by Megan Ryder
Well, damn. This man just kept surprising her, making her heart melt more every day.
"With words like that, how could I say no?" She threw her arms around him and kissed him, the moment turning passionate.
"Knock, knock! Is it safe yet?" A male voice called from the back door.
Hailey and Chase broke apart to see West, Tara and Ty come in, tentative grins on their faces.
"Do you like it?" West asked.
Tara was already exploring the space as if she hadn't seen it before, tweaking the lights a bit.
"I love it," Hailey said. She hugged both men. "Thank you for helping. Tara, time to cowgirl up. This was your idea so start designing."
"With pleasure. I have so many ideas and we only have a couple of weeks!"
Hailey rolled her eyes and leaned back into Chase's arms. They'd figure it out. She didn't care. She was marrying the man of her dreams. Finally.
A few days later, Chase and his brothers had finished hauling out all of the old equipment and were staring at the pile of junk behind the barn. Tractors, carts, mowers, spreaders and other really old stuff that Chase didn't even know the name of. It was a larger pile than expected, and most of it was unusable.
"Douglas really saved everything, didn't he?" Chase said.
"You should have seen the attic and the stuff Tara had to go through. But no, I think most of this stuff is from her grandparents, or even older," West replied. "Though I think Douglas dumped his stuff over here because I wouldn't let him do it on the ranch. God, there's so much."
"What do we do with it all?" Ty asked.
A.J. came barreling around the corner, headed straight for the pile of junk, of course. "Cool! Look at all this stuff!"
When he made as if to climb it like the jungle gym at school, Chase grabbed him around the waist and pulled him back. "Nope, not on this stuff, buddy. Sharp, rusty, and dangerous. Stay off it."
A.J. pouted for a second then shrugged. "Okay. Can I help you clean? Mom says I'm real good at it."
Chase ruffled his hair. "Sure, buddy. We have plenty of work to do and not a lot of time." He looked at West. "We could haul it to the junkyard, but did Gene say something about doing art with old farm equipment? Maybe he’d want this stuff."
"Anything to get rid of this crap," West muttered. "Let's get back to work. Hopefully he can pick it up before it snows. Can you smell that? More snow coming."
A.J. took a deep sniff. "I don't smell nothing."
Chase grinned and pushed the kid inside. "Anything. And we'll have snow by morning. Not a lot though. If you want to head out and make sure the herd is taken care of, A.J. and I have this."
West and Ty nodded and headed out to feed the herd early. Chase handed A.J. a broom and he started on the main floor. It was weird but Hailey had been right. The kid truly did like to clean, and he was pretty decent at it too, careful and almost precise in his attention to detail. Of course, with his small broom and short strokes, Chase was done with the larger area before A.J. was, a large pile of dirt and straw in the center of the room. A.J. started poking in corners and wandering around the space.
"You and my mom are getting married here, huh?"
Chase nodded, while sweeping the dirt into a pan. "Yup. We'll put tables in this space, and everyone will sit around them and watch."
"Where will I be?"
His voice sounded small and tentative, almost lost, as if he expected Chase to say he wasn't going to be there. Chase sat back on heels and looked over at the young boy who was kicking a corner of a former tack room and biting his lower lip. Oh damn. In all the excitement, he had forgotten about the one person who was as affected as the rest of them. A.J.'s life was changing just as much, and he had to be feeling a bit left out.
Chase sat on one of the hay bales they had left in the barn as a decorative piece and patted the place next to him. "Come here, buddy."
A.J. dragged his feet but walked over and climbed on the hay, his feet kicking the bale once he was settled.
"You know that you're an important part of this day, right? We'd never have this wedding without you. This is the day we'll become a family, the three of us. You, your mom, and I."
"I wasn't sure you'd want me there." A.J. said, his voice sounding small and sad.
Chase pulled him close. "Of course we want you there. Why wouldn't we?"
A.J. sighed, such an adult sound from such a little body. "Doug at school told me his new daddy doesn't like him and doesn't want him around. And they have a new baby on the way too. If you have a new baby, will you still want me?" His face turned up, eyes big and shining with tears.
Aw, shit. Chase wanted to find whoever this Doug's new daddy was and beat the crap out of him. To treat a six-year-old like that, or any kid, was unconscionable. Chase remembered all the years when he was made to feel like he didn't belong, didn't matter, didn't count. He vowed to make sure that this boy always had a place with them, always knew he could spend time with them.
"Well, Doug's new dad is wrong. We'll always want you because you're my son, too. A part of my family." He hugged him close, enjoying the feel of the small body against his own.
A.J. rested his head against Chase's chest, and he made a silent vow to his friend and A.J.'s father, Adam, in that moment. He'd take care of Hailey and A.J. as his friend would want, would cherish and love them and take care of them as best as he could forever. Adam would want that, would want them to be happy.
"Chase?" A.J. asked quietly, his voice muffled by Chase's jacket. "Will you be my daddy?"
Chase froze, his hand that had been stroking A.J.'s side stopped. He swallowed, hard, not sure what he was hearing. "Sure, buddy. Always."
A.J. pulled away, uncertainty reflected in his eyes. "Can I call you daddy?"
Chase blinked rapidly at the tears that blurred his vision. He pulled the boy onto his lap, hugging him close. "I'd love that, son."
A.J. wrapped his arms around Chase's neck and squeezed hard. After several moments, he let go and wiggled off Chase's lap. "What’s next?"
Chapter 3
Hailey sighed as she stared at herself in the full-length, three-way mirror, feeling somewhat like the Michelin man with the yards of white tulle and lace that billowed around her. This wasn’t exactly how she had pictured her wedding, though the bright lights of Vegas, casinos, and showgirls hadn’t exactly been her thing either. It had just been the easiest thing to do. Granted, it was somewhat unimaginative, but it was different for her. She’d never been outside of Montana and the strip sounded exciting, though the thought of getting married away from their family and friends had been vaguely disquieting. But now that she was having the wedding at the ranch, she wasn’t sure she was up for that either.
“It’s beautiful, Hailey. You look like a princess,” her mother said quietly from her seat on the side, happiness radiating from every word.
She’d included her mother in the bridal gown shopping as a peace offering. They’d had a struggle coming to terms with the past several years, since her parents hadn’t been the most supportive of her first marriage to Adam and hadn’t been there for her while she was a single parent raising A.J. alone in Billings. Granted, she could have come home and had their assistance but that always came with strings or, more likely, strong, thick rope, and she was too independent to give in. But when her mother had gotten sick earlier that year, she realized it was time to mend the fences if she wanted A.J. to know his grandparents. In the process, she’d found her way back to her first love, Chase Summers, who was recovering from a bull riding accident. Her parents had also put their own differences aside, after Hailey had set them straight, and were really trying to be supportive.
But this dress was not the place to start. It was more her mother’s style than Hailey’s. And judging by the looks in her bridesmaids’ eyes, they knew it too but, for once, were waiting for Hailey to make the decision. Leeza, of Leeza’s Bridal Shoppe, the only fancy dress shop in the county, hung back, pretending to go throu
gh her inventory but close enough so she could eavesdrop and pop over when they need her.
“I don’t know. It’s just not me. I mean, white? For a second wedding? And all of this lace? No, I want something more understated and simple. Why can’t I just wear what we planned to wear in Vegas?”
Tara stood behind her and arched her brow. “And what exactly had you planned to wear? Some regular dress you already had in your closet? This is your wedding, Hailey. You have to have something special.”
“Besides, your bridesmaids will outshine you if you don’t have a wedding dress,” Emma pointed out from her seat where she was sipping cheap champagne that Leeza provided, to try and appear like the big shops she’d seen on television.
Hailey sighed again, the noose cinching around her neatly. “Fine. But no flounces. And no white.”
The women turned to Leeza who had the look of a deer in the headlights. She nodded quickly and began scurrying around the store, looking for a new option. Meanwhile, Emma and Tara helped Hailey out of the current confection, seeking the zipper amidst the lace and tulle. Finally, they freed her and she collapsed in the chair, wrapped in a robe, to sip her own glass of champagne and wait for options.
While she waited, Tara and Emma tried on a couple of bridesmaid’s dresses. They had opted for a beautiful burgundy to keep with the holiday theme. The chiffon dresses were an A-line shape with an applique top and lace overlay on the top, with a ribbon cinched waist. Simple and elegant. Exactly what Hailey wanted for her wedding, yet still attractive and flattering for her bridesmaids.
Leeza, a mid-forties woman who owned the shop just like her mother before her, seemed to have an eye for dresses and came to the dressing area with one dress. “Let’s try this one.”
She handed Hailey a beautiful white satin dress that appeared to be plain and fitted but had decorative embroidery throughout the bodice. It was so fancy and yet appeared simple. Way beyond anything Hailey had ever thought to have for her wedding.
The women gathered around, sighing. “You have to try this one. It’s so elegant.”
Hailey slipped the dress on the checked out the dress in the three-way mirror. The sleek lines of the dress were so svelte and clean, so beautiful. She felt like one of those women in the magazines, and it suddenly hit her. She was getting married in a little over a week. She stepped out of the dressing room and twirled for the women waiting.
“It’s beautiful. So refined and stylish,” Tara said, and Emma just sighed.
Hailey’s mother, on the other hand, pursed her lips and gave a slight roll of her eyes and looked away. Hailey gave an internal sigh. Why couldn’t anything ever be easy with her mother?
“What is it, mom? Just say it, okay?”
“It’s very nice, I suppose, just not really you, is it? It seems out of place at a ranch, don’t you think? But it’s your wedding. You can do what you want.”
Hailey stopped herself from the eye roll. She didn’t need to sprain her eyes before her own wedding. Leave it to her mom to wrap a compliment and an insult all in one, while trying to sound like she’s being helpful. As only a mother could do. God strike her down if she ever does that to A.J. or any other children her and Chase had.
“Mom, just say what you mean. Do you like it or not?”
Her mother sipped her tea, the only one of them to refuse the glass of wine Leeza offered. “It’s not my wedding. You do what you think is best.”
She glared at the top of her mother’s perfectly coiffed hair that was better suited in the 1950’s and stomped back into the dressing room, almost ripping off the dress. She knew she shouldn’t have brought that woman. Why did she ever think this could help heal the rift between them?
Leeza knocked gently at the door. “I have another option that might work. Here you go.”
Well, it certainly couldn’t hurt. Hailey took the dress from the woman and stepped into it and sighed. Hailey’s heart flipped in her chest. This was the dress. It was fitted to her shape, a pale pink blush, overlaid with a white sheer lace that flowed down to the floor and into a small train behind her. The chiffon dress was a blush color, a faint pink that would go beautifully with her bridesmaid’s burgundy. But it was overlaid with a gorgeous sheer white lace. The dress itself had a soft fit and flared as it fell to the floor. And she loved it.
She stepped out of the dressing room, a big smile on her face. “It’s perfect.”
Her mother stood up, blinking rapidly. “Oh Hailey. You’re beautiful.”
Hailey stared at the mirror, and nodded, suddenly very glad she wasn’t getting married in Vegas. “You’re brilliant, Leeza. Can we get the alterations done in time?”
Leeza bustled over with her pin cushion and made a few adjustments. “There are only a few tweaks needed. It’s like the dress was made for you. And the bridesmaid’s dresses are also pretty close. So, all three should take me a week. Now, about mom.”
All four ladies turned to Hailey’s mom who blushed. “I’m sure I have something in my closet.”
Hailey hugged her mom. “If I have to have a new dress, you do too. Mom, we’re doing it right this time. No quickie backyard wedding. You need a proper dress and dad needs a tux. And he will walk me down the aisle.”
Her eyes widened, shining with tears. “You want your dad to do that? He wasn’t sure you would, after everything.”
Hailey’s heart melted a little more. “Of course I do. In fact, I’ll stop by the bank after this and ask him personally. It’s important that you’re both a part of this.”
Her mother hugged her, and Hailey knew they had finally healed some of the cracks in their family. Now to talk to her father.
Hailey headed straight from the bridal shop to the bank, not wanting to let her mom give her dad a head's up before she could get there. Fortunately, she caught him in a lull, though in a small town, he could always take time for her. In the past, however, he always had been too busy for her, for his family, for anything but work. In the past year or so, he'd started to slow down, to readjust his priorities and make time for his family, especially his grandson.
She sat in the leather seat across from her father's imposing desk in the bank manager's office. He quirked his eyebrow at her, his usual imperious look, but it failed. Hailey no longer allowed herself to be intimidated by him and they often met as equals, though he still tried to impose his wishes occasionally. Instead of getting mad, she crossed her legs and waited.
He snorted and gave up, leaning back in his chair and studying her. "So, your mother tells me you're getting married in a barn. I suppose it's better than Vegas, but a barn?"
She arched her brow. "Don't judge until you see it."
"It couldn't be the one I invested in, could it? That's not done yet, is it?"
"Only the exterior. Since the wedding is so small, we're using another barn from the guest ranch. If it goes well, maybe we can advertise it as a venue site."
Her father frowned. "I still think it's undignified. Couldn’t you have it at the VFW? Or maybe the Cattleman’s Club? Anywhere but a barn. It’s unseemly."
God, today must be the day for her parents to try her patience, though they had been doing that her whole life it seemed, and she was done. She rose from her chair and gathered her purse. "Unseemly? I hadn’t realized we were back in the eighteen hundreds. Barn weddings and rustic settings are really popular right now. But, if you feel that way, I guess you don't want to walk me down the aisle."
Her father jumped from his seat and raced around the desk. She'd never seen him move that fast before. She smothered a smile and waited for his response. He stood in front of her, uncertainty and something else in his eyes. Maybe it was hope.
"You really want me to walk you down the aisle? Are you sure?"
She put her hands on his shoulders, smiling up at him. "Of course I do. You're my father and, while we've had our differences, I want you there."
He pulled her close and hugged her, holding her like he hadn't done since she was a litt
le girl. She felt the final crack in the wall between them fall and their breech finally mended. This wedding was doing far more than just bring her and Chase and A.J. into a family. It was creating a whole new, larger family, united in love. She sighed and laid her head on her father's shoulder.
They were a family again.
Chapter 4
Chase would have loved to hand his honey-do list to whoever created that damned Pin site. Between Tara and Hailey, the guys had spent the entire Friday checking off wedding stuff, working their tails off. They used to think West’s ranch list was long. Ha. He had nothing on these women. Not that anyone dared complain, especially when Tara had her clipboard and sketch pad. Ty was sanding down the floors, not too much as Tara directed to ensure the rustic look yet clean them up a little. He’d add varnish to the wood to protect it and prepare it for dancing, provided the floors dried anytime soon with the humidity from the snow that had already fallen and was threatening again. Chase and West were making sure no critters had remained behind or left any presents. Once the barn was completely cleaned, they could start to bring in the decorations, including the fresh hay bales, wood barrels, tables and chairs.
Someone stomped their feet outside the big barn door then slid the doors open. "It's freezin' balls out there. We'll be getting snow soon."
Gene Woodruff, the town's genius with wood art and junk collector, clomped into the barn, tracking snow and mud. "Hey! I just cleaned that floor!"
Gene snorted. "Like you won't be tracking that and more during the wedding. Where's the crap?"
Chase gave him a sour look. "You act like you're doing us a favor. I know how much money you ask for each of your sculptures."
