Typeractive Tales: A Collection of Clean Short Fiction

by Janette Rallison

  * * *

  “You may kiss the bride.” Matt didn’t waste any time at the pastor’s invitation.

  Amid a mix of polite clapping and loud catcalls from the crowd, I glanced across the aisle at Tim, who was rocking the tux and boutonniere look to perfection. He’d always been buff, first from playing football and now from the man tools he used to create those spectacular cabinets. It hurt to think that even Mom and Dad were turncoats. Tim, I was learning, had become like a long-lost son to them.

  Speaking of which . . .

  “Welcome to the family!” I hugged my new sister-in-law. She looked like a regal queen in her lacy gown and dainty tiara. I hated to admit it, but even I felt like a princess in my flowing teal gown.

  “Thank you, Brooklyn. I’m so honored to become your sister.” Callie strode up beside me and moved in for a hug as well.

  “Hey, what about me?” Matt reached for her expectantly. “I’m your awesome big brother, after all.”

  “Whatever.” Callie rolled her eyes in typical teenaged fashion but obliged him, anyway.

  “Congratulations!” A sudden lump in my throat surprised me. Matthew was now married. Our family dynamics would never be the same again. But this was the way it was meant to be.

  Tim approached from my left. “Congrats, Man. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  “Best thing I’ve ever done.” Matt’s goofy grin was all the evidence I needed to know that he was indeed a happy man. But Tim’s words bothered me. If it wasn’t hard, then why had he walked away from this? From us? Oh, I was driving myself crazy with all these whys!

  I swiveled and bumped into a solid chest. “Oh! Excuse me!” Embarrassed, I backed up and heard a yelp as my heel connected with another object. Barely managing to keep my balance when my ankle threatened to snap, I turned around again. Callie was hopping on one foot. I reached my arm out to support her. “Sorry, Cal.”

  “No problem, Brooklyn,” she said weakly.

  Grayson Kipling’s voice broke my concentration on my sister. Again, it held that slightly nasal quality. “Hello again, Brooklyn, Callie.” He nodded in greeting. “Beautiful wedding.”

  “Yes. And just the way I like them. Short and sweet.” I hadn’t realized that he would be at the wedding. Did he even know Matt and Evie?

  Just then, I felt a hand on my back. It was Mom’s. “Oh, Brooklyn. I’m glad to see you’ve met our new neighbor, Grayson. I’ve been telling him about you.”

  “So I heard,” I mumbled before offering him a smile. He returned the favor and oh, my—his second smile was as wonderful as the first had been.

  “Would you care to dance after the toasts?”

  Would I? If we were living a hundred years ago, I’d have allowed him to fill every available spot on my dance card. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Tim glaring at Grayson. Startled, I said, “I would love to.”

  “Great. I’m looking forward to it,” he said in a softer tone that sounded like it was meant just for my ears. Although Tim didn’t look too pleased, I ignored him.

  But wouldn’t you know it? The first song Grayson and I danced to was one that Tim and I had considered a favorite. Unbidden, memories of dancing under the stars with Tim on a sultry summer night two years ago at an outdoor concert in Myriad Gardens overcame me. My knees buckled. Grayson tightened his hold on me. “Are you all right?”

  His hot breath in my ear wasn’t as romantic as all the romance novels make it out to be. “Yes,” I said, pulling a little away from him.

  As Grayson twirled me around on our third dance, I caught a glimpse of Matt and Tim discussing something from across the dimly lit room. Matt flung his arm outward. Then they both looked my way. Matt was speaking in earnest, his face wearing a determined look whereas Tim’s was one of curiosity. Whatever Matt was saying, Tim must have been listening because he set down his drink and made a beeline toward me.

  Valiantly trying to hold my nervousness in, I took a deep breath. Unfortunately, my heart was pounding so hard I feared that I would faint right then and there. All too soon, Tim tapped Grayson’s shoulder. “Mind if I cut in, Pal?”

  With raised eyebrows, Grayson stepped back but didn’t let go of my hands. “Only if the lady agrees.”

  “It’s fine,” I croaked, surreptitiously wiping my hands, which had risen in humidity levels close to that of a rainforest, down the sides of my dress. Tim pulled me to him with his arms around my waist. My arms curled around his neck, just like old times. With my strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes, our friends and families had told us we made a striking couple and foolishly, I had believed them.

  We didn’t speak for a few moments. It was as if neither of us wanted to break the tenuous connection. Strains of a Rascal Flatts song played with my conscience as Tim quickly took control. Our movements came together as one. Yes, our road had been broken but couldn’t we fix it? Should we even try?

  “So…I haven’t had a chance to congratulate you on your scholarship to ISU. I know how badly you wanted it.”

  “Yes.” He had encouraged me to apply.

  “I’m proud of you.”

  Those four words lit up my insides like a Christmas tree. “Thank you. I heard that you own the custom cabinet business. So I guess we’re both progressing toward our dreams.”

  A hint of remorse puckered his brow. “One of them, anyway. The other dream I held turned out to be just that.” I knew he was talking about me.

  I shook my head in consternation. Surely Tim knew that if he’d asked the question that every girl dreams of being asked, I would have accepted in a heartbeat.

  Maybe he didn’t know. Had I ever told him? I’d been so wrapped up in our courtship, I hadn’t worried about our future and the practical aspects of marriage.

  We had fallen into another uncomfortable silence. I cleared my throat. “The cabinets you made for my parents are gorgeous. I love them. You certainly have a gift.”

  His tight expression eased. “Thanks. It makes me feel good to help folks improve their homes, make them more functional while adding beauty.”

  “You’re definitely doing that.” The smile I gave him was genuine.

  The final notes of the song drifted away. Then a lively line dance had people scrambling onto the dance floor. The ladies hiked up their dresses and kicked off their heels. Those who wore boots stomped right along with the men. Both Tim and Grayson had gotten in on the action. I scurried away from the crowd to gather my wits.

  Ten minutes later, after giving myself a pep talk and rinsing my overheated face in the ladies’ room, I hesitantly approached the party again. Bad timing! Females of all ages, shapes and sizes were gathered for what could only be the traditional tossing of the bridal bouquet. I considered backtracking but Callie and Mom rounded me up much like cowboys would a steer.

  “On the count of three. One! Two! Three!” Evie sent her bouquet flying. It arced and bounced out of two girls’ grappling fingers, right into my fumbling hands. What? How was that possible? I had deliberately stood in the back, far away from the main group of eligible females. My astonished gaze met Evie’s smirk. Ooh, I was going to have to watch out for my sneaky new sister-in-law.

  “So who’s the lucky groom?” Matt grinned as he and Evie approached, arm in arm. “Bachelor Number One or Bachelor Number Two?”

  My face flamed. “Um, nobody.” I wanted to leave it at that.

  Unfortunately, Matt didn’t. All traces of humor fled as he pulled me aside. He lowered his voice and said, “For what it’s worth, Sis, I hope you’ll give Tim another chance. Yeah, he screwed up big-time but with good reason.”

  Placing one hand on my hip, I asked, “And what would that be?”

  Matt shook his head. “It’s not my place to tell you. I always felt that if Tim couldn’t level with you, he wasn’t much of a man. You deserved better than that.”

  Darn right!

  Matt squeezed my shoulder. “Anyway, I have a feeling that he’s getting antsy to talk t
o you. Are you willing to hear him out?”

  Matt’s eyes bored into mine, silently pleading. If what Matt was saying was true, the moment I’d both hoped for and dreaded was close at hand. For all my pomp, I wasn’t sure if I could handle Tim’s confession—that he’d been interested in someone else. “Maybe it would be best if I just went back to Iowa.”

  “Brooklyn!” Matt growled. His jaw was tight, his eyes steely. “I’m serious. Give Tim a chance. I know that Mom and Dad are hoping for a match between you and that new guy in town, but Tim is the right man for you.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Matt. I’m over Tim!” Or at least I had been. Now, I was just confused.

  I didn’t realize how loudly I’d raised my voice until half the people in the room stared at me, including the man in question, who was only standing about ten feet back. With a clenched jaw, Tim stormed out of the church.

  Shame flooded my senses. Matt stared at me as if I had just committed a heinous crime. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I didn’t mean it like that.” Without a backward glance, I fled the room and hid myself in the ladies’ room.

  Mom found me there later, mopping up the streaks of mascara that had run down my face with damp wads of toilet paper. “Honey, it’s not as bad as you think.”

  “Yes, it is.” I gulped a pocket of air. “I embarrassed Tim and upset Matt—on his wedding day, no less! I take the cake for World’s Worst Sister.”

  “Matt isn’t upset with you. He’s upset with himself for pressuring you. In fact, we’re all guilty. We saw the wedding as an opportunity to get you and Tim back together.”

  My brows wrinkled as I considered the implications of her statement. That didn’t make sense at all. “I thought you wanted me to meet Grayson.”

  Mom’s cheeks colored with a telltale blush. “I have a confession to make. Grayson was a decoy.”

  “What?!”

  “He’s not really our new neighbor. Mrs. Carlson is out of town for a few months. Grayson, her nephew, is house-sitting for her. He’s a student actor at the community college.” Mom eyed me sympathetically. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to introduce you to him. That is, if getting Tim’s attention didn’t work, I hoped Grayson might take an interest in you.”

  “Gee, thanks for taking our feelings into account.” In my frustration, I quickly gathered my makeup, curling iron, and other primping supplies that I’d scattered around the dressing room in the bridesmaids’ frenzy to be ready for the wedding on time into my garment bag. I took off my strappy heels and hooked one finger through them and another through my car keys.

  “Brooklyn, please don’t be mad. We all care for you. It’s obvious that you’ve never gotten over Tim. We just wanted to help.”

  I twirled in anger. “Was Tim in on this as well?”

  Mom looked down in shame. “No. We wanted to open his eyes to the beautiful woman before him and show him what he’d given up.”

  At that moment, I realized that was what I’d wanted, too. “Thanks for trying, Mom. Even if it wasn’t the best way to go about it.” The warm embrace that followed helped me feel a little better.