by Anthology
“I have a key,” Jason said with a wink as he was turning and walking up the porch. “Now you go on and have fun. I’ll put them inside and see you later.”
“You have a key?” Katie yelled as Sophie was shoving her through the car door, but Jason didn’t turn to answer.
Chapter Five
After having been forcibly placed in the SUV, Katie put on her seatbelt and felt the cool blast of air conditioning hit her face. She could either spend the entire ride to the bridal shop freaking out over her uncontrollable lust for Jason or she could get some answers.
She went with answers.
Katie turned towards Aunt Wendy and directed the same question to her that she just had to Mr. Must-Take-Suitcases-At-All-Costs.
“Why does Jas have a key to your and mom’s house?”
“Well, what with all the work he’s been doin’ around the house and with his hours being so different than mine and your mama’s, we just thought it would be easier if he had a key. That way, if he had time to work, he could let himself right on in,” Aunt Wendy explained as she was pulling out of the driveway.
Katie took a deep breath. Now, she was in litigator mode. She only wished she had a yellow legal pad and a number two pencil in her hands to make her feel more at home.
“What kind of work needs to be done around the house? Why didn’t you just tell me so I could hire someone to do it? Why didn’t you just—”
Aunt Wendy apparently did not care to hear the rest of Katie’s follow-up questions and interrupted her, saying, “Well, sweetie, I don’t want to put a fly in your pie, but you haven’t really been around for the daily happenings in these here parts for quite some time. And there was no need for you or anybody else to hire somebody. Jason is more than willing and able to do the job even though he’s a big shot now.”
Aunt Wendy sounded proud as she said that last part, as if Jason, and not Katie, was related to her.
Katie immediately recognized her aunt’s leading statement and figured she would play along, not to mention she was curious, “A big shot, huh?”
Aunt Wendy continued animatedly. “Oh, yes. He is the Vice President of Sloan Construction.”
“He's working for his dad?” Katie asked in surprise. When they had been growing up, all Jason had ever talked about was how he was not going to get sucked into the family business. He wanted to live, to experience the world. He didn’t want to get stuck in Harper’s Crossing.
“He's been there ever since his dad's heart attack,” Sophie chimed in while she was texting on her phone from the front seat.
Katie sat in silence for a moment. That’s right. Jason's dad had had a heart attack and she hadn't even sent a card.
Okay, she definitely needed to add that to the list of things she needed to address in her apology to Jason.
Wendy clapped her hands together as they pulled up to a stop sign, “Now, let’s talk wedding details. Have you had a chance to memorize your schedule for the weekend?”
“Memorize?”
“Yes,” Aunt Wendy clarified, “Commit to memory.”
Katie laughed, thinking her aunt was joking, but Wendy didn't join in. Katie cut off the laughter quickly.
“Uh, no, not really,” she stammered. “I mean, I just...I glanced at it earlier...but I will.” Aunt Wendy was really taking this whole wedding planner thing seriously.
“Well no time like the present, Buttercup,” Aunt Wendy said briskly. “I need you to be up to speed. As the M.O.H., you need to be on top of things.”
“Okay, I’ll take a look at it now,” Katie agreed. She was grateful, actually, to escape the odd conversation. Why was Jason still working for his father? Why was he doing odd jobs for her mother and aunt? She needed a distraction to keep these questions, and more, from swirling through her brain and taking up all of the available real estate.
As Aunt Wendy and Sophie went over last-minute wedding details, Katie opened the folder and started to peruse it. She could not believe how well-organized it was. She was impressed. Maybe Aunt Wendy had found her calling after all.
Hunter/Sloan Wedding
THURSDAY:
Thursday: 10:00 a.m. Bride and Bridesmaids Fittings – Mona’s Bridal Boutique
Thursday: 11:00 a.m. Groom and Groomsmen Fittings – Richard’s Formal Wear
Thursday: 1:00 p.m. Bridal Luncheon – Salvatore’s
Thursday: 8:00 p.m. Bachelorette Party – The Grill
Thursday: 8:00 p.m. Bachelor Party – McMillan’s Pub
Katie mentally checked off each item against her one criteria—did her path cross with Jason?
Check, check, check, check, check. Nope.
So Thursday didn’t seem like it would be so bad. She wouldn’t have to spend any more time with Jason and she would be kept pretty busy. Hopefully those two factors, combined, would also keep any thoughts of Nick from rearing their ugly heads.
Okay. Next page.
FRIDAY:
Friday: 1:00 p.m. Check-in at Whisper Lake Hilton
Wait...Whisper Lake.
“Um, I have a quick question. Who is checking into the Whisper Lake Hilton?” Katie asked, trying to sound as blasé as possible.
“Oh!” squealed Sophie, “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you. We are getting married up at Whisper Lake, just like Grandpa J and Grandma Marie did. Isn’t that just the most romantic thing ever?” Sophie swooned, clasping her hands in front of her heart.
Romantic. Yep. Exactly the word she'd been thinking of.
“So romantic...” Katie agreed, smiling around the knot she felt forming in her throat.
She couldn’t count how many nights she and Nick spent planning their wedding up at Whisper Lake. She had spent every summer there since she was in 4th grade. Sometimes with her mom and Aunt Wendy, a couple summers with the Hunters, and sometimes with the Sloan Boys and their cousins, the Quad Squad.
Of course, it made sense that Sophie and Bobby would be getting married up there. They spent summers together there, too. This is not about you and Nick, she reminded herself for the thousandth time that day. This weekend is about Sophie and Bobby, not you and Nick...or Jason.
Katie took a deep breath.
Okay. So, yeah. Whisper Lake. She could handle that. It was just one weekend.
All right, moving on. Time to continue checking items off against her mental checklist, which only held one item—would she have to interact with Jason at the event?
FRIDAY
Friday: 1:00 p.m. Check-in at Whisper Lake Hilton
Friday: 3:00 p.m. Facials and Massages (Entire Wedding Party) – Hilton Spa
Friday: 5:00 p.m. Rehearsal
Friday: 6:00 p.m. Rehearsal Dinner – Malone Steak House (At the Hilton)
SATURDAY
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. Bridal Brunch
Saturday: 2:00 p.m. Makeup and Hair (Bridal Party) – The Spa
Saturday: 5:00 p.m. Arrive at Church
Saturday: 6:00 p.m. Ceremony
Saturday: 7:00 p.m. Reception
SUNDAY
Sunday: 12:00 p.m. Wedding Party checks out of hotel
Katie felt a sense of determination from seeing the schedule of the weekend in front of her. Of course, there was some Jason interaction on that list. It was to be expected. She was the maid of honor, and he was the best man. She just had to think about how to best minimize the impact of that time, which, if her first encounter with him was any indication, meant she may need to try to keep her distance.
She thought for a moment and then nodded to herself. Okay. All she needed to do was spend as much time with Sophiebell as possible–which was technically her job as M.O.H. anyway. And, she needed to steer clear of Jas, with the exception of a short face to face for her apology. Simple. Easy.
Good game plan. Go team Katie!
--- ~ ---
As Jason opened the door to Katie’s childhood home, a surge of nostalgia swept through him. He had been spending a lot of time here recently, trying to help Pam
and Wendy save money by taking care of some repairs. But as weird as it might be to say it, the place felt completely different since Katie was back in town. It was like even her house was breathing a sigh of relief that she was back where she belonged.
As he walked up the stairs to put Katie’s suitcases in her room, he actually felt a little nervous. He wondered why for a moment and then realized that he hadn’t been in Katie’s room since the night she left Harper's Crossing.
As he opened the door, he was surprised to see that, in ten years, nothing much had changed. Her dresser still held pictures of Katie when she was growing up, Katie with her friends and Sophie, Katie with her mom, her Grandma, and Aunt Wendy—and, of course, Katie and Nick.
He did notice that one picture was missing. It was one of Katie and him. It had been taken at science camp, they were standing in front of Whisper Lake, and right after the picture had been snapped he’d thrown her in the lake. Jason knew she had kept it in a small frame at the edge of her dresser while she was growing up because he had clandestinely looked at it every chance he got when he and Katie and Nick had hung out in here together as teenagers. He didn’t see it now, though.
Great. That probably meant it got tossed in the garbage on the fateful night Katie left Harper's Crossing. He didn’t blame her.
A sick feeling began to form in the pit of his stomach as that night’s memories started playing in his head, spreading inexorably through his torso and his extremities like a dreaded cold front that was hell-bent on taking over his body.
He knew that it had taken him a long time to forgive himself for what had happened that night, but right now–standing in the middle of the scene of the crime–he thought that maybe he still hadn't entirely forgiven himself after all.
He still wasn’t sure if Katie had forgiven him, but he was going to find out this weekend. He was tired of wondering. As much as he knew, logically, that he should have handled things completely different that night, he could still never truly regret what had transpired. In fact, that was a big part of what made him feel so torn and guilty when he thought about it. How could one of his most precious memories also be one of his biggest regrets?
He took two slow steps across Katie’s floor until he was standing directly in front of her bed. He set her suitcases down with a deliberate motion and just stood there, staring at her bed.
He closed his eyes against the memories that were flooding his consciousness. Memories of the last time he had been there, of Katie’s naked body beneath him as he warmed her with his bare chest. How small and delicate she had felt in his arms. How alive, despite the iciness of her skin. How she melted against him. How her breath felt against his neck.
He had never experienced a night like that before or since. It had taken on a somewhat dreamlike quality in his recollection, as if it hadn’t even really happened, like it was just a beautiful figment of his imagination. But even as he wondered, bittersweetly, if it might be all in his head, he remembered the taste of her lips as she sweetly touched her mouth to his. The way her body moved beneath him as she molded into him, becoming one with him. He knew it was real.
Standing there reminiscing had his jeans tightening by the second, and he decided that this wasn't the best time for a walk down memory lane. Nope, it definitely was not what he needed right now. He needed to keep his hormones in check this weekend if he had any hope of fixing what he’d broken.
He shook his head. His mind and heart were both on board with that plan, but the region below his belt had other priorities for the weekend. He just needed to work on keeping his head in charge.
Jason had really thought he was prepared to see Katie again this weekend. As soon as he saw her standing at the trunk of her car with her back to him, that shining golden hair of hers streaming down her back, well, all of his careful preparation had gone right out the window.
He had always known that Katie had a powerful effect on him. He had just hoped that after ten years, some of her potency would have worn off. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. If anything, the power of her effect on him had been amplified in her absence.
Now, as Jason left Katie’s room to head over to Richard's for his fitting, he realized that there were two critical things he needed to accomplish this weekend.
First, be the best best man he could possibly be. That was a given. That was job one. Second, get some closure in the Katie Lawson department.
In the time that she had been AWOL, he had tried to go on with his life. He wasn't the kind of person to dwell in the past. He wasn't a “wallower” by any stretch of the imagination. But now that she was back, he could see clearly what he had known in the back of his mind all along—he had some serious unfinished business with Katie.
He’d always suspected that she was the reason he could never seem to maintain a serious relationship. Why he seemed to lose interest in women as soon as they showed signs of wanting to settle down. Jason knew deep down he wouldn’t allow himself to take his relationships to the next level because the only person he’d ever wanted that with was Katie.
He shook his head again. One thing was for sure—he needed to deal with this, and the upcoming weekend was probably going to be his only opportunity. He was sure that, come Sunday, Katie would be hightailing it back to San Francisco. That was her M.O., and who knew the next time he would see her?
Yep, he decided. Whether Katie wanted to or not, she would be dealing with him, and it was going to happen this weekend.
Chapter Six
Driving up to Mona’s Bridal Boutique, Katie chatted with Sophie and determined to put everything but wedding business on the back burner of her brain. She consciously refocused her attention and vowed to herself to keep it where it belonged.
As they parked, Katie smiled as a flutter of excitement hit her. She was about to see Miss Sophiebell in a wedding dress. What could be more special?
Getting out, they all walked up on the sidewalk, Katie smiled, finally feeling present and engaged, when she suddenly felt a chill crawl down her spine. She stopped short. The telltale tingle of goose bumps rising on the exposed flesh of her arms and the hair on the back of her neck stood up.
Someone was watching her. She was sure of it.
She spun slowly and looked around, but she did not see anyone looking her way. In fact, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary at all—just a cheery block of Harper's Crossing’s downtown street, populated with the kinds of people you might expect to see there. A mom and her two little ones were crossing the street. Mr. Anderson, who owned the Sweet Tooth Candy Shoppe, was sweeping up in front of his store. Some teenagers were hanging out in front of Dick's News Stand. Various other patrons of the quaint little shops lining 10th Street were shuffling up and down, each involved in their various errands.
The one thing they all seemed to have in common was that none of them was paying a lick of attention to Katie, much less watching her.
Trying to shake off the eerie feeling, Katie turned to Sophie. “So, pretty girl, tell me all about the dress I'm about to see. Is it strapless or halter or spaghetti straps?”
Sophie clasped her hands in front of her heart, which seemed to be a gesture she had embraced since falling in love and beginning to plan her romantic wedding. She dreamily expounded, “It has capped sleeves. I’m wearing Grandma Marie’s dress but we had to make some adjustments.”
Sophie beamed as she swept into the front door of Mona’s. She enthusiastically greeted her soon-to-be cousins, the Sloan girls aka the Quad Squad. Haley, Jessie, Becca, and Krista returned her greetings just as enthusiastically, and they all cheerily chattered about the upcoming nuptials.
Katie was just steeling herself to go and join the group with her best plastered-on smile, but she felt Aunt Wendy's hand at her elbow, holding her back from the crowd for a moment.
Katie's false smile began to falter when she looked into Aunt Wendy's compassionate eyes as she said, “Buttercup, Grandpa J told me that you’ve had your
eye on that dress since he first showed you his wedding pictures. I’m so sorry, sweetie. You sure you’re okay with all of this? Is it starting to be too much for you?”
As she spoke, Aunt Wendy ran her hand through Katie’s hair, the same way she had thousands of times before, ever since Katie was little.
Katie put on her best brave face. Her voice only trembled a little as she said, “Of course I’m fine, Aunt Wendy. I wanted to wear Grandma Marie’s dress when I thought Nick and I were going to have a happily-ever-after. I haven’t even thought about that dress in years.”
Aunt Wendy looked unconvinced, so Katie bolstered the cheer in her voice even further as she continued, “Honestly, I swear, I’m great. I’m just here to be the best M.O.H. I can be. This weekend is all about Miss Sophiebell.”
Katie wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Aunt Wendy or herself.
“Okay. You just let me know if you need any little thing. I may be wearing my wedding planner hat a lot this weekend, but you know that I never take my Aunt Wendy hat off.”
As she gave this sweet speech, Katie had to laugh as she watched Aunt Wendy mime putting on and taking off the imaginary hats. She almost expected her to end with a flourish and take a bow. In a spontaneous fit of affection, Katie threw her arms around her aunt's neck and squeezed tightly.
“I know, Aunt Wendy, and I love you for that. But I really am fine, I promise. Let’s just head on in and get this wedding party started.”
Aunt Wendy smiled and gave her one last squeeze before heading into the shop, but Katie hesitated. She paused and glanced around the street one more time, unable to shake the primal sensation that she was being observed.
She still didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so she shook her head and turned towards the door. Oh well, she figured, it's probably just anxiety bubbling up from my subconscious, wanting to be dealt with. This being my first day back in town, and all of the ghosts I've had to face in just the last ninety minutes...it's no wonder.