by Tena Stetler
He stretched his arm around her shoulder and drew her close, leaning his head against hers watching the flames bounce and weave in a strange dance casting shadows across the room that had warmed up nicely. “We are going to have to have dinner in the nude more often.”
Chapter Three
Wedding Plans, Dresses, Flowers, and Catering—Can’t We Just Run Off and Get Married?
Pepper sat at her computer in the office scrolling through wedding dress sites Gwen emailed to her. Nothing but fru-fru dresses. Pepper hated fru-fru dresses. All she wanted was a nice shimmery, cream dress; she wasn’t a fan of white. The gown had to fit her curves, Lathen’s words not hers, and be comfortable. One that didn’t mop the floor with a disagreeable train. Not so tight that she couldn’t bend over or a skirt so full that she couldn’t sit down and knocked over everything the dress came in contact with. Was that too much to ask?
She skimmed a few more dresses. Moved her mouse to the little X in the corner of the page and clicked. Nothing there. Also, she had no intention of squishing her poor feet into pointy toed, four-inch spike heeled shoes like on the other website Gwen suggested. For heaven’s sake, she was nearly six feet tall.
Nope, plain and simple was her intention, and if she couldn’t find something in the next ten minutes, she’d wear jeans, a nice sweater, and tennies to her wedding. A soft laugh in the corner of the room made her jump as the computer chimed another email’s arrival. With her fingertips, she rubbed her throbbing temples and glanced over top the computer screen to see Ashling fading in and out of view.
“Is there something I can do for you?” Pepper grumped narrowing her eyes as fingers continuing to massage her temples. “Aren’t you out of your element?”
“Not really, just prefer outdoors rather than inside a stuffy building. Haven’t seen you at the pond for a while and wanted to discuss flowers for the wedding.”
“None, not going to have any. Going to run away in jeans and get married.”
Ashling snorted atrociously unlady like. “Okay. I’ll do as I please.” She disappeared leaving only a wisp of mist curling in the corner.
“Ashling come back here,” Pepper demanded clicking the new email icon on her computer. She chewed on her bottom lip as the email opened on screen. In the center was a picture of a shimmering cream dress, floor length, with matching ballet type slippers. A simple tiny deep purple bow topped each shoe. In the email, Lathen’s step-mother, Amy, described the material as unbelievably soft and stretchy. The dress was well within Pepper’s self-imposed budget for a dress she’d wear once. Her lips twitched while she emailed Amy for the location of the dress.
As it turned out, one of the women from the pack had seen the dress in a magazine and thought it was perfect for Pepper. One of them recreated it in what she thought would be Pepper’s size, and presented it to Amy, with the condition that she would only accept payment for the price of the material if Pepper loved the dress. Amy also indicated the shoes were available in a little store in Alaska, what size did she take?
Pepper scooped up her phone and touched in Amy’s number. She answered on the first ring.
“Got my emails, huh? Don’t you love the dress?”
“You have no idea. It’s like you plucked that dress right out of my mind. The shoes too. I wear eight and a half. Any chance they have that size?”
“As a matter of fact, they do. I checked the shoe and sizes before emailing you. Figured about now you were pulling your hair out,” Amy said with a soft laugh.
“Exactly. I was contemplating running away to get married. But couldn’t do that to our families. You’re a life saver.”
“Well, thanks. I still remember going through the same thing putting together Elijah’s and my wedding, not so long ago. I’ll just purchase the shoes, pack them and the dress with us at Thanksgiving. Will that work?”
“Sure. Send me the receipt, I’ll reimburse you.”
“Not necessary, my gift to you. You have no idea the change in Elijah since he talks with both his boys on a regular basis. We know you are responsible for Lathen’s transformation to some extent. Besides, us non fru-fru girls have to stick together,” she said on a laugh.
“Thank you so much.” Pepper’s shoulders relaxed as she slid down in her high-back chair.
“One more thing. Another lady in the pack makes lovely floral tiaras with trailing vines down the back. A deep purple rose tiara would go great with the dress and shoes, if you haven’t gotten a veil yet.”
“Veils haven’t even crossed my mind. Wasn’t going to wear one, but what you describe sounds perfect.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Amy said.
“You’ve been a huge help.”
“I’m glad. Love to you both. Call if you need anything. See ya soon,” Amy said in a cheerful voice.
“Love you too.” Pepper touched the screen ending the call. The door banged open, and Lathen strode in, mist curling behind him, Ember and Tonk scooting in as he closed the door.
He frowned at the door. “Gotta get that fixed,” he said more to himself than to Pepper. “Seems we have a very disgruntled ghost at the pond,” he said forehead still creased. “Scratch that, I believe she’s followed me here.” The mist formed into a woman’s shape.
“Ashling, I’m sorry. It’s just that…well…tell me about the flowers,” Pepper said then held up an index finger.
Lathen shrugged and leaned against the door frame. “That was easy.”
“Amy is the greatest person in the world.”
“My dad would agree with you wholeheartedly. Me too. But I’m curious, what has she done now?”
“Only found the perfect wedding dress, shoes, and tiara.” Pepper beamed.
Making three check marks in the air, Lathen said, “That’s three fewer things to stress out about.” He winked at her. “I think your aunt has some great ideas about the flowers, let her handle the setting at the pond.” He opened the door and stepped outside before turning around to admire her. “Just my two cents.” Tonk bounded out in front of him, while Ember curled up in the corner on her blanket. He closed the door quietly.
“All right Ashling, you have my complete attention.” Pepper smiled as she remembered the same stance she was seeing now long ago, from Ashling when she patiently waited to discuss something.
“We’ve decided if you approve, that blooming rose bushes will be conjured around the pond and climbing roses at the base of the arbor.” Ashling went on to explain the exact details.
“That sounds great. Go for it.”
Ashling smiled wide, then frowned. “There’s a hawk of some kind hanging around the pond since last night. It’s dragging one wing. You might want to take a look. I was going to tell Lathen at the end of our conversation, but he didn’t give me a chance, just strode up here quick as you please.” Ashling made a clucking sound. “A bit bossy that one.”
“Thank you, I’ll check it out.” Pepper shrugged into her parka. Ember looked up, stretched, and padded to the door waiting patiently for it to open. Ashling’s filmy form trailed behind Pepper and Ember.
When Pepper arrived, Lathen already had a crate and blanket on the bench. He was talking softly to the frightened bird. He looked up at Pepper’s arrival. “Believe it’s got a busted wing but won’t let me get close, not without risking my digits.” He held a hand in front of her and wiggled his fingers slowly.
Closing her eyes, she connected and reassured the bird as she moved toward it. “What happened to you sweetie?” she crooned. “Let me take a look at that wing.” Pepper bent down and carefully lifted the wing slightly. The bird screeched and lunged at her as she released the wing. “Yep, it’s broken.”
Lathen handed her the blanket. Pepper wrapped the bird in the blanket, careful to support the wing and tucked the bundle next to her body, hurrying to the seabird aviary. Lathen followed with the crate. Once inside, she placed the bird on the examining table and taped the wing to its body with vet wrap.
To help the bird relax, she administered a painkiller and placed a call to the vet’s office. Dylan wasn’t in, but Pepper left a message for her to stop by when she had a chance and gave a description of the bird’s injury. Lathen transferred the bird from the table to a heated cube, then lowered the lights.
“He should sleep for a couple hours, then we’ll see if Kaylee can get him to eat. The hawk is in pretty good shape physically, except for the wing. Too soon to tell if he’ll be able to fly again.”
“Where is Kaylee? Haven’t seen her all morning.”
“I let her out early. She came back with a big flopping fish and flew in her aviary before I walked to the office.” She shrugged. “I held the door open for her, but she tilted her head at me then resumed tearing into her fish from the perch. She may have a bit of arthritis in that wing and leg that bothers her during the winter storms.”
“Oh, could be.” His arms enveloped Pepper, and she leaned into him. “You love this, don’t you?”
“Yes, it’s all I ever wanted to do. You’re not so bad at rehab yourself. Need to work on your mental communication with the creatures.”
“Hey, I’m not the creature whisperer, you are.”
“But you have the ability, and you should start honing it. Could be very useful.” She winked at him, wriggled out of his grasp, and looked thoughtful.
“Oh, no… I know that look.” He groaned holding his head with both hands.
Ignoring his antics, she said, “I’d like to put wireless cameras in the seabird aviary and connect them to the computer in the cabin. That way we can keep an eye on the injured birds without running down here several times a day. In fact…” Tilting her face toward him, she peeked at him from under her long lashes.
Lathen shook his head and sighed. “You’d like them installed in all the habitats, eventually.”
“You read my mind.”
“Of course.” Pulling a pad of paper and pen out of his coat pocket, he scribbled a few notes and tucked the pad back in his pocket. “I’ll check our inventory before ordering the cameras on-line later today. Next time we head to town, I’ll pick up whatever else is needed for the install from the hardware store.”
“Sounds great. I appreciate it and you.” She stepped away, blew him a kiss.
“It’s a good thing you had the foresight to fall in love with a handyman.”
“Yep, that was fortunate, but don’t forget computer guru too.” She grinned. “Let’s head back to the office. There’s still work to be done. Those invoices are not going to pay themselves.”
One final check on the hawk and they strode toward the exit. The heavy wooden door gave a loud nails on chalkboard sound when Lathen yanked it open. Pepper winced. “Damp and cold got to the hinges.”
“I’ll work on it, later.” He pulled out his pad again and jotted a few notes.
She sashayed through, waited for him to close and latch the door, then tucked her hand through the crook of his arm. They wandered up the path toward the office.
Pepper stomped the snow off her boots and wiped them on the rug. Lathen followed suit before entering the office. She sat down at the computer while he strode into the supply room. A light tap on the door had Pepper jerking her head up as Dylan stuck her head inside.
“Got your message. I was in the neighborhood, so I stopped in.” Her gaze wandered from the inbox to the pile of files next to Pepper. “Looks like you’re inundated. I’ll check on the hawk and be on my way. She’s in the converted barn?”
“Yes. Thanks. I’ll go with you.” Pepper pushed up from her chair.
“No need. If there’s a problem, I’ll be back.”
“I appreciate it.” She eased into the chair.
There were emails from the caterer, the bakery, and the stationery shop. The wedding invitation proofs were ready for her review. The cake decorator wanted to know if Pepper was sure about the purple piping and roses on her wedding cake, and Love Caters All had the menu ready for the wedding reception. Could she look it over? Pepper opened the attachment and printed it out.
On the corner of her desk, stacked neatly in her inbox were today’s unopened mail and invoices to be paid. Pepper picked up the invoices, logged into her bank’s site, and systematically entered the bills to be paid. Synced the bank transactions to her accounting program, then drew a line through that task on her to-do list and picked up the menu printout.
Tool belt cinched around his waist, Lathen swept into the room and knelt behind the door. He installed a door stop, squirted lube into the hinges, then he touched up the paint where the door handle had nicked the wall. “I ordered eight cameras, that should do for starters. Checked our stock of batteries and wiring and I believe we are set. The cameras will be here in a couple of days so I can install them and perform a test run before we leave for Colorado. In fact, the system will be accessible by computer and smart phone anywhere we have Wi-Fi or cell service. I’ll add security patches to the system so only authorized users can get in.”
“That’s wonderful. If you’ve got a minute, could you go over the menu for our reception?” She held out the three-page document for his inspection.
He took the menu from her and looked over it. “There is nowhere near enough food to feed those folks coming from Alaska. Better double the amounts. If we have leftovers, we’ll freeze them or serve them as snacks. I believe several pack members are planning to attend the wedding but leaving immediately afterward. Only Dad, Amy, Kolby, and Hayley are planning to stay through New Year.”
“So what you’re saying is we better stock the freezer before the wedding. I only ordered one five-layer cake. Should I order a couple sheet cakes too?”
“Wouldn’t be a bad idea. Since we’ll have guests throughout the holidays, I don’t think food will go to waste. Gwen is coming for the wedding, and she will be staying with us. Dad and Amy can stay in the visiting veterinarian quarters on site. Hayley said she was going to book the same suite at the Sea Crest Inn that they had in August.”
“Yeah, Mom and Dad made arrangements to stay in the cottage they rented this fall beginning the first of December through January. Dad mentioned purchasing a cottage in Lobster Cove. I think he and Mom reconnected with several friends when they were here for the LCWRRC grand opening celebration. It’d be nice to have them closer once in a while.”
“Your dad liked helping out around the rescue while they were here.”
“He sure did. I’m also going to try to convince Hayley and Kolby to stay in our other spare room.”
Lathen shook his head. “Good luck. She loves the Inn.”
“But she can’t sit outside on the balcony or at the beach…so we’ll see. Okay, back to the menu. I’ll have the caterers double the menu and add two full sheet cakes with the bakery. Do you think deep purple piping on the white cake is odd?”
“No. I think whatever you want is fine. It’s our wedding. It doesn’t matter what others think. But I’m not sure Ember is going to like wearing that purple bow you have for her. Tonk is not going to cooperate with the purple bow-tie you got for him.”
“They both will cooperate after I promise a special treat,” Pepper said smugly.
“Oh, I see, bribery it is. If you’re ready to wrap this up, let’s release Kaylee and take food to the hawk. Then we can return to the cabin and relax the rest of the evening.”
Pepper blew out a breath. “I still have the wedding invitations to proof, then I’m done.” She clicked on the email attachment, and a picture of the invitation filled the screen.
Lathen bent over the back of Pepper’s chair, laid his cheek on the top of her head staring at the image. “We should drive into town tomorrow and physically see the wedding invitation before we order them. The screen version looks okay, but the real thing could look quite different. Don’t you think?”
“You’re probably right.”
“You haven’t made the plane reservations for Thanksgiving yet, have you?”
“Not yet. I did look
up flights, but I still don’t feel right about leaving Kaylee, Ember, and Tonk on our first Thanksgiving together.” On a sigh, she asked, “Want to take a look at what I found?” She half-heartedly handed him several sheets of paper with different flight times and dates.
His lips twitched as he took the papers. “No, why don’t you leave the transportation to me.” Lathen tossed the schedules in the trash. “I think you”—he touched the tip of her nose—“Kaylee, Ember, and Tonk will appreciate my creative travel arrangements.”
“Lathen we can’t drive to Colorado in November.”
“Who said anything about driving? Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. I’ve got it covered. Now turn the computer off, and let’s go home.” He waited for her to get out of the program and click on the shutdown icon, then tugged her out of the chair, and turned the light off. Dog and wolf waited anxiously at the door.
Chapter Four
The Next Couple of Weeks Would’ve Put a Whirlwind to Shame
The next morning after checking on the rehab creatures, Lathen and Pepper drove to the stationery shop in Lobster Cove. They approved the beautiful wedding invitations with deep purple trim and lettering on cream textured paper. The manager said the invitations would be ready by week’s end. They returned to the truck.
Lathen stopped in front of the bakery and turned to her. “I have a few errands to run. Do you want to ride along, or would you rather take care of the cake and the other items on your list, and then we’ll meet at Maggie’s for lunch?”
“Since the sun is still out, I’ll take care of the cake arrangements and a couple other things right around here, then walk the block to the diner and wait for you. Looks like the predicted storm will roll in by late afternoon. I’d prefer to be at home when it does.”