Hunter: You going to the Bahamas?
It hadn’t even occurred to her to go. In the Bahamas she wouldn’t know what to do by herself for two weeks. Granted, she’d be in a luxurious honeymoon suite, but still. She could hide out in the Bahamas or here. She chose her comfortable and familiar bed.
But what if she told everyone she was going to the Bahamas? They’d at least leave her alone for a while.
Joanne: You know what? Maybe I should!
Hunter: You should. I say go for it!
She finished texting with Hunter, with further assurances that if she went to the Bahamas (she was not) she’d have loads of fun. She’d surf (in her dreams), snorkel (please), and take plenty of selfies.
She glared at Hud. “Okay. Done. Happy?”
Exhausted by the effort, she threw the phone down. Hud gave her a “nice try” look and reminded her, “Your mother. Now.”
“Really?”
“Monique told her everything but she wants to hear it from you.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “And you have about ten minutes to do it or she’ll be here. With food. And you have enough food downstairs to open up a restaurant.”
“I need to think. Figure out what my next steps are. Hud, I’m the owner of a bridal boutique who just got jilted! Do I look like a person who can make a phone call right now?”
“You do.”
“Damn it!” He wasn’t going to let this go. Joanne picked up her phone and dialed, steeling herself for the onslaught.
“Joanne! Oh, my darling. I’m sososo sorry,” her mother started in on the waterworks without delay. “Chuck didn’t show! You of all people don’t deserve this.”
“I’m okay.”
“Of course you’re not okay. Don’t hide the pain, dear. Just deal with it, work through it. There are no shortcuts. You’ll be better for it. What stage are you in?”
Joanne wrinkled her nose. “Stage?”
“Grief. There are seven stages of grief and you should be at stage one right now. Though I know you’ve always been such an overachiever. But don’t rush it, honey.”
Joanne wondered if stage one was anger because right now she could feel it bubbling up inside her.
Chuck was nothing but an ass who didn’t have enough courage to face her. If he’d changed his mind, he could have told her before today.
But her mother always brought everything down to a self-improvement book to read, or a supplement to take. Perhaps a vitamin. Meditation. She wanted to help, but Joanne didn’t think life was ever that simple. All the plans she’d had were gone. Plus, she was the owner of the only bridal shop in town and she’d been stood up at the altar.
Was there a supplement for that?
“I’ll be right over with some of my chicken soup. Hud says you have too much food there now as it is, but nothing is better for a broken heart than my chicken soup. Remember I fed you this soup after you and Hud broke up? After Dad died? You know it’s got my special ingredient. Love.”
“That sounds...wonderful, but I’m going to be leaving for the Bahamas.” Joanne cringed at the lie but if it got her mother to give her some time alone there was no harm done.
“Alone?” she screeched. “Honey, no! You’ll just get depressed.”
“Um, no, no. Not alone. I’m going with...with Hud.”
Hud, who had been listening in the doorway quirked a brow, then slowly shut the door to her bedroom.
“You and Hud? That sounds like a wonderful idea. No one cheers you up like he can. He’s absolutely the best medicine next to my chicken soup. Plus you’ll be the envy of every woman who thinks you two are actually together.”
Ha! Her and Hud together. No, that had happened many years ago and they’d been lucky simply to salvage their friendship from the disaster.
She wouldn’t ever do anything to mess with that.
Chapter Two
Hud Decker had a choice.
Find Chuck Ellis, kill him and hide the body. It could be done. He had friends. Friends who owed him.
But who was he kidding? As the lieutenant running Firehouse 57, a murder charge wouldn’t look so hot on the résumé. No. “Chuck E.” wasn’t worth it. He didn’t deserve Joanne, never had, never would, and might have actually come to that realization himself. Good for him, then. Unfortunately, his timing couldn’t have been worse. He’d embarrassed Jo in front of family and friends, which made Hud want to destroy him. But he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Instead, he’d put Jo back together. Maybe, when she finished writing all her lists and making new plans, she’d realize this was all for the best. They’d laugh about idiot Chuck breaking up via text message like the coward that he was.
I would have shown up. She should have been mine.
No, that wasn’t right. He didn’t deserve her, either. Not after the damage he’d caused. He’d been lucky to enjoy her close friendship and had learned to accept over the years that it had to be enough.
Hud was still dressed in his tux, but had removed the jacket and cummerbund, rolled up the sleeves and lost the tie. When Emily and her entourage arrived with the platters upon platters of food, they’d stuffed everything they could into plastic bowls and into the refrigerator. The rest they’d arranged on the counters, on the kitchen table, dining table and even the family room. He’d never seen so much food in one place in his life and he worked in a firehouse with men who often ate like it was their last meal. Emily had suggested giving some to family and friends. Before she left, he offered her a platter.
He’d take food over to the station right now, only he didn’t want to leave Jo until Nora and Eve arrived. They’d texted him that they were on their way. Apparently, Monique was already trying to book an earlier flight back to Colorado. He also had to get home to change out of his suit and pick up Rachel, the dog he’d adopted from Paws n Pilots, a local rescue. Jo had wanted him to name her Coco, and Hud had called her the ridiculous name for about a day. Then he put his foot down. If he were going to provide a home for a cockapoo mix who was more poodle than cocker, he’d get to name her. End of story. And yes, he’d named her Rachel after his first celebrity crush, the character from the TV show Friends.
And if he was going to stay here much longer, he’d need to get Rachel. If he left her alone for too long, his furniture would pay dearly.
Needing something to do while he waited, he packed up the food, using Tupperware and aluminum foil. He began to assign them. Three platters for the fire station, one for the police station. One he’d send up to Wildfire Ridge Outdoor Adventures, one to Pimp Your Pet and another to Magnum Aviation.
Next, he called up friends and asked whether they had dinner plans. First come, first served. They started arriving an hour later, while Joanne continued to stay in her room. The last time he’d looked in on her she’d dressed in shorts and a tank and was sitting on top of the covers probably writing one of her lists. She loved her lists. Her order. He hoped “kill Chuck and ask Hud to hide the body” was at the top of this new list. That made sense to him.
What didn’t make any sense was the weird tinge of relief that had washed through him the moment he realized that Chuck wasn’t showing. The wedding wouldn’t happen. Guilt pulsed through him, making his gut burn. This was not something he should celebrate. He should be a better friend to Jo even if he’d never been one of Chuck’s fans.
No, that had been Jo’s mother and most of her girlfriends. They saw a man who billed himself as someone ready to commit, settle down, have a family. The women ate it up. Most of all Jo.
Hud told himself that what Chuck had done didn’t have anything to do with him. Jo listened to him, but in the end, she made her own decisions. Like Chuck. And if Chuck was weak enough to allow Hud’s dislike of him to play a role in all this, then he was even less of a man than Hud had realized.
If it had been him, he wouldn’t have let an old boyfriend stop him from
marrying Jo. Nothing could have stopped him.
Jett from Magnum Aviation and his wife showed up first. They were on a tight budget and were happy to take some of the food off his hands.
Hud called his good friend Ty Brody from the station and asked him to come pick up food for the guys. Together they loaded boxes of food into the backseat of his truck.
“Sorry about what happened.”
By now, it would be all over their small town. No wedding. Did you hear? The groom didn’t show.
“Jackass,” both Hud and Ty said at once.
“And Jo? How’s she doing?” Ty asked.
“I don’t know. She’s making a list.”
“If the guy can’t hack the pressures of wedding day, he’d run at the slightest hint of trouble. She’s better off.”
“Yeah. Try telling her that.”
“This wasn’t the way to do it, agreed. Hate to say it, though, but this could be your moment.”
“For what?”
“You and Jo, together again.”
“Ancient history.”
Ty grinned and waggled his eyebrows. “Then how about a reboot?”
“She’s probably going to hate all men for a while.”
“Aw, crap. Probably right.”
It wasn’t that Hud hadn’t ever pictured the 2.0 version. He couldn’t even blame his mistakes on youth or an imperfect understanding of relationships. Because even back then, he’d somehow...just known.
And still blown it all to hell.
He’d had all the arrogance and conceit of a kid who’d just discovered the wonders of sex. It had made sense for them to see other people and he’d suggested that. Who met their soulmate at sixteen?
He’d tried to recover, tried to get her back, but by then it was too late. Their lives were changed by one careless impulse and placed on a trajectory that would keep them apart for years.
Hud handed Ty the keys to his house. “Bring me Rachel, her food and a change of clothes? I’m staying until her girlfriends come by.”
“What about her mom?” Ty asked. “Can’t she come over?”
“Jo told her mom she was going on the honeymoon anyway. With me.”
“Dude! Don’t you wish.”
“Think she wants some time alone before everyone starts pitying her. I mean, I get it.”
“She knows you won’t feel sorry for her.” Ty nodded.
True enough. Hud would never feel sorry for Jo, though he did feel compassion for what she’d been through. But he’d always been tough on himself, his staff, family, friends, and of course, Jo. He saw no point in regretting what could not be changed. Time to toughen up. She’d have to get over this jerk and the sooner the better. He’d make it happen. Hud would make sure she didn’t spend any more time on the loser than he was worth.
Maybe she’d come to understand on her own that being with Chuck in the first place had been a mistake. Deciding to marry him? Pure insanity. Hud didn’t believe a lifetime commitment could be based purely on being practical and passing some kind of compatibility test the way Jo claimed she and Chuck had done. There had to be passion and connection, too. He hadn’t seen a spark between them but then again maybe he wasn’t the most impartial judge.
But he’d once accused Jo of not being in-love with Chuck. She’d protested. A little too harshly. Almost like she was trying to convince herself.
After Ty took off, Hud went inside and checked the time. Joanne would need to eat, so he heated some canned soup instead of the leftovers he didn’t think she was ready to see and brought it upstairs with a glass of the sweet tea she loved.
She was still writing the damn list. She looked up when he came in. “What now?”
“Time to eat something.” He set the bowl of soup on her nightstand.
“Okay,” she said, and put the notepad down. “Ugh. You’re such a pain.”
“You know this. Why be surprised by it now?”
“I don’t know why you don’t just go home and let me be.”
“Because you have to eat.” He sat on the edge of her bed, forcing her to move.
She did, and her top shifted to reveal one smooth bare shoulder. One shoulder, in a bed, and he was already fantasizing.
Do not. Go. There.
“What do you have?” She sat up straighter.
“Soup.” He reached for the bowl, offering it to her. “I’ll force-feed you if I have to.”
“In your dreams, buddy.” She squinted at him, showing a little bit of the sass he loved.
“Don’t make me.”
She took the bowl. “Did my mother really come over here anyway?”
“Nope. This is canned and from your cupboard.”
“What? No special ingredients?”
“Piss and vinegar.”
“Ew, and you expect me to eat this?”
She took a spoonful. He was sure it was because she realized that he wasn’t moving or going anywhere until she ate.
“Why did he do this to me?”
“Because he’s an ass.”
“No, I mean, really. Why not just tell me before the wedding day and save me some trouble? Not to mention the shame. Even if I’ve been through a lot worse than this, it’s just not okay. You know I can’t stand for people to pity me and that’s what they’re all doing.”
He winced because he was somewhat involved in the “worse than this.” “Not me.” He nudged his chin to indicate she should take another spoonful.
Jo wrongly believed that when people pitied her, it meant somehow she was pitiful. Not true, but she had a little misfire in her brain where it came to this. In his mind, she deserved some sympathy and should accept that nobody was cruel enough not to feel sorry for what she’d been through.
“Of course, not you, but everyone else.” She had another bite or two of soup, stared off into space and dropped the spoon. “What do I do? How do I get past this and save my business?”
His chest pinched uncomfortably and he glanced at the notepad which did indeed have a numbered list. “What does the list say?”
She nudged her chin at the list. “Go ahead. You know you want to.”
He picked it up and read:
Figure out if I can return the wedding dress or look into other ways of selling it.
How much do I still owe on the dinner? Check statements.
Make a list of all expenses and demand he reimburse me.
Get back to work immediately so everyone sees that this won’t affect the business.
Call Mom.
Assess any other damage control.
The list went on, but Hud stopped reading there.
“I don’t see ‘ask Hud to help me get rid of Chuck and hide the body.’ I’ll do it. You know I will.” He tried a smile.
“I know.” She sighed and finished the rest of the soup, somehow, then handed it back to him and went back to her list. “Will you leave me alone?”
“For now. But Nora and Eve are on their way.” He shut the door against her groan.
A few minutes later, Ty was at the door with a change of clothes for Hud, and Rachel at the end of a leash. In typical fashion, her butt wiggled at Mach speed, and she tried her best to climb him like a tree. She wore her pearl studded pink collar that Jo had insisted he buy from the Pimp Your Pet store.
He picked Her Highness up, waited for her to lick and slobber him, then carried her upstairs. “You’ve got a job to do, Rachel, and the last thing I need is any shit from you. It’s been a bad day.”
One thing he’d realized about Rachel early on: she should have been a therapy dog. At the station, she’d wrapped everyone around her paw in a couple of minutes. Even the old-timers, who swore they’d never own a “froufrou” dog like her. Once he’d been one of them. But Rachel was a good dog. She was smart and a
lready knew how to roll over and play dead. Until he gave her the go-ahead she wouldn’t move from her spot. It was uncanny.
“Someone’s here to see you.” Hud set Rachel down at the edge of the bed, where she instinctively sensed the need to be closer. She belly crawled to Jo until she was just inches from her face. She licked her nose.
“Oh, Coco,” Jo said, because she was his biggest pain in the ass.
“Rachel,” he ground out.
He shut the door, hoping Rachel would do her thing.
* * *
Cleaning always helped with thinking. That’s how Joanne found herself on her hands and knees an hour later, scrubbing the kitchen floor tile. Coco sat nearby head cocked in mild interest.
“Don’t give me that look, it’s cheaper than therapy.”
Hud had left Coco with her and gone off to take care of something on Wildfire Ridge, where he occasionally picked up a guide shift on his days off. He wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.
Joanne scrubbed, putting her back into it. She pictured erasing Chuck out of her life. He’d stepped on this floor and gotten it dirty, the bastard. First, she imagined erasing his eyes. Then his nose. Lips and jawline next. Finally, when only his stupid chin was left, she wiped it away furiously.
She’d always hated his pointy chin.
The doorbell rang and Coco barked as if to announce danger was clearly looming on the other side.
“Calm down.”
Joanne carried Coco into her bedroom, set her down and assured her all was well, then went to open the front door. She’d already been warned by Hud that Nora and Eve were on their way. That was good. They could discuss plans for the boutique. For a while now, she’d wanted Eve to make one of those pixel thingies for the boutique’s Facebook page. Then start some ads. Maybe she should expand.
Well, not now that she had wedding bills to pay. But soon. The Taylor wedding was coming up and Joanne had worked hard to get their business. The wedding of the year in Fortune, and Joanne had sold four of her designs to them. Some of her best work. All that remained was for them to choose one final design and she and Nora would order the material and start sewing.
The Right Moment Page 2