Chapter Eighteen
“I am so, so sorry about this. Shit, God damn it…” Melody’s tirade segued into Spanish as she sat in front of the mirror, her face blotchy from crying.
“Well, as big and important as you and Trent might think yourselves, I hate to break it to you that you do not control weather.” Kayla kept her tone light as she brushed Melody’s long black hair. A bright flare of lightning filled the room. Kayla’s neck prickled right before the clap of thunder that followed made her flinch.
“This is not a good start, is it?” Melody sniffled and patted her hair, which hung loose and silky down her back. “As if it were good anyway. All the sunshine and blue skies in the world wouldn’t change how much Taylor hates me.”
“Oh, it’s not as bad as all that,” Evelyn assured her.
“Oh, actually it is.” Melody’s red-rimmed eyes stared at her reflection. “This is a huge mistake. All of it.” She let her hand rest on her stomach.
Kayla noted that in her loose, silk dressing gown, you could make out the slightest hint of a baby bump.
“She’ll get over herself. Don’t let it ruin your day.” Kayla fussed around, tidying up for lack of anything better to do. Rain lashed the windows. Lightning and thunder continued their back-and-forth dance.
“Huh, okay. Guess I’ll focus on the lovely weather for my midsummer outdoor wedding then.” Kayla glanced at Evelyn, but the other woman had her gaze fixed on Melody. Her lips twitched, then she giggled, which made Melody do the same. The two women ended up draped over each other, trying to catch their breath between laughing. Kayla smiled in relief.
“Hey, I think it’s letting up a little.” She peered through the sliding glass door and took in the fact that it was, in fact, raining even harder. This sent the ladies behind her into more paroxysms of giggles. “Anyway, I’ll go check on…things.” She ducked into the upper hallway, eager to escape the unhappiness, mixed with borderline hysteria. It made her nervous, twitchy, in need of a drink or a hit.
Brock. She needed to find Brock.
She was unable to suppress the smile as she headed down the steps to the barely controlled chaos in the main room and kitchen. She’d slept so hard the night before, after Trent had tucked her into bed. She woke at six-thirty feeling fresher than she had in years. She’d found Elle and the hired staff bustling around the kitchen, setting out the morning meal while others worked away on the evening’s feast.
She and Elle shared a quiet mutual respect, each of them sensing the other’s strength after past personal trauma without having to enunciate it. The other woman was more at home in a kitchen than anyone she’d ever seen. Kayla could watch her for hours, moving around the space, managing prep for multiple meals. This morning, Elle had put her in charge of the coffee and tea for breakfast, as well as making sure everyone was up and at it early enough.
Trent had to be dragged from his bed, which surprised everyone as he was always one of the first one of them awake. But she figured it for nerves. Evelyn had intimated that the men had stayed up way late, well past the time she and Brock had been left alone together. He’d managed to avoid her, which worked, as she was embarrassed at the scene she’d made in his nice bathroom that he’d had to jump in and handle.
She pressed her fingertips to her lips, reliving the amazing kiss, as every inch of her skin tingled from the memory.
“Where’s Brock?” she asked the crowd in the kitchen and great room.
“Haven’t seen him yet,” Ross said as he distracted fussy toddler Rose around on the floor. Only a little irritated by this, she refilled water glasses and took a quick look out onto the top of the massive white tent she’d ordered at seven-thirty that morning. The installers were wrestling with the wind while attaching the sides with their fake windows. She’d also had them bring in more gas heaters and extra strings of lights. She still couldn’t quite get over how easy things became when there was plenty of money to spend.
Elle had set up her staging area for food in the walkout basement, using the almost-as-big-as-upstairs kitchen down there for ease of service later so the whole house was already teeming with people, which rubbed her the wrong way, for no good reason.
Brock. She needed to lay eyes on him. To be eased by his wink and smile as he went about his caretaking duties for the day. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text.
Hey. You’re slacking. Get your ass over here. Pretty please?
She waited a few beats then followed that with:
I’m sorry I wigged out last night. It was a nice moment and I ruined it. But I won’t the next time. I’m sort of not good at the kissing thing. I’ll explain why someday.
She frowned when the little ‘delivered’ message didn’t show up right away. But when Taylor appeared in the kitchen doorway, she allowed it to distract her.
“Hi. Want something to eat real quick? I’ve got to run these up to Melody. I’ll be right back.”
The girl didn’t speak, just moved aside so Kayla could get past her.
“You should get a shower, Tay. I know we’ve got some hours to go still but…”
“Whatever.”
With a sigh, she headed upstairs, deciding to give Mr. Invisible a call. She needed his help today. After handing off the water glasses to the now-recovered Melody and Evelyn, she ducked into her room and touched ‘call’ next to Brock’s name on her text screen. The sound of his voice requesting that she “leave a message” that hit her ears after only one ring made her anxiety ramp up fast.
Recalling what a mess he’d been upon arrival two days ago, she stuck her head into Melody’s room and motioned for Evelyn to join her in the hall. She glanced around, nervous and fidgety. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Evelyn put cool hands on her upper arms, which made Kayla instantly recoil for fear the woman would see the mess she’d made of her own skin there. “Sorry.”
“No, I’m… It’s okay, but, um, do you know if Austin’s heard from Brock this morning?”
Evelyn frowned and crossed her arms. “I don’t know. I haven’t talked to him since last night. He was dead asleep when I got up with Rose. Ross was up so I handed her over to him once Melody needed me.”
Before Kayla could explain her concern, Trent’s bedroom door opened, revealing him in his full, fight-club-faced glory. “Oh, my God and sonny Jesus in Heaven, Hettinger, what have you done?” Evelyn whisper-shouted.
He blinked fast, as if confused, then sighed. “Oh, right.” He touched his swollen nose. “Got into a bit of a…”
“Whatever it is, it’s nothing compared to what Melody’s gonna do when she sees you.”
“Yeah, I know. So can you help me out and make sure she doesn’t see me until she has to marry me later today?” He shot Kayla a weak smile. Her Brock radar pinged like mad. She took a step toward her brother. He took a corresponding step back.
“What did you do, T?” She glared at him. He averted his gaze like the little kid he’d once been, confronted by her for some trivial, childhood reason. “Look at me.”
He dragged his gaze up and met hers. His eyes were bloodshot. One of them would be a brilliant purple and gray by tonight, she knew. The hand he kept pressed to his side gave away that he had bruised ribs or worse. All of a sudden, she knew what had happened. Anger filled her skull, followed by embarrassed horror.
“You fought with him,” she said, her words matter-of-fact.
“Fought with who?” Evelyn demanded. But Kayla kept her focus on Trent. He nodded and looked at the floor again. The incongruity of this—of her tall, strong, rich-as-God brother unable to meet her angry gaze—was lost on her as she felt her knees wobble. “What’s going on?”
“Hey,” Melody called from her doorway. “What’s all the whispering about?”
Evelyn glanced over her shoulder then moved so she and Kayla were blocking the possible view of Trent’s mangled pre-wedding face. “Nothing,” she called out while glaring at Trent, whose face flushed even darker under her scrutiny. “Get back in there and take that bath I told you to take already.”
“Is that mi esposo? I want to see him.”
“No!” Kayla and Evelyn both yelped as they turned to face her and Trent slunk back into his room. “Don’t be silly,” Evelyn segued, smooth as silk. “It’s bad luck. Now get your ass in there and soak it. Pronto!”
Melody’s dark eyes narrowed at the two of them. Kayla slapped a reassuring smile on her face but when the woman gave up and shut the bedroom door behind her, she almost slid to the floor. “Jesus,” she muttered into her hands.
“Okay, first things first,” Evelyn insisted. “I’m going to get Austin up and over to the Inn to check on Brock. You”—she pointed to the closed door—“you’re on keep-Trent-out-of-her-sight duty.”
“Okay, but…” Kayla stopped, unwilling to share anything with this tall, imposing and obviously pissed-off female. “Fine. I’ve got her. But tell Brock to call me or something?”
Evelyn sighed. “I will. Where’s Taylor?”
“Sulking around but I hear a shower so maybe she’s at least doing that.”
At that moment, a toddler-issued howl rose from downstairs. “Shit,” Evelyn muttered, glancing at her watch. “I’m gonna leave that for Ross. Go on.” She pointed to Melody’s door again. “Keep her calm and away from your brother until the last possible moment.”
Kayla nodded and headed for Melody’s door, her heart pounding with worry over Brock and what had happened between him and Trent while she’d been passed out the night before. Distracting Melody distracted her for an hour or so, but when the time came to help her into her dress—a gorgeous, custom-made cream silk sheath that highlighted her deep bronze skin and raven’s-wing black hair—she still hadn’t heard a word about Brock’s whereabouts or wellbeing.
She snuck out of her assignment room, leaving Melody lying quietly on her bed in her dressing gown a few more minutes, and headed downstairs, wishing she could hear his voice sorting through the chaos as only he could. But all she found when she got to the great room were Ross, still with Rose, who was fussing louder than ever, and Austin who was staring out onto the rain-lashed deck, his phone clutched in one hand. When she touched his shoulder, he flinched.
“Any word?”
He shook his head and glared down at his device. Deciding that adding her panic to his wasn’t a good use of either of their time right now, she smiled at him and turned away, keeping her worries to herself.
Guests began arriving about an hour later, guided from vans by the staff equipped with giant umbrellas around to the tent that now encompassed the entire back yard. Over a hundred people were expected, including the Governor and First Lady, so parking arrangements had been made with a couple of hotels, and shuttles scheduled, even before the weather had turned to absolute shit.
Thankful she and Brock had decided to get the extra lighting, heaters and seating, Kayla watched from an upstairs window, willing him to materialize from one of the vans, smile up at her and head indoors, forgoing the umbrellas for the sake of haste. But as hard as she tried, she couldn’t conjure him.
“Hey, Earth to Kayla, time to dress the bride.” Evelyn’s voice was high and bright which gave her stress away.
“You bitches are being weird, now,” Melody insisted as she sat pulling a brush through her long, silky hair. “Come clean. What’s wrong? I mean, other than the obvious.” She held up a hand as the wind howled around the corners of the house.
They exchanged a look which Kayla realized was a mistake, given the guilty nature of it. Melody rose, smoothed her hands over her dressing gown and marched past them to the door. Evelyn moved fast, blocking her way. “Oh no you don’t. We have to put your dress on you and get you downstairs. Your guests and future hubby await.” Her smile was huge and fake.
“Move out of my way,” Melody insisted, her voice a low, almost-growl. “There’s something wrong with Trent and I want to see him. Now.”
Kayla put a hand on Melody’s arm, but she threw her off, still glaring at Evelyn who hadn’t budged from her spot blocking the door. “I mean it. Move.”
The women managed a few more seconds of stare-down, then Evelyn slumped and shifted to one side. Melody yanked the door open and bolted out into the hall. Kayla remained where she was, between the bed which was draped with the dress and veil, and the window which revealed the tent flapping in the wind that had only gotten stronger in the last hour. She was frozen in place, horrified by this whole mess and convinced it was all her fault. She’d ruined Melody’s weekend with her silly behavior that had forced Trent to do something he shouldn’t have.
A loud shriek of surprise from somewhere in the long hallway unfroze her. She rushed out behind Evelyn, heart in her throat, skidding to a stop on the hardwood floor when she nearly ran smack into Melody’s back. The woman was babbling in Spanish, hands on her hips, glaring at someone Kayla couldn’t see at first. But of course, it was her brother, with his cage-fighter face.
“Come on, honey. It’s nothing. He’s fine,” Evelyn was saying, trying to tug Melody away. “You need to watch your blood pressure.”
“Get off me,” Melody cried, holding out her arms. “What did you do? You…” More Spanish that she assumed Trent understood. He’d gone out of his way to learn it, she knew, once he’d figured out he was head over heels for Melody Rodriguez. “That’s it,” she finished in English. “This marriage is doomed.” She whirled to face Evelyn and Kayla, her eyes wild, her face sweaty. “Call it off. Call it all off!”
Kayla glanced around the woman at her brother, who stood looking amazing in his dark suit with a single deep red rose in his lapel. Well, perfect but for his face, which was now swollen up so much he was almost unrecognizable. “Jesus, T,” she muttered, turning to try to help Evelyn calm the bride.
“I mean it,” Melody screeched at Trent. “This is just another God damned sign.”
“But…” He walked toward her but she backed away, both hands held up in front of her.
“Stay away from me. You go down there and tell all those people to fucking leave!”
“Hey, what’s with all the noise?” Taylor joined their little party, stepping out of her bedroom dressed in the light-blue sundress she’d chosen for her maid-of-honor duties. She was beautiful, Kayla couldn’t help but note, with upswept hair and tan skin. “Dad?” She moved to her father, who was standing with his hands jammed into his trouser pockets. When he met her gaze, she gave a little gasp but, to her credit, didn’t add to the general freak-out. “Wow, so…” She turned to Melody who was spitting out Spanish a mile a minute as she backed toward her bedroom door. “Mel, hang on a minute.”
Everyone, Melody included, stared at her. She’d never once called her future stepmother anything but “step monster” as a half-joke that they’d all let slide to avoid acknowledging it. Melody’s mouth gaped open as she stopped the invectives mid-stream. The wind howled. Rose kept up her ongoing whining. Kitchen staff clattered around downstairs.
Melody closed her mouth and straightened, crossing her arms and glaring down the hall at Trent. “Your father…”
“Is so madly in love with you it’s sickening,” Taylor finished for her.
“But look at him!” She pointed at Trent’s face, which had gotten even more gross in the last few minutes. “He’s…ruined this, as if it weren’t ruined already.”
Taylor moved toward her but Melody backed away. “Don’t even pretend you like me. I know you don’t. Dios Mio…this just isn’t meant to be.” She hit the wall next to her door and slid down.
Evelyn started for her, but Kayla held out a hand, keeping her gaze on the teenager, who moved fast and was crouched in front of Melody in a flash.
“T, go out there and tell everyone we’ve had a slight delay of game,” she said, while Taylor spoke quietly to Melody. He walked up to her and was headed for his daughter and fiancée but Kayla stopped him, too. “No. Go do what I told you. Christ, you’re like a monster. But I still love you. And so does she. Now go.” She shoved at his shoulder. He glanced at the women muttering to each other on the floor, then back at Kayla. “It’s all right. We’ve got this. We’ll be down in…” She checked her watch. “Forty-five minutes. Open up the bar. Since it’s all under one tent now, everyone can have a drink while they wait.”
Rose let out another loud howl. Evelyn winced. “I really need to spell Ross. Austin’s out in the tent already, schmoozing.”
“Okay, Taylor and I will handle Melody. You go on.” Kayla felt calm and in control, even happy for the distracting chaos. Evelyn nodded. “Make sure he gets out to the tent,” she said, indicating Trent who was still lurking around looking helpless. As Evelyn marched him to the stairway, Rose let out another cry, this one of pure delight.
“Boooooock! Bock! Bock!”
Kayla’s face blazed hot. Evelyn dragged Trent with her as Taylor pulled a crying Melody to her feet. She was torn, wanting so desperately to see Brock while at the same time knowing she had to stay here, to keep this positive momentum going.
When his voice rose up the stairs and hit her ears, relief coated her nerves, calming her enough so she could help Taylor guide the bride back into her room.
“There’s the most beautiful little girl ever,” were the words filling her brain as she closed the bedroom door and helped Taylor put Melody back together.