To Have and to Hold

by Laura Dower

  Madison stood over the buffet table, plate in hand, and inhaled deeply. She’d been to plenty of barbecues before, but nothing like this. It was a far cry from the BBQ celebrations Drew Maxwell had at his house.

  “So, what do you think?” Dad asked.

  “I thought this would be some fancy party,” Madison said. “But it’s more like a rodeo or something. I mean, Kirk told me there are games and pony rides.”

  “Stephanie wanted this to be fun for all the kids,” Dad explained. “Isn’t that great?” His eyes danced when he pronounced Stephanie’s name.

  “You look really happy, Dad,” Madison said.

  “I am happy,” Dad said. “I’m happy you’re here, Maddie.”

  “No, I mean about being married again. I understand now why you wanted to marry Stephanie. Things are different now—but in a good way,” Madison said.

  “In a VERY good way,” Dad said with a wink. “Look, honey bear, I hate to run off on you again today, but I have to go around and visit with some other guests. Will you be okay?”

  Madison nodded. “Sure, Dad. I understand.”

  “Save me a square dance, okay?” Dad said.

  Madison’s jaw dropped. “Um … I don’t think so, Dad,” she said with a giggle. “I am not dancing.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Dad said. He hustled off to another table, where Stephanie was waiting to introduce him to another crowd of family friends.

  Someone clinked a glass, and the whole room stopped to watch Dad and Stephanie kiss again.

  “Is that really necessary?” Kirk said, coming up behind Madison with Tiffany.

  “You are totally unromantic, Kirk,” Tiffany said.

  “And that’s a good thing!” Kirk cracked himself up with his remark.

  The band played a string of country tunes and then broke into a set of old-time rock and roll. Dad and Stephanie bounced onto the dance floor together while everyone watched.

  Madison stared at her new stepmother and her new dad as they moved across the dance floor together, arms interlocked, legs moving in perfect rhythm.

  Tiffany stood next to Madison, knees bouncing as if she were dying to dance, too.

  “This is so awesome,” Tiffany observed. “I have never seen my Aunt Steph so happy.”

  “Really?” Madison asked.

  “My mom always told me Aunt Steph was way into her job and traveling, and that she never dated that many guys, except for this one guy Bob. She was supposed to get married to him, I think. But they called it off. I’m glad they did. Your dad is way nicer than Bob ever was.”

  “Thanks,” Madison said.

  Tiffany nodded. “Well, that’s what my mom says.”

  Madison glanced back at Stephanie and Dad again. Her stepmother pulled a part of the train off the back of her dress—it was detachable for dancing! She kicked off her white shoes, too. The band played a few more dance tunes.

  Another one of Tiffany’s cousins came over and asked Tiffany to dance. Without a moment’s hesitation, she wiggled away in her lavender dress, leaving Madison alone.

  Madison got herself a cup of punch from the table.

  “Fiona!” someone called out across the dance floor.

  Instinctively, Madison turned to see who had uttered the cry. She saw two people she didn’t know. She wondered where her Fiona was right now.

  Was Fiona asleep in a chair at the hospital or seated by Mr. Waters’s bedside, patiently waiting for word on his condition? Madison felt guilty, standing there among the two-steppers and the cowboy cooks, playing wedding guest. As soon as the party was over, Madison would send Fiona an e-mail to see what was happening back home.

  Another clink sounded.

  Dad waved his arms into the air and raised his own glass to the crowd.

  “Thank you, everyone, for being here!” Dad cheered.

  Stephanie seconded his remark. “From the bottom of our hearts.”

  “Here, here!” a few guests shouted.

  “Stephanie Mae finally gets her man!” a woman called out from one of the side tables. That comment had Stephanie laughing. Then Dad leaned in to kiss her once again.

  Madison sat down on one of the folding chairs at her table.

  “Well, don’t you look gorgeous!”

  Aunt Violet slid into the chair next to Madison with a drink in her hand.

  “Where’s Uncle Rick?” Madison asked.

  “Off requesting some song he wants to dance to,” Aunt Violet said cheerily. “Are you having a good time?”

  Madison nodded. “Sure,” she said.

  From across the dance floor, Uncle Rick motioned to Aunt Violet to come and dance. She stood up with a twirl and moved toward him. No sooner had she disappeared than Kirk came over and parked himself next to Madison.

  “Well, you look bored,” he commented.

  “No way,” Madison said, a bit defensively. “I’m not bored. I was just thinking.”

  “What about?” Kirk asked.

  “Oh, you don’t want to know,” Madison said with a smile. “I guess, in a way, I’m relieved that this is over.”

  The band ended a slow song and started up with a faster, twangy, guitar number.

  Kirk jumped up. “Do you want to dance?” he asked Madison.

  “Me?” Madison asked. “Um … not exactly …”

  “Come on,” Kirk said. “You have to dance. I can’t go out there alone. What’s your prob? We don’t have to do a slow dance or anything.”

  Madison giggled. “I know that,” she said.

  Kirk just shrugged. He put his hand out again. “Come on,” he urged.

  Madison stood up and took her cousin’s hand. “I am the worst dancer on the planet, I swear,” Madison said.

  Kirk didn’t seem to care. He wasn’t really that good a dancer, either. He shook his hips a little and moved stiffly from side to side. Madison was grateful that he didn’t move too much. She was having a little trouble keeping her balance in the Creamsicle-colored shoes.

  The best part about dancing with Kirk was that the dance floor proved to be a much better place to see the wedding “action.”

  On the other side of the party, Tiffany was talking to a group of girls dressed in pale purple and pink dresses similar to her own. Madison guessed that the girls were probably some of her other new cousins.

  Her eyes quickly searched the crowd for Dad and Stephanie. Over by one of the Texas steer ice sculptures, Madison spotted Stephanie dishing some food onto a plate and talking to four different people at once. Uncle Rick and Aunt Violet were still dancing nearby. On the other side of the room, Wally was smoking a cigar with a bunch of men in cowboy hats.

  As the song ended, Madison turned to Kirk. “This is my first hoedown,” she said.

  Kirk cracked up. “Don’t worry. You’ll get over it,” he joked. “See you later.”

  He turned and raced across the dance floor to a cluster of other cousins. Madison returned to her chair at one of the tables to take a break from dancing.

  “Excuse me, is this seat taken?”

  Dad appeared and sat down in the folding chair next to Madison.

  “Where were you?” she asked. “I thought you needed to say hello to all of the guests.”

  “I did,” Dad said. “Sort of. Now it’s your turn again. I promised not to desert you, right? Enjoying the hoedown?”

  “Yup,” Madison said.

  “I saw you and Kirk on the dance floor. You and your new cousins seem to be getting along great,” Dad said.

  “Yeah,” Madison said. “I didn’t know what to think at first, but they’re really nice.”

  “Have you played any of the games?”

  Madison shook her head. “Not really, Dad. Those are for the younger kids. I’m a little beyond the hay hunt, don’t you think?”

  “Well …” Dad said awkwardly. “I guess. If you say so.”

  “Plus, I’m all dressed up, Dad. I can’t exactly use a squirt gun in this dress….”


  “Okay. Well, where’s my square dance?” Dad asked. He stood up and wiggled his hips.

  “Dad, let’s get this straight. You can’t square-dance or any other kind of dance!” Madison said.

  “Who says?” Dad said, grabbing Madison’s wrist. “Let’s find out.”

  “No,” Madison squealed. She dragged her feet as Dad tried to yank her out onto the dance floor.

  “Daddy, no!” Madison said, half laughing. “I mean it.”

  “Come on, honey bear,” Dad said, with another goofy swivel of the hips.

  “Dad, please, I really, really, really—”

  Thwomp.

  With one not-so-smooth motion, Madison’s shoes wobbled, and her legs gave way underneath her, and she landed with a loud thump on the middle of the dance floor.

  Madison’s ankle throbbed. The room was spinning.

  “Are you okay?” Dad asked.

  “Oh, no,” Madison said meekly. “My right foot … it’s a little bit …”

  Dad leaned over to pick her up.

  “Ouch … eeee!” Madison cried.

  She looked down at her ankle. It had already swelled up around the sides of one of her orange shoes.

  Chapter 19

  “WANNA DANCE AGAIN?” KIRK cracked himself up.

  Madison just shook her head. “Very funny, Kirk,” she said, readjusting her sitting position. She’d been propped up on a chair on one of the patios overlooking Bobcat Lake. Her ankle was wrapped in bandages and ice to keep it from swelling any more than it already had.

  All around Madison, the hoedown continued with its loud music and even louder guests. Stephanie had some wild friends and family who liked to hoot and holler whenever a song they liked was being played. There was a lot of commotion near the lake, too, because Mr. Wolfe had planned for fireworks to close out the evening, and the kids at the party were eager for that to happen. A few men made preparations to row out in small boats and set up the display. As soon as the sun set, the Wolfe family promised, the “under the stars” part of the hoedown would begin. That was hours away, Madison realized. This wedding seemed to go on forever.

  At first, Madison felt self-conscious about her accident. But then she saw it as an opportunity really to take in the wedding and all of its sights and sounds. Much to her surprise, she discovered that she liked watching the action from the patio. And she liked the fact that everyone was coming by to say hello.

  Kirk was only one of many visitors. Almost all of her new boy and girl cousins came over to see how Madison was recuperating, in addition to seeing just how much her ankle had swollen. Was it the size of a cantaloupe or just the size of an orange? In some ways, it made Madison just another ranch attraction at the hoedown, but she didn’t mind. She just hoped the kids wouldn’t start climbing on her the way they’d been climbing on the stuffed bull earlier in the day.

  For the first time since the weekend had begun, Madison felt as though she were a part of something. She wasn’t alone anymore.

  From her perch on the patio, she watched guests whirl each other around in different variations on the Texas Two-Step. She spied Stephanie dancing with a group of her girlfriends in the middle of the floor, shaking her arms like a chicken. Uncle Rick and Aunt Violet were the best whirlers of all, but Madison knew that that was because they had once been Canadian dance champions.

  Suddenly Tiffany appeared. “Want some dessert, Madison?” she asked. “The waiters just put everything out on the buffet. You have to try the blackberry cobbler. Or maybe the peach pie …”

  “Mmmm,” Madison smiled. “If you don’t mind getting me a piece …”

  “No prob! Back in a flash,” Tiffany said. She hustled over to the buffet table.

  Dad kept checking in to see how Madison was feeling. She figured that he felt guiltier than guilty for yanking her onto the dance floor when she’d been resisting so fiercely.

  “Blame me,” Dad moaned. “I ruined the party for you, I know it.”

  “No, Dad,” Madison insisted. “I’m okay. I feel fine up here.”

  “But you’re in pain,” Dad said. “And you can’t dance or join in the party!”

  “Exactly,” Madison said with a grin. “I can’t dance. That’s the good part.”

  Dad chuckled. “Oh, I see. This was all a strategic ploy to get out of a square dance with me. Hmm.”

  “Yeah, me and my master plans …” Madison said with a laugh.

  “Have you seen Uncle Rick?” Dad asked.

  “Yes, and Aunt Violet has been super sweet, too,” Madison said. “She and I made a promise that we’d try to keep in better touch from now on. I’m so glad they came to the wedding.”

  Dad smiled. “I’m glad, too. Did you talk to my work friends at all?”

  “Yup,” Madison said. “I met the couple from California and the guy who works in New York. Everyone has treated me like I’m royalty or something. I can’t believe I’ve been sitting up here for almost two hours.”

  “Time flies when you’re … trapped in a chair with a bum ankle,” Dad joked.

  “Where’s Stephanie?” Madison asked.

  “Off carousing,” Dad said with a smirk. “She’s having a blast. She came over to see you, too, right?”

  “Like five times,” Madison said.

  “Gee whiz. What a trip,” Dad said. “One surprise after another. Your mother will have my head for this one.”

  “No, she won’t,” Madison said.

  Dad rolled his eyes. “You don’t know your mother,” he said.

  “I know she just wants me to be happy. And the same goes for you.”

  Dad laughed. “Oh, yeah?” he asked. “She wants me to be happy? On my wedding day?”

  “That’s what she told me,” Madison said. “Seriously. So did Gramma Helen.”

  “Your mother is a special woman,” Dad said, choking up a little.

  Madison felt a twisting sensation in her tummy. “I’m sorry for acting so weird about the wedding. Really sorry.”

  Dad shook his head. “Not at all, honey bear. You’re allowed to feel weird when your dad gets married for a second time. Trust me. I think you’ve been a real trooper, especially tonight.”

  “I guess,” Madison said. She gazed off at the lake.

  Maybe it didn’t look so murky anymore.

  In fact, the lake—and everything around it—looked brighter than bright. The setting sun caused oranges and yellows to be reflected off the surface of the water. Bird feathers glistened. The sides of the little rowboats sparkled.

  “One piece of cobbler!” Tiffany announced as she brought Madison her dessert.

  “Well, I see you have your servants bringing in the supplies,” Dad joked.

  “Oh, Dad! Cut it out,” she said, giving Dad’s shoulder a little smack. “Thanks, Tiffany.”

  “Would you two excuse me while I go find my new bride?” Dad asked.

  “Of course,” Tiffany chirped. She tossed her blond hair and took a seat next to Madison’s. “I’ll hang out here.”

  “You’re a great cousin,” Madison said.

  “Thanks. So are you.” Tiffany said.

  “Well, thanks,” Madison said.

  “Look at him!” Tiffany said all of a sudden. “He must be someone Aunt Steph works with. Do you see that scary-looking cowboy over there with the toupee? And what about that woman wearing the turquoise turban or whatever it is? Someone needs to give her a serious makeover.”

  Madison couldn’t stop laughing at Tiffany’s comments. “Aren’t you related to half these people?”

  “I am not related to them, no way!” Tiffany said with a growl of disgust.

  “Wow. I hate to think what you thought of what I was wearing when you first met me,” Madison said.

  “Oh, that isn’t the same thing,” Tiffany said. “What did you think of me?”

  “Well …” Madison flushed a little. She had to lie. “I wanted to get to know you…. You were so nice.”

  “Aw, that is sooooo
sweet,” Tiffany said. “Actually, I know most people think I’m too nice. Isn’t that funny?”

  “Hilarious,” Madison said.

  “Oh, look!” Tiffany said, pointing up at the sky.

  The sun’s luster had begun to fade, and now the colors in the sky were changing to varying shades of pink. The wedding day was slowly turning into night.

  “Madison, I’m going to go find my mom,” Tiffany said. “Will you still be here when I get back?”

  Madison looked down at her foot. “Um …”

  “Oh, yeah. Duh! Your foot,” Tiffany giggled. “Okay, so I’ll see you real soon, then.”

  Tiffany bounced away toward the dance floor and toward Kirk and the other party action, while Madison stayed put, wondering what Mom would have said if she had seen this place. She’d probably have made some funny crack about Tiffany’s being a space cadet or a little bit snotty.

  And what would Aimee have thought? She’d have been in heaven with all the dancing, so there would have been no time for her to think. Fiona would have liked it the best, though. Fiona was always up for an adventure.

  Madison realized how much she missed Far Hills. The Texas crew was nice, but it wasn’t the same thing as her friends from home.

  Madison’s eyes focused back on the rose-colored sky. The band played a slower song now.

  Loooove, soft as an easy chair …

  Dad and Stephanie waltzed among the other guests, arms wrapped tightly around each other’s waists and shoulders.

  Loooove, fresh as the morning air …

  Madison’s upper body swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the music, too, even though she didn’t like the sappy song very much. It reminded her of the music that was piped into the dentist’s office.

  Slowly, the sky grew dim and turned more of a gray color. All around, couples pressed closer together. People held hands and wandered off for romantic sundown walks around the ranch. Even the ponies that were grazing from behind the fences seemed to mellow out as dusk set in.

  Madison was thinking about love, too.

  Back home—where her Hart was.

  Later, after Uncle Rick had driven her back to the Bellville Villas, Madison poured her heart out into a new file. The wedding had officially ended (for her, anyway). Once again, she was writing on her laptop.