A Bride, a Barn, and a Baby

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  That was what the letter said, even after Zane read it five times to be sure. All he had to do was call the law firm to discuss the details.

  * * *

  The Fourth of July had always been one of Lucy’s favorite holidays. Who didn’t love an excuse to eat grilled hot dogs and potato salad and corn on the cob? And just when you thought you couldn’t stuff another bite in your face, someone brought out the hot apple pie and homemade ice cream. Oh! And the fireworks. She had always adored the fireworks. Celebration’s Fourth of July Picnic in the Park always culminated in a pyrotechnics display to rival Walt Disney World.

  This year, however, she was hot and cranky. The smell of hot dogs made her want to toss her apple pie and she hadn’t even had a bite of apple pie because it seemed even more unappealing than the hot dogs. She’d had to get downright testy with Pat Whittington, who had refused, on principle, to sign up early for the hot-dog eating contest.

  “That’s not how we do it,” he insisted when he showed up and there wasn’t a place for him at the competition table.

  “Next year, Pat, why don’t you chair the event and you can make the rules.”

  When he told her that she didn’t have to be rude about it, she realized it really didn’t matter whether anyone had preregistered or not. She didn’t care.

  That was when Juliette stepped in and they agreed to squeeze in Pat at the end of the table. Of course, he complained that he didn’t have enough elbow room and that was why he lost last year... That was when Lucy walked away.

  She bought herself a bottle of ice-cold water and took a seat on the rim of the huge fountain in the middle of the park and watched all of the flurry going on around her. The world wouldn’t end if they squeezed one more person into the hot-dog eating contest. Though, for a fleeting second, she may or may not have wished that Pat Whittington choked on a wiener.

  Then she chastised herself because that was not very nice.

  “Nope, I wish him nothing but the best. May he get exactly what he deserves this year.” She laughed to herself.

  “Are you talking to me?” Luke Anderson was standing next to her smiling and looking just as handsome as he had the other day, when he and Carol had dropped by. Great, he’d caught her talking to herself. At this rate, maybe she should go home and crawl back in bed before she really embarrassed herself.

  He was a good guy. He had obviously picked up on her trepidations as Carol had tried hard to push the two of them together, because she hadn’t called or made any effort to “show him around,” as Carol had put it. Then again, maybe he didn’t find her as charming and alluring as Aunt Carol had thought he would.

  Just as well.

  “I wasn’t,” Lucy said. “But now that you mention it, I wish you nothing but the best, Luke.”

  He sat down next to her on the fountain. “Are you okay?”

  She must’ve looked pretty stressed if he’d picked up on it.

  She waved away his concern. “I’m fine. Just hot and thirsty. Just taking a break from all the fun.”

  “It’s a great event. Do you organize it every year? I know Aunt Carol has been involved for a while.”

  “No, it’s my first year on the committee.”

  And probably her last... Though she wasn’t going to say that now. She likened organizing events to having accepted the challenge to eat an entire jar of peanut butter. At this point she was about three tablespoons away from finishing the whole jar. While she loved peanut butter, right now she never wanted to see it again.

  She was too close to the situation and she was exhausted. And Zane wasn’t here.

  She fought the most ridiculous urge to cry. All she needed to do to prove to Luke that she was, indeed, crazy was to burst into tears right here in the middle of Central Park.

  Thank goodness Lauren Walters chose that moment to walk over and say hello.

  “Lucy, you have outdone yourself,” she said. “It’s the best Picnic in the Park ever. Everyone loves the food trucks. And the band you hired is fabulous. I’ll help you next year if you’ll stay on the committee. Oh, who’s this?”

  Lauren was eyeing Luke, who was still sitting next to Lucy on the edge of the fountain but was eyeing Lauren with a look that you didn’t have to be a mind reader to know he liked what he saw.

  Of course! They would be perfect for each other.

  “Lauren, this is Luke Anderson. Luke is Carol Vedder’s nephew. He’s visiting from Houston. Luke, this is Lauren Walters. She’s a good friend and she helps me out at the Campbell Wedding Barn occasionally.”

  “You’re from Houston?” Lauren said. “I have family in Houston. I’m from there originally.”

  They started chatting, figuring out people they knew in common. “Lauren, if you have a few moments, would you show Luke around? Have you seen the food trucks, Luke?”

  He hadn’t. Lucy all but mentally brushed her hands together as she watched them walk away. She stood up feeling better than she had felt all day. Her work here was done.

  She sighed. “I love a good romance. Especially when it’s shiny and new.”

  Maybe her new role would be that she would be the fairy godmother—or the matchmaker. Either one would do.

  With a renewed sense of spirit, Lucy made her rounds, ensuring that everything was running smoothly. It was good to stay busy. It gave her a purpose and blunted the empty feeling of being on the outside looking in as she watched families spending the day together, and lovers strolling hand in hand or feeding each other French fries from a food truck as they lounged on plaid picnic blankets spread over the park’s green lawn.

  Finally, as it was getting dark, Lucy prepared herself to make the address that the Picnic in the Park chairperson always delivered. She slipped into the bathroom at Café St. Germaine to freshen up. She splashed water on her face to cool off and reapplied her makeup, adding a little more than she had worn earlier because she felt like making an effort. She was proud of the work she had done. Proud of what she had accomplished with the event. She had raised money for the community, and, yes, she had even generated some good public relations for the Campbell Wedding Barn. Because there was hardly a better showcase of her event-planning skills than this important, sometimes unruly, community event. As she brushed her hair and secured it into a low ponytail, she realized it was also her debut as the new person she would become once she shared the news that she was expecting a baby.

  She squared her shoulders and looked at herself in the mirror. Sure, she would’ve preferred the more traditional route—what she wouldn’t have given for Zane to have been able to love her. But he was happy and that was everything.

  She had a thriving business, a loving family, good standing in a community that she loved. She had so many more blessings than some people. She put her hand on her stomach. Now was the time—a new phase—when she would start thinking less of herself and more of others.

  A twinge of regret—of missing Zane, of loving Zane—was still there, but she would live with it. The two of them were happy in their separate lives. That would go a long way toward creating a happy life for their child. She realized she just needed to reframe the way she looked at her relationship with Zane. Because of the child, they would always be a part of each other’s lives, just in a nontraditional way.

  As she packed up her toiletries and stowed them in the restaurant’s office, she made a mental note to include Café St. Germaine in the acknowledgments. They had served as a handy home base today, and a cool reprieve from the summer heat.

  Water bottle in hand and feeling refreshed, Lucy was going over her speech in her head as she made her way to the stage. She was on in five minutes and the fireworks extravaganza was scheduled to begin immediately after she finished.

  The band was playing a medley of Fourth of July classics that sounded a little funky played on electric
guitars, but the crowd seemed to be eating it up. That was all that mattered. Things didn’t always have to be perfect—or her mind’s-eye version of perfect. Different could be the spice that made life interesting.

  As she waited by the side of the stage for the band to finish, she took out her phone to write that thought down in her notepad for the times she needed a gentle reminder.

  “Excuse me,” said a deep voice that made her heart compress and nearly explode. “Have I missed the fireworks?”

  Zane was standing in front of her. Without thinking about it or asking his permission, she threw herself into his arms.

  “Oh, my gosh, you’re home! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming home?”

  “You didn’t ask.”

  And just like that all the weirdness that had been between them melted away. Lucy could finally breathe. She hadn’t realized she hadn’t been able to breathe the entire time he had been gone—the entire time they hadn’t talked. But standing here breathing the same air that he was breathing, she felt alive again.

  “I’m so glad to see you. When did you get in?”

  “About five minutes ago. Parking around here is hell. Do you know the name of the person who organizes this event? I want to file a complaint.”

  The lopsided smile that overtook his face was the most beautiful sight she had seen in ages. It took everything she had, every ounce of restraint, to keep from throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. She took a physical step back as she reminded herself that she couldn’t do that.

  Don’t mess things up.

  Things were going to be okay as long as she remembered the boundaries.

  “So you drove back to Celebration from Ocala today?”

  “I did.”

  It was a Tuesday. The Sullivans had probably given him the day off, but it was curious that he hadn’t stayed at the ranch. Surely, with their penchant for parties, the Sullivans would have a Fourth of July celebration that would make this one look like a rinky-dink outfit.

  “When do you have to go back?”

  He studied her for a moment and she wished she could read his thoughts.

  “That depends. I had some business to take care of here in town.”

  Oh. It stood to reason. He was probably preparing to move out of the Bridgemont house. He’d need to clear out to make way for the new general manager.

  “Hey, I got your message about my dad calling you. Thanks for looking out for me and not giving him my number. But there’s a funny story that goes along with that. He has actually purchased the Old Wickham Road property. You know, my mom’s family’s old ranch. He wants to sell it to Ian and me for one dollar.”

  Lucy’s mouth dropped open. “Holy cow. Are you serious?”

  Zane nodded, looking a little dazed.

  “What are you going to do? Are you going to accept his offer?”

  Zane shrugged. “I talked to my brother and he says he can cough up the fifty cents for his part. Nathaniel says it’s no deal for any other price. He said it’s the least he can do for us after being such a louse when we were growing up. I mean, it’s our legacy—and I quit the job at Hidden Rock.”

  “What?”

  He nodded. “It was a great opportunity—for someone. But it wasn’t for me. I’m back, but we can talk about that later. I need to mull over Nathaniel’s offer...”

  It sounded like Zane wanted her opinion on whether he was doing the right thing or not.

  Of course, he would never come right out and ask her for advice. That was the way they’d always done things; he’d never had to ask because she had always offered an opinion, with the understanding that he could take it or leave it.

  “Do you want to know what I think?” she asked.

  He nodded, which was more than he used to do in the past. She was half expecting a snarky quip. But the band was finishing up and she was due to go up on stage—and Zane was here. He was here and everything was going to be okay. Her heart was so full she knew she needed to get herself together before she got up on stage in front of the entire town.

  Her favorite song, “Somethin’ Stupid,” started playing in her head. She looked at Zane and pushed the internal mute button on the soundtrack to her life.

  She was just starting to ascend the stairs to the bandstand as the lead singer started introducing her. Or she thought he was introducing her. He was supposed to be introducing her. But instead he said, “If I could have everybody’s attention, we have a special treat for you all tonight before we unleash the fireworks.”

  Special treat? She’d always wanted to be somebody’s special treat, but not in this context. Her speech wasn’t exactly a special treat, either. The guy had sort of oversold it.

  Before she could take the microphone, Zane had slipped in behind her and took it in hand.

  “Happy Fourth of July, everyone! It’s good to be back in town. I’m Zane Phillips, for those of you who don’t know me.”

  What in the—

  Lucy looked around like she might find the answer to what was going on somewhere behind her, but, of course, she didn’t. So she just let Zane do whatever it was that he was doing.

  “Sometimes it takes getting exactly what you think you want to help you realize what’s really important in life,” he said.

  He was looking right at Lucy.

  Oh, my—

  Was she hearing him right?

  “Having your family around you is important. So is the love of a good woman. Lucy, will you please come here?”

  She hadn’t realized it until now, but she had been backing up, small step by small step, until she was hiding safely in the shadows. Zane turned around and took her hand. “Come here, please? I have something important to say.”

  Most of her body was numb. The only thing she could feel was her pounding heart and her hopes rising ever so slightly with every step she took toward Zane.

  “I have put you through hell the last couple of months. It’s taken me a while to figure out what was in my heart, but while I’ve been away the only thing that I think of every morning when I wake up is you. You’re the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last thing on my mind before I go to sleep. It’s you, Lucy. It’s always been you. I love you.”

  Zane pulled something from the front pocket of his jeans and dropped to one knee. That was when she realized he was holding a small black box. “It took almost losing you to realize that I’ve always loved you. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”

  Everyone in Central Park cheered. Through her tears, Lucy managed to choke out, “Yes.”

  As Zane pulled her into his arms and kissed her as if he was making up for all the hours they had been apart, the fireworks started behind them.

  Zane grabbed her hand and led her off the bandstand to a picnic blanket, where he had a real ice bucket holding a bottle of champagne and Dorothy’s crystal glasses waiting.

  “I know they’re not champagne glasses,” he said. “I hope that’s okay.”

  “They couldn’t be more perfect.”

  As they toasted their love, the tears in her eyes made the crystal glasses gleam. Or maybe it was the sparkle of the diamond ring that Zane had put on her finger.

  Zane loved her. He loved her.

  Cinderella and Prince Charming had nothing on the two of them.

  But the one thing she and Cinderella did have in common was that they both had found there happily-ever-after. Only, Lucy had Zane, who in real life was so much better than the Prince Charming in her mind that she had tried to turn him into.

  Zane was the only man she’d ever loved. The only man she ever would love. His realizing that he loved her, too, was so worth the wait.

  * * * * *

  And don’t miss Jude and Juliette’s second c
hance at love in

  THE COWBOY WHO GOT AWAY

  the next book in the CELEBRATION, TX miniseries, available October 2017!

  And catch up with Ethan and Chelsea in

  THE COWBOY’S RUNAWAY BRIDE

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  Keep reading for an excerpt from SERENITY HARBOR by RaeAnne Thayne.

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  Katrina Bailey’s life is at a crossroads, so when arrogant—but sexy—Bowie Callahan asks for her help caring for his newly discovered half brother, she accepts, never expecting it to turn into something more...

  Read on for a sneak peek at SERENITY HARBOR, the next book in the HAVEN POINT series by New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne available July 2017!

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