Chapter Two
Gabby
When your family owns a farm, you know better than to expect your parents to drop what they're doing and fly out to the coast just 'cause their daughter's decided to get married. I knew from the start that if I wanted them to attend—which I did—I'd have to bring the wedding to them, even though that meant none of our friends from LA would be there to share our big day. Other than Chase Hamilton and his girlfriend, Mia Gonzales—two former acquaintances with whom I'd become close over the last year or so, ever since Mia joined Chase in Los Angeles. As luck would have it, they'd already planned on being in Sapphire Falls this summer anyway.
I was relieved when Derek didn't raise any objections to our having a small wedding, in a town he'd never been to, attended almost entirely by people he'd never met. Although, if you can imagine, he did suggest that it might be easier and cheaper if we ran off to Vegas instead. And, no, I don't think he meant it as a joke.
But I didn't want that kind of wedding. I wanted the same thing that every little girl who's ever draped a white lace curtain-panel over her head, and waltzed around the dining room pretending to be a bride has wanted. The ultimate, over-the-top, amazing dream wedding, with all the bells and whistles. A long, white dress. A big, fancy cake. Beautiful flowers. Delicious food. Blue skies and sunshine. You know, a perfect day.
Unfortunately, right from the start, everything seemed hellbent on going sideways. But I'll get to that in a minute.
First, however, before I go any further, I think it's important to state for the record that I love my family. If we don't get clear on that up front, I'm afraid you might find yourself wondering about it later on. Despite what Leo Tolstoy had to say on the subject, all happy families are not alike. Mine is more than a little quirky.
But quirky or not, I love my family, and I love my hometown, and I love Derek—although not necessarily in that order. So, in theory, marrying Derek in Sapphire Falls, with all my family around me, should have been a dream come true. In reality, however...
Well, let's just say reality has a nasty habit of knocking the shit out of theories.
Take my theory about soulmates, for example. I used to believe my perfect soulmate would be someone chill, someone sweet tempered, easy-going and laid back. Your stereotypical, blond-and-blue-eyed California surfer dude. The kind of guy with whom I'd always be in complete harmony. I actually found a guy like that, and not so long ago. But, nice as he was, he didn't begin to compare with Derek—who's none of the above.
My guy is intense and passionate, toe-curlingly sexy, with hair the color of dark chocolate and eyes as hot as a triple shot of espresso. I love him to pieces and I know he loves me, but don't make the mistake of thinking that we always get along, like I used to imagine soulmates would. Because we don't.
The list of things we can't see eye to eye on goes on for days. We've had some epic arguments. And, as anyone who's taken even one of Derek's exercise classes will tell you, he's painstaking, exacting, and irritatingly direct.
But what can I say? Being a hard-ass works for him. It's a big asset for a personal trainer, and no more than you'd expect from a Scorpio. It all comes with the territory, I suppose.
Anyway, getting back to my story, we arrived in Sapphire Falls on Tuesday. It was the third week in June, exactly one month since we decided to get married, and only five days before our wedding was scheduled to take place. We'd flown into Omaha—where we picked up a few essentials, our license, my gown, a rental truck—and then headed for home. The dress was particularly important. I didn't want to order it too far ahead; who knew what size I'd be wearing by then? But there's only one clothing store in Sapphire Falls, and Julie's Apparel is not exactly a wedding emporium. Omaha seemed like the perfect compromise, even if it did mean buying something off-the-rack.
I'd insisted on driving. This was in part because I knew where I was going, and it was easier to just go there, rather than trying to explain. And in part because—as I told Derek—I'd pretty much grown up driving trucks, which he had not. "And you know what they say. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can't..."
"Take the girl out of the truck?" Derek suggested, like the smartass he is.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Okay, I really hadn't thought that one through. "But anyway, here we are! What do you think?"
I had turned off the highway by then, and was driving along Teal Street, having opted for the scenic route. First impressions are important, and I wanted Derek to love this place.
Although, really, how could he not? Everyone loves Sapphire Falls.
As always, the little town was looking quaint and inviting. Cheery blue and white awnings shaded shop windows all around the square. Planters, filled with blue flowers, lined the sidewalks. Even the names of the flowers fit the town brand. They were all cute-with-romantic-overtones. Speedwell. Bachelor buttons. Forget-me-nots. Love-in-a-mist.
There are no falls in Sapphire Falls, in case you were wondering, but that's never stopped the town's residents from embracing the sapphire-blue theme and running with it.
"It's a lot busier than I'd expected," Derek observed. "Is that because of that festival thing you keep talking about?"
I nodded in agreement. "Yep. It's not like this at all normally. This week is the busiest time of year here, even more so than Christmas."
What I didn't add, because I'd already been bitching about it for weeks, was that the timing of the festival sucked donkey balls. Although, really, since the festival was taking place at the exact same time of year as it always did, it was my timing that sucked. My timing, and the fact I didn't even think about the festival when we were setting the date for our wedding.
How I managed to completely overlook what has always been the biggest event of the entire year here, is anyone's guess. Pregnancy brain, I suppose.
Here's a list of just a few things we couldn't do because the festival was taking place the same week as our wedding. We couldn't have our reception at the community center, like I'd originally planned. We couldn't book ourselves a room at the Rise and Shine—as the cozy bed and breakfast here in town is called—or at any motel, anywhere within an easy driving distance of Sapphire Falls. We couldn't even book a spot in the local campground. Not that I tried all that hard, if you must know, because, really, who wants to get married out of a campground anyway?
So instead, we'd be spending the next few days at the farm. Along with goats and sheep and chickens...and pretty much my entire family. Heaven help us all.
Look, I know I said I love my family, but the thing is, I wanted Derek to love them too. And I wanted them to love him. This was going to be their first time meeting each other, and being forced to spend that much time together—basically 24/7, for almost a week—on top of all the usual wedding stress? Yeah, that struck me as a surefire recipe for disaster.
"I bet it'll be a lot of fun," Derek said, proving yet again that even soulmates aren't always on the same page thought-wise.
"Seriously?" I shot him a glance. "You do? Really?"
"Well, yeah." He arched an eyebrow, gestured out the window at the town square, and said, "I mean, I assume so. We will be going, won't we? I figured we could find a little time to at least check things out. Right?"
"Oh, you're talking about the festival. Yeah, sure, we can do that. It goes on all week. We'll probably come into town a few times."
"What did you think I meant?"
"Nothing. Never mind."
Judging it a good sign that he was asking questions, I took a few minutes to drive around the square, and to point out some of the places I thought he might find interesting—Borcher's, Dottie's Diner, the Come Again. Which is not to suggest that I thought he'd be in frequent need of hard liquor...
Oh, the hell with it. Who am I kidding? That's exactly what I thought. I was only sorry I wouldn't be able to join him.
I did point out some other things too, however, like the park, the petting zoo, the new indoor dirt track, Klein Hill. The petting zoo looked busy as usual, which made me unreasonably happy. I have a proprietary interest in the zoo since my family's farm supplies most of the animals for it. But that wasn't what put the smile on my face.
It gave me a funny, bubbly feeling in my chest seeing all the little kids interacting with the goats and the chickens. I couldn't help but imagine about what it will be like when I bring my own child here in a couple of years...
Next thing I knew, tears were sliding down my cheeks.
"What's wrong?" Derek asked, staring at me in alarm.
"Nothing." I shook my head, blinking furiously.
"Don't do that," he snapped, sounding nervous. "It's gotta be something. The last time I saw you cry was after the earthquake, when you were pinned beneath a tree."
"I remember." How could I forget? He'd been so tender when he came to my rescue, strong, protective, my knight in slightly muddy armor. "But it really is nothing."
"Gabe..."
I sighed in frustration. "Pregnancy hormones, Derek. You ever hear of them?"
"Oh. Fuck."
"Yeah. Exactly." Shit just got real, didn't it? Look, I know we'd both had a few weeks to get used to the idea by then, but the truth is, we hadn't gotten used to the idea. Not yet. It just kept sneaking up on us and smacking us in the head.
I did think, briefly, about stopping, so that we could get a closer look at the festival, but there was nowhere to park, and I was getting tired from all the driving. So I headed toward Tucker Bennett's house, instead, to pick up the camper we were renting from his wife, Delaney.
That camper was going to be a godsend, let me tell you. And not because I relished the idea of roughing it, because I definitely did not. Just imagining the luxurious bed and sumptuous breakfasts we could have looked forward to enjoying at the Rise and Shine was almost enough to make me tear up all over again. And, okay, yes, that was still mostly due to hormones, but not entirely.
Unlike my mother, who'd been a crunchy granola mom decades before that was even a thing, I've never liked camping all that much. I don't find "sleeping under the stars" to be in any way romantic. Give me a soft bed, indoor plumbing and some kind of impermeable barrier between me and whatever bugs are out there, and I'm a happy girl. But any port in a storm, I guess.
My parents' house wasn't huge to start with. Then my sister got divorced, she and her boys moved back in, and there went the guest room. Given my choice of an ancient pullout couch in the family room, sleeping bags on the back porch, or a camper that could be set up a discreet distance from the house—and which would at least offer us the illusion of privacy—I chose the camper.
I just hoped it wouldn't turn out to be completely sketchy.
Once we turned off Main Street, and left the downtown area behind us, I had to pay a little more attention to where I was going. Generally speaking, I knew where Tucker's farm was located. But the house was new since the last time I visited. As was the wife, come to think of it.
The Bennett brothers are all a few years older than I am, so I never really crushed on them the way so many of my fellow townswomen did. But that doesn't mean I don't know who they are. They're kind of hard to miss. Tall, handsome, just vaguely infamous, and as eligible as they come—or at least that's how things used to be. When I'd moved away from Sapphire Falls, none of the brothers had been married. Now, apparently, they all were. That was a lot of bachelors off the market in a fairly short space of time. I was kind of surprised the town hadn't declared an official mourning period, and trucked in counselors to help everyone deal with their sense of loss. Although, on second thought, I guess that might have been awkward given that the eldest Bennett brother, TJ, is currently serving as mayor.
"Here we are," I said as I pulled into the drive of a fairly typical, picture-perfect farmhouse, the kind of house I'd grown up in. The kind of house I had once imagined I'd spend my whole life living in. I parked in the gravel alongside the house and was not surprised when a handful of dogs ran out to greet us—there are always dogs on farms.
"Hi guys," I said as I assessed their intentions. There was a pretty gray pit bull, one certified wigglebutt, and one mostly-basset hound. Their relaxed body language said they were friendly, so I stepped down from the truck and let them swarm me.
"You really do have to pet every dog you meet, don't you?" Derek teased—like he didn't already know the answer to that!
I smiled. "You're just jealous 'cause they like me best." They do, of course, but we both know why that is. After months of walking dogs five or six days a week, I'm pretty sure the subtle scent of dog treat clings to every article of clothing I own.
Before Derek could answer me, the screen door slammed. I glanced up to see a pretty brunette approaching. "Hi. You must be Gabby," she said. "I'm Delaney. Alice said you'd be stopping by this afternoon. Sorry about the dogs. If they're bothering you, I can send them inside."
"They're not bothering me at all," I said smiling back at her. "I actually work as a dog walker, so I'm used to this."
Delaney frowned in confusion. "I thought Alice said you were an actress?"
I kept my smile in place, but inwardly I cringed at the question. "Right. I am. Walking dogs is just my day job."
"Oh. Got it."
One of the things I admire most about Derek is how good he is with people. He has this really great ability to take charge and smooth over any potential awkwardness, and he always seems to know the right thing to say. "I'm Derek. Pleased to meet you," he said reaching out to shake Delaney's hand, successfully distracting her from my attempts to bite my tongue.
My mother—that would be Alice, in case you were wondering—and I don't always see eye to eye. I know she means well, but the fact that I'm not yet "making it" as an actress is a bit of a sore point for me. And obviously for her, as well.
Knowing that my mother feels the need to exaggerate my accomplishments makes me feel even more like a failure than I usually do. Which is not to say I haven't had any success, because I have. But my career is certainly not where I want it to be—not yet.
My friends in LA understand. They know we can't all be overnight successes like Chase Hamilton, and that day jobs are an occasional necessity. And while being a dog walker is not the most glamorous job I could have chosen, it pays the bills and it beats waiting tables.
Dogs don't resent you for getting angry when they paw at your clothes, or attempt to knock you down. Their opinion of you doesn't vary just because you've dressed up pretty, or smiled real bright.
Plus—and I think this might be enough all on its own—if I'm gonna be run off my feet at the end of every work day anyhow, I'd rather it not be because I was chasing after tips.
Luckily, I was spared from having to explain any of that when Derek asked, "Is that the camper we're here to pick up?"
The disbelief in his voice had my stomach in knots. Oh, lord. How bad is it? I followed his gaze and my jaw dropped. Not bad at all. "That can't be it. Can it?"
"That's it," Delaney said with a grin. "What do you think?"
"It's fucking amazing," Derek said, his gaze still locked onto the brightly painted wooden wagon.
I nodded in agreement. "Wow."
"Not what you were expecting, huh?" Delaney's grin grew wider. She was clearly enjoying our reaction.
"Not at all." I thought we were there to pick up something...well, normal. Something generic, nondescript, basically utilitarian—this was anything but that. It was beautifully crafted, obviously one-of-a-kind. Basically a honeymoon cottage on wheels. It was the sort of thing you could maybe expect to find in a movie—a campy musical about gypsies, perhaps, or a fantasy rom-com like The Princess Bride—not parked in the driveway of a Nebraskan farmhouse.
"The owner's a little eccentric," Delaney explained. "She's a fortune teller, so I guess maybe that explains it. She left her wagon with me while she's off visiting family in San Francisco. She wanted me to add some cabinets, install a cat door—stuff like that." I must have looked confused because she paused, then added, "I guess your mom didn't mention that I'm a carpenter, huh?"
I shook my head. I was starting to think there were a lot of things my mother could have mentioned, but hadn't.
"Yeah well, anyway, I was just finishing up with it when we heard you needed a place to stay. Hailey—that's my sister-in-law, I assume you know her?"
"Of course." Everyone knew Hailey Connor Bennett, former mayor (before TJ), currently married to Ty, the youngest of the Bennett brothers.
That last part was something I had heard about from my mother. That was one detail she hadn't left out. Go figure.
Delaney nodded. "Right. So Hailey's the one who suggested I call Liz, and ask her if she'd be willing to rent it to you. Turns out she was, so here we are. Let me help you get it hooked up to your truck and you can be on your way."
By the time we were back on the road, I was starting to think that we'd reached a turning point, that maybe we'd seen the last of the complications, that it would all be smooth sailing from here on out.
I really should have known better.