Around town, citizens of Eternity Springs remained on their guard. Today their own Lori Reese Murphy would marry another they claimed as theirs, Chase Timberlake.
At least, that was the plan. This was the third wedding date the boy had scheduled in the same year, so public opinion held that a little concern was justified. If this one didn’t go off, folks feared for his mother’s sanity.
If the worst happened and the reason the wedding didn’t go off could be laid at the groom’s feet, well, Lori’s daddy did sell guns at his outdoors store, Refresh.
“He’ll refresh that boyo with a twelve-gauge,” the town’s former mayor, Hank Townsend, declared.
Those parties with skin in the game, so to speak, had total confidence that the wedding would begin with all parties present at two o’clock that afternoon at St. Stephen’s. However, to a person, they spent a nervous morning.
Nic Callahan had missed her goddaughter’s vet school graduation, and she had every intention of sitting at the front of the church behind Cam, Sarah, Devin, and Michael with her husband, daughters, and two-week-old bundle of joy, John Gabriel Callahan, Junior. But she had awoken this morning with an uncertain stomach, and the girls had mentioned that three classmates had stayed home from school with a virus yesterday.
“I can’t get sick,” Nic told Gabe as she rummaged through the refrigerator looking for a bottle of sparkling water. Maybe the bubbles would settle her stomach. “I cannot miss Lori and Chase’s wedding. It would break my heart, and Sarah and Lori’s hearts, too.”
“You’ll be fine,” Gabe told her, as he lifted his son to his shoulder to pat his back and coax up a burp after his morning nursing. “I don’t think you’re getting sick. I think you’re nervous on your best friend’s behalf.”
“Maybe. You have to admit that Sarah has had a stretch of bad luck where this wedding is concerned. Seriously, Mortimer is lucky to be alive after yesterday.”
“Well, it turned out okay in the end. Celeste is a magician with needle and thread. You said yourself you couldn’t find the tear in her mother-of-the-bride dress once Sarah put it on.” He paused and mused, “I wonder if she really did make Cam sleep outside with the dog like she threatened.”
The answer to Gabe’s question was no, though as Lori’s brother sneaked some Lucky Charms into recently-turned-three-year-old Michael’s bowl of boring Cheerios, Devin would have added that it had been a touch-and-go moment here at wedding central. “You keep these Lucky Charms just between the two of us, little man,” he warned. “We don’t want to do anything to set Mom off. And for the sake of all of Colorado, don’t let Mortimer out of his crate today.”
“Bad Morty,” Michael said solemnly. He shoveled another spoon of cereal into his mouth.
Life was chaotic in the Murphy house this morning, and Devin already had made three trips to the community center at Angel’s Rest where the reception was being held. What did brides’ families do if they didn’t have a brother available to serve step-and-fetch-it duty? he wanted to know.
He wondered if Caitlin was facing similar issues with her crew up at Heartache Falls. Had organized and efficient Ali Timberlake managed to maintain her calm or had she finally lost her cool?
Had Devin picked up the phone and called the groom’s sister, he’d have learned that no, Ali Timberlake wasn’t the Queen of Calm on this bright October morning. She’d been such an emotional mess, in fact, that Mac Timberlake had called in the big guns first thing that morning.
In her kitchen, because it was what Ali did, she’d begun putting together a red sauce. The big gun summoned by Mac had arrived on her Gold Wing twenty minutes ago and now sat at the kitchen table stirring a teaspoon of sugar into her coffee. “Of course you’re nervous, dear,” Celeste said. “It’s only natural.”
“It’s ridiculous. I didn’t expect them to honeymoon in Eternity Springs and the circumstances this time are totally different. It’s just that the thought of him leaving the valley, the idea that they’re going so far away, it terrifies me. I think that—”
She broke off abruptly as the groom himself sauntered into the kitchen. “Good morning, Celeste.”
“Happy wedding day, Chase.”
His grin flashed. “Thank you.” Displaying the calm his mother had apparently misplaced, he sniffed the air and veered his course to the silverware drawer. Removing a spoon, he sidled up beside his mother and dipped it into the sauce pot.
Ali slapped his hand. “Michael Chase, you stop that!”
He grinned wider and brought a spoonful of sauce to his mouth, closed his eyes, and gave a reverent moan. Then he leaned over and kissed Ali’s cheek. “Delish as always, Mom. I’ll see you later.”
“Where are you going?”
“Fishing.”
“But … but … it’s your wedding day!”
“I know. Isn’t that great?” Beaming, he winked, waved, and walked out of the house.
Ali harrumphed. “I’ll bet they’re not fishing at the Murphy household.”
At that particular moment, Sarah actually was fishing—her phone, out of the upstairs commode. “It’s ruined!” she wailed. “Michael Cameron Murphy! What possessed you? What made me ever think that three-year-old boys would be less destructive than devil dogs? What am I going to do? We have flowers being delivered. We have chairs being delivered. We have food being delivered! I cannot not have a phone today!”
“You can use mine, honey,” Cam offered, smiling helpfully.
Sarah whirled on him like Cujo. “The vendors don’t have your number. They have my number. I need my phone.”
“It’s okay, Mom,” Lori soothed, sweeping into the room. “Your SIM card should be fine. I’ll switch yours with Dad’s and you won’t miss a beat.”
“Okay. Good. That’s good.” Sarah patted her hand over her heart then turned the evil eye toward Cam. “You are in charge of your son from this moment until the time we leave for the church. Do you understand me?”
“Absolutely.” Cam turned his head and called. “Hey, Devin? Mom says I’m in charge of you.”
Sarah balled up her fist, punched him in the gut, then marched out of the bathroom. “Too soon, Dad,” Lori advised. “Too soon.”
As she removed the SIM card from her mother’s phone, her own phone rang. The bride smiled serenely and answered her groom’s call.
* * *
Three and a half hours later, Mac Timberlake took his wife’s hands in the vestment room of St. Stephen’s church, extended her arms, and gave her a slow once-over. Admiration gleamed in his eyes, and he gave a low-pitched wolf whistle. “Alison, you look divine.”
“You look pretty fine yourself, Judge Timberlake. The gray of that suit matches your eyes.”
“I’m glad Chase decided to go with suits over tuxes.”
“Our groom made a number of excellent choices where this wedding is concerned, beginning with his choice of bride.”
“Amen to that. Along those lines, his former fiancée did make it. She’s sitting about halfway back with other crew members from the show.”
“That’s nice.” Ali peered around the doorway into the church. “I’m so glad he and Lana managed to come out of this as friends. She’s a nice woman.”
“Yes, she is. Chase has done himself proud.”
“He’s done us proud.”
“Yep. I told him that on our way to the church.” Mac cupped Ali’s chin and said, “I’d so kiss you right now if I didn’t know better.”
“You mess up my lipstick and I’ll—”
“I know. I know. But I want to kiss you, Alison. I want to kiss you and tell you how blessed I am that you are the mother of my children. I want to tell you that you are our family’s heart, and that as long as you stand beside me, I know we can face anything life has to throw at us.”
“Let’s hope life is done chucking things for a while.”
“Amen to that.”
Mac leaned forward and carefully, cautiously touched his mouth to his wife’s. “I love you, Alison.“
“I love you, too, MacKenzie.”
“I’m so glad you found your way—that we found our way—to Eternity Springs.”
“Go check on your sons, Mac. I’d better make sure our bridesmaid daughter is ready for her trip up the aisle.”
“Don’t say it like that, Ali. That’s too close to making my little girl sound like a bride.”
* * *
“Little girl,” Sarah said, fluffing the net of her daughter’s wedding veil so that it hung properly. “You make a magnificent bride. You couldn’t have chosen a more perfect dress.” With an A-line silhouette, Queen Anne neckline, and chapel-length train, the gown was traditional, but unique. “The lace overlay suits you and embellishments add the perfect amount of sparkle.”
“Thank you, Mom. I absolutely love the dress. Yours is perfect, too. Shantung silk looks gorgeous against your skin and the violet shade couldn’t match your eyes any better. You’re pretty hot for an MOB. Don’t you think, Dad?”
Cam gave Sarah a long, studious look, then made a tiger’s growl. “If we had five extra minutes, I’d trap her in the closet for an up-close-and-personal inspection.”
“Cam!”
“Daddy!”
“Hey, you started it.”
“No. You started it,” Sarah argued, an amused gleam in her eyes. “Back when we were in high school.”
“Those were the days,” Cam said. He reached out and snagged Sarah’s hand and brought it to his lips. “I despised those days when I was living them, but if I’d known then that those lousy times would lead me here today, living the life I have today, I’d be happy to relive every one. In slow motion.”
Then he caught hold of Lori’s hand and kissed it the same way he had her mother’s. “My girls. My fabulous, spectacular girls. I love you both more than words can say. Thank you for letting me back into your lives.”
“God was watching out for all of us when I won that trip to Australia.”
“God and Celeste,” Lori added.
“Lori and I are pretty danged lucky ourselves,” Sarah said, blinking away more of the tears that had been a constant threat all day. “You didn’t give up on us, and we didn’t always make it easy on you.”
“You never made it easy on me,” Cam corrected.
“Mom and I are stubborn that way.” Lori tugged a tissue from the box on the vanity and handed it to her mother.
With feeling, Cam said, “Tell me about it.”
Lori shot him an unapologetic grin. “Like they say, ‘All’s well that ends well.’ You and Mom and Chase and I both got our second-chance romances.”
“That we did.” Sarah shared a warm look with her daughter. “All we had to do was leap like lunatics.”
A quick knock sounded on the door, then it opened and Devin stuck his head in the door. “Mom, it’s time to escort you up the aisle.”
“Okay.” Sarah went up on her tiptoes and kissed Cam swiftly on the mouth. “Be careful. Don’t step on her train. For heaven’s sake, don’t cry or else I’ll cry and ruin my makeup for the pictures and I’ll never forgive you.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Sarah smiled into Lori’s eyes, then gave her a quick, hard hug. “I loved having you all to myself all those years. It’s hard to share you. You’re the best daughter a mother could have. Now, go be the best wife a man can have.”
“I will, Mom. I’ve had an excellent role model.”
Then Sarah was gone and it was just Cam and Lori waiting for their cue. For the first time all day, a little bit of nerves fluttered through Lori. To combat them, she rubbed her thumb over the Angel’s Rest blazon that she’d wrapped around the grip of her bridal bouquet when Celeste awarded her her wings earlier that day.
“Nervous?” Cam asked.
“A little. It’s a big step.”
“It’s the best step.”
The organ sounded those first announcing notes of Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” and Cam drew in a deep breath. “I’ve dreamed of this moment since the day you were born, Lori.”
“I love you, Daddy.” The doors opened. “Let’s go do this thing.”
On her father’s arm, her heart singing with joy, under the loving gazes of family and dear friends, Lori Reese Murphy walked forward toward her past.