“No, thank you.” She nodded to make it definite. “It’s been two months. I’m not getting married. Not to Brendan anyway. Maybe never.” She pulled her eyes from Loretta’s and hung her head for a few moments before she looked back up to see Loretta hanging Alyssa’s beautiful dress on a rack behind her. She blinked a few times, resolved that there would be no more tears. She took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Thank you, Loretta. For taking the dress back.”
Loretta stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans, her plain white button-up shirt straining against a full bosom. For someone who made a living dressing people in wedding attire, Loretta was not exactly a walking advertisement for her business. Her long gray hair hung to her waist, and her short cropped bangs were cut high above gray eyebrows.
“I’m just so sorry about what happened. I’ve seen my share of couples, believe you me, and I really thought you and Brendan were the real thing. If ever a man was crazy about a girl . . .” Loretta shook her head and frowned, bringing together a road map of wrinkles.
Alyssa wasn’t sure how much more pity she could swim in. She was drowning in it. Forcing a smile—again—she said, “Evidently not.” She gave a quick wave before she walked out of the shop. As the bell on the door clinked against the glass, she was reminded how many times she’d been in and out of Loretta’s store for fittings, to choose bridesmaid dresses, or just to chat with Loretta about her wedding.
Her wedding to Brendan Myers. The only man she’d ever loved. But now hated.
Brendan counted out the last of three hundred dollars to Rudy Schmutz.
Rudy shook his head. “I’ll take your money, but I can’t promise it’ll do any good.” He stuffed the bills into one back pocket and pulled a can of chewing tobacco from the other. He put a pinch between his cheek and gum. “She ain’t gonna get back with you, fella. You humiliated that girl in front of the whole town.”
“I’m not giving up. Ever.” Brendan looked up at the blue sky above, imagining the banner trailing behind Randy’s crop duster and the look of surprise and wonder on Alyssa’s face. “Now remember what I said. You gotta fly over Monument Hill at two o’clock next Saturday. That’s when they start the reenactment. Alyssa will be there for sure. Her dad makes sure the family goes to that stuff.”
Rudy shrugged his broad, bony shoulders. “Whatever you say.” He spit out a brown stream, then raised his bushy brown eyebrows. The guy was about fifty, but he looked more like eighty to Brendan. His face was weathered, he walked with a limp—supposedly from falling off a bull—and he was always scowling. But he was the only guy with a Pawnee crop duster who was willing to take the job at a price Brendan could semi-afford.
Brendan had gotten back the deposit he’d put down on a small house for him and Alyssa, but he’d given it to his parents on top of the rent he already paid them. At the time, that had seemed like the right thing to do, especially since his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer. But based on the amount of booze in the house, he didn’t think the extra money was going toward his mother’s health care. He’d already started putting money away for another deposit. Rentals in small towns didn’t come along often, but he wanted to be ready when one did. He really needed his own place. Another reason he shouldn’t be spending money on stuff like banners.
Not that that would stop him.
“I have to get back to work before Lenny gets back from the Lions Club meeting” His rancher boss was a great guy, but Lenny expected a full day’s work for a fair wage, and Brendan had always given Lenny a hundred percent. It wasn’t just a matter of being a good employee. Brendan loved the work, especially working with the horses.
Rudy chuckled as he limped back to his truck. “Shoulda just married the girl when you had the chance.”
Brendan pushed back the rim of his Stetson, a Christmas gift from Alyssa. “I know that, Rudy. And I aim to get her back before it’s too late.”
Alyssa found Sherry at the back of the café in the booth where they always sat. Her blond hair was braided into pigtails, which only made her chubby cheeks look even rounder. She waved and then stood awkwardly to greet Alyssa with a hug.
“Are you okay?” Sherry eased herself back against the bench seat and folded her hands across her enlarged belly. “That couldn’t have been easy, returning the dress.” Sherry still had another few weeks until her due date, but Alyssa’s lifelong friend looked like she was about to pop any minute.
“It went pretty much like I expected. Loretta tried to talk me out of it, but she took the dress back in the end. That dream is over. Every wedding gift has been returned, every last wedding detail undone. That was the last item on the list. Time to move on.” Alyssa slid into the seat and put her purse beside her. “What about you? You look miserable.” She picked up one of the paper menus that were already on the table. Not that she needed it. She always ordered the same thing—a tuna melt with a side of fruit.
Sherry sighed. “All that stuff they say about glowing during pregnancy . . . well, it’s not true. The first four months, I threw up. And the last four, I’ve spent unable to see my toes and with a waddle that would make any penguin proud.”
Alyssa grinned. She knew lunch with her former maid of honor would be the perfect thing to do after returning her wedding dress. “Well, you don’t have much longer. Another few weeks and we’ll be holding Monroe Junior.”
“You do realize how much I love my husband, don’t you? Why else would I let that man name our firstborn Monroe?” She shook her head. “I’m afraid Li’l Monroe Modenstein is going to be teased his entire life.”
“I doubt it. He’ll probably be a big boy like his daddy. No one will pick on him.” Everyone in town loved Sherry’s husband. He was six foot seven and a tad heavy, a size that had served him well on the football field all through high school. He was a big old teddy bear, though, and he adored Sherry, who barely reached five foot tall.
“I’ll have a double cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake.” Sherry spieled off her order to the waitress. From the time she’d found out she was pregnant, Sherry had taken that as the go-ahead to indulge in all the dietary luxuries she’d never allowed herself before. “Oh, and one of those brownie parfaits.”
Alyssa slapped her menu closed. “I’ll have the same.”
Sherry’s eyes widened. “You’re not pregnant too, are you?” She giggled. Alyssa’s best friend knew good and well that Alyssa and Brendan had never done the act.
“It’s time for some changes.” Alyssa sat taller. “I’ll start slow with a new lunch selection.”
“So tell me,” Sherry said as she shifted her weight in the seat. “What has Brendan done lately to win you back?”
Alyssa slouched into her seat. “Can’t we talk about baby clothes or diaper choices . . . or anything besides Brendan?”
Sherry quickly covered her mouth, then burped. “Good grief. I’ve got more gas than a flatulent linebacker.”
Alyssa laughed. “Or we can talk about your gastric issues.”
“Ugh. Not a good topic. So are you going to tell me or not? You know I live to hear about Brendan’s shenanigans.”
Sometimes Alyssa wished she could leave La Grange, even if it was just for a while. She feared she would always be the girl who got dumped at the altar, and Brendan was only keeping the embarrassing story alive by trying to woo her back. “He’s making a fool of himself,” she finally said. “My dad went and talked to him last week and told him to quit sending things to the house.”
Sherry smiled. “I think it’s romantic, all those flowers he keeps sending.”
“Last week he sent me a kitten with a note that said, `You make my heart purr.’ Can you imagine?”
Sherry laughed out loud. “He’s so goofy.”
Alyssa sighed. It was one of the things she’d loved about Brendan. “Well, he needs to stop, and that’s what Dad went to tell him. To leave me alone.” She paused. “What kills me is that he doesn’t have the money to spend on things l
ike that. Especially now that his mom is sick.”
“Aw, poor guy. He’s made it clear how much he regrets what he did. Can’t you find in your heart to forgive him and give it another shot?”
Alyssa shook her head. “I’ve forgiven him already. But I just can’t trust him.” She drew in a big gulp of air, then let it out slowly. “I just want to get on with my life, and he’s making that impossible.”
“Well, I think you’re making a mistake. Monroe said that all the boys were ribbing him at the bachelor party, joking about the end of the good life and all that.” She lifted one eyebrow. “Not my Monroe, of course, but the others. And you know how those boys get when they’re together sometimes. Brendan was probably already nervous to be stepping up to the plate, but I’m sure those guys were partly responsible for running him off the field. And then there’s Brendan’s family situation.”
Alyssa was well aware of Brendan’s dysfunctional family. The whole town was. She and Sherry were quiet as the waitress set their food down. Then Alyssa said, “None of that is reason enough for leaving the woman you love at the altar. I don’t care how bad the guys were trash talking about marriage. And I know how afraid Brendan was of turning out like his parents. We’d talked about that.”
“I just think you’re hurting yourself by not giving him another chance.” Sherry took a giant bite of her burger and hadn’t quite finished chewing when she added, “He’s never gonna give up.”
“Well, he’s going to have to.”
Alyssa was finally able to veer the conversation in another direction, and Sherry spent the latter part of their lunch talking about her upcoming labor and delivery. “Monroe knows I have a high tolerance for pain. I don’t expect I’ll be needing all those drugs they offer up.”
“Maybe have them on standby. You know, just in case.” Alyssa dabbed at her mouth with the napkin as she recalled Sherry’s trip to the dentist last year. Alyssa had taken her to get a tooth extracted, and she wasn’t so sure about Sherry’s high tolerance for pain.
Alyssa let the last of the brownie parfait settle against her palate, savoring it, before they split the bill.
When they got outside, Alyssa hugged her friend. “I knew you would cheer me up, Sherry. Thanks for meeting me for lunch.”
Sherry chuckled. “That’s what I do, you know. I eat. All the time.” She gave a quick wave and started walking toward the bank where she worked. Alyssa took off in the other direction, and she was almost to her car when someone called out her name. She turned around, brought a hand to her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun, and peered at the gorgeous man approaching her from down the block.
“Hey, Dalton,” she said. “If you’re looking for my brother, he’s with dad at the fairgrounds.”
Dalton sauntered up to her. Her brother’s friend was possibly the best-looking man she’d ever laid eyes on, and Alyssa had spent her first seventeen years on earth adoring him from afar. Until Brendan. Even now, the man could make her pulse quicken. He’d always been way out of her league, though. In high school he’d dated every cheerleader until he’d finally latched on to Pamela Herring. Gorgeous Pamela Herring. They’d even kept dating when Pam went away to school in Houston.
But gorgeous Pamela, apparently, had dumped Dalton sometime in the spring—and by text message. Alyssa remembered thinking that was really cold. And who would dump Dalton Landreth in the first place?
“I wasn’t looking for Alex.” Dalton smiled. “I was hoping to run into you.”
“Oh?”
“I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me next Saturday.”
“Uh, I . . . uh . . .” Despite everything with Brendan, it felt like a betrayal to even consider a date with another man.
“Just dinner.” Dalton took a step closer. “We can see how it goes. I know we’re both coming out of something, but . . .” He shrugged. “I’d really like to take you out.”
Alyssa wanted to say yes. And that was confusing. Shouldn’t she still be mourning the demise of her relationship with Brendan? But then she remembered. “Oh, I can’t. The whole family promised my dad we’d go to Monument Hill next Saturday for Texas Heroes Day. You know, they’re having the battle reenactment, and I think the county judge will be there, and the high school band, and . . .” She paused. “It goes on all weekend, but I think we’re leaving the house around one on Saturday. It usually runs into the early evening. Anyway, I can’t miss it.”
“Well, maybe we could go there together and get dinner afterward.”
Hmm. Here they were, both single for the first time since junior high. She thought for a few moments. Why not?
“Yes. I’d like that,” she said. Maybe Dalton Landreth was exactly what she needed to put Brendan out of her mind. Maybe even for good.
The story continues in A July Bride by Beth Wiseman . . .
THE SUNSET BEACH NOVELS
The Guest Book
The Wishing Tree
The Bridge Tender
Marybeth Whalen and her husband Curt have been married for twenty-two years and are the parents of six children, ranging in age from college to elementary school. They live outside Charlotte, NC. Marybeth is the author of five novels. The newest one, The Bridge Tender, brings readers back to Sunset Beach, NC and releases June 2014. Marybeth spends most of her time in the grocery store but occasionally escapes long enough to scribble some words. She is always at work on her next novel. You can find her at www.marybethwhalen.com.
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