by Amy Lillard
Jake gave a knowing dip of his chin. “I see.”
“I’ve called twice, but he hasn’t returned my calls.”
“You leave a message?”
Seth shot his brother a look.
Jake chuckled. “I guess not.”
“I thought maybe if I called from here . . .”
“He would think it was Mama and pick up?”
“Something like that.”
“You want to use her office phone?”
“Does it matter?”
Jake turned and led them down the hallway that led to the Langston home offices. “I guess not.” He opened the door to his own and stepped inside, flipping on the light as he went.
“Where’s Wesley?” Seth asked, flopping down in the seat in front of Jake’s desk.
“She’s out at the pool with Grandma Esther.” Suddenly Seth wished more than ever that he could join them.
Chicken.
It was time to get this over with. He picked up the phone and dialed Chase’s number.
“You got a recording.” Chase’s voice reached across the line. “You know what to do.”
“Chase, I need to talk to you. It’s . . . important. Call me ASAP.” Seth hung up the phone and eyed his brother from across the desk. “He needs to know.”
“I agree, but you can only do what you can do.”
Seth shook his head.
“You want to talk about it?”
“What’s there to talk about?”
“Oh, I don’t know . . .” Jake mockingly tapped a finger to his chin. “How about how you ended up in such a compromising situation with your brother’s girl?”
“She was never Chase’s.” The words sprang from his lips before he could stop them.
An understanding light dawned in Jake’s eyes. “So it is true. The baby’s really yours?”
Seth nodded, then shifted under Jake’s steady gaze.
“You’re in love with her.” The airy words were filled with wonder.
Seth was so accustomed to denying it that he opened his mouth to do just that. “Yeah,” he said instead. His shoulders slumped as the weight that had been placed there released.
“Does she know?”
“No,” he whispered.
“And I assume Chase doesn’t either.”
“Nope.” Seth sighed. “I’ve loved her for so long,” he admitted. “Since we buried her mother.”
Jake’s dark brows disappeared under the dark flop of hair covering his forehead. “Really? So what are you going to do about it?”
Seth shot him a grim smile. “I’m going to do everything in my power to make her love me back.”
* * *
It’s awfully expensive,” Jessie protested as Evelyn pulled yet another gorgeous dress from the rack. She couldn’t afford such a garment, especially not for just one day.
“It’s your wedding day and it should be special,” Evelyn said simply.
Jessie bit back a sigh. She’d made such a mess of things. And it had all started with one little kiss. Now she had trapped Seth into marriage, Chase wasn’t taking her phone calls, and their mother looked at her as if she should be voted Tramp of the Year.
“I’ll do my very best to make him happy,” she said, finally accepting the hanger from Evelyn. “Seth, that is.”
Evelyn’s face softened. “I know you will, dear. It’s not Seth I’m worried about.”
Jessie could only nod.
It was Chase. With Evelyn it was always about Chase. She had one son in a war zone and one who had walked out one night and never returned, but it was her youngest son who took up the majority of her thoughts and prayers.
Not that Jessie believed for a minute that Evelyn was aware of her favoritism. The fact remained that everyone else in the family was aware of it. Accepted it even as just part of life as a Langston.
“Chase will be fine, Evelyn. I can promise you that.” Visions of his blond buckle bunny from a few weeks ago flashed through her thoughts. There was one in every town at every rodeo. Sometimes a brunette, sometimes a blonde. Maybe even a redhead thrown in for good measure. She had known all along that he wasn’t faithful to her. How could he care about her as he claimed if he was running all over the country with other women? No, he only thought he loved her and once he knew that they could no longer be, he would pick up his life and continue on in the only way Lucky Langston could. One woman at a time. Maybe two.
Evelyn nodded and handed her another hanger holding a beautiful lace dress. “Go try these on, dear. Come on out when you’re ready. I want to see them.” She tried for a smile and Jessie couldn’t help noticing that it didn’t reach her eyes.
She retreated to the dressing rooms and shut the door, thankful to have even a small reprieve from Seth’s mother. Evelyn meant well, and she was a wonderful lady. But the strain of her constant surveillance and her probing questions were taking their toll.
She sat down on the little square bench in the corner and pulled out her new cell phone. Seth had presented it to her yesterday when he finally took her back home from the ranch lake. She had protested at first, but as usual, he had worn her down and she had accepted the gift. Now she was thankful to have it as she dialed Seth’s number.
She hadn’t used the thing until now and she was a little nervous as the phone rang on the other end.
“Jessie?” He sounded happy to hear from her.
“Tell me again how everything’s going to be okay.”
“Is my mother driving you crazy?”
“Tell me.”
“Everything is going to be okay. What’s she got you worried about?”
“Chase.”
Once again his name hung between them. How could they go on with his brother constantly hovering around?
“Chase is a big boy, and he’ll get over it.”
“Do you really believe that?” she asked.
“He made his choices.” Seth’s voice came across the phone lines like the growl of a bear.
“Let’s just run to the justice of the peace and get married,” she suggested. “This wedding planning is nerve-racking.”
Seth chuckled. “You know Mama is not going to let us get away with that.”
She pulled at a loose thread on her jeans and glanced at the dresses hanging next to her in the stall. “I know.”
“Just hang in there. Just two more weeks and it’ll all be over.”
“Jessie? Are you in here?” Evelyn called from the hall between the dressing rooms.
“I gotta go.” She jumped to her feet as if she’d been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
“Jessie,” he protested but she hung up without answering.
“Just a minute,” she hollered toward the sound of Evelyn’s voice. But she needed more than a minute. A lot more.
* * *
In the end, Jessie bought the most beautiful dress she had ever owned. Creamy white silk and lace with pearl buttons and tiny little hooks and eyes that she was certain she wouldn’t be able to fasten before she walked down the aisle toward the altar and Seth. The purchase put quite a dent in her dwindling savings, but she couldn’t allow Seth’s mother to buy her dress.
But Evelyn had drawn the line at the boot store and paid for the navy blue Tony Lamas with the cream-colored inlaid roses with tan stitching.
“Consider it your something blue, my dear,” Seth’s mother said as she whipped out her American Express and handed it to the man behind the counter.
Before Jessie could utter a second protest, the boots were hers and they were whisking out the door once again.
“Now,” Evelyn said, turning on her blinker and changing lanes. “We need a cake, flowers, invitations . . .”
“That seems like a lot,” Jessie protested weakly.
�
�And your hair.” Evelyn cast her a quick glance, then turned back to face the San Angelo rush-hour traffic. “Who’s going to do your hair?”
She reached up a tentative hand and lightly fingered her messy curls. Her hair did what it wanted when it wanted to do it. “No one’s doing my hair.”
Evelyn sighed. “Jessica, this is your wedding day. Now’s not the time to be worried about money and such. I know this isn’t something you and Seth planned, but you still deserve to be the most beautiful bride Cattle Creek has ever seen.”
Jessie blinked back tears. Stupid hormones. They had her crying like a baby at the drop of a hat. Or maybe it was the overwhelming situation she found herself in. Or maybe it was simply time to take back some control over her life.
She pushed herself up a little straighter in the truck seat and faced her future mother-in-law head-on. “I don’t want to have anyone do my hair. I think a simple bun is just fine for an afternoon at-home wedding. As far as the cake goes, I would like Grandma Esther to make it. She makes the best cakes in three counties as it is. I don’t need it to be fancy, but I would like it to taste good. And for napkins and that sort of thing, let’s run by the Dollar Tree and see what they have. I think it’s ridiculous to spend ten dollars a package for something that people are going to wipe their mouth on and then throw away.”
Evelyn reached the next stoplight and turned to face her as they idled waiting for it to turn green once again. “If that’s how you feel about it,” she said quietly.
Jessie nodded, the spinning in her head stopping for the first time in days. “It is.” She nodded to add emphasis.
Evelyn checked the light and put the truck into motion once again. “Then Dollar Tree, here we come.”
* * *
Jessie eyed the front door of the ranch house, unable to deny the charm of the old place. She had come out here a couple of times with Seth and the other Langston boys as they visited with their grandma Duvall, but Jessie had forgotten how quaint the little house was.
“What if there are spiders?” she asked. That would be just what she needed to completely blow the sweet fantasy of ranch life now blooming in her head.
Seth chuckled from behind her and moved to unlock the door. “Oh, there are spiders. I can promise you that.”
Jessie shook her head. “I’m not going in. Not unless you fumigate and have it inspected.” She shuddered. “I don’t do spiders.”
Seth held open the door and Jessie could see even from the distance where she was standing that dust and cobwebs liberally accented the old rooms. No, thank you.
“If you don’t want to help me clean this up, I suppose you’re okay with moving into Nita’s garage apartment with me?”
“Unfair, Seth,” Jessie said as she loped up the steps and into the house.
The heels of her boots thunked against the heavy-planked floor. Although a layer of dust covered the wood, Jessie could see that it was a rich, dark brown. She had a vision of it cleaned and glowing, vibrant rugs scattered throughout.
“Jake said he’d have the power turned on by tomorrow afternoon. And I’ve arranged for all the appliances to arrive later in the week.” Seth walked across the front room and poked his head through the doorway leading to the kitchen. “We’ve got four bedrooms—three of which are really small—a dining room, and this room here, but we can add on if need be.”
“It’s perfect just the way it is.” She spun around in a circle, trying to take it all in. Suddenly the spiders weren’t such a concern.
Between the two of them, they had enough furniture to fill the place. It just needed a good scrubbing, maybe some curtains.
He motioned for her to follow him. He took the entryway opposite the one that led to the kitchen. She sneezed as she trailed behind him down a narrow hallway.
“Bless you,” he said as he stepped into a large airy room nearly the size of the front room. A large bay window jutted out from the house with two more flanking it. “This is the master room. Our room.”
She could well imagine the polished floors, sheer, gauzy curtains, and her wrought-iron bed pushed up close to the windows that would let in the morning light from an eastern sun.
“I hired Johnny Garcia and his crew to paint. You’ll need to pick out the colors and get that to him as soon as possible. The quicker he has that, the quicker he can get started.”
“You’ve thought of everything,” she whispered.
He shrugged, but she noticed a faint flush of red creeping into his cheeks. He turned and motioned for her to follow him once again. Back up the hallway to the door they had passed earlier.
The door creaked as he pushed it open. “And this will be the nursery.”
The room was tiny, perfect for the new addition they were expecting. Jessie could imagine the crib pushed next to the window, dancing beams of sun stealing into the room. A swing, a changing table, and tons of stuffed animals to fill the space.
She turned to Seth tears blurring her vision. “Thank you,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.
A beautiful sense of peace stole over her as he wrapped her in his arms. His heart thumped under her ear, its rhythm steady and comforting.
“Don’t thank me yet.” A chuckle rumbled up from his chest. “We still have a lot of work to do.”
A lot of work or not, she knew that somehow, some way, everything was going to be just fine.
Chapter Twelve
Everything is going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay, Jessie chanted as she took one last look in the mirror. Her sense of ease from the day she’d stood in the ranch house, wrapped in Seth’s strong embrace, had long since vanished.
They had turned Evelyn’s office into a makeshift dressing area for her. And though she had managed to secure some time to herself, this was one of those occasions when she could have used a mother’s or sister’s advice.
This morning it had hit her smack in the face. She was marrying Seth Langston. Tonight he would drive them over to the ranch house and they would spend their wedding night in the tiny four-bedroom where they had decided to raise their family.
She took a deep breath and pressed a trembling hand to her fluttering stomach. It was way too early for the baby to be moving, which meant nerves were responsible for its current upheaval.
Maybe she would feel better if they had gotten in touch with Chase. Everyone had tried to call him, including Evelyn, but it seemed that Chase had more important matters to attend. Jessie couldn’t help wondering if she was a brunette or a blonde.
Still, she wished she’d had the chance to explain things to him, to bring full closure to their relationship. Most of what was between them must have been in her head, but Jessie would feel better if she told him what was happening before it actually happened. Knowing Chase, he’d call tonight after they had all gone home and be pissed that no one had bothered to tell him.
Home. Tonight she and Seth would go back to their new place and pretend to be happily married. They had been acting like a real couple for the last two weeks, picking out paint colors and baby furniture, checking on the progress of the house. He had resigned her from her job to help get the place ready, then forbade her to do any actual work. He didn’t want her painting or moving furniture. She supposed that was for the best, yet she felt a little like a diva, instructing others in what to do while she stood off to one side and supervised.
But she hadn’t protested. She told herself that was because she had too much work to do at the house to argue every little point with Seth, but the truth was she was scared. Of Seth and how he made her feel. Of the town and the rumors she knew had to be flying around like crazed bats. Were people talking more about her, Seth, and the baby or the fact that the staid and true sheriff was marrying Cattle Creek’s resident wild child? She didn’t want to know. So she had holed up in the old ranch house and pretended that paint colors and furnitu
re polish were the most pressing matters she had.
She took one last look in the mirror to check her makeup and smoothed her hands down the front of her dress. She must have lost a couple of pounds in the last two weeks, since it fit a little bigger today than it had when she bought it. She hadn’t had any morning sickness, so she knew her nerves were the culprit.
A knock sounded on the door and she whirled around as Seth eased inside.
“Are you ready?”
She shook her head. “I mean, yes.”
He beamed an indulgent smile at her. “Everyone’s waiting on us.”
She looked down at herself, one last double check to make sure she was ready.
“Mama said you might need this.” He handed her a penny, a small frown on his brow. “For your thoughts?” he asked.
“From the poem. Something old, something new; something borrowed, something blue.” She had a new dress, her old bracelet, borrowed pearls, and blue boots. She slipped the coin down the shaft of the left one. “Put a penny in your shoe.”
Seth smiled as he watched her. “They need to rewrite that for cowgirls,” he teased, then held his arm for her to take. She lifted her small white rose bouquet from its box and hooked her arm through his.
They had agreed to walk down the aisle together. It had been Seth’s idea and Jessie had jumped at the plan. Jake was the only male who might possibly stand in and walk her down the aisle, since neither of them had a father, but Seth had said they were in this together, starting with their first walk to the altar together. It only seemed right.
Pastor Stanley from the Methodist church waited next to the fireplace. Jessie used all her energy to walk next to Seth without tripping and all her willpower to remain upright and conscious. Were all brides this nervous? Or just pregnant ones who were mismatched to handsome cowboy sheriffs? He smiled at them and Jessie wondered if he knew their secret. How many people in Cattle Creek knew that Seth was marrying her because they were having a baby? And of those, how many were betting that the baby actually belonged to Chase? The thought made her nauseous.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today . . . ,” Pastor Stanley started as a loud hum began to ring in Jessie’s ears. This was really happening.