by Caroline Lee
Finally, though, she took a deep breath. “You think having companions and things to love is the opposite of ‘responsibility’ and ‘adult stuff’?”
“I worked ten- and eleven-hour days. Having a pet would be the opposite of responsibility.”
Unfortunately, she caught the part of that sentence he hadn’t meant to say and definitely hadn’t wanted her to hear. “Why the past tense? Don’t you work anymore?”
Jace reached for the radio. “Hey, what kind of music do you like to listen to?” he asked in a much lighter tone, then turned on his favorite station before she had a chance to respond.
She snorted at his attempt to change the subject, but obligingly listened to eight minutes of Gustav Holst’s Jupiter in silence while Jace followed Highway 95 north towards Riston. But when the announcer came on and introduced the next selection—Hector Berlioz’s Rob Roy Overture—she groaned aloud.
“Okay, my turn!” And she reached for the dial. Jace’s hand twitched to slap her hand away—this was his car, so he controlled the music—but stopped himself at the last minute. Anything to keep her from asking any further probing questions.
Unfortunately, that meant he was stuck listening to ten minutes of classic rock. It wasn’t horrible, but her enthusiastic singing and air-guitaring were pretty ridiculous.
When he couldn’t stand it any longer—he was afraid he’d start laughing and drive them both off the shoulder—he switched it back to his classical station. She only lasted through five minutes of Chopin’s Nocturnes before she turned it back to Def Leppard.
Their war for the radio station remained silent, except when she was singing. They simply turned the station when they couldn’t stand the other’s taste…but as the afternoon grew longer and they got closer to Riston, those interludes were becoming shorter and shorter. Soon, he could only last through one song before reaching for the tuner, and she was snorting with impatience during his Rachmaninov. When Don McLean’s American Pie came on—which lasted forever, as far as Jace was concerned—he insisted on the full 1812 Overture from Tchaikovsky.
After that though, Dink didn’t immediately turn the dial back to the classic rock that had been on her go-to station. Instead, she flipped through the tuner until a shriek blared from the SUV’s speakers. Jace winced, expecting her to flip past the static, and was surprised when she settled back in her seat.
That’s when he realized it wasn’t static. It was music, or some approximation thereof. Those were…bagpipes? Taking his eyes from the road, he swung his stunned gaze to her. Surely she’d change the channel, right?
But no, she sat there, a smug look on her face like she’d won their little contest, and he fought down the urge to snap at her. He forced himself to concentrate on driving instead. “Rock and roll was bad enough, but this?”
“This is fine music in some cultures.”
Jace gritted his teeth. “Then those cultures don’t know much about music, do they?”
“Don’t be intolerant. It’s my turn to choose the radio station.”
Intolerant? Couldn’t she see him? He wasn’t intolerant! He’d spent a lifetime dealing with intolerance. Instead of pointing that out and risking more questions he had no desire to answer, Jace swallowed his first retort…and his second. When he finally thought that he was calm enough, he set his jaw and snarled, “I think I hate you.”
Her reply was breezy and irreverent, just like her. “The feeling is mutual, I’m sure.”
Four minutes of bagpipes later, Jace felt like a swarm of bees had crawled in through his ears to create a hive inside his head. When the players stopped for a breath, he turned the radio off completely.
The remainder of the drive to Riston was a silent one, but for the best. If they couldn’t agree on a radio station, then they couldn’t be trusted to talk about anything politely. They were just too dissimilar. She was… Well, she dyed her hair and pierced her ears more than necessary and wore those boots which looked like slippers and probably drank her tea out of lumpy mugs she considered “artsy”.
And he… He was an accountant.
They couldn’t be more different. But they were stuck working together until next Saturday, and he’d already agreed to Will he’d do whatever he could to help Dink with the wedding prep. It was too bad they couldn’t seem to see eye-to-eye on anything…it would make for a long week.
No matter how pretty she was, no matter how much her puckish little grins flustered him, no matter how much he wondered what her legs felt like under those garish pants—could they even be considered pants?—Jace had to admit the truth.
The only thing they could agree on was their mutual dislike for each other.
Dink Redfern wasn’t for him. She could never be for someone like him.
CHAPTER TWO
“Dink’s here!”
Ellie wasn’t the squealing type, but Dink swore she heard her sister make a noise that wasn’t quite a squeal when she came flying down the steps of the quaint log-cabiny house. The sisters met on the front walkway, and hugged until Dink had to pull away to take a full breath.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! You’re finally here! I’m so sorry about your car, but wow! I love your hair! The color is just so perfectly you!” Ellie gave a little bounce as her words tripped over each other.
Dink laughed, and then held her sister at arms’ length and pretended to study her seriously. “Miss Redfern, I think there might be something wrong with you.” Ellie’s giant smile said she knew she was being teased, and didn’t mind it. “You’re positively vibrating. Is this normal in brides-to-be?”
Another not-quite-a-squeal from Ellie, and then, “Oh, Dink, I’m so glad you’re here! I can’t believe I’m getting married!”
“You’d better believe it.” A tall, good-looking blonde man came up behind Ellie and wrapped one arm around her waist. “I’ve waited too long for this.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “A few months isn’t ‘too long’. Most couples take a year or more to plan their weddings.”
“Maybe in L.A., darling.” Will—Dink recognized him from their video chats—dropped a kiss to Ellie’s temple, and Dink was intrigued by the way her sister blushed prettily. “But around these parts, if we see something we like, we snatch it up.”
There was something in Will’s voice when he talked to his fiancée that made Dink glance back over her shoulder at Jace, standing beside his open car door. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his pressed trousers and, despite being the kind of person she knew would consider ‘snatching up’ someone to be impulsive and irresponsible, he still looked a little…wistful. Like maybe he envied his best friend?
The pout in Ellie’s voice drew Dink’s attention back to the couple. “You told me you didn’t mind waiting for my family, and the wedding—”
“The wedding of your dreams. Yeah.” Will smiled and pulled his arm out from around his fiancée. “I don’t mind. Just getting antsy, is all. Now that your sister’s here, she can handle the wedding chores and we can spend our time looking forward to being Mister and Missus.”
Ellie rolled her eyes at that bit of adorableness. Dink wasn’t sure how her no-nonsense sister had ended up falling in love with a man who was obviously full of nonsense, but it didn’t seem to matter. Apparently the old adage about opposites attracting was true, because those two were hopelessly in love.
For some reason, the realization made her think of Jace.
“I’m sure it’s obvious by now, Dink,” her sister was still smiling when she jerked her thumb towards her fiancé, “But this is Will.”
Will stuck his hand out for a shake, but Dink was already laughing when she threw her arms around him for a big hug. He chuckled and hugged her back.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you, Will. I’ve really enjoyed chatting with you, and Ellie’s filled me in on the rest.” Dink elbowed him and winked knowingly, which actually made the youngest Weston brother flush. “I’m really glad to be here, and to see this ranch, an
d to meet the rest of your family. I feel like I’m a part of it already.”
Will cleared his throat. “You are, Dink. Once the Westons welcomed Ellie, they welcomed the rest of her family too. We’re all family now!”
Ellie made a joke about Will withholding the invitation until he met their mother, but Dink wasn’t listening anymore. Will’s comment about considering everyone family had made her think of Jace, and what Ellie had told her about Will’s best friend.
Apparently the two of them had met when they were both pretty young, back when Jace’s foster parents had sent him to River’s End Ranch for the summers. Had he been happy to be welcomed by the Weston clan? Had he felt like part of the family?
Without realizing it, she had turned away from the happy couple, to catch Jace’s eye. She’d spent the last several hours with him, and still didn’t know anything more about him than what Ellie had already told her. Oh, she knew he was stuffy and restrained and blunt and pretty much the opposite of Dink herself…but she didn’t know anything more than that.
To her surprise, she discovered she really wanted to.
“Jace! It’s good to see you again!”
If Dink hadn’t been watching Jace, she might’ve missed the way his features flickered, as if he’d forced aside whatever thoughts he’d been thinking as he watched the sisters’ reunion, and smiled at Ellie’s greeting. He came forward then, accepting Ellie’s hug with more sentiment than Dink had expected, and his smile seemed genuine when he clasped hands with Will.
Boy, his smile was… Well, it was something else, as Elvis would say. This smile, this real smile, wide and full enough to show Jace’s even white teeth—surely he’d had braces to get them so perfect?—made her feel a little tingly to see. And made her wonder if, despite knowing exactly how opposite they were, and how infuriatingly rude he was, maybe she wanted to see him smile more often.
Maybe she wanted to be the one to make him smile more often.
Later, they relaxed in Will and Ellie’s living room and munched on chips and salsa while they waited for the lasagna to finish baking. Will was stretched out on the floor, chuckling as Hagrid chased after his fingers, while Ellie lounged behind him on a sofa, one bare foot pulled up underneath her. Dink had fallen in love immediately with Indy, the couple’s beautiful black and white Border Collie, and after having fun introducing her to Hagrid—Indy hadn’t liked his spikes—was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, scratching the dog’s tummy.
Jace sat in a chair across the way, and just watched everyone else.
While the conversation ranged from pets to the ranch to how well the aquatics program had done all summer, thanks to Ellie’s management, Jace listened politely, occasionally responding to Will’s questions or verbal jabs with a smile or short response. But once it turned to wedding planning, Dink was surprised to see him pull out his phone.
She’d always figured wedding planning bored most men, but it was awfully rude to just pull out his phone and start messing around on it, wasn’t it?
“So Mom and Dad had already insisted we—that’s all the Weston siblings, not just me, I mean—find a pastor for the chapel.” Dink barely noticed Will’s clarification, because she was so intent on Jace’s rudeness. Was he browsing the internet instead of hanging out with his friends? Checking out social media?
Will continued, “Which was lucky, because that means we can have the wedding right here on the ranch. In the Wild West Town.”
Well that got her attention. “The what now?”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “There’s this street down the center of the ranch, with these old-timey-looking buildings. Will’s parents had them built, but they haven’t been used much. The ‘Apothecary’ building is really the nurse’s station and medical facilities for the ranch. The ‘General Store’ is really the camp store. The ‘Jail’ is the office for the ranch security guys...that sort of thing. But some of the other buildings have just been sitting empty, which is lost opportunity.”
“My parents keep sending us new ‘suggestions’, only they’re really more commands than suggestions.” Dink already knew this, but didn’t interrupt Will. Instead, she flicked her gaze towards Jace, who was still fiddling with the phone in his hands. “So this summer they wanted us to find a pastor and install him in the chapel, which we did. Kevin Roberts is a local who just graduated from seminary, and seems happy here. So River’s End Ranch now has an actual chapel, which means not just Sunday services for us and staff and guests, but also we can host weddings. Which was, I’m pretty sure, my parents’ intent.”
Ellie nudged him in the shoulder with her foot, and they both chuckled at each other. Dink was momentarily distracted from her snit, pleased to see her sister so happy.
“Are you incorporating the rest of the Wild West Town in the wedding?”
Jace’s deliciously low voice drew everyone’s attention. He looked expectant, thumbs hovering over his phone’s screen, and then elaborated. “I mean, you said you’re going to use the Wild West Town for the wedding. Are you just using the chapel?”
Ellie shook her head. “Miranda at the bakery is doing the cake, Sadie from the ‘Saloon’ is playing the music, and we figured we’d decorate the whole place in a sort of ‘old-west’ style. Kelsi’s in charge of that.”
Jace was nodding as he began to fiddle with his phone once more. “Make the wedding almost a tourist attraction, to garner interest?”
“Yeah,” Will took over the explanation. “Since we’re throwing this big shindig, Lily—she’s the ranch event planner—suggested we invite whatever guests are already here, for the ceremony at least, and use it as a way to sort of introduce everyone to the new and improved Wild West Town at River’s End Ranch.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Dink didn’t know why she’d asked the question, other than the fact that inviting strangers seemed a little impersonal.
“Sure.” Ellie shrugged, and when Will sat up from the floor, she took his hand and squeezed. “The success of the ranch is important to both of us. Will was willing to wait to give me the autumn wedding I always wanted, so I don’t mind letting the photos be used all over the website to try to garner new business. With the big retreat center they’re planning now—Wade’s got an architect working on it—this place could really boom from events like this.”
“Ellie’s a good sport.” Will scooped up the now-sleeping Hagrid and passed him over to Dink, who had to stop petting Indy long enough to deposit the hedgehog into his carrying bag and tuck him up against the sofa cushions behind her. “But she’s right. This could be really good publicity for the ranch.”
“So it’s up to us to make sure the event goes smoothly and successfully.” Jace looked up from his phone, his thumbs still moving across the screen, and smiled reassuringly.
Maybe it was that smile, or maybe it was the realization of what he was doing, that slammed into Dink’s chest and forced all the air out of her lungs. “You’re taking notes?”
Hmmm. When all of them—including Indy—turned surprised expressions her way, Dink wondered if maybe she shouldn’t have sounded so incredulous. “I mean…” she waved her free hand towards Jace and his phone. “that’s what you’ve been doing over there?”
“Of course.” Trim shoulders, encased in that fancy collared shirt, shrugged carelessly. “What else would I be doing?” She didn’t want to admit she’d thought he was just browsing a website, or texting someone. “It’s important we keep notes on this entire endeavor so we all know what’s being handled, and by whom.”
“Oh.” Dink swallowed, suddenly ashamed she’d thought so poorly of him. “Um. Right. That’s a good idea.”
Jace’s smile was so fast she might’ve missed it, but then his mouth settled into its serious line once more. “I do have them occasionally, you know.” He glanced down at his phone. “It sounds like you and Ellie have handled most of the preparations already, so the next nine days will be about confirming and organizing logistics.”
&n
bsp; Ellie sounded like she was barely holding in her laughter when she asked, “Like what?”
“Like what the pastor needs, or who’s transporting the cake and flowers. Do the flowers need to travel from the chapel to the reception site? How much time will we have to manage that? Those sorts of things.”
Giggles escaped Ellie then. “Sometimes I can’t believe you two are best friends.”
Will frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” Ellie dropped a kiss to the top of Will’s head, “Jace sounds a lot more like me, with all these questions and logistics management, which you hate.”
“Exactly.” Will’s grin was so full of love it was almost painful to see. “That’s why we’re best friends. That’s why you and I are such good partners, too.”
When he drew her sister’s hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles, Dink blushed and looked away. The two of them—
“I love you, Elliot.”
“I love you too, Will.”
—were so in love it made Dink ache. Had she and Magnus ever been like that? What ever the two of them shared had ended when she’d realized that he didn’t love her as much as he’d claimed. Will and Ellie, though… The way they looked at one another made it clear that whatever it was they had…it was forever.
Dink wondered if she’d ever experience that. If she’d ever look at a man and know, just know, that they’d be together forever.
The sound of a throat clearing broke the mood, and she was grateful. Anything to distract her from her almost-jealous regard of her sister’s bliss. Too bad Jace was the one who’d cleared his throat, because that brought him uncomfortably to the forefront of her mind.
“And where is the reception site?”
Will turned back to them, but didn’t drop Ellie’s hand. “I don’t mind the ceremony being a publicity stunt in the Wild West Town, but the party will be beside the river.” Of course it would. Anyone who knew how much Will Weston loved his river wouldn’t be surprised. “Remember that campsite you and I found the summer we were fourteen?”
