A Catch for the Chief

by Liz Isaacson

  They didn’t go back to the front door and through the house, but simply walked around the side of it and into the back yard. The big picnic table stretched before them, but the children were still playing out in the yard and on the swing set. Most of the adults had congregated in the outdoor kitchen, and Berlin could tell immediately that something was…off.

  “Something’s going on,” she said. “Maybe Fabi or Jazzy is pregnant.”

  “How can you tell?” Cole threaded his fingers through hers and looked toward the house.

  “I just can. Like, why are Wren and Dawn standing like that, with their backs to—?”

  Someone must have said something, because the low chatter coming from the outdoor kitchen quieted, and every single person turned and looked at her and Cole. Something was definitely going on, and Berlin’s stomach flipped.

  Fabi stepped between the crowd of people, with one hand hidden behind her back. She approached Berlin and presented her with a single red rose. Without looking at Cole for even a fraction of a second, she said, “He is in love with you.”

  As quickly as she’d come, she turned and left. Berlin held the rose by the slender stem, wondering what kind of Fuller family prank this was.

  “Come on,” Cole said gently, nudging her forward. She’d only taken one step before she realized each of her siblings and their spouses had made a long, single-file line that led to the outdoor kitchen.

  Each held a hand behind their back, and as she stepped to Tate, he presented her with another rose and the words, “He’s a good boss. A great Chief.”

  Berlin took the rose and looked at Cole. “You did this.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He nodded toward Dawn, the next person in line. “But I think she wants to tell you something.”

  One by one, Berlin accepted roses from her siblings and sibling-in-laws, each with a statement about Cole or something he’d said about her. Her mom and dad were last in line, and her mother’s eyes shone with unshed tears as she gave Berlin the last rose and said, “He is the one for you, Berlin.”

  Berlin could hardly keep her own tears dormant as she hugged her mom. She turned to find Cole, but he’d moved during the embrace.

  He cleared his throat, and she spun around to find him down on one knee, a different velvet box held out in front of him.

  “I don’t think I’m all those things they said,” he started. “But I do know I love you, and I will try my best to be the man and husband you deserve.” He swallowed, like this speech was hard for him, but he delivered the words with unflinching power, his voice smooth and deep and wonderful, as always.

  “Berlin Fuller, will you marry me?”

  Gazing down at him, with an armful of red roses with all of their petals, Berlin realized she’d gotten a prince in every sense of the word. She let her tears fall then, which only made the diamond blurry.

  “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  He whooped, stood up, and slid the ring on her finger. He kissed her a moment later, wiping her tears with his thumbs as he cradled her face. “I love you so much,” he murmured before turning to say, “She said yes!” as if everyone in the yard didn’t already know.

  All the adults started clapping, and Berlin had to go back down the line to hug her sisters and show them the ring. Berlin had to give her mom credit for letting dinner be postponed even further. She did finally say, “All right. Time to eat,” and Berlin returned to Cole’s side—where she always wanted to be.

  Berlin twisted and turned, trying to find the best angle to see the back of the dress.

  “Is it on?” Wren asked from the other side of the door. “Come on, we’re dying to see it.”

  Of course, Berlin couldn’t go wedding dress shopping by herself. Oh, no. Eight women waited on the other side of the door, and Berlin just wanted a few seconds with herself before she walked out. Because then she’d have to hear eight different opinions and try to judge eight separate reactions.

  “Just a second,” she called to her sister. Wren would like this dress. Jazzy would pretend to like it. Fabi would say it needed more lace. Her mother would hang back and wait, her expression neutral. Then she’d say something to point out the obvious flaws in the design.

  Her mom wanted Berlin to have her grandmother make her dress. Granny Ebony had made a few of the girls’ dresses, but Berlin had seen her age, and she didn’t want to tax the older woman. So she’d insisted on buying something instead.

  She opened the door and said, “I don’t know. It feels too plain.”

  Wren sucked in a breath and put her hand over her heart like this was the only dress Berlin could be married in. “It’s not too plain. It’s perfect.”

  “Needs lace,” Fabi said while Jazzy did a double and then triple scan of the gown.

  Dawn smiled and said, “It is a little plain, but if you like it, it’s fine.” She was starting to become Berlin’s favorite, and she gave Dawn a grateful smile in return.

  Scotty and Caitlyn stood behind the row of sisters, and Berlin could tell from their expressions that the dress was okay. Caitlyn even said, “It’s okay.”

  The attendant approached with another dress, this one much lacier and adorned with sparkly beads. Fabi’s whole face lit up when she saw it, and Berlin allowed her mom to tug on the sleeves of the plainer gown while Granny Ebony just grinned from her spot in the chair by the entrance to the dressing room.

  “We could sew a panel in the back, if that’s what you don’t like,” her mom said.

  “I don’t know what I don’t like,” Berlin said. She’d always been told that she’d know “the one true wedding gown” once she put it on, but it hadn’t happened yet. They’d been out shopping for three weekends in a row leading up to Christmas, and her mother was nearing the end of her patience for the whole dress shopping experience.

  “If you want to get married in March, you better find a dress quick,” was what she’d said when Berlin had sat down with her to put a date on the calendar. She and Cole had thought a short engagement would be best, and March was a good month for him, with few festivals and events he had to coordinate.

  So though he’d only asked her to marry him three and a half weeks ago, Berlin felt like if she didn’t find a dress today, she’d have to move the wedding back. And she really didn’t want to do that.

  She put on the fancier dress with the help of the attendant, but it wasn’t the one either. “Maybe something halfway between these two,” she said, gesturing from the gobs of lace and itchy beads to the plainer A-line dress she’d just had on.

  “I’ll help her find something,” Dawn offered as the attendant handed the two dresses to a second woman and started for the long row of gowns again.

  Berlin stood there in a slip, twisting the diamond on her finger, praying with everything she had. She peeked out the door to find only Scotty and Caitlyn still waiting. “Where’d everyone else go?”

  “Oh, they all want to pick a dress for you to try on.” Caitlyn gave her a smile. “You okay? You look worried.”

  “I need to find a dress.”

  Caitlyn gave her a big hug. “And you will. This is the best shop in the county.” They’d traveled outside of Brush Creek, and even past Vernal, to a bigger town called Duchesne.

  Seemingly as one, her sisters and mother returned, each of them towing a dress with them.

  “Mine first,” Wren said, her face harboring a happy glow that had nothing to do with her new baby. Two attendants came into the large dressing room with Berlin, and she went through Wren’s dress—which she liked okay—Fabi’s, and Jazzy’s. None of them were exactly right.

  Dawn went next, and as the fabric went over Berlin’s hips and she put her arms through the straps, she inhaled slowly.

  “Yes,” the attendant said. “This one’s very nice.”

  Very nice was an understatement. With a lace appliqué across the bodice and then in linear patterns down the front of the dress, it wasn’t t
oo much frilly stuff. It felt chic in the A-line design, with a deep V-neckline and wide straps over her shoulders that made her feel feminine and covered though she really wasn’t either of those things.

  The second attendant zipped the dress and said, “It has a hand-cut box in the back, for just a touch of drama.” She finished tying it and Berlin twisted, turned, the sheer panels that ran from the straps to her waist and the box pure perfection. Without warning, she almost started crying.

  “Inverted pleats and fully lined,” the first woman said. “It’s the perfect combination of modern and classic in pure white.” She brushed her hand over Berlin’s hip, but the dress barely needed to be altered.

  “It’s perfect, right?” Berlin didn’t dare speak too loud, not wanting to jinx anything.

  “Let’s see what they say.” The first woman smiled and opened the door. “Vera Wang,” she said.

  Berlin stepped out, the long dress pooling at her feet. She felt like a princess in the dress, and she beamed at her family and friends. A hush fell over them, and not even her mother had anything to say.

  “It’s the one,” Berlin declared, finding Dawn’s eyes and stepping over to give her very pregnant sister a big hug. “Thank you, Dawn.”

  There was more spinning, and touching, and oohing, and in the end, Berlin bought the dress and would have it fully altered and ready for her wedding in just three weeks.

  Now, if only the wedding would come that fast.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Cole told his dogs to sit so he could put bow ties on them. Honor got a bright pink, lacy bow that still looked feminine, and Sarge a black, silk one like Cole’s. They both seemed to know that they needed to be on their best behavior today.

  “I’m getting married,” he told them. “So you just get to sit and watch, okay?”

  Several of the Fullers had been married in the big family back yard by the river, but in March, there could still be snow on the ground, so he and Berlin had opted for an indoor wedding and reception center.

  They partnered with Teddy’s, so there would be pulled pork sandwiches, that flavored lemonade he’d fallen in love with, and individual desserts. Berlin had invited him along on as many of the wedding preparations as he could attend, and his favorites had been the food tastings.

  The reception center was decked out in Christmas lights and these little puffy flowers that were fake but looked like snowballs. Berlin had picked everything white, yellow, and navy blue, and he’d let her do what she wanted. The cake had a cop on top, with his bride, and Cole had smiled the biggest at that.

  The door to the groom’s room opened, and his brothers entered, suit bags slung over their shoulders. Cole’s smile stayed at the sight of them all gathered in this tiny Utah town for the first Fairbanks wedding.

  “You ready for this?” Mathias, the oldest, asked.

  “So ready.” Cole gave him a hearty pat on the back. “Thanks for coming. I know it wasn’t easy.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

  The other brothers had said similar things, and as soon as their father came in, they all started getting changed, properly tied up, and ready for the nuptials.

  Berlin had hired a wedding planner, and the woman wore a headset and barked orders—exactly the kind of control Cole liked. So he knew when he had ten minutes to be on the floor, and that his mother had made it into the bride’s room to give Berlin the something borrowed she needed for the ceremony.

  The easy time with his family had slipped through Cole’s fingers like water. Though they’d been in town for a week, he felt like they’d just arrived. He and Berlin would be leaving for a honeymoon in tropical Cancun the following morning, and as the intercom went off with, “I’m coming to get you now, Chief. Thirty seconds,” from the wedding planner, Cole put one arm around his dad and one around his closest brother.

  They all got in a circle, and Cole looked at each of them. “Let’s get together more often,” he said, his voice a little thick. “And maybe not wait for the next wedding, since none of y’all even have girlfriends.”

  “Hey,” Mathias protested. “I’m seeing someone.”

  “Sure.” Cole smiled at him. “But seriously.”

  Murmurs of assent went around the circle, and then a sharp knock sounded on the door. “I have to go,” he said. “Don’t want to make Alicia mad.”

  He opened the door and spread his arms wide. “How’d I do?”

  She half-glared, half-scanned him, a tight smile pinching the corners of her mouth. “You look handsome,” she said in an even voice. “Come with me.” She pivoted on her toe and marched him down the hall and through a door that led directly to the alter at the front of the room.

  The ceremony room looked a lot like a church, but the space didn’t have permanent, long benches like the chapel, but individual chairs that came in different colors. Berlin had chosen dark blue with white and yellow bows tied around the backs.

  False tree branches extended down from the ceiling, with tea lights and flowers in the colors of the bows. It looked like a magical place to get married, and Cole hoped it was everything Berlin wanted. Because he wanted to give her everything she wanted, always.

  The chairs started filling as he got instructions from Pastor Peters. Alicia appeared in the doorway in the back, signaling to find out if everything was set inside. Cole had no idea, so he looked at the preacher.

  Pastor Peters gave Alicia a thumbs up, and she backed out of the room. Cole’s heart started thumping in his chest like a big, tribal drum. Berlin was going to come through that door any second. His girlfriend. His fiancée. The love of his life, soon to be his wife.

  He licked his lips and swallowed, trying to school his emotions. The seconds ticked by, and he thought she’d never come. Maybe she’d left. That really got his pulse accelerated, and he shoved the thoughts away. Berlin had shown no indication that she’d get cold feet.

  Sure enough, the door opened only a moment later, and the wedding party started down the aisle. Her nieces were flower girls, throwing white petals as they went. People stood and smiled, but all Cole could do was search for Berlin.

  She finally appeared, her dress the most magnificent thing he’d ever seen. It hugged her curves and left her shoulders bare, making his breath catch somewhere in his lungs he didn’t think possible.

  She held onto her father’s arm but she never once looked away from Cole as she trekked toward him. Cole knew then, as he had for months, that he was one of the luckiest men on earth.

  Her father passed her to him with a whispered, “She’s all yours now, Chief,” and she switched her arm to his.

  Cole could hardly contain himself, and he suddenly understood why she’d kissed him the way she had at her father’s graduation party. Sometimes it couldn’t be helped. He leaned down and swept his lips along her right eyebrow instead of bending her backward and really kissing her the way he wanted to.

  They faced the pastor, and the ceremony began. It honestly became a blur to Cole. All he could smell was Berlin’s fruity, flowery perfume. He could only feel the weight of her hand on his arm.

  So when Pastor Peters prompted him to say yes, he did. She said it too. And then the kissing part came, and Cole did exactly what he’d been thinking about: He bent her back and leaned over her as she laughed.

  “I love you,” he said just before kissing her like the man in love that he was.

  A Beauty and the Beast retelling with a Police Chief! Yay! Leave a review now!

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  Sneak Peek! Her Cowboy Billionaire Best Friend Chapter One

  Graham Whittaker gazed at the Tetons, wishing just the tops of the mountains were snow-covered. Unfortunately, it hadn’t stopped sno
wing for a few days, and the white stuff covered everything from the mountaintops to the grass outside the lodge he’d just bought and moved into over Christmas.

  He liked to think heaven was weeping for the loss of his father, the same way the Whittaker family had been for the past nine days. With the funeral and burial two days past now, everyone had gone back to their normal lives—except Graham.

  “This is your normal life now,” he told himself as he turned away from what some probably considered a picturesque view of the country, the snow, the mountains.

  Whiskey Mountain Lodge was a beautiful spot, nestled right up against the mountains on the west and the Teton National park on the north. It had a dozen guest rooms and boasted all the amenities needed to keep them fed, entertained, and happy for days on end.

  Not that it mattered. Graham wasn’t planning on running the lodge as the quaint bed and breakfast in the mountains that it had previously been.

  No, Whiskey Mountain Lodge was his new home.

  His father had left behind an entire business that needed running, and Graham had nothing left for him in Seattle anyway. So he’d come to help his mother after the sudden death of her husband, and he’d had enough time to find somewhere to live and operate Springside Energy Operations as the CEO.

  It was a step up, really. He’d only been the lead developer at Qualetics Robotics in Seattle, but the itch to develop technology and robotics to make people’s lives easier had died when his father had.

  Graham hoped it would come back; Springside could definitely benefit from having the first fracking robot to identify the natural gases under the surface of the Earth before they drilled. But they were years away from that.

  Just like Graham felt years away from anyone else out here.

  A dog barked, reminding him that he’d inherited his father’s dog as well as his company, and he went over to the back door to let Bear back in. The big black lab seemed to move quite slowly, though he still wore his usual smile on his face.