Looking back, Melanie would say she was glad they took that afternoon and the rest of that day for themselves because the following day began what could only be described as wedding planning on steroids. All it had taken was one phone call to Lisa to confirm the barn and from that point on, Melanie couldn’t remember the last time she got to have a conversation that wasn’t about the big day.
Now, ten days later and standing in the middle of a bridal boutique back in New York City, she sighed with impatience. She was getting zipped into her tenth gown and was no longer having fun.
“C’mon, Mel,” Josiah’s sister Danielle said with a grin. “Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle. You don’t want to make a snap decision on a wedding gown. Most brides take months to do this sort of thing. You knew it was going to be a marathon weekend.”
Between the hopping in and out of gowns and the bad holiday puns her future sister-in-law was so proud of, Melanie was certain she’d go out of her mind. At this point, she’d be willing to close her eyes and point at a gown and take it if it meant getting out of this hell.
“I did, but I still had hopes I’d luck out and find something fast,” Melanie reasoned as she looked in the mirror and frowned.
Nope. Not her gown.
“I think it’s…” Danielle began but Melanie instantly cut her off.
“This isn’t it.”
“It’s not so bad,” Danielle reasoned. “I mean, it has some redeeming qualities.”
“Like what?” Melanie asked, almost cringing at the amount of lace that was practically choking her.
“It’s white.”
Melanie couldn’t help but laugh. “Good one.”
Before she knew it, she was back in the dressing room and stepping out of dress number ten. Hannah, her sales clerk, promised to be right back and with nothing to do other than stand in her underwear, Melanie wondered if she should just give up and get a regular dress—something a little less bridal and a lot more…ready to wear.
That thought lasted a nanosecond because no matter how much she tried to pull off the I’m-not-a-girly-girl thing, she secretly kind of was. And the idea of not wearing a big white gown on her wedding day just wasn’t going to work.
“Okay, Miss Harper,” Hannah said as she breezed back in. “This one wasn’t part of your original choices, but your future sister-in-law just found it and asked me to show it to you.”
Melanie was about to decline when she heard Danielle on the other side of the door.
“Just try it!” she called out. “I’m telling you, it’s the one! Trust me! Have I steered you wrong yet?”
It was on the tip of her tongue to remind her how she hadn’t really steered her anywhere but kept it to herself. Glancing at the gown, Melanie wasn’t sure she was on board. For starters, it was strapless.
“This is more of a summer gown, isn’t it?” she quietly asked Hannah.
But not quietly enough. “They have beautiful wraps out here, Mel!” Danielle called out. “And everywhere you go will be heated!”
“Wasn’t asking you!” she called back but couldn’t hide her amusement with the situation.
“Don’t be such an angry elf! Just try it on!”
With a shrug, she looked at Hannah and said, “I guess I’m trying it on.”
It took all of two minutes when she knew.
This was her gown.
With a soft gasp, Melanie studied her reflection and looked over at Hannah who nodded approvingly.
“I heard that!” Danielle yelled. “I heard you gasp! I was right, wasn’t I? It’s the one!”
“Let her in,” Melanie murmured, unwilling to take her eyes off of the mirror. She turned and studied the gown from every angle. It had a satin bodice, chapel train, and lavish organza ball gown skirt with beautiful beaded and embroidered details.
“It looks even better than I imagined,” Danielle said with a hint of awe as she walked around Melanie. “I’m telling you, with your hair up and one of those winter wraps, you’re going to look stunning.”
In that moment, Melanie believed her.
“You aren’t going to need a lot of alterations,” Hannah said. “Other than the length, the bodice fits you perfectly.”
“Can you grab a couple of wraps for her to try on?” Danielle asked and once Hannah left the room, she gave Melanie a knowing smile. “See, ye of little faith? We found it! Well…technically, I found it. Just promise to name your firstborn after me and we’ll call it even.”
Laughing, Melanie said, “One thing at a time, Dani, please. Let me get through this wedding and then we can talk about babies, okay?”
Danielle let out a happy little squeal and danced in place. “This is just so exciting!! My brother’s getting married at Christmas! It’s like the greatest thing ever!”
“So weird,” Melanie mumbled.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Being an angry elf,” Danielle deadpanned. “So stop it. You’re not allowed to pout when you’re in a wedding gown.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s a rule…”
“You know…you better not pout, you better not cry, you better not…”
“That’s a Christmas song,” Melanie said wearily. “And it has nothing to do with weddings.”
“Rules still apply.” With a smug look of satisfaction, she took a step back as Hannah came back with several options for wintery wraps. “And when we’re done here, we are going to go and have a glass of wine to celebrate!”
“As long as it comes with room service so I can be in my yoga pants, a t-shirt, and no bra, I’m in!”
****
Josiah was in his own kind of hell that had nothing to do with wedding planning.
He was at his third doctor appointment since the shooting and his doctor refused to sign off on letting him go back to work. It didn’t matter how much he explained how he was strictly going to be doing desk work and wouldn’t be doing any kind of patrolling or active duty. As he sat on the exam table, he did his best not to let his frustration show.
“Doc, I’m hardly wearing the sling and you said yourself how my arm is healing nicely. We’re in full holiday swing here in town and my guys need me. They’re all working overtime to coordinate the parade and all the festivities. I don’t see what the harm is in sitting at my desk.”
To his credit, Dr. Bailey—his longtime physician—barely reacted to his speech. “Josiah, I’m doing this for your own good. Melanie would kill me if I let you go back to work and something happened before your wedding.”
“Melanie knows how much I want to go back to work.” He sighed. “The wedding is two weeks away. And we all know the most activity we have around here is directing traffic. I promise not to leave my desk.”
But Dr. Bailey wasn’t listening; he was making notes in Josiah’s chart. “I’m sorry, Josiah, but I think it’s best if you wait until after you come back from your honeymoon and simply start fresh in the new year.” He closed the chart and smiled. “Personally, I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset the bride—especially since she’s been stressed out enough with this last-minute wedding.”
For a moment, Josiah studied him. It wasn’t that he was saying anything odd but…it kind of was. For starters, while it was pretty much public knowledge around town that he and Melanie were getting married, Dr. Bailey had never taken such an interest in his personal life before. And while he had met Melanie several times, he seemed to be awfully concerned with her feelings right now.
Something was off here but for the life of him, Josiah couldn’t put his finger on what it was.
“I really wish you’d reconsider,” he said finally, as he stood and put his shirt back on.
With a patient smile, Dr. Bailey collected his things and made his way to the exam room door. “Trust me on this one, Josiah. It will be better for everyone for you to rest a bit longer.”
Once Josiah was alone in the room, he wanted to howl with frustration. How could his being miserable be better for everyone? His town needed him! His deputies needed him! But more than that, he needed to get back to business as usual before he lost his damn mind! This was too much down time and it would be one thing if he were seriously injured, but he wasn’t. There was some tightness as the wounds healed but that was normal. He had almost complete range of motion and he felt fine. Why was Dr. Bailey being so damn cautious?
The whole way home he grumbled and his mind raced with how he was going to get around the restrictions and get back to work. Distractedly, he waved to the people he passed and by the time he turned off the main road and his house came into view, he felt mildly better. He knew he could walk through the door and commiserate with Melanie and she’d make him feel better. She always did.
John’s car was in the driveway but that wasn’t anything new. He had been amazing with all of his help with the wedding plans and keeping Melanie from freaking out too much. As he pulled up and then climbed from his truck, he racked his brain on why John might be here today. Were they supposed to go over anything specific for the wedding that he’d forgotten about?
“Hey!” Melanie said as she walked over to kiss him. “How’d the appointment go?”
Closing the door behind him, Josiah frowned.
“That good, huh?” she asked, stepping aside and then following him into the living room where he greeted John.
Taking a seat on the sofa, he rested his head against the cushions and sighed. “I still can’t go back to work.”
John sat down beside him and frowned. “Why not? You said you were feeling better and everything was looking good.”
“That’s what I thought,” Josiah said wearily. “But all Dr. Bailey would talk about is how I should wait until after the new year and not add any more stress to all the wedding plans.” He looked directly at Melanie. “Apparently he thinks my going back to work will freak you out.”
And then he noticed the nervous look between Melanie and her dad.
Slowly, he straightened. “Why would he think that?” First he looked at Melanie and then John. And that’s when it hit him—John was good friends with Dr. Bailey. They played poker together on Friday nights. Dammit!
“Josiah, there’s no harm in taking it easy for a little longer,” Melanie began cautiously. “We have so much to do and I don’t think we could have accomplished so much if you weren’t here to help me.”
“Did you ask Dr. Bailey to stall my return to work?” he asked her, point blank.
“Josiah…”
“Did you?” he demanded, coming to his feet.
“It wasn’t like that,” she said defensively and was about to say more, but John jumped up and came to her defense.
“This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Josiah,” John began. “Think about it. When you return to work after the new year, you can be completely focused on your job. Right now, there are too many things that are a distraction. Isn’t it better to just wait? What’s a few more weeks?”
As much as he wanted to hear what else Melanie had to say, he turned to John. “There’s no reason for me to be sitting around, John! I have a job to do! One that I take seriously and instead of letting me get back to it like I need to, apparently I have people second-guessing me and going behind my back! And it’s not for my own good, but for theirs!” His voice rose with every word he spoke and both father and daughter winced at his tone.
“Now wait a minute,” John said but Melanie cut him off.
“Dad? I think you should go. Josiah and I need to talk,” she said, her eyes never leaving Josiah’s.
“I don’t think…”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Really. This is between the two of us.”
At first, Josiah didn’t think John would go, but ultimately he did. But he gave Josiah a warning glare as he made his way to the door.
Neither spoke for a solid minute after the door closed, but soon Josiah couldn’t take the silence any longer. “What the hell were you thinking?” he yelled. “You know how much my job means to me! And I have never—not once—ever interfered with your work! How could you do this to me?”
“I’m just looking out for you!” she argued. “I know you’re anxious to go back to work and I’m just not sure you’re being honest with yourself about how good you feel! I think you could very well be telling yourself you’re fine even if you’re not just to get back down to the station!”
“Why would I do that to myself? Believe me, I wouldn’t try to go back to work if I wasn’t ready for it, Mel!”
She let out a huff of frustration. “Yes, you would! You were trying to go back to work three days after you got shot! Shot!” she cried for emphasis.
“Okay, fine. That wasn’t the smartest thing for me to do, but in my defense, I still believe I can sit at my desk just as safely as I can sit here on my own couch!”
Pacing, Melanie looked ready to pull her hair out. “Yes, but here on your own couch you won’t be tempted to run out if there’s a robbery in progress or…or…someone speeds through town or…or…or to chase down a suspected murderer!” Her voice was trembling and when she looked at him, tears were streaming down her face and that’s when he realized what this was all about.
She was scared.
And as much as he wanted to be angry—wanted to argue his case—he couldn’t.
He whispered her name as he walked over and wrapped her in his arms. Weeping openly, Melanie shook her head against his chest.
“I was so scared,” she sobbed. “Never in my life have I ever been so scared. Please don’t make me go through that again. Please.”
All he could do was hold her close and wonder how they were supposed to move on from this.