only ends if we want it to.” God dammit. Unless… “You want it to.” How had he read her so wrong? Not realized he was the only one not playing this as a part, a role. Such a fool he’d been. His heart broke, shattered, and the little shards pierced everything else inside him.

  She looked down at her hands. “Jacob.”

  But it was too late. Nothing she could say would matter more than what she didn’t. “Just take the car and go. I’ll have Jesse bring me home later.”

  He was not a man who cried and damned sure not one who would cry in front of her. But he needed her to leave now. “Jacob—”

  “Go now.” He climbed out and stalked toward the front door, stood watching her leave from behind the sheer curtained windows before he broke down.

  * * *

  NAT: I hurt him that day. Probably a lot of days before that, too, but that day…I almost lost everything that mattered to me. I didn’t realize, maybe? I don’t know. I only know that I wanted him to come home so I could tell him how wrong I was. How grateful. I mean, the guy bought me a house. And an orchard. I should have been excited, but I couldn’t. I never really cared before about what people thought, but now all I could think was that people would believe I stayed with him for everything he bought me. And it wasn’t like that. Not at all.

  * * *

  Three hours later, he’d pulled himself together enough to sit between Jesse and John at the Rusty Hinge. The three of them—Jesse tall and dark, the town mayor and happily married man; John a happily engaged, lean, mean, blonde woman-machine. Seriously, when John walked past women stopped breathing. And Jacob—tall enough, okay enough. Dammit why couldn’t his wife love him? Jesse and John both had relationships—one married, one getting married—where no one walked out, or better, got left at the house he’d bought for his woman.

  “She’s probably scared.” John dropped a hand on Jacob’s shoulder and gave the bone a squeeze. A lesser man would have crumbled under the pain, but Jacob sat straight, mentally calculating his beer to heartache relief ratio.

  “Of me?” Laughable. He’d never hurt her.

  John ordered another round. “No. Not of you. Of hitching her future to yours maybe. You’ve only known her a few months.”

  Jesse nodded. “And you might have gone into it with forever on your mind, but maybe she didn’t. Maybe she has to work her way up to forever. And you buying a house for her, that’s a pretty huge step for only a couple months.” He shrugged. “Even if the sex is really good.”

  John continued as if he and Jesse shared a single brain. “Think about it. If you were only dating for a few months and some chick bought you a house. What would you do?”

  Okay. If he and Nat were only dating, they would have a point, but he married her. And he loved her. And he’d bought her a house, for crying out loud. Which he’d done plenty of. “You guys both have women you met and married not long after.”

  “I’m not married. Only engaged.” Jacob should have told him to run. Fast. Before she lost her damned mind then made John lose his.

  Jesse took a long drink and motioned for another round. “Met then married. You did it in the wrong order. Didn’t spend time making her fall for you. And now you expect her to just to be magically in love with you because you fell for her?” He took a long drink. “Maybe she needs the romance you skipped over.”

  “Romance?” Wasn’t buying the florist out of flowers romantic? Everyone knew flowers were romantic. Of course, he sent his grandmother a big bouquet once a week, so maybe not so romantic.

  “You know, candles and scented bubble bath.”

  Jesse nodded at John’s answer then added one of his own. “A back massage with those girly scented oils.”

  “A picnic.”

  John clapped a hand on the bar and looked at Jacob with wide eyes. “Oh man. I got it. Lanie loves when I read to her. You pick the right story, and she’ll be falling all over you.”

  Read to her? A picnic? Nat didn’t seem like the kind of girl who cared about sonnets or eating outside in the grass. “I took her to pole dancing class.” He didn’t add that he suspected she was the who’d switched out the very unsexy ballroom dancing for the twirls around the pole.

  “That’s about getting laid, not getting loved.”

  Jacob finished his drink. Third or fourth? What difference did it make? He was going to end up on one of their couches tonight anyway. “And what makes you two such experts?” Jesse flashed his ringed hand. Jacob countered with his little gold band. “I have one of those too.” For all the good it did him. Instead of celebrating the purchase of a home with his wife, he was at a bar with these two. Fat lot of good.

  “Yeah, well, mine didn’t come with a contract. Just a promise.”

  Even closer to drunk than sober, an idea floated around his mind. “A promise.”

  * * *

  JACOB: The parade was something we all came up with that night at the bar.
Drunk as hell and kicking around ideas. The house, though, that was mine. Nat wasn’t the kind of girl who thought she deserved the fairy tale. And I wanted to give her one. And when big plans need to come together, there’s only person you really need on your side. I thank God every day that Lucia Gilden is my grandma, because when she calls a town meeting, demands a little action, people listen. She’s not a woman it’s easy to say no to. Thank God.

  12

  “You know if there wasn’t video of all of this…” Nat’s voice washed over him, left him warm in all the places that went cold when he thought of losing her.

  He needed to see her face and angled his knees toward hers. “Tonight, we should talk, okay? Just you and me, no more cameras.”

  She swallowed hard and almost smiled. “We finally have the night to ourselves. Do you really want to waste it talking, Jacob?”

  She had a valid point. It had been a while since they hadn’t had to worry about Matt lurking around, camera at the ready, or any of the other hundred things that came with pregnancy. But there were things he needed to say, to convince her to stay with him.

  He nodded. “Yeah. We need to talk.”

  She looked down at her hands. “Okay.”

  * * *

  NAT: It was the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard of. And he did it without anyone saying a word to me. How he managed that in this town…Of course, no one was really coming around then. I had the off-limits sign practically hanging around my neck. I guess I wasn’t really ready to see him or anyone right then. I am sorry I missed the parade, though. That I would have liked to have seen.

  213 Days Earlier

  How Lucia had managed to secure the use of a Cinderella carriage, he would never know, but when this was over, whether he won Nat’s heart or not, he was taking Lucia to a very nice dinner. And John’s dad, too, since apparently, Lucia had fallen in love with him.