Love Is More Than Skin Deep (A Hidden Hearts Novel Book 4)

by Mary Crawford

  “I’m sorry, personnel issues are always a pain,” I commiserate.

  “It just seems as if everything has blown up because I decided to go on this trip. I got a text from Tristan that was marked urgent too. That doesn’t really seem to be his style.”

  I fish my cell phone out of my pocket and look at the messages. “That’s weird, I don’t have any messages. I don’t think we missed any rehearsals.”

  Mark makes a face at me. “Remind me again how I ended up officiating this wedding? Don’t get me wrong, I like Mitch and Jessica, but don’t you think it should have been someone else?”

  “As nearly as I can tell, it happened sometime between Mitch’s friend Stuart being kicked by a horse in the kidneys and you mentioning to Jessica’s dad you are licensed to practice law here. By the way, who takes the California bar exam on a dare?”

  Mark flushes a deep shade of red before he answers, “Okay, so I’ll admit Susan and I might’ve been a little competitive in our younger days.”

  I raise an eyebrow as I remark, “You think? Anyway, Jessica’s grandpa usually does these, but he can’t walk her up the aisle and do the ceremony, so you got drafted.”

  “Shelby, does Jessica know that I’ve never actually officiated a wedding before?” Mark frets.

  “Yeah, they know.” I respond with a hitch of my shoulder. “Jessica doesn’t care. She thinks you sound regal. They just want their friends around and they aren’t aiming for perfection.”

  “That’s good, because they’re not going to get it from me,” Mark says with a gust of laughter. “This may be the strangest wedding in history.”

  Ketki is practically vibrating with excitement as we stand at the end of the makeshift aisle in the middle of the vineyard “When I told Jessica I didn’t want to be a flower girl, she didn’t tell me that I would be walking a dog up the aisle,” she whispers.

  “I know, it’s cool,” I respond, as I reach down to give the German Shepherd, Hope, a quick scratch.

  “I get to wear jeans,” she adds, “and sparkly earrings. It’s weird.”

  “Jessica said you were casually chic.” I reply.

  “Still weird,” insists Ketki.

  Jessica’s grandfather, Walter, smiles down at Ketki and whispers, “It could’ve been a whole lot weirder. She could’ve done one of her belly dances up the aisle. She likes to pretend like I don’t know that she belly dances. I’ve known for years.”

  Jessica laughs out loud as she kisses her grandfather on the cheek, “Why didn’t you say something before? That would’ve been a totally epic idea.”

  Walter shakes his head in bemusement as he replies, “That’s exactly why. We may not be in a formal house of God, but it’s still a wedding. Can you at least pretend it’s not a variety show to make your grandma happy, please?”

  Jessica hugs her grandpa as she vows, “I’ll do my best.”

  TO SAY THIS MOMENT IS SURREAL doesn’t exactly do it justice. Ivy is playing the flute and Declan is covering the acoustic guitar as my daughter and girlfriend are waiting to walk two very well behaved German shepherds up a path through a vineyard with the pageantry afforded a Royal wedding. Most eyes are on the happy couple, and rightly so. Yet, I can’t help but watch my unusual little family.

  I don’t know Jessica well enough to know why she has taken a personal interest in Tanyanita, but much like Shelby, my ex-wife seems to have been scooped up by this gang and folded into the group. Shelby could’ve made this process very awkward, but she has chosen not make an issue of the past. Instead, the women seem to be going out of their way to set aside their differences to make things work for Ketki’s sake. Jessica is taking full advantage of Tanyanita’s eye for precise detail and computer skills by placing her in charge of the sound system. Tanyanita smiles at Ketki as she gives her the cue to begin walking up the aisle with Shelby.

  Although it’s only been seven months since Shelby walked into my life, it seems like a lifetime ago. Everything in my life has changed. Even though the cancer has been ugly, distressing and sometimes heart-stoppingly scary, Shelby has brought a spirit of wholeness and peace that I’ve never had in my life.

  As I watch Ketki confidently manage the big German Shepherd, I marvel in the changes in her as well. Although she’ll likely never be fully comfortable connecting with other people, it seems to be easier for her to hold eye contact and engage in full conversation, instead of simply spouting a list of questions. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but it feels to me as if Ketki is becoming more confident in her ability to read the world around her. I think Shelby’s faith in her has a whole lot to do with that.

  Hope, the first German Shepherd, decides to park herself at Mitch’s feet and not move, despite valiant attempts at intervention from dog trainers from Mitch’s facility, Devon and Riley. Finally, Ketki just gives up and sits on the ground next to Hope.

  After the drama is resolved, Shelby begins walking up the aisle with her dog, Lexicon. She is so self-conscious about her short hair, but I don’t think she understands how beautiful her smile is. Her eyes, bright with tears, are stunningly gorgeous. When she sees me start to tear up, she sighs and murmurs, “Oh my, this is better than a Hollywood movie.”

  Jessica is watching our interaction and comments dryly, “I think these two forgot whose wedding this is.”

  Shelby flushes with embarrassment as she apologizes profusely, “I’m so sorry Jess, I didn’t mean to take away from your day.”

  Standing beside me, Mitch smirks as he comments, “Shelby, don’t worry about it, she’s pulling your leg. Jessica would match up every last person in the whole state of California if she could. She is a certified, dyed-in-the-wool matchmaker.”

  This time, it’s Jessica’s turn to blush as she confirms, “It’s totally true.” She turns to the audience gathered at her wedding and teasingly asks, “Okay, so who’s next?”

  Ketki springs to her feet and raises her hand. “I know, I know!”

  Mitch puts his hand on her shoulder as he asks, “I hesitate to ask this, but what do you know?”

  Ketki gives Mitch a look that clearly indicates that she believes he has asked the dumbest question ever invented as she clarifies, “I know who’s getting married next.”

  Mitch gamely plays along as he asks, “Really? How do you know that?”

  Again, Ketki nails him with her famous look of total exasperation before answering, “Shelby sleeps in my dad’s bed.”

  The crowd erupts in awkward laughter. Ketki looks confused as she asks, “What’s so funny? It’s true, I swear,” she insists stridently. “At first Shelby was really sick and my dad has the best bed in the house. He took really good care of her until she got better.”

  Ketki’s impassioned, yet completely inappropriate defense of me makes me want to simultaneously laugh out loud and disappear into a deep hole in the ground.

  I lean over to Mitch and whisper, “Sorry, not sure what to do here —”

  Mitch shrugs as he replies with a bemused grin, “No problem here, it’s riveting stuff.”

  Ketki glares at Mitch as she continues, “Anyways, like I was sayin’, Shelby stayed with us for a long time because it’s hard to make cancer go away. Pretty soon, Dad was doing things like telling Shelby stories about his job and singing to the radio. He would find silly reasons to buy her presents. You know, like it’s Thursday. I’m telling you, I’d be trying to talk to my dad and he would have a goofy smile on his face and not be paying any attention to what I had to say. That’s why I know that Shelby and my dad will be next.”

  Mitch seems to be stunned into speechlessness for a minute, so Walter comes to his rescue.

  “I can see why you would think that your dad might want to marry Shelby, but there are lots of grown-up decisions to be made,” the pastor cautions, with a gentle smile.

  “Oh, I know all about grown-up stuff, we had this conversation when it came to my other mom,” Ketki huffs. “I know, being a grown up is hard. Still, I don’t think anyt
hing is harder than dying of cancer and Shelby is all done with that, the doctor said. Okay, I mean, she still has to go to the doctor but she’s pretty safe now. I mean, she’s not going to die tomorrow. Okay, technically, she may die tomorrow—did you know four people out of one hundred thousand people die for absolutely no reason at all every day? — but that’s not the plan. Shelby needs to marry my dad just like in the movies.”

  Tanyanita tries to intercede, “Ketki, I know you love Shelby, but I don’t know that you can go around planning other people’s lives —”

  Ketki is laser focused on making her point now, “Dad – you love Shelby, right?”

  I glance at Jessica and mouth the words, “I’m sorry.”

  “No, this is awesome!” Jessica asserts. “It’s like dinner theater at my own wedding. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.”

  The crowd titters again as I walk over to where Ketki is standing. I hitch her up on my hip. “Ki, I’m not sure that this is the time and place for this. We are smack in the middle of someone else’s wedding,” I suggest.

  Ketki glances over to Jessica in distress. “You asked us to tell you, right?”

  Jessica nods in confirmation. “I totally did, although I wasn’t expecting the answer to be quite this exciting.” Jessica sinks down into a wrought-iron bench and pulls Walter down next to her.

  I study Shelby’s body language to see if I can glean any clues, but she just looks a little befuddled by the whole conversation.

  “Ketki, you might want to hang on tight. I’ve got to do some maneuvering here. I wasn’t exactly planning to do this right this second,” I warn as I start to pat down my pockets.

  “Dad, put me down. I’m not a baby. People are going to be taking pictures,” Ketki pleads.

  “You’re right, I always forget how big you are. After all, you’re ten now. You’re practically a senior citizen—”

  “I am not!” she exclaims with a horrified gasp. “Oh, you probably meant that as a joke, didn’t you?”

  “We should probably wrap this up so Jessica and Mitch can get married sometime before you go to college. Will you go get Shelby for me?”

  “What do I do with Lexicon?” she asks with a puzzled look.

  “You could probably hand him to Devon,” I suggest.

  “Okay,” she responds as she runs down the aisle toward Shelby.

  “Where’s the popcorn when you need it?” Marcus quips.

  “I don’t know, but I do know that this isn’t the safe, standard ceremony that Jessica promised me,” Walter teases with an exaggerated wink.

  He turns to his wife and asks, “Are you doing all right, Honey?”

  “Why yes, Walt. This is more exciting than my favorite afternoon soaps. Now, please move out of the way so that I can see,” Walter promptly leans back on the bench to give his wife a better view.

  Now that I’ve had a chance to get myself a little organized in all the chaos, I step forward and kneel down on one knee in front of Shelby as I ask, “Shelby Lynn Lyons, I love you, will you marry me?” I hold out a handcrafted engagement ring designed to resemble a dream catcher.

  Shelby immediately puts her hand out for me to place the ring on as she whispers, “Yes, I love you too. I am ready to marry you and be your wife.”

  I make an exaggerated gesture of wiping sweat from my brow and Ketki hands me a crumpled up tissue.

  “As you say, Mark, love is more than skin deep,” she whispers tearfully.

  Shelby pulls me up to a standing position and wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me deeply. This elicits a round of hoots and hollers from the crowd. Shelby breaks away and hides her face as she laughs.

  Ketki pulls on Shelby’s skirt as she asks, “Are you marrying me too? Are you going to be my mom?”

  Shelby grins widely as she responds, “I sure am. I’m excited to call you my daughter.” She carefully draws Ketki into a tight hug and kisses the top of her head.

  Ketki high-fives me as she exclaims, “Did you hear that, Dad? We’re getting married. Can we have dogs at our wedding too?”

  “I don’t know, we'll have to work out the details later,” I answer. “Why don’t we let Jessica and Mitch get married now, since this is supposed to be their big day?”

  “Okay, but it’s not my fault. She asked the question,” protests Ketki.

  Jessica stands up and carefully rearranges her wedding dress. She motions for Ketki to approach. When Ketki does, she gives her a gentle hug. “I’m glad you shared your dad’s love story with us. It felt so special to be part of this day.”

  She helps Walter stand up and instructs, “Grandpa, I think I’m going to need you to step in here. Mark looks a little preoccupied.”

  “Oh, you are a sneaky one… I should’ve known you never intended to have the fancy lawyer in charge of your ceremony. Why would you give an old man a heart attack like that? That was just mean!”

  “Gramps, if I had told you that you were in charge of both jobs you would’ve worried yourself silly about how you were going to do both things. This way, you got both jobs done just fine.”

  “But I didn’t plan for your ceremony—” Walter demurs.

  “Balderdash! You’ve been planning for my ceremony since I was five,” Jessica counters with a laugh. “Just give Mitch and me the abbreviated version. I didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast this morning because I lost my contact lens and I’m starving.”

  Walter reaches into his jacket pocket and retrieves a lengthy list with a dramatic flourish. “I might have a few things to say —”

  Wilma shakes her head at Walter as she comments, “You are so busted.”

  I can’t recall a time that I’ve ever been so happy to sit down. I was honored to be asked to officiate Jessica and Mitch’s wedding, but I just don’t think they understood what they could’ve been in for. Cherokee weddings are quite different from Christian weddings. I didn’t really want to say anything, but privately, I was a little worried that I might get blankets and vases mixed up with unity candles and rings. When you add that together with inclusion of dogs, kids and the unexpected absence of Mitch’s best man, Stuart, it was probably better to have an experienced pastor at the helm.

  Shelby nudges me in the ribs as she quietly whispers, “Did you know any of this was going to happen?”

  I shake my head as I respond, “No, I didn’t. I think our daughter played us like an eighteen-piece orchestra.”

  Shelby admires her shiny new ring as she declares, “I can’t find it in my heart to be upset about that, can you?”

  I chuckle softly as I reply honestly, “No not really.”

  Walter pointedly clears his throat as he chastises, “I thought that you lovebirds were done hogging the spotlight. Are we ready to start my granddaughter’s wedding?”

  “Yes, sir,” I respond sitting straighter in my chair.

  “Very well. Ladies and gentlemen there was a time when I thought we would never be here on a day like today. In fact, there was a time I thought I’d never see my dear Jessica again. We had been estranged for years. By some miracle, Mitch managed to bring my beautiful, headstrong granddaughter home in one piece. Not only that, Mitch and his heroic dogs saved my Wilma from certain death.”

  Mitch swallows hard as he acknowledges the compliment, “Honored to do it.”

  Walter winks at the audience as he says, “Of course there was that time you almost broke her heart and I was tempted to shoot you in the buttocks with .22 just to show you what real pain feels like.”

  “Grandpa, short and sweet — remember short and sweet,” reminds Jessica with an exasperated sigh.

  “Oh, all right, Sweet Pea. I suppose that means you don’t want me to tell them that your love story with Mitch reminds me so much of my own with Wilma?”

  Tanyanita hands Jessica a Kleenex just as her tears start to overflow, “Oh Gramps, I didn’t want you to get started on all that because once you start, where do you stop?”

  “You start with the fa
ct that you love that man with your whole heart, that’s where you start. Hopefully, by the grace of God, that’s where you finish too.”

  Jessica turns to Mitch and grabs both of his hands. “I never knew that day when I took a very sick, skinny, hopeless German Shepherd in to see you that it would not only be Hope that would be saved that day, it would be me. You saved all of my hopes, dreams and aspirations. You helped me discover who I was, who was important to me and what I was passionate about. You reminded me about what was important in my life. You brought my family back together and helped me create a new one. You helped me believe in myself again, something I hadn’t been able to do in a really long time. I’m so happy that I’m going to finally be your wife.”

  Mitch smiles down at Jessica as he declares, “Jess, you weren’t the only one who was hopeless when we met. I had given up the idea that I would ever find love after losing Nora.”

  A startled gasp goes through the crowd at the mention of Mitch’s former girlfriend.

  Jessica hears the commotion and looks up and smiles at everyone as she insists, “No, I’m good with the fact that he loved Nora. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t have learned search and rescue and he wouldn’t have been able to save my grandma and countless other people. Hope, Lexicon, Yuki and all the rest of the animals wouldn’t have jobs and a purpose. Hope’s Haven wouldn’t exist. I think all of this happens for a reason and I’m grateful for the fact that he loved her first.”

  “Wow,” Shelby mouths wordlessly beside me.

  “Did I mention that my bride-to-be is pretty much perfect?” Mitch quips to the crowd.

  “Jess, you have made it possible for me to rebuild my life and my dreams, and I can’t imagine doing it all without you beside me I love you,” Mitch declares as he holds tightly to her hands.

  “Well then, Mitch and Jessica shall we get on with the official part of the ceremony?” Walter asks as he pulls out notes and his reading glasses.