The Wedding Wager

by Regina Duke

  “Go on in. I’ll join you soon. I’m starving.”

  Zach was leaning against the side of the stable. “You two look good together.” He pulled his hat down a half inch in front, a cowboy’s salute.

  Megan rushed back for a moment, long enough to plant a kiss on Zach’s cheek. “Remember our plan,” she whispered.

  Zach said, “Yes, ma’am.”

  She trotted off toward the house.

  “What plan?” asked Kevin. “Are you keeping secrets with my wife?”

  Zach winked at him. “I’m giving her away.”

  “Thanks, Zach.” Kevin paused and stared down at his feet. “For everything.”

  “I’ll see you up at the house. If you want breakfast, you’d better get a move on. It’s going on nine o’clock.”

  Cookie was pouring batter on a big griddle. “Pancakes coming up. What about you, Kevin? You want pancakes? You’re going to need your strength.” Her rosy cheeks crinkled in a smile and she winked at him.

  “Everyone seems to have something in their eyes today,” said Kevin. He joined Keegan at the table where the boy was pushing toy cars along the red-checked tablecloth. The Labs were tussling in the corner. “Where’s Megan?”

  Keegan bounced back and forth in his chair. “She went to tell Krystal she’s come back to walk down the plank.”

  “Down the aisle,” Cookie corrected. “Walk down the aisle, Keegan.”

  Keegan shrugged.

  Kevin said, “What do you think, Cookie? Should I go look for her?”

  “I told her we’d give her ten minutes before we call the search and rescue team.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  MEGAN KNOCKED SOFTLY on Krystal Wake’s door. This wing of the house filled her with nostalgia for a past that was never hers. It was so lovely here, with old wooden floors and thick woven rugs, and white lace curtains blowing softly in the morning breeze from the window at the end of the hall. The walls were decorated with family photos and faded tintypes, stern faces in costumes from another century, but the long narrow table beneath the photos was festooned with fresh cut flowers from Cookie’s garden. The effect was one of continuation and the passing on of a legacy. She didn’t hear the door open. Krystal’s soft voice startled her.

  “You’ve come back.”

  “Oh! Yes, I wanted to let you know everything is fine. Kevin and I are going to have breakfast and then dress for the ceremony.”

  “Come in.” Krystal stepped aside to let Megan enter.

  The bedroom was bright and airy. The bed had already been made, and it was covered with a faded quilt. An overstuffed chair in the corner looked even more inviting with a book open face down on the arm. The window was flanked by book cases, and a window seat spanned the space between them. A large pine armoire stood against the opposite wall with a tidy row of suitcases stored beside it.

  “Won’t you sit?”

  Megan perched on the window seat. “After I left so suddenly yesterday, I thought I owed you an apology. I didn’t go far. I just needed to think things over.”

  “I know. Zach told me.”

  Megan was mildly surprised. “Zach?”

  Krystal smiled like the Mona Lisa. “He tells me everything,” she said softly. “You went to the cabin. And later, he sent Kevin after you.”

  Megan’s eyes grew wide. “Yes, that’s right. And Kevin explained everything. And, well, we made up.”

  “I’m so glad.” Krystal moved slowly to the overstuffed chair and sank into it. “I realize that most brides are more involved in planning their wedding day, but under the circumstances, I hope you don’t mind too much.”

  “No, not at all.”

  Krystal made a questioning sound. “You mean, as long as you could make some changes.”

  Megan was puzzled for a moment, then understood. “Oh, you mean Karla.”

  “You know, we all have to learn how to behave at some point in life. I’m not sure you’re doing her any favors.” Krystal’s criticism was tempered by her gentle tone.

  “I know. But I’m an invader, joining the family on very short notice. I want Karla to remember this day as a time when she got to be herself, even if it makes for amusing wedding photos. I don’t want her to resent my arrival as the day she had to put on a costume and parade around like someone’s extra in a movie.” Megan’s memories colored her speech more than she realized.

  “Sounds like you have a few resentments of your own,” Krystal said softly.

  “Don’t we all?” Megan shook off the past of her own family and admired the bedroom. “This is a beautiful room, and a lovely house. How can you bear to leave it for New York?”

  Krystal shrugged. “New York has its charms as well. But I am delighted that you admire the house so much.” She caught her bottom lip with her teeth, choosing her words carefully. “I need to ask a question, and I’m not sure how to go about it.” She sent her eyes right, then left, and whispered, “Walls can have ears in this high tech age we live in.”

  Megan nodded her understanding. “No need to worry, Mrs. Wake. I love Kevin very much, and I am so looking forward to sharing my life with him here in this very house. I hope we have your blessing, to continue on here at the ranch. If I had to leave it now, I don’t know what I’d do. And someone has to care for Chunky when Keegan goes back to school.”

  “Now there is another matter,” said Krystal, relaxing into her chair, “that we must discuss after the ceremony. Keegan is quite taken with you. And frankly, after seeing him outdoors in the sunshine, running and playing, instead of cooped up with his Wii and his iPad, I am quite taken with you myself.”

  Megan smiled. Those were the kindest words Krystal had spoken to her since she’d arrived. “He’s a wonderful boy. He needs a playmate, and after growing up an only child, I am taking full advantage of the opportunity to be around him.”

  “So you really do enjoy having children around?”

  Megan spread her hands. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  Krystal nodded. “Yes, more and more so. You are very much an open book, Megan. And I am so glad that Kevin has found someone to love. You know that his father is against this marriage?”

  Megan made a face. “He made that very clear. That’s what sent me running for the hills. But,” she said, straightening her spine, “I’m not going to let some stuffed shirt candidate for Grinch of the Year scare me away from the man I love. My life has not been a bed of roses, you know. Kevin was a surprise. A wonderful, glorious surprise. I love him, and he loves me back, and I’m never letting go of that.”

  Krystal rested her head on the back of the chair and let a genuine smile lift ten years off her face. “Oh, Megan, my dear, I’m so thrilled to hear that! At last, the chain of fatherly curses has been lifted.” She sat forward and levered herself up from the chair. She held her hand out to Megan who rose also. Krystal faced her and held both her young hands in perfectly manicured but somewhat chilly fingers as she spoke.

  “When I was a young lady, I fell in love.” Her gray eyes darkened toward wet stone. “And he loved me back. But we were from different worlds. My father was furious. He forbade it! He said if I married against his wishes, he would leave me penniless.”

  “But you married your love anyway,” said Megan, thinking of Mr. Wake.

  “No,” said Krystal sadly. “I did not. I married Kevin’s father instead. He was the man who had my father’s seal of approval. Zach was my love. But I was weak. I gave in to my father’s wishes. And I have paid for that decision every day since.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  Krystal pulled herself together and managed another tiny smile. “You are very sweet. And you are stronger than I was. More importantly,” she added, “Kevin is stronger than I was. Whatever happens, do not let his father ruin your lives together. I’m so happy for the two of you.”

  She pulled Megan’s hands to her lips and planted a kiss on her knuckles.

  “Welcome to the family, Megan.”

&n
bsp; CHAPTER FIFTY

  BY THE TIME MEGAN returned to the kitchen, she barely had time for half a bagel before Cookie raised her hands in alarm and said, “Oh, my goodness, honey, you have to get dressed! It’s ten o’clock! And you, too, Kevin. And what about Keegan? Who’s helping you get dressed?”

  “I’m a big boy. I can dress myself.”

  Kevin patted Keegan on the back. “These are special duds, brother. We both need help. I’ll tell you what. You help me and I’ll help you. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  “Grab your trucks. We better get moving.” He tipped Megan’s chin up and planted a warm kiss on her lips. “See you very soon, lovely lady.”

  Megan beamed. “My mouf is foo of bagow,” she mumbled. “Sowwy.”

  Kevin laughed. “This is going to be fun.” He kissed her again. “Go get dressed.” He headed off with Keegan who had evidently allowed his trucks to transform into flying machines.

  Megan swallowed. “I’ll check on Karla!”

  She took the other half bagel with her and headed for Karla’s room.

  “Knock, knock! Are you ready, Karla?”

  “No! Go away!”

  “Uh-oh,” said Megan. She tried the knob. It was unlocked, so she entered carefully. “Karla? What’s wrong? I thought we had this all planned.”

  Karla sat glumly on the edge of her unmade bed. Her suitcases were strewn about the room, unzipped and open. She was still in her black jammies. Her baby smooth feet looked incongruous with black toenail polish. Yesterday’s mascara was rubbed across her cheeks.

  Megan sat down next to her on the bed. “Hey, partner in crime. Where’s your outfit? Your dog collar?”

  “My father came by last night and said he’d kill me if I wore black to your wedding. So I’m not going.”

  Megan flashed fire. “Oh, for the love of—” She bit off the words she was about to launch in anger. She took a breath. “Listen to me, Karla. I want you at my wedding. I don’t care what your father thinks. He’s not getting married, I am! You are Kevin’s only sister. It’s time your father learned that other people have their own wants and desires.” She covered her mouth. “You didn’t hear that from me. But it’s true. You hurry and get dressed. I want you in all your vampire glory. We are going to have awesome family wedding photos! Wear that cool dog collar, the one with tags, okay? And don’t forget your wrist bling!”

  Karla was almost afraid to believe her ears. “Really? You want me to wear my studs, too?”

  “Totally! This is my party, right? I want all my important people there, looking and feeling like themselves! Now you get ready, because I have to go do my hair, my makeup and get my dress on in forty-nine minutes. Yikes!”

  Just then, the sweetest voice Megan ever heard floated from the doorway. “Need some help, sweetie?”

  “Mom? Mom! What!? How!? When!?”

  Glenda Mully chuckled. “Oh, my little girl is getting married! You think I’d miss that?” She and Megan hugged until they had to break for air. “Oh, honey, don’t cry!”

  “But I’m so happy!”

  Karla watched from her bed.

  Megan turned. “Karla, this is my mother. Mom, this is Kevin’s sister Karla. She’s so cool! Wait until you see her all dressed for the wedding.”

  Karla’s glum features broke into a grin. “I better shower fast,” she said.

  “Come on, mom, I’m so happy you’re here. I really need your help, too.” She chattered all the way to the bedroom where the wedding dress was draped over a seamstress’s form. “How did you get here?” Megan stopped and glanced up and down the hall. “Did dad come?”

  “Yes. He’s downstairs, introducing himself around. You know your dad.”

  Megan nodded. “Never at a loss for words.”

  “Now come on,” said Glenda. “We have work to do. I’ll start your hair. You do your makeup. And we’ll talk as we work. Now let’s see. Where to begin. Okay, Monday dad and I got a phone call from a very nice Mr. Garcia who then put a man named Zach on the phone. And he told us you were getting married, and we were going to come as a special surprise. He gave your dad no chance to say no. I can’t wait to meet that Zach fellow. He had your dad sputtering on the phone! And when he told us he was sending a private jet and we’d better get our keesters to Guate to meet the plane at La Aurora, you bet your father got moving! No one ever sent a private plane for us before.”

  “Guate?”

  “That’s what the locals call Guatemala City, the capital.”

  “When did you get to Colorado?”

  “Yesterday afternoon. That nice Mr. Garcia was waiting for us when we landed, and he took us out to dinner and we stayed in a nice hotel, then up bright and early this morning to get here in time for the ceremony! Oh, your father grumbled, you know. And it’s smack in the middle of the rainy season in Guatemala, and your father’s old Jeep got mired in the mud on the way to the airport, because the only place that would have his mission is out in the boonies. You know, he thinks everyone needs him and he forgets that this is a modern nation with their own pride and their own churches. We mainly do volunteer work with orphans but it really gets your father’s goat that he has to work under a local clergyman and can’t take off on his own. And of course, he’s not giving sermons, because his Spanish isn’t good enough, and he’s not ordained in that church.”

  “Enough, enough,” said Megan, staying her mother’s hand with the hairspray in it. “Mom, you’re getting really excited. Let’s save the missionary stories for after the wedding, okay? I want to hear it all, but I want to tell you about Kevin.”

  “Oh, of course you do! Silly me, I’m just so thrilled to see you, my little Meggers.”

  Megan stood and they embraced again. “Me, too, mama. This makes today officially the best day of my life. I’m so sorry I couldn’t get hold of you to tell you I was out of the hospital.”

  “Thank God you’re okay. That’s the only way I was able to leave you. I had to go back when I did, because—well, that story can wait. Let’s just say, your father was in a pickle with the Guatemalan government. I couldn’t let him go to jail.”

  Megan’s eyes popped. “Okay, then,” she said. “We will have some interesting stories to share at the reception.”

  “Are you expecting many guests, dear?”

  “I have no idea. It was too short a notice for my college friends. And actually, you know, I wasn’t that close to many people. I was working all the time.”

  “I know, dear.” Glenda’s face fell. “I’m so sorry we couldn’t help you out.”

  “Don’t be silly! You gave me five thousand dollars! And it made all the difference. You instilled in me a desire to stay debt free.” She hesitated. “In fact, that’s how I met Kevin.” She changed the subject. “Here, help me get into this dress. It fit me day before yesterday. Let’s just hope it still does. Ever since I left the hospital, I’ve wanted to taste everything.”

  “Hospital food can do that to you. Makes you want to eat everything that is not hospital food.”

  They laughed together.

  The dress still fit. It zipped up easily.

  “This is beautiful,” said Glenda. “Very simple and elegant, and yet so extravagant.”

  “You mean the pearls and lace? Yes, I know. I absolutely adore it.”

  “Where ever did you find it? It looks like something you’d see in a New York bridal shop.”

  Megan cleared her throat. “Well, now, there’s an interesting story behind the dress,” she said, once again staring her marriage bargain in the face. How to explain in twenty minutes or less how she and Kevin met, then actually fell in love? And what if Krystal was right? What if the walls did have ears?

  Then she clamped her mouth shut. She wouldn’t put anything past Douglas Wake. She wouldn’t chance giving him any ammunition, even if he seemed to know everything already. Besides, she didn’t have time to explain it all to her mother at the moment.

  Instead she said, “Kevin’s moth
er Krystal gave me the gown as a gift. It was very sweet and thoughtful. Help me with my veil, mom.”

  “Oh, look, more lace and pearls! And these tiny artificial roses! Are those silk?”

  “I think so, yes.”

  “My, my, my.” Glenda looked wistful. “Do you want to know a secret?” She leaned close. “When your father and I had our church wedding, I couldn’t afford a gown. I went to a costume shop and rented one! That’s why I couldn’t save it for your wedding day. Besides, it would have been two sizes two big. Because I was five months pregnant that day!”

  “Mom! You never told me that!”

  “Some things are better left unsaid, dear. I told you your father was a lot more persuasive in his youth? Well, he used quite a bit of that on me.” Her eyes were round and held a you-know-what-I-mean look. “And after the blood test, I used quite a bit on him. I told him it wouldn’t look good for a young pastor starting out to have an unwed mother haunting him every where he went.”

  “You didn’t?!” Megan didn’t know whether to laugh or be horrified. “You are amazing, mama.”

  “I did what I had to do, my dear. Just like always.” She smiled with satisfaction, then changed the subject. “Where did you meet Kevin, dear?”

  “In Seattle,” said Megan, biting off her tendency to run on at the mouth with her mother and tell her everything. “He went to school there.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait to meet him and learn all about his family!”

  Megan smiled at herself in the mirror. I’ll try to stay one step ahead, she thought.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

  AT TEN TO ELEVEN, Krystal knocked on the dressing room door.

  “Come in,” called Megan.

  Krystal’s eyes lit up when she saw Megan in her dress.

  “Mom, this is Kevin’s mother, Krystal Fineman Wake. Krystal, this is my mom, Glenda.”

  “So happy to meet you,” gushed Glenda. “Megan said her dress was a gift from you. What a wonderful thing to do for my little girl!”

  Krystal maintained her reserve, but her gray eyes now held a glint of amusement. “She is the most deserving young woman I have ever met. She has made my Kevin a very happy man.” Before Glenda could rush on, Krystal held up a hand. “Megan, dear, the minister is here. Your father is trying to talk him into sharing the ceremony.”