by Gina Wilkins
“Ever go out walking at night?”
“I’ve been known to.”
Dan worried a loose pebble with the toe of his shoe. “Ever see anything, well, strange out there?”
Logan cocked his dark head, his expression quizzical. “What was it you thought you saw?”
“I’m not sure, exactly,” Dan admitted. “Something. I think Kinley saw it, too, but she won’t admit it.”
“Don’t tell me you think you saw the ghost.” Logan’s sudden scowl reminded Dan very much of Kinley. It was the first time he’d seen such a strong resemblance between them. “You should know I don’t believe in that nonsense. And I agree with Kinley that I don’t want to turn the inn into some sort of haunted-house attraction.”
Dan nodded to acknowledge that he’d gotten the message. He started to speak but was interrupted by a hail from the direction of the inn.
“Logan, there you are!” Eva bustled toward them, the sun catching on the sparkles in the silver threads of her lavender suit.
Logan groaned beneath his breath, but asked politely enough, “What can I do for you, Mrs. Sossaman?”
“I just wanted to make sure you smoothed that rough patch at the end of the path by the gazebo. I would hate for anyone in the wedding party to trip during the procession. Serena would be devastated.”
“If you’re talking about that hole Grayson dug looking for worms, then yes, I filled it in and smoothed it out,” Logan said with a curt nod.
“Good. Dan, have you found where you’re going to stand to take pictures of the wedding? I was thinking if you stood right there on the east corner of the deck that you’d have a nice overview of the decorations and the gazebo. You should take several, of course, but especially while Serena and Chris are facing each other reciting their vows, so their faces will be in the photos. I’ll be sure and send you some of the professional photos if you’ll leave me your email address, but I assume you’ll want to take a few of your own.”
“I’ll handle it,” he assured her. “You’ll never even know I’m here.”
Especially since he had no intention of staying for the whole ceremony. He could slip away after snapping a perfunctory shot or two and no one would be the wiser.
Leaving Logan to his preparations, he moved toward the inn, thinking he’d go up to his room and work on some notes for a while. Maybe concentrating on work would keep him from dwelling on thoughts of Kinley—or of unexplained visions in the woods surrounding her inn.
* * *
At four on the dot, Kinley and Bonnie opened the back doors to the inn for those inside who wanted to go on out and be seated. Later arrivals would be welcome to come through the inn or go around straight from the parking lot to be seated. Tables were already set up beneath the tent on the side lawn for the meal to follow the ceremony, and the catering crew bustled around in the kitchen, getting ready to serve.
The inn did not provide a specific dressing room for the groom and groomsmen; usually they made use of one of the suites, either reserved for the purpose or borrowed from a guest. The bride and her bridesmaids were allowed to use the downstairs guest restroom for dressing. It was a decent size, with a sink-and-dressing area separate from the enclosed toilet. It was one of Kinley’s goals to someday convert the unused part of the basement below the deck into restroom/dressing room areas accessible from outside, one for men and one for women.
Serena and her three bridesmaids bustled in and out of the restroom while Eva badgered them to hurry. The photographer had asked the wedding party to meet in the parlor promptly at four for a session of posed photos in front of the fireplace. Serena and Chris would join them there, since Serena had insisted she didn’t mind Chris seeing her in her gown prior to the ceremony. At ten past four, everyone was gathered in the parlor except Serena. With Eva hovering around the edges making suggestions, the long-suffering photographer, Anne Saxon, arranged the groom with his groomsmen for several poses, then took a few shots of the groom with the bridesmaids.
Serena sent out word that she needed a few minutes alone to calm herself for the wedding. Eva went to check on her, but was sent back to the parlor with a frown that she tried to smooth over. Eva fidgeted restlessly while the groom’s family was the center of the photographer’s focus as they waited for the bride to join them. Anne posed Chris with his parents, his brother and sister-in-law and their three boys, then took a couple of cute shots of Chris solemnly entrusting the rings into Grayson’s care. Kinley was relieved to note that the rings immediately went into Chris’s brother’s pocket afterward; as best man, he would guard the rings while Grayson served only as a symbolic ring bearer.
“The boy looks deceptively angelic in photos, doesn’t he?” a deep voice murmured into Kinley’s ear. For a heart-stopping moment, she was transported back into her darkened bedroom with that same husky voice whispering intimate encouragements to her. She shoved the memories immediately to the back of her mind, knowing she would pull them out later to replay in detail.
Smiling blandly up at Dan, she nodded and murmured, “He does. He’s been very well behaved today. I think he got quite a talking-to last night, and probably this morning.”
His hand brushed hers at her side. It was a fleeting touch that might have almost been accidental, but she knew it wasn’t. A little tingle of reaction coursed from that whisper of contact all the way through her. She moistened her lips and tried to concentrate on the wedding preparations.
At four-thirty, Serena still had not made an appearance. Eva started in that direction, but her forbidding expression made Kinley move quickly to block her.
“Would you like me to bring her?” she offered brightly, hoping to avoid what looked as if it could become a noisy confrontation. “Perhaps you’d like a photo of yourself with the ring bearer and flower girl? That would be a sweet memento.”
Reluctantly distracted, Eva nodded. “I would like that. Anne, maybe I could sit in that chair in front of the window with the lace curtains behind me while the children hand me flowers. That would be sweet, wouldn’t it? Someone bring us flowers to use.”
“I’ll find some,” Alicia said, giving Kinley a nod of approval as she passed her. “Tell Serena there’s going to be a maternal meltdown if she doesn’t get out here,” she murmured from the corner of her mouth on the way by.
Maybe Dan was reluctant to be left in the same room as Eva without Kinley there as a shield. He followed her, leaning against the hallway wall some distance away when she tapped lightly on the restroom door, not really eavesdropping but just waiting for her.
“Serena? It’s Kinley. How are you doing in there?”
“I just need some time, okay?”
Kinley winced a little at the edge she heard in the younger woman’s voice even through the wood door. Was that just a hint of hysteria? “Serena, your family is waiting for you. They’d like to take a few photos with you before the ceremony starts, and there’s not much time left.”
The door was jerked open and Serena stood framed in the opening, her furious expression a startling contrast to her angelic appearance. Her strapless dress was a poufy confection of ruffles and lace wrapped with a wide lavender ribbon tied in a big bow in back. Her stiffly upswept hair was framed by a full white veil anchored with a rhinestone-studded tiara. The ensemble was much too froufrou for Kinley’s personal taste, but she had to admit Serena looked very pretty— except for the streaks of tears through the makeup on her flushed cheeks.
“Why won’t you all just leave me alone?” she wailed, her fists clenched at her sides. “I said I needed some time to myself.”
Kinley had dealt with a couple of overwhelmed brides by now, and she’d found that a calm, soothing tone worked best. “I understand, Serena. I’m sure you’re exhausted from all the preparations. It’s almost over. If you’ll just—”
“You.” Serena almost spat out the word. “You’re as bad as my mother with your schedules and checklists and wanting everything to be just so. You’ll probably
be just like her in a few years. Telling everyone what to do, pushing them around.”
Kinley bit her lower lip, telling herself it was foolish to be hurt by Serena’s angry words. Obviously the bride wasn’t thinking clearly, was simply lashing out at the closest target. She sensed Dan moving slowly closer, but she held up a hand to warn him off as she spoke again.
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Serena. Why don’t you tell me what you want me to do? Should I inform everyone there will be a short delay, that the wedding will start a bit later than planned? You should take all the time you need to compose yourself, but I need to let them know not to start the ceremony until you’re ready.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be ready,” Serena snapped. “Maybe I don’t want to do this at all. Maybe I just want to call the whole thing off.”
Swallowing hard, Kinley shot a quick, rather panicked look at Dan before turning back to Serena. “That’s your call, too, of course,” she said evenly. “By all means, if you’ve changed your mind about marrying Chris, now is the time to say so.”
Tears cascaded again. “I don’t know. It’s all just so—”
“So what?” Kinley encouraged.
“It’s all my mother,” Serena whispered miserably. “Everything. The decorations, the menu, the music. This stupid, frilly dress that makes me look like an idiot. I let her railroad me into every decision so there wouldn’t be a fight, and now I hate it. I hate it all.”
“And me?” Chris appeared suddenly from behind Dan, his plain face somber. “Do you hate me, too?”
Serena looked at him with wide, shocked eyes, then burst into tears again.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kinley saw Bonnie guarding the end of the doorway, refusing to allow anyone past. Especially the mother of the bride. “Everyone just go back to the parlor,” Bonnie said firmly. “The bride will be with you when she’s ready. Mr. Sossaman?”
Taking the cue, Clinton stepped forward to take his wife’s arm. “Let’s go back to the parlor, dear. Actually, I wouldn’t mind a photo of just the two of us. When’s the last time we had our picture taken, hmm? Anne, you wouldn’t mind that, would you?”
The voices faded away, leaving Chris and Serena, Kinley and Dan in the hallway. Kinley started to move away, but Serena grabbed her arm, changing from attack mode to clinging. “I don’t know what to do,” the frantic bride choked.
“What do you want to do?” Kinley asked, at a loss as to how to proceed.
“I love you, Serena,” Chris said huskily. “I want to marry you. But if you want to stop everything right now, we’ll stop. I don’t care what your mother says, or my mother or anyone else. You’re all that matters to me.”
Serena’s breath caught in a hitch as fresh tears leaked from her red-rimmed eyes. She looked from her fiance to Kinley, as if hoping now that someone would tell her what to do despite her earlier resistance. Perhaps she did want that. Having been raised by Eva, Serena wasn’t accustomed to making her own decisions.
“I can’t tell you what’s best for you,” Kinley said simply. “I can take care of everything if you choose to call it off, or I can keep everything on hold while you make up your mind. But ultimately, the call is yours to make.”
Letting a long, unsteady sigh escape her, Serena sagged. “I love you,” she said to Chris. “I want to marry you. I just wish I’d stood up to her more, so that the wedding would reflect us. Not her.”
Now Kinley felt more certain. She wasn’t confident about calming hysterical young women, but she knew how to take charge when necessary. “What do you want to change?” she asked briskly. “Tell me, and we’ll take care of it, if at all possible.”
Serena stared at her wide-eyed. “What?”
Taking out her phone, Kinley opened her checklist. “Some things are a little too far along to change, of course. The menu, for example. I’m afraid that’s set. But if it makes you feel better, it all sounds delicious. I’m sure your guests will enjoy the meal. The ceremony itself hasn’t started yet. We can hold the guests in their seats, maybe play some music or something to entertain them while you make any adjustments you want. I’ll call the musicians and soloist and you can discuss musical selections. Maybe they’ll have music you prefer in their repertoires. My friend Janelle owns the bridal shop where you got your dress. The shop is open until six. I’m sure I can convince her to send over a selection of dresses in your size. Or I could send someone to pick them up. Logan would probably go.”
“You would do that?” Serena seemed stunned. “Change things at the last minute like this?”
“It’s your wedding,” Kinley reminded her. “My job is just to get things done the way you want them. I have sort of a knack for making things happen.”
Grimacing, Serena murmured, “About what I said earlier—”
Kinley brushed off the impending apology. “What do you want to do?”
Squaring her shoulders, the young woman looked at her groom, then nodded decisively. “I want to get married.”
She reached up to take hold of the rhinestone tiara and tug it from her hair. “And I don’t want to wear this stupid veil. Or this ridiculous bow. Maybe we can work with the rest of it.”
Chris grinned, relief making him look a little giddy when he said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go out to speak to the soloist. She’s my cousin, after all. I’ve heard her sing more times than I can even remember. And I happen to know she’s very versatile. Just like the pianist—her husband.”
Serena caught her breath, clasping her hands in front of her. “Remember that song they did at Gabrielle and Bobby’s engagement party? The Lady Antebellum one we loved but Mom hated? She said it didn’t sound like a wedding song, even though I told her I didn’t care about that. And maybe I don’t have to enter to Mendelssohn? You know I really wanted Pachelbel, even though Mom said it’s overdone. Like the traditional wedding march isn’t,” she added with an exasperated shake of her head.
Chris stepped forward to press a hard kiss to his bride’s mouth. “I’ll take care of it,” he said huskily. “See you at the altar. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“I’ll send you a signal,” Kinley promised.
Taking the reins and running now, Serena called out to Bonnie. “Tell Anne we’ll take pictures with me in them after the ceremony, while the other guests are being seated for the meal. I’ll apologize to the wedding party for inconveniencing them, but there’s no need to delay the ceremony any longer. I should be ready by a quarter after five or so.”
“How can I help?” Dan asked.
“If you want to help, stay close,” Kinley replied. “I may need you to help me get everyone in place when Serena’s ready.”
“I’d be delighted.” Dan glanced at Serena. “It’s going to be a beautiful wedding,” he assured her. “Your fiance is a lucky man.”
Swiping at her damp cheeks with the back of one hand, smearing her makeup even worse, Serena managed a shaky smile. “Thank you.”
Kinley rested a hand on Serena’s shoulder. “Let’s go freshen your makeup and get rid of that bow, shall we?”
Gratefully, Serena nodded and turned to precede Kinley into the dressing room. Telling herself she would be supremely grateful when this day was over, Kinley glanced again at Dan, then followed Serena to see what they could do about the too-frilly wedding dress.
* * *
The ceremony started only twenty minutes late. The groom and his groomsmen, given the signal by Dan, took their places on the raised gazebo floor. The ring bearer, bridesmaids and flower girl proceeded toward them from the inn while the pianist played Pachelbel’s Canon in D. Her hair brushed into a soft, shiny curtain around her shoulders, adorned with a simple white flower clipped above one ear, her face glowing with only a touch of natural-looking makeup, the bride came down the path on her father’s arm. Her strapless dress was still a little poufy, but looked somewhat more streamlined without the lavender sash and bow.
The solois
t sang “Just A Kiss.” The nontraditional song made some of the older ladies raise their eyebrows in surprise, but Chris and Serena gazed at each other in visible delight during the rendition. Kinley found herself getting lost in the lyrics about a kiss in the moonlight leading to a potential lifelong partnership.
“Be the one I’ve been waiting for my whole life.” Something about those words made her heart contract with what felt suspiciously like fear.
She peeked toward the woods beyond the gazebo and swallowed hard. Then glanced at Dan, who leaned against the railing of the deck above her. He was there ostensibly to take photos, but when she looked up at him, she found him gazing back down at her. Their eyes held for several beats of the romantic song, but then she made herself turn away.
She had a job to do, she reminded herself. It wasn’t like her to let anything, or anyone, get in the way of that. She would probably have to remind herself again before this night was over.
Chapter Ten
Several hours later, Kinley sat in her sister’s living room, sipping a glass of wine and wondering where she was going to find the energy to drive herself home. Maybe she’d just crash in Bonnie’s spare room. It wouldn’t be the first time. And if she did that, she would definitely be the only one in the bed, she thought, looking at Dan through her lashes over the rim of her glass. Bonnie had invited him to join them in their traditional after-event celebration, which usually consisted of a glass of wine each while they sprawled wearily on Bonnie’s furniture.
“I can’t believe how close we came to total disaster today,” Bonnie groaned from her armchair. “Can you imagine if Serena had really called off the wedding right before it started?”
Logan shook his head incredulously. “With all that planning and expense and trouble, you’d think she’d have had the guts to tell her mother sooner what she wanted in her wedding.”
“Her mother’s a scary woman,” Dan said with a chuckle. “But I have to say I’d never seen her as quiet as she was after the wedding. I think Serena’s rebellion knocked her for a loop. For once, Eva was at a loss for words.”
