Courted: Hyacinth Brides Box Set

by Bree Cariad

  “What was Dad like?” Celia had few memories of her father, though those she had she held dear.

  “Oh, Reg was a sweetheart,” Nana said with a fond smile. “Even though he was kind of shy and awkward, he was one of those boys who instantly befriended the new kid. When he came home with your mom, we were a bit surprised as she wasn’t Hyacinth raised, but he loved her and she loved him enough to try to enjoy it here. And they both loved you to pieces.” Her smile widened. “Your first stuffed animal was a unicorn and, oooh, your father found you unicorns every time he went out of town. You loved them and the way your eyes lit up every time he brought you a new one was magical.”

  Smiling, Celie tried to recall. “I wish I remembered that. All I remember is the stories he used to make up every night when he put me to bed.”

  Laughing softly, Jude nodded. “Oh, yes, and he loved creating new ones. I remember him telling me. ‘One day, Mom. One day, Celie’s going to be a world-famous artist and we can say this is where it started.’ He wanted everything good to happen for you.”

  A door opened and closed and a deep booming voice called out, “Is my adorable Celie back in town?”

  “Pappa!” she squealed, jumping out of the chair and running to the back door. Grabbed up in a huge hug, she inhaled and even if she hadn’t already known it was Leyton Compton, she would have known by the scent. “Vanilla cigars,” she hummed softly.

  “Always,” he said with a deep chuckle, setting her back on her feet. “Let me look at my granddaughter.” He stood back and surveyed her. “Yep. The men are going to go crazy. Jude! I need more ammunition and my gun!” he hollered.

  “Pappa!” Celie laughed, feeling the heat infuse her cheeks. Thankfully, nobody would see it. While her father and grandparents were Caucasian, her mother came from pacific island stock and Celia had inherited her straight black hair and mocha skin. It helped to hide embarrassing blushes. Thankfully she had received one thing from her father. His bright blue eyes. Just like the same eyes that were looking at her now.

  “Yep, Reg always said you’d be a looker when you grew up. He was right.” Leyton hugged her. “He’d be happy you’re here, kiddo. Now, what is that wonderful scent?”

  Dinner was a little different than she was used to. Once she helped Nana set the table, they sat down with Pappa at the head, Nana to his right, and Celie to his left. When he held out his hand, she wasn’t sure what he wanted. “Am I supposed to pass you something?” she asked, looking at the meat and vegetables lying on the table in front of him.

  “No, little Celia. Take my hand so we can pray.”

  “Oh.”

  Except for saying her prayers as a child before bed like her dad had taught her, Celia hadn’t prayed in years. She slipped one hand into her grandfather’s and the other into her grandmother’s grasp. He squeezed her hand before he spoke.

  “Lord. Thank you that we have our beautiful Celia back with us again. Look over her mother and help her find her way. And watch over Celia as she embarks on an incredibly exciting time in her life. Please bless this food that it may sustain us. Amen.”

  The prayer was simple but it warmed her that Pappa had mentioned her mother. After all, Kaycee had taken her away without giving the Comptons any knowledge of the two of them. Celie knew that had to hurt.

  “So how are my cousins?” she asked as they started to eat.

  “Jaylee’s married. Expecting our first great-grandchild next month. She’s excited for you to be here. Stephen and Michael are at college, though both of them will be home soon. Derrick is going to be courting this summer. And Kern is, well, Kern,” Nana said with a sigh making her snicker. “He hasn’t changed. He does things his own way in his own time. Refuses to even think of courting, which at his age is probably a good thing. After all, he’s almost forty.”

  “Yeah, most eighteen year olds aren’t going to be happy about a forty-year-old,” Celia agreed. She certainly wouldn’t.

  “Most men in the courting pool are between twenty-five and thirty-two,” Pappa explained. “The majority have never been married. All of them have occupations that will be able to support a family.”

  “Anyone decent?” she hedged making Jude smile.

  “Depends on what you call decent. I think we, as the older generation, see things differently. Men we think are acceptable aren’t so to girls your age. Poor Gregory Knills still hasn’t found anyone.”

  “Actually,” Pappa said, “he has. Courting was just announced last night.”

  “Well, good for him. Who is she?” Jude asked, delight in her tone and on her face.

  “Julienne Moore. They make a cute couple.”

  “Oh, how lovely. I’ll have to call on her and give her our compliments.”

  The conversation flowed through names Celie didn’t know and chose not to ask about as the explanations would have made even more conversation she wouldn’t have references for. After dessert, which Celia was pleased tasted as good as it looked, she helped Nana clean up and they joined Leyton in the living room.

  For the tenth time, Celia stood in front of her three-way mirror, looking at her outfit from all sides. She didn’t think it would be difficult to get dressed for what was a simple Sunday picnic, but as it turned out, it was. Just last night she had chosen to wear a pair of knee-length shorts and a cotton blouse, but all night long she had nightmares of grass stains and water splashes. Not to mention the fact her grandmother had mentioned many of the eighteen-year-old courtable girls tended to wear dresses.

  So this morning after tossing and turning for most of the night, she got up before the sun even came up and started trying on different ensembles. Her current choice was an above-the-knee length dress with a light green skirt that contained four layers so it swirled as she turned. The bodice was made of eyelet lace with a white camisole underneath it. “How do I look?” she asked herself, trying to be objective. The white emphasized her brown skin, though she had no idea whether that was a good or a bad thing. One of her main memories of Hyacinth was that it was a mixed-race community. Hopefully her memories were spot on.

  Besides her soft brown skin, her blue eyes twinkled and she had styled her hair back into a French braid. After applying a touch of lipstick, she decided that was as good as it was going to get. Slipping her feet into a pair of flat sandals, she headed downstairs.

  As it turned out, it wasn’t just a simple Sunday picnic. The entire town was there and Celia was a bit overwhelmed at how many people were in attendance. “It’s so crowded,” she murmured as they walked up to the park.

  “Oh, yes,” Jude said with a happy sigh. “Everyone comes out for the Memorial Day Picnic.”

  “Leyton!” A deep voice caught her attention and she turned as a tall man with short blond hair walked up to her grandfather. “Glad to see you. Have you got a minute?”

  “Stealing him already, Alex?” Jude said with a smile. “All right, Celie and I will go get some punch.”

  Alex turned deep blue eyes on her and the edges crinkled as he smiled. “Celia Compton. I haven’t seen you in a very long time. I heard you were coming home. It’s good to see you again.” There was a certain formality to his speech that she actually found rather charming. She wondered if he had any sons of courtable age.

  “Thank you,” she said, “Mr…” She paused as she wasn’t sure who he was.

  “Oh, Celie, I’m sorry. This is Alex Covington, head of the town council.” Jude grimaced. “I’ll have to remember to introduce you. If I forget, just remind me.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Covington.” After he and Pappa turned and walked away, Nana took her arm and guided her further into the park. “Does he have a son the right age?” she asked in a whisper.

  “He is charming, isn’t he?” Her grandmother winked making her grin. “But no. His elder son got married a few years ago and his younger is but seventeen. Oh, look! There’s Jaylee. Jaylee!” she called and a girl a couple years older than Celie turned and smiled their way. With short brown hai
r and hazel eyes along with a huge baby bump, she oozed satisfaction in a way Celia had never seen before.

  Jaylee broke away from talking with some people and walked over to them. “Granny,” she said in a soft nasally voice. “Glad you got here. Did you hear the news?”

  “Just a minute,” Nana said, pulling Celia closer. “This is your cousin, Celia. Do you remember her?”

  “Hi, Celia,” Jaylee said with a nice smile. “Welcome back to Hyacinth. Are you overwhelmed yet?”

  “A little,” Celie responded, relaxing at her friendliness. “I didn’t expect so many people.”

  “Oh, this is one of the hugest events of the year. The dawn of the new courting season.” She giggled. “I’m so glad I’m married and never have to deal with that again. Frightening stuff. But don’t worry,” she hastened on as if afraid she had scared Celie. “The guys are really nice and the way the courting is held, it’s very safe.”

  “Definitely,” Nana said firmly. “Now, what news?”

  “Oh, four courtings have already been announced.”

  “Four? I heard about Julienne and Gregory.”

  “Oh, aren’t they cute? I mean, Gregory wasn’t my type, but they really look cute together and she’s so happy. But also Dierdre Lerner and Joshua Binns, Laura Conlin and David Monther, and Julie Sten and Brady Collins.”

  “Brady Collins?” Nana asked in surprise. “He’s a bit old for her, isn’t he?”

  “I guess they’re mad about each other. It’s kind of cute. Oh, and there’s Dierdre and Joshua now.”

  Celie followed their gaze where a couple was walking down the narrow thoroughfare, accompanied by an older man.

  “Well,” Nana continued once the couple had passed by, “if Brady can find someone like Julie at the age of forty, there’s still hope for Kern.”

  Jaylee snorted. “Kern? Granny, he has no intention of ever courting. You know that.”

  “I can still hope. Where’s your charming husband?”

  “Dirk had to work today,” she said with a soft pout. “I mean, I love that he now works at Hyacinth Inn rather than the restaurant in Longdale, but he does pull most of the weekend shifts.”

  “Well, we can introduce him to Celie later. Are any of the rest of the brood around?”

  “Mom and Dad are around somewhere. Michael’s back from college and he’s sporting a tattoo.”

  “Oh, dear lord,” Nana said, rolling her eyes.

  Giggling, Jaylee nodded. “Yeah. Stephen won’t be home until next weekend, and Derrick is checking out the courtables. He seems rather taken with Marnie Mayson.”

  “Oh, that would be a nice match.”

  “Aunt DeeDee is with Michael and Kern was last seen wandering around looking bored.”

  “Well, we’ll let you get back to your friends. I want to introduce Celie to as many people as possible.”

  “All right. Celie, how about getting together tomorrow for coffee? Around eleven at the Lava Lamp? I’d love to get the chance to get to know you.” Jaylee’s open smile and pleasant demeanor made Celia nod.

  “I’d love to.”

  “Wonderful. See you then!” She waved and walked back to the group she had been talking to while Jude began to walk along. Celie quickly matched her speed.

  “So who belongs to who?” she asked softly and Jude looked up for a moment confused and then grinned.

  “Michael and Stephen are twins and Jaylee’s elder brothers. Their parents are your Aunt Betty and her husband Kyle. Derrick is your Uncle Martin’s son by his wife Brenda. Kern…” she shook her head slowly. “He’s Martin’s son by his first wife. I love him, but he’s an odd one.”

  Spluttering at her grandmother’s expression, Celie shook her head. “I’m going to start mixing up names.”

  “That’s all right. As long as you keep your possible suitor’s names correct, you’ll be fine.” As they walked along, a large group off to the side drew her attention. “Those are the Covingtons,” Nana said with a smile. “Alex’s family. The tall blond is his son Alexander and the pretty woman at his side is his wife Kathy. She’s so sweet. Moved to town not knowing much about it and almost instantly caught his eye. All the girls wanted him and she caught him without even trying. The girl with the long red hair is his daughter Camille. Her husband is the good-looking Native American standing next to her. He’s a therapist I think. The other two aren’t actually Covingtons though they’re linked with them. Christopher and Stephanie Triton. He owns the inn Jaylee’s husband works at. Such wonderful people. I hope you can get to know them. Oh,” she added as two more people walked up. “That’s Alex’s wife Charlotte. She’s the nicest woman alive. She truly is. We don’t exactly run in the same social circle here in town, but she’s never been anything but sweet to me.”

  “Who’s the other guy?” Celie asked, looking at the tall, muscled blond who was leaning on Charlotte.

  “Oh, that’s Drake Covington. He’s only seventeen. Definitely not available.”

  “Too bad. He’s cute.” As if feeling her eyes on him, Drake turned around and offered her a bit of a roguish grin before turning back to his family. “Oh, my.” He would be a heartbreaker, she was sure of it.

  “Come on. Let’s get you out where you can be seen by the men who are actively courting,” Nana said in amusement, guiding her away from the group.

  After about an hour, Celie realized she felt relaxed. At first it had been shocking to see the entire town out, but after meeting a few people, she realized that even with Hyacinth’s traditional values, everyone was just like other people she knew. They just swore less.

  Gossip still traveled at the speed of sound and several times she and her grandmother were stopped by women who had a piece of news to share and to be introduced. She found it all highly amusing until one of the women, a Gabby Blaize, called her son over.

  “This is Celia Compton,” she told him with a large smile. “Leyton’s granddaughter who’s just returned. Celia, this is my son Cory. He’s the new foreman at Covingtons.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Cory said with a nice, if shy, smile. “Welcome to Hyacinth.”

  “Thank you,” she said shaking his hand. “So you work with the Covingtons?”

  “I do. Just made foreman a couple weeks ago. They have a huge cattle ranch just east of town. It’s hard work, but I do well.”

  “Good for you. What college did you go to?” she asked in interest.

  His expression grew puzzled. “Naw. I worked up through the ranks. Been working for Alex since I was sixteen.”

  “Oh. Well, um…” She tried to search for something to say, but while Cory was sort of cute, he wasn’t really her type. Tall and lean with short brown hair, he had a baby face. Plus, she had always been attracted to smart men. Him not having been to college was a major minus in her book. Or was she being too picky?

  “Well, I want to make sure Celie meets plenty of people,” Nana said, rescuing her.

  “It was nice to meet you,” Cory said and she smiled and nodded.

  “You, too.”

  “Cory’s a nice boy,” Nana said as they walked along, “but not strong enough for you, honey. You’d walk all over the poor kid. Neither of you would be happy with the result.”

  Letting out a whoosh of relief, Celie nodded. “I really like intelligent guys.”

  Laughing, Nana nodded. “Well, we have those too. Come, let me introduce you to some.”

  She met four men in quick succession, all of them with college degrees. Two she found it easy to converse with, the other two not at all.

  “See,” her grandmother said in amusement. “The picnic is kind of like husband shopping. This way when the dinner requests come in, you’ll already have some idea of who the guy is and if you might want to actually get to know him.”

  “Husband shopping, the Hyacinth way.” Celia giggled, blushing when a burst of laughter came from her left and she turned to see a man in his early thirties grinning at her.

  “Well, I’v
e never quite heard it described that way,” he said with a chuckle. Turning to her grandmother, he bowed his head respectfully. “Mrs. Compton. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” A little girl in a dress tugged at his pants leg, completely ignoring the two of them.

  “Thank you, Dr. Hotham. How are you and your daughter enjoying the picnic?”

  “It’s wonderful,” he said with a large smile, leaning down to pick up the little girl. Whereas he had short brown hair that was turning gray at his temples and brown eyes, his daughter had long curly red hair and hazel eyes. “Vanna’s having a blast. Aren’t you, pumpkin?”

  The little girl hid her head in his neck and nodded. He turned his head toward Celie and when her grandmother didn’t introduce her, she did it herself. “I’m Celia Compton, Jude’s granddaughter.”

  “Marcus Hotham,” he said, shaking her hand with a firm, but not demoralizing grip. “New vet in town.” His palm was warm and it sent shivers straight to her stomach. She’d never felt anything quite like it.

  “Vet? I don’t suppose you’re looking for any help around the office? I love animals and have considered going to college and onto veterinary science.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you’ll have that much time to work,” Jude said, shaking her head. “Courting is a busy year.”

  “Ah, you’re being courted, Miss Compton?”

  “Uh, not yet?”

  “Oh, I think your grandfather is waving to us, honey. We should get going,” Nana said, waving her back the way they’d come.

  “Oh, okay, Nice to meet you, Dr. Hotham.” Whereas with the other men they met, her grandmother had been pleasant, it was obvious she was trying to get Celie away from talking to the town’s vet and she wondered why.