by Dale Mayer
“No, but we need to make sure absolutely nothing goes wrong right up to the last moment.” Kat wondered if it was possible to even get through the next twelve days. As it was, her work schedule was steady, and the weekend was crammed with shopping, cleaning, rearranging furniture so there was more space inside and out.
By the time Friday’s rehearsal rolled around, Kat was beside herself with nerves. She hadn’t told Badger she’d taken the afternoon off because, if he thought she wasn’t working, he would assume she would be home cleaning out the kitchen, getting ready for company. Instead, she was over at Honey’s.
Since Badger had roped Erick into doing something, he wouldn’t be home.
Kat walked in with a box in her hand at the same time Allison walked in with an envelope. Kat looked at the envelope and said, “Licenses?”
Allison nodded. “All the paperwork is in order. Everybody’s paid up in full.” She looked at the box and said, “OMG! Is that rings?”
Inside the kitchen all the women were busy discussing what they had. They had a collection of ties all in the right colors they would give to Ice to distribute. Or to Levi. They had to be labeled so he’d know exactly which man got which color too because that would be a disaster if the guys all ended up with the wrong colors. The boutonnieres and wedding bouquets were to be delivered Saturday afternoon. Ice was in charge of intercepting that delivery before any of the guys saw it. The catering was all lined up.
The women were a mess. Honey had champagne sitting open on the counter, and the glasses were flowing freely. Honey said, “I still can’t believe we’re doing this.”
“Not only are we doing it but it’s tomorrow. You all realize we’re getting married tomorrow? This is our bachelorette party,” Faith said with a big chuckle. She lifted her glass. “To us.”
The ladies all raised their glasses, clinked them together and took a drink.
Kat looked around the room. “How are we supposed to do a rehearsal?”
“This way.” Honey opened the back door, and they stepped out into the yard. “This is approximately the backyard space beside the pool that you have. What I figure is, we’ll get the men to stand over on the far side, each with a different colored tie. Ice and Levi will be our witnesses.”
Kat groaned. “I forgot about that.”
“So, once all the men are lined up, Ice will stand at the glass door to give us the heads-up, and then we’ll all come outside. As the wedding march plays, we’ll cross the lawn toward our men. And then we’ll slip an arm through theirs, turning to face the justice of the peace all at once.”
“And do we really think the men will just stand there, like robots, and let us do that?” Allison laughed.
The others shrieked in laughter.
“I can just imagine the expressions on their faces,” Minx said. “First, they have to get over the shock of what they see. Second, they have to get over the shock of what’s happening. Hopefully by then, we can get the justice of the peace to ask the questions,” Minx said. “But, no, I can’t imagine this will go smoothly. There will be some hiccup.”
The women stared at each other, each face showing the fear of rejection and the possible damage they could do to their relationships.
“I refuse to believe that,” Kat said quietly. “I’m going through with this. I need to. It’s the only way I’ll feel like Badger will take this step.”
The others nodded.
“But that doesn’t mean I’ll sleep tonight,” Honey said. “I feel like I have to ask Erick’s forgiveness in case I do something tomorrow he doesn’t like.”
The others frowned, but Kat understood. “You do what you need to do. But you show up on time.” She glanced around at them. “We have three hairdressers at three different houses. Eight of us are getting our hair done, that includes Ice, just because she’s a part of this. I think that long platinum braid of hers will look absolutely stunning if it goes up.”
The others all agreed.
“Makeup. We’ll touch up just before the wedding, and we’ll all get changed in my room. All the dresses are currently in my spare room,” Kat said. “They’re all in dress bags, so …” Her voice trailed off as she was lost in thought. “Are we done?” She frowned. “It almost feels like we’re done.”
The women looked at each other.
Honey walked over and wrapped her arms around Kat, hugging her gently before stepping back. “For better or for worse, I’m really glad you put this in motion.”
“I hope so because, if anything goes wrong, it could mean the end to some beautiful friendships,” she muttered.
Minx walked over and hugged her next. “But it’s not your fault. We all came to this step on our own terms. It’s what we all want.”
Clary walked over, looping her arm through Kat’s. “And we have to trust that the men know we’re doing this for the right reasons.”
“And of course,” Minx said, laughing, “Levi and Ice appear to be having a ball with all of this.”
“Oh, my God! It’s so true.” Kat groaned. She gave each one a hug. “Tomorrow. Remember we start at one o’clock for hair. Everybody’s to convene at my place at three, correct?” With that note she gave a finger wave and walked out. As she stepped out the front door, she raised her face to the late-afternoon sun and sighed. “Please, please make this all go off without a hitch.”
And she headed home.
Badger and Kat had had a hell of a night with Levi and Ice. Yet Kat had been on edge, and, no matter what he’d done, he couldn’t seem to get her to relax. The next morning, Badger got out of bed, had a quick shower and walked downstairs. As he headed down the hallway, he saw Levi and Ice, sitting outside on the loungers. He walked onto the patio and said, “Nice to see early birds.”
His guests smiled up at him. “We’ve always been early birds,” Levi said, his voice low. “It’s pretty hard to change the habits of a lifetime now.”
Badger understood. “I’ll put on the coffee and come back out.” He walked into the kitchen, started the coffee, checked the fridge for breakfast supplies and realized it was completely stuffed for the party tonight. He shook his head. “Kat, you better get your ass out of bed soon,” he muttered. But he was joking. He just hadn’t a clue what he was supposed to serve for breakfast. Every shelf was so damn full.
When the coffee was done, he filled a tray with the carafe and cups, and took it outside, putting it on the small table. “You said Alfred was coming in today?”
Levi nodded. “He stayed with friends last night, but they’re heading out of town today, so he was looking for a chance to come and stay with us until we go back home again.”
“We’re more than happy to have him,” Badger said. “It’s always good to have friends around.”
As they sat here drinking coffee, Ice said, “Have you got any plans for today?”
Badger caught Levi’s gaze and the tiny head shake that meant don’t tell her anything. Badger smiled and said, “A little bit of shopping, maybe some errand running, not too sure yet. What about you?”
She smiled. “Early afternoon I’m getting my hair done.” She slid a sideways glance at Levi. “Apparently there’s a party tonight that’s supposed to be pretty high-end. This guy here made me bring a dress I have yet to wear. He bought it for me a long time ago. It’s not exactly something I can wear very often.”
“I’m sure you’ll look delightful in it,” Badger said easily.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Maybe. It still won’t be all that comfortable if I’m not dressed the way I am for work.”
“It’s good for you,” Levi said. “Not everything is about work.”
She chuckled. “No, it isn’t. But, at the moment, we’re still waiting on the cement trucks to come and pour the new pool,” she said in excitement. “I was thrilled to find out you had a pool here.”
“And I hope you brought a bathing suit,” Badger said. “Feel free to use the pool whenever.”
She nodded. “If yo
u don’t mind, I’ll change and get in some laps.”
“Go for it,” he said in surprise. “I’m sorry you felt you had to ask. You could have just gone in at five o’clock in the morning. I wouldn’t have known.”
She grinned. “Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow morning.” She got up and left.
They could hear her footsteps crossing the living room and hall floor to the bottom of the stairs, and then the creaks as she headed up.
Levi asked in a low voice, “Hey, are you guys ready?”
“I think so. Did you bring booze?”
“Alfred is bringing a bunch of it,” Levi said. “We brought two vehicles. He’s got one fully loaded with booze.”
“Perfect,” Badger said with satisfaction. “I was afraid we would have to make a trip to a couple liquor stores today.”
“We may have to anyway,” Levi said easily. “Did you even think about dishes and all that stuff?”
Badger winced. “You can bet I didn’t. But I sure hope Kat did. If not, then I guess we have a few things to pick up this morning.” He nodded, got up and refilled their coffee. As he was carrying the cups outside, Ice came downstairs in a bikini with a beach rap over her shoulders.
Long and lean, slim, muscled like a dancer, she walked past him with grace in every movement. With her hair in a long braid, she dropped the cover-up, walked to the end of the pool and dove in with a clean motion. Badger appreciated the strength and the agility as she swam from one end to the other. “She’s a good swimmer,” he said.
“Swim team,” Levi said. “She’s been bugging me for a pool since forever.”
“I can see why.” He looked up to see a very tousled Kat in the doorway. She covered her mouth to smother a yawn and smiled. “I see Ice is enjoying the pool.” She walked over and took the spot where Ice had been sitting. “Good morning, Levi. How are you?”
He chuckled softly. “I’m fine. How are you?”
She beamed at him. “I’ll be much better when I wake up. I’ve had a hard time sleeping this last week.”
Badger frowned. “You didn’t have a good night again, did you?”
She shook her head and smiled. “That’s okay. I’ll sleep much better tonight.”
“I’m sorry the party caused you such stress,” Badger said. “I didn’t want you to knock yourself out over it.”
She chuckled softly. “Some things are worth knocking ourselves out about.” She caught Levi’s grin.
Badger didn’t quite understand what the look was about, but he was prepared for the undercurrents that had a ton of different meanings, given the secret party tonight. He turned toward Kat. “I was looking in the fridge, seeing what could be for breakfast. But it’s jam-packed with food for tonight.”
She laughed. “It so is. So is Honey’s fridge. We are having a party, so we decided to make it a little more special.”
“We won’t need that much food,” he said. “Surely?”
“If not,” she countered, “we’ll need it for the rest of the weekend anyway.”
He shrugged at that. “That’s probably true,” he said. “But I didn’t know what I was supposed to pull out for breakfast because I didn’t know if some of that food was slotted for another dish.”
“After I’ve had a couple cups of coffee, I’ll start breakfast,” she declared. She looked around. “I have a lot of running around to do and then appointments early this afternoon. Everybody’s supposed to be here by three. So it’ll be a busy day.”
Badger wanted to ask more questions, but just then Ice hopped out of the pool and came over, dripping wet. She wrapped a towel around her hair and another around her body as she sat down in the morning sun. “Good morning, Kat,” she exclaimed.
Kat looked over at her and smiled. “Nice to see you so bright and cheerful this morning,” she teased.
Ice chuckled. “Hey, it’s a beautiful day. I’m not at home. I’m not working. Everything is calm in our world. So it’s a great time to come and visit.”
After that, small talk resumed until Badger watched as Kat got up and headed into the kitchen. As she stepped in through the French doors, he called out, “Can I help?”
She tossed him a saucy grin. “I’m good,” and she headed in.
Levi looked over at him. “You appear to be a man in love.”
Badger smiled. “I am,” he admitted. “And happy about it.”
“That’s the way it should be,” Ice said with a gentle smile. “Relationships can be hard when you don’t know where they’re going and when you don’t know how you feel.”
“I have a good idea where I’m going, and I know exactly how I feel,” Badger declared.
He wasn’t sure if something extra was in their gazes, but, considering what Levi had planned for tonight at the party and that Ice had no clue, it just made this weekend all the more interesting. Badger was really enjoying the secrecy behind this mess. There was a lot of joy to be had tonight. He couldn’t wait.
Chapter 10
By the time one o’clock came around, Kat walked into Erick’s house. As she entered the living room, Honey was there, smiling.
“Erick’s gone. Badger needed his help,” Honey said. “I think the men had to go for more booze or something or other,” Honey said, waving her hand. “I feel like we’ll be so full and so drunk, we won’t care what else happens.”
“Ice is at my house, waiting for Marisa and Jim, who are decorating.”
Chuckling, the women walked in to the master bedroom where the hairstylist was setting up. “We have deliveries coming all afternoon. I had to get the men out of there,” Kat exclaimed. “Ice is holding down the fort, accepting deliveries, putting everything into the spare room. We’ve got Alfred coming alone today, as he and Bailey decided she’d stay back there and look after those at the compound. As soon as he arrives, Ice will be freed up to get her hair done,” she fretted.
“You’re getting done first,” Honey said, “and you can go back to take care of things. Our stylist will come over and do any final tweaks before the ceremony.”
Obediently Kat sat down and let the hairstylist go to work. As she sat there with her eyes closed, her mind raced as she thought about all the things that had to come together. And they were down to the wire. Only a few more hours now before the wedding ceremony started, promptly at seven. That was in less than six hours. And she just couldn’t imagine how much time she needed to get everything done on her list.
When the stylist gently patted her on the shoulders and said she could look, Kat’s eyes flew open, and she gasped. Her hair was piled in ringlets off to the side, and her face … It had been done with soft makeup matching her natural skin tones but emphasizing the beauty she rarely saw in the mirror. “Wow.”
Honey nodded. “We’ll touch up the hair with the flowers later.”
Kat hopped off the chair, studying her face in awe. “Wow, you’ve worked magic.” She turned to Eloise, the hair stylist, who was blushing. Kat gave her a quick hug and said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Eloise shrugged. “You’re a beautiful woman. It’s so much easier to work with someone who has great bones to begin with.”
Honey gave Kat a big hug and said, “Come on. My turn. It’s already two o’clock.”
Kat stared at her in horror. “Oh, my God. I’ve got to go.” And she bolted out the door and headed home. Back at the house she looked in the mirror again, realizing her hairstyle still held.
Ice took one look and whistled. “Wow.”
“I know, right? That girl is magic.” As she and Ice walked through to the kitchen, Kat realized Marisa was already out there.
Marisa waved and told her, “Go do your thing. Jim is here. We got this handled.”
“Okay, but it’s after two,” Kat reminded them.
Marisa nodded. “Like I said, we got this.”
Kat raced upstairs, with Ice at her heels. “Did everything arrive?” She walked into the spare room she had designated for the change room to s
ee seven gown bags hanging in the closet. On the bed were seven florist’s boxes, and all the matching ties were lined up nearby. She stared at it in awe. “Oh, my God! What are we doing here?”
“I think what you’re doing is absolutely fantastic,” Ice said. “And I wouldn’t be helping you if I didn’t think it was the right thing to do.”
Tears sprang to Kat’s eyes. She shook her head as she wiped them away gently, trying not to spoil her makeup. “I’m just such an emotional wreck right now.”
Ice smiled. “So you should be. It’s your wedding day.”
Kat stopped in her tracks. She stared at Ice. “So it is.” She motioned at Ice. “You need to go get your hair done. I’m fine here.”
By the time three o’clock rolled around, nobody was here. Kat groaned as she stared at all the food and thought of the stuff not done. But Alfred was incredibly efficient.
He motioned her out of the kitchen. “I think I hear a vehicle now.”
Kat picked up the pace and raced, slipping up the stairs and around the corner as she heard Badger coming in. She ran into the master bedroom, grabbed the clothes she needed and headed to the bathroom where she closed and locked the door.
There she stood for a long moment, studying the woman in the mirror. “I can’t believe I did this,” she whispered. She closed her eyes with her hands against her heart and just hugged herself for a moment. She needed this to go well. She so badly needed this to go well.
Realizing she heard Badger outside the door, she quickly stripped down and brought out the party dress she’d bought. It was more of a sheath style, simple, clean, with a slit up the one leg, and she realized she hadn’t brought her dressy prosthetic in with her. It was definitely required for this outfit.
The dress was simple, a geometric mix of black and midnight blue with a jagged slash down the center of turquoise. It matched her makeup and everything. As she straightened up, she put on fresh deodorant and a spritz of perfume, and then she opened the door and walked out. Thankfully Badger wasn’t there.