by Deb Kastner
Ash lifted a brow. “My barn? You have horses that need boarding?”
“The barn you use to store tack,” Matthew clarified.
“Matthew and I are part of a wedding party,” Riley explained. “The best man and maid-of-honor. Our friends’ reception plans fell through and we thought we might be able to put together a country barn dance.”
“But neither of us have a barn,” Matthew finished for them, trying to keep the strain from his voice.
“Right.” Ash sounded as if he was waiting for something—probably for Matthew to let loose on him. Matthew gritted his teeth. If that’s what Ash was waiting for, he would be waiting for a good, long time.
To his surprise, Riley put her arm around his waist, whether to support him or keep him from lunging at her brother, he couldn’t say.
“So what do you think?” she asked. “Is the barn available, or not?”
“It will need a good cleaning,” Ash said hesitantly.
“We expected that.” Matthew said. “We brought brooms.”
“We thought we could put hay bales around the perimeter, and we’ll be bringing some tables for the reception dinner,” Riley added. “There’s not a huge guest list, but there will be people coming and going all day tomorrow. I just want you to know what you’ll be getting into before you say yes.”
Ash’s gaze shifted from Riley to Matthew and then back again.
“Okay.”
“Okay? Really?” Riley exclaimed, bolting forward to hug her brother again.
“Really. You tell me what you need, and we’ll get it done. We have ten years of catching up to do,” Ash said, and then nodded at Matthew, acknowledging his presence without quite as much antagonism as he had first presented. “And other stuff we need to talk about. But we can table those conversations for now.”
With his arm still around his sister, he held out his hand to Matthew.
And Matthew shook it.
***
Getting the barn ready for the reception took the greater part of the night. Riley had caught a couple of hours of sleep on Ash’s couch and was now all gussied up in her bridesmaid’s dress, waiting for the signal to get the show started.
She gave herself a once-over in the mirror. The dress was lovely, an evergreen color that highlighted Riley’s hazel eyes. As for makeup, there was no amount of foundation or concealer in the world that would cover up the black circles under her eyes, and she went heavy on the blush to give her face some color.
Looking like a zombie notwithstanding, she couldn’t stop smiling. Somehow, some way, this wedding was a go. Chelsea stood before a full-length mirror, twirling around and admiring her gorgeous white satin dress from all angles.
Riley laughed. “I remember when I was three, I was a flower girl in a wedding. I had the prettiest purple dress, and I couldn’t stop spinning around and watching it float.”
“I’m not sure I can stop spinning, either,” Chelsea agreed with a giggle. “I’m marrying Brady in less than an hour.”
“And it’s going to be perfect.” Riley kissed Chelsea’s cheek and squeezed her hand.
Chelsea was beyond the point of caring about the details of the wedding. It was all about Brady now. But Riley was secure in knowing all the details had been taken care of.
Chelsea and Brady had made a wedding cake. It leaned on one side, but as long as it didn’t fall down before Brady and Chelsea had the chance to cut it, all was good. Everyone in the wedding party had brought Christmas decorations from home. The church was highly scented with fresh evergreen and all of the pews were decorated in red and green ribbons.
Cookie had come through with his fried chicken. He’d already started baking batches for the reception. They’d procured copious amounts of potato salad and baked beans from every deli in the area. Tables had been set in Ash’s barn, and wreaths and garland decorated the walls along with the old leather tack that had already been there.
Riley still felt a little awkward and strained around Ash, but that was something they could work on together after the wedding was over. And she was grateful for Matthew, who hadn’t restarted a feud even though he’d been given the kindling to do so.
Chelsea’s father knocked on the door to the Sunday school room they’d used as a dressing room and stuck his head in. “I have the photographer here, ready to do the garter business and the penny in the shoe.”
A handsome, dark-haired, blue-eyed man who was clearly related to Matthew stepped in after Chelsea’s father, carrying his camera and a bag full of lenses.
“You must be Declan,” Riley said, holding out her hand. “I’m Riley. We spoke last night on the phone.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” Declan’s face reddened. “I brought my camera. I hope I can do this wedding justice.”
“You will,” she assured him. “Matthew has every confidence in you.”
Riley tried to make it as easy on Declan as possible, explaining all the wedding traditions before he had to photograph them. It seemed to her that it couldn’t be much harder than his still-life. Chelsea and her father were more than happy to freeze in the poses they wanted, hamming it up as they went.
One of the groomsmen appeared in the door. “The music has started. Y’all are up.”
With one arm threaded through her father’s, Chelsea grabbed Riley’s hand squeezed it hard, not letting go until they were just outside the sanctuary.
“Nervous?” Riley asked.
“Excited,” Chelsea exclaimed. “This day could not be more perfect, and it’s all because of you, Riley. You and Matthew. If you guys hadn’t been there, I don’t know what we would have done.”
“The whole wedding party chipped in. But I’m glad you’re happy.”
“I’m happy,” she assured her.
“Smile,” Declan said, snapping a picture. He looked more relaxed now, more in control. “Bride and the maid of honor, right?”
“That’s right,” Chelsea said.
“Riley,” came a coarse male whisper from a nearby hallway.
“Matthew?” She turned the corner and found him standing there, looking spectacular in his gray tux and black cowboy hat. His evergreen cummerbund made a nice contrast, but he was missing something. “Aren’t you supposed to be up in front with Brady?”
He chuckled. He actually sounded nervous.
“Yeah, I know. It’s this wretched tie. I can’t get it to go on straight and I feel like it’s choking me.”
Riley laughed. “It’s just your nerves.” She put out her hand, palm up. “Hand it over.”
Sighing with relief, he gladly placed the bow tie in her hand.
She adjusted the circumference slightly and leaned up to wrap it around his collar, careful not to knock his cowboy hat askew. She hooked the tie, tweaked his collar and was making last-minute adjustments to straighten the bow when Matthew tipped up her chin and captured her gaze with his.
Before she knew what he intended, his mouth descended on hers. For about one second she froze before she melted into him. He framed her face and she could feel the smile on his lips as he kissed her again.
“Mistletoe,” he whispered, pointing upward.
Riley glanced up and, sure enough, someone had hung a sprig of mistletoe just over their heads.
“Sneaky,” she said, kissing him one more time for good measure. After all, she hadn’t known the mistletoe was there before.
Suddenly they heard the click of a camera, once, and then twice.
Riley pulled back to find a grinning Declan aiming his lens right at them. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Moving from still life into wildlife.”
Riley and Matthew joined in Declan’s laughter.
“Now why,” Riley said, her heart expanding as she gave Matthew’s bow one last tug and met his sparkling eyes, “do I feel like we’ve been here before?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
~~Dare to Dream~~
Publisher's Weekly Bestselling, award-winning author of over 30 novels a
nd 1.7 million books in print, Deb Kastner enjoys writing contemporary stories set in small western communities.
Deb lives in beautiful Colorado with her husband and a pack of miscreant mutts. She is blessed with three adult daughters and two grandchildren. Her favorite hobby is spoiling her grandchildren, but she also enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to music (The Texas Tenors are her fav), singing in the church choir, acting onstage and exploring the Rocky Mountains on horseback.
Website: https://www.debkastnerbooks.com
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