There was a soft knock at the door and Tiffany stuck her head in. She looked adorable, the soft pink of her gown both innocent and provocative. “Willa, you have a visitor.” Tiffany and Mariah had been given guard duty, as the men had protested being barred from their women for the majority of the day.
Tiffany stepped aside, to admit a beautiful woman with strawberry-blonde hair and dressed in a pale green vintage gown.
“Celia?” Willa whispered, her voice filled with surprise. Layla was certain her surprise was reflected on all their faces. Willa was estranged from her family, and the appearance of her younger sister was a shock.
“Oh, Willa.” Celia breathed, her hands shaking as she hesitantly reached out to her sister. “You’re so beautiful.”
Tears began to form in Willa’s gorgeous green eyes at her sister’s genuine compliment. “Thank you, and thank you for coming. I know Mama didn’t want anyone to.”
“About that.” Her sister paused sheepishly. “Do you mind if I stay at your bed-and-breakfast for a bit? I’ll help out to earn my keep.”
“Of course you know you’re always welcome, but what about your fiancé, Staten?”
“He sided with Mama when I said I wanted to come today. He had the nerve to tell me that if it wasn’t going to end up on the society page of the paper, it wasn’t worth wasting his time. I told them both to go stuff it. I wasn’t missing my big sister’s big day.”
Layla had to admire the woman. She knew from talking to Willa that her sister never disobeyed her mother. The courage it had taken to stand up to her was admirable.
“The witch kicked you out for that, didn’t she?” Willa stated, her eyes flashing with anger.
“For wanting to come today?” Layla asked in disbelief. She couldn’t imagine a mother doing that. She’d had the most wonderful mother, and she felt her heart ache for her friend.
“You don’t know what she’s like.” Celia shook her head and forced a smile. “But it doesn’t matter. They weren’t stopping me from coming. I even dressed like the invitation said.” She added the last with a sheepish smile as she grasped the hem of her gown and spun.
Everyone laughed, and the somber mood eased.
“And you can stay as long as you like,” Willa said, hugging her sister.
“It’s just till I can find a job,” she promised, returning Willa’s hug.
“Okay, this is sweet and all, but you’re getting wrinkled,” Danny wailed and they all burst out laughing again.
* * * *
As he and Layla danced, Bo watched the interplay around him with interest. The wedding reception was as relaxed as the wedding had been. Even Thunder had played his part, trotting down the aisle with their rings in a small satchel around his neck. The small picnic area adjacent to the chapel was picturesque. A local band played southern rock. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place when the pair danced their first dance to ZZ Top’s “Rough Boy.” Jake and Willa’s favorite BBQ restaurant was catering. The entire affair was simple and country and perfectly suited his cousin’s no-nonsense attitude. He hadn’t expected the extra entertainment.
Smokey and Gloria were busy chasing the two children they had helped rescue from the compound. It turned out their parents had been killed for trying to escape, and no other family could be found. Gabe had used his legal connections to get them full custody of the pair, and under Smokey and Gloria’s loving attention the brother and sister had come out of their shells and turned into normal, high-strung children that kept their new parents on their toes.
Bo turned his attention to Doc and would have laughed as he tried to ward off the advances of Danny’s library assistant, Tiffany, but when the beautiful young woman finally stomped away in a huff of pink chiffon, his buddy followed her with barely contained longing. It was a look he’d never seen on the man’s face before. Could it be that the ice man had finally fallen? If anyone could batter down the walls his friend had built, it would be the vivacious young college student.
Across the room, a similar situation was taking place, but this time with Smokey’s younger cousin Bernie. The pretty redheaded widow had come to the wedding with her three children in tow. While the three hellions were off trying to snatch bits of cake with Smokey and Gloria’s pair, Bernie was trying to convince Ghost that she was not cougar material. Ghost was having none of that, holding the curvy widow far closer than necessary as they danced, and the flush on her pretty face said the she wasn’t as opposed to his attention as she wanted everyone to believe.
It would be interesting to see which one of them landed their prey first, Tiffany or Ghost. One thing was certain, life in Aurora Heights wasn’t going to be boring, but then it never was.
THE END
WWW.GRAEMCTAVISH.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grae McTavish has always had a very active imagination that sometimes got her into trouble growing up. As a voracious reader, the natural progression was to put that imagination into writing.
Growing up around bikers, it was impossible to resist adding some of the rowdiness into her writing as well.
She is married to her own sexy biker who inspires her wicked imagination every day. Her two wonderful children keep her rounded and grounded and make her life complete.
Visit her at:
www.graemctavish.com
www.facebook.com/GraeMcTavish
For all titles by Grae McTavish, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/grae-mctavish
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Breaking Hearts [Smoky Mountain Motorcycles 2] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 16