His Sister's Wedding

by Carol Rose

  He stood in the doorway, his mouth a straight, unsmiling line. "Lillie, come inside. It's three o'clock in the morning. If we have to talk about my Aunt Mary's sappy remarks and my stupid engagement ten years ago, the last thing we need is for the neighbors to call the police."

  "How very rational of you," she said angrily. "Always so logical, so in control. Don't ever let anything as sticky as feelings sway you."

  "I have feelings," he declared angrily. "I care a great deal for you."

  Lillie felt a mocking smile curl her lips. "Only when your...body parts...get the better of you."

  "Oh, for God's sake," Luke said, shoving a hand through his rumpled hair. "Will you at least come inside?"

  "No. I only came over here to tell you I won't marry you. After Scott and Melanie are married, we won't have anything to say to each other."

  Brushing fresh tears out of her eyes, Lillie turned and ran down the steps.

  * * *

  Luke whacked off the last dead branch and threw it into the wheelbarrow. Glancing around the gardens toward the smooth sloping lawn to the river, he tried to appreciate the transformation.

  With only two weeks until the wedding, he and the crew had pruned and fertilized until Lillie's secret garden looked like something out of a landscape magazine.

  Today the crew were planting the beds under the dubious supervision of Melanie and Janet.

  Luke knew it had made his sister happy when he suggested she ask their mother to come along today. He'd mentioned the idea to Melanie in a rare moment of weakness a few days before the wedding shower. Now that his mother was here, he found himself too distracted by his own problems to do more than grunt out directions for her and Melanie.

  Truthfully, Luke had found himself feeling like a jerk every time he rebuffed his mother's overtures. He just couldn't rouse any of his old anger at her youthful transgressions.

  Across the yard, mother and daughter knelt beside a flower bed, so similar in build and coloring that anyone would have known their relationship. At any other time, Luke supposed he would enjoy the unusual familial moment, but now he could hardly bring himself to be decent to anyone, much less pleasant.

  The stand-off with Lillie was making him nuts. Sleeping and eating required too great an effort, and for the first time ever he could hardly concentrate on his work.

  "Luke!" Melanie called. "Come see if these are close enough together."

  Shoving his pruning clippers into his back pocket, Luke crossed the rose garden to stand beside his sister. On the other side of Melanie, Janet sat back on her heels, her face shaded by a straw hat.

  "Don't you think these flowers look like they aren't speaking, this far apart?" Melanie asked, peering up at him from under the brim of her baseball cap.

  "No. They need space to grow."

  "But Mom and I think you shouldn't be able to see the dirt so much." Melanie glanced doubtfully at the flower bed.

  "Look, they're fine. If you stand back, you get the color impact."

  "I don't know," Melanie mused. She glanced at her mother. "We think they'd look better if they were a little closer...."

  Luke closed his eyes and groped for his nonexistent patience. "This is why I don't let customers hang around when I'm working."

  "I want everything to look perfect," Melanie protested, getting to her feet in a huff. "After all, I don't plan to have another wedding."

  "Hopefully not," Luke said shortly. "And the bedding plants are still close enough."

  "Maybe Luke's right," Janet intervened, obviously trying to avoid a conflict.

  "Geez," Melanie planted her hands on her hips and glared at Luke. "What's the matter with you?"

  "Nothing," he growled.

  Melanie frowned. "Did you have an argument with Lillie?"

  "Of course not," Luke snapped. "And I'll thank you to stay out of my personal life."

  "Why don't you admit that you're in love with her?" Melanie asked in exasperation.

  "Look, just because you've decided to base your life on sentiment, doesn't mean I need to," Luke declared angrily.

  "Maybe if you'd admit you're in love and worked things out with Lillie, you wouldn't be turning into such a grouch," his sister said.

  "Don't be ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with me, and my sex life is no concern of yours." The words came out with more emphasis than he'd intended.

  "Okay, okay." Melanie lifted her hands in an exaggerated gesture.

  Janet glanced between them, her face worried.

  "Can we just get this done?" he asked no one in particular before turning to pick up a spade.

  "Of course, dear brother," Melanie said with mocking deference. "You leader, we slaves." She dusted off her hands. "I'm going to go make sure they put the garden globe in the right place."

  "Fine." Luke pulled his clippers out of his back pocket and started to trim a shrub, stopping to call her back. "Mel."

  His sister turned around in exasperation. "What now?"

  "I just wanted to tell you that you and Scott have my blessing, for what it's worth." Somewhere along the way he'd lost his conviction that this marriage was bad for her. If she wanted to handle her life this way, he wouldn't stand in her way.

  Melanie looked at him for a long moment before casting herself in his arms. "Thanks, Luke. Your blessing is worth a lot."

  "Well, whatever," he said, gruffly returning her hug before pulling his clippers out again. "But we have to get this place in shape."

  "We'll do it," Mel promised before heading off to direct the placement of the garden globe.

  Luke worked for a moment in silence, aware of his mother's hesitant, darting glances.

  In the days since Lillie's wrathful midnight visit, Luke had found himself wondering if he'd totally misread the things that happened between his parents. Had his father wrestled with this...emotional paralysis? Had he faced the woman he cared about and been unable to tell her what was happening inside him?

  Luke had always seen his father as the calm, steadfast one after his mother's highly emotional departure. But looking back now, he wondered if his father's stoicism hadn't masked an abandonment of a deeper nature.

  Still kneeling beside the flower bed, Janet cleared her throat nervously. "May I say something, Luke?"

  "What?" Bothered by her nervousness, he tried to soften the gruff tones in his voice.

  "It's not my business," his mother said, her eyes worried, but...."

  "Go on." Luke worked at sounding encouraging.

  Janet plucked at a blade of grass and seemed to choose her words carefully. "I know you lost respect for me when I left the family...."

  Luke sighed roughly. "It was a long time ago," he interrupted. "We all make mistakes."

  "But you were right," she said with more composure. "I ran away from my troubles."

  He waited, knowing she was weighing her words.

  "It was easier to imagine myself in love with Bob than to deal with your father."

  Janet met his gaze, her eyes searching his face. "I'm sure it doesn't seem like it to you," she said, "and I know I don't have any right to comment on your life...but I wonder if you aren't doing the same thing."

  "What do you mean? Running away from what?"

  Janet paused. "Lillie."

  Staring down into his mother's face, Luke waited for a surge of anger that didn't come.

  "You seem to care for her," his mother went on gently, "And I've seen the way she looks at you. I'm not sure that wisdom comes with age, but the years do tend to put things in a different perspective. It seems to be that the hardest thing to do is take a risk on getting hurt. Loving and losing. Particularly when you've been hurt before."

  Just for a moment, a flash, he remembered being small enough to run to his mother for comfort. If only life were that simple now.

  "Are you sure you're not running away from loving her?" she asked.

  He'd never thought of his determination not to fall in love as involving any lack of courage
. But his mother's question struck a chord deep within him.

  "No," he answered with a different kind of roughness in his voice. "I'm not sure at all."

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Lillie turned the ignition key, groaning as the engine cranked over uselessly. Resting her head on the steering wheel, she fought against a wave of despair. What else could go wrong this week?

  When Tricia Graham's bridal gown wasn't delivered, Lillie had scrambled to find a sumptuous enough replacement. When the florist had gone out of business three days ago, she had hustled to call in some favors. But now, at three o'clock on a Friday afternoon, just hours before the select society wedding of a Kissimmee blue blood, her van had given up the ghost.

  Just how long did it take for an expensive three-tiered ice cream cake to melt in eighty degree weather?

  Straightening to turn the key again, she blinked back tears.

  She might as well give up and file bankruptcy. If she delivered a melted ice cream puddle to the Graham wedding, her business would be as devastated as her private life.

  Normally, she handled these bridal crises with a certain enthusiasm. They added challenge and excitement to life. But now in the emotional wake of Hurricane Luke, she felt as empty and useless as a discarded tin can.

  Maud would kill her if she let her masterpiece dissolve in the heat of the stranded van. This wedding had the potential of being a big boost to the baker's business. It seemed ironic that after that ridiculous food fight with Luke, Lillie had been more than eager to help Maud out by delivering the cake herself.

  Lillie gripped the steering wheel. She had to think. What were her options? Scott and Melanie were at Disney World for the day. Even if she could reach her brother, he was too far away to be of any help.

  A mechanic could probably get the vehicle started, but even emergency service would be too late for the van's melting treasure.

  She needed another car--a van big enough to hold the cake without jostling it. If only Maud hadn't already left for her weekend trip. The bakery had two vans that could have easily accommodated the cake.

  Luke has a van. The thought streaked through her consciousness like a missile.

  "No!" she said out loud. "No way. Never."

  Her words echoed emptily in the van. Grabbing the key again, Lillie turned it in the ignition, praying for salvation as the engine cranked without a flicker of hope.

  Even a minivan would work, she thought furiously. Who had a minivan?

  Beth! Her friend, the teacher with three kids. It would be hard to fit the cake safely in between the seats but they could take a seat out.

  Scrounging through her purse for her cell phone, Lillie punched in Beth's number and chewed on her lip as the phone rang and rang. On the fifth or sixth ring, Beth's answering machine picked up and invited her to leave a message.

  Lillie pushed the disconnect button on the phone with nerveless fingers. Every minute that ticked past brought her closer to doom. The cake had been frozen pretty solid, but it couldn't last much longer.

  Flowers by Campbell! Lillie smacked a hand to her forehead. How could she have been so stupid? One of the florists she worked with was located fairly close! They had a delivery van.

  Crossing her fingers that she remembered the phone number correctly, Lillie tapped it in and waited.

  "Mrs. Campbell? This is Lillie Parker." She clutched the phone and stuffed a finger in her ear to block the traffic noise. "I'm kind of in a jam and I need your help."

  "Of course, Lillie," the woman said. "What can we do for you?"

  "I was wondering if you'd let me use your delivery van for an hour."

  "Our van? Well, I don't think there would be a problem with that. When did you need it?"

  "Right this minute," Lillie said eagerly. "Is there some way Mr. Campbell could come pick me up?"

  "Oh, I'm sorry," the woman said with regret. "Tom's out in the van making deliveries now. We have two weddings scheduled for tonight."

  "Oh." Lillie slumped against the van.

  "Tom will be back in an hour or two. Would that be soon enough?"

  "No. No, I'm afraid not. But thanks anyway." She tried to fight back her disappointment.

  "I'm terribly sorry. I wish we could help."

  "I know you do, Mrs. Campbell and I really appreciate it," Lillie said.

  "Good luck."

  She disconnected the line, tears gathering in her eyes. Without letting herself think about it, she punched in Luke's number.

  He probably wasn't in the office. Part of her prayed he wasn't, but the rest of her knew she had a responsibility not only to her clients but to Maud as well.

  "Morgan Landscaping." Luke's voice sounded tired.

  "I need your van," Lillie blurted out, choking back a sob.

  "Lillie?"

  "It's an emergency or I wouldn't call," she rushed to say. "My van stalled out and I have an expensive ice cream cake melting in the back. It's for the most socially connected people in Kissimmee and the wedding is in three hours!"

  Luke heard the panic in Lillie's voice and felt himself respond like a fire horse to the clang of the bell.

  He couldn't refuse her. It was as simple as that.

  But he had an appointment with the V.P. at Unicom in half an hour. Finally, he'd gotten the appointment. He'd been ready to walk out the door when the phone rang.

  "Where are you?" he asked, gazing at his wristwatch.

  "I'm at the corner of Columbia and Thacker in the parking lot of that convenience store," she told him breathlessly. "Hurry!"

  It would take him ten minutes to get to where she was, and Unicom's offices were a good twenty minutes in the other direction.

  "Okay. I'll be right there." He clicked the phone to get a dial tone and tapped in the number for Unicom.

  It had taken him weeks of business-like harassment to get a fifteen-minute appointment with Ben Ames, Unicom's most difficult vice-president, Luke reminded himself. He had spent hours on his proposal and the mock-up for a photo. And now he was voluntarily risking his chance at the account in order to rescue Lillie.

  There was no way Ames would give him another chance if he missed the appointment. Not only was the man a pain in the rear, he also kept a schedule packed tighter than a can of sardines. Still, Luke left a message with Ames' secretary saying he'd be a few minutes late and hung up.

  Some things were more important than business. He'd just have to try and make the appointment after he helped Lillie.

  Jogging out to the van, he found himself envisioning Lillie sitting inside a stranded van with a melting cake. He drove quickly through the streets of Kissimmee, realizing how excited he was to see her again even at the cost of the Unicom account. She had called him when she needed help. A balloon inflated in his chest.

  He still didn't know how to resolve the turmoil between them, but doing so had become very important. In the last few days, it had become clearer that he couldn't live without Lillie.

  Luke found her easily, the van sitting in the parking lot, its doors all open to reveal a magnificent flower-bedecked cake inside. Pulling up next to her van, he got out.

  "Thank God, you're here! Help me unload it," Lillie said by way of a greeting. "The darn thing is heavy."

  She looked gorgeous, her tumble of curly blond hair mounded up on her head, a soft pink dress clinging to her curves. But her eyes seemed dark and he'd never seen that frown between her eyes before.

  Dragging his mind back to the task at hand, Luke opened the double doors to his cargo van and helped her transfer the cake. He could see that its frosted surface was beginning to glisten in the heat. In no time, they'd settled the frozen tower's protective cardboard foundation on the floor of his van.

  Lillie straightened, glancing absently at his suit pants and dress shirt, but not meeting his eyes. "I'll sit in back and hold it steady. You drive."

  Luke hesitated. "The floor's dirty. I didn't take the time to sweep it out."

  "It doesn't matter how
I look if the cake's okay." She climbed in and sat on the floor next to the cake.

  Getting into the driver's seat, Luke started the engine.

  "Tell me where to go," he invited her, wondering if she knew how completely he meant that.

  "The Biltmore," Lillie said tersely.

  With a long, low whistle, he turned the van toward Kissimmee’s most expensive hotel and concentrated on reaching maximum speed with minimum jostling of his precious cargo.

  Within minutes, they pulled up at the service entrance and carefully unloaded the cake. Its frosting looked soft and blurry on the edges, but Luke couldn't see any other evidence of the cake's heat-exposure. Amazingly, the sculpted sugar flowers seemed perfect.

  Grasping the other side of the cardboard foundation, Luke followed Lillie through the huge kitchens and into a large, walk-in freezer. Together they slid the cake onto a shelf and stood back.

  "Whew! That was a close call," Lillie said, tension draining from her voice.

  Luke looked at her, the chill of the freezer seeming to solidify the jumble of things he felt but didn't know how to say.

  Was this what love felt like? Did he even have a chance with her now?

  She'd taken a small step in his direction, but he'd done what he could for her. Regardless of the possibility that he might still be able to salvage the Unicom account, he found himself hesitating. Hoping he could find the words to win her back.

  "I'm glad we got it here," he said, frustrated at his inability to spill out his feelings. "Do you think it's going to be okay? The cake. It's not too thawed?"

  "No," she said, not looking at him as she brushed at a smudge of dirt on her skirt. "I think it's fine. I really appreciate your getting here so fast. I was late already. A wedding like this has a thousand things to be set up beforehand."

  "Ummm. Shall I hang around and help?" For some damn reason, he felt about as suave as a fifteen-year old boy begging for her attention.

  Lillie glanced up in surprise, before looking down again. "No, I can manage it."

  "Do you...ah, need a ride home later?"