A Walk Down the Aisle

by Holly Jacobs

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  LILY AND SEBASTIAN came over on Friday. Helping out a friend was definitely a better idea than sitting and angsting about the fact it was Friday and Sophie had decided to tell Tori about the baby when she returned from the library. She was so afraid of losing the daughter she’d just found.

  Of course, she didn’t have a clue what help she could be to Sebastian’s campaign. She’d found that sometimes concentrating on anything but a problem helped spark her creative juices, so she had pulled out her winefest folder.

  She had a long to-do list for the fall winefest and had crossed off only the most urgent, which included calling the printers and setting up an appointment with them to go over some of the advertisements. It was almost mid-July, and though a few months sounded like ample time, it was nothing when planning an event this big. North East did an annual winefest, and she didn’t want to step on their toes, so they’d planned theirs around North East’s date, exchanging coupons and information.

  Cooperation Not Competition was her catchphrase as she worked with neighboring community’s wineries.

  A catchphrase.

  She didn’t know diddly about politics, but she knew that she wanted something short and pithy to identify Sebastian as a candidate.

  Sophie spent the rest of her morning surfing the internet and looking for ideas.

  Granted, this wasn’t a presidential campaign, but the more she thought about it, the more she wondered if maybe a local politician wasn’t more important to a town. She thought of Ray Keith, Mattie’s brother and the mayor of Valley Ridge. He’d helped the community ride out the recession with the help of the town council—the very council Sebastian was running for.

  She dialed Sebastian’s number and, when he picked up, she said, “Don’t think. I need you to answer this question as concisely as you can. Why are you running for town council?”

  There was a short pause and he said, “I guess to serve my community.”

  “Great. See you in a bit.” She hung up.

  To serve.

  And in a flash, she realized that Sebastian had spent his adult life doing that. Actually, according to Colton, Sebastian had grown up serving customers at the diner. He’d gone into the military and served his country.

  And now he wanted to serve his community on town council.

  It was an honest, simple and concise message.

  He wanted to help his neighbors. He wanted to make the community a better place.

  All of that could come under the heading of serving.

  He wanted to serve his community on town council because that’s what he’d done his entire life. Serve.

  Sophie was practically bubbling over with excitement.

  She hadn’t felt this happy since...since the morning of her almost-wedding.

  To serve.

  Sebastian could weave that message through any ads, throughout any speeches or debates. What was his goal? To serve.

  By the time Lily and Sebastian arrived at her house, Sophie could hardly contain herself. Lily hugged her and Sebastian came in behind her and nodded at Sophie.

  She waved them both into her tiny home office.

  “I’ll confess, I’ve helped a few local businesses out, and I’m about killing myself planning the Valley Ridge Winefest, but I’ve never done anything political, so I wasn’t sure exactly what to do for you, or how to help you. I went online and did some surfing and discovered that many campaigns have a central theme. A lot of times, it’s the other party is wrong, or the other candidate is wrong, vote for me. I don’t like that kind of campaign and couldn’t imagine you would, either, Sebastian.”

  “No, that’s not what I want.” He sounded a bit put out.

  She couldn’t blame him for taking Colton’s side and being mad at her.

  She was mad at herself.

  So she ignored his ramrod-stiff back and his less-than-cordial demeanor, and smiled. “I didn’t think that kind of campaign would suit you. Which is why I called you, and your answer was perfect. That’s the theme of your campaign...to serve. It’s what you’ve done your entire life—at the diner, in the military and now on town council. You’ve built your life around service.”

  “It sounds better the way you say it than simply saying I waited tables and joined the Marines.”

  “Any campaign, political or otherwise, is as much about how you say something as what you say. You need content, but you also need to know how to present it.”

  “To serve...” He mulled. Then nodded. “I like it.”

  Sophie spent the next half hour talking about simple, inexpensive ideas on getting his message out. She advised that he weave the two words into any public speeches, and added, “But I think the most effective way is to talk to people, one-on-one, or in casual, informal settings.”

  Sebastian thanked her and seemed decidedly less frosty.

  “So, how are you?” Lily asked. “I mean, really, how are you?”

  Thinking about the Allens coming to town today, and knowing she needed to tell Tori about the baby, Sophie wasn’t sure how she really was. She went with a safe answer and said, “Okay. As okay as I can be. And right now, how I am is on my way out the door. I have a quick meeting for the winefest, and I want to be sure I’m home when Tori gets here.”

  Lily frowned. “You’re avoiding me.”

  She was, but only because she wanted to tell Lily about the baby, but felt she needed to tell Tori next.

  “I’ll tell you what, Tori’s parents are in for the weekend. Maybe we can convince Finn to keep the kids and give Mattie a night off and we can have a girls’ night out?”

  “Perfect. And thanks so much for helping out Sebastian.”

  “My pleasure. I’ve never done anything like that, but I think it’s a solid idea.”

  * * *

  COLTON HADN’T PLANNED on coming to the winefest meeting. Meetings were one of the biggest reasons he’d taken on a partner in the winery. Meetings were definitely Rich Keith’s bailiwick.

  Using the word made him think of his father. His father was known for his odd phrases and terms. He’d dropped in the other day because he was in the neighborhood. Considering that his parents owned a farm forty-five minutes away and rarely came back to Valley Ridge except to visit him, it was a bit suspect.

  And then his dad had told him women are like roses. They look pretty, they smell good, but sometimes they have hidden thorns.

  He’d tried to explain that Sophie didn’t have any thorns. She had secrets. And he’d felt betrayed by that.

  He’d thought he knew her inside and out, but he hadn’t.

  His father’s retort had been, Guess you need to ask yourself why she had such a hard time telling you, or anyone, about her family and daughter. Why hadn’t she told him?

  “Hi, everyone,” Sophie said as she hurried into the meeting room at the township building. “I appreciate you all coming out.” She looked around the room, including everyone in her greeting...everyone but him. She’d done her best to make him invisible.

  “This is going to be a quick meeting. I’ll catch you up on where I am and what we need to do from here. For those who missed our last discussion, we can’t use the school fields for our tents. No alcohol for whatever reason on school property. And that makes sense. So, I discussed with Mayor Ray and we talked to Maeve, and they both don’t see any problems with our using the library parking lot. Maeve’s thinking she’ll put out some sort of donation kettle. Plus all our main street shops are getting involved, and we can have nonalcoholic vendors on the school’s property. Now, I wanted to talk to you all about taking part of our ticket price and donating...”

  She continued talking about printing and promotion.

  Colton didn’t make much of an effort to keep up. He was far too busy studying her. She looked tired. He wondered how she was sleeping—if she was sleeping.

  He wondered if she was still having problems with morning sickness.

  He wondered how things we
re going with Tori, and had she told her daughter about the baby yet? If she had, what had been Tori’s reaction? And if she hadn’t, when was she going to tell her?

  When was her next doctor’s visit?

  Round and round. He asked himself questions he wasn’t comfortable asking Sophie.

  He didn’t feel he had the right.

  And yet, he was also convinced he had every right.

  Damn, this was a convoluted mess. He needed to talk to Finn and Sebastian, but wouldn’t until he knew that Sophie had told Mattie and Lily.

  He realized the meeting was over and everyone was clearing out.

  He strode to the front of the room and stood directly in front of Sophie, leaving her no choice but to acknowledge him.

  “Yes?” she asked, staring through him.

  He wanted to make her see him. He wanted her to look at him the way she used to. But he didn’t know how to accomplish that. “Have you told the girl, or your friends?”

  “The girl has a name. It’s Tori. And I’m telling Tori today, Mattie and Lily after that.”

  He nodded. “Fine.”

  “I’ll be seeing you.” She turned away from him and began gathering up her things.

  “When’s your next doctor’s appointment?” he asked.

  “Why?” she countered without turning back around.

  “I’d like to come with you, if you’ll let me.”

  “I’ll text you the day and time. But I do have to go now.”

  “You can’t avoid me forever.”

  She didn’t respond, but hurried out of the meeting room.

  Well, she’d said he could go to the doctor’s with her. That was something. Maybe the doctor would ask some of the questions Colton wanted answers to.

  * * *

  SOPHIE GOT HOME moments before Tori walked in.

  “How was your day?” Sophie asked.

  As usual, Tori bubbled over about her work at the library. “Joe Williams came in with his little sisters again. Mica and Allie asked me to read them a book. They said I tell stories much better than Joe does.”

  From her expression, Tori considered that a huge compliment. “So, we found an old book, The Wild Baby Book, and I thought Mica was gonna pee her pants laughing when the baby in the book fell into the toilet.

  “I told Joe he was lucky to have his sisters, but he snorted and said I could take them home with me. I told him I was tempted.”

  This was the perfect opening. Talking about sisters, and taking them home. But before Sophie could get the words out, Tori continued, “Then Maeve got in and said she got two calls about me. People told her that I was doing a good job. And Mrs. Esterly came in to help for a while today and said I was a natural storyteller.”

  Sophie said the words she’d always wished her parents would have said. “I’m proud of you. I never doubted that you could handle this job.”

  Tori blushed. “I wasn’t sure, but now I feel pretty good about it.”

  Sophie loved this past week. Tori had been so excited about work and so accepting of her. There’d been no angry outburst, no recriminations. She’d like to hold on to the secret of her pregnancy a little longer, but she knew now that secrets always came out. Even if you kept them for the best of reasons, they surfaced, and they hurt people. The last thing she ever wanted to do was hurt her daughter again.

  “Listen, Tori, your mom and dad are coming soon.”

  “Yeah, I miss them, but I liked staying with you.”

  It was almost as if Tori knew exactly what to say to keep Sophie from telling her the news. “I love having you here, too. And I want you to know that you’ll always have a place in my home. Your mom and dad are your parents, but I love you.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it,” Tori said. “You’re more like a sister. A big sister to me. I had a friend at home whose big sister is almost twenty years older than her. You’re not that much older than me.”

  “No, I’m not. And I want you to know, I love you. I loved you from the moment I found out about you, but now that I’m getting to know you, I love you differently. I love you for you, if that makes sense.”

  Tori didn’t look as if she were sure if it made sense or not, but she nodded.

  “You were so mad when you got here.” Sophie did not want that anger to come back, but feared it would. And she couldn’t blame Tori. Nothing about this situation was easy.

  “I’m still mad,” Tori admitted, “but I’m trying not to be. I like you. I wasn’t sure I would. I thought maybe I’d hate you for throwing me away—”

  Before Sophie could object again to that phrase, Tori held up her hand and said, “I know now that it wasn’t like that. But still, I’m mad, but I’m happy, too. And I love my job here and I like staying with you and getting to know you, but I miss Mom and Dad. I miss my friends, too, but I’m making new friends.” She shrugged. “I’m a mess.”

  “You’re perfect.” Sophie knew she was as messed up as Tori—as confused about everything.

  “You keep saying that, but I know I’m not.”

  “You’re perfect to me.” This time, Tori didn’t argue. Sophie wanted to leave the conversation there, but she knew she couldn’t. She forced herself to continue. “I need to tell you something. You and I have both learned that hiding things and avoiding talking about difficult things doesn’t work.”

  Tori shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”

  “So I’m telling you before I even tell my friends. I’ve only told Colton, and your mom and dad. I told them first because I wanted to ask their opinion on how to tell you.”

  Tori looked nervous and started thumbing the edge of the throw on the couch. “What?”

  “I’m pregnant.”

  For a moment, Tori didn’t say anything. She didn’t look up or meet Sophie’s eyes.

  Sophie braced herself for the upcoming storm and added, “I can’t think of a worse time. I’ve played out all the things you might feel and I understand and accept that whatever you feel—if you’re mad at me, if you’re mad at the baby—that’s okay. It’s understandable. No matter how mad you get, I still love you.”

  “You’re keeping this one, right?” Tori asked, still without glancing up.

  That question cut at Sophie. It was all she could do not to look down and see if there was some gaping hole in the vicinity of her heart.

  Tori finally looked up, and Sophie forced herself to meet Tori’s eyes as she nodded. “Yes.” Then she added, “I would have kept you if I could have. I waited until today, knowing your parents were on their way and you’d have some time away from me to decide what you want to do.”

  There was no burst of anger. No swearing or recriminations. Tori simply asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I thought if you were angry enough, you might not want to see me for a while. And I’ll hate it, but I’ll understand. I want you to know I meant what I said. I love you. I always loved you. Whatever happens from here on out can’t change that fact.”

  “So are you and Colton getting married right away?” Tori asked.

  Sophie shook her head. “No.”

  “Not right away, or not ever?”

  “I don’t think we’re getting married ever.” It broke her heart to say those words, but they were true.

  “What a jerk.” Finally, Tori showed some anger, but it was directed at Colton, not Sophie.

  Sophie stared her down over her choice of words.

  “Yeah, sorry. But, man, you’ve got the worst luck with guys, don’t you? My dad left, now Colton’s leaving.”

  Having Colton compared to Tori’s father, Shawn, was unfair. “Your father was young, and my parents had a lot of power and a lot of money to throw around. But Colton asked me to marry him, and I said no.”

  “Why? You love him and he loves you.”

  Sophie’s earlier thoughts on unconditional love played again in her head. “Maybe. But the only reason he asked me was because of the baby. I deserve more than that. I deserve more
than being someone’s obligation.”

  Tori dropped the blanket’s edge back onto the plaid couch and stood. “I’ve got to think about this.”

  Sophie nodded. “I know. But one more thing.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’ve given this a lot of thought. I would have given anything to keep you and raise you, but if I’d done that, you wouldn’t have your mom and dad, and you wouldn’t be the amazing young woman you are right now. I’m sure you’d still be amazing, but you’d be different. And since I happen to not only like your parents and love the girl they raised...” She tried to find the words. “I love who you are. You’re a girl who doesn’t hold back. You see something and you go for it. You find something you like and you give it your all. You’re amazing and I love you.”

  Tori stared at her a moment, a blank expression on her face, then simply said, “I’m going to text Mom and Dad and meet them at JoAnn’s, if that’s okay.”

  “Sure.” As Tori walked toward the door, Sophie couldn’t help but wonder if that was it. If her daughter was walking out of her life. “No matter what you decide to do next, I’ll respect it. Just remember, I love you. Nothing can ever change that.”

  Tori didn’t say anything. She nodded and shut the door behind her.

  Sophie watched her go, and wondered if that was the last she’d see of her daughter.

  * * *

  “YOU’RE SURE?” Finn asked Colton on Saturday.

  “I’m sure I’m fine with it, but if you’ll feel better, I’ll talk to Sophie and make sure she’s okay with it.”

  “Thanks.” Finn hung up without saying anything else.

  Colton was relieved to hear a dial tone. Finn had wanted to know if Colton and Sophie would mind being paired together in the wedding party, since Lily and Sebastian were an item. And more than being fine at being matched with Sophie, Colton was also very fine with an excuse to see her, even though he’d just seen her at the meeting.

  She was planning to tell Tori about the baby, and he wanted to know how that had gone. Rather than call and allow Sophie to send him straight to voice mail, he drove to her house.

  Sophie opened the door looking disheveled. Normally he forgot how tiny she was. He always told her that it was easy to overlook her lack in stature because she made up for it with her oversize spirit. She’d laughed and told him he was biased.