“I’ll need that before you leave.”
A woman beside her mother smiled. “Mom, make sure you pick some up for me. The baby needs extra chocolate in her life.”
Al eyed her curiously. She didn’t really look pregnant to him. “I’m Al.”
She smiled. “I’m Megan, Erin’s big sister.” She pulled a man with dark hair and eyes forward. “This is Bob.”
Al held his hand out to Bob. “It’s nice to meet you, Bob. I take it you two are a couple?”
Bob nodded. “We got married a couple of months back. There’s already a baby on the way.”
Megan grinned. “Bob makes the best burgers in all of Wyoming. You need to come down to Culpepper some weekend and try them. Bob’s Burger Barn.” She paused for a moment, sneaking a glance at her sister. “I’d love it if you’d bring some fudge with you when you come.”
Erin grinned. “I have a feeling my mom and sister are going to spend all their time hitting you up for chocolate. It’s a good thing you like making it, right?” She nudged her sister. “He made me chocolate as a wedding gift.”
“I hate you right now.”
Erin laughed, making a face. “You’re just sad that you married the burger man, and I married the candy man!”
“Definitely!”
“Hey!” Bob said. “Aren’t you supposed to love me?”
“I do love you…but I’m pregnant and baby needs chocolate. That was the only reason those evil words slipped past my lips!”
Al shook his head, wondering just what he’d married into. He felt a tugging at his sleeve and turned to find his niece, Kristi standing in front of him. He picked her up. “This is my niece, Kristi. She has a twin running around here somewhere. They’re not identical, but they look a lot alike.”
Just then a little girl moved in front of Erin. “Your dress is beautiful. You’re my new aunt. Mama told me.”
Erin smiled down at the little girl, picking her up into her arms. “And what’s your name?”
“Tristi.”
Erin grinned. “Kristi and Tristi?”
Tristi nodded. “Mama said it’s easier to remember who we are if our names rhyme.”
“Mama sounds like a smart woman!” Erin said, utterly infatuated with the little girl already. “How old are you?”
“We’re three.” She held up three fingers, having to use her other hand to hold down the other two. “How old are you?”
Erin laughed. “I’m twenty-six.”
“Mama’s twenty-six too.”
“She is? Where’s your mama? I think I need to meet her.”
Just then a woman around her age stopped in front of Erin. “So sorry. They have been dying to get close to their uncle. He’s their favorite person in the world. You’d think I would be after eight and a half months of pregnancy with both of them kicking my bladder, but no, it’s him.” She smiled. “I’m Misti, by the way. Misti Jackson. I’m Al’s kid sister.”
Erin smiled. “So nice to meet you and your girls. And I won’t have to worry about names, because I can just say Isti, and all of you will come running!”
Misti laughed. “We will at that. I thought I was so cute and clever when I named them names that rhymed with mine, but I spend all my time confused now!” She leaned closer to Erin. “I did before anyway, but now I have an excuse.”
“And it’s a good one!” Erin said. She looked around for a man that might belong to the woman before her. She wanted to ask, but she didn’t want to be rude.
“My husband is overseas. Al fills in as the man in their lives as much as possible.” Misti looked at her brother with hero worship in her eyes.
“Does he always smell like chocolate?” Erin asked, trying to keep her voice down.
Misti nodded emphatically. “It’s his best quality!”
“I kind of like it already.” She lowered her voice even more, so that only Misti would hear her. “He tastes like chocolate too!”
Misti laughed. “Not something I need to know about my brother, but I’m sure you’ll love that!”
“I will.” Erin spotted Jean coming toward them, trailing Dr. Lachele. “This is my dearest friend from college, Jean. Jean, this is Al and his sister Misti. I’m holding Tristi, and Al is holding Kristi. Their names rhyme!” Jean was one of the few people who knew that Erin had always loved rhyming names. She didn’t even know why they made her so happy, but they did.
Jean laughed. “I guess Dr. Lachele found you a good family then, didn’t she?”
“Al is a chocolate maker.”
“Definitely a match made in heaven then. It’s nice to meet you, Al.” Jean took Erin’s arm and pulled her away from her new husband. “I’m going to do it. Looks like Dr. Lachele did a good job for you.”
Erin nodded. “So far so good, but I’ve known him for just an hour. You never can tell what will happen from here. My only complaint is he’s too tall!”
Jean peeked around Erin to look at him. “Yeah…he really makes you look tiny. And feminine. You look really feminine beside him!”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe it’ll make me feel better.”
Through the rest of the reception, she had fun, talking to everyone she knew and many she didn’t. A lot of the other teachers from her school were there, and they all enjoyed meeting Al. Her friend, Angela, an English teacher, laughed. “Wait, you’re Frank’s Fudge? Erin has been bragging about how one of her students got her a box of your best chocolate for Christmas. And she wouldn’t share any.”
Erin shrugged, not denying a thing. “Show me a woman who shares chocolate, and I’ll show you an idiot.”
After the cake was cut, Al asked if she was ready to leave. She looked around her, feeling uncomfortable at the idea. She barely knew him after all, but she couldn’t keep putting him off. “Sure. My suitcases are in my dad’s car. We’ll have to get them from him.”
She said a tearful goodbye to her friend Jean, who would be heading back to Atlanta after her interview with Lachele the next day. “I’m going to miss you.”
Jean nodded, swiping at a tear. “We have Skype. Just don’t forget me while you’re busy being married.”
Erin laughed. “Like I could forget the girl who short-sheeted my bed the first week of school, because she didn’t like how early I got up for classes.”
“You got me back with shampoo on my toothbrush. We’re even!”
“Love you bunches. I’ll be there for your wedding, whenever it happens.”
“I know you will!”
Erin had tears streaming as she and Al followed her dad out to his car. As soon as they stepped outside, Al became alarmed. “Where’s your coat?”
She shrugged. “Nothing matched the dress. I’ll be all right. We’re inside mostly.”
Al immediately stripped off his coat, holding it for her to slip her arms into the sleeves. Her father watched, nodding with approval. “I trust you with her if you’re already worried about her being cold.”
Al didn’t say anything. He was glad her father trusted him, but didn’t see that it mattered a great deal. He was the one who’d married her and would be leaving the country with her the next day, either way.
After the suitcases were transferred, Al shook hands with her father and then Erin slipped into her dad’s arms. “Thank you for not going all ‘crazy dad’ on him.”
John Krol grinned. “As if I’d do that.”
Erin rolled her eyes. “I’ll call you as soon as I get home.”
“Have a good time. I know Switzerland is a country you’ve always wanted to see.”
She got into a smaller-sized SUV and buckled her seat belt. “Where are we off to today?”
“I booked a room at a mansion in Cheyenne that has been turned into a B&B. I figured it would be a nice place to stay until we fly out tomorrow morning.”
“What time are our flights tomorrow? And how did you book airfare without knowing my name?”
“I had Dr. Lachele book yours. She’s such a stickler
for information. She wouldn’t even tell me your first name.”
“Your sister seemed nice. She obviously thinks a lot of you.”
“I think a lot of her too. Our parents were killed when she was sixteen, and she lived with me after that. She stayed with me through college and until she married. I didn’t open Frank’s Fudge until she was out of the house.”
“Really? What made you interested in making fudge for a living…not that I’m complaining. I’ve got a man who smells like chocolate all the time. Who could complain about that?”
He smiled. “I’m glad you’re obsessed with chocolate. It’ll make you much easier to keep happy.”
“Oh yeah. Show me a woman who isn’t obsessed with chocolate and I’ll show you a woman with broken taste buds!”
“So a speech teacher, huh? What made you decide to do that?”
She shrugged. “You know, I thought about being an English teacher, but I realized I’d rather give a speech than write an essay. So I changed my major. I love teaching the kids all about listening correctly and giving simple speeches. My favorite unit is oral interpretation of literature, and I spend more time on that than I probably should.”
“Do you usually have students who enjoy speech? Or are they forced to take the class?”
“My students take it as an elective. There’s no requirement for speech in public schools, so they take it because they think it’ll be fun. Or because they want to get a head start on college. Rarely do parents force their kids into public speaking.”
He got onto the highway heading for Cheyenne. As they drove and talked, he couldn’t help but wonder if she was as attracted to him as he was to her. He hoped she wasn’t planning to wait to consummate the marriage until they got to know one another better, though Dr. Lachele had warned him many women who were married as they were did that. He could understand that it was harder for a woman to give herself to the man she’d just met than it was for a man to just take what he wanted. The mindset was different.
When they were halfway to Cheyenne, he realized he was hungry. “Do you want to eat?”
“I’m wearing a wedding dress. I think I might feel a little conspicuous.” Erin was hungry too, but she wasn’t about to eat somewhere in a wedding dress.
“You could change in the restroom.”
She shook her head. “I think it’s smarter if we wait until we get there. Why don’t you run into a gas station for some snacks?”
He frowned. “I can do that. Do you want something.”
She looked down at her dress. “Maybe some plain potato chips? I’m really hungry, but I don’t want to get anything on this dress either. I hope that someday my daughter will wear it.”
“So you do want kids?”
“Absolutely. I’m assuming that’s part of the reason Dr. Lachele hooked us up together. We both want children.” At least she hoped he wanted them too. Dr. Lachele wouldn’t mess up that badly, though.
“Yes, I want kids. I’d like at least two or three.”
“Me too. I think my dad would like a grandson, since he only had daughters.” She frowned. “I’m not saying that right. Mom already had Megan when they met. Dad married her knowing that he’d have one daughter, and then they had me. Dad thinks of Megan as his own, though. I just don’t want to leave you with the wrong impression.”
“You and Megan don’t look much alike.”
She shook her head. “I take after Dad, and Megan looks more like Mom.”
“I can see that. You’re both very pretty, of course, but you’re much prettier.”
Erin wasn’t used to people thinking she was prettier than her sister. She felt like she’d been living in Megan’s shadow her entire life. “You’re probably the only person in the world to think that.”
He shrugged. “I can’t help it if every other man in the world is blind!”
“You know what? I think I like you. Can I keep you? Not only do you smell like chocolate, but you think I’m pretty. I can deal with that!”
He pulled off at a gas station. “I’m going to run in and get something to snack on. You want chips? Water?”
“Yes please.” She’d never been much of a soda drinker. An occasional cream soda made her very happy, but they were a treat instead of a way of life.
While she waited, another car stopped beside them, making her very aware of the dress she was wearing. If she’d thought about it, she’d have changed at the church. Instead she was taking a road trip in a wedding dress. Who took road trips in wedding dresses?
When he got back to the car, he divvied up the food he’d gotten. “What, no chocolate?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Why would I eat inferior chocolate? Mine’s the best in the state, and we both know it.”
She grinned. “Not lacking confidence, are you?”
“Not where my chocolate is concerned. I’ve worked hard to make it the best there is.” He took a few bites of the chips he’d gotten himself. “Okay, I’m going to get us there. I hope you can change out of that fast, because I’m going to be starving by the time we hit Cheyenne.”
“I’ll do my best,” she promised.
Chapter Three
Once they were at the B&B, they checked in and Al carried their things up to the room they were given for the night. Erin immediately dug into her smaller suitcase and chose a pair of warmups and a T-shirt. “I hope you don’t mind not dressing up tonight, but after being in a wedding gown all day, I’m ready to be comfortable.”
“That’s fine. We’ll go somewhere casual.”
Erin slipped into the bathroom to change, and once she was there, realized she couldn’t do it on her own. She felt very silly as she opened the door for help. “My dress is holding me prisoner. Would you mind?” She turned her back to him, feeling him step up close behind her.
Al carefully grasped the zipper and tugged it down, unzipping the gown all the way to her waist. “If I didn’t say it before, I’ll say it now. You were absolutely ravishing today.” He leaned down and kissed her neck in the exact spot it met her shoulder.
Erin felt a shiver run through her. “Thank you,” she said, holding the dress up in the front with both hands. “I’ll be right back.” Back in the bathroom, she sank against the door, breathing deeply. There was something about her new husband that made her feel as if her entire body was on fire.
She quickly changed into the fresh clothes, walking out into the main room and grabbing a scrunchie to hold her hair back. “Are you going to change?” she asked, carefully keeping her voice steady.
“I already did,” he said with a laugh. She hadn’t been able to look at him since she’d left the bathroom, so she hadn’t even realized.
“Sorry.” She turned to him, noting he was dressed very similarly to her.
“No need to be sorry. What are you hungry for?” He walked closer to her, taking her hand in his. Now that she was out of her wedding dress, she seemed so much more touchable to him. He knew it was probably a strange way to think about it, but she’d almost seemed lofty in her beautiful dress. Now, she was just another chocolate-loving woman. He could deal with that.
“I have no idea. I’m so hungry I would eat just about anything.”
He frowned. “I know there’s not a restaurant here. They serve breakfast, but that’s all. Do you want to get in the car and see what we see? Try to walk somewhere?”
She shrugged. “I’m beyond caring. You decide, and I’ll follow meekly behind you. It’s probably the only time in our marriage I’ll do anything meekly, so don’t get used to it.”
He laughed. “I didn’t want to marry so I could have someone to boss around. I promise.” He grabbed his wallet and keys from the dresser. “Let’s drive. I didn’t see anything really close, and I don’t want you to starve to death while we wander around aimlessly.”
“That would be best,” she said. “I’m really hungry.”
“Do you get hangry?”
“More often than I care to admit. You should k
eep chocolate on you at all times to keep me happy.”
He shook his head, heading down to the front desk. “Do you have a list of restaurants that are close?” The woman behind the counter pushed a typed sheet of paper across the counter. “Thank you!”
Once they were in the car, he offered her the list. “Are you sure you don’t want to choose?”
“I’m positive. I don’t care at all. Whatever is good with me.” When she got as hungry as she was, Erin didn’t care at all about what she ate as long as there was something going into her tummy.
“How about steak?”
“Sounds wonderful.”
He punched the address into the car’s GPS system. “It says we’re five minutes away.”
“Drive fast.”
Ten minutes later they were seated in a booth at a steak house she’d never heard of. Bread was placed on the table immediately, and she was very thankful, reaching for a piece and slathering butter on it. She finished her second piece before asking him if he wanted some.
Al grinned, loving that she was so distracted by food that she’d forgotten about him. He’d dated girls who refused to eat in front of men, so he was happy to be married to a woman who wasn’t afraid to show her hunger. “I’d love some if you’re not going to eat it all.”
She wrinkled her nose at him, cutting him off a thin slice of the bread and putting just a dab of butter on it. If he was going to be sarcastic, then he didn’t deserve more. “I won’t eat that portion,” she said, handing it to him.
He laughed softly. “You’re a mess, Erin Frank.”
“What if I don’t want to change my name? I’ve been Erin Krol for a whole lot of years.” She’d planned to change her last name to White when she married Randall, but she’d been in love with him. She barely knew Al.
He shrugged. “Then don’t change it. I want the kids to have my name, but if you want to keep your name, it doesn’t hurt me any.”
She smiled, nodding. “I’ll think about it and let you know then.” She hadn’t really thought about it before, assuming she’d take his name. But when he said her first name with his last name…it didn’t quite sound right. She used her name professionally…why should she change it?
Wooing In Wyoming (At The Altar #11) Page 2