by Donna Alward
“Then Ace should try.”
Carly barked out a laugh so loud they all turned to look at her. She pressed her lips together and smoothed her hands over the skirt of the dress. “I’m not a fan of Vicki either, but you’re already short a bridesmaid. Ray wants both his brothers and Slade.”
“Do you want to be a bridesmaid?” Jacy asked. “Jules?”
She glanced up, her mind stuck in the wrong gear. “Hmm?”
“Would you be my bridesmaid?”
“Me?” Her heart squeezed. She’d never been invited to a wedding, let alone been asked to be part of one. But it was so far over the line she couldn’t possibly. “That’s sweet of you, but I’m sure there are plenty of people you know better.”
Carly gave a chuckle. “She prefers animals to people. That’s why she became a veterinarian. If you don’t say yes, she’s liable to have you out here doing a dress fitting on a horse.”
“You know, that’s not a half-bad idea. We’re getting married outside. Maybe the guys ride in on horseback and we—”
“No!” Carly interrupted. “Do you see what I’m dealing with here?”
“What?” Jacy shrugged. “We’re getting married on the back lawn.”
Carly knelt beside her. “Please Jules. Save me from the crazy.”
“You’re asking for a lot of favors today.” She grinned and tried to focus on the dress. She didn’t want to say no, but she couldn’t say yes.
“Goad.” The tiniest voice she’d ever heard all but whispered in her ear. She turned to see the little girl had silently crossed the room, her blanket and bunny in hand. Even she wore jeans and a T-shirt beneath the cowgirl apron. She touched the gold bangles around Jules’s wrist. “Goad.”
Jules nodded, each breath making her chest tighten. Her pale blonde hair looked like dandelion fluff. Jules twisted one bangle and pointed to the jewel sparkling there. “Diamond.”
“Die men.” Her small fingertip barely covered the stone.
“Do you want to play with the bracelets?”
She nodded, her tiny blue eyes brightening.
“What’s the magic word?” Jules slid the bangles from her wrist.
“Peas.”
Jules slid the bangles onto her small arm. “What else?”
“Tank you.” She scampered back to her corner, hiding beneath the blanket once more.
Jules sighed and pasted on her best unaffected expression. No wonder Slade was so intent on finding a wife. The need for a mother was palpable with that child. Maybe she’d only imagined the longing, or she just remembered too deeply how that felt.
“Wow,” Jacy whispered as she stared at the blanket.
Joanna wiped a tear from her eye. “She doesn’t—”
The clatter of boots running on the hardwood floor interrupted the moment. A little boy in overalls raced into the room and slid to stop when he bumped into Joanna.
“Save me, Granny! Daddy’s gonna get me.” His face was completely Slade in miniature, exactly what she imagined his child would look like.
Jules pressed a hand to her stomach and closed her eyes. She should not have come here. His family was too welcoming, his kids too adorable. It was an emotional onslaught she couldn’t handle.
“Whoa, Jacy girl.” Slade said from the other side of the room. “That dress is a little, what’s that Dickens book with the old lady?”
“What are you talking about?” Jacy asked.
Jules opened her eyes and thought about never rising up from behind the dress, seeing if maybe she could hide and not have to make eye contact with Slade.
“You know, the one with Pip.” His dusty boots appeared next to the little boy, Slade’s big hand gripping the back of his overalls and lifting him off his feet. “Has anyone seen Gus? We were pulling weeds in the garden and then he up and disappeared.”
“I’m down here.” The boy flailed his arms and legs. “I’m hungry.”
“This sack of potatoes sure is heavy.” Slade lifted the boy higher until he could look him in the eye. “Gus? What are you doing in here?”
“Daddy!”
“Fill the bucket, then you can come inside. Not before.” He set the boy back on his boots, then turned to watch as he stomped out the door.
He sighed then turned back to his mother with a broad grin. “That Dickens is going to be the death of me. You know which book I’m thinking of?”
“Great Expectations.” Jules said, hoping her voice seemed normal to everyone else. “Miss Havisham. Her fiancé never made it to their wedding and she wasted the rest of her life waiting.”
Slade’s warm brown gaze collided with hers and he rubbed a circle on his broad chest. She wiggled her fingers in an awkward wave, then turned her attention back to the dress. She wished she’d just taken Jacy’s measurements and then high-tailed it back to town. Because sitting here, right in the middle of his life, was just too personal. She kept warning him not to fall for her, but she was the one in danger of doing just that.
Slade cleared his throat. “Hi Jules.”
Jacy started talking before Jules could reply. “You missed it. April just had an entire conversation.”
“She what?” He glanced at the pink blanket, his brow furrowing at the jingle of the bracelets touching.
His mother swiped at her eyes again. “It was amazing. She started talking like she does it all the time.”
He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. “What did she say to you?”
“Not me, Jules. She even started first. I’ve never seen her do that.”
His gaze locked with hers and Jules gripped the coffee table to steady herself. There was something in his stare that rocked her to the core. She didn’t understand what was happening, or why it seemed to matter so much. But whatever it was made her want to run far and fast. But she couldn’t. Like the undertow of the ocean, she was too caught up in it to escape.
Chapter Seven
“She just wanted to play with my bracelets.” Jules glanced at the pink blanket, which had gone still. “I don’t mind at all. Even at her age I loved jewelry.”
Slade rubbed at his chest, his breath catching. “She said bracelets?”
Jules shook her head. “Gold, and diamond. Please and thank you, the normal stuff.”
He shook his head like he needed to clear it of something. “April doesn’t say much.”
“Have you bribed her with jewelry before?” Jules smiled, hoping to lighten the mood. “Because that’s what she was after.”
He opened his mouth to reply, but closed it without speaking. Instead, he strode to the corner with the bookshelves and laid down, sticking his head under the pink blanket with April. Jules barely held in the whimper. She’d never seen anything so adorable in her entire life.
Carly leaned across the table and whispered to Joanna. “Do you think he took her to the therapist?”
The older woman shook her head. “Not that I know of. Jules, have you ever considered being a nanny?”
“Not once,” she replied, forcing her brain to engage instead of a heart that was breaking for a little girl she’d only just met. “I’ve always loved making dresses. I’ve never wanted to do anything else.”
“You’re very talented.” Joanna tucked her red hair behind her ears and smiled. “It’s just that April has never responded to someone like that.”
And she’d never felt such an emotional tug from anyone, let alone a toddler. She swallowed and reached for a new subject. “Jacy, what kind of shoes do you plan on wearing?”
“My boots.” She nodded toward an old pair beside the door.
“Oh hell no.” Carly shook her head. “You’re not wearing anything that smells like barn. Not to your wedding, not in this dress. Or what Jules makes of this dress.”
Jules nodded in agreement. Hiding those boots would require a hemline that didn’t mesh with how she hoped to salvage the gown.
Jacy placed her hands on her hips. “Ray doesn’t care what shoes I wear.
And my boots are comfortable.”
“But I care.” Carly combed her fingers through her dark brown hair. “I know. You can wear my bluebird boots. They helped you get lucky with Ray the first time.”
“Hey, I can hear you,” Slade said from across the room. “And I don’t want to know about any of that.” He ducked back into April’s pink blanket.
Jules forced herself not to think about how sweet he was with his baby, or how great his long body looked all stretched out on the floor. Nope, not going there. She glanced at Carly. “What’s the heel situation?”
“No heels. I’ll break an ankle.” Jacy took a band from her wrist and pulled her hair into a ponytail. “Though the boots would work. I’m borrowing a handkerchief from Ray’s mom that she had at her wedding, and this dress is old, the boots have blue. I just need something new.”
“Your wedding trousseau,” Jules offered.
“What’s that?” Jacy asked so flatly Jules had to look up and make sure she wasn’t joking.
“You know, what goes under the dress. You should put that on before we fit the bodice.”
“You mean my underwear?”
Jules exchanged an incredulous glance with Carly, who burst out laughing.
“You’re not joking.” Jules shook her head. “Okay, you know what? I’ll take your measurements and pick up what you need when I’m in Portland this week. Don’t worry about it. It can be my wedding gift to you. Then we’ll do the next fitting with it on.”
“Like at the wedding?” Jacy’s hazel eyes widened. “Okay, I can tell by your face that’s a no. Clue me in here. The only wedding I’ve ever been to was Slade’s, and all I had to do was show up.”
Jules glanced over at Slade, who stayed beneath the blanket. He’d told her he liked being married and wanted to do it again, wanted more kids. And seeing him here like this, she knew he should have that. A man with his kind of playful patience with his children should have as many as he wanted. She shouldn’t be so selfish as to distract him from that.
Carly’s low chuckle took on a sinister tone. “That reminds me, we need to get you waxed.”
“Oh, no we don’t. I’m going to go my whole damn life without that business.”
“If you’re going to go all out, it should be for something like your wedding day. I know, Jules and I can take a road trip down to you next weekend and do another fitting. We can have a spa day and get your situation taken care of.”
“Jules works weekends,” Slade said from across the room. He’d coaxed April out from under the blanket, and she had the bracelets spread out on top of it.
She caught his gaze and knew he was trying to protect their Friday nights. But after today she wasn’t sure there should be another one. She wanted nothing more than to share his bed, but he was a man with responsibilities and expectations she couldn’t meet.
“I think Cattlemen’s could do without me for a night. After all, they need to get used to it. I only have a few more weeks in town before I head to New York for design school.”
Jacy smiled wide. “It will be like a bachelorette weekend.” She glared at Carly. “But with no naughtiness and no waxing.”
“That’s just a plain weekend,” Carly said with a pout. “We could all go to the city, do a little shopping, a little dancing, and then the next day get you honeymoon ready at a spa.”
“Or,” Jacy said as Jules lifted her arms so she could work on the bodice. “Y’all could come see the ranch. I could take you on a ride, maybe even go for a hike at Crater Lake since it’s so close.”
“I could just make a day trip out of the fitting.” Jules started to undo the row of buttons holding the dress closed. “I don’t ride horses or hike. But you two could have fun.”
“You’re a bridesmaid, so we should do something together.” Jacy stepped out of the gown and started to step off the coffee table.
“Not so fast, I need to get some measurements.” She took a tape measure and her notebook form her case and started in. She wanted as many details as possible, since the dress needed so much work. Too much for what she had time for, but she didn’t want to say no and risk some random seamstress ruining the dress.
“I’ve been standing ridiculously still forever. Are we almost done?”
“You are, but my work is just beginning. Speaking of that, Carly, what do you think about your dress?”
“Perfect as always. You’ve ruined me for off the rack shopping. I’ll wind up looking like a bag lady when you move.”
“Hardly,” Jules said with a smile. “Do you think Vicki will make the next fitting?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Jacy said with a grin. “She’s out, you’re in.”
“I’m flattered, really. I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” She had to force the words out, her teenaged self all but begging her to let it happen.
“It’s a brilliant idea, unless you hate the dress.”
“No, I love these dresses. I’m in love with the vintage patterns. I’m hoping to use them in my portfolio, maybe even put a few on my website for orders. But, I’m leaving in a few weeks and you’ll be stuck with me in your wedding pictures forever.”
“See?” Jacy smiled as if she had the whole thing figured out. “You love the dresses, and you’re much more reliable than my cousin’s crazy girlfriend. And when you’re a famous designer, I’ll have proof that I knew you when. I’ll even let you choose whether you walk down the aisle with my brother or Ray’s. I’m trying to unload all of them.”
Jules grinned and doubted the princess of Weston Ridge had ever listened when someone told her no. “How about if I’m just the backup. You could talk with Vicki and find out she has a perfectly good explanation for missing the fitting.”
“You can call yourself the bridesmaid understudy if you want, just so long as you’re ready to go on. Because I want things to go smoothly.”
“Not a problem.” Jules turned her attention to Joanna. “Do you have your dress worked out?”
Joanna nodded. “We haven’t talked about what April is wearing, though.”
The little girl froze at the mention of her name. Jules tilted her head, taking in the little sprite.
“What color do you want your dress to be?” She asked April.
She didn’t answer, just stared at her as if she’d started speaking another language.
“You know what would be pretty?” Jules pulled the rest of the dresses from the bag. She hadn’t been sure what Vicki would want, so she’d made up more than they’d need. “April, what if we make your dress from this soft satin, and we do a ribbon with a pretty flower print. Like the bridesmaids, but special for you. What color would you want? Pink, purple, yellow?”
April left the bracelets on the blanket when she and her rabbit came to see the other dresses. She glanced at them, and then at Jules. She smiled wide, her blue eyes sparkling. She reached out and touched one of the ornate buttons at the mandarin collar of Jules’s dress.
“Boo. Like dis one.”
“You want a dress like mine for the wedding? Not one with flowers?”
“Pity button.”
“I can put pretty buttons on anything.” She reached for the fringe on the apron. “Did you know I made this?”
She nodded. “Daddy said.”
She glanced over at Slade and her entire train of thought derailed. He looked at her like she’d just found the solution to world peace. She shook off the feeling and focused on April. “Do you want all blue, or blue flowers?”
“All boo.”
“Okay. Can we see how big you are?” Jules showed her the markings on the measuring tape. April nodded, but fear crept into her gaze.
Joanna joined them on the floor, taking April’s hand while the little girl put her stuffed bunny in a chokehold. Jules worked as quickly as she could, hating how uncomfortable April seemed with the process.
“Hey!” A tiny voice barked from the far side of the room. “What are you doin’ to my sister?” Gus stomped into th
e room, his little face pinched in a scowl. All of the adults laughed as he made his way to the coffee table.
“I’m making her a dress for the wedding.” Jules noted her last measurement, then looked at Gus. “Do you want one?”
“Me?” He puffed out his chest. “I’m a cowboy. I don’t wear dresses. And neither does my sister.”
April’s bottom lip started to quiver. It was all Jules could do not to reach out and squeeze her, but she didn’t want to risk another trip under the blanket.
“August, that’s enough.” Slade’s tone and the use of Gus’s full name sent both children’s eyes wide.
“How many buttons do you want?” Jules asked April. “Two or three?”
She didn’t respond, just inched closer to Jules and started playing with the buttons of her mandarin collar.
“And you’ll need some shoes. We could get shiny ones, or some with sparkles, or even some that are soft like ribbon. And maybe a bow for your hair, would you like that?”
She nodded like a bobble head doll. “Boo, peas.”
“Why can’t she just wear her church shoes?” Gus looked about the room as if everyone in it had gone crazy.
“Because, cowboy,” Jules said with a grin as April settled onto her lap. “This is a wedding, and girls love dressing up. We should dress you up too. Maybe a bowtie or a newsboy cap.”
“That would be adorable.” Carly clasped her hands together. “What do you say, Gussie?”
Gus grabbed for his neck. “No way. You’re not choking me.”
Carly grabbed him and pulled him in for a hug. “But you’d be so cute, and all the ladies would tell you how handsome you are.”
“They already do that.” He wiggled free and scampered into the corner where Slade sat, the gold bracelets hooked on his finger.
Carly shook her head. “The Weston humility, it starts early.”
Jules wanted to cuddle April as the little girl nestled against her, shifting focus from the buttons on her dress to her earrings. She smelled like sunshine and clean laundry, her soft hair in disarray from the static of the blanket. She’d be so easy to love. Slade ought to take his dates here, the family and the kids and the man were the stuff of dreams.
