Snowbound with the Best Man

by Allie Pleiter

  “The unicorns. They said goodbye today.”

  Bruce’s heart twisted in two. Was this Carly giving up? Or growing up? He could barely bring himself to ask, “Mommy’s unicorns?” as he smoothed a curl back from her forehead.

  Carly shook her head. “They’re not Mommy’s anymore.”

  What was he supposed to do with that? He’d never really understood why Carly invented them in the first place, so he was at a loss to understand why she’d chosen—even on an unconscious level—for them to leave. Stumped, Bruce asked, “Are you sad?”

  She took a moment to think about it. “No, I’m older than that now.”

  He caught Kelly’s eyes over the top of Carly’s head, her smile bringing his own out of hiding. “Okay,” he said, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to, save for Carly’s apparent sense of closure. It was probably unwise to try to make sense of this now. After all, “this” was sitting in a frozen cabin, in the middle of a snowstorm, having dashed out of the rehearsal dinner of a nearly canceled wedding, discussing the departure of imaginary unicorns.

  He looked from Carly to Kelly, and even to Lulu, who gave him a “sounds good to me” shrug.

  Kelly said, “I still don’t understand why you ran out of the party like this.”

  “You wouldn’t listen to us. You’re going to leave after the wedding. I don’t want Carly to leave. Carly doesn’t want to leave.”

  “But we haven’t even had the wedding yet,” Bruce said. The moment the words were out, he realized the girls weren’t thinking in terms of logic. They were just unhappy little girls who wanted to be together. It didn’t occur to them that running away tonight would do absolutely nothing to fix their problems. They just knew they were sad that their wishes weren’t coming true.

  “I don’t wanna go home,” Carly said, sniffling. “I wanna stay here.”

  “Mom, I don’t think you want Carly’s dad to leave after the wedding, either. You’ve been so happy.”

  “Happy?” Kelly questioned, sitting on the nearest chair. “Lulu, honey, this is the worst week I’ve had in years. I’ve been absolutely frantic.”

  Lulu shrugged. “Maybe, but like I told Mr. Bruce, you’ve been anyway. Happy, I mean. You make each other happy, and Carly and I like that. A lot.”

  “What I like is knowing my little girl is safe,” Kelly said as she pulled Lulu onto her lap. “I was really scared. We both were.”

  “Why can’t we stay, Daddy? I like it here. You don’t get far away anymore.”

  Bruce sighed. “It’s not as simple as all that. But I really have enjoyed our visit and I’m sure we can come back.”

  Kelly tried to save him. “Everyone back at the party is very worried about you. People stopped everything to help us look for you. Don’t you think we should head back or at least call the inn?”

  “You hugged her. You said you thought she was pretty,” Carly said with a frustrating persistence.

  Kelly turned pink, and not from the cold. There didn’t seem much point in denying. “Well, yes, I did say that Lulu’s mother is pretty.”

  “I don’t get it,” Lulu said, sliding off her mother’s lap. “You like him. He likes you. Carly and I like each other. This is Matrimony Valley, for crying out loud.”

  “Lulu!” Kelly gasped.

  “Well, it is. Everybody else gets married here, why can’t you?”

  Kelly threw up her hands. “Don’t you think this is a discussion for another time?”

  “Not really,” Lulu replied as Carly shook her head.

  “May I remind you that Bruce and I just traipsed out here worried sick with fear without hats or gloves and after putting a damper on Tina and Darren’s rehearsal dinner?”

  Bruce wanted to sit down and sink his head into his hands, but instead he gathered up Carly’s coat. “We’re done here, girls. Gather your things.”

  “Dad...”

  “I was gonna hang our red heart in our window and everything if you said yes,” Lulu pouted to her mother.

  “Lulu told me,” Carly said, “whenever anyone...”

  “Let’s just get back to the inn and let everyone know you’re okay.” He hadn’t even had a chance to call back there and let Darren, Tina and the others knew they’d found the girls, so he pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and texted a quick All’s well. Exhaustion surged as the adrenaline of his fear faded away, and Kelly looked like she was running on empty, as well. Neither one of them had had a decent night’s sleep in days, and tomorrow was the wedding.

  He looked at Carly as he finished zipping up her jacket. “Running away like this didn’t solve anything did it?”

  “Not really. It was scary.”

  “You two are going to have to let Bruce and me work this out by ourselves,” Kelly said, catching Bruce’s eyes over her daughter’s head. Her cheeks were flushed and snow had wet her hair as tears wet her eyelashes. She is pretty. She’s beautiful. The thought came to him without any warning and refused to go away. Smart and pushy and stubborn and beautiful. It stunned him to realize he’d been digging through that mound of snow for her and Lulu as much as for Carly. There was a part of him that wanted to stay as much as Carly did.

  “Daddy, where’s your coat?” Carly asked. “Don’t you know to wear a coat when it’s cold outside?”

  He started to give her a long explanation of how daddies don’t think about cold and coats when they’re frightened for their precious little girls, but instead he just held her to his chest and managed to laugh.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The morning of the wedding dawned with the bright blue of a storm-swept sky. With the girls safe and sound and the power back on, everything seemed a brilliant white. Even the lingering frosting of ice, despite having caused so much trouble yesterday, seemed to coat everything with a crystalline beauty. If you ignored all the people who couldn’t get here, thought Bruce as he looked out the window, it’d be a perfect day for a winter wedding.

  He gazed around the quiet town. So many people had pulled together to make Tina and Darren’s rehearsal dinner a happy occasion last night. It felt as if every person in the valley had pitched in. Lots had gone wrong leading up to today’s ceremony, but the spunk of this tiny valley led him to believe that a lot would go surprisingly right. Power outages, airport shutdowns, spontaneous potluck rehearsal dinners, runaway girls, one very complex and fascinating florist—this wedding has always been “unusual,” but right now he’d classify it as “unforgettable.”

  A little pair of flannel pajama’d arms flung around his legs. “G’morning, Daddy,” Carly said with a wide yawn.

  “Good morning, sunshine.”

  “Did everybody get here?” She evidently thought the return of the power would solve all the wedding’s logistical problems.

  “No,” he said. “But it’s sunny out, so maybe a few more will be able to make it in before the ceremony starts.”

  “What if they don’t?”

  “Well, do you remember what Miss Kelly said we needed for a wedding?”

  She held up her outstretched fingers. “Bride, groom, minster—” her mispronunciation made him smile “—and God.”

  “Do we have those four things?” It felt foolish—and then again, perhaps very wise—to ask a five-year-old if God was present. He was just coming to grips with what a huge detour his faith had taken in the past two years, where it seemed like Carly’s never wavered at all.

  She grinned. “Yep.”

  “Well, then,” he said, tickling her under her chin until she flopped on the bed in a pile of giggles, “sounds to me like we’re all set. Except—” he flopped down beside her “—if you ask me, an extra-special flower girl is absolutely necessary.”

  “And we’ve got that!”

  “But our flower girl needs a good breakfast. If they’ve got power downstairs, that must m
ean waffles.” After last night’s fiasco and all that had led up to it, Bruce had been so sure today would feel heavy. He was certain the huge void of Sandy’s absence would weigh him down, and steal his joy.

  Instead, an inexplicable lightness filled him. As if he really could be just plain...happy today. Thank You. The small, silent prayer required no effort at all. Despite all that had happened, the idea that God had cleared the way for Tina and Darren didn’t seem such an impossible thought to hold. And that maybe, somewhere not too far off in the future, God would make a clearer way for him.

  “Are you nervous about today?”

  She thought about it for a second. “Not really. I think Miss Kelly will make everything work out.”

  Kelly was likely a bundle of nerves today. Despite pulling off nothing short of a wonder with last night’s party, she was probably already hard at work to make Tina and Darren’s wedding day as perfect as possible. They’d not had any chance to talk about everything that had happened last night, and Kelly had been on his mind constantly.

  Rather than be uncomfortable, Bruce found himself a bit, well, twitterpated with how she occupied his thoughts. As if her pushy invasiveness had somehow transformed to a companionship he couldn’t quite resist. What am I supposed to do with that? He was surprised to discover he couldn’t tell if the notion was a thought or a prayer.

  “You went away again, Daddy.”

  “Did I?”

  “Only you didn’t frown this time.”

  He looked at her. “Do I frown when I go away?”

  “You did before,” she said.

  He took this opportunity to ask something that had been on his mind as much as Kelly since last night. “Carly, honey, can you explain to me again why the unicorns went away?”

  “’Cuz they’re done, like I said.”

  “Done with what?”

  “Us. They have to go to other little girls and daddies now.”

  He still didn’t really understand, but he wanted to. “What do other little girls and daddies need from them that we don’t anymore?”

  “To know their mommies are in heaven. Mommy sent the unicorns to watch us.” She kept looking at him like he should understand.

  “So we don’t need watching anymore?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Why not?” It seemed that she’d decided they had turned a corner somehow, and while he felt the same lightening of spirit, he wanted to know how she’d describe it.

  “’Cuz.” Finding that answer sufficient, she grabbed her stomach. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”

  That was all the insight he was going to get, at least for now. Whatever emotional reassurance Carly’s unicorns had provided, the need had been met and she’d moved on. He was sure Pastor Mitchell might have something to say about it, or Carly’s counselor, but the settled nature of his heart really was sufficient for now. “I’m hungry, too. Let’s go get some breakfast—it’s gonna be a big day.”

  They dressed quickly and came down the stairs to a dining room loud with chatter from all members of the elk wedding party. Not only had the arrival of power lifted everyone’s spirits, but also he noticed a few new guests had made it in.

  “There’s our flower girl!” Darren called from behind a groom-worthy stack of waffles. “And the best man,” he added when Bruce gave him a “don’t I count?” look. “Join me for waffles, Carly-girl.”

  “How’s the bride?” Bruce asked as he and Carly took seats at Darren’s table. “Any calmer?”

  “Well, getting there,” Darren answered. “Power helps. I gotta admit, I didn’t want to get near that woman if she didn’t have a working blow-dryer or curling iron today.”

  “You’re not supposed to see her before the wedding anyway,” Bruce advised.

  “She’ll be extra pretty,” Carly said.

  “So will you,” Darren said, gently poking Carly’s nose.

  “I know. Miss Kelly’s made me a special headband and everything.”

  “You and Miss Kelly seem to get along really well.” Darren addressed his reply to Bruce rather than to Carly.

  “The girls like each other,” Bruce answered.

  Darren smirked. “That, too.”

  Bruce went to shoot Darren a dark look, but found he couldn’t.

  * * *

  Kelly was on her third cup of coffee when the phone rang.

  “I’m just calling to tell you you’re ready for today,” Jean’s voice came over the line.

  “I don’t feel ready,” she replied. “There are a million things that aren’t done. That might not get done.”

  “Kelly Nelson,” Jean said, “you are better at plan B than anyone else in the valley. I heard nothing but great things about last night’s rehearsal dinner.”

  “Including the crisis with Lulu and Carly?” Kelly looked up the staircase where her daughter still slept. “She’s never pulled something like that. Of all the nights...”

  “More of the valentine nonsense?” Jean asked, adding, “That isn’t really nonsense?”

  Nothing was ever really private in a town this size. Not with friends like Jean and Yvonne, at least. “The girls have got it in their heads that Bruce and I belong together.”

  “Are they wrong?”

  Kelly sat down at one of the kitchen counter stools. “I could give you a dozen reasons why they’re wrong.” Even she could hear how unconvinced her voice sounded.

  “Maybe those reasons don’t matter as much as the reasons why they’re right.”

  Kelly didn’t reply. Her heart had been discounting every sensible reason Bruce was a bad idea since he’d held her in the hardware store.

  “You’ve been alone long enough, Kelly,” Jean went on. “And you’re great at it—you’re resourceful and independent and all kinds of things like that. I’d be sunk without you, and this weekend so would half the valley. None of that will go away if you let Bruce into your life, you know.”

  “And Lulu’s,” Kelly cautioned. “Come on, Jean, you’ve been a single mom. You know the stakes go way up on things like this when a child’s involved. Bruce lives in Kinston, on the other side of the state. And he’s a pilot. I don’t think I can do that again.”

  “The other end of North Carolina isn’t the other end of the world. And I think you could do anything. Even have another pilot in your life. Are you really going to let what happened to Mark stop you from trying with someone who could be incredibly good for you and Lulu?”

  “But does it have to be now? On top of everything?” The list on her clipboard didn’t leave much room for breathing, much less pondering risky relationships.

  “Maybe it has to be now because of everything. It’s all going to be fine, Kelly. We’ll pull off the elk wedding of the year and Nuptials will write up a rave review.”

  Kelly let her head fall into her hands. “Samantha? I have no idea what she’s going to say about this weekend.”

  “Stop worrying. She’s going to think it’s amazing.”

  “Hey,” Kelly said to her friend, “I’m the one who usually gives you a boost. Who pulled the switcheroo?”

  Jean laughed. “I’m an old married woman now, remember?”

  “You can’t be old. If you’re old, then I’m older.” In truth, Kelly had only a little over a year on her friend, even if she was the more experienced parent. And even though Jean had seen her own share of hardships as a parent, Kelly had always felt that her widow status made her feel a whole decade older than her friend. Thirty-one was still young, but there were days lately when Kelly felt the years press down hard. Maybe that’s why the weariness in Bruce’s eyes had called to her so. And why the light returning to them was in real danger of stealing her heart.

  “You’re doing great,” Jean encouraged. “Really. We’d all be sunk without the way you took the lead on this. I fully intend to be sitti
ng in a pew to watch Darren and Tina tie the knot this afternoon. In a wedding nature tried very hard to cancel, but is happening because my favorite stubborn, brilliant florist found a way. So find a way in this. God may surprise you.”

  Kelly looked up at the clear sky, remembering the storm they’d just weathered. “I’ve had more than enough surprises for one wedding. But I do see your point. In all of it.” After a pause, she added, “I’m...well, I’m scared.”

  “I know,” Jean said softly. “But you’re also the bravest person I know. And I love you and I want you to be happy. Well, happier, because I know you were about to say ‘I’m happy now.’ Or have you forgotten a previous version of this conversation where you convinced me to let Josh back into my life? It turned out pretty good, remember?”

  Kelly felt herself smile. “Brilliantly.”

  “There you have it. See you at the wedding,” Jean said.

  Kelly ended the call and pointed her finger at the clipboard. “You hear that? Brilliance. Time to make the most brilliant improvised snowbound wedding Matrimony Valley and Southeastern Nuptials Magazine has ever seen.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kelly settled the last arrangement on the altar. They were going to make it. Sure, it wasn’t perfect—buckets of things had gone wrong with this wedding—but she’d managed to make it special, and that’s what mattered. Thank You, Jesus, she praised as she leaned against the front pew and surveyed her creations. I feel like I need to sleep for a week, but we made it.

  She heard the church doors open behind her, and turned to see Bruce walking in. She hadn’t seen him all day, nor had she ever seen him dressed in anything other than casual clothes. While the backwoods style of the wedding placed him in only a plaid shirt and gray flannel vest, he looked extraordinarily handsome.

  And satisfyingly impressed with her decorations. His expression made her chest glow with pride at how beautiful the church looked despite not having half the flowers she and Tina had planned.