Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  “Probably because she could if she put her mind to it.” Gram, of all members of his family, was the one most likely to follow words with action. She was, he supposed, where he’d learned that.

  “Your grandmother is a scary, scary woman.”

  “And my bride is a very frazzled one.”

  Piper’s face was a little wan, and her hair, which had been pulled up into a knot at the back of her head, stuck out at odd angles. “Does it show?”

  His lips twitched. “Well, it looks like you started to run your fingers through your hair and then got stuck.”

  She reached up and patted her hair. “Oh hell. No wonder your grandmother was giving me a death glare. She’ll probably have me booked for a total makeover when I’m supposed to be giving breathing treatments and steroid shots.”

  “About that. We have itineraries.”

  She made a pained face. “How bad?”

  “I haven’t looked yet, but I’m sure we don’t get to sleep for the next nine days. Do you actually have time for this cake tasting?”

  “If you don’t, I expect we’d all be happy to take a field trip to taste stuff for you,” Zach offered.

  “Seriously, we really support cake,” Wes said.

  The corners of Piper’s mouth fluttered into a tired smile. “I really don’t have time, but we’re calling it lunch. Otherwise I won’t get a chance to eat. We’re slammed today.”

  “Cake for lunch. I can get behind that. Just let me finish up here. You want to go wait in my office?”

  “I’ll go do something about…this.” She gestured to her head, then offered a tired smile to his staff. “Sorry to interrupt.”

  “Not at all, honey. And congratulations!” said Patty.

  Everyone else echoed the sentiment and Piper headed down the hall, itinerary in hand.

  Myles got updates on various outstanding stories, finished handing out assignments, and added to his list of things to check on for the next edition.

  “One thing we’ll need to discuss is division of labor while I’m gone. I don’t anticipate being out of the office for more than a few days, but I’d feel better having a plan in place while I am.”

  “What? You’re not going on a honeymoon?” Wes asked.

  “We’re just taking a long weekend for the wedding and a couple days away. The honeymoon will come later when work slows down for us both.”

  “And when does work ever slow down for you?” Patty wanted to know.

  “I have aspirations for later this year, once Simone knows all the ropes here and we can, hopefully, bring in some more help. Circulation is going up, and I think that trend will continue, so I’m optimistic we’ll actually be in a position to do that.”

  “Here’s to that.” Simone lifted her coffee cup in a toast.

  “Anyway, once I have a chance to go over the itinerary, I’ll have a better idea what I’ll need someone to cover, so we’ll talk about that later. Meanwhile, there is cake calling my name. Dismissed.”

  Piper was sprawled in a chair in his office, hair still a mess, a frown bowing those lovely lips.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She held up the itinerary. “This. It’s so...so... We’re being put on display, Myles.”

  “It’s an unfortunate side effect of marrying a Stewart, I’m afraid.”

  “I was hoping for something small and intimate. Close friends and family. This is... I don’t even know what this is.”

  Myles pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. “It’s Gram being Gram. I’ll talk to her, do my best to rein her in some. Or I can get her to put on the brakes entirely and we can go back to our original plan and elope.”

  “I don’t think there’s any putting this genie back in the bottle. She’s already spent who knows how much in deposits getting stuff lined up at the last minute. The last thing I want is for us to piss her off and you risk losing access to the trust. I’m not going to let you lose the paper because I’m being pissy and picky over details that won’t matter after the fact.”

  Myles ran his hands down her arms. “Do you still want this wedding?”

  “You need—”

  “I don’t care what I need. Do you still want to do this? It’s more than you signed on for.”

  Piper reached up to frame his face. “I signed on for you. To help you, yes, but at the end of the day, Myles, I want you. Period. If that means I have to be a show pony for the next nine days, I’ll do it.”

  Myles sighed, lowering his brow to hers. “What did I do to deserve you?”

  “You made me a blanket fort.”

  “If that’s all it takes to make you happy, I’ll have one permanently installed at the house.”

  Someone knocked on the door frame, and Myles realized the door was wide open. Simone stood in the doorway. “Didn’t y’all have somewhere to be?”

  “Oh, crap. Let me go run a brush through my hair. Two minutes!” Piper snatched her purse and raced down the hall to the bathroom.

  Myles eyed Simone, struggling to keep his face impassive. Had she heard about the threat to the paper?

  “Patty managed to get the interview moved to accommodate your tux fitting,” she said.

  “Thank God. Pretty sure Piper wouldn’t care if I was waiting at the end of the aisle in my favorite jeans and Chucks, but Gram would have a coronary.”

  Simone hesitated.

  “There something else?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing that can’t wait. You’re going to be late.”

  Piper rushed back in, her hair neatened up and her makeup freshened.

  “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s rock and roll, Mr. Stewart. My blood sugar has tanked and there is cake calling my name.”

  “As you wish, milady.” With a worried glance at Simone, he grabbed his coat and his keys, and followed his bride-to-be out the door.

  “Was that the last of them?” Miranda asked.

  Shelby peeked into the waiting room. “Looks like.”

  “Quick. Lock the door before anybody else sneaks in.”

  Piper crossed to the front door and flipped the lock. “We are officially closed. Thank God.”

  “I’m out. There is a pot roast in my future. Night.” Shelby nabbed her purse from a drawer and scurried out the back door.

  “That was just mean,” Piper said. “Taunting us with pot roast and not offering to share.”

  “It does bring home the salient point that I require food. I don’t think I’ve had anything since those cupcakes you brought back from lunch,” Miranda said.

  The thought of cake made Piper vaguely sick. So. Many. Flavors. So. Much. Sugar. But she and Myles had agreed completely on the red velvet. Because chocolate. Duh. Her hubby-to-be had quite the sweet tooth, as it turned out.

  “I’m thinking Chinese,” Miranda continued. “If I order enough I won’t have to cook for a couple of days.”

  “I’ll see your Chinese and raise you beer and chili fries from The Mudcat,” Piper said.

  “Ooo, chili fries. If you twist my arm, I could probably be persuaded.”

  “Good because Norah, Tyler, and Tucker are already meeting us there.”

  Miranda slid off her white coat and hung it up. “Did I forget somebody’s birthday?”

  “No. I have news and it’s easier to share when everybody’s together.” And as much as she wanted to go home and fall face first into bed, it needed to be shared tonight before they heard it from other sources.

  “Okay, okay, you’ve twisted my arm. Meet you there.”

  Piper thought about making a detour home to change out of her scrubs, but there was too great a temptation to find a soft horizontal surface, so she pointed her car toward downtown. Her phone rang as she was pulling out of the lot, Myles’ name flashing on the caller ID.

  “If you’re calling to tell me your grandmother has somewhere else for us to be, I’m not coming.”

  “No word from The Kraken. But I am going to be late. The tux fitting ran long and I’ve
got a snarl to work out at the paper before I’m free.”

  “Do you want me to wait for you?”’

  “Don’t know how long I’ll be, so go ahead and tell them. The longer you’re sitting in public, the more likely someone will have heard and come up to congratulate you before you get a chance to make the announcement.”

  “Given the volume of people who rotated through the clinic today, it’s a minor miracle it hasn’t happened already.”

  “Didn’t slow down any after cake?”

  Piper groaned. “Do not mention cake to me. I am not touching cake again until you feed it to me at the reception.”

  He chuckled softly. “I told you, you should’ve stopped for a sandwich or something.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ll be rectifying the or something in short order. You want me to go ahead and order you anything?”

  “Nah. I’ll order when I get there. I can always mooch off your plate until my food arrives.”

  Piper gasped in mock surprise. “You’re a moocher? Well, now, I don’t know if I can marry a moocher.”

  “I’m a moocher who shares.”

  “Oh, I suppose that’s all right then. See you soon.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Piper thought about slipping on the ring before going inside, but pulling it out and putting it on when she told them made such a nice dramatic statement. She had no idea how they’d react. Tyler and Tucker in particular knew she’d made her vow to swear off Myles for three months after the end of the show. Announcing she was engaged to him barely a week after that expired was bound to raise a few eyebrows and concerns. She didn’t like lying to them. But it seemed more sensible to stick to the story they’d told their families. That they’d been together since the show started.

  The Mudcat Tavern was hopping. Patrons huddled around tables, standing two-deep at the bar or in lines around the dart boards. The latest game in March Madness played on several TV screens, though none of the commentary could be heard over the din of people. Tucker waved from a booth in the back. As he ran his own law practice, he’d had the flexibility to get out before the rest of them and stake claim on a table.

  Piper made her way through the crowd, deliberately not meeting anyone’s gaze or inviting the usual chitchat and conversation. She slid into the booth opposite him and immediately snagged his beer for a swig.

  Tucker’s brows arched up. “That kind of day, huh?”

  “Oh yes. Don’t worry. I’ve practically showered in disinfectant.”

  “Keep it. I’ll get another.” He studied her. “So...what’s this news you have to share?”

  “Nope. Not spilling until everybody is here. Having to repeat myself ruins the dramatic punch.” Which was something of an untruth. The news itself was so shocking, she doubted anything would dim the punch.

  “Does this have something to do with why you’ve been MIA for the last couple of weeks?”

  “Yes.”

  Miranda slid in next, grabbed the beer from Piper and took a long pull herself.

  “I’ll just go get a pitcher.” Tucker rose and headed for the bar.

  By the time he made it back, juggling a pitcher and several glasses, Norah and Tyler had arrived.

  “I feel like I’m interrupting a hen party,” he said. “Where’s Cam?”

  “At a City Council meeting,” Norah announced.

  “You didn’t have to be there, too?” Piper asked. As the city planner, Norah worked closely with her fiancé, City Councilman Campbell Crawford.

  “Not tonight.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be a total hen party if Brody wasn’t in Portland,” Piper pointed out.

  “He’ll be home next weekend,” Tyler said. “Two more months on this project and then he’s all mine.”

  After years apart, Tyler and Brody had come back together during the production of White Christmas that had saved The Madrigal Theater—with some creative manipulation on the part of Piper, Tucker, and Myles. He’d had one last job to take as project coordinator for Peyton Consolidated before he was free to come home to Wishful permanently and open his own construction firm.

  “Okay, everybody’s here,” Tucker said. “Spill it, Parish. What’s going on?”

  Suddenly nervous, Piper rolled her glass between both hands. “I have news. Well, and a confession.”

  “Oh, please God, tell me you haven’t taken another better paying job somewhere else,” Miranda said, looking stricken.

  “What? No. Nothing like that.”

  “It’s good news,” Norah declared, a grin spreading across her face.

  Piper pointed at her. “You know. How do you know? Who told you?”

  Before she could answer, Tyler interrupted, “How about you just tell us whatever it is you’re being squirrelly about?”

  “Okay, fine. So, when I made that whole big deal about not dating my co-star and giving time for the intimacy of the stage to wear off after the show? I was full of crap. Myles and I have been dating. Secretly.”

  “Why secretly? It’s not like any of us have a problem with him,” Tyler said.

  “Because you were there when I did the same thing with Brandon, and I didn’t want any reminders of how that blew up in my face.” Which was a half-truth. Not wanting those reminders was one of the few things that had allowed her to keep her personal vow of distance.

  “So, you hauled us all out tonight to come clean about the fact that you’re dating a guy you’ve clearly liked since the day you met?” Tyler asked. “Give us a little credit, Piper. We’re not going to judge you for that. For God’s sake, Brody and I fell in love on the stage. It happens.”

  Norah bit her lip, obviously trying to hold in a grin.

  “No, the fact that Myles and I have been dating was the preamble.” She reached back to unfasten the clasp of the chain, pulling the necklace free of her shirt and sliding the ring onto her finger. “I dragged you all out tonight because Myles and I are getting married.”

  “Woo!” Norah did a fist pump. “I’ve been sitting on that all afternoon. If you hadn’t called, I would’ve tracked you down at home.”

  “How is it you knew all afternoon and nobody told me,” Tyler complained.

  “You run the hardware store,” said Norah. “Relationship gossip is less what gets brought to you. Whereas I have a coffee habit that also happens to coincide with my daily gossip fuel up. And today that meant Cassie telling me she heard it from Carolanne that you had a cake tasting.”

  “Wow, congrats!” Miranda leaned in for a hug. “This is awesome. Wait, why did you have a cake tasting today?”

  “Because the wedding is a week from Saturday.”

  “What?!” Tyler exploded. “Okay that came out wrong. Why so fast?”

  “We were going to just elope—that was our preference—but his grandmother found out and had a hissy fit. We said we didn’t want to wait, thinking she’d be put off, but nope. She’s putting together a wedding in ten days. She’s the only person I’ve ever met other than Norah who could actually pull that off. It’s kind of terrifying.”

  “Well I think it’s great,” Norah declared. “You two were great together on stage. It only makes sense that you’d be great in real life. Gotta say, though, I’m jealous you’re going to pull off your wedding before me. We had to schedule ours so far out from the engagement to get ahead of the city calendar, it’s starting to feel like it’s never going to happen.”

  “Elopement has a lot going for it. I’m just sayin’. I still wish that’s what we were doing, but the families are involved now, so it’s no longer about us.”

  “Is this about you?” Tucker asked. He’d been strangely silent since she’d made the announcement, and now he looked uncharacteristically grave.

  “What kind of question is that? Of course it’s about us. What else would it be about?”

  But Piper could tell by the look on his face that he knew. Of course, he knew. He was Myles’ attorney. He knew about the trust. He was t
he one who’d made the crack about Vegas.

  Tucker just shook his head. “Nothing. I just want you to be happy.”

  She laid a hand over his and squeezed. “I am. Although my level of happiness would be dramatically improved by a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings.” Looking around, she flagged a waitress.

  They placed their orders. As soon as the waitress hurried away, Piper turned to her friends. “Okay, so please tell me the three of you are available to go dress shopping tomorrow.”

  Chapter 7

  “THERE! THE DAMNED THING is fixed.” Myles tossed a small basketball toward the hoop mounted on the wall, giving a celebratory fist pump on the swish. “There is beer and a burger in my future.”

  Before he could make a beeline for the exit, Simone shut the door to his office, her face serious. “Is there something you want to tell me?”

  The answer is ‘No, absolutely not.’ “You’re doing a kick ass job. Which you already know.”

  She angled her head, eyes narrowed in disapproval. That wasn’t what she’d meant and they both knew it.

  “What did Piper mean that you could lose the paper?”

  Shit.

  “The paper’s fine.” It wasn’t a lie. With his marriage and access to the trust, it would be within a month.

  “Myles, I’ve known you too long. You’re an old friend and I changed my whole life to come up here and work with you. You owe me the truth if that’s about to blow up in my face.”

  Editor Busted For Lying To His Staff, Forced To Come Clean

  Myles scrubbed both hands over his face, feeling the rasp of beard stubble against his palms. He was too damned tired for this. But she was right. He owed her the truth.

  “Okay, look. I had to pursue unconventional investment when I bought the paper. My investor has decided to pull out early, and I owe the balance of the loan by May 4th or my ownership of the paper is forfeit.”

  “Myles! Are you in it with some kind of loan shark?”

  He smiled a little. Given the stories they’d covered back when he worked in The Big Easy, the question wasn’t entirely out of left field. “No. Nothing illegal. And it’s not a problem. My grandfather left me a trust.”