by Kaitlyn Rice
Isabel made it through the ceremony. She said and did all the right things, even chuckling when one of Angie’s rose petals fell on Darla’s aunt’s lap and the little girl paused to pluck it off and toss it to the ground.
But she felt numb.
Darla and Sam spoke their vows beautifully, and they wore bright expressions when they were presented to their loved ones as Mr. and Mrs. Burch.
After Isabel had forced friendly chatter through the receiving line-greetings, she met Roger and the kids in the lodge and told them to go ahead and eat. She was certain that the caterers had brought enough food for three extras.
Besides, she wouldn’t be eating. She suspected that Trevor wouldn’t, either.
She found him talking to the minister out near the gazebo. He noticed her approaching and shook the man’s hand, then met her on the path.
“Come with me,” he said, and led her through the trees to the place near the riverbank where the raccoons had stolen their breakfast.
“I’m sorry about Roger,” she said as soon as Trevor had stopped and turned around. “I didn’t know he was going to show up.”
“I could tell.”
Trevor shocked her then by kneeling down in front of her and pressing his face against her belly.
She held his head. “Trevor?”
He looked up, his eyes dark. “I know this is going to sound crazy and incredibly late, Isabel, but let’s get married.” He paused, then murmured, “I don’t have a ring, but suddenly I have no doubts at all.”
Isabel wondered if it would ever strike her funny, that two men had proposed to her in the space of an hour, and she’d felt miserable about it. “Trevor, you’re asking me because you think you have to,” she said.
“No, that’s just it. I saw through the window, Isabel. I saw that guy get down on his knee and I knew I’d do anything to be in his shoes. It struck me that I could be.”
But if he hadn’t seen Roger on bended knee, Trevor wouldn’t have thought of proposing. That didn’t sound like abiding love. It sounded more like jealousy. “Trevor, stand up.”
He frowned, and she bent down to kiss that gorgeous, thoughtful forehead. “I love you, Trevor. I think I always will, but I can’t stay here.” She whispered, “I need to go home.”
He nodded. Then he hugged her for a moment without kissing her.
Taking her hand, he led her back to the lodge and then vanished through the small crowd.
Isabel stayed at that reception until it ended. She helped Darla whenever necessary and stood with the single ladies for the bouquet toss only because Sam and Darla had pointed out that she was the only single lady present who was over six and under sixty.
When Sam’s two elderly aunts missed the flowers, they landed smack in Isabel’s arms. She handed them to Angie and went to help the caterers distribute cake.
The party dragged on, and she caught glimpses of Trevor but never spoke to him again. After a couple of hours, Isabel waved Sam and Darla off on their honeymoon, told Roger and the kids she’d see them at home and went looking for Trevor. Someone said he’d left to take a couple of Sam’s relatives to the airport.
He’d never even said goodbye.
FOUR DAYS LATER, Isabel was home and surrounded by the family she loved so much. Callie had driven in from Wichita with her son, Luke, and Josie had stopped by, too. Callie and Isabel were crouched down in the backyard garden, harvesting tomatoes, while Josie played with the little boy in a nearby dirt patch.
“You haven’t talked much about your trip, Izzy,” Callie said, setting a tomato in a bushel basket. “What’s up?”
“She’s in love,” Josie said, just before she pushed air through her lips to make a motor sound for the toy dump truck she pushed toward their nephew.
Callie’s eyes probed Isabel’s. “In love? With the law professor?”
Josie paused her sputtering long enough to say, “That’d be the one.”
Josie knew?
Since she’d been home, Isabel had told her only that she’d had a nice summer, and that Darla had been a happy, pretty bride. She hadn’t answered questions about whether she had actually gone to bed with the man, and whether or not the L word was spoken, in bed or out.
Josie hadn’t asked about those things, either.
Isabel felt her big sister’s stare, but she kept picking plump red tomatoes and putting them in her basket.
“You are in love, aren’t you?” Callie asked.
She shrugged. “So what if I am?”
“What happened, hon?”
“I’m wondering that myself,” she said. “I meant to go help Darla and entice Roger to propose. I did all that, and Roger actually showed up at the wedding and asked me to marry him.”
That had been just days ago.
The honeymooners were still in Alaska, for heaven’s sake. But it seemed as if it had been ages.
Tired of squatting near the vines, Isabel plopped down on her bottom between the rows. “Actually, the law professor proposed, too. His name’s Trevor Kincaid.”
“He did? Isabel! Why didn’t you tell us?”
This was Callie. But Josie had stopped playing with Luke and the trucks and was listening intently.
Isabel hadn’t told them because she had always relied on her sisters to give her advice. But she felt as if she’d changed now. She was thinking differently, wishing she could call Trevor and talk to him about it.
She didn’t think that was a good sign.
She missed him more and more, and she thought about him round the clock.
“I wanted to figure things out for myself,” she finally answered.
Callie sat down near Isabel and picked up her left hand, checking for a ring. “You said no to both of them?” she asked.
“Yes.” Isabel shrugged. “Actually, I didn’t say no to Roger. He rescinded his proposal. He dropped by a few days ago to check on me, and he said it was obvious that I was pining away for the other guy. He claimed he couldn’t marry me under those circumstances.”
“Good for him,” Callie said.
Apparently upset by his aunt’s diverted attention, Luke kicked his heels on the ground and started making motor sounds.
Josie grabbed a truck and sputtered again, and Isabel watched her sister and nephew play.
They all loved Luke dearly. So far, he was the only child in the family. She’d thought that maybe Angie and R.J. would become a part of it, too.
“I feel awful about Roger’s kids,” she said.
“They aren’t losing anything,” Callie said. “Not with you living down the road from them. Just continue to be their friend.”
Isabel nodded. “I will.”
Callie studied her for a moment, then added, “Or even if you move to Colorado, you can telephone or write to them, exactly as you will with us. You can see Roger’s kids when you’re here to visit us.”
“I can’t move to Colorado,” Isabel said, frowning.
“Why not?” This was Josie.
“I’m too much like Mom, I guess. I’ve always lived in this house. I like family. Quiet pursuits.”
“Oh, puh-leeze,” Josie said. “Mom convinced you that you were a homebody because she liked your company and wanted to keep you near.”
“I can’t count the number of times you’ve said someone was lucky because they got to travel or live out an adventure,” Callie added.
“Those are only vague dreams.” Isabel smiled.
“No, that’s who you are, hon,” Callie said. “Mom wouldn’t have wanted you to pursue a life away from her. She did tell you, over and over, that you were quiet. Shy. Like her.”
“All true.”
“Uh-uh,” Josie said, frowning. “You love us, I know. But you’re no more a homebody than I am.”
Isabel stared at the tomato plants.
“If you could do anything you wanted, with no thoughts of shoulds or only-ifs, what would you do?” Callie asked.
That was easy. She’d marry Trevo
r. She’d go rock climbing on weekends and help with the camp and spend every night in his bed.
In coming home she’d done exactly what her mother would have done. She’d chosen to keep her world small so she could control it and keep herself safe.
But on the day that she’d climbed with Trevor, she’d felt a real euphoria. If she’d never done it, she wouldn’t have known what she’d missed.
But she had. She’d climbed the rock face.
And she’d learned to love a big-hearted man. A man she respected a great deal.
Now that she knew what it was like to reach for a bigger dream, she didn’t think she could be satisfied with a lesser one.
Isabel gazed at her sisters. “What if he doesn’t welcome me back?” she asked. “I said no to him. I thought I needed to come home.”
But she heard herself, and before either sister could say a word she said, “Shh. Don’t answer. I’ve been silly, haven’t I?”
She stood up and patted the dust off her pants, then sighed at the tomatoes and the garden and the house.
“Josie?”
“Yeah?”
“You want Mom’s house?”
“What? You’re giving it to me for good now?”
“Yes.”
“All right! Party house.”
Isabel joined Callie in laughter.
Eleven days later Isabel had done it all. She’d contacted her clients, paid her bills, packed and said her goodbyes. She flew to Colorado, rented a car at the airport and drove straight to Trevor’s place.
It was a Sunday, so she knew he might be out. But since she’d arrived late in the afternoon, she hoped she’d catch him. She knocked, then stood away from the door when she heard footsteps inside.
He was home!
He opened the door, looking sleepy and sexy and wonderful. “Isabel?” he asked, opening his screen and stepping onto the porch in his bare feet. “Isabel?” he said again.
Her heart pounded as she watched his expression change from disbelief to curiosity.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
“I was in the neighborhood,” she said, loving his half smile. “I’m moving here, actually.”
He frowned. Gorgeously. How could she so adore a man’s frown?
“I thought you could help me find an apartment,” she said. “I’ve never moved before, but I’ve heard that it can be hard to go to a new town and find exactly what you want right away. Not before you know the place well.”
The whole time she’d talked, he’d stared at her, nodding as if he was considering the problems of moving. Then he said, “Come on in.”
She followed him in but stopped in the doorway. The butterflies had attacked. She squelched an urge to tackle Trevor and claim a few of the kisses she’d missed.
If things went well, she’d get to kiss the man all the time.
“I asked you to marry me,” he said in a pleasant tone, as if he was informing her about the cost of an apartment in Boulder, “I meant it. Shouldn’t you be moving in with me?”
“You asked me under duress.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But you taught me something, Isabel. Something that fifty percent of brides and grooms must learn.”
She frowned. “Which fifty?”
“The ones who make it.”
She grinned, then sighed. And kept listening.
“I figured they must find someone who becomes their best friend,” he said, taking her hands. “Someone who is willing to listen fully or talk honestly, depending on what is needed at the moment.” He gazed into her eyes. “They must have this. This bond.” He squeezed her hands, giving them a little shake.
She nodded, “I think you’re right,” she said. They dropped their handclasp and she stepped farther into his house. “When did you figure this out?”
“Not long after you left,” he said. “Actually, I’ve been planning a trip to Kansas. I thought I might check out job opportunities for law professors.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. You beat me to the punch.”
“Well, I’m glad did, because I like the idea of living in Colorado. I never thought I’d say this, but I’ll move in with you, Trevor.”
“The small-town girl would become my live-in lover.”
She shrugged. “Yes.”
“What would your mother say?”
She grimaced. “You don’t want to know. She wouldn’t be happy.”
“Neither would I,” Trevor said. “I want to marry you, Isabel, as soon as we can arrange it. I want the right to have you next to me in bed every night. I want you to get really large with my babies, and then help me figure out what to do with them.”
She stepped into his arms. “I was hoping you’d say that,” she murmured against his neck, just before she turned her face for one of those hot, sexy, memorable kisses.
“Is that a yes?” he asked when he could.
She said it was, then kissed him again, then shrieked when he picked her up and carried her down the hall to his bedroom.
While they were lounging between red silk sheets a while later, Trevor mentioned that he thought they should find a bigger place so she could set up Blumecrafts, if that was what she wanted to do.
“That sounds great,” she said. “And you know, since I run a home-based business and you work a university schedule, we could take part of each summer to travel.”
“And you’d help me with the summer camp? We could direct it as a team.”
“Of course.” She’d thought about doing a couple more sessions—set them up for teenage girls. “And we could visit my sisters often and invite them here?”
“You bet.”
“You’ll have to teach me a few things.” Isabel sat up next to the headboard, excited by her thoughts. “Fishing. Horseback riding. And I’ll want to go climbing all the time. I want to get good at it.”
He scooted up next to her, matching shoulder to shoulder and knee to knee. “You’ll learn fast.”
“And, Trevor?” She leaned against him, felt his arm encircle her waist. His palm rested against her hips, and she pressed a hand over the top of it.
“Yes?”
“Let’s save some time for this.” She snuggled closer and gave his hand a squeeze. “For keeping the bond strong.”
With his free hand, he touched her chin, then nudged her face toward his. “That sounds like the best idea of all.”
ISBN: 978-1-4603-6964-7
THE RUNAWAY BRIDESMAID
Copyright © 2006 by Kathy Hagan.
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* Heartland Sisters
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