Love After All

by Jaci Burton

  Not that he was going to be here tonight, but he had made sure the gates were secure, and several of the hands were on tap to provide security for Des.

  They wouldn't need it. With Des's master plan in the works, Chelsea hadn't seen a sign of photographers on her way out to the ranch.

  Martha had prepared all kinds of fun food, and Chelsea had arrived early to make several signature drinks, including Bellinis. Emma and Jane were in charge of costuming. Samantha and Molly were bringing decorations, and Megan was bringing awesome confections, courtesy of her bakery.

  This was going to be a fun party.

  "Martha," Chelsea said, pulling her attention away from her drink concoctions to note that Martha had quite the array of food piled up. "Have you been spending your free hours watching the Food Network again?"

  Martha beamed a wide grin. "Let's just say I wasn't going to serve fried chicken for Desiree's bachelorette party. We're doing it Hollywood-style tonight."

  Chelsea knew Des loved Martha--and her cooking. She wouldn't have cared if fried chicken had been on the menu for tonight.

  But from the looks of things, Martha really had been spending some time broadening her culinary horizons.

  "Is that caviar?" Chelsea asked.

  "It is. I had to drive all the way into that fancy store in Tulsa to find it, too. Which was fine, since I had to pick up crab and lobster there."

  "I can't wait to see what you're going to do with the seafood."

  "Something magical, no doubt," Des said as she came into the room. She pressed a kiss to Martha's cheek, then hugged Chelsea. "Everything she cooks is magic."

  "Don't I know it. Martha, you should give cooking lessons to the rest of us poor mortals who can only dream of whipping up those delicious meals you fix."

  "Oh, that's nonsense, Chelsea," Martha said, opening up the oven, which emitted aromas that made Chelsea's senses go haywire with food lust. "You're a good cook as well."

  Chelsea laughed. "Oh, sure, if you like brownies. Out of the box."

  Des snickered. "Some of my favorite desserts come from a box."

  "I think you two are too hard on yourselves. I know for a fact you've brought amazing pies to potluck dinners before, Chelsea."

  Chelsea shrugged. "Maybe. When I've taken the time and effort to work at it."

  "That's all cooking is about, is taking the time. And doing it with love."

  Des put her arm around Martha. "Aww. Thank you. Considering the amazing smells in here, I feel very loved right now."

  The front door opened, and Emma, Jane, Megan, and Samantha spilled in, all carrying bags and boxes. Chelsea and Des rushed to help them, and suddenly it was pandemonium, everyone trying to talk at once.

  Fortunately, Martha was organized and commanded attention, and she knew how to direct the troops. She sent everyone who didn't have food into the living room to set up--and sent Des and Chelsea with them, with meant Martha and Megan stayed in the kitchen for food prep.

  "Wait 'til you see what we got," Samantha said, pulling feather boas and tiaras out of a bag, along with a fancy white sash that had the word Bride emblazoned on it.

  Chelsea braced herself for Des to say those were the corniest things she'd ever seen. Instead, Des squealed with delight. "This. Is. Awesome. It's what I've always wanted for my bachelorette party."

  Des held still while they put the sash and tiara on her, then twirled around. In her hot pink dress and high heels, she was one hell of a sight.

  "I need a picture of this." Chelsea fished her phone out of her purse, then snapped a couple of quick shots.

  "Oh, take some with my phone, too," Des said, handing her phone to Chelsea. "I'm going to text them to Logan."

  "Shouldn't you wait until you're mostly drunk to do that?" Jane asked.

  "I promised him I'd send him photos all night long. That way he can watch the progression of the debauchery."

  Emma grinned. "Sweet."

  "I also told him I intend to get totally trashed tonight. One of you will have to hold my hair when I throw up."

  "I volunteer Emma for that duty." Chelsea cast a sweet smile Emma's way.

  Emma blinked. "Me? Why me?"

  "You're a vet. You deal with blood and guts all day long. What's a little vomit?"

  "I think Colt should totally be here with us. He is, after all, the man of honor and your best friend, Des."

  Des nodded at Samantha. "This is true. And he would have loved to come, but he's stuck filming. He's flying in on Wednesday."

  "When is your sister coming in?" Jane asked.

  "She'll be here on Friday, along with my mom, my dad, and my brother. She's working on a research project. Of course she's always doing that, being a biologist. I'm just happy she's going to be in the wedding."

  Emma squeezed her hand. "I'm so happy your family is going to be here."

  Des grinned. "Me, too."

  "Tony's coming with Colt, too, isn't he?" Samantha asked.

  "He told me he wouldn't miss it," Des said. "Now that the two of them have outed their relationship, they try to never be apart."

  "Great," Chelsea said. "Now, if you'll all excuse me, I need to go mix some of those drinks so we can get our bride-to-be drunk."

  She heard Des giggle as she left the room. The one thing Chelsea loved about Des was that even though she was a highly sought-after and successful actress, she defied the image of Hollywood. When she was here on the ranch and around Hope, she was simply one of them. She liked hanging out with them and shopping with them, and she hated having photographers following her around. She preferred her life to be as normal as possible, which is why she loved the ranch so much. It gave her the privacy she craved.

  Plus, she loved Logan, she loved his family, and she especially loved Martha. They'd all grown close to Des in a hurry. She'd become best friends with all of them. To Chelsea's way of thinking, that made her part of Hope, even if she hadn't grown up here.

  She fixed drinks and put them on a tray.

  "You two," she said, casting a stern look at Martha and Megan. "Out of the kitchen and into the living room for cocktails and frivolity right now."

  Martha balked, but Megan gave her a gentle shove, and Martha capitulated.

  Samantha had brought flowers from her shop, and the room smelled so good. Des looked beautiful, which was no surprise at all, and Emma had decked them all out in boas and tiaras. Molly had put up an adorable sign she'd made with Des and Logan's name and the date of their wedding. Jane had turned on music, and Chelsea started handing out cocktails. She also laid out shot glasses and liquor and started mixing up a few enhanced shots.

  They all sat around eating and talking, mostly about the wedding, but it was easy conversation, drifting in and out of several topics. Emma's sister Molly was still working at her boyfriend Carter's auto repair shop, revitalizing his systems and developing sales plans.

  "How's that working for you?" she asked Molly.

  "Shockingly well, actually."

  "There's no friction with the two of you spending so much time together?"

  "We don't spend as much time together at work as you might think. With the new computer system in place, Carter has more free time to spend at the different shop locations instead of having to be at one shop for an entire day. Now he's more mobile, which means I don't see him as much since I concentrate most of my time at the main shop in Hope. And if I need something, I can call or text him."

  "And soon enough you'll be planning your own wedding," Megan said.

  Molly smiled. "This is true. My mother is beside herself with the plans. You all know how she loves the planning. And now that she's completely healed from her injury and back on her feet--"

  "More like running back on her feet," Emma added.

  Molly laughed. "This is true. She's all over the wedding planning. It's like I don't have to do a thing."

  "Which reminds me," Emma said, whipping out her phone. "We're scheduled to meet at Samantha's a week from Wednesday to
look at flowers?"

  "Yes. I can't believe we're only six months away from my wedding. I can't believe we're doing this so soon."

  Emma squeezed Molly's hand. "You two were apart a long time. Why wait any longer?"

  Molly gave her sister a loving smile. "That's what Carter said. He proposed so fast it made my head spin."

  "And put quite the rock on your finger as well," Chelsea added.

  Molly wriggled the fingers of her left hand. "Yes. Totally unnecessary, but who was I to object?"

  "What woman in her right mind would?" Since she was a kid, all Chelsea had ever dreamed about was finding a man and getting married. She was an independent woman with a great career--one that satisfied her. But she wanted love.

  Maybe it was because she'd had so little of it when she was younger.

  Not that she expected a man to be the be-all and end-all of her happily ever after. She created her own satisfaction in life. That's why she'd become a teacher. She loved her kids, even when they were a pain. All it took was one bright mind who reached for the stars, one kid who saw beyond math as something that had to be done, as a class they were required to pass, to the possibilities of a bright future such as engineering or medicine, and she counted it as a success. She'd seen it countless times in the ten years she'd been teaching.

  She had a multitude of friends who'd been her lifeline on so many occasions. They'd been there for her, and she'd been there for them. Her life had been full and blessed.

  There was her happiness. Or at least it had been.

  But now she wanted something more. She'd wanted something more for a few years now--a home and a family of her own. But she wouldn't settle for less than the perfect man.

  Her mother had settled for less, and it had left her dissatisfied and bitter. After her father had left them when Chelsea was twelve, her mother had turned that bitterness on Chelsea.

  She'd had a long childhood of lectures about how horrible her father was, how men couldn't be counted on, and how it was best to be independent. The ironic thing was, her mother hadn't been there for her any more than her father had.

  Chelsea had relied on herself, on her own decision making, refusing to let her mother's bitterness shape her future. She'd vowed to never do that to her own children. Chelsea intended to only do the marriage thing one time, which was why she was so choosy about men.

  No losers for her. She'd lived with one for twelve years, and had lived with the repercussions of one for many years after that.

  She had no intentions of turning into her mother. She had watched and learned those lessons well.

  She'd know when the right one came along.

  Megan sat down next to her. "Hey. This is a party, you know. You're supposed to be smiling, laughing, eating, and drinking, not staring off into a corner."

  Chelsea shook off thoughts of the past and raised her glass. "I am drinking. And I'm stuffed from the crab and lobster Martha fed us."

  "It was fantastic, wasn't it? But you're looking awfully quiet and reflective over here." Megan put one of her infamous cupcakes in front of her. This one was chocolate, with pink and white frosting piled ridiculously high. "How about something sweet to perk you up?"

  Chelsea slid a suspicious look toward Megan. "Your 'something sweet' will make my butt huge."

  Megan laughed. "Oh, come on. We'll dance off all those calories tonight."

  She stared down at the cupcake, then shrugged, peeled down the wrapper, and took a bite. Why not? They were celebrating, after all. The sweetness exploded in her mouth. "Oh, God, Megan. This is so good."

  Megan wriggled in her chair. "I know, right? I've already had two. The first I had to taste to make sure they were okay."

  Chelsea swallowed, then washed the cupcake down with champagne. "Honey, everything you bake is more than okay. It's delicious."

  "See? Now you're smiling. There's nothing in this world a good cupcake can't fix."

  Chelsea laughed. "I don't know about that, but it definitely doesn't hurt."

  "Okay, now that you're feeling better, tell me what you were thinking about."

  "My childhood. My parents. Men. Families. Weddings. My future."

  Megan leaned back and picked up her glass. "Oh, so light topics."

  "Yes."

  "Want to get into specifics?"

  She didn't, really, but it was probably time she started talking to someone about where her mind was at.

  Someone besides Bash, anyway.

  "I've made a list."

  "Really. What kind of list?"

  "You'll think it's stupid."

  "I doubt it. Tell me."

  "It's a perfect man list."

  Megan frowned. "A what?"

  "Here. Let me show you." She laid her drink down on the table, then went into the other room to grab her purse. She fished her notebook out of the bag, but was stopped along the way by Des, who had come in from outside.

  "Halt. You are not drinking."

  Chelsea laughed and hugged her. "I laid my drink down in the living room. I just went to get my notebook."

  "Oh?"

  "Yes. You might as well come along." Emma and Jane were behind her. "All of you might as well come."

  Samantha tailed along, too, as well as Molly. They grabbed Martha, who had snuck into the kitchen in an attempt to do dishes. They all settled into the living room with their drinks.

  "So what's in the notebook?" Emma asked. "Secret love notes from some guy you're dating that you haven't told us all about yet?"

  "Uh, no. It's a list I was just about to tell Megan about."

  "Ooh, a list," Jane said. "I love lists."

  "Of course you do. That's because you're a math teacher like me. And you're orderly."

  Jane looked at all of them. "Chelsea thinks I'm orderly."

  Emma rolled her eyes. "The list, Chelsea."

  "It's my perfect man list."

  "The one you mentioned a couple of weeks ago?" Emma asked.

  "Yes."

  "Does it have names on it?" Samantha asked. "And if it does, will you share them with me?"

  Chelsea laughed. "No. It's not a list of names. It's a list of qualities I want in my perfect man."

  "Oh. Sounds fun. Let's see it," Megan said, taking the notebook from her. She read the list out loud.

  "It's an interesting list," Martha said.

  "I don't see you with a suit and tie kind of guy," Emma said, regarding her thoughtfully. "I mean, yes, you dress well, and I highly covet the sexy shoes you wear, especially since I'm a veterinarian, so I'm stuck in tennis shoes all day. But I don't know, Chelse."

  "Never married? That kind of limits you as well. Lots of great guys have been divorced, honey," Jane said.

  Chelsea knew Jane was thinking about Luke, her husband's brother, who'd been married before and was now married to Emma.

  "I know that. You have to keep in mind that what might be perfect for all of you might not be the right guy for me. I spent a lot of time thinking about this list, about the kinds of qualities I wanted in a man."

  "What about honesty and honor and integrity?" Megan asked.

  "Yes, I agree with all those attributes. But that's not what this list is about. It's about the types of things I want--and maybe don't want--in my perfect man."

  "You keep saying perfect." Samantha looked her straight on. "I don't think I'm the only one who's going to tell you the perfect man doesn't exist."

  Chelsea nodded. "I know. This is an idea in my head. Just go with it, for me, okay? I've had my share of dates. I know what I want now, and I'm going to find it."

  Megan handed the notebook to her. "That's all you can ask for, then. That's all any of us could ask for, right?"

  She knew these women would understand. "Exactly. Now I just have to figure out how to find him."

  Emma came over and sat next to her, laying her hand on Chelsea's shoulder. "He's out there, Chelsea. He's probably out there right now, looking for you."

  Chelsea wondered
if that were true. She could almost picture him in her head, a hazy figure shrouded in darkness.

  She felt like he was close, that she was close to meeting him, to having her happily ever after.

  But tonight wasn't about her happily ever after. It was about Des.

  "I think everyone needs a refill on their drinks." She stood and led them all into the kitchen.

  "Now we're talking," Des said as Chelsea fixed them another round of cocktails.

  Fortunately, there was amazing food to go with the drinks, because they wanted Des to pace herself. Not that Chelsea felt Des was listening, because within the next few hours Des did a lot more drinking than eating.

  "She's doing it up right," Emma said, leaning against Chelsea as they all watched Des dance in the middle of the entryway. "There's nothing like living it up and saying goodbye to your single days."

  "That girl hasn't been single since the day she laid eyes on Logan," Chelsea said. "This whole 'last week of being single' thing is a state of mind."

  Jane laughed. "Okay, you might be right there. But she's enjoying the heck out of her state of mind tonight."

  Des came over and grasped Chelsea's hands. "Come on. You have to dance with me."

  "Sure, honey."

  At least they weren't in a bar or a nightclub, though everyone was taking a lot of pictures to send to Logan. Either way, Chelsea intended for Des to have a very good time, so she got out in the middle of the floor and danced her ass off with Des.

  "To Logan--and his dumbass decision to get married, despite all my warnings."

  Logan grinned and downed his shot. "Thanks, Bash."

  They all downed shots, then several of the guys headed over to the pool tables. Logan hung out at the bar with Bash.

  It was good to take a night off, especially on a weekend. And maybe it was costing him money, closing on a Saturday night, but this was for his best friend, and all the guys pitched in to cover the cost of the booze.

  Anything for Logan, who'd come to his rescue more than once.

  They'd had food and plenty of drinks, and despite their best efforts, Logan didn't yet appear to be drunk.

  Logan's phone buzzed--again.

  "Another picture of your woman?"

  "Yeah." Logan picked up his phone and looked at the picture, his lips ticking up.

  "What?"

  "Check this one out." He handed the phone to Bash.